Wanderer D 5,510 followers · 65 stories

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117 weeks
SA: The Last Round

"So, what do you think, Corejo?" Wanderer D asked, politely showing off the stack of papers in his claw.
The burlap sack with the printed (in color!) face of Corejo remained silent.
"I see, yes, yes!" Wanderer D cackled. "Ahahaha! Yes! I agree! This story should do fine! So, who's reviewing it? RT?"
The sack that had the picture of RTStephens on it tilted just enough for a single potato to roll onto the table.
"And we have two! Alright, team, I expect you all to figure out who's doing the next one, okay? Let's not keep the readers waiting!" He glanced expectantly at the several sacks with pictures around him. "Alright! Dismissed."
"Sir?"
"Ah, intern. Is that my coffee?" Wanderer D took the proffered mug and downed the contents in one go. "Excellent! No time to rest! We have to edit what the guys just handed to me."
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110 comments · 8,879 views
138 weeks
SA: Round 186

Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.
The Dodge Junction train ramp was not where Floydien expected to be part of a reunion.
He especially didn’t expect it to happen four times in a row.
“Wait, Winter? What are you doing here?”
Winter’s eyebrows raised. “On Summer vacation. What about you?”
“Uh, same.”
“Guys!”
The two Angels looked to where the voice came from. Cynewulf came running up to them, a wide brimmed sunhat and sunglasses adorning her head. “Fancy meeting you two here!”
Floydien scratched his head. “Same. Are you on vacation too?”
“Yep! Had a blast down on the Horseshoe Bay coast.”
“Well, ain’t this something!”
All turned to the fourth voice. Knight strode up, his body decked out in fishing gear, complete with a fishing pole balanced over his shoulder. “Haven’t seen so many of us in one spot since vacation started.”
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12 comments · 4,667 views
153 weeks
SA: Round 185

Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.
Winter and Knight stared out at the bleak townscape. All around them, the fires raged unchecked as Ponyville's former occupants stumbled mindlessly about, their undead faces ravaged by rot and decay as they moaned for sustenance. Knight turned to Winter.
"Ready to go?"
Winter nodded and shifted a backpack. "Got everything with me. I guess it's now or never."
Knight gave a wry smile. "That's the spirit. You do have your reviews, right?"
"Of course!" he said, patting his chest. "Right here."
Knight nodded and said, "Alright, here's the plan: we stick to the shadows as much as possible. From what I can tell, their eyesight isn't that good, but their sense of smell is excellent. We just have to stay upwind."
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10 comments · 4,280 views
160 weeks
SA: Round 184

Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.
“I see. Alright, I’ll let him know.”
Intern twisted a dial on the small mechanical piece attached to his ear, retracting a blue, see-through visor from across his face. He turned to Floydien, crossing his arms. “It’s confirmed. Generation 5 is on its way. Season 2 of Pony Life is just around the corner. And the series finale of Equestria Girls was scrapped for a holiday special.”
Floydien lifted an eyebrow. “And, what does that mean for us?”
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10 comments · 4,439 views
164 weeks
SA: Round 183

Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.
Over their heads the flak guns peppered the sky. The planes roared and sputtered. The clouds were dark, heavy with the child that was war. It was all noise.

Cynewulf looked around the bend. “You know, I’ve been reading old fics. Remember Arrow 18?”

Floydien slipped—a Floydien slipped—One Floydien came through the fractured time in the lower levels of the Sprawling Complex. “Uh, human in Equestria?”

“Yeah. You know, we were probably too mean about those.”

“They were terrible. I mean some of them. I guess a lot of everything is terrible.”

“Well, yes. But anyway, I was reading it, and it occurred to me that what I liked about it was that it felt optimistic in the way that Star Trek was optimistic. It felt naive, but in a way one wanted to emulate. To regress back into it.”

“Uh, that sounds nice?”
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7 comments · 5,939 views
169 weeks
SA: Round 182

Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.
“Okay, Winter, hit it!”
Winter pulled a lever that ignited a rocket placed underneath the communal Christmas Tree. The tree blasted through a cylindrical hole and out into the skies beyond. It only took seconds for the tree to become a tiny red dot against the blue sky.
Winter stepped away from the control panel and down to where Intern was standing behind a fifty-five millimeter thick glass wall. “We could have just picked up the base and tossed it in the garbage bin outside, you know.”
Intern scoffed. “Yeah, we could, or we can go over the top in a comedic and entertaining manner that leads into our reviews.”
“You’re getting all meta, now.”
“Exactly! On to the reviews!”
ROUND 182
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6 comments · 7,967 views
174 weeks
SA: Round 181

Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.
For the first time in the year that he worked there, FanficFan finally experienced quiet in the Seattle’s Angels Compound. All the other reviewers had gone home for the holidays, leaving him and Intern to submit the last round of reviews of the year. However, with Intern off on an errand, FanficFan was left alone.
With stories ready to be read by his partner, all the reviewer could really do was wander around the empty building, taking in all the holiday decorations left behind from the Office Christmas Party a few days prior, like office space holiday knick-knacks, lights strown about the ceiling and wreaths on nearly every door. Plus, there was some leftover cookies and egg nog, so that was nice.
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8 comments · 6,379 views
178 weeks
SA: Round 180

Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.
Cynewulf lay in a grassy field. This was a curious occurrence, as the Seattle Angel’s Dyson Sphere-esque compound basement labyrinth did not usually have grass.

But like she had many times before, she’d been teleported here, and whether or not the sky above her was real or not, she didn’t mind. The grass was nice, and the wind was nice, and whatever happened happened.
f
There was a great crash and Corejo stumbled into the grass to her right.
“Oh, god, are we out? How did—”
“No clue. I suspect that it’ll just take us back anyhow. Did you have the reviews? The machine came for me a few days ago, so I’ve got mine.”

“I… Uh, I was late. I mean, we both are, unless you’ve been here for days.”
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9 comments · 8,138 views
182 weeks
SA: Round 179

Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.
Winter peered cautiously out the corner of the broken window, surveying the damage outside. He turned to his companion.
"Looks like we're trapped in here," he said quietly.
Intern grunted and adjusted the bandage on his arm. "Nothing we haven't gone through before." He looked up at Winter. "Got your reviews?"
Winter nodded and patted his chest pocket. "Right here, where they're safe." He turned and looked once more out the window. "Now, it's simply a matter of getting through all those ponies." Winter shuddered as he took in the horrors before him.
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10 comments · 5,236 views
185 weeks
SA: Round 178

Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.
Matthew stumbled through the basement, crouching low to avoid all the pipes on the ceiling. Floydien hadn’t told him much, just that it was extremely important, had nothing to do with Intern, and to take the last fire door on the left.
After what seemed like eternity in an instant, Matthew finally came to said fire door, damp with sweat and condensation. He carefully undid the latch and opened it with one arm raised just in case of any traps. Only to be greeted with the sounds of maniacal but joyous laughter as he spotted Floydien sitting in the center of the room surrounded by thousands of stacks of papers.
“I found it!” Floydien said, tossing a stapled pack of papers to Matthew. “I finally found the answer. The answer to all of our questions. To our very existence!”
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4 comments · 4,541 views

Aug

6th

2016

Story Reviews » Round Robin Reviews # 12 · 11:12pm Aug 6th, 2016

The Round Robin Reviews are written by different groups and reviewers taking turns each week. If you are a story reviewer or part of a group that reviews stories and would be interested in joining the Round Robin Reviews, feel free to PM Wanderer D, Professor Plum, or ElDorado to tell us about it.

The Royal Guard—Dog Days Edition

Every few weeks, we recommend six high-quality stories from a variety of authors and popular genres. From action/adventure to slice of life, from drama to comedy, from stories about ponies kissing to stories involving pink hairless apes, we feature a wide variety of stories so that every post has something for everyone.

We’re always looking for a tip-top tale, so if you’d like to submit your fic, here are some links you’ll probably find useful:

-The Royal Guard Group
-Submit Your Story!
-The Royal Guard's Official Handbook

Finally—and I cannot emphasize this enough—we are always recruiting. If you think you’ve got what it takes to be a prereader, then don’t hesitate to send us an application. If you have any questions about the application process, please direct them to Prak.

AND NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO... STORIES!

This Week:
Action/Adventure
Resolution, by xjuggernaughtx

Drama
The Night Rages On, by Overload

Romance
The Gentle Nights: Audience of One, by PaulAsaran

Comedy
A Lovingly Crafted Lunch, by Daemon of Decay

Slice of Life
Basking, by Pascoite

Human
Faun, by PresentPerfect

ACTION/ADVENTURE

Resolution, by xjuggernaughtx

PR Recommendation: Loss of innocence and coming of age are both common themes in literature, and for a good reason. Every day, people struggle to come to terms with their own lives and the way they can fit into society now that they have become adults, which is perhaps why those themes ring so truly.

Resolution brings that to the table along with so much more. Adagio has finally grown up enough to have her Joining, a secretive ritual that all sirens must go through whether they want to or not—and, boy, does she not want to.

However, as the story unfolds from there, xjuggernaughtx provides a fantastic imagining of siren society that is both believable and engaging. To say anything more about it would ruin the joy of learning about it for yourself.

Even more than the world building, though, the character interactions are pivotal to how this story unfolds. This is first and foremost a story about people, with both vices and virtues prominently on display. It’s these vices and virtues that drive the story along to its concluding scene, which ties up all loose ends quite nicely while leaving the reader with just enough questions that she’ll be pondering over them for the days to come.

For people who are a fan of either world-building or powerfully realized characters, Resolution is a story that you do not want to overlook. —PegasusMesa

DRAMA

The Night Rages On, by Overload

PR Recommendation: To paraphrase the author-given description, the night is growing darker, and Luna is growing lonelier.

Somehow I need to say enough about The Night Rages On without saying too much, a delicate balancing act that the story itself carries out beautifully: this is how you do compact, effective world-building. In under three thousand words, Overload crafts an Equestria on the edge of oblivion that the story’s protagonists might or might not be able to save. Conveying that so succinctly and yet so believably is a feat and and of itself.

Speaking of protagonists, Luna and Twilight are presented perfectly, even when they themselves are weighed down by so much emotional baggage. What could’ve easily been overblown, cloying melodrama is swift and effective. —BlazzingInferno

ROMANCE

The Gentle Nights: Audience of One, by PaulAsaran

PR Recommendation: It’s not often that a writer can give us a fresh perspective of Princess Luna's thoughts and emotions during her “second rule” and have it feel something other than done to death. But PaulAsaran did it. And he did it well.

Audience of One might just be the best post-redemption, Luna-readjusts-to-modern-life story I’ve read, which is something to be respected in itself. But to simultaneously interweave such a subject with the inner turmoil and self-doubts of another fan favourite pony and have them feel related in spite of the huge differences in their personal circumstances is just writing on a completely different and higher level. Princess Luna and Octavia support each other fantastically, sharing the spotlight in equal measure to the point that neither feels like the true main character.

The personal problems plaguing both ponies are rooted deep in their psyches, and as such ought to be treated with care. It’s great to see both Luna’s insecurities and Octavia’s self-esteem issues not only addressed and given respect, but also used as a bonding agent to help strengthen each character. You will need to be patient to appreciate the underlying mastery at work, for this is no short tale; and yet, you might find it’s over before you know it.

In spite of the fantastical nature of the encounter—and indeed the entire universe—the entire cast feels very real: Celestia, Vinyl Scratch, the rest of Octavia’s band, etc. each have very human traits, strengths and weaknesses, moments where you want to hug them and when you want to kick them in the face.

Finally, Audience of One takes the cake by being one of the few same-sex romances (not some simple “ship-fic”) to draw me in. Take it from me: this is no small feat. —Cerulean Voice

COMEDY

A Lovingly Crafted Lunch, by Daemon of Decay

PR Recommendation: You all know about The Addams Family, right? For those who don't know, they're an oddball family with a taste for the macabre, who first appeared in a series of comics in various New Yorker magazines, before being adapted into a TV show and several films. What I've always enjoyed about the series/films is the contrast embodied by the titular family: their antics are bizarre, even horrific, and yet the Addamses see themselves as mundane and the rest of the world as the weird ones. Moreover, they're a wonderfully functional family despite this (or, really, because of it).

The reason I'm bringing this up is because when I read Daemon of Decay's story A Lovingly Crafted Lunch (part of a collaboration with RainbowBob), I enjoyed it for the same reason. Scootaloo's relationship with her father will warm your heart, even as it shatters your mind and casts your soul adrift into the oblivious nothingness of intergalactic space. It's humorous, charming, charmingly humorous, and humorously charming—so read this lovingly crafted story today, before the old ones wipe away all you know and love with the merest flicker of their waking eyes! (You may not have much time. Why take that chance?) —R5h

SLICE OF LIFE

Basking, by Pascoite

PR Recommendation: Twilight has known Princess Celestia for a long time, and one of the great constants of her seemingly ageless mentor is this: she doesn’t get sick. Princess Celestia is never sick. Alicorns just don’t get sick, at least according to Twilight.

What happens when Twilight is proven wrong? What happens when Princess Celestia is bedridden, delirious, and seemingly beyond Twilight’s ability to comprehend, let alone help?

I mean, after she’s done freaking out. That’s a given in this scenario. What isn’t so certain is how Princess Celestia arrived in this state, and what can be done to help her recover.

This is a rare and welcome moment for Twilight to not have all the answers, and to still not have them ten minutes later. This is a moment for Twilight to be reminded that, while she herself now bears the title of Princess, her training has only just begun.

Basking made me cry out for more: more exemplary writing, more of Twilight freaking out, and more bonding moments between Princesses old and new. —BlazzingInferno

HUMAN

Faun, by PresentPerfect

PR Recommendation: The biggest problem with writing about an uncomfortable subject matter, such as that presented in Faun, is that you run the risk of the audience being put off by the work instead of being engaged by it. After all, it's uncomfortable - so if you write about something as painful and unhappy as what's presented here, you've gotta have a deft touch.

PresentPerfect proves here that a deft touch is exactly what he's got. The backstory we learn about Lyra is a painful, but intriguing, take on her obsession with humanity, and the conflict resulting from her actions propels the story throughout its short length. Overall, I wouldn't call it a "fun" read, but I would call it too darned interesting to put down. So, if you're looking for a unique take on humanity in Equestria, then this story is a good place to find it. —R5h

Addendums

If you guys have any questions about our sitepost policies, or our approval guidelines, feel free to browse the handy dandy Official Royal Guard Handbook, and if you still find yourself lacking answers, feel free to ask Prak so that he can find the right person to give you what you need.

See you guys next time!

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Horse Voice

Horse Voice #1 · Aug 7th, 2016 · 1 · ·

I call Faun the best Horse Voice story not written by Horse Voice. I also highly recommend Scribbler's audiobook version.

PresentPerfect

Author Interviewer

PresentPerfect #2 · Aug 7th, 2016 · · ·

Let's get a wut wut for Lovingly Crafted Lunch! :D

4136155
You are too kind ;_; I also highly recommend the audiobook, it's awesome!

PaulAsaran

PaulAsaran #3 · Aug 7th, 2016 · 5 · ·

Well, this is both unexpected and a little thrilling!

Also, kinda touching, because this means the last thing CV did before quitting the site was promote my story. I need to go give him a virtual hug now.

Cerulean Voice