Site Post » Fic Spotlight #10 · 9:33pm Jul 24th, 2014
As the prophecies have foretold, a bunch of story recommendations rise up on this day, to fight the evil empire and stuff. They will lead us into a new golden age, where we shall forevermore be free from want, disease, and famine.
At least until everyone finishes reading these recommendations and The Royal Guard has to go 'round looking for more.
UNTIL THEN, though, there will be stories for you to read. Many stories.
But before those, here're some links for you:
-The Royal Guard Group
-Submit Your Story!
-The Royal Guard's Reviewing Omnibus
-Join The Guard!
AND NOW FOR STORIES!
This Week:
Slice of Life
Festival of Lights, by Cascadejackal
The Wrong Side of Tomorrow, by Pascoite
Time Enough for Sisters (Five Rarities, One Sweetie Belle), by sparks2037
Comedy
The Awfully Repetitive Vengeance of Ahuizotl the Terrible-ish, by thesecret1
Sad
The Good You Might Do, by Pascoite
The Dull Afterglow, by ThatOneWriter
Dear Mom, by Thak
Dark
The Ultimate Alicorn, by Cerulean Voice
Eclipsed, by InquisitorM
Romance
Maud Pie Falls in Love with the Narrator, by Flint Sparks
SLICE OF LIFE
Once, every decade, the changeling race prepares for their most sacred of days. It is a celebration of life, of the past, of the bond between all Queens, past and present, and their subjects. It is a time of joy, when all changelings return from the world beyond Flutter Valley to be with their families.
But one filly looks forward to it more than most. For Chrysalis, future Queen of the Changelings, this is her first Festival of Lights and her first step on the road to becoming Queen.
Will I like this? It's a brilliant little world-building piece with enough heart to feed a hungry changeling hive. "Festival of Lights" is a story you'll be glad to have read. —R5h
Scootaloo only wants to spend her birthday with her idol. Rainbow Dash would normally love to accommodate her, but… she doesn't want to talk about it. So nopony'd better ask.
Will I like this? A heartbreaking story featuring a very well characterized Rainbow Dash. It gives a good look into her relationship with Scootaloo, and is rare in that the tragedy doesn't come from some massive problem that's going to end their relationship tomorrow, but rather something simpler. Very well done. —BronyWriter
Fashion shifts fast-forward for Rarity one fateful summer day. It's the day that her four future selves, each carrying a magical time amulet, show up in her studio! But will her destiny, her sister Sweetie Belle’s destiny – and the future for all Equestria for that matter - be irrevocably changed by what they tell her?
Will I like this? Time Enough for Sisters is a story that handles the often difficult task of creating a time-travel story and frames it in such an elegant way that, despite never leaving the same room during the majority of the tale, we as readers are more than enthralled by the story's pacing and plot. The characters are well delivered, and the overall tone shifts from the average to the unexpected. —Garnot
COMEDY
Daring Do, savior of the Tenochtitlan Valley time and time again, discovers a book. And not just any book.
What would you do if the diary of your arch nemesis was suddenly in front of you?
Will I like this? With its tight pacing and easy readability, this charming exploration of the roots of the antagonistic relationship between Daring Do and Ahuizotl is sure to please anyone looking for either a fun romp or a bit of extra depth for those characters. —Prak
SAD
Twilight Sparkle enjoys her friends' visits. They only want to help, after all. But when the line between dream and reality blurs, she must decide whom to believe, the ones she's known for so long, or the one she mistrusts the most.
Will I like this? The Good You Might Do takes you on a psychological ride that manages to both sadden and grip you. An excellent story for those who are looking for a little bit of melancholy. —NightWolf289
Alone in bed one morning, Octavia is left to think about her life. She has given up a lot for Vinyl, but is it really worth it? Just how much is her relationship worth to her? Is she even able to walk away?
Every choice has a cost, as Octavia will soon learn.
Will I like this? An engaging internal conflict piece that shows just how difficult it can be to break a routine—even a destructive one. —GaryOak
Life has been hard for Scootaloo.
But with her best friends can she overcome her struggles and find a way to go on?
Will I like this? Scootaloo writes a series of letters to her mother. Adorableness ensues. For anyone who feels they need more Scootalove in their lives, look no further; there are some great feels ahead. —GaryOak
DARK
Twilight Sparkle has obtained the combined power of all four princesses of Equestria. Wielding this power, she confronts Lord Tirek, but the result of their fight is a tie. When he holds her friends hostage, she is forced to make a difficult choice.
All is not lost, however. One force remains in Equestria that could give her the edge she needs to defeat her foe, save her friends, and restore the world. She need only retrieve it from Zecora and place it around her neck...
Will I like this? With its high stakes, compelling characterization, and dire consequences, this alternate take on the climactic events of the season four finale will appeal to fans of dark fare. —Prak
When darkness and despair comes to claim you, it doesn't matter what you fight for, so long as you fight for something that matters.
Will I like this? War is hell, but this story is poetry. The unnamed protagonist in battle, an uncomfortably parallel to reality, masterfully paints a picture in such a short amount of time. It is, indeed, poetry.—Flint Sparks
ROMANCE
Maud isn't like other earth ponies. She's special, like her sister.
She can hear a voice, a voice from another world. At first it torments her, then comforts her, then befriends her. Naturally, Maud does the rational thing: she falls in love.
But will it last?
Will I like this? A "character interacts with the narrator" story done right, something very unusual. The comedy comes from just how absurd the whole thing is. It's definitely worth a look, if for no other reason than to see how bizarre it is. —BronyWriter
When the hell am I getting on this list!?
I h8 this place..........
I wanted to use this video as the site post blurb for the Maud Pie fic, but, nooooo! They wouldn't let me!
Woo! Another edition of
Pascoite FortnightlyThe Royal Guard!I can recommend Dear Mom and Maud Falls in Love. Good stuff, writers.
2312776 Hey, don't worry. I haven't gotten on this list yet, and I've been here longer than you!
As for the list itself, good picks. fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/103/a/1/maud_by_comeha-d7ee4tv.gif
I already read the one about Maud and I'm gonna look at two more. Also love the fact that I get to scroll through so many great cover-pics. (Often times, they're my favorite part of a story.)
2312835
Fics have to be submitted to us by their authors; we don't handpick anything.
2312865
Mostly because we haven't gotten many Lyra fics, yet.
2312776
I would like to get on list too, but the list has the same structure as the site. It depends on the stories quality and popularity, and the difference between likes and dislikes.
Maud Pie Falls In Love With The Narrator is probably the only self-insert shipfic that'll ever get in The Royal Guard.
You're a clever one, Flinty old bean. If I had a hat, it'd be off to you.
I read "Dear Mom" quite a while back. It seems to have a lot of mystery to it at the start and the unexpected is revelled. It's a brilliant short story.
2312865 Hey, I wasn't complaining. I was just trying to be optimistic in comparison to Snuggly's disappointment that he (she? The userpage doesn't specify gender) wasn't in this blog post. Besides, my fics suck anyway and I wouldn't be able to handle the popularity.
2312929
This is not true. TRG accepts submissions from all authors and does not take ratings or views into account.
2312956
Oh. I thought it worked the same way as the site. Most stories on this list are positive. So I assumed it woked the Same way, accept it isn't automated unlike the feature box. Thanks for correcting me.
That's right: Anyone who submits a fic has an equal chance! We don't care about your number of likes, number of favorites, etc. :)
Anyway, you all have ten fics to read, so have fun!
2312967 Hate to be a grammar Nazi, but:
except
2312996
Yeah, sorry. I forgot. 1 c, not 2.
2312947
Oh, I was just clarifying. Also, Snuggly has never submitted a story to us.
Where do we submit?
2314404
Near the top:
There ya go.
went ahead and submitted Knights of the Everfree, maybe I'll finally get around to that epilogue. ~<3
2312885 /facehoof ~<3
I'm so tired of seeing these god damned site blog posts.
I don't care what the admins want to show me, they just clog up my feed.
2318528
You're free to just uncheck the box that says "Social Site Posts" in your feed if you want to avoid nonessential site posts.
2318528 There's about one post every other day...?
That's hardly clogging.
It's very hard to find the Royal Guard posts. I have to page through the archive of Site Posts, and there's no index of posts; I have to actually search or scroll through all the text of all the site posts and click "next" at the bottom of each page of 10 or so posts until I find them. Trying to find old ones is very time-consuming.
Think you could post Royal Guard posts using the Royal Guard account? Pinkie-please?