Tag Archives: comedy

Bronetheus’ “Waiting For Celestia”

03 Friday Jul 2015

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If you’re looking for some comedy with a philosophical twist, don’t wait to read today’s story.

waiting-for-celestiaWaiting For Celestia
[Comedy] [Slice of Life] • 6,056 words

After Celestia takes her flying chariot to Ponyville to have an important talk with the new Princess Twilight Sparkle, she teleports back to Canterlot … leaving her charioteers behind. Unsure what else to do in the wake of this improbable, nay, highly unusual, nay, nay, impossible event, the two pegasi have a conversation that leads them to some startling revelations.

FROM THE CURATORS: Appearances can be deceiving with fanfiction — and in this case, there were pleasant surprises behind the façade of the title.  “I’ve never actually seen Waiting for Godot, but this isn’t really a crossover with it, so no worries on that front,” Chris said.  “What it is is a story that moves from absurd comedy to crisis-of-faith in barely 6000 words, and is both funny and thoughtful where it needs to be.”  Present Perfect agreed, adding: “I’m very glad that the author decided to invoke Godot just long enough to subvert it, then put in some actual plot.”

Subverting its source material was a point in Waiting For Celestia’s favor, but it didn’t stop there — and one of the factors in its feature was how memorably it made the tale its own. “It’s been more than a year since I last saw this story, but all its scenes stuck in my notoriously sieve-like brain,” AugieDog said.  Even its send-up of the titular absurdist play was a joy to read: “The image of how the guards communicated while guarding the chariot was, alone, enough to get me liking this story,” Horizon said.

But ultimately, the story’s stand-out feature was the way it first balanced, then merged, the comedy and philosophy, which at first seemed destined for an ungainly collision. “Not only was I engaged all the way through, but I found the ending surprisingly impactful,” JohnPerry said.  “The earlier discussion on the omniscience of Celestia came back in a big way, such that it turned the absurdist nature of the set-up into a surprisingly grounded tale.”  That light touch with philosophy was praised by several curators. “Waiting For Celestia doesn’t try to tackle something as weighty as ‘what does it mean to be seen as deific by those who serve you’ in its entirety, but instead confined itself to what that meant for two ponies, for one night,” Chris said.  “Sometimes, keeping things small is the right way to go.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Bronetheus discusses altruistic struggles, pony charity, and mythic trees.
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Fahrenheit’s “Daring Do(esn’t Need a Special Somepony)”

29 Friday May 2015

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Today’s story offers a sweet deal: a two-for-one sale on action and comedy, with free shipping (while supplies last).

daring-doesntDaring Do(esn’t Need A Special Somepony)
[Romance] [Comedy] [Adventure] • 9,340 words

Hearts and Hooves Day is a sorry excuse for a holiday. Maybe it’s the fact that most of her dates tend to get eaten by manticores, but Daring Do has long since given up on risen above any longing for romance.

But that doesn’t mean she’s not 100% okay with slinking into the Sugar Cloud Confectionery to hit up their sale on rainbow truffles. Hay no. This is her most important quest of the year.

Hopefully it doesn’t end up like last Hearts and Hooves Day.

Stupid Wonderbolt.

FROM THE CURATORS: “I’m not usually much for shipping stories,” Chris said with typical understatement in his nomination, “so when one catches my fancy my thoughts turn to the RCL.” As you might expect, a story good enough to win fans across genre lines sailed through to an easy feature, but we were all surprised at how many things this did right.

“This is basically the literary equivalent of a romance film that incorporates some action sub-plot to keep male audiences from dismissing it as a chick flick.  And by god, does it work.  I haven’t had this much fun reading a story in a while,” JohnPerry said.  Present Perfect, meanwhile, lauded the comedy.  “This was hilarious from the outset,” he said.  “The scene with Daring pulling a wagon and Fleetfoot chucking cushions at guardsponies perfectly sums up just what a ride this is.  It’s ridiculous how well this story works.”  And Chris found the emotions authentic: “What ultimately sold me on this story was the ending.  The way that infatuation, real life, and that ineffable combination of complacency, passivity, and fear-induced laziness combine in that exchange brought everything together for me.”

What it added up to was clear: a strong story from a multi-talented author.  “That Fahrenheit is as skilled with action as with comedy is not something you see every day,” Present Perfect said, while Horizon summed it up: “This story makes a lot of promises, and fulfills them all.  Great characters, some hearty laughs, an unexpected and unexpectedly touching moral … there’s something in this story for everyone.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Fahrenheit discusses meteorological heroes, defenestrated stereotypes, and midnight matchmaking.
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Prak’s “The Life And Death Of April Fool”

30 Friday Jan 2015

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Today’s story offers a whimsical Equestrian take on an equally whimsical holiday.

life-and-deathThe Life And Death Of April Fool
[Comedy] [Slice of Life] • 2,132 words

Under a rock in the Everfree Forest, there lived a pony.

Once a year, she came out to play.

FROM THE CURATORS: While this fic’s title might make it sound like the sort of clickbait that floods in when a holiday rolls around, what’s inside is worth reading at any time of year.  “This one is goofy and whimsical, without ever getting random/stupid or dragging,” Chris said.  “The fun here is in the lighthearted, Equestria-esque surreality that pervades it.”

We all agreed it was exemplary light reading which offered several experiences without breaking its tone.  “The way the narrative switches back and forth between fairy tale, normal comedy fic, and almost nursery rhyme is kind of astounding,” Present Perfect said, and Bradel added: “it never feels off to me, which is almost a wonder.”  Even our doubters found things to be impressed by.  “I’m pretty clearly not the target audience here,” Horizon said, “but the mythology is great, and the ending redeems a lot.”

While it’s difficult to point to a single standout moment, the story earned its feature on the strength of its overall execution — and in how effortlessly pony it felt. “There’s some really clever jokes in here, and the tone is very fitting to the show,” JohnPerry said. “Something about this one just sucks you in by the power of its charm.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Prak discusses extra-dimensional yodeling, reader lobotomies, and the black humor this story almost had.
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Pineta’s “Breaking News and Weather”

23 Friday Jan 2015

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NEWSPAPER PASTICHE EARNS RCL FEATURE
“Superb!” “Tops!” Say Critics

breaking-newsBreaking News And Weather
[Comedy] [Slice of Life] • 4,134 words

Rainbow Dash’s first sonic rainboom makes headlines across Equestria. Every reporter is out to cover the story from their own angle. Sometimes they get it partly right.

She’s going down in history. Maybe.

FROM THE CURATORS: We’ve featured epistolatory stories before, but this is something a little different. “It’s literally a series of newspaper front pages from shortly after Rainbow Dash did her first sonic rainboom,” Chris said, “showing a few different perspectives on what happened, and what followed.  The manner of presentation and the quality of execution are something we should showcase.”  We all agreed on that first impression.  “It’s certainly tops as presentations go,” Present Perfect said, and JohnPerry chimed in: “The presentation is superb.”

But despite the visual-arts triumph of its construction, we’re a fanfiction review group, and what earned Breaking News And Weather its feature was the sharp construction of its prose.  “It’s full of subtle and not-so-subtle wit — like the one student in the school paper who disagreed about the rainbow — and a steady eye toward worldbuilding and internal consistency,” Horizon said.  “It says a lot with details, like the less-than-scrupulous fact-checking with ‘Mr Rainbow Dash.’  Even without the newspaper formatting, it holds together as well as anything else we’ve spotlighted.”  JohnPerry also appreciated its depth: “I admired that you get a wider sense of this world beyond the main story.  The Cloudsdale strike made for a surprisingly compelling sub-plot.”

Add to that a clever critique of the news industry’s foibles, and you have a winner.  “The meta references to real-world papers are excellent, and the little details carefully woven in really made this one shine,” JohnPerry said, and Horizon agreed: “There’s a lot of marvelous content in the meta. … As a former newspaper editor, I might be biased, but this is one of my favorite stories on the site.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Pineta discusses blackboard shots, double-edged swords, and getting out of the house.
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DuncanR’s “Appletheosis”

16 Friday Jan 2015

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Go ahead, take just one little bite of today’s tempting tale …

appletheosisAppletheosis
[Comedy] [Slice of Life] • 18,225 words

Applejack, while surveying the border between Sweet Apple Acres and the Everfree forest, stumbles across a perfectly ordinary, garden-variety talking snake. In an apple tree. The mane six, of course, decide to be neighborly.

What’s the worst that could happen?

FROM THE CURATORS: While the title is almost identical to last week’s feature, this is a very different take on the concept of deification: “a story with religious themes, funny and thoughtful in equal turns, and without any super-depressing grim-dark or blatant preaching,” in the author’s own words.  Our reaction was exemplified by Bradel, who assigned it a top score with a simple “Yup.”

Among the features earning this story its feature — and a rare unanimous vote — was its skillful blending of moods. “This is by turns profound, touching, and hilarious.  It packs in a magnificent range of emotions in its 18,000 words, and none of them feel out of place,” horizon said. Chris also cited the exemplary characterization: “The way everypony reacted to the snake’s attempted temptations perfectly highlighted their characters, without falling back on their Elements as stereotypes.  Most stories would have just given us ‘Dash is Loyal/Rarity is Generous/etc.,’ but this one is actually about those ponies, not just some convenient archetype.”

But, most of all, it was the deft touch with which it explored a deep (and sometimes touchy) subject both respectfully and authentically.  As Present Perfect put it: “This is a bizarre confluence of MLP and the Bible (and other mythologies) in a G1-scented wrapper. If I’m not mistaken, it’s also a deconstruction of the silliness of placing human societal constructs into the world of Equestria. And yet it still explores human religious thought. I just stand in slack-jawed amazement as the ponies refuse to rise to bait that would have ensnared the deepest human intellectual, and it all makes sense … the most amazing thing is Pinkie getting into a theological debate and not even knowing it.”

Read on for our author interview, in which DuncanR discusses unwritten endings, Hitlerjack and Applejesus, and the true north strong and proud.
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Kavonde’s “An Outsider’s Perspective”

24 Friday Oct 2014

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From the dread darkness of Chthonian slumber, from the maddening whispers of voiceless space, comes today’s story of doom.  DOOOOOM!  And makeovers.

outsiders-perspectiveAn Outsider’s Perspective
[Comedy] [Slice of Life] • 5,475 words

A freakish abomination from beyond the fringes of the rational universe emerges from the trackless depths and finds himself in Ponyville.

FROM THE CURATORS: Like last week’s feature, An Outsider’s Perspective was an entry into Equestria Daily’s Outside Insight contest, and quickly rose to stand out from the pack.  “If Moonlight Palaver was the Outside Insight entry I found the most entertaining, this is the one I found the funniest,” JohnPerry said.  “Its absurd premise belies its wit; it looks like a piece of featurebox bait from the cover, but inside is something really clever and wonderful. It’s not often that you come across something that’s this absurd yet feels so true to the tone of the show.”

But when that wit and show-feel are mere supplements to perfectly on-point comedy, it’s easy to understand what makes this fic exemplary.  “This story is so hilarious,” Present Perfect said, and Chris agreed: “It’s fun, funny, and left me in a better mood after reading it.”  Its whimsical melding of Lovecraftian horror and the magic of friendship won Horizon over: “Everything about this brought a smile to my face.  The core idea is so clever and the execution is just so spot-on that you can’t help but like it.”

Ultimately, it was that tongues-in-the-many-cheeks-of-the-gibbering-faces-of-horror tone which sold us on the piece.  “I’ve never seen comedic juxtaposition done so well,” Present Perfect said.  “It really stood apart on the merits of using such a dark non-pony character and playing it for laughs.  This was one of my absolute favorites from Outside Insight.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Kavonde discusses grandiose monologues, death rays, and Lovecraft hats.
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Carabas’ “Moonlight Palaver”

17 Friday Oct 2014

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They say that politics is like making sausage — and today’s story puts Equestria’s neighbors through the grinder.

moonlight-palaverMoonlight Palaver
[Comedy] [Slice of Life] • 6,851 words

Upon Nightmare Moon’s return, the leaders of other nations gather to discuss the situation. 

They’re not especially happy about it.

FROM THE CURATORS: “This might have been the most entertaining story I read in Equestria Daily’s Outside Insight contest, which is saying a lot,” JohnPerry told us when he nominated this story. “The worldbuilding is exquisite, with brilliant little details scattered throughout.  The dialogue is superbly written.  And even though the ending is a foregone conclusion, it’s an absolute delight. Start to finish, this one is just a whole lot of fun.”

It didn’t take long for us to agree — in fact, Moonlight Palaver set a record for our fastest-approved nomination (at 6 hours, 37 minutes).  “I bumped this up my reading list, and I’m glad I did,” Chris said, while Present Perfect found it immediately memorable: “I haven’t read this story since round 2 of the official Outside Insight voting, and I can still remember it perfectly. … There’s always something missing when writers start making their own species, or giving show races nations, but not this time.”

Beyond the marvelous worldbuilding, Moonlight Palaver also distinguished itself as “one of the best examples of non-pony politics I think I’ve ever read,” as Present Perfect put it.  Ultimately, the intricate interplay between the personal and the political brought both the politics and the story to life.  “This does a great job of showing that greed and habit are the cockroaches of sentience, outlasting even the grandest thermonuclear blasts,” Chris said.  “And yet, the fic never loses its essential humor, nor does it trivialize the potential disaster facing the delegates — except, of course, to show how they have trivialized it.  It’s funny, it’s clever, and it never lets those two things get in the way of its respect for its characters and the setting.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Carabas discusses ploutering, Perralt, and prompts promoting plausible political pondering.

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anowack’s “The Princess Of Books”

01 Friday Aug 2014

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The next time you want to write comedy mixed with a thoughtful moral lesson, today’s story is a great one to take a page from.

princess-of-booksThe Princess Of Books
[Comedy] [Slice of Life] • 17,954 words

Celestia had a problem. Somepony wrote a novel about Nightmare Moon’s rebellion. This made Luna quite unhappy, and unfortunately for her sister, Luna has not yet gotten the hang of modern traditions like freedom of speech, the abolition of the death penalty, and not bothering Princess Celestia when she’s trying to sleep.

Fortunately, Celestia also had a faithful student, one who is now a Princess with an ill-defined portfolio and perfectly capable of dispensing justice by the laws of both today and one thousand years ago.

Now Twilight Sparkle has a problem.

FROM THE CURATORS: We found The Princess Of Books not only entertaining, but exemplary on two levels.  The first was how its tale of remedial Lunar education felt remarkably faithful to the show itself.  “Though the comedy tag certainly fits, it isn’t laugh-out-loud, but it is a rather masterful mixture of light humor and show-tone slice of life, with just a hint of going beyond the show’s boundaries in ways that make sense,” Present Perfect said. “It’s also an excellent look at Twilight adjusting to her role as a princess in ways that mirror what we’ve seen in season 4, despite having been published prior to it.”  Part of that excellence was its well-roundedness: “It includes all of the mane six without feeling bogged down,” JohnPerry said.

Its other exemplary feature was, as Horizon put it, “the story’s core maturity” in its examination of the issue of censorship (which remains all too relevant in our own world). “It’s refreshing to find a story with a strong moral that doesn’t overplay its hand,” JohnPerry said, and Chris agreed: “The lesson at the end was a great mix of blunt, important, and thoughtful.” Amid all its silliness, it treats its characters and their decisions with respect: “Twilight’s presented with several easy outs, any one of which could have plausibly worked given the conceits of canon, but refuses them and stands on principle, to everyone’s immediate discomfort and ultimate benefit,” Horizon said. “Aside from Luna’s early anachronistic wrath, everyone acts reasonable, and the different sides of the conflict are all presented as having legitimate reasons driving their actions.”

Those conflicts end up escalating into a climax and epilogue that “made me want to stand up and cheer,” Horizon said, and Present Perfect agreed: “The ending is rather unexpectedly epic.”

Read on for our author interview, in which anowack discusses meta-goals, mythological gifts, and mixing morality and grins.
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Titanium Dragon’s “The Collected Poems of Maud Pie”

11 Friday Jul 2014

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Today’s story is about rocks.  It’s about lots of different kinds of rocks.  Because not all rocks are the same.

The Collected Poems of Maud Pie
[Comedy] [Random] • 1,018 words

Maud Pie has written thousands of poems.

Here are some of her poems.

They’re about rocks.

FROM THE CURATORS: When you think about Maud’s poetry, if you do at all, you probably don’t think of it as anything more than a gag about Maud’s emotionless obsession with rocks.  This story nails that joke; Horizon said it “works on the level of a character study; it’s a reflection of its dull, singleminded author.”

But there’s more here than just a thousand words worth of dull.  As Chris explained, “it starts off with just enough of what you’d expect to set the rest up as variations on that theme, and Farming Rocks was such a perfect and unexpectedly serious poem that… well, that I remember the name without even clicking the link to the story.”  Horizon concurred: “A piece like “Farming Rocks” sneaks up on you, just when you had your expectations set, and blows you away,” and highlighted several other poems that catch the reader off-guard in a refreshingly thoughtful way.

But whether it’s being stolid or surprisingly deep, the one thing this story always was was entertaining and well-written.  JohnPerry said “the poems themselves are actually really well-written, and do an excellent job capturing the voice of Maud Pie.” Horizon added, “the occasional author’s note, and the author’s contributions to the comments section, both reinforce the voice of the poems”; Chris concluded “These are clever, memorable, funny, and as many other superlatives as you want to throw out there.”  

Besides, as JohnPerry put it when he nominated this story: “it’s Maud Pie. Do I really need to say more?”

Read on for our author interview, in which Titanium Dragon talks about how overrated gold is in the D&D draconiverse, the importance of being an editor, and what he has in common with James McAuley and Harold Stewart.
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KitsuneRisu’s “Twilight, There’s a Ghost in Your Basement”

27 Friday Jun 2014

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Today’s story is a stirring, inspirational tale about courage in the face of the unknown … or, more accurately, the complete lack thereof.

twilight-ghostTwilight, There’s A Ghost In Your Basement
[Comedy] [Drama] [Mystery] • 8,636 words

Twilight firmly believes that ghosts belong in the realm of fantasy. But after multiple brushes with the supernatural in her home, she turns to the one pony who can help. Now Fluttershy, Twilight and Spike must banish the spirit before it starts flinging her pans and clogging the toilets.

FROM THE CURATORS: “I spent my lunch break today desperately trying not to break out into laughter as I read this story,” Chris said with the vote that earned this story its feature. “Kitsune’s got a way with deliciously ridiculous metaphors which puts a neat little bow on the jokes proper.”  The rest of us agreed.  “It’s certainly funny,” Present Perfect said, “a remarkable example of wordplay.”

It also shone in its thoughtful presentation of the characters. “My goodness, Twilight and Spike had the perfect, funny but real brother-sister dynamic going the whole way through,” Chris said.  Horizon appreciated that more broadly: “There are some magnificent character moments for Twilight that come out of nowhere and leave an impact regardless. … Digging into characters’ heads in a comedy takes some tonal juggling, but it keeps all the balls in the air.”

Our disagreement over this fic centered, of all things, on ladybugs.  “The scene with the ladybug tiptoes over the line from funny into simply bizarre, but it’s that same straight-faced presentation of the absurd that led to some of the moments I found most hysterical,” Horizon said. Chris countered: “By the ladybug’s fourth or fifth mention, the sheer contrast it made to the events proper (and the fic’s dogged insistence on including it) had me nearly in stitches.”  And Present Perfect offered a laconic dissent: “What.”

Read on for our author interview, in which KitsuneRisu discusses Twist, pie, mud, and the unholy fusion of two creatures that should never have seen the light of day.
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