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

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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