Today’s story doesn’t have long to make its point, but wow, what an impact it’ll leave.

Queen Of Queens
[Dark] [Drama] • 15,000 words

Our kind has it that the life of a queen is the happiest, for they are blessed with the shortest time in this world. A mighty queen will be remembered for eternity, forever residing in the hearts of her people. The greatest tragedy a queen can suffer is to be forgotten — to be stricken from history.

I refuse to bend before oblivion.

FROM THE CURATORS: Given the number of authors that entered Equestria Daily’s recent Outside Insight contest (and the quality of their prose), it’s no surprise that it’s been a rich source of RCL features — but what did surprise us was the breadth of the entries’ quality.  Our last two features spotlighted the humorous end of the entries, but Queen of Queens is pure drama, with a tale of struggle and redemption.  We unanimously agreed: what a drama it is.

“Now here’s an author who knows what they’re doing. The story of Chrysalis, from birth to death, is an unparalleled feat of worldbuilding,” Present Perfect said, and the first words out of JohnPerry were similar: “Absolutely exquisite worldbuilding.”  Chris dug further in: “This is how you do worldbuilding.  You make a couple of original assumptions that can still fit within the canon lore, and then you examine them to their fullest conclusions.  [Queen of Queens’ changelings] are an amazing example of race-building in fiction — alien, yet recognizable enough to inspire empathy.”

The core concept — that, in contrast to mortal ponykind with its immortal alicorns, the changelings are an immortal race with short-lived leaders — was “an amazing idea, with sterling execution,” as Horizon put it; but this story went well beyond that.  “It’s not often I get to see a sympathetic portrayal of Chrysalis that doesn’t make me roll my eyes,” JohnPerry said, but as Chris said, “she’s a compelling, interesting character despite the reserved narrative style. … Her fatal flaw is well-established without being sledgehammer-y, and that makes the ending (which, in lesser hands, would have felt like a copout) seem sincere.”

All of this, plus the engaging prose, added up to a gripping and unique fanfiction experience.  “I drank this down in one sitting and never once felt my mind wander,” Chris said. “The entire story feels wonderfully, vibrantly alive.”

Read on for our author interview, in which JawJoe discusses holiday episodes, games of make-believe, and self-imposed existential nightmares.

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