Tag Archives: sad

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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Newtaloo’s “A Fragile Heart”

17 Friday Apr 2015

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Often, the littlest detail can tell a story — and today’s feature teases out a compelling and emotional tale from one such frozen moment.

fragile-heartA Fragile Heart
[Sad] [Slice of Life] • 2,511 words

A short story about waiting, hay fries, and the dangers of space and silence in matters of the heart.

Takes place in the background of “Twilight Time”.

FROM THE CURATORS: To describe this as “a short and simple tale about a guy waiting in a restaurant,” as Horizon did in his nomination, is true but utterly misleading: it hit us so squarely in the feels that it went from nominee to feature in a record-shattering 39 minutes.

A Fragile Heart was exemplary in that it was “bitter, but not saccharine,” JohnPerry said.  “It’s the sort of sad story I really love: one that sells its emotions without resorting to hammering you over the head with them.”  Present Perfect agreed.  “Little things like the pause burning in the back of his throat really sell the emotion,” he said.  “There’s something to be said for being able to wring sadness out of a typo on the menu.”

Those emotions were in service of a beautifully nuanced portrayal of the protagonist’s troubled romance.  “Its look at the main character’s relationship in all its complexity — the good and the bad, the raw and the precious — balances the story between tragedy and closure,” Horizon said, while Present Perfect was more direct: “All the things he doesn’t say are heartwrenching.  I felt so bad for this guy.”

Another highlight of the story’s strong prose was a Pinkie Pie appearance that was “sweet but not cloying,” in Horizon’s words.  Present Perfect added that her appearance was “patently ridiculous in a perfectly Pinkie way. … In another story, it would pull you out of the sad feelings, but in this one, it just serves to show that, yeah, life goes on.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Newtaloo discusses ear math, sad fries, and bag gulls.
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Fable Scroll’s “The Sisters’ Coronet”

10 Friday Apr 2015

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Two crowns for two sisters, in two different senses of the word: today’s story is a double accomplishment.

sisters-coronetThe Sisters’ Coronet
[Sad] • 1,923 words

A collection of poems about Luna’s growing discontent, her fall, and her eventual return and redemption.

FROM THE CURATORS: Structured poetry requires a very different approach to reading than prose — being willing to slow down and savor the imagery, the rhythm, and the sound of the language, not just the tale being told — but there was no question in our minds that this was a piece which rewards that effort.  “I’m recommending this on ‘it’s damned good poetry’ grounds,” Present Perfect said.  “Oh my, yes,” JohnPerry responded, and Chris chimed in: “I am completely in awe.”

What primarily provoked that reaction was the mind-blowing technical achievement of the structure of the piece.  “It’s a double heroic crown of sonnets,” Horizon said, and explained: “First you write a sonnet (a 14-line poem with tight metrical and rhyme requirements).  Then you write 13 more sonnets expanding on the same theme.  Then you take the first line of each one, string them together, and furiously edit your poems until that’s also a proper sonnet, and you’ve got a heroic crown.  THEN, to double it, you take the last line of each one, string those together, and fiddle with your poems until THAT’S a proper sonnet too.  If you think that sounds like a ridiculous amount of work for 2,000 ponywords, you’re beginning to understand.”

As you might expect from an author capable of such a feat, the construction of the piece was impeccable.  “The rhymes were all perfect. There was maybe one foot that felt out of place,” Present Perfect said.  However, as Chris noted, the construction wasn’t the only element to appreciate.  “If it was ‘just’ a double heroic crown, it would still be worth celebrating simply for the quality of its craftsmanship,” he said, “but it manages on top of that to tell a meaningful story, and to find a place for itself within the history of its setting, and to utilize that place to say something about its principal characters.”

Ultimately, Horizon said, this was worth celebrating despite its daunting first impression. “Highbrow poetry can be a tough sell,” he said, “but the bottom line is, I’ve never seen anything else like this, in this fandom or any other.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Fable Scroll discusses simple ponies, untapped potential, and offering comfort via time-travel.
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GhostOfHeraclitus’ “Twilight Sparkle Makes A Cup Of Tea”

13 Friday Mar 2015

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Today’s story brews up some potent emotions.

Twilight Sparkle Makes A Cup Of Tea
[Sad] [Slice of Life] • 1,671 words

cup-of-teaEarly one morning, Twilight Sparkle gets up to make some tea.

Sometimes, a cup of tea is just a cup of tea. This is not one of those times.

FROM THE CURATORS: “Yeah, it’s another one of those fics,” Present Perfect said when he nominated the story. “A ‘Pony Does X’ that has no need for a more thought-provoking title, and a story where tea is just the be-all and end-all of everything.”  Appearances, of course, can be deceiving — and beneath the surface clichés lies a story that’s “quietly poignant, and dense in a way that’s a joy to unfold,” as Horizon put it.

A large part of what makes it exemplary is the measured way the story dribbles out. “It traipses along spilling its secrets without putting them together for the reader, and it left me feeling like I’d been tapped by the unknowable finger of God,” Present Perfect said, and Horizon added: “This is one of the finest pieces of indirect storytelling you’ll ever read.  Ghost has written a story that’s a pony-shaped hole.”  Chris, meanwhile, complimented the story’s balance between brevity and depth: “I believe that there’s no best length for stories, but that every specific story has a best length, and Ghost of Heraclitus found it here.”

Cup of Tea‘s other core strength is an authentic look at a pony out of her depth.  “This felt more like a scientific experiment than a hallowed tradition, but that’s because Twilight is approaching her daily ritual as a scientific experiment, one in which science can provide no answer,” JohnPerry said. “She’s grasping at something — the nostalgia of her youth and the memories of her mentor — and she wants to recapture it. And being Twilight, she attempts to do so the only way she knows how.”

While Twilight might be blindly flailing for answers, the clues are all there for us. “There’s something to be said for the ending,” Present Perfect said.  “It peters out like the last few drops poured from a teapot, as if to say, ‘You’ve got all the pieces, you figure them out.'”

Read on for our author interview, in which GhostOfHeraclitus discusses Twilight as confessor, the cut of genoas, and reading irresponsibly.

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Cupcakes’ “Shutdown”

20 Friday Feb 2015

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Today’s story is a classic from early 2012, making it one of the fandom’s longest goodbyes.

shutdownShutdown
[Sad] • 2,783 words

“Would you tell anypony if you knew the world was going to end, Twilight Sparkle?”

FROM THE CURATORS: Shutdown is one of the earliest fanfics about Equestria as a virtual world, but it has withstood the test of time.  “It’s an intriguing premise,” JohnPerry said, and Horizon looked at the bigger picture: “It uses worldbuilding and fragments of dialogue very effectively to feel like a tiny piece of a much larger story.”  Chris agreed. “Shutdown succeeds in hinting at the broader setting of the piece without resorting to mood-breaking infodumps,” he said, “and that sense of reserve is welcome in a story like this.”

That sense of reserve extended to the piece’s emotional impact. “It would have been easy to make this scenario overwrought, and I’m glad it doesn’t do that,” JohnPerry said.  We found that quiet-yet-effective presentation to be one of the story’s strongest features. “Instead of trying to drown us in the emotions of the characters, it’s characterized by the lack of resolution that accompanies real tragedy, and draws its feelings from that sense of powerlessness in the grander sweep of things,” Horizon said.

Beyond that, Shutdown follows the finest traditions of speculative fiction: “It raises a lot of questions that stick in your craw,” Horizon said, and Present Perfect added: “This explores well a number of diverse topics — the nature of reality, fandoms, online communities and their eventual cessation, how we relate to fictional characters, the powerlessness of fans to protect their favorite properties from the creators’ whims, copyright law, letting go… Geez, it doesn’t stop giving you things to think about.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Cupcakes discusses rebootenings, Dunesteefs, and Twilightosity.
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A Hoof-ful of Dust’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”

14 Saturday Feb 2015

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Though today’s story isn’t about a winner, you’ll find the story itself certainly is one.

harder-betterHarder, Better, Faster, Stronger
[Sad] • 1,055 words

The Equestria Games honor the best of the best. But for there to be winners, there must be losers.

FROM THE CURATORS: This is, as Present Perfect put it, “a well-built behind-the-scenes look at a scene from the show through the eyes of a griffon. … It feels like an exercise in imagery, but has a surprising amount going on.”

We’ve previously featured several stories at FIMFiction’s 1,000-word minimum threshold, and at that length, using every word effectively is crucial — a lesson Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger takes to heart. “It’s always impressive to me when an author can paint a picture of a character, a species, or a culture that quickly, and that’s where this story shines,” Chris said.  JohnPerry agreed: “It’s strikingly evocative for something so short.”

What’s even more striking — and a major factor in its feature — is its use of indirect storytelling for its emotional impact. “It sets something up and tears it down, letting the story be told in the background,” Present Perfect said, and Horizon concurred: “Half the story is a description of the gryphon’s hotel room, but not a word is wasted.”  JohnPerry also praised the story’s depth. “I appreciate how the narrow focus on the narrator character leaves a lot to interpretation,” he said. “There’s layers upon layers to explore in this one, and in barely over a thousand words that’s quite the accomplishment.”

Read on for our author interview, in which A Hoof-ful of Dust discusses the wizardry of words, the golden age of television, and random acts of Derpy.
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Chuckfinley’s “A Persimmon Spring”

07 Saturday Feb 2015

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“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” the ancient proverb says.  In today’s story, that relationship goes a little deeper.

persimmon-springA Persimmon Spring
[Sad] [Dark] [Alternate Universe] • 2,935 words

I, Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings, was a paragon of my kind. I was the greatest military ruler my people have ever known. I was mere months from conquering the most prosperous nation in the world.

Then a strange dragon rose from the stone, and everything changed.

I do not think of conquest any more. Now, I think of persimmons.

FROM THE CURATORS: Exemplary Alternate Universe stories require walking a fine line — balancing events that contradict the show with the familiar characters and themes that readers love about it — and A Persimmon Spring rises to meet that challenge.  “It’s a great idea — a memoir, with elements of romance, about a very nuanced and powerful Chrysalis dealing with Discord’s reappearance in the midst of her attempted takeover of Canterlot,” Present Perfect explained.  Horizon marveled at its thematic balancing act: “It feels very much like a pony story despite the essential grimness of the setting.”

We unanimously agreed on the story’s emotional power.  “I love how the author uses the ‘little’ things, like Hythacine and the titular persimmon,” Chris said.  JohnPerry opined that “[the Chrysalis/Shining relationship] is one of those all-too-rare instances of romance written with a distinctly mature tone,” and Bradel agreed: “I’m in love with the way Chuckfinley threads the Chrysalis/Cadance juxtaposition throughout.”  Present Perfect’s admiration was more wide-ranging: “I loved the narrative voice. It’s a good example of world-building with limited resources.”

The construction of the alternate-universe elements provoked some curator dissent, but Horizon’s position was typical of our majority. “The AU didn’t bother me at all,” he said, “but I’m coming from a sci-fi background, where you learn to go in willing to spot the story its core premise and then see what cool things it does with it.  This easily passes the cool threshold.”  Even those who disagreed never had any doubt about the quality of the writing. “The presentation of the AU leaves one feeling like there’s a lot being left out,” JohnPerry said, “but judging it strictly on its own, this fic is brilliant.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Chuckfinley discusses Bruce Campbell’s names, George Orwell’s porn advice, and Genghis Khan’s life lessons.
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CascadeJackal’s “Dream”

28 Friday Nov 2014

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Today’s story is a thing of beauty.

dreamDream
[Sad] • 3,252 words

Sometimes, dreams are all we have. Sometimes, that’s enough.

Hidden deep within a maze, well away from prying eyes, there is a statue. The last great work of an artist long forgotten, her time-worn visage watches the raising and setting of the sun and the moon as though enraptured.

Who created such a marvel, this sculpture of copper and brass, of crystal and cog, and why, is unknown, lost to the mists of time … until now.

This is the tale of a painter and a clockmaker, and the love they shared.

This is the tale of a dreamer, who knew only her dream.

FROM THE CURATORS: Dream is “one part fairy tale and one part adventure, wrapped around lyrical, flawless prose and some really powerful storytelling,” as Present Perfect said, and that combination easily won over our hearts.  “This is one of the best stories I’ve seen in a good, long while,” Chris said.

One of the major contributors to that was a unique and exemplary narrative voice.  “The prose in this is just perfect,” JohnPerry said.  “Never too much detail, never too little, always just the right amount to evoke that sense of awe and wonder that makes it so powerful.”  Chris agreed: “There’s a tricky balance to maintain when writing a story where the narrator is a character, and the author absolutely nails it.  The addressing of the reader at the start evokes just the right sense of fairytale wonder, and the clipped but vivid descriptions call to mind a mix of grandeur and ephemeralness which perfectly complements the tale being told.”

But the story is more than the sum of its prose.  “The ideas tackled are big ones — what is beauty? — and the ending gave me a bunch of feels,” Present Perfect said.  “I was shocked to find out it was only 3,000 words long; it feels so much grander.”  JohnPerry summed it up: “The fact that the author can evoke so much out of so few words is amazing.”

Read on for our author interview, in which CascadeJackal discusses fairy tale situations, villainous infatuations, and appellation combinations.
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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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Cynewulf’s “When The Levee Breaks”

26 Friday Sep 2014

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They say you can’t go home again — but in today’s story, making that effort might be Daring Do’s most important adventure yet.

levee-breaksWhen The Levee Breaks
[Sad] • 6,581 words

Daring Do returns to the Riverlands, the home she left behind years ago. On the road to the farm where she was born, she wonders if you can ever truly escape the past. Sometimes, the river comes up, the levee breaks, and you have no place to stay. No amount of crying can stop its inevitable progress.

FROM THE CURATORS: Many Sad fics tug at the heartstrings, but there’s something special about this tale of a wandering archaeologist returning to her roots. “I literally broke down crying,” Horizon said. “It is rare literature that gets me that invested, but Levee’s sense of place, its rural despair and displacement, just sucked me right in.”  We all agreed on its exemplary approach to that homecoming.  “It’s a very emotional story,” JohnPerry said. “It’s full of regret and loss amid the core theme of ‘you can never go home,’ but it always feels right in its tone. Never overwrought or sappy, but with a distinct maturity that makes one feel that Cynewulf knows what he’s talking about.”

That power alone would have earned it a feature, but there was even more to appreciate here — such as the story’s tightly-woven presentation.  “Everywhere in the story the themes layer on top of each other like fertile flood-plain soil,” Horizon said.  “The ambiguity and pain of outgrowing your roots, and confronting it all at once like lancing a boil. How Daring’s childhood made her what she is, and the inexplicable difficulty of leaving that behind. The river that claims ponies, and the cycle of life it creates.”

The author’s “magnificent writing,” as Present Perfect put it, illuminated both the landscape and its characters.  “One thing Cynewulf does consistently well is use the smallest hints — a raised hoof, a distant gaze, a wordless glance — to advance characterization,” Chris said. “I was surprised by how well I got to know Daring, and not just through the flashbacks.”  JohnPerry agreed: “There’s a nice bit of worldbuilding, and the characterization of Daring in this one is very solid.”  Horizon went even further: “This story is Cynewulf at his finest.  It reads like something out of Steinbeck.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Cynewulf discusses philosophical waifus, roiling mental seas, and the Hedgehog’s Dilemma.
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