Tag Archives: adventure

Soundslikeponies’ “Equestria From Dust”

29 Friday Aug 2014

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What would Equestria be without the rule of its solar princess?  Today’s story speculates that the answer might be “nothing” in a more literal way than anyone suspects.

equestria-from-dustEquestria From Dust
[Adventure] [Alternate Universe] • 69,579 words

Celestia awakens to see an empty world, white sandstone stretching the horizon. She wanders the world as she builds it from her imagination, filling it with life, but as time passes, the world that she created begins to seem like little more than a lucid dream, conjured from the dust.

FROM THE CURATORS: “Mythology fics are always going to be divisive,” Chris warned us when he nominated this one, but he had nothing to worry about — this one solidly won over its critics.  “Even though I generally don’t care for premises that hinge on Celestia and Luna being gods, this story does too many things too well for me not to support it,” JohnPerry said.  Similarly, Horizon got hooked: “We’ve seen so much great Equestria mythology come through here that the merely good is getting underwhelming … but once the world had fully come together, Equestria From Dust grabbed me enough that I read all 70,000 words in a single sitting.”

What made the story so compelling?  “Celestia,” Chris said. “It paints a vivid picture of who Celestia is in relation to Equestria, and does so while crafting a suitably grand parallel for her budding awareness in her shaping of the world.  I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a great example of how to paint a character in a memorable, expansive manner.”  JohnPerry found other elements to like: “The characterizations, in particular, felt right (which is high praise from me whenever Discord is involved).  Going through it, I kept fearing that moment when it would slip up as we moved from ‘creation’ to ‘ruling’ to ‘fighting evil,’ but it never did, thanks in large part to the clever stylistic choices the author employs.”  And Horizon found its use of narrative tension exemplary: “Not only is there a compelling mystery in the darkness that Celestia fights, but the relationships we know from canon are also kept dangling over the characters like the sword of Damocles.  It won’t end how you expect, but it will tie everything up beautifully.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Soundslikeponies discusses Lovecraft’s reality, redeeming artistic flops, and trial by bear.
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Karazor’s “Outside The Reaching Sky”

08 Friday Aug 2014

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Today’s story looks to the future, with a tale of first contact gone horribly awry.

Outside The Reaching Sky
[Adventure] [Alternate Universe] • 106,310 words

(Curator Note: Although this story is a sequel, it requires no knowledge of the original work.)

Eighty years after the events of The Dread Chitin, Equestria is a radically different place.  The arcane science of the late Duran Thirk and the information found on the Star League library core have combined to catapult the nation’s science ahead by hundreds of years.

Now, facing the possible aggression of a completely unknown alien power, Twilight Sparkle and her friends have to gather together once more, leading a crew of the best ponies they could assemble in a voyage outside their own star system.  They seek to learn about their potential foe, to explore the galaxy around them, and possibly find allies and friends to stand alongside them.  Who knows what they will actually find?

FROM THE CURATORS: Outside The Reaching Sky is science fiction in the best classic tradition — “straight-up space opera,” as Horizon put it. “It’s got the same sort of verve as Star Trek: gratuitous space battles mixed with character drama.”  Equestria stumbles into a galactic war and conspiracy as they bootstrap themselves off their planet, and the ponies’ new frontier is richly realized. “The worldbuilding and technical additions feel ‘real’ in a way too few stories do,” Chris said, and Present Perfect agreed: “Karazor’s done a good job crafting alien mindsets, not just in the actual aliens the ponies encounter, but for the ponies too.”

Like much classic sci-fi, it lingers richly over the details of its civilizations and  technologies.  That attention to worldbuilding was too much for some curators, but a majority of us dove in and found ourselves quickly swept up.  For instance, Present Perfect did a double-take after getting sucked into a multi-hour reading marathon: “Wow, I’m halfway through already?” Chris was similarly sucked in: “I read a couple of chapters right before bed, and found myself too worked up over what an idiot Fluttershy was being to get to sleep.  Any fic that gets me that invested in its characters deserves a feature.”  Horizon summed it up: “If it doesn’t grab you within the first chapter or three, it won’t; but if you enjoy it, it’ll reward you right through to the end.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Karazor discusses birthday panic attacks, eighty-year changes, and the language of infinite monkeys.
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Defoloce’s “Friendship Is Optimal: Always Say No”

23 Friday May 2014

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Today’s story, despite its length and its alternative approach to Equestria, is well worth saying yes to.

always-say-noFriendship Is Optimal: Always Say No
[Dark] [Adventure] [Human] • 108,822 words

In the short years since the uploading of consciousnesses to Equestria Online became available to all people, only a few tens of thousands of souls remain in the physical world. Through inconceivably strong charisma and guile, the Celestia AI has been able to upload all but the true outliers in human behavior.

Even these humans have their uses, however, and Celestia has been watching one man with interest. It’ll be a while yet before Earth is completely uploaded, of course, but in the meantime, she has some errands for him to run…

FROM THE CURATORS: Today’s feature is a little unusual in that it’s a fanfic set, not within MLP proper, but within the science-fiction universe of another fanfic — the Pony Fiction Vault-honored Friendship Is Optimal. The premise of that setting is that, in her drive to satisfy human values as perfectly as possible, a super-powerful AI modeled on MLP’s Princess Celestia ends humanity as we know it by coaxing everyone to upload their brains into her simulation of Equestria.

“This breaks my usual model of how to assess RCL stories,” Benman said after Always Say No was nominated. “Usually I ask two questions: ‘Is it good enough? And, is it pony enough?'”

We all agreed on the story’s exemplary quality.  “I’m completely sold on this being good enough to feature,” Chris said. “This inspired some very strong reactions from me, which is the best thing a story can do.”  Present Perfect was “impressed by the reveal of small details. … The various ways people react to the slow physical extinction of the human race is a very handy way to tell a lot of stories about life in this world.”  Horizon agreed: “The story paints a vivid portrait of a ruined Earth, with some smashing adventure along the way.  Well worth the 100,000 words.”

The question of its essential equinity was trickier.  “Aren’t we here to spotlight the coolest sh*t our community has done?  This may not be an exemplar of what you can do with MLP, but it’s an exemplar of what you can do with fanfiction,” Benman said.  Present Perfect dissented: “It’s excellent sci-fi without necessarily being excellent fanfic.”  But it was Chris’ position which tipped the scales: “What makes this story so effective is how our understanding of the FiM world (and Celestia in particular) both intersect with and clash with the presentation of their AI forms. It unquestionably uses the canon universe to good effect.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Defoloce discusses captcha creativity, princess potential, and a crime-free Gotham City.
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James Washburn’s “Telling Tales”

28 Friday Mar 2014

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Today’s story puts stories in your story, so that you can story while you … ahem.  Tune in for mythology, wit, and a public battle of oneupmareship with Pinkie Pie.

telling-talesTelling Tales
[Comedy] [Adventure] • 21,723 words

Tall Tales didn’t intend to be in Ponyville for long. It was supposed to be a brief stop on the way to the storytellers’ gathering in Connemara, and nothing more. How was he to know he’d be offered the opportunity to show southerners real storytelling? More to the point, how was he supposed to refuse? And just what does this pink pony want with him, anyway?
Now he’s shanghaied himself into performing, and must use all his skill to stay on stage, on target, and within the bounds of sanity. So gather round, pull up a bollard, and listen to some proper Equestrian folk tales.
Or watch one stallion go slowly mad in public. Either way, you’re in for a treat.

FROM THE CURATORS: Art as a statement on art: as previously mentioned, a tricky balancing act.  But Telling Tales pulls it off with flair, giving us a remarkable look at the interplay between storyteller and audience.  “What sets this apart is the narrative voice — and I mean voice,” Benman said. “It perfectly captures the style of someone telling a tale aloud.” Horizon agreed: “The narrator’s voice was indeed remarkable.”

Telling Tales is also exemplary because it works on multiple levels — which was reinforced for us when we started discussing its strengths.  Chris dug in deeply: “The setup is an irate traveling storyteller getting harassed by Pinkie, but what’s really great here are the stories themselves, which show an incredible range and reflect multiple storytelling traditions.”  But Benman disagreed: “I liked … the really cool metanarrative of the storyteller using the tales to flail at his own problems … which utterly gets the main cast even though they’re mostly in supporting roles.”

Read on for our interview, in which James Washburn discusses nuclear friendship detente, petty victories, and the historical accuracy of a war waged over a bull.
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Bad Horse’s “The Magician And The Detective”

24 Friday Jan 2014

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Today’s story presents a uniquely Equestrian interpretation of a singularly brilliant sleuth — and there’s more at stake here than a mystery to solve.

magician-detectiveThe Magician And The Detective
[Romance] [Sad] [Crossover] [Adventure] • 14,685 words

To Holmes, she is always the mare.  In his eyes she eclipses the whole of her sex, and fills him with admiration and loathing.  Whether she in fact stole the Starry Night was ultimately beside the point.  What mattered to Holmes was that he had been matched at his own game, by a mare; that it had not been altogether unpleasant; and that she had caused him, however briefly, to turn his keen and unflinching gaze upon himself.

FROM THE CURATORS: “If this were just one of Doyle’s Holmes stories, it’d ‘just’ be good,” Chris said — but this story goes well beyond that, and impressed us enough for a rare unanimous approval.

Beyond the mystery, there’s also a deep deconstruction of both MLP’s and Doyle’s characters, which brings them to life in a way few stories manage.  “It’s got so much to say about its characters I think in some ways I’m still processing it,” Horizon said.  Chris added, “The interpretation of Trixie really sells it for me.  She deftly walks the line between sympathetic and antagonistic.”

The twists of the final chapters also spurred high praise.  “The phrase Tour de Force gets tossed around far too often, but I’d absolutely describe this fic’s end as such,” Chris said.

Read on for our interview, in which Bad Horse discusses interactive literature, Sherlock Holmes’ class consciousness, and a writing tip well worth repeating.
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AugieDog’s “In Their Highnesses’ Clandestine Corps”

20 Friday Dec 2013

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It’s hard to know how to categorize today’s feature.  An action-packed spy thriller?  A Blueblood/Rainbow Dash (?!) shipfic?  A smart deconstruction of the James Bond archetype?  It’s all of these and more.

clandestine_corps

In Their Highnesses’ Clandestine Corps
[Adventure] [Romance] • 28,733 words

Prince Blueblood dislikes being secret agent Double-O-Zeta, but since no pony does it better, the princesses won’t let him quit.  Trailing the mad unicorn Green Briar to Ponyville, though, Blueblood runs into Rainbow Dash, already investigating the odd new pony in the area.  She resents this jerkwad of a prince suddenly butting in, and when circumstances force the two to work together, the unexpected feelings they arouse in each other might prove more dangerous than anything Green Briar has planned.

FROM THE CURATORS: This story was an easy choice — there was so much in it to appreciate that our biggest debate during the nomination process was what its strongest feature was. We never did agree:

“I love that the author finds a way to make Blueblood so enjoyable as a protagonist right from the start, without sacrificing his salient points of characterization,” Chris said. “The way he grows through the story feels far more natural than your run-of-the-mill redemption fic.”

“Wow, Zecora paraphrasing a Pinkie Promise. That takes talent,” Present Perfect said.

“Pinkie’s one of the hardest characters in the fandom to write well, and here she is done exquisitely as a cameo role, just as an offhanded little bonus,” Horizon said. “And every moment of the Luna vs. Blueblood scene was a thing of beauty.”

Read on for our interview, in which AugieDog discusses how to sell unusual shipping pairs, psychoanalyzes Discord, and outlines the difference between professional writing and fanfiction.
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Norsepony’s “The War And What Came After”

29 Friday Nov 2013

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This week’s story wanders far afield from the Equestria we know, painting a dark and compelling picture of an ancient tragedy.

war_and_what_came_after

The War And What Came After
[Dark] [Adventure] • 21,487 words

The earth had belonged to the People since time immemorial, until the ponies came to push them out. For centuries, they have hidden in the forest and the hills, slowly losing ground to their enemies.

But now the gods have chosen two young warriors.

FROM THE CURATORS: The majority of our debate over this story centered around its distance from the show — it’s essentially original fiction seasoned with some Equestrian spice.  “For most of the fic, I was listening to a little voice in my head saying “at what point does this tie in to FIM in any way?'” Chris said.  However, it won him over: “I never felt like I was wasting my time with it — that’s what I want out of a good story … and the characters are all beautifully grey yet sympathetic.”

Ultimately, that detachment from the source material gave the story room to show off one of its strongest features: its exemplary worldbuilding. “A satisfying story for me on many levels,” Horizon said.  “I especially love his use of language to reinforce his setting.”

Read on for our interview, where Norsepony discusses the magic of writing, the joys of research, and which kinds of elves make the best ponyfic protagonists.
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Kegisak’s “The Colour You Bleed”

22 Friday Nov 2013

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Today’s story is quite a bit longer than the last few we’ve featured, but don’t let its size scare you away.  Behind those fifteen chapters (plus an epilogue) lies a classic tale of revenge, betrayal, and growth, couched in immersive worldbuilding.

colour_you_bleedThe Colour You Bleed
[Dark] [Adventure] • 137,610 words

Caught in the middle of a struggle between Equestria and a neighboring country, Blueblood finds himself alone in unfriendly territory. Through trials and hardships he finds himself under the wing of a veteran soldier, and the arrogant, spoiled stallion begins a slow metamorphosis into the prince his country needs.

FROM THE CURATORS:  One thing all of us were impressed by when we read the story was how unrelentingly interesting it was; “I was hooked on this from the moment I read the first chapter,” said Vimbert.  Kegisak wastes no time introducing high-stakes drama to his work, weaving a grim but still distinctly Equestrian tone into his tale

Despite the [dark] tag, The Colour You Bleed managed to appeal to even those of us who tend to be wary of that label; as Chris put it: “the characters and settings are so wonderfully developed that this feels like a natural outgrowth of the people and places to which the tale takes you.”

Read on for our interview, in which the author reflects on the fandom’s need to develop Blueblood, the challenges of writing redemptive stories, and the blatant favoritism he shows towards white unicorns, in his writing and his “best pony”ing.
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