Tales of the Ancestors: Ancestral Tribute Results · 7:28pm Nov 19th, 2022
Hello, everyone, parents and non-. We’ve gotten some outstanding tributes to ancestors in this contest, and while it’s a terrible thing to say you have a favorite child, someone had to win this. Let’s begin the festivities.
First off, let’s let the other judges introduce themselves, so everyone’s refreshed on who to thank/blame.
Howdy, everyone! I’m Jake The Army Guy. Former soldier, former truck driver, currently awesome, and really happy to be judging this contest. Any excuse to not do my job and read pony fiction is a win in my book, especially ones about the Mane Six’s families.
Canadian bisexual chick. I write fanfic, sometimes with pretty pictures!
Hello there! Animation enthusiast, and all-around (theoretically) huggable spirit. If you don’t recognise me from my Ponyfic Review Monday Musings, I love reading and talking about the horse words our fandom pumps out. So when this contest rolled around and I wasn’t optimized for writing an entry, I figured I’d give judging a go. These 31 entries were a fascinating bunch, filled with unique offbeat takes on minor characters in different-than-usual circumstances; it was a pleasure to read them. And, by all means, whip out the pitchforks if my assessments aren’t to your liking. No harm nor foul when they’ll phase right through.
Hey there, everybody! Some of you may know me as that user with the spiffy username. The rest of you probably don’t know me—it’s not like I write a bunch of self-insert fics, you know.
Well, I’m possibly (but probably not) the reason you feel watched on this site, but you’re not sure by what. I’m the user (well, one of) who forgot to remove their “santa hat” from their avatar for almost an entire year (and then decided to roll with it). If you’ve ever seen someone complain about hyphens being used as some sort of dash, that could have been me. I have won precisely nothing from every writing contest I have participated in. And, somehow, I’ve been allowed to judge in FoME’s contests for 3 years now despite… pretty much everything.
While this was a tight race, the medalists stand out for making everyone’s top five. As such, the honorable mentions do an even better job than usual of highlighting those stories that enthralled a few judges in particular.
FoME’s Honorable Mention
We got quite a few submissions starring Pinkie’s parents—like Twilight’s parents, who were similarly popular, they had the advantage of existing in a concrete state since Season 1—but Lo, really stood out to me. This portrayal of Igneous as a storm of emotions roiling beneath his stoic exterior, futilely struggling against his inevitable destiny, gives him an almost Byronic aspect. I’ve never seen this kind of take on him before, and it really stuck with me. Likewise a Cloudy willing to follow him, and the particulars of what happens once that destiny catches up to them. Outstanding work in capturing the internal world of somepony who never quite figured out how to share it.
Jake’s Honorable Mention
We had a whole lot of great entries, but this one had me smiling the entire time. Maybe it’s my love of the Sparkle family, maybe it’s my affinity for stories about good dads, but whatever the reason I adored this one. Once Upon A Zeppelin defined Night Light as the affable “Yes dear” type who likes to sit back and watch his wife do the crazy stuff, and this fic did a great job of keeping that intact while also letting him be a badass. The whole “Beware the wrath of the patient man” trope is a favorite of mine, so seeing Night Light effortlessly kick a dragon’s butt and then invite her to tea was great, and really showed what he passed on to both Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle. Though why no mention of their third child being the reason they have so many gems?!
Marvel’s Honorable Mention
My honorable mention has to go to Rock Beats. Going into a contest like this I try to judge each story by what the story itself sets out to accomplish and this one’s billed as a romcom. Rock Beats could have relied on a strange premise to try to earn its laughs, but to my surprise, the comedy stayed completely grounded in character and dialogue flow for the whole run. The absurdity was icing, and paired with an effective set of running jokes, I did indeed feel closer to these oddball characters and understand why they work together better than I did going in. You wouldn’t think subtlety would be the name of the game with a giant, beating heart. Delightful read all the way through.
(Mike) There were several approaches to the Pie parents, but this offbeat romcom about two ponies who express themselves in subtle manners we can’t perceive, and is quite felt as a result, alongside being rather subtly funny, was a real winner, cracking my top five. Hard to beat the land’s heartbeat serving as a vessel for us to understand and appreciate the Pie parents’ love.
Ghost Mike’s Honorable Mention
Stories about one or both of Twilight’s parents dominated the submissions, comprising 12 of the 31 stories, so it takes a lot to stand out. What made this one for me is how well it straddled a line between feeling true to their kooky depictions in the show, and making them fit a more adventurous time in their lives. Not that either of them want to be investigating this conspiracy, but the circumstances make for a great meet cute, totally selling them hitting it off without realizing it, and implying so much about their future parenting and how their kids have the personalities they do. Toss in some effective comedy, much from Night Light being comically slow on the uptake, plus a bizarre and warped conclusion that makes the fic peak at the ending, rather than flatlining or softening like most entries (bonus for Greek Mythology fans is all I’ll say), and you’ve got a really fun, upbeat winner.
SirNotAppearingInThisFic’s Honorable Mention
Rock farming country. Obviously, it's nothing but dull, gray work that the shaker sprinkling the spice of life missed, right? Well… Of Providence and Plain takes what could easily be portrayed as the most boring place in Equestria (perhaps even to comedic effect) and gives it a proper life of its own, unique and touching, thematically fitting in with the idea of rock farming itself, if you ask me.
GrangeDisplay has woven together a rich community and one of the most flavorful interpretations of Igneous and Cloudy that still merges cleanly into canon. The only fault I find is in its implementation; it's a little rough around the edges sometimes (like a rock, you know), as though it had to be slightly chipped down or compressed to fit into its allotted 18k words. It's the sort of thing I wouldn't even mind if I weren't judging a contest, so I encourage everybody to give it a chance.
(Mike) Not that the typical Amish/Mennonite portrayal of the Pie parents aren’t fun, but there’s usually only so much that can be done with that stuffy conservatism. Going instead for a restrained culture that nonetheless expresses subtle emotions, thoughts and frustrations quite clearly, with a fantastically grounded and offbeat depiction of a colorful, rich insular town as the backdrop, really lends this one credence. This showcase of how romance and love blooms from what life throws at you would have been my Honorable Mention had Sir not ranked it higher, so I had to throw in my two cents on it.
And, without further ado, our medalists:
Third Place
(FoME) It was honestly a stroke of genius on Larson’s part: The fandom gave Lyra’s confectioner girlfriend one name, the blind bag figures gave her another. Why not make one the adopted identity of the other? Well, AugieDog followed that same logical chain with some other ambiguously named characters, and the end result is a blend of emotional turmoil and ingenious headcanon. Never before have these two felt more like Rarity’s parents, and the drama that unfolds with them is a delight to see.
(Jake) I think what really hooked me in this story is the first person present tense perspective. It felt like reading a transcript of someone’s train of thought, and brought a sense of intimacy and immediacy that amped up the tension. Augie did a great job of hinting at a wider world than we know, giving just enough detail to make us invested but not too much that it bogged down the story or left us confused. Also, giving Hondo and Cookie both their canon names and their fanon names made me smile.
(Marvel) Super solid contender here. Intimate prose style? Palpable sense of history between unlikely pairing? Interesting implications? Got it all in spades and style. Musings on the many meanings of a word can make the implied dialogue of the narration feel a little more like soliloquy, but mileage will vary there. Fun idea; great execution. Thanks for this one, Augie.
(Mike) The prose splicing in Bon Bon recollecting this to Lyra; the unique depiction of Rarity’s parents that truly makes them feel like her folks; fun uses of offbeat canon material; the way the past drama is implied and made heavy long before we find out what fully happened – this fic would undoubtedly be lesser missing even one of these. Yet it’s in having a snarky and cynical perspective character, while tonally upholding the show’s mantras of love and forgiveness, and making the join work and reinforce both aspects, that this fic truly excels. Any piece of work this deft at blending tones and modes, all while remaining delightedly witty, is a pure pleasure to read.
(Sir Not) I suspect this could have taken second place if it weren't focused on Secret Agent Sweetie Drops (in an attempt to enter two contests at once, I gather). It says something about Augie Dog's writing that I can only criticize its admittedly understandable imperfect fit in the prompt.
But make no mistake, Agents Magnum and Bouffant own their time on stage. We get a silly serious secret mission to clean up after the second Bug Bear incident (which isn't shown in this story but the first one is and I promise it makes sense) where smart ponies are having none of the nonsense in a surprisingly caring way. It's silly, it's dramatic, and it's impeccable, really.
Second Place
(FoME) This one came so far out of left field, it left from a different stadium. Part of why I organize these contests is to see how people surprise me, and I definitely wasn’t expecting a thoughtful meditation on what time gives and takes away delivered through the eyes of an aging Stormy Flare. Lavish descriptions capture the soul of a city, while a superbly written Scootaloo provides the youthful energy that keeps the story from sinking into maudlin melancholy. An exquisitely crafted experience.
(Jake) This was something of a boomerang story, in that for a while I was only mildly interested due to the prose and style. However, once the whole picture became clear, I was floored by how much it made everything before seem even better. Kind of like a movie you have to watch twice to really appreciate how well it was made. The palpable age and fatigue of Stormy and the desperate optimism of Scootaloo really made this something unique and special. Also, robotic wings are the coolest thing the show used then discarded since bat ponies.
(Marvel) Is this the part where I admit I’m a sucker for any well-executed story with Scootaloo? Don’t worry. If that was all this one had going for it, we wouldn’t be here. Intrigue, flow, the whole-she-bang. We said we wanted a story exploring a parent outside their role of being a parent? I’d say this met the brief. A little heartbreakingly so, and that’s what I loved about it.
(Mike) I wondered, going into this contest, what use of non-Mane 6 parents we might see, and in what capacity. Suffice to say, Spitfire’s mom as the centerpiece of a reflection on time and failed legacy didn’t cross my mind. A good encapsulation of the piece, given it has the reader clueless about what happened, and has the end result satisfy all without being the “point”. No, the point is a melancholy tone heightened via locale, depictions of this offbeat foreign city always heightening a given scene’s point. It’s about age, experience and experiences shaping both that pony and others they come into contact with. And it’s about the flow of rolling prose reinforcing the content and being intriguing on its own. Every sentence feels carefully carved for maximum impact, resulting in a deft blend of melancholy and bittersweet tones, while remaining fully accessible. I couldn’t help but love this.
(Sir Not) This story has taken a less-likely candidate parent and set her in an unexpected setting and situation, hitting in entirely different emotions than most other entries. But it's not its uniqueness that makes this one stand out; it's how gosh-darned well it's done.
It's almost bittersweet, with the changes of passing time affecting Stormy Flare's favorite foreign city (as well as herself) as she enjoys… retirement? And with Scootaloo showing up to give us an opportunity to peer a little deeper into what makes the city special to Stormy Flare and to learn about the past that brought Stormy there to begin with. And it's all really heartfelt. There are some weighty topics about and, even as some of them are moreso background details, none of them are mishandled. In all, this is nothing less than a truly satisfying read.
First Place
(FoME) A perfect example of what I like to call the “toolbox method” of approaching the source material: Take the bits of canon you can use, ignore the ones you can’t, and assemble a world where the story can happen. In this case, that means assembling pieces of the show, the movie, and even the comics into a framework filled with some brilliant and deeply intriguing headcanon. And that’s not getting into the actual plot, a thrilling and tightly paced adventure that should be experienced firsthand. Congratulations, Silver. You earned it.
(Jake) Not trying to be lazy, despite my penchant for doing so, but I have to echo my fellow judges by saying how much I love this fic’s use of various canons. Tying all the various G4 worlds together can be like untangling Christmas lights, but SilverNotes managed to do it with such skill that it made the world so damn engaging. As stated in my Honorable Mention, I love seeing Night Light as a hero, though this was more in the spy vein than action hero. Still, I tore through this story at a record pace, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
(Marvel) Bravo to our winner! I’ll say again that I try to judge every story by what the story sets out to do, and robust sprawling covert ops adventure is, in my estimation, a high bar to set yourself. All the more impressive to see all the elements come together as cohesively and excellently as they do. As not to spoil the ride, I’ll just say check it out for yourself. Farasi awaits.
(Mike) To say official FiM canon was well-maintained across its run would be polite. Doubly so once accounting for spin-off media. So that this fic can take various elements from the show, the movie and even the comics, and merge them into a seamless mix with delectable and fascinating headcanon is achievement enough. And that’s the start of the strengths, not the end; this tale of retrieving a dangerous artifact from falling into the wrong hands (or hand analogues, as it were) is pure exotic adventure pulp, brimming with danger, excitement, sly wit, and corking character chemistry. No guilty pleasure about this being shallow surface-level thrills (indeed, largely not bothering with character arcs saves it from the pitfalls most other adventure stories were held back by) – this is, quite simply, a pleasure, through and through.
(Sir Not) From what I see in their blog post about the story, SilverNotes has had this world in their mind for a little while now, at least to some degree. That doesn’t make all the ways that it hooks into canon – from the show, movie, and comics (what little I know of those) – any less impressive. With the limited word count, it's a pleasant surprise how many of those details are worked in, making for a lively world, given that none of them get in the way of our main storyline.
But that's not the only reason why this story stands above the rest. The characters within are written superbly; as Night Light is less of a dork here than the average portrayal, we get to see some excellent engagement (there's actually a bit of a pun in that) between him and the other characters that goes a little deeper than it could have. This story has done an undeniable job showing a Night Light who is (and remained) much more than just a parent in the show.
Even the magical artifact has a more unique backstory than I expected. One that fits into the antagonists' clutches terribly well, in fact. This adventure delivers on everything and, for that, it has clearly earned its place.
Congratulations to all our winners, and a huge thank you to everyone who participated. I do love seeing just how people respond to these prompts. Now it’s just a matter of figuring out how I’ll structure Imposing Sovereigns IV next year…
Woohoo!
Many congratulations to all the winners and honorable mentions, and plenty of thanks to the judges and to everybody who submitted a story for the contest. Stuff like this keeps the fandom pot boiling, and produces some excellent horsewords that otherwise would probably not have been written.
Congratulations to the winners, and good job to everyone who participated
(c&p from forums)
Thanks for the honorable mention, and all your work in organizing the contest. I had fun using a criminal conspiracy as a frame to introduce Twilight's parents to one another, and I'm glad it entertained you as well.
Thanks, folks!
Once I found out that Rarity's parents had two sets of names the same as Sweetie Drops/Bon-Bon, I knew just what my entry was going to be about. So here's to research!
Mike
pleased to see some newish names in there :)
Was a thrill to help judge these! And while it was a pity to give barely a quarter of the thirty-one entries a spotlight here, well, that doesn't mean the rest weren't solid too. For they largely were. So readers, if your entry didn't place, don't fear; I'll be reviewing all entries on my Ponyfic review blog over the next week. So keep an eye out for that.
5698759
For sure; this was rare contest that not only had a solid turnout of new or new-ish users, but had some of them actually place, as opposed to the top spots being the exclusive or near-exclusive domain of veterans. A very nice sight to see!
5698780
In future contests, maybe there could be a New Authors Spotlight or something, highlighting promising new writers who didn't place or quite earn the Honorable Mention?
Congratulations to all of the winners and to all of the entrants!
Wow! Several fics to add to my list, and a new, very promising author!
My attention, it has been garnered, and not least because half the placers are already on my lists.