Tag Archives: romance

TheJediMasterEd’s “Beneath Your Feet, What Treasures”

15 Friday May 2015

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Today’s story is a gem worth adding to your collection.

beneath-your-feetBeneath Your Feet, What Treasures
[Romance] [Sad] [Slice of Life] • 1,444 words

Spike has a hoard nopony knows about, something he’s been using to do a dragonish thing in a ponyish way.

But now it’s the other way ’round.

FROM THE CURATORS: It’s always a good sign when the first story an author posts on FIMFiction is a hidden gem — and so much the better if it’s a story about hidden gems, and what they mean to the dragon collecting them. “I was thoroughly impressed that the author found the specific rocks to use in the story,” Present Perfect said.  However, while “rocks are awesome” (as Chris said), there’s more here than a geology lesson. “I have a soft spot for fics which center around extended metaphors,” Chris added.

So what is behind the gleaming facets of Treasures?  “Everything about this story screams ‘Sparity,’ but thankfully, it isn’t that ship,” Present Perfect said.  “It’s a unique look at Spike and his crush on Rarity that doesn’t delve into any of the usual stumbling points.”  JohnPerry saw it from a slightly different angle: “I thoroughly enjoyed this exploration of a child’s fascination with keeping secrets — and the characterization of Spike is excellent here — but to scratch beneath that surface and find a reflection of an outside event so subtly woven in was an immensely rewarding experience.”  Horizon took yet another view: “What distinguishes it here is the twist, and the way that Spike’s ultimate reaction paints him as so alien to the ponies, yet so understandable.  He’s trying to reconcile two worlds. That’s pretty deep for a story about rock collecting.”

That we could so easily come up with different interpretations speaks well of Treasure’s depth. “There’s plenty of understated meaning here,” Horizon said. “It’s clearly in the ‘Twilight Sparkle Makes A Cup Of Tea‘ school of indirect storytelling.”  And ultimately, that adds up to a fic in which there’s a lot to like — even if it takes some effort to tease all of its facets out.  “I confess that I had to reread this one a couple of times to grasp the deeper meaning here, but wow was it worthwhile,” JohnPerry said.

Read on for our author interview, in which TheJediMasterEd discusses Spike vs. Spock, zwilnick hunting, and the give and take of life.
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Daetrin’s “Apotheosis”

09 Friday Jan 2015

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Today’s story is a fandom classic about a journey of discovery — both of the mind and of the heart.

apotheosisApotheosis
[Romance] [Adventure] • 46,300 words

When Twilight is sent with Luna on a diplomatic mission to Draconia, they quickly find themselves somewhere that doesn’t appear on any map, and Luna is lost in more than one way…

FROM THE CURATORS: Although Apotheosis — which is a sequel to the Pony Fiction Vault-featured Off The Edge Of The Map, but features different characters and a standalone plotline — was written in the early days of the fandom, it quickly became clear that it had stood the test of time.  “This one had been on my read later list for ages, and I finally plowed through it the past couple of days. And I gotta say… wow,” JohnPerry said.

While we had some hot debate over the story’s handling of its central romance, there was one issue on which we were unanimous. “You can’t swing a hoof in this story without hitting some truly sublime worldbuilding,” Horizon said.  Chris agreed — “It’s got some of the best, most evocative worldbuilding of any fic I’ve read” — and JohnPerry piled on further superlatives: “These are some of the most vividly described and original settings I’ve ever seen in a fanfic.”

The exemplary construction of the world and its characters — “the basilisk and ouroboros especially,” Present Perfect pointed out — solidly earned this one its feature, but there was a great deal to like beyond that.  “The final chapter is epic as hell,” Present Perfect said.  Horizon praised “the great thematic contrast between Twilight and Luna, reinforcing the long road to redemption Luna has to walk,” and Chris said that “Daetrin’s language use is excellent. … This isn’t just scenery porn.  This fic was a pleasure to read, through and through.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Daetrin discusses silent demons, dancing angels, and seasons of madness.
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Pale Horse’s “Destination Unknown”

19 Friday Dec 2014

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Octavia and Vinyl Scratch are fandom’s classic “odd couple” — and today’s story makes one of them even odder.

destination-unknownDestination Unknown
[Romance] [Alternate Universe] • 4,114 words

Two passengers on a train ride toward an uncertain future. One is a pony. The other only pretends to be.

FROM THE CURATORS: “A little bit of originality can take a fandom trope a long way,” Present Perfect said as we dove into this story, and he was right — Destination Unknown paid off on that promise in spades.  “Vinyl + Octavia is one of the fandom’s most cliché and mismatched pairs, and yet this is a real romance with genuine depth and emotion,” Horizon said.  “This story also made Vinyl more plausible to me as a changeling than as a pony.  It’s rich with little details like the source of her love for dubstep that show a lot of care and craft.  I really appreciate how it plays the two competing clichés off of each other to great effect.”

What sold us on this story was, simply put, the quality of its construction in a crowded field of fanon explorations.  “I think most folks will come away from it with better feelings about fanfiction than they had going in,” Bradel said.  “The execution here is much smoother than I see through most of this fandom.”  Horizon agreed: “This one is simply exemplary on execution.”

While Present Perfect thirded that statement, he went even further — finding the story unexpectedly winning him over.  “The writing is solid, and it’s far more melancholy than romantic,” he said.  “You won’t understand the full gravity of this statement unless you obsessively take notes on my fic recommendation journals, but it’s a ScratchTavia fic I actually like.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Pale Horse discusses crazy lies, dragon development, and following your heart while naked.
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ambion’s “Racing Thoughts”

12 Friday Dec 2014

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A search for love, in all its glory,
Is central to our featured story.

racing-thoughtsRacing Thoughts
[Romance] [Random] • 1,530 words

In a fantastical universe the bastard love-child of Edgar Allen Poe and T.S. Eliot got hooked on ponies.

The resulting poem, pulled through the void, is presented for your reading pleasure.

A (loosely) iambic tetrametric narrative of Twilight Sparkle struggling to understand, accept, and ultimately express, her love for Rainbow Dash.

FROM THE CURATORS: “When I start recommending poetry, you should stand up and take notice,” said Present Perfect, the RCL’s resident curmudgeon, as he brought this story to our attention. “This borrows heavily from the J. Alfred Prufrock school of poetry and excels for having done so. … It all comes down to ‘I hate poetry and I like this.'”

We did take notice — and it broadened our collective horizons, as Bradel affirmed.  “This is probably the first pony poetry I’ve read,” he said. “It’s a lot better than I’d generally expect. The structure lends itself well to the stream of consciousness style, with meter and rhyme scheme shifting in a very natural way throughout the piece.”  Chris agreed: “The pitter-pat flow came through clearly, and the mix of academic language and more conversational tone gave the poem a nice lilt, in addition to making it feel very Twilight.”

That mixture was used to good effect, drawing thoughts of yearning and lust out of a normally analytical character.  The occasional suggestive turn of phrase was a distraction for some of us, but Bradel “found it very endearing. While it’s certainly not out of the ordinary for TwiDash fiction, it provides a few welcome twists in the flow of the poem.”

Overall, Racing Thoughts (which was originally posted as a single complete work, though unrelated poems have since been added to the story) was enjoyable for poetry fans and non-fans alike.  As Present Perfect summarized it: “This guy can poetry. He can poetry good.”

Read on for our author interview, in which ambion discusses noble hobos, signs in the stars, and majestic and subtle ironies.
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Pav Feira’s “All of It, for Her”

14 Friday Nov 2014

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An open-ended search for elusive perfection that may or may not exist: it’s not just the Royal Canterlot Library’s mission statement, it’s also the tale of today’s story.

all-of-itAll of It, for Her
[Romance] [Sad] • 4,386 words

Thirty five years. Been roaming Equestria from town to cloying town, looking for her. Not for lack of trying, mind you. Equestria’s just that big of a place. There’s only so many places left to look, though, and it’d be foolish to throw in the towel already. I’m getting close. So I’ll do the same thing I did yesterday: search.

FROM THE CURATORS: While several of our recent features were written for Equestria Daily’s Outside Insight contest — which brought out amazing work from a broad cross-section of our community — this is an older story that should have been.  “This is one thoroughly under-appreciated fic.  It would have placed in Outside Insight’s top ten for sure, and that’s no small compliment coming from me,” JohnPerry said.  Horizon agreed: “It’s full of nice details throughout,” he said, “like the subtle awkwardness of ponies’ internal struggles with racism, and Cranky’s observations on how their culture has gotten inside his head.”

However, while All of It, for Her has a lot to say about Equestria, along the way it takes an exemplary look at an underappreciated character. “This story gives Cranky a very strong voice,” Chris said.  “His story has always tickled that ‘doomed nobility’ bone for me; the idea of consciously deciding to put your entire life on hold indefinitely, and probably forever, just oozes pathos.”  Upping the ante, JohnPerry said that “the characterization of everyone is absolutely brilliant. … Even the ‘minor’ characters Cranky meets on the way feel fleshed out, and to say that Cranky feels true to the show seems like an understatement: it expands on what we saw in the show, and significantly so. Everything about this brings to light the … I suppose not ‘tragedy,’ but the tragicness of his situation.”

Even that tragedy carried unexpected depth. “This is also thought-provoking in how it uses the context of the show to play with the tone of the story,” Horizon said.  “Taken as self-contained original fiction, it’s a tale of Donkey Xoté, a dreamer who wastes his life on a mad quest … but we know that there’s a payoff to his quest. The entire premise of this character is that it works out, at long last, in Ponyville, and that turns the ending surprisingly bittersweet.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Pav Feira discusses stolen appellations, compelling snark, and the crucial importance of cabbage.
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Golden Vision’s “Desert Rose”

15 Friday Aug 2014

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The sands of today’s story hold a magical and timeless mystery.

desert-roseDesert Rose
[Romance] • 17,452 words

As the prince of Saddle Arabia, Altair wants for nothing, but a chance encounter shows him the one thing that he lacks: love. Desert Rose intrigues and excites him with the mystery of her past and the beauty of her form. Only she can teach him the secrets of the desert: open his eyes to a world with riches beyond gold, and power beyond a scepter.

The sands cannot be caged, but the desert winds will set Altair free.

FROM THE CURATORS: Although this is tagged Romance, the first thing that impressed us about it was how much narrative depth there was beyond the love story.  “(The protagonist) Altair is going on a classic hero’s journey,” Chris said, “but the particular angle is interesting, and the setting is well realized.”  Present Perfect agreed: “It’s got a lovely fairy-tale feel and a very memorable character arc.  I can remember it right now despite having read this months ago.”

Like the previously featured A Faded Touch Of Blue, this “is a great look at Saddle Arabia,” as PresentPerfect put it, with loving attention to worldbuilding that brings the desert nation to life. “The prose is delightful, and the setting is brilliantly realized,” JohnPerry added, “exotic yet conveyed with a certain familiarity at the same time.”

But Desert Rose is exemplary in an entirely different way. “It’s much less nuanced than Faded Touch,” Chris said, “but it’s got evocative writing, fun characters, and a timeless moral.”  That’s because Desert Rose, at heart, is about the mystery of its titular character, and her mystery is a compelling one.  “She’s as intriguing to the reader as she is supposed to be to the protagonist,” JohnPerry said.  “A hearty recommendation from me.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Golden Vision discusses lyrical inspiration, Whooves polarization, and punching evolution in the junk.
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Stereo_Sub’s “RUN”

04 Friday Jul 2014

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Today’s story is, quite simply, poetry in motion.

RUNRUN
[Romance] [Tragedy] [Alternate Universe] • 6,647 words

We were the summer-sunset-wind, warm and wild and untouchable.

We were rulers of a crumbled-down kingdom, prince-and-princess of the sandstone sky.

We were long-day shadows, stretching ourselves dark and blurry past our breaking points and more.

We were pulsing breath-and-blood, flowing fast through veins of buildings and wide-open spaces.

We were rebels rivals friends lovers runners…

Until that moment, that second, when it all fell away.

FROM THE CURATORS: “It’s about an adult Scootaloo and her boyfriend living a high-stakes life of parkour and not giving a f**k about anything,” Present Perfect said when introducing this story to us. And while there was some disagreement on how to summarize it — “It’s about two ponies who can’t live lives where they’re whole, and can’t survive being broken,” Horizon suggested — what we immediately agreed on was the gripping power of the prose.

“This piece marinates in style.  It’s featurable for its narration alone,” Horizon said.  Present Perfect agreed: “The words are thrown like knives, but they’re all on target and everything is just so tight.  This is the first fic I’ve read since White Box that makes good use of textual gimmickry, and the effect is wonderfully kinetic.”  That gimmick — lines with single words shifting the visual direction of the text — “was very well done,” JohnPerry said.  “It never felt hokey in its execution, which is a feat in and of itself.”

But even beyond the surface flash, this found ways to delight us.  “It packed an emotional punch with a very minimalist style,” JohnPerry said. “It takes the ‘Scootaloo as cripple’ idea and actually does something clever with it, and the characters are strangely engaging.”  Though the Alternate Universe tag is well-deserved, that gave it the breathing room to build itself into one of the most approachably literary stories we’ve reviewed.  “The author needs to get off this site and go write a Pulitzer-winning novel,” Present Perfect said, though we’re quite grateful for the ponyfic in the meantime.

Read on for our author interview, in which Stereo_Sub discusses invisible monsters, mutual catharsis, and nocturnal productivity.
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Esle Ynopemos’ “Bitter Harvest”

02 Friday May 2014

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Denial?  Denial?  As today’s story is happy to inform you, that’s nothin’ but a river in Saddle Arabia.

bitter-harvestBitter Harvest
[Romance] [Comedy] [Slice-of-Life] • 17,919 words

Golden Harvest is not jealous. Sure, her neighbor Applejack has a life of adventure and glamor, friends who are national heroes and princesses, an appallingly lucrative share in the local fruit market, and firm, toned flanks. And sure, by contrast, Golden Harvest has been stuck with her snout in the same old muddy patch of carrots pretty much every day since she earned her cutie mark, her best friend is a dentist, and her idea for a ‘Carrot Juice Season’ never really gained much ground for some reason. But Golden Harvest is not jealous.

Not jealous at all.

She just wishes Applejack would stop being so distracting.

FROM THE CURATORS: “I just read the whole thing in one sitting,” Chris said when introducing the story to us, “and my expert analysis would be ‘this was really funny, guys!'”

This was an easy choice for a feature — we unanimously agreed on the story’s hilarity.  “I can’t remember the last time I was so consistently delighted by a long-form comedy,” Horizon said. But it had other strengths to appreciate as well, including its approach to the unrequited sexual tension that drives the plot.  “There’s way more to this story than I ever anticipated,” Present Perfect said. “Sexuality-based stories are both common and poor in this fandom, and it’s nice to finally see one that’s both funny and well thought out.  Esle has a gift for understatement and showing, and that’s where the strengths of this piece lie.”

“I also love the way the ending recontextualizes the unreliable narration,” Horizon added.

Read on for our author interview, in which Esle Ynopemos discusses clingy carrots, nuanced denial, and bitter tops.
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Tofazz’s “A Faded Touch Of Blue”

18 Friday Apr 2014

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When two very different cultures collide, it can feel like an unstoppable force hitting an immovable object.  Today’s story brings us a glimpse at one of the ponies caught in the middle.

faded-touch-2A Faded Touch Of Blue
[Romance] [Sad] [Slice-of-Life] • 13,990 words
[NOTE: This story contains sexual themes.]

Moxie gazed over the stallion in front of her, as the crowd stared at them in turn. Fellow nobles, dignitaries, and her parents had all gathered here, in the balmy mansion of her birth, to witness this occasion. The final words had been said, and they were now officially husband and wife. But she was not happy; this was not her wish.

She ran her hoof down the lock of blue hair entwined in her mane. Her whole life had been decided for her, everything coordinated to the tiniest detail. What she had learnt, how she spent her leisure, who she knew, whose company she enjoyed, whom she had pledged herself to, everything… except the one trip she had taken to Canterlot without the permission of her parents, that is. The glimmering blue strands linger as a testament to her last free action…

FROM THE CURATORS: This is a story about consequences.  Most stories create a series of circumstances that force the protagonist to make choices; this is one of the rare inversions where the main character’s major choice already occurred, and the tension is in seeing the ways that choice spreads out to impact everyone in the rigid, hierarchical culture around her.

One of the story’s strongest features is its nuanced portrayal of that supporting cast.  “I was consistently impressed by how the author neither took the easy way out and made Saddle Arabia the ‘bad guy’ of the story, nor simply played the cultural relativism card and wrote off serious issues as ‘just the way they do things there,'” Chris said. Horizon agreed: “For all that her culture has hurt her, it’s still a culture full of ponies who want to do the right thing in the only way they know how.”

Most of us felt that the central moral question of the story was presented with similar finesse.  “The fact that the reader is left to decide if the hope at the end is real or just another name for resignation (or both) really made this one stick with me,” Chris said.  While our voting for this story was the most polarized we’ve seen out of any of our features, what tipped the balance was Tofazz’s willingness to tackle those questions without flinching: “This is one of those rare stories that feels important,” Present Perfect said. “It feels bigger than me.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Tofazz discusses the speed of names, the theft of dreams, and the evolution of cultures.
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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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