Story Promotions (Round XII) · 12:10am Jul 24th, 2015
Happy almost-Friday, everyone! It's time for some more story promotions! 
Just a quick note here before I begin. I've moved all my promotions to this GDoc so they'll be easier to find. Feel free to visit the Doc anytime!
Now then, click the break to read!
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...
This story has been on my userpage ever since I read it, and there's many reasons for that. Simply put, Faded is one of the most thought-provoking pieces of tiny horse fiction I have read in a long, long time. Faded combines immersive worldbuilding, excellent characterization, and even touches on some real-world issues through its emotional journey.
Set in Saddle Arabia, a land where mares are treated as property and the caste system reigns king, Faded focuses on Moxie (birthname Ma'isah). Moxie is a young pegasus mare of noble birth, but with a deformed wing. Although her disability devalues her worth, her father is still able to arrange a marriage for her to her foalhood friend Athaal. It is this marriage and the events leading up to it that the story explores.
Now, I came into this story expecting to be angry on Moxie's behalf, and I was. However, there is far more to this story than perspective. Interwoven with this oppressive system—a system, sadly, that still exists for many women and girls on planet Earth today—is an excellent cast Athaal, Moxie's mother, the priest who oversees the ceremony, and even Moxie's father (who could be, along with society, called the antagonist here) are engaging characters. We see from explorations of these characters that things aren't always so black and white... even in a place like Saddle Arabia.
Along with the marriage plot, the story explores Moxie's first trip to Equestria—and the reason why she wears the strand of blue in her mane. How that strand came to be, the complications it entails, and what it means for Moxie—and her new husband—is what makes it so powerful. Faded's titular symbol is one of the best motifs I've seen in literature, period.
My only complaints with the story were a few errors I noticed at the time of reading (which may have been cleaned up by now), including the use of "hoofs" in place of "hooves". This is technically correct, but it's so ingrained in my mind that it isn't that it bugs me. 
There's also one other nitpick involving one of the lovemaking scenes—this is a Teen story, so it's not explicit, only implied—but other than that, this one is an absolute gem.
If stories with a great OC cast, stories about Saddle Arabia, stories about self-empowerment, or interesting romance stories tickle your fancy, than look no further for an excellent read.
Additionally...
Saddle Arabia is a land of tremendous wealth and beauty, with a culture richer than its oligarchs could even wish themselves to be, and a history which safeguards the right of every citizen to rise as far as their ability can take them... provided that they were born correctly.
Moxie was not; she was born with an inquisitive, hungry mind, with shrivelled wings, and a mare. And now, despite finding a lonely oasis of happiness at her husband's side, a disease threatens to put her newfound life in jeopardy.
If you enjoy Faded, go and read Eran. Seriously. Go read it. It's one of the best sequels I've seen on this site.
Breathtaking worldbuilding, all kinds of interesting little details, more exploration of the characters we see in the first story, along with the addition of even more brilliantly characterized OCs... it's another gem in the crown, you guys. It definitely needs more readers, because this thing is even better than Faded, if that were somehow possible!
If you're into worldbuilding, adventures, psychological drama, or just want to see the same cool settings and great characters, read it. Read it yesterday.
Orphaned as a filly, a young pegasus named Kaviyayu is raised by an adoptive Earth pony family in a secluded, peaceful village. When a strange unicorn drops by the village, Kaviyayu and the other foals are captivated by her tales of the world, as well as her various spells and illusions for their amusement. But there's something about the way she doesn't speak of her own family... how she never removes her traveller's cloak... how she seems to take a very strong interest in Kaviyayu...
Who is this mysterious mare, what does she seek, and just what is so special about that pendant she wears?
This is the tale of how a seemingly ordinary filly rose to become both a princess and a beacon of love to ponies all over Equestria. Based on the back-story of Princess Cadance, as given by G. M. Berrow's pony novella, Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell. Also loosely inspired by symphonic metal band Nightwish's sixth studio album, Dark Passion Play.
Do you guys love Cadence? I love Cadence. She's the epitome of love, and I love love, so it seems natural. But you know what I don't love about Cadence? How little she's been used in the show. Sure, love-blasting Changelings and accepting her destiny as the Crystal Princess is all well and good, but what about her backstory?
Enter Essenza, which is based off the canon novella, Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell. Rather than simply retelling that story in fanfiction format, Essenza takes G.M. Berrow's book, expands on it, reinterprets it, and knocks one of the park.
Here, we learn not only Cadence's tragic backstory—an orphaned pegasus filly adopted by a village of Earth ponies—but how she became the Princess of Love. This is the first story I've seen of its kind, and it definitely sets the bar for any future attempts.
Worldbuilding abounds in this little tale, hooking you in right from the get-go. Great characters come in the form of Cadence's—er, Kaviyayu's family, and Prisma, the mysterious visitor to her secluded little village. There are a lot of clever little tie-ins to both canon and fanon in this story as well. Although it is tagged Adventure, there's some nice Slice of Life moments as well. The Sad tag is definitely deserved here; you might need some tissues at times.
The only thing I can nitpick here is that the story is somewhat predictable at times, given that it's based off an existing work, but the journey is definitely far worth the destination. Other than that, Essenza is a solid work of art—one solid enough to have its own musical accompaniment by The L-Train and a ton of fanart from Ayemel and Silfoe. Listen while reading, then check out the art. You'll be glad you did.
If you like Princess Cadence, great backstories, well-written OCs, adventure stories, or Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell, then look no further.
And once you're finished with Essenza...
The Crystal Empire has been at peace ever since Princess Cadance and Shining Armor took over its ruling. No more loving couple has ever reigned before, and the Crystal Heart has never generated such power in all of history. But there is a secret that Cadance has kept for many, many, years: a terrible secret with the potential to bring it all crashing down.
This Hearts-and-Hooves Day, Cadance and Shining Armor's love will be put through its toughest trial yet.
This one... This one was brilliant. I... I can't really describe it without giving it away, to be honest. I saw a typical ShineDance side-story to a story about Cadence's origins. What I read was something far more than that. Heartwarming and heartwrenching all in one, this is a great follow-up to Essenza, or just an interesting story on its own with Cadence's backstory in mind.
If you like ShineDance, Cadence, or, heck, even Sombra, go ahead and read this one too.
It was supposed to be a mission of peace, a symbol of political unity. It was supposed to prove that a pony-griffon alliance was possible, that the two races could overcome their biologically-programmed notions of 'predator' and 'prey.' The Verdant Song could have been the end of their Cold War.
Whether by intentional sabotage or negligent miscalculation, the ship now limps through space, billions of kilometers from its destination. Without any hope of rescue or contact, the natural order of species prevails.
Some defy their instinct. They attempt to salvage what is left, avoid the merciless hunters, and bring the Verdant Song home.
If they succeed in reaching Equus, they can save the surviving colonists — but along with the colonists, they would bring home a ship full of irrefutable proof that griffons are carnivores and ponies are prey.
Last, but certainly not least, comes a story I've been meaning to promote for a while now. However, I'm glad I held off on posting this one, as the story had a fairly recent complete overhaul that improved an already fantastic story tenfold. Not many authors can say they did that, but Mixolydian Grey absolutely can. 
Verdant is a unique story in many ways. The story begins with Lennox, a Griffon, and Solstice, a stallion, two engineers floating through space in the Verdant Song. The two work to save the ship and set it back on course while avoiding their enemies—the bloodthirsty Griffon Kelantos and his equally hungry underlings. Set in a future Equestria where tensions between ponies and Griffons run high, Verdant is equal parts character piece, equal parts worldbuilding, equal parts thriller, and equal parts historical drama. Replace "ponies and Griffons" with "Americans and Soviets," and I'm getting flashbacks to Robert McCammon. Yeah, it's that good.
This is one of the few "ponies in space" stories I've read, as well as the only true sci-fi pony story I have read. The settings and characters are both completely original and based off the canon enough that it is still an MLP story, but feels so unique that it honestly should be a published original fiction.
This is not a knock against it. This is good. This is what excellent fanfiction should ultimately feel like, in my opinion—something so good it should be published OF. (Except for that horrible thing that far too many people like. We don't speak of it in this household! 
)
Anyhoo, the only complaint I have so far is that the story is incomplete and that not all of the circumstances leading to the present state of Equestria have been explained quite yet. What we have so far are little bits of pieces and hints in between the struggle for survival—a tactic that has me starving for more. For an all-OC cast, the characters feel rounded and immersive from the beginning, and I can't wait to see more from them soon.
If you enjoy sci-fi, space stories, ponies versus Griffons stories, great OC stories, or just something new and engaging, give Verdant Song your read. You won't regret it.
Welp, that's it for today, folks! One more story promotion blog for the month, and then I'll be opening up another AMA. Take care, guys, and have a great evening! 
Cool background stallion is cool! 
I'm a big fan of both A Faded Touch of Blue and Essenza (though the latter may be because I did some very minor pre-reading for the author, so I got to see how much better it got by its final revision... nah, it's just a good story
)--good choices there. I hadn't read The Mark of Eran because I really didn't feel like Touch was a story that needed a sequel, or even was likely to benefit from one, but I guess I'd better add it to my list!
This is a great collection of stories, but I think you forgot to link to the Essenza followup! D:
Thank you, Badsie.
Guess I'd better throw those others on my (now mercifully short) RL. I've meant to get around to Faded Touch for a long time actually.
3264145
I did. Thanks for catching that!
I've read those first three. Faded is definitely a very good story. Mark is pretty good too, but I'm not enjoying it as much as I did Faded. I really enjoyed Essenza and highly recommend it.
Well, looks like I might need to check these other two. If you are speechless about Crystal, then it must be good. Truth be told, though, I'm more interested in Verdant because SPAAAAAAAEEEECCCC.
If I may make my own suggestion (unofficial story recommender!!!
). I'm on the tail end of catching up with this one right now: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/255512/we-are-what-we-are . Good siren story. A little dark, definitely emotional, great characterization and world building all around. It's got me hooked.
3264265
I feel bad that I couldn't remember what it was called. ._.
I've had A Faded Touch of Blue on my reading list for a long, long time now. I supposed I should probably go and read it.
Concerning Verdant Song, I completely agree. It's one of my absolute favorite stories. I just wish there was more to it.
I read someone else gushing about Faded Touch of Blue elsewhere. I can't remember who. It's been on my Read Later list ever since. Still haven't gotten around to it. Same thing with Essenza except I came across it somehow possibly randomly. Not too sure. I should probably read them now.
Faded Touch of Blue keeps getting bumped to the top of my read list. Maby I should read it or something?
Verdant Song Looks Intriguing and is going on my tracking list for when it's done.
If your looking for more good Space ponies check out Krazor and Solocitizen.
Specifically "Outside the reaching sky" and "Awakening".
i helped pre-read /beta-read essenza and i say: "Boy i'm glad that you read it.' Cause its good.
I forgot Cerulean wrote a sequel though. I need to read that!