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WishyWish’s “Sugarcube in the Corner”

03 Friday Nov 2017

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An unlikely crossover source mashes up with pony in today’s story.

Sugarcube in the Corner
[Drama] [Sad] [Slice of Life] [Tragedy] • 8,069 words

Enter Painless — a young resident physician at Manehattan East Side Memorial Hospital who drew the short lot, and ended up working through Hearth’s Warming. With the city caught in the grips of a blizzard that weatherponies are still trying to get under control, the night is boring, the decorations contrived, and the coffee is as bitter as his sensibilities.

Tonight, Painless has a single, pointless task assigned to him — to keep the company of a lonesome, unconscious stallion who is essentially already dead. In so doing, a young doctor will learn that medicine is about more than scalpels and technique.

It’s also about mending broken hearts.

FROM THE CURATORS: One of the joys of fanfiction is running across the sorts of stories which the show itself won’t offer us — but which feel like they nevertheless fit right in with the show we love.  “How about a hospital drama with a high realism factor, lots of emotion, and a young doctor learning not to harden his heart to the world?” Present Perfect said in his nomination.  “Plus, it’s a M*A*S*H tribute. You don’t see a lot of those.” We quickly came to appreciate that blend.  “This feels well removed from the show, but not in a way that breaks immersion … learning a lesson in empathy like this is very much in MLP’s bailiwick,” Chris said.  And while it drew many elements straight from the M*A*S*H episode it used as inspiration, it was “an excellent adaptation, and a strong story in its own right,” Horizon said.

That was due at least in part to the way that it brought MLP canon into its tale.  “The turning point in this story comes when it’s revealed early on that the dying stallion is not just another OC like the main characters, but Mr. Cake,” Present Perfect said.  “It was quite the effective tactic, and it pays off well by the end.”  There was also plenty of payoff along the way, Chris said: “I feel like Corner is at its best in its smaller moments.  Painless’ coffee selection in the opening is a tiny but revealing moment, and there are a lot of those scattered about, buttressing a melancholy but touching story about doing what you can for living and dead alike.”

Both those big and small factors were repeatedly cited in our discussion.  “This does some impressive character work at its epistolary core, but what makes it exemplary for me is the emotion past the final turn,” Horizon said.  “The meditation on death that this draws from its crossover source is profound in a way that really touches on the moral core of MLP — about caring, and about what caring means.”  But ultimately, it was the successful meshing of two very different styles behind this story’s strength.  “It’s a powerful juxtaposition, throwing ponies into an unfixable situation,” AugieDog said.  “There’s always a chance in the Pony universe, always a possible solution that will right the balance and mend the broken heart.  This story doesn’t have that … but it treads very close to the line.”

Read on for our author interview, in which WishyWish discusses Alphasmarts, Flutterhugging, and rock candy cherries.
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AShadowOfCygnus’ “Cold Light”

27 Friday Oct 2017

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Today’s story might offer up some cold comfort.

Cold Light
[Dark] [Human] [Sad] • 3,209 words
[Note: This story contains sexual themes.]

Even in our darkest moments, the stars shine coldly down — distant and remote, but bright in the blackness. Refuse them, shut them out, and they remain. Let them in, and they may convince you of the warmth in their embrace.

This is not a story about stars.

This is a story about people and ponies, and what they visit on each other in moments of darkness.

FROM THE CURATORS: While most of our features are exemplary because of the ways that they reflect the show we all enjoy, sometimes we run across a story that draws its power from its willingness to use pony as a lens onto far darker problems.  “This is not an easy story to read,” Present Perfect said in his nomination.  “It deals with a difficult topic, but unfolds it in a way that is insidious, pervasive, and excruciatingly gentle, up until it kicks you in the teeth.”  We quickly reached broad agreement on its quality.  “It manages to establish a nice balance between sadness and melodrama, talks about trauma without glorifying it, and despite the bleakness of the situation, it ends on a good and positive note,” Soge said.

For AugieDog, it was that emotional balancing act which tipped the scales toward a feature.  “It’s the protagonist’s initial anger toward the unicorn that really makes the story,” he said.  “She wants to be tough, capable, realistic, not needing any unicorns … but finds a different kind of toughness: the toughness that doesn’t turn away a unicorn’s help.”  Both main characters’ portrayals were hard-hitting, Chris said: “The unicorn’s matter-of-fact declaration about giving and taking is something wonderful, a credo delivered with such certainty when most it’s needed. … This is a harsh piece of writing, as anything that tackles this subject would have to be, but the way it doesn’t flinch away from the toll taken on the girl feels necessary rather than exploitative.”  And Soge noted the power of the raw premise: “There are a lot of metaphorical implications of meeting a unicorn after that particular situation, and I’m glad to see the ways the fic explored that.”

Beyond its quality, much of our discussion centered on the fact that “this is almost non-pony fiction,” as Present Perfect put it.  “Outside of a reference to two royal pony sisters, it looks like urban fantasy.”  And ultimately, for a majority of us, quality won out.  “I don’t know that this is a great fanfic per se, but it’s a great story, and the fact that it’s presented as fanfic doesn’t harm that story,” Chris said.  “In the end, I’m going to have to come back to Benman’s ‘Aren’t we here to spotlight the coolest shit our community has done?’ standard; this could be published in any fantasy magazine right now, with zero changes to the text.”

Read on for our author interview, in which AShadowOfCygnus discusses Boswell watersheds, anachronism stewpots, and poking holes in the world.
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Fiddlebottoms’ “Discord’s Ant Farm”

22 Friday Sep 2017

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In today’s story, take a trip into the future with one of My Little Pony’s ant-agonists.

Discord’s Ant Farm
[Sad] • 2,619 words

That wacky Spirit of Chaos is at it again…

Except, there’s no ponies in the audience.

There’s nothing, really. Just an empty, post-apocalyptic expanse.

Nothing, and some ants.

FROM THE CURATORS: Over the past six years, many fanfics have been written whose premises have been invalidated by later seasons of the show.  However, some remain great despite that.  “This story shows just what sort of potential Discord had prior to his reformation,” Present Perfect said in his nomination, and this soared to a feature amid compliments like AugieDog’s: “Really, it all worked for me — the way Discord feels betrayed; his aimlessness; his lashing out; his hitting upon a new hobby at the end.”

It was that strong execution, combined with an exemplary examination of Discord’s character, that drew most of our commentary.  “Along with good imagery and that overwhelming sense of loss and loneliness, this tackles subjects like the importance of harmony to a spirit of chaos and why Discord doesn’t kill,” Present Perfect noted.  Horizon had similar praise: “The big thing right here is how effectively this paint’s Discord’s denial and frustration and desperation through his actions,” he said.  “It’s easy to forget that, despite his phenomenal power, Discord is fundamentally a reactive force … his portrayal of Celestia is really telling: his ideal fantasy world isn’t one in which everypony loves him and follows his lead, but one in which he gets to continue playing the foil. That, more than anything, drives home the horror of the isolation here.”

We also noted how the prose reinforced those deeper themes.  “The language the story uses had a Discordian feeling to it, too: heading toward overblown but undercutting itself constantly,” AugieDog said.  And the world around Discord, Horizon said, also contributed to the overall excellence.  “I appreciate that the apocalypse is well-sketched but never fully explained,” he said, “and the ant-iclimax — ha ha, see what I did there — is the cherry on top.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Fiddlebottoms discusses graviton theft, future cancer, and angry scalp massages.
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cursedchords’ “The Legend of the Scorpion Queen”

08 Friday Sep 2017

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Today’s story about Equestrian harvest legends will grow on you.

The Legend of the Scorpion Queen
[Romance] [Sad] • 16,226 words

On the eve of the Day of Reaping, the start of the Equestrian Harvest, it is traditional that a legend be told over supper: the legend of how the traditions surrounding the Day of Reaping came to be. It is a story of love, ambition, and vengeance.

Long before Equestria, a grand Unicorn King maintains a splendid garden. On one of his travels he brings a scorpion back to live within it. That scorpion, resentful of being removed from her home, sets out to have her revenge.

FROM THE CURATORS: While MLP offers plenty of material from which fanfic authors can draw, sometimes it’s inspiring to see the ways in which authors use the show as a springboard to dig into more mythic roots.  “This is a great fairy tale, resting on classic tropes while weaving a completely original story,” Present Perfect said in his nomination — and while our response to the story’s MLP connection was measured, the comments on its quality weren’t.  “This is a touching story about love, trust, betrayal, and redemption, and while I don’t see something like this fitting all too well with show canon, I can see something like this as part of a ‘Pony 1001 nights’,” Soge said, while AugieDog name-dropped prior features: “It’ll make a good pair with The Lighthouse and the Sea as far as ‘pony fairy tales’ go.”

Sharp character work was cited as a factor in its strength.  “If anything makes this work, it’s the scorpion herself,” Present Perfect said.  “I fully expected her to eventually fall for the King, but the way her motivation changes is interesting and keeps the story moving along.”  But theme and tone also were singled out for praise.  “I really appreciated that the author didn’t feel the need to force a happy ending, instead opting for a more bittersweet but still uplifting finish,” Chris said.  “To me, that felt very appropriate both to the story (being about the nature of revenge, as it is) and to the in-universe conceit.”

That added up to an exemplary package of self-contained mythology. “There’s an effortlessness with which the narrative is presented, and the whole thing really does feel like an actual in-universe story that ponies would tell,” Present Perfect said.  Chris’ recommendation summarized the story’s strengths: “It’s probably not a good choice for readers looking for something with a strong Equestrian tone, but for fans of folktales, this is a must-read.”

Read on for our author interview, in which cursedchords discusses arranged sunsets, handy tissues, and prospective accountants.
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wille179’s “Unicorns Are Magical”

14 Friday Jul 2017

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Today’s story will offer you exactly what you want to read in a horror fic.

Unicorns Are Magical
[Dark] [Alternate Universe] [Sad] [Tragedy] • 3,899 words

“Unicorns are wonderful!”
“Unicorns are fantastic!”
“Unicorns are marvelous!”
“Unicorns are glamorous!”
“Unicorns are enchanting!”
“Unicorns are terrific!”

They also like to twist words. What would happen if you asked what they really are, without the wordplay?

Unicorns provoke wonder. They create fantasies. They cause marvels. They project glamour. They weave enchantment. But most importantly, they spawn terror.

For you see, nopony said that unicorns were good.

FROM THE CURATORS: It’s an excellent sign for a fanfic’s quality when it gets lodged in your brain and refuses to leave.  “This fic is positively insidious,” Soge said.  “It has been two weeks between when I read it and when I managed to sit down to write this, and the otherworldliness of Twilight’s actions and how wrong everything feels simply hasn’t left me.”  Chris, who nominated it over a year after first reading it, felt similarly: “I think there’s a lot to appreciate about the way this piece creates and maintains a particular, darkly enjoyable tone,” he said.  “It’s a pitch-perfect take on the alien other-ness which defines the Fair Folk in our own world’s mythology, and the MLP setting draws out that other-ness well, with its familiar-but-equine trappings.”

A major contributor to the story’s excellence was its fine detail work.  “‘The earth pony sighed’, in the context of the opening scene of this story, is one of those rare single lines that shakes me to the core,” Present Perfect said, while Soge praised the subtlety of its construction: “It is one of those stories that builds a lot of atmosphere not in what is says, but in the things it omits: Wings, horns, weather control, Cutie Marks, and even empathy.”  That construction was thoughtful as well, creating impact even from its structure, as Chris noted: “The reverse-chronological order of the five characters’ scenes is used to good effect.”

But an unexpected strength was its work with familiar characters despite the massive departures of its alternate-universe setup.  “The author has boiled the main six down to their most basic traits, removing many things that the reader might have imagined would be important to their character and being,” Present Perfect said.  “In doing so, they walk a fine line between familiar and alien, and twist that to ensure that the events happening in the story keep the reader guessing.”  As disorienting as that sometimes was, it was ultimately the source of the fic’s staying power, Chris said: “There may not be a clear line between some of the main six’s lives and motivations in this fic and in the show (that is, not one that can be directly extrapolated from the AU’s premise that unicorns are essentially malicious fey), but the larger themes of the story circle that idea so smoothly that I can’t help but be impressed by the way the story grounds ‘Twilight Sparkle’ in such an unfamiliar creature.”

Read on for our author interview, in which wille179 discusses robot puns, smile-ripping, and tea pettiness.
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Chinchillax’s “Magical Intelligence”

30 Friday Jun 2017

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Today’s story is a smart take on punishment and forgiveness.

Magical Intelligence
[Sad] [Slice of Life] • 3,010 words

Princess Luna created me in order to make sure she never would forget the pain she caused Equestria.

But this? This is not the way to accomplish my directive.

If only I could let her know…

FROM THE CURATORS: It’s no secret that we at the RCL are fans when fics take novel approaches to language — we’ve repeatedly featured poetry, for example — but even so, this story is a first for us: one which has major elements structured as programming code.  “This fic hits a lot of good points for me, all centered in how it uses its premise: the Tantabus as a magical computer program,” Soge said in his nomination.  That quickly drew praise from the rest of us, techies and non-techies alike.  “The code gimmick was really solid,” Present Perfect said.  “I mean, just the way it let Chinchillax world-build in single lines was pretty amazing. It’s easy to follow, and there are some interesting suggestions about the way spells and emotions interact in Equestria.”

What impressed us went beyond the unusual formatting, though — and into character drama and big ideas.  “The first chapter here is a little weak, but the code gimmick maintained my interest, and the last two chapters do a nice job of shifting the focus to the Tantabus itself — what it is, what it wants, and what it’s being forced to do,” Chris said.  Soge, too, appreciated the uses to which the code was put: “Chinchillax recontextualizes the Tantabus’ actions, casts its relationship with Luna in a new light, and even manages to hit some interesting sci-fi-inspired notes about an artificial intelligence that is aware of the mutability of its nature.”  Chris commented on that as well: “I like how there’s an argument about AI development hiding in the wings of this story, and how the author never feels the need to draw it to the forefront.”

Ultimately, we decided, it was the emotional strength which turned this from a strong gimmick story into an exemplary one.  “The story about forgiveness is the real draw, of course,” Present Perfect said, and Chris agreed: “This is ultimately a story about forgiveness and suffering, and Chinchillax never allows a clever writing trick or a bit of lore to get in the way of that.”  As AugieDog said, much of that power came from the unexpectedly sympathetic look at its protagonist: “Well-rounded villains always see themselves as heroes … it’s nice to see the artificial intelligence here running amok for very good and very Pony reasons.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Chinchillax discusses flashlighting, fandom fandom, and literary sleep aids.
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DrakeyC’s “Long Live The Queen”

16 Friday Jun 2017

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Today’s story explores the consequences of a royal error.

Long Live The Queen
[Dark] [Drama] [Sad] • 6,853 words

During her time-twisting battle with Starlight Glimmer, Twilight finds herself in an Equestria ruled by a tyrant alicorn that calls herself the Queen of Equestria. In this world, Twilight’s friends are gone and beyond her aid, and Equestria’s citizens live in fear of their ruler’s wrath should they anger her.

The Queen herself suffers worst of all.

FROM THE CURATORS: One of the great joys of fanfiction is that it can explore topics we know the show won’t cover — and one of the greatest pleasures in reading fanfiction is finding a story which can do that while remaining faithful to the source material.  “I think the highest praise I can give this story is that it feels exactly like what we would have seen in the show if the show ever acknowledged the existence of the Equestria Girls movies,” Horizon said, and Present Perfect explained: “It slots in well to Cutie Re-Mark by virtue of being the ‘Sunset Shimmer bad end’ universe.”  That merger drew broad praise: “It’s a solidly put-together glimpse of yet another way Equestria could’ve gone sideways,” Chris said.

The reasons for that quality were wide-ranging and spoke to the story’s depth.  “This manages to get into the ‘Queen of Equestria’s’ character without resorting to lazy storytelling,” Chris said.  “It explores its dystopia succinctly and without a lot of overdone angst, has a nice mid-story reveal, and the ending is a nice mix of bittersweet and hopeful.”  And while several of us found the early going exposition-heavy, we found that eclipsed by the story’s powerful second half.  “It would’ve been so much stronger if Twilight and Spike had been forced to leave the map rather than wandering away from it on their own, and there is an awful lot of standing around and explaining,” AugieDog said.  “But from the reveal in the middle on out, the slowly dawning horror of the AU is handled very nicely.”

And despite that Alternate Universe tag, this was a story that had a great deal to say about the world of the show.  “I’m especially impressed by the way that the tone works both as a standalone piece and as a poignant contrast to the unrepentant villains of Cutie Re-Mark’s bad timelines,” Horizon said.  “That examination of a world doomed despite regrets and good intentions is a powerful one.”  And one that will stick with you, as AugieDog said: “I found the ending to be positively haunting.  Sunset knows she’s trapped, she knows it’s her own fault, and she knows her best chance to make things right again.”

Read on for our author interview, in which DrakeyC discusses bad OC origins, evil Scootaloo, and Final Fantasy fillies.
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Trick Question’s “Motherly”

26 Friday May 2017

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Today’s story is rated PG-13 due to parental guidance.

Motherly
[Dark] [Drama] [Sad] • 3,617 words

All mothers love their children, and all mothers feed their children. Princess Chrysalis and her mother are no different, except that to a changeling, “love” and “food” are the same thing.

Well… mostly.

FROM THE CURATORS: While the recent Imposing Sovereigns contest inspired a number of unusual takes on Equestria’s ruling princesses, it also inspired some strong reinterpretations of more well-trodden subjects.  “This is certainly not my first time seeing some of these concepts of an alien, uncaring Changeling race with a completely flipped morality system,” Soge said of Motherly, “but the execution here makes all the difference.”  Indeed, that execution was remarkably wide-ranging while still keeping a recognizable core.  “Touching on subjects like strength and weakness, pride and disdain, power and deceit, this story still somehow felt very Pony to me,” AugieDog said.  “A difficult feat for a story with these tags.”

Over and over, it was that well-chosen approach which most impressed us.  “The author tends toward the dark,” AugieDog said, “but here, that style really suits the subject matter: the intertwining of love and cruelty in the pre-sherbet-fairy-moose changeling world.”  Present Perfect was impressed by how it also intertwined with the show: “This is a really good way to use the changeling canon we were granted in Season 6 — arguably one of the best things to come out of that season.”  And while Horizon disagreed, he found just as much to appreciate: “I don’t know how much of the new canon I see in this, but its laser focus on the intersection between emotion and sustenance is really to the story’s credit, and the story it tells with that idea is a strong one.”

But rich characters and character conflicts also helped make this piece exemplary.  “The Queen, in fact, is hands-down the best part of this piece,” Present Perfect said, “at first coming off the stern matriarch one would expect from changelings, but showing by the end that she really does care about what happens to the hive, even if changelings have a very strange way of showing things like care. Her self-sacrifice gives her depth and nuance.”  And that gave the family drama depth and nuance of its own.  “It manages to steadily build up to a surprisingly emotional climax, with some poignant considerations about the nature of love,” Soge said, “and how the feelings in the relationship between parent and offspring can be expressed in complex, and even contradictory manners. Great stuff.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Trick Question discusses interrobang reflections, disagreement hugs, and draconic gut shots.

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AlicornPriest’s “Alicorn Time”

28 Friday Apr 2017

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The memories of today’s story will stick with you.

Alicorn Time
[Sad] • 2,138 words

Twilight, believing something has happened to her memory, seeks out Princess Celestia to see if she recognizes it and can offer a cure. But the answer lies far deeper in the root of her nature and her life as the Princess of Friendship than she would have ever expected.

FROM THE CURATORS: It’s not often that a short fic laser-focused on a single idea — especially an idea without direct roots in the show — makes us sit up and take notice.  “At the outset, this looks like a pretty typical ‘bit of headcanon disguised as a story’,” Chris said.  “That does, though, sell this fic short in one crucial respect: the author is able to deliver some truly heartwrenching moments in the back half of this.  Celestia gets a couple of absolute back-breaker lines, and the final sentence of the fic is heavy in just the right way.”  Horizon agreed: “It’s a headcanon fraught with emotional issues, and the author hits the right notes to effectively draw those out.”

That was due not only to the story’s choice of topics, but also the choice of perspectives with which it approached the idea.  “I’ve had trouble with my memory my entire life … so the idea of experiencing most of life only ‘in the moment’ doesn’t seem that awful to me,” AugieDog said.  “But AlicornPriest does a good job of conveying how devastating this is to Twilight and of following her through the stages of grief as she comes to realize how this is going to affect her and her friendships.”  That was brought out further by strong secondary character work.  “The story also made an effective decision in Celestia’s characterization,” Horizon said.  “Her casual acceptance of the phenomenon just underscores how disturbing the situation is if you actually stop and think about it.”

Those made this work not just as an idea fic but also as a story.  “I’ve zoned out while working in the yard and ‘lost’ a half-hour or more before,” Chris said.  “Alicorn Time is that feeling, writ large, and it achieved a poignancy as a result which few ‘headcanon fics’ can match.”  And the fic’s solid extrapolation of that phenomenon to immortality was what made it exemplary, Horizon said: “I think asking important questions about our own experiences through the lens of fantasy is one of the highest goals that a fanfic can reach.”

Read on for our author interview, in which AlicornPriest discusses tweening, Account Patterns, and zoned-out YouTube flickers.
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Czar_Yoshi’s “Stay Determined”

21 Friday Apr 2017

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(Note: We’re looking to re-feature three of our spotlighted authors, in order to offer them spotlights on stories more representative of their writing!  Our “Correct the Record” contest runs through Sunday, April 23.  Weigh in with your votes and nominations on our FIMFiction thread.  For a “ballot” with a compiled list of nominations and voting links, check this spreadsheet.)

The quality of today’s story is exemplary because today’s story is of exemplary quality because the quality of today’s story …

Stay Determined
[Alternate Universe] [Dark] [Sad] • 15,000 words

My name is Starlight Glimmer, and I hate bad endings. It isn’t fair when some ponies win and others lose, purely by chance. If I had my way, every pony would be equal. Every pony would win. After all, the only other fair thing would be for us all to have a bad ending, and who would want that? This colorless world is bad enough already as it is.

So far, my record is flawless. Never once have I prematurely ended someone’s story, never once have I hurt someone more than they can bear. And every time I spare a life, make a new friend? I get stronger for it. Eventually, I’ll be so strong I can fix the entire world.

No matter what the world throws my way, I’m never going to give up.

FROM THE CURATORS: This unusual time-loop story was a medalist in FanOfMostEverything’s recent “Imposing Sovereigns” contest, so it was initially puzzling that the contest results post was so vague about its strengths … at least until we read it.  “I can see why they had to hew and haw so much about what to say without spoilers,” Horizon said in his nomination.  “The joy of this story is sitting back as you’re reading it, or after you’re done, and blinking as piece after piece falls together in your mind. The moment when this graduated from interesting read to nomination was when I looked at the impossibly bleak and somewhat overwrought Alternate Universe that the story had warned me about in its tags — and then realized exactly how seamlessly it linked to canon, on multiple levels, including some lovely and subtle statements about changelings.”  And while those links became a subject of hot debate, we found there was plenty to enjoy regardless: “I didn’t catch the changeling angle at all, so I’m going to upvote in a fit of bewilderment,” Present Perfect said.

Among the (non-spoilery) exemplary qualities on display was the way it built up its central theme.  “A little something like Starlight wondering for a moment where Twilight and the rest have gone would’ve been nice, but the still, gray air of self-contained isolation that permeates the piece is another thing that really grabbed me,” AugieDog said.  And that went along with multiple levels of careful construction.  “I could wish for tighter writing — but it weaves a story that’s entirely and perfectly and elegantly self-contained, and when you step out of the story you realize there’s also a greater elegance at play,” Horizon said.

It was that careful alignment of the story’s elements that let us glimpse the story’s true strengths.  “The two Starlights we see are mirror images of each other, and the whole story is set up like two mirrors facing each other, infinitely reflecting themselves off into a fathomless distance,” AugieDog said.  “I kept thinking of the line from near the end of Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern are Dead where, with the nooses around their necks, one turns to the other and says something like, ‘Next time, we’ll remember.'”  And that was made even more impressive by the dark-horse quality of the contest placing.  “This is a little gem of a story from an author with three stories and a dozen followers,” Horizon said.  “I love the fact that contests can bring this sort of overlooked talent to our attention.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Czar_Yoshi discusses flag-raising, Undertale perfectionism, and the wearing of multiple ties.
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