News Archive

  • 179 weeks
    MSPiper’s “Autumnfall Change” [Royal Canterlot Library]

    You might want to keep a whiteboard handy for today’s story.


    Autumnfall Change
    [Sci-Fi][Slice of Life][Human] • 8,419 words

    Magic and technology may have pierced the void and blazed a path between the realms, but that was the simple part. Adjusting to the changes that follow can be far more daunting.

    Yet despite the complexities involved even in basic communication, Serendipity has found friends to talk to among humankind who can cheer her up when she’s down. And occasionally inspire her to bursts of ingenuity unhindered by such trifles as foresight.

    Read More

    6 comments · 9,133 views
  • 193 weeks
    TCC56's "Glow In The Dark, Shine In The Sun" [Royal Canterlot Library]

    A villain might just have a bright future in today's story.


    Glow In The Dark, Shine In The Sun
    [Equestria Girls] [Drama] [Slice of Life] • 27,035 words

    Despite all attempts, Cozy Glow still hasn't been shown a path to friendship. No pony has been able to get through to her, and she's only gotten worse with each attempt.

    Reluctant to return the filly to stone again, Princess Twilight has one last option. One pony she hasn't tried. Or in this case? One person.

    Sunset Shimmer.

    Can Sunset do what no pony has been able to?

    Read More

    10 comments · 9,337 views
  • 195 weeks
    The Red Parade's "never forever" [Royal Canterlot Library]

    Today's story never says never.


    never forever
    [Sad] [Slice of Life] • 1,478 words

    Lightning Dust will never be a Wonderbolt. When she left the Academy, she swore she'd never look back. When the Washouts disbanded, she swore she'd forget about them.

    Yet after all these years, against all odds, she finds herself here. At a Wonderbolts show. Just on the wrong side of the glass.

    Read More

    20 comments · 8,131 views
  • 200 weeks
    Freglz's "Nothing Left to Lose" [Royal Canterlot Library]

    Don't lose out on today's story.


    Nothing Left to Lose
    [Drama] [Sad] • 6,367 words

    Some things can't be changed.

    Starlight believes otherwise.

    FROM THE CURATORS: One might be forgiven for thinking that after nine years of MLP (and fanfic), there's nothing left to explore on such well-trodden ground as changeling redemption — but there are still stories on the topic which are worthy of turning heads.  "Though the show seems to have moved past it as a possibility, the question of whether and how Queen Chrysalis could be reformed alongside the other changelings still lingers in the fandom's consciousness," Present Perfect said in his nomination. "In comes Freglz, with a solidly reasoned story that combines the finales of seasons 5 and 6 and isn't afraid to let the question hang."

    Read More

    26 comments · 7,541 views
  • 202 weeks
    Somber's "Broken Record" [Royal Canterlot Library]

    Today's story puts all the pieces together.

    (Ed. note: Some content warnings apply to this interview, regarding current world circumstances and mentions of suicidal ideation.)


    Broken Record
    [Drama] [Slice of Life] • 7,970 words

    There has never been an athlete like Rainbow Dash. The sprints. The marathons. The land speed record. She held them all.

    Until she didn't.

    Until she had only one left... and met the pony that might take it from her...

    Read More

    11 comments · 5,347 views
  • 204 weeks
    jakkid166's "Detective jakkid166 in everything" [Royal Canterlot Library]

    Missing out on today's story would be a crime.


    Detective jakkid166 in everything
    [Comedy] [Human] • 15,616 words

    "Every pony thing evre made would be better if it had me in it."
    - me

    I, Detective jakkid166, will be prepared to make every pony fanficion, video, and game better by me being in it. All you favorite pony content, except it has ME! And even I could be in some episodes of the show except cause the charaters are idiot I'm good at my job.

    The ultimate Detective jakkid166 adventures collection, as he goes into EVERYTHING to make it good.

    Read More

    171 comments · 9,616 views
  • 206 weeks
    Mannulus' "Sassy Saddles Meets Sasquatch" [Royal Canterlot Library]

    Today's story is a rare find.


    Sassy Saddles Meets Sasquatch
    [Comedy] [Random] • 5,886 words

    The legend is known throughout Equestria, but there are few who believe. Those who claim to have seen the beast are dismissed as crackpots and madponies. Those who bring evidence before the world are dismissed as histrionic deceivers. There are those who have seen, however -- those who know -- and they will forever cry out their warning from the back seats of filthy, old train cars, even to those who dismiss them, who revile them, who ignore their warnings unto their own mortal peril.

    "The sasquatch is real!" they will cry forevermore, even as nopony believes.

    But from this day forward, Sassy Saddles will believe.

    Read More

    16 comments · 6,203 views
  • 208 weeks
    SheetGhost’s “Moonlight Vigil” [Royal Canterlot Library]

    Take a closer look into tonight’s story.


    Moonlight Vigil
    [Tragedy] • 3,755 words

    Bitter from her defeat and exile, the Mare in the Moon watches Equestria move on without her.

    Read More

    1 comments · 4,842 views
  • 210 weeks
    Unwhole Hole's "The Murder of Elrod Jameson" [Royal Canterlot Library]

    Today's story is some killer noir.

    [Adult story embed hidden]

    The Murder of Elrod Jameson
    [Dark] [Mystery] [Sci-Fi] [Human] • 234,343 words

    [Note: This story contains scenes of blood and gore, sexuality, and a depiction of rape.]

    Elrod Jameson: a resident of SteelPoint Level Six, Bridgeport, Connecticut. A minor, pointless, and irrelevant man... who witnessed something he was not supposed to.

    Narrowly avoiding his own murder, he desperately searches for help. When no living being will help him, he turns to the next best thing: a pony.

    Read More

    14 comments · 5,329 views
  • 212 weeks
    Grimm's "Don't Open the Door" [Royal Canterlot Library]

    Today's story lingers like the curling mist in a dark forest.


    Don't Open the Door
    [Dark][Horror] • 13,654 words

    After an expedition into the Everfree Forest ends in disaster, Applejack and Rainbow Dash take refuge in an abandoned cabin until morning.

    This is probably a poor decision, but it's only one night, after all. How bad could it be?

    FROM THE CURATORS: "I don't care much for horror stories," AugieDog mused. "But this one does so much right, I found myself really impressed." Present Perfect thought it was "simply one of the best horror stories I've ever read," and Soge agreed "one-hundred percent" that "this is pitch-perfect horror from beginning to end."

    Read More

    8 comments · 4,645 views
Nov
11th
2016

Author Interview » Shrink Laureate's "Left Behind" [Royal Canterlot Library] · 1:55pm Nov 11th, 2016

Loyal RCL readers will find a treat waiting for them in today's story.


Left Behind
[Drama] [Slice of Life] • 4,721 words

Fluttershy has been called away on an adventure. An adventure without Rainbow Dash.

FROM THE CURATORS: This story came to our attention via the Flutterdash group's third writing contest, where it felt somewhat misplaced — "there isn't even a [Romance] tag," as Present Perfect pointed out.  But Left Behind turned our heads with the power of its writing.  "When writing gurus talk about 'show, don't tell,' this is the sort of thing they mean," AugieDog said.  "We're presented with a series of scenes, some in the present and some in the past, that add up to create a picture of Dash's feelings toward Fluttershy."

Multiple curators remarked on the story's slow yet compelling build.  "There's a lot here that's enjoyable in its very low-key-ness," Chris said, and AugieDog agreed: "It's almost aggressively low-key. ... The author paints with an admirably light touch, implying things more often than stating them, and we're pretty much left to decide for ourselves how deep Dash's feelings run.  And that to me is a real plus in this sort of story."  Even slice-of-life hater Horizon was won over: "This felt like the literary equivalent of a well-painted landscape," he said.  "Its biggest strength is in the way it chooses tones and contrasts to create depth.  But all of the characters are also individually great, especially Spike, and their concerns are so real and wide-ranging that this piece is bursting with life."

While the protagonist was the biggest of those highlights — "this is one of the most solid pieces of Rainbow Dash-centric character writing I've ever read; it exemplifies all her best qualities while explaining away the worst," Present Perfect said — some of the side characters were scene-stealers. "This story introduced me to Zephda shipping, and now I am on that ship really hard," Present Perfect added.  And ultimately, all of those characters contributed to the emotional power of the piece.  "I especially appreciate the unspoken sense of sacrifice that permeates the mane cast, watching their younger sisters develop into normal lives while their own emotional bonds seem stuck in Harmony's amber," Horizon said.  "That lends this whole thing an air of powerful melancholy."

Read on for our author interview, in which Shrink Laureate discusses cuddly villains, conversational props, and adorably horrible cosmic-ray ships.


Give us the standard biography.

I'm 37, British and work in IT. I've been a fan of many things over the years, but I'm still pretty new to ponies.

How did you come up with your handle/penname?

“Laureate” means somebody exemplary in their field, like Nobel-Prize-winning impressive, but traditionally in Britain it’s also had the extra meaning of “by appointment to the Queen” (or King). So for example, the Poet Laureate is a poet employed by the royal family.

“Shrink” is a slang term for a psychiatrist. Once, long ago, I found the juxtaposition of these two amusing. This was long before I started writing about pony princesses, making the name vaguely accurate.

Who's your favorite pony?

They're all adorable. That's the point. Even the villains are cuddly.

I never really identified with Rainbow Dash, oddly enough. I may share her cluelessness in social situations, but never her brash confidence or lack of learning.

The pony I was most surprised by was Rarity. I assumed, from other media and western cartoons in particular, that the fashion pony would be shallow and obnoxious. It was refreshing to discover somepony who loves to create, who toils for hours on things she hopes others will enjoy. That's relevant to a lot of us who write and create.

What's your favorite episode?

I don't think I have just one episode that speaks to me personally, so I'm just going to pick the most fun: the time-travelling season finale "Cutie Re-Mark". It's packed full of awesome ideas, and Starlight is at her most gloriously villainous.

What do you get from the show?

I'm relatively new to the fandom — less than a year and half now — and found it at a depressing time in my life. I expected it to be something bright and colourful to cheer me up for a few minutes, and I got that — but I got a lot more as well. The world, setting and characters are all surprisingly deep, even when the actual stories are wrapped up in 20 minutes. It's a good example of the fact that writing for children does not mean writing for idiots.

And it got me thinking, and reading some awesome fanfiction, and eventually writing. That’s something I wouldn't have otherwise.

What do you want from life?

Immortality would be sweet. And superpowers, definitely.

From the age of about 8, when I first touched what passed for a computer back then, I knew that’s what I'd be working with for the rest of my life. Beyond that, I've never really had a plan for my life. I just stumble from one mistake to the next, and hope it all works out.

Why do you write?

Because it's not something I ever thought I could do before.

Like a lot of people, I've always had a desire to create. I've made anime music videos in the past, contributed to open-source software projects, even helped proofread other people's writing, but I never thought of writing as something I could ever do for myself.

Then the funeral of a friend reminded me that life is short and there's no sense spending it wishing you were doing something else. That day also gave me the specific idea, which is why my first story was on the subject of death. It's not the greatest story out there, but it got me creating and working to bring something positive to others, of which I believe he'd approve.

What advice do you have for the authors out there?

The obvious: write. A lot. Don't just theorise about writing, or plan, or brag about how good you could be. Put your money where your mouth is and put quill to scroll. You'll learn more by practice than any amount of theory.

Get an editor. In fact, get several. Every author has a natural blindness to some aspects of their own work, things they need to stop doing, and mistakes they just keep making. None of us is beyond learning, and editors help you by bringing a different perspective. “Left Behind” wouldn't be half as good without the help of my editor.

And the best way to get a favour is to give one, so go to the group and offer to help other people. You can also learn a lot about what not to do as a writer by correcting other people's mistakes, and you'll make friends, or at least useful contacts.

What inspired “Left Behind”?

It was 100% written for the Flutterdash competition. When Titanium Dragon blogged about it, I decided I was ready for a challenge and started brainstorming ideas.

What I quickly found, though, is that I don't ship them. I adore the long-running friendship between the two, and some aspects of my headcanon — such as that RD moved to Ponyville because Fluttershy did — made it into this story. But I just don't see them romantically. This was a downside in a shipping contest.

So the story ideas I came up with all fell into two camps: alternate timelines (from the season 5 finale), or non-romantic friendshipping. I picked the latter, combining two of my ideas, because properly fleshing out characters from an alternate world was more than I could manage in a few weeks.

“Show, don’t tell” is the standard writing bromide. How did you approach that particular tightrope walk in this story?

Rainbow Dash isn't good at talking about her feelings. She's a pony of action, and exposition doesn't suit her. So it felt natural, when writing each scene, to show her feelings with actions, moods, foley and her interaction with other characters.

At the same time, much of this story is conversation. It's a slice-of-life story, where very little actually happens, so making each of those conversations show rather than tell was a large part of the challenge. In each case, I focused on bringing the set and props into the scene, using the Cutie Map table or the layout of Fluttershy's cottage to shape the action.

I'm very glad to have got the playful brawl with Applejack into her scene. I think it says more about them than any amount of conversation could.

For all that it lacks a “Romance” tag, the story includes two unmistakable shipping pairs, one of which was completely new to our curators. Are they meant to contrast with the more nuanced relationship between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy ?

Yes, but not quite that way. They’re both there to be seen and reacted to by third parties, as counterpoint to Rainbow watching Fluttershy change.

The first is there to show Rainbow discovering two peers she thought she knew changing and doing something she never expected — at the same time as finding out that Fluttershy is doing something unexpected as well. Also, it's an adorably horrible ship, utterly broken beyond repair, and I love it to bits. I blame a random cosmic ray for giving me the idea. I'd love to do more with it, but I'd need to get into both of their minds a little more first, as well as flesh out the Cloudsdale they lived in.

The second is there to show Rarity's reaction to her little sister growing up. The show's been going for six seasons — or about three years (give or take) in-story — so Sweetie Belle is undoubtedly a teenager now, and a little experimentation is to be expected at some point, but the show — and her sister — still see her as a little foal. This parallels Rainbow having to accept that Fluttershy isn't the same foal she grew up with, nor the same filly that moved to Ponyville, nor the same mare who was devastated after adventures before.

Is there anything you wrote differently about this story because of the contest it was submitted to?

I wrote a non-romantic story for a shipping contest. A Flutterdash story with nearly no Fluttershy. A slice-of-life for the prompt “Change”. It's clear I didn't let the contest conditions drag me too far off course.

Something slightly odd happened during writing. I assumed that Rainbow Dash’s opinion would have to change during the course of the story, since conflict and change are the source of drama and even the contest prompt was “change”. But I realised in writing it that she doesn't need to change: she's already reached her position long ago. This was where I discovered the mature side of Rainbow Dash.

The biggest effect the contest had is probably the time limit. I had almost twice as many scenes sketched out than appeared in the final story. In practice, I'm not sure they would have added anything, and the story is better off without them.

Where do you see Dash and Fluttershy's relationship going after the events of this story?

The shippers will want to ship, of course, but I still don't think I do.

As the story pretty much states at the end, Rainbow will continue to be a supportive friend, watching over Fluttershy while allowing her to grow up. I don't believe the version of Rainbow Dash I wrote in this story would ever even think to try anything romantic — unless Fluttershy initiated it.

How Fluttershy feels about that is another question.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

To badly translate and mis-quote a villain from an anime: It's better to have done and regretted than to always regret having not done. So if you're thinking of writing something, or trying for a contest like this, give it a go. Even doing really, really badly is still better than wishing you'd tried.

You can read Left Behind at FIMFiction.net. Read more interviews right here at the Royal Canterlot Library, or suggest stories for us to feature at our Fimfiction group.

Comments ( 11 )

This story came to our attention via the Flutterdash group's third writing contest, where it felt somewhat misplaced — "there isn't even a [Romance] tag," as Present Perfect pointed out.

Just an FYI, but the FlutterDash contest wasn't actually a shipping contest per se - it was about stories that focused on Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's relationship, be it romantic or otherwise. A lot of the contest entries didn't actually involve shipping.

Not that it is a problem with your review or anything, just a head's up as to why that happened.

I'll note that while this didn't win the FlutterDash contest, it was #1 in my book. :raritywink:

And I'm not just saying that because Fluttershy cries. :trixieshiftright:

4297419
Mea culpa. Still, it's a shipping group, so I guess I assumed that affected the judges' opinions.

Is there a group, by the way, for stories in which Fluttershy cries? Or is that just your Favorites shelf? :trixieshiftright:

4297780
Not as far as I know. If there is, I've been missing out. :moustache:

4297799
Well, you'd better get to creating one then, mister! :V

To badly translate and mis-quote a villain from an anime: It's better to have done and regretted than to always regret having not done.

And to mis-quote Yahtzee Croshaw: unless what you want to do is commit some sort of sex crime on a close relative, in which case, you should probably keep that to yourself.

Oh thank god, it's a short one shot chapter thingie.

I started reading that last HP lovecraft inspired story about Twilight you recommended and about halfway through the first chapter I was thinking how I never seem to get around to reading more than the introduction and first chapter of Frankenstien. Not to mention the list of 300 plus stories on this site I've been meaning to look over that just seems to keep growing and growing.

4298116
I'm up north of 2000 stories on my RL list. :fluttercry:

Fortunately, I have broken it up into higher and lower priority stuff. Actually, I have four tiers at this point. :trixieshiftleft:

4298116 Just 300? Luxury! I'm well past 1000 now, and the list(s) just keep growing.

Thanks for the love, everypony, and thanks to the RCL crew for featuring this.

I want to unsubscribe from those blog posts, but it doesn't let me. I never read them at all.

PresentPerfect
Author Interviewer

4300785
Go into your news feed, click "Options" and make sure "Social Site Posts" is unchecked. We're sad to see you go!

4300794
But I'm not moving anywhere!
Got it. Thank you for the fast answer.

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