Tag Archives: dark

Starsong’s “413 Mulberry Lane: A Report (With Annotations by Twilight Sparkle)”

30 Friday Dec 2016

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Today’s story opens the door on some unsettling revelations.

413-mulberry413 Mulberry Lane: A Report (With Annotations by Twilight Sparkle)
[Dark] • 9,377 words
[NOTE: This story contains brief mention of sexual themes.]

A student of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns stumbles upon a mysterious house in the streets of Canterlot, only to find it abandoned. Once the door has been opened, it can never truly be shut. Once the house has accepted him, he can never escape it.

His only hope lies hidden in the deepest chambers of Canterlot Palace, in this manuscript.

FROM THE CURATORS: Normally, it’s difficult for a love-it-or-hate-it piece to make it through our vetting process, but as we debated 413 Mulberry Lane, it accumulated so many superlatives (and multiple top scores) that there was never any question it was headed for a feature.  “This is the most unsettling horror I’ve read in a long time,” Horizon said, while Soge’s praise was equally glowing: “The atmosphere, the pacing, the descriptions, everything is pitch perfect.  Three years after first reading it, the sense of wrongness emanating from the house still struck me just from seeing the title.”

Part of that was the methodical way it approached the mysteries of the titular house.  “This is a really creepy piece, an excellent example of exploratory horror,” Present Perfect said.  “It melds science and magic in the Equestrian setting with otherworldly wrongness to create a haunting sense in the reader.”  Chris agreed: “It really shows how to use ‘dry’ writing effectively and with purpose.  It’s unsettling without resorting to gore or shocks, though it’s got some good surprises up its sleeves.”  And the more we dug into the story, the more it rewarded us.  “I love when a work makes me wonder if the errors are intentional, and this really pulls that off,” Soge said.  “The water closet on the second floor, the lack of a 9th note, and the inconsistencies about the guards.”  Chris noted that as a strength, as well: “There are so many hints of unreliable narrator, both obvious and subtle, going at least three levels deep.”

What it added up to was a piece whose full impact snuck up on you once you immersed yourself in its story.  “The house’s siren song is that it’s demonstrably possible to interact with it and walk away unscathed, and since there are so many unanswered mysteries here, you want to dig even further in,” Horizon said.  “Then, as soon as you take a step back, the realization hits and a chill runs up your spine.  If you’d been there, you’d be one of its victims.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Starsong discusses sunscreen, soundstone creation, and leafy houses.
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Bootsy Slickmane’s “My Queen”

02 Friday Dec 2016

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Today’s story shines a light on a dark relationship.

my-queenMy Queen
[Dark] • 1,659 words

She comes to me at night, sometimes, just when I think I may have fallen asleep. I’ve never known why or how, but in time, I stopped questioning her for the things we share. Call it an unspoken understanding that we have. A symbiosis. A silent accord, there in the dark, and I didn’t press for any more. On one such lonely night, however, I get a little bit bolder.

FROM THE CURATORS: Although dark changeling stories may seem a little passé in our age of rainbow-sherbet antelope-bugs, this brief tale takes that classic darkness and runs with it.  “This is a faerie tale, sort of a pony version of ‘Cupid and Psyche’ or even ‘Beauty and the Beast’,” AugieDog said.  “But it’s a lot bleaker than either of those … slick and dark and very nicely doom-laden.”  Chris had similar praise: “It creates a very effective atmosphere in scant words, before ending on a dark, evocative last line.”

He wasn’t the only one to remark on atmosphere — in fact, that was our most common compliment about the story.  “The atmosphere was well realized, the connections to succubi are welcome, and I love how unreliable the narrator is in his feelings for the changeling,” Soge said.  Horizon was another voice in that chorus: “Good short fics have to choose one thing to do really well, and this makes the wise decision to focus on atmosphere, building up an effectively tight and tense mood,” he said.  “I think that’s exactly why the Chrysalis reveal works, even though that ‘twist’ is obvious going in.”

But it’s not just the atmosphere — this is also packed with excellent prose and voicing.  “It’s full of great imagery, and our narrator really gets across that sense of taking pleasure in something so outwardly wrong,” Present Perfect said.  Indeed, that unreliable narration prompted the central question raised by the story.  “My Queen really gets inside the narrator’s head as it examines his sense of dependence,” Chris said.  “It leaves a nice ambiguity as to how much of that is his visitor’s doing … just how much did he gild his own cage?”

Read on for our author interview, in which Bootsy Slickmane discusses plastic trophies, pet commentary, and cobwebbed children.
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SaddlesoapOpera’s “A New Age”

26 Saturday Nov 2016

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Today’s story lets us hear some voices from Equestria’s past.

A New Age
[Dark] [Drama] • 14,963 words

In the closing days of the Pre-Classical Era, at the dawn of the rule of the Royal Pony Sisters, the devastation of Discord’s cruelty hits hard and leaves an open wound. As the young and inexperienced Princesses Celestia and Luna struggle to keep the peace, powerful figures in all three Pony tribes bridle at the upstart Alicorns who so quickly and easily claimed power…

FROM THE CURATORS: Epistolary stories present a number of unique problems to a writer, but sometimes confining the narrative to letters written by the characters is the best approach to take.  And when Soge praised this story for “managing to showcase a variety of points of view from a number of very distinctive characters, all of which have great voicing and believable motivations,” the rest of us had to agree.

“Absolutely necessary from a storytelling perspective,” Chris said, while Present Perfect called attention to “the variety of media… the stories told, the multiple crumbling tragedies” and called the whole piece “unspeakably awesome.”

“The characters are perfectly voiced throughout,” AugieDog noted with Chris calling them “sometimes petty, sometimes poignant, but invariably fascinating.” “The way that the author weaves in and out of show canon, while simultaneously doing a ton of world building was particularly masterful,” Soge concluded. “But what really clinched the nomination for me is how, from so many disparate parts, a full narrative emerges.”

Read on for our author interview, in which SaddlesoapOpera discusses fictional vacuums, plausible reliability, and the earthy aspects of earth ponies.
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Rinnaul’s “No One Goes There”

21 Friday Oct 2016

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As Nightmare Night approaches, don’t forget to get some subtle scares from today’s story.

no-one-goes-thereNo One Goes There
[Dark] [Horror] • 2,483 words

A broad, clear path runs through a deep wood on the far side of Ponyville.

No one goes there.

Four young colts want to know why.

FROM THE CURATORS: FIMFiction.net has a few tags that we at the RCL don’t track in our story summaries, so there’s one exceptional thing about this week’s feature that isn’t reflected above — it’s a horror fic rated “E” for Everyone.  And while (like any dark story) parents might want to review this before sharing with children, No One Goes There does a remarkable job of subtly selling those conflicting tags.  “It’s your classic ‘kids go into spooky woods’ story, but what makes it so effective is that you might not even notice anything’s wrong until well after the bad things start happening,” Present Perfect said.  “It completely undersells its horror, leaving the fridge horror strong by the ending.”

Both that light touch and the story’s tight focus earned curator praise.  “Bravo to Rinnaul for keeping this tight and bare,” Chris said.  “Just like the best horror movies don’t show you too much, often the best horror stories are understated and light on explication.”  And despite that apparent simplicity, this still served up some surprises.  “I have to praise the elegant way it snuck the twist past me,” Horizon said.  “It actually took me until the light went out to realize what was going on, even though on second read the story wasn’t being dishonest about the action in the slightest.  And when the horseshoe dropped, everything fell together so tightly.”

That tight construction was a recurring theme in our discussion — there were so many elements that came together to enhance the effect.  “Damn fine work with the atmosphere,” Soge said.  “This is a truly unsettling fic, all the more impressive given how little actually happens.”  That was due to its fine balance, Horizon said: “While the colts’ light slice-of-lifey banter might seem like padding, it’s crucial to construct the facade, and it feels neither sparse nor boring nor drawn-out.”  Ultimately, as Present Perfect put it, “I have come to the conclusion that Rinnaul is a name worth paying attention to, and this story shows why.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Rinnaul discusses curator research, crucial tones, and Amtgard personas.
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Glimmervoid’s “At the Mountains of Discord”

14 Friday Oct 2016

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Today’s story delves into Secrets Ponies Weren’t Meant To Know.

mountains-of-discordAt the Mountains of Discord
[Adventure] [Crossover] [Dark] • 40,699 words

North of bountiful Equestria and beyond the Crystal Empire lies an icy land of cryptic mystery. Its inner reaches have never been explored, but a Canterlot University expedition is set to change this. The plan is simple: penetrate the unknown depths of the Uncharted North and discover its most hidden secrets.

It’s a noble undertaking, but a dark cloud looms on the horizon. Princess Luna’s dreams have revealed a great but shadowy threat. To minimise the danger, Princess Celestia requests that her most loyal student, Twilight Sparkle, join the expedition and keep everypony safe. With the aid of her number one assistant, Spike, and mailmare Derpy Hooves, Twilight will attempt to do exactly that.

FROM THE CURATORS: “Somehow, Lovecraft crossovers seem to become a small but integral part of every fandom,” Chris said when introducing this story to us.  “I never was particularly enamored of Lovecraft’s writing … this, however, is very nice.”  It didn’t take long for us to agree.  “I was pretty much sold on this one by the end of the first chapter,” Horizon said. “Strong worldbuilding is so crucial to an adventure that shows us the world beyond Equestria, and this has that in spades — not just in translating Lovecraft to Equestria, but in all the original material that reconciles and expands the two.”

That was best exemplified by this story’s attention to detail, Horizon said: “‘The Stormwalds.’ ‘Svalbarding.’ ‘Aeolipyle’ as the airship name — it was the word used to describe the Greek world’s first steam engine, and Aeolus was the god of the wind. Oh, man, so much care has gone into this.” But it wasn’t just the mythology that drew us in.  “Even beyond that, it’s the hints of essential Equestrianity,” Chris said, “from big stuff like the use of magic to tiny asides like ‘feathers sounded against coat, that uniquely pegasus sound that spoke to their dual natures’ to everything about Derpy in this story.”  And while the Lovecraftian prose was a challenge for some of us, AugieDog thought it fit the story well: “It’s got a great narrative voice, the way it mixes the Twilight we know from the show with those hapless first-person narrators who inhabit most of Lovecraft’s stuff.”

That mixing, in fact, was what we unanimously agreed to be the biggest strength.  “This shines when it expands beyond its inspiration, and makes itself its own,” Chris said. “This is no mere ponification, and the way this story uses the Elder Ones, and how it reveals more about them and their creations, is deliciously enticing.” Horizon agreed: “Its commentary on the relationship between ponies and Elder Ones is really remarkable — and it does some fascinating things as a fusion of two messages about the nature of reality that by all rights should be incompatible.” In summary, as AugieDog put it, that fusion was exemplary: “That the author manages to combine Lovecraft and Pony without either completely destroying the other is just this side of sorcery.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Glimmervoid discusses occult computers, Roman sacrifices, and the flowing rivers of fandom.

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JohnPerry’s “The Wreck”

29 Friday Jul 2016

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Lose yourself in today’s story about a boat that’s more than it seems.

the-wreckThe Wreck
[Dark] [Drama] [Mystery] • 13,126 words

A.K. Yearling leads a quiet, peaceful life as a novelist living in Canterlot with her fiancé.

But recently, she has been haunted by dreams of a strange shipwreck, and she doesn’t know why.

FROM THE CURATORS: JohnPerry left the fandom (and the RCL) some time ago, but we weren’t going to let that stop us from featuring The Wreck, given the wide-ranging quality of its tale.  “It’s quite an amazing piece, given the intersection of dream, desire, adventure, writer’s block and mystery,” Present Perfect said, while Soge had nothing but praise: “Very creative, amazing imagery, great characterization, and a surreal plot which ties up in the best way possible.”

We had some difficulty, in fact, finding the most praiseworthy part of this tale of A.K. Yearling’s journey of self-discovery.  AugieDog thought it was the character deconstruction: “JP’s take on the idea that A.K. Yearling and Daring Do are the same pony is just plain perfectly realized,” he said, “exploring not only which of the two is the original and dominant personality but also which of them would honestly envy the other.”  Horizon appreciated the unfolding of the mystery: “The construction here is impressive.  For instance, there’s a part of the story which seemed subtly wrong to me until I realized that the wrongness had been foreshadowing an important reveal that caught me off guard.”  And Present Perfect appreciated the way it reforged canon: “It proves that Daring Don’t didn’t rob the fandom of its ability to interpret Daring Do to their heart’s content.”

What we agreed on was that — despite its strong opening — this story kept finding ways to up the stakes and close even stronger.  “The whole thing kicks into high gear in Chapter 4 and stays gripping till the end,” Horizon said, and Present Perfect added: “The way it unfolds is quite the experience, with a strong, relatable moral at the end.”

Read on for our author interview, in which JohnPerry discusses sympathetic actors, Steven Universe, and suffering feature boxes.
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Protopony350’s “Twilight is Annoyed”

15 Friday Jul 2016

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Twilight stars — reluctantly — in today’s featured story.

twilight-is-annoyedTwilight is Annoyed
[Dark] [Tragedy] • 2,429 words

Twilight has been alone for a long time. She’s not sure how long anymore, but the color of the sun is giving her some ideas.

Twilight stopped dreaming a long time ago, but she is now plagued by visions. Visions of the past. Visions of the worst moments of her life.

Twilight is feeling really annoyed right now.

FROM THE CURATORS: As longtime ponyfic readers, we are always looking for something a little different — so when Present Perfect noted in his nomination that “I can’t say I’ve read a dark fic quite like this before,” the strong execution of this story’s style brought us around to quick agreement on its feature.  “I’ll call it another example of Pony horror done right,” AugieDog opined, while Soge praised its freshness: “It is a clever idea, a more-or-less by-the-books take on ImmorTwilight that still manages to bring something new to the table.”

That novelty was in this story’s memorable depiction of its protagonist.  “I really love how the author chose to represent Twilight, and establish her inner conflict,” Soge said, and Horizon agreed: “The way this pulls off its slow reveal while keeping Twilight broken and unmoored is a big thing right.”  The prose was a major contributor to that.  “What works best is the sentence structure,” Present Perfect said.  “So many begin with ‘Twilight’, which just drives home how alone she is. Her actions are choppy, there’s little in the way of transition from one to the next, which along with her constant repeating of actions sells her fractured and damaged mind.”

Oddly, we found ourselves approaching the story’s laconic, direct style rather differently.  “A little more subtlety would have gone a long way here,” Soge said.  “However, it is a striking, memorable fic, able to convey much through style and atmosphere.”  AugieDog admired its restraint, though: “The way everything’s so tamped-down here — the emotions, the language, the storyline, the grammar — it just all works really well.”  And Chris disagreed with them both: “I say, there’s nothing wrong with hitting the reader over the head with a two-by-four as long as you let them hold the wackin’ stick themselves,” he said.  “Subtle? No. But even as it abandons nuance, it still gives the reader freedom.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Protopony350 discusses breadcrumbs, robot obsessions, and double-necked guitars.

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Arad’s “Stardust”

10 Friday Jun 2016

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Today’s story shows us what stars do: they shine.

stardustStardust
[Crossover] [Dark] [Human] • 216,600 words

Isolated from her friends and taken prisoner in the middle of a war, Twilight must deal with the very real dangers of being perceived as an enemy as well as the nightmares of her arrival on ‘Earth’.  Can she overcome her own fears and the fears of her captors?  Will the wayward unicorn’s assistance be a boon or a curse to the ‘humans?’  Most importantly, will she ever find her way home?

FROM THE CURATORS: Lengthy stories like this sometimes languish in our queue for a while, as we all try to make time to read them around our jobs and other hobbies, but Stardust sailed through, from nomination to approval, in less than a week.  “I was looking for something of doorstop length to sink into this weekend,” commented Augiedog, “and this one did the trick quite nicely.”  Chris also noted how easy it was to devour, saying, “This is a story that does an excellent job of holding the reader’s interest, despite its length and wide-ranging plot.”

Although this is a video game crossover, we all agreed that it did an excellent job of being accessible.  “I think that familiarity with the source material isn’t really necessary,” said Soge in his nomination, and the rest of us were quick to confirm as much.  “As someone with only the vaguest of ideas what XCOM is,” said Chris, “I can attest from personal experience that this holds up well even for the non-gamers among us.”  Augie, meanwhile, noted that he couldn’t tell which of “the humans here comes from the game or from the author’s imagination.”

But of course, this is a story about ponies, and especially about Twilight Sparkle.  “Twilight’s characterization remains solid throughout, slowly adapting to her new environment and her experience,” said Soge.  Chris agreed, noting that “her curiosity, naivete, and general desire to be helpful are all key story elements, and all fit her character well.”  And we found elements of the show to appreciate even beyond the main character, with Augie noting that “the story also contains one of the best renditions of Discord I’ve ever read,” and Chris praising its tone, calling it “a long-form story that uses interspecies war as a backdrop, but friendship and basic human decency as its raison d’etre.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Arad discusses plotbugs, whim purchases, and weaponized unicorns.
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Dubs Rewatcher’s “Something Like Laughter”

28 Saturday May 2016

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Though there’s little to laugh about in it, today’s story is quite something.

something-like-laughterSomething Like Laughter
[Dark] [Drama] [Slice of Life] • 4,027 words

It’s been six months since Tirek was defeated, but Trixie still has nightmares. Nightmares of being pinned down, of the magic being ripped from her bones, of being thrown around like a worthless doll. It’s been six months since Trixie has had a full night’s sleep, and all she wants is peace.

But Trixie is fine. Trixie doesn’t need Twilight. She doesn’t need her family. She doesn’t need anyone. Trixie loves being alone.

So why can’t she stop crying?

FROM THE CURATORS: This is “not just a story about Trixie dealing with having had her magic stripped from her by Tirek,” as Present Perfect put it, but one that takes a broader look at her troubled character.  And “it works very well,” as Soge put it, “in showing how Trixie is trapped in her cycle of depression and trauma.”  Present Perfect added: “I’ve never seen a more topical, in-universe way to approach the tired old ‘sad Trixie story’ trope. I definitely felt this one, and what makes it work is the layering of emotional states.”

It certainly hit us hard on that level.  “This just plain pulls out all the stops, taking the character up to the breaking point and right on through,” AugieDog said.  “The language, the pacing, the structure: it all comes together in a portrait of a pony literally and figuratively thrown against a wall and trying desperately to bounce back.”  Chris said that the strong prose was a major contributing factor to that: “Dubs has a knack for vivid descriptions, and uses the immediacy of present tense to good effect.  I always appreciate it when an author’s choice of perspective dovetails so nicely with the story’s design, rather than feeling arbitrary.”  Present Perfect also praised the writing: “I liked the way it’s never quite clear how far inside her head we are. Things like the cut-off sentences are very effective in keeping the reader off balance, which only helps drive home how chaotic her mindset is.”  And while the story’s prose choices were its most notable feature, it was well constructed on a much broader level.  “There’s plenty to like,” Soge said.  “The stream of consciousness writing, that clever shift at the end, how it seamlessly transits between reality and the dream in chapter 1, and Trixie’s characterization as a whole.”

Given all that, it might be surprising to learn that this was written and published long before Trixie’s recent reappearance — and even more so to read it with that context in mind.  “We often talk about stories that have been invalidated by canon, but here’s a rare case where post-publication episodes actually enhance the story,” Chris said.  “With Starlight Glimmer now clearly established as Twilight’s live-in student, Trixie’s feelings of inadequacy and resentment here take on new depth.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Dubs Rewatcher discusses sunlight allegiances, musical superpowers, and the life-changing effects of fandom.
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N00813’s “Schemering Sintel”

22 Friday Apr 2016

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Today’s story walks the lonely road to revenge.

schemering-sintelSchemering Sintel
[Adventure] [Dark] [Drama] [Sad] [Tragedy] • 29,611 words

It’s been a long, long time since Spike was stolen from her, but Twilight hasn’t forgotten nor forgiven.  After a long and arduous journey, she has finally found him and his kidnapper.

She will save him.

No matter the cost.

FROM THE CURATORS: While Schemering Sintel doesn’t flinch from its Dark tag, it’s “a very clever grim fic,” as Soge put it:  “It is a great example of how to twist a character beyond recognition without alienating the audience.”  Indeed, it was the way that the story handled its vision of a morally altered Twilight which drew the most curator praise.  “Where this piece excels is showing,” Present Perfect said.  “It’s not just a story about Twilight finding Spike, but about her changing over an extreme period of time filled with hardship. And that change is shown perfectly in the final chapters, when it seems like the plot has finished, but the story is still going.”  Chris agreed: “This is character development done right.  Twilight’s dual growth and collapse as a character doesn’t stop at any one point … the dramatic moments are simply waypoints that show what she’s become.”

We also found the construction of the world around Twilight worthy of note.  “It’s a great fantasy adventure,” Present Perfect said, “from the unfriendly civilizations Twilight encounters to the beautifully-described landscapes and the cool stuff like her mythril tattoos.”  Horizon also praised that worldbuilding: “There are some really unique ideas here that feel uniquely Equestrian while supporting a tone we’d never see in the show.”  But in the end, Soge said, it came back to the strong writing of that world’s inhabitants: “It is an adventure that focuses on character rather than action, and is all the stronger for that.”

It was that strength which has kept Schemering Sintel relevant despite its vision of Equestria becoming increasingly obsolete with newer seasons’ canon.  “I think it’s interesting to note to what extent this story is a product of its time,” Chris said.  “The broader world of Equestria wasn’t nearly as well fleshed out before Season 3; I don’t think you could write a story with a similar tone today without doing significantly more to set the stage for all the violence, cynical choices, etc.  But viewed in the light of the first two seasons, this holds up extremely well as a glimpse of how the world can silence our better angels.”

Read on for our author interview, in which N00813 discusses friendship entropy, thematic architecture, and glued-together pieces.
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