Tag Archives: sad

Bad_Seed_72’s “Anxiety”

12 Friday Sep 2014

Posted by in Features

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

Today’s story takes us on a journey beyond Sombra’s door to remind us that the scariest villains are often the ones inside our heads.

anxietyAnxiety
[Sad] [Dark] [Slice of Life] • 10,788 words

What Spike saw in the doorway of King Sombra’s crystal palace hasn’t left his mind. The fear of Twilight abandoning him haunts him through recurrent nightmares. Anxiety taunts him when he’s at his most vulnerable, reminding him of all his failures, all his inadequacies, all his wounds.

One night, this fear and anxiety manifests itself in a full-blown nightmare, dragging Spike face-to-face with his greatest fear: What if Twilight never needed Spike in the first place?

FROM THE CURATORS: One of the core strengths of Friendship Is Magic is its unapologetic sincerity — taking a premise designed to pitch moral lessons (and sell toys) to young girls, and imbuing it with a depth and richness that holds adults’ attention too, without ever forgetting its roots.  The notion that friendship literally is magic, and that it holds a power relevant to our own lives, is fundamental both to the show and the fandom surrounding it.

Anxiety examines that core premise through the lens of its adult audience — Spike is suffering from problems that will be all too familiar to some of us.  “It’s a great look at anxiety attacks, low self-esteem, and the mental blocks that can come with those to keep sufferers from seeking help,” Present Perfect said, and Bradel agreed: “This tallies really well with my experience of depression.”  The beauty of the story is that it still holds true to FiM’s core message in a relevant and honest way: Spike is in over his head, as it can often seem to those who live with mental illness, and it’s togetherness and understanding that will save both him and us.

What impressed us was not only the authenticity of the topics and emotions, but also of Anxiety’s characterization.  Chris found Spike well-done: “Too many authors turn Spike into a grown up. … Spike’s reactions feel real precisely because he acts like a frightened kid.”  Bradel agreed, also pointing out that “Spike characterization is always hard, since he resides in this weird, nebulous middle ground between child and adult.”

Finally, the strength of Anxiety’s closing message was singled out for praise. “The talk by Twilight at the end of the piece just knocks it out of the park for me,” Bradel said.  “It really sticks the landing.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Bad_Seed_72 discusses forgetting, Best Pony surprises, not being alone, and forgetting.
Continue reading →

Bachiavellian’s “Shoots and Roots”

05 Friday Sep 2014

Posted by in Features

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

After love, loss.  After loss, picking up the pieces.  After picking up the pieces, what then?  Today’s story digs beneath Carrot Top’s surface for an answer.

shoots-and-rootsShoots and Roots
[Drama] [Sad] [Slice of Life] • 6,366 words

Time alone can’t heal all wounds for Carrot Top. Sometimes life simply goes on in the worst and best possible ways.

FROM THE CURATORS: The Royal Canterlot Library’s job is to spotlight the fandom’s best, which leads to a lot of reading from established, well-known authors — so it’s always a great feeling when we get to play hipsters and feature a little-known writer with obvious talent.  When Present Perfect noticed in the story’s author’s note that Shoots and Roots was Bachiavellian’s “first real attempt at writing fiction,” the discovery was accompanied by a cheerful expletive. “It’s been ages since I read a story this good and saw that at the end,” he said.  “I haven’t been this excited about a story suggestion since That’s All.”

We found Shoots and Roots exemplary in its “unusually mature take on its core tragedy,” as Horizon put it.  Chris, in his nomination of the story, explained: “It hits the sweet spot between sad and hopeful.  This could easily have been yet another ‘ooh, look at this pony, her life sucks, now feel bad for her,’ but despite Carrot Top getting dealt a tragic hand by life, the story is ultimately about acceptance, growth, and how we can move on without forgetting.”  It’s also about the relationships that strengthen her, as Present Perfect pointed out: “It’s nice to see a story not leave all the emotional bang for the end.  I was left reeling by Derpy’s generous understanding — I get really emotional when ponies are good goddamn friends to each other.”

Ultimately, those friendships make Shoots and Roots’ Slice-of-Life take on MLP a joy to read despite the tragedy. “This is one of those stories that takes something the fandom enjoys doing and makes it real,” Present Perfect said. “What [the Pony Fiction Vault-featured] The Archer and the Smith did for Lyra and hands, this does for Carrot Top, Derpy and Dinky.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Bachiavellian discusses Portal music, helpful mistakes, and recipe-swapping.

Continue reading →

Rune Soldier Dan’s “Glory”

22 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by in Features

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

While a number of fanfics focus on Prince Blueblood doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, today’s story takes the unique step of following that process through a battle with depression.

gloryGlory
[Sad] • 8,782 words

No one’s important. No one’s special. Except for the princesses.

Blueblood’s always known this. He’s always accepted this. He’ll never be special. He’ll never do anything important.

But now he has to. There’s too much at stake.

He knows he’ll fail, but he has to try. Because…

FROM THE CURATORS: Blueblood as indifferent nihilist: certainly a unique take on his character, and one that won us over despite our initial doubts.  “It doesn’t quite match what’s in the show,” JohnPerry said, “but it’s intriguing enough for me to give it a pass on that angle.  The tone of this piece and the themes of depression are deeply compelling and maturely handled.”  In our discussions, Chris summed up why: “Glory offered a very interesting take on the kinds of circles depression can lead one into; the idea that ‘if I invent something, it doesn’t matter because someone else would have done it later anyway’ seems a classic example of something that might be obviously fallacious, but can sound true in your more vulnerable moments.”

The story offered rewards beyond the depth of that theme — such depths that we all found different things to appreciate.  “It’s got a really original villain, something that’s hard to come by,” PresentPerfect said.  “Add to that a light but succulent dose of worldbuilding and a strong meshing of internal drama and setting, and there’s a whole lot to like here,” Chris said.  And JohnPerry added: “I appreciate the fact that the author gives a choice between two superbly written endings.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Rune Soldier Dan discusses pragmatic ponies, robots vs. monkeys, and in vino veritas.

Continue reading →

xTSGx’s “Statistics”

20 Friday Jun 2014

Posted by in Features

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

Today’s story: Eighty-eight paragraphs.  Two sisters.  One poignant examination of love and loss.

statisticsStatistics
[Sad] • 1,042 words

Sometimes, all we need are a few stats to shed some light on a subject.

FROM THE CURATORS: Our shortest feature yet — which barely clears FIMFiction’s thousand-word minimum — illustrates that what makes a piece of fanfiction exemplary is being exactly as long as it needs to be to tell its story effectively.  “Statistics packs a lot of punch for something so small,” Bradel said. “I read this back when I’d just joined the site … I started skimming it to refresh myself, and even that got me teary-eyed.”

Stories that draw emotional depth from the relationship between Celestia and Luna are common, but we all appreciated the novel twist this brought to the genre. “This uses an original device to good effect, and that is exactly the sort of thing I love for us to feature,” Chris said.  Present Perfect agreed: “For all this looks like an accountant’s ledger, it was rife with emotion and ultimately accomplished what it set out to do.”

And what it accomplished was to imbue those numbers with gravitas — a remarkable feat, considering that the story contains nothing but the titular statistics.  “The typical abstraction of large-numbers math is that ‘one death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic’,” Horizon added.  “This is worth reading simply for its inversion of that.”

Read on for our author interview, in which xTSGx discusses moral debates, lion mercenaries, and the Great Hnnnng War of 2012.
Continue reading →

Ponydora Prancypants’ “Que Sera, Sera”

16 Friday May 2014

Posted by in Features

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

In an oddly literal sense, today’s story is the end-all of My Little Pony fanfics — though in an equally literal sense, it’s got no ending at all.

que-sera-seraQue Sera, Sera
[Sad] • 15,437 words

Princess Celestia always knew that Twilight Sparkle was destined for great things, but she never revealed the source of that knowledge, not even to those closest to her. When the day of Twilight’s true destiny finally arrives, can Celestia fulfill an ancient promise to save Equestia’s past, present, and future, even it means saying goodbye to Twilight forever? How can Celestia refuse her mother’s last wish?

FROM THE CURATORS: Yes, that cover image is exactly what it looks like — but it’s okay to figure out that “spoiler” before you go in. “Ponydora’s stories are big on the dramatic irony thing where the big ‘twists’ are totally obvious from the very beginning, and he uses the reader’s knowledge of what’s coming to build tension,” Benman said. “So when he takes you on a time loop story, you know you’re in for a ride.”

And what a ride it is. “I am crying so much.  This is why I read fanfic,” Present Perfect said. Horizon agreed: “Thank goodness the boss isn’t in to see me crying at my desk.”

That raw emotional power quickly catapulted Que Sera, Sera into the stratosphere of our top-scoring features, accomplishing for sadfics what Skywriter’s Princess Celestia Hates Tea did for comedies.  And, like that story, Que Sera, Sera is exemplary due to its depth.  “Powerful emotions, believable worldbuilding, in-character humor where appropriate, and concerned with finding the inherent virtue in even — especially — the most tragic of circumstances,” Chris said.  “This is exactly the kind of fanfic I love.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Ponydora Prancypants discusses taxed axons, disordered lists, and the separation of church and cake.
Continue reading →

Tofazz’s “A Faded Touch Of Blue”

18 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by in Features

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , ,

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.
Continue reading →

RBDash47’s “Old Friends”

07 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by in Features

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, ,

Although today’s story introduces us to the Grim Reaper, there’s nothing grim about the poignant conversations we get to follow as our protagonist moves through the years.

old-friendsOld Friends
[Sad] [Slice of Life] • 2,330 words

She noticed the pony for the first time when she was young, not long after she’d received her cutie mark. He became her oldest friend.

FROM THE CURATORS: There’s no better way to summarize this story than Present Perfect’s formulation: “a short, quiet contemplation of the nature of death and loss.”  Those elements are also what make it such an exemplar of fanfiction.

We all were impressed at how much depth the story was able to cram into its mere 2300 words. “Although many years pass in the story, I never felt as though there were important events glossed over or skipped,” Vimbert said. “Authors who spend hundreds of thousands of words on a few days or a week could stand to read this and re-examine their attitudes towards detail.”

It also struck an admirably gentle and accessible tone. “This is a surprisingly light read, despite its seemingly weighty subject matter,” Chris said.  “The sparse descriptions and languid pacing, a seemingly odd combination in the abstract, match the tone very well. … Its sadness is a natural product of the story, not the result of any particular attempt at emotional manipulation.”

Read on for our interview, in which RBDash47 discusses demons in lightsuits, lies of omission, and slogging through a freezing river in your underthings.
Continue reading →

DawnFade’s “Alabaster”

14 Friday Feb 2014

Posted by in Features

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, ,

Today’s story is a short, potent look at losing a loved one who hasn’t gone anywhere.

Alabaster
[Sad] [Slice of Life] • 2,165 words

Vinyl Scratch visits her father.

FROM THE CURATORS: Our mission at the RCL is to find stories which truly stand out as exemplars of what pony fanfiction can be — whether that means exceptional wordsmithing, clever approaches to canon, deep worldbuilding, etc.  Alabaster cut right through that to grab our attention with how bluntly evocative it is.  “This feels genuine,” Present Perfect said.  Chris agreed: “Either the author’s writing from experience, or there was a major investment of empathy in this fic.”

We also noted the sure hand of its laconic prose.  “Its biggest strength is the way it knows exactly how much detail to show,” Ben said, and Chris added, “It’s the little things, like where she’s feeling frustrated at the pleasant-but-generic items the staff puts out, that elevate this from ‘generic sadfic’ to ‘potentially cathartic.'”

Read on for our interview, in which DawnFade discusses forgetting and reveals the reason behind the story’s title.
Continue reading →

Bad Horse’s “The Magician And The Detective”

24 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by in Features

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

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.
Continue reading →

GAPJaxie’s “The Arbitrage Of Moments”

03 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by in Features

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, ,

Today’s story is remarkably haunting: a giant, tangled moral conundrum with no easy answers.

arbitrageThe Arbitrage Of Moments
[Sad] [Slice of Life] • 12,168 words

When you have so little, and another has so much, it’s easy to justify theft. The more precious the commodity, the easier it is to tell yourself you need it more than they do. And what is more precious than time?

FROM THE CURATORS: This story is nothing if not thought-provoking — and fittingly, it spurred one of our liveliest debates during nomination. One line in particular (you’ll know it when you read it) was remarkably polarizing. “(That line) literally made me put my tablet down for a minute to think about how correct its speaker was,” Horizon said.  “Any story that forces you to stop and reflect like that is doing something very right.”  Chris disagreed: “I cringed at (that line), but there’s too much here I like to get caught up on it.”

Overall, we were impressed with the story’s compelling premise and the wrenching dilemma of the cast.  “The character actions … and emotional reactions rang true,” Chris said.  “I liked the subtle horror and mystery of it,” Vimbert said.

Read on for our interview, in which GAPJaxie discusses when not to use changelings and reveals the inherent contradictions of Rarity.
Continue reading →