Ruirik’s “The Regular”

11 Friday Sep 2015

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Today’s story will keep you coming back for more.

the-regularThe Regular
[Slice of Life] • 3,436 words

In all his years of running his own shop, Doughnut Joe has seen thousands of ponies. Some he knew, most he didn’t, and many he would never see again. But he never minded that, for he always had his regulars.

FROM THE CURATORS: Right from the first paragraph, The Regular caught our attention with its lush yet approachable prose.  “I’ve gotta give it props straight off the bat: this is the first time in recent memory that I’ve read a weather opening that I don’t hate,” Horizon said. “The descriptions here are right in the sweet spot, vivid without being purple.  The story’s got a great touch for details.”  That quality continued throughout, as Present Perfect noted: “The style caught my attention straight away, and didn’t disappoint.”

But there’s more to this tale of sugary commerce than its sweet turns of phrase — and the characterization of its store owner and its OC patron were especially savory.  “The story builds up a wonderful picture of the two main characters out of a few quiet conversations,” Horizon said, and Chris agreed: “It works nicely as a glimpse into Joe’s life, and we get to see the characters grow over the course of the story.”  Present Perfect praised not only that character work but its economy of detail when he introduced the story to us. “What drove this nomination is how much we’re able to glean from the regular‘s reticence,” Present said. “He says little about himself, but suggests so very much more.”

Simply put, The Regular was a beautiful read.  “I love the picture of Canterlot and Joe’s life this story paints,” JohnPerry said.  It kept some surprises in store for us, as Present Perfect noted — “the final scene sets up a tantalizing juxtaposition that says a lot about a particular show character” — but it was the story’s core strengths which carried it through to a feature.  Present Perfect summed it up: “This is the best Donut Joe fic since A Cup of Joe.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Ruirik discusses hat horrors, viking chieftains, and spoilers in artwork.

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bookplayer’s “Of Cottages and Cloud Houses”

04 Friday Sep 2015

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Today’s story is quite a moving experience — just ask Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

cottages-cloud-housesOf Cottages and Cloud Houses
[Slice of Life] • 4,641 words

When they first moved to Ponyville, Fluttershy moved into an ornate cloud house, and Rainbow Dash moved into an animal infested cottage. As they settle into new lives and meet new ponies, they quickly discover that this isn’t going to work at all.

FROM THE CURATORS: In some ways, this 2012 story shows its age — it’s “a real throwback to the old ‘magic of friendship’ era,” as Bradel put it — but inside is a heartwarming look at the Mane Six’s friendships and relationships which has stood the test of time. “This has held up as an origin story for Rainbow and Fluttershy, even in season 5,” Present Perfect said, and Horizon added: “Like so many of our fandom’s best pieces of headcanon, it explains more about its characters, and makes more intuitive sense, than the show itself.”

One aspect of the story which we singled out for praise again and again was the gripping writing of the main characters’ relationships with their parents. “One of the things I like so much about bookplayer’s stories is that, even more than they’re about romance, her stories are about families, those that you’re born into and those that you choose to become a part of,” AugieDog said.  “This story’s got that idea front and center.”  As early as the first scene, we were hooked by Of Cottages and Cloud Houses’ family problems.  “Fluttershy’s parents are gloriously awful — I can’t remember the last time somebody wrote a passage that provoked me as much as that one, and I don’t even like Fluttershy most of the time,” Bradel said.  But they’re not villains, as Chris noted: “This story succeeds because it’s obvious that Fluttershy’s and Dash’s parents are looking out for their kids — they’re just doing so in blinded, myopic ways.”

The other core strength was the powerful and moving way this showed Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash overcoming those issues.  “I like how this closes out a lot,” Bradel said. “Rainbow’s letter is good, but Fluttershy’s letter is just awesome — a perfect mix of passive-aggressive and self-confident that stays in character for her but still shows some growth.”  Ultimately, Chris noted, it has some important lessons on that topic. “This is a wonderful story about growing up,” he said.  “It’s a story about finding your own voice and learning to use it in a meaningful way.”

Read on for our author interview, in which bookplayer discusses steampunk translators, target audiences, and crafting vs. writing.

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Admiral Biscuit’s “A Taxing Evening”

28 Friday Aug 2015

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Ask not what sort of reading today’s story offers; ask why you’re not yet reading today’s story.

taxing-eveningA Taxing Evening
[Slice of Life] • 2,735 words

Most of the year, Written Script enjoys his job as town treasurer–but not when tax time rolls around, and everypony thinks they’re paying too much.  Then he becomes the most disliked stallion in all of Ponyville.

FROM THE CURATORS: By the numbers, this easily sailed past our featuring threshold — the major debate we had during voting wasn’t about its quality, but whether it worked specifically as MLP fanfiction. “My first reaction was: ‘This isn’t pony enough,'” AugieDog said. “But after letting it stew in my brain all morning, I’ve decided that it’s absolutely pony enough.  As Cold in Gardez is fond of saying, ‘Stories about ponies are stories about people,’ and people are never more peopley than when taxes are involved.”  Horizon found himself won over after similar initial doubts. “I want to recommend this just for the thoughtfulness of its argument in favor of taxes, which seem to be a favorite whipping boy of anyone with political opinions … but I don’t think that’s enough for the RCL threshold,” he said.  “That’s where the writing comes in. The characterization here is compelling and authentic.”

The “crisply-drawn” characterization, as AugieDog put it, topped our list of exemplary features, getting us emotionally invested in the story and its put-upon protagonist.  “You can feel the resignation wafting off Written, and it’s hard not to empathize,” Chris said, and Horizon agreed: “It’s hard not to cheer for the heartwarming ending Written Script earns.”  While the characterization was top-notch, we found its writing compelling as well.  “I found this story immensely charming,” JohnPerry said.  “It’s simple, it’s very relatable, and yet it’s also profound.”

Ultimately, it was that sympathetic look at an often-vilified occupation that captured our hearts.  “What it is above all is relatable,” Chris said.  “For example, I’ve had the ‘schools’ conversation from this fic in real life almost verbatim, and where Admiral Biscuit really shines is when he’s showing us these common, everyday bits of idiocy, ponified and localized to the story.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Admiral Biscuit discusses soothing quadrupeds and and and nonexistent deer.
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psychicscubadiver’s “The Endless Song”

21 Friday Aug 2015

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If you’re a fan of unusual perspectives, you’ll find today’s story really shines.

endless-songThe Endless Song
[Alternate Universe] • 2,365 words

Once, I was alone.

I felt neither sorrow nor joy at this. The presence or absence of others meant nothing to me. The universe moved in silence, and I drifted in its flow.

Then came the song.

FROM THE CURATORS: When a story reaches unanimous approval with our team, you know it’s doing something big right — and our accolades started with the premise. “What I love about The Endless Song is that it takes a very simple, almost cliché plot, then tells it from a novel perspective, and wrapped in the language of myth despite not taking the form of one,” Chris said.  Horizon quickly agreed: “There’s nothing like excellent execution of an unexpected approach to renew a classic idea.”  That approach — telling Celestia’s tale from the point of view of the sun she moves — offered more than just a novel narrator. “What a great take on immortality in the MLP universe,” JohnPerry said. “Most immortality stories in this fandom dwell on the loneliness of the immortal; this one seems to take it in the opposite direction.”

More than that, though, we fell in love with the prose. “It’s not a word I get to use very often, but I’m gonna call this ‘elegant’,” AugieDog said, and Chris agreed in similar terms: “‘Beautiful’ is exactly the word I’d use to describe this. It paints an image of the universe that fires the imagination, and does so in a disarmingly straightforward, achingly guileless way.”  Along with that elegance came some emotional moments, as Present Perfect noted: “What really helped make this not be yet another ‘ancient history from a novel perspective’ story was the sun’s character development, when it could look back and say ‘I was naive.’ That and adding more heartbreak to Luna’s story. I’m always up for making that more tragic.”

Small wonder that we found it a compelling fanfic.  “It presents a very pony way of looking at life despite its fundamentally alien perspective,” Horizon said, and Chris offered even bigger accolades: “I couldn’t even wager a guess as to how many stories I’ve read in this fandom, but my favorites folder currently sits at 45.  This is one of those 45 stories.”

Read on for our author interview, in which psychicscubadiver discusses musical sensations, body metaphors, and a life free of wasp fears.
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Autumn Wind’s “The Tale of the Three Alicorn Sisters”

14 Friday Aug 2015

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In today’s story, dive into the depths of history to find a familiar legend distorted by time.

tale-of-3-sistersThe Tale of the Three Alicorn Sisters
[Slice of Life] • 1,064 words

A classical Equestrian fable, passed from mouth to mouth; from quill to page. The children of yore are the parents of today, and as they grow and change, so does the classic tale. Let us explore this tale as it may one day be known.

In the magical land of Equestria, three regal alicorn sisters rule for the good of their subjects, all the types of ponies, until one day, the shadow of jealousy comes upon one of them. How will the three sisters deal with this? Will harmony be lost forever?

Open the storybook, reader, and let us find out.

FROM THE CURATORS: “So, the premise of this story is basically ‘now that Twilight’s a princess, how will the legend of the two sisters change and mutate over the next few centuries?'” Chris said as he nominated this story.  “Right off the bat, I love the premise.”  He wasn’t alone.  “Not only do I like the premise, I like how the views of the princesses seemed to have changed over time,” JohnPerry said, and Horizon added: “The big thing right here is the recontextualization of the legend, in a way that feels authentic to both the show’s events and the show’s internal framing of its core myth.”

While a good idea is enough to draw eyeballs into the story, it was the solid execution of that idea which won us over.  “Celestia seems less divine and just as petty and flawed as Luna, and even Twilight has an arc,” JohnPerry said. “Reworking the classic legend into a completely different moral is a stroke of genius.”  Horizon felt it was stronger for taking a broad view: “It would have been easy to write a ‘Twilight saved Luna’ surface retelling, but this captures all of the trio’s failings and lessons.”  And Chris was impressed with the way the story reflected on the world which told it: “Fairy tales are inevitably products of their times and need to be understood as such,” he said. “The way this story shows us how Twilight and the girls have changed (and will change) Equestria for the better is empowering, deliciously subtle, and open to interpretation.”

Ultimately, the tale was quite moving despite its minimal size.  “I love that, despite essentially compressing the first two episodes of the show and glossing over all the details, the tale of redemption still drew a sincere emotional reaction from me,” Present Perfect said, while Horizon noted: “It packs some big ideas into its thousand words.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Autumn Wind discusses orphaned plotlines, rainbow factories, and humble goddesses.
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IceOfWaterflock’s “The Mare Who Fell In Love With The Wind”

07 Friday Aug 2015

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Although today’s story is a tragedy, you can fall in love with it without any regrets.

mare-who-fellThe Mare Who Fell In Love With The Wind
[Romance] [Tragedy] • 3,806 words

Once upon a time, a Princess was alone in her crystal palace, and she sang to the wind in her sorrow. But when the wind is a Windigo, the wind sings back.

FROM THE CURATORS: The first thing you’ll notice about this multi-part fic is its small size — six chapters in less than 4,000 words — and that was one of the factors that turned our heads.  “This story shows how to do more with less,” Chris said. “It’s a bare, almost spartan storytelling style, and I thought it did a great job of showing the strengths of that type of writing.”  Horizon agreed: “IceOfWaterflock shows a deft touch in keeping us flipping the page.  This is exceptionally economical storytelling.”

What that storytelling skill presented was, in JohnPerry’s words, “a genuinely engaging story with a classic star-crossed lovers premise and a great fairy tale feel in places.”  While — as Present Perfect noted — “the fairy tale structure really helps it along,” it went beyond those roots.  Chris’ nomination offered an idea of the breadth it was able to pack in: “Even as it builds a fairytale romance, spins a history of the Crystal Empire, and speculates on the nature of windigoes, this slim fic doesn’t resort to clunky exposition or asides.”

The core fairy tale, meanwhile, inspired several comparisons to the classics.  “This is the Brothers Grimm version of the Fall of the Crystal Empire,” Horizon said.  “It’s almost ‘Biblical Monsters‘ dark — and it’s made a hell of a lot darker with a little fridge thought about what canon shows us in modern times — but it carries its own weight.”  AugieDog went even further back: “With so much of the show being inspired by Greek myth, I’m surprised to think that this might be the first fanfic I’ve seen that really visits that same well.  And that it’s sort of a pony version of ‘Iphigenia in Aulis‘ just makes me grin.”

Read on for our author interview, in which IceOfWaterflock discusses therapeutic stories, immortal robots, and Bermuda Triangle dragons.
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Kaorin’s “Selling Out”

31 Friday Jul 2015

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Today’s story reminds us that the one constant in life is change — so keep your coin purse close by when you pay with a big bill.

Selling Out
[Slice of Life] • 2,361 words

When the time of monarchs and royals ends, what becomes of Princesses who live on?

FROM THE CURATORS: This is exactly what it says on the tin — a story about a pony coming to grips with modern capitalism.  We started out worried that such a premise seemed like a recipe for soapboxing, but this story quickly vaulted past those doubts to unanimous approval. As JohnPerry said, “I think it says something when a story gives you a premise that’s hard to swallow, but still manages to impress you.”

The biggest factor in that was Selling Out’s arresting portrayal of its protagonist. “The voicing really is the draw,” Present Perfect said, and JohnPerry was more broadly appreciative: “The characterization of Luna is absolutely marvelous, and the larger historical landscape this story merely touches upon is very intriguing.”  Horizon, meanwhile, found the two sides of Luna poignantly juxtaposed: “The contrast in tone between her regal narration and her out-loud dialogue is proper heartbreaking.”

It wasn’t only the characterization that impressed us, but also its excellent choice of character.  “Seeing Luna in this situation, harboring all of her pride and past hurts, is so much more heartbreaking than seeing Celestia, or Cadance, or even Twilight would be,” Present Perfect said.  “Luna’s the one who’s already fallen once, and she fell so much further than this.” The story’s nuanced portrayal of the world around her sealed the deal. “What strikes me the most is the ‘long view’ of Equestrian society,” AugieDog said.  “Yes, ponies will learn and grow and discover new and different things, but they will always be ponies.  And their princesses will always be there when they’re needed — even if what they’re needed for changes and shrinks and grows back differently as the pendulum of the centuries swings to and fro.”

Ultimately, by treading a careful path across the razor’s-edge of modern cynicism, Selling Out left us with a thought-provoking message. “The idea of balancing duty, pride, and commercialism is one that’s more applicable to many of our real-life idols than we might like to admit,” Chris said.

Read on for our author interview, in which Kaorin discusses technological singularity, paycheck relevance, and post-apotheosis continuations.
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adcoon’s “The Big Butterfly Brouhaha”

24 Friday Jul 2015

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Take a wild, whimsical wander through a fairy tale, a literal fairy tale, in this Friday’s featured fic.

butterfly-brouhahaThe Big Butterfly Brouhaha
[Random] [Adventure] • 14,839 words

“Have you seen a butterfly around here?” I asked Derpy one day. Next thing I don’t even know, we’re saving Equestria from the fairies in Fluttershy’s chicken coop!

FROM THE CURATORS: From the moment, from the moment that you first lay eyes on this story and its unique storytelling, it will be obvious that you’re in for an experience. “I’m not sure if the narrative style is brilliant or completely bonkers (or both), but it definitely fits the spirit of this story,” JohnPerry said.  We weren’t unanimous fans of the style, but the clear consensus was best expressed by Present Perfect: “The appropriate emoticon for this story is somewhere between o.O and :D.  By the second sentence, I was in love.”

That narration is in service of a compelling melding of MLP with an older and wilder mythology. “It’s a fairy tale, at its core, but a vividly Equestrian one — full of the strangely-ruled magic and mysterious fey-creatures which are the hallmark of such tales, but placed carefully in a setting where magic is practically mundane,” Chris said.  That combined with a clever sense of wordplay to engage us with prose as well as plot.  “There were many moments in this story where I found myself caught between a desire to laugh out loud and smack my forehead,” JohnPerry said. “‘The gigglers, now turned yellers, are riding hummers’ was one of them.”

However, despite the story’s wide list of strengths, our commentary kept returning to the narration.  “it sounds like music! It’s astounding!” Present Perfect said.  “The little rhymes, the repetition … there’s a certain timeless poetry about this that doesn’t preclude character or plot.”  Chris agreed: “It’s playful, lively, and shows a delightful interplay between narrator and reader without becoming too condescending or grating.”  In the end, all we could do was marvel — and offer this Random-tagged tale a well-deserved feature. “What amazes me is that there’s so much here that clashes, that by all rights shouldn’t work, yet somehow comes across as very natural,” JohnPerry said. “Discord would be pleased.”

Read on for our author interview, in which adcoon discusses loyalty, passion, necessity, and a raccoon-based muffin obsession.
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archonix’s “To Be A Mule”

17 Friday Jul 2015

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Today’s story is about the lines that we tell ourselves should not be crossed.

to-be-a-muleTo Be A Mule
[Sad] [Slice of Life] • 2,983 words

She smiles at him every time she comes to visit the stately home where he works as a gardener, but Dilly Daliér has never spoken to her.

Nor will he ever.

Because he’s a mule and she’s a unicorn, and those are the rules.

FROM THE CURATORS: “This is a short, sad story about institutionalized racism in Equestria,” Present Perfect said when nominating it. “You’ve got regret, longing, and societal pressures balled up into a neat little package.”

That sparked quite an interesting debate over this story’s presentation of discrimination.  “This story certainly feels like an antebellum South metaphor,” Horizon observed, and JohnPerry chimed in: “It’s always good to find a story that deals with the matter of racism without whitewashing it.”  On the other hoof, Chris pointed out: “It’s not really a story about racism; it’s a story about class.  If Daliér and his dad were earth ponies, they would’ve said that was the uncrossable divide. … The problem isn’t that ‘those kind of ponies’ don’t marry mules; it’s that ‘those kind of ponies’ don’t marry anyone who isn’t ‘those kind of ponies.'”  AugieDog found some middle ground: “Whether it’s about species or race or class, this story is very much about ‘being the outsider,’ about looking in at a group whose opinion of yourself you accept as being more true than your own opinion of yourself.”

Those themes are embodied in a pair of OCs whose layered characterization gave us plenty to dig into.  “I understand why the father personally would stick around as a gardener, but it seems almost like he’s actively trying to force his son away from anything that will make him happy or successful,” Chris said, and JohnPerry argued: “The elder donkey, far from coming across as unenlightened or callous, actually sounds pragmatic and sympathetic. … That illustrates how that divide is often self-enforced through the collective fears or indifference of those who are affected by it.”

As should be obvious from how much the story’s central idea engaged us, we found the depth of To Be A Mule exemplary; that and its clean writing sent it to a feature. “There’s not a whole lot else to say about it, other than it does what it sets out to very well,” Present Perfect said, while JohnPerry was more effusive: “If there’s any complaint I have of this story, it’s that I wanted more at the end. So if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go read the sequels.”

Read on for our author interview, in which archonix discusses statuesque sacrifices, fanfiction dating, and the two types of reading.
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Sharp Spark’s “A Stallion for the Time Being”

10 Friday Jul 2015

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Today’s story just might transform you into a fan of unusual romance.

stallion-for-timeA Stallion For The Time Being
[Romance] [Comedy] • 21,026 words

Minuette is determined to have a nice date with a nice stallion, no matter what that takes.

Twilight Sparkle just wants her to stop wreaking havoc on the time-space continuum.

Things get complicated.

FROM THE CURATORS: “This is the sort of story that could only come out of fanfiction,” Horizon observed as this story was collecting a rare unanimous approval from our team. “The complete absence of non-brain-damaged stallions in Ponyville creates a sequence of events which leads to Twilight Sparkle turning herself into a stallion for a date.  Yes, it’s a textbook Rule 63 romance … but it’s a magnificent mix of earnest and ridiculous; both tones are applied with precision, and the two never get in each other’s way.”

R63 romances have a reputation for shallow fanservice, but there was so much else to like that this drew us all in — even as we disagreed on its strongest features. “The comedy was, for me, the real highlight here … even as it shifts more toward romance in the second half, it never abandons its essential goofiness,” Chris said, and AugieDog seconded that: “Fun all around.”  Present Perfect appreciated the story’s subtle profundity: “I love the ‘what is Twilight the princess of?’ joke, and I adore how much this ends up being about her wrestling with princesshood,” he said.  Horizon loved the prose: “Little touches like the internal monologue over pronouns are highlights of great voicing throughout.”  And, as JohnPerry pointed out, the central story was excellently executed as well.  “Brilliant comedy, with some gentle prods at shipping tropes, and a heartfelt, realized romance to boot,” he said. “This is a story that excels at both its tagged genres.”

All this from a story that started life as a whimsical exploration of the title’s double meaning. “The origin of the title (explained in the Author’s Note in the epilogue) is astounding, and just goes to show what you can accomplish if you’re willing to look at things in a novel light,” Present Perfect said.  We were all impressed by that, but Chris put it most eloquently: “It’s almost the opposite of episode 100.  Rather than take something that, at its best, is heartfelt, and make a joke of it, A Stallion for the Time Being takes a joke of a premise, and makes something heartfelt from that.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Sharp Spark discusses pulp changelings, Type II fun, and President Lyndon B. Johnson.
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