Everfree Northwest Fanfic Spotlight #5 · 3:37am May 9th, 2014
Welcome back, everypony. I am, as always, Xepher, and this week I've got four stories for your enjoyment: A strange look into the lives of a government employee who can't perceive time and an orphan filly who is haunted by the worst of luck; an illustrated picture book to take you back to childhood; the story of Twilight's last-ditch effort to save Sweetie Belle by taking her into the far, far future for help; and a show-worthy tale about a stowaway filly who learns that even best friends sometimes fight.
Erase and Rewind
by DuncanR
Words: 11,118 Complete: No
This is another one I heard about from my fellow staffer, Horizon. It's also another oddball sort of fic. The story focuses on Rewind, an orphan filly who finds that tragedy follows every time she gets adopted, and Erase, a government employee who has the curious mental condition of not perceiving time. I can't say too much more about the plot without spoiling it, suffice to say that I find the current "ending" (even though it's tagged "incomplete") to be perfectly acceptable.
One thing I really enjoyed about this story was the way in which it shows Erase's condition, both from his own perspective, and that of those around him who don't quite understand it. As such, I found it "itches" a part of my brain that is almost-but-not-quite able to imagine the subjective experience of such a thing. On top of that, Rewind is an interesting pony who is both a cute little filly, and somepony that's become jaded. She's mature in ways she shouldn't have to be, and really "works" as a character.
The other thing I found great was the writing itself. There is some truly excellent wordsmithing here, both in concept and in form. If you're a fan of big words and impressive sentence construction, then Erase has some things to say that are bound to amuse you.
The Great Equestrian Picture Book
by Church
Words: 1,306 Complete: Yes
Next up is something a bit different. This story doesn't have the best writing, nor the best plot. It doesn't have amazing head-canon, and it doesn't contain fantastic adventure. No, this story has pictures! It does exactly what it says on the tin. It's a picture book, like we all remember from our childhoods. As such, it's something rather unique, quick, and endearingly cheerful... at least in my opinion. Take five minutes and flip through it, and try to see ponies like you were a kid again!
Three Hundred and Fifty
by Void Chicken
Words: 48,448 Complete: Yes
Okay, yes, this one has a lot of likes already, but for good reason. In this story, Twilight takes Sweetie Belle into the future to get life-saving medical help that isn't otherwise available. A thing goes wrong, and they can't return. Then the story starts.
I originally read this over a year ago when it was being published, and it's stuck with me since. I love the character insights into Twilight and Sweetie Belle, and the process of slow discovery as they look back on "history" and discover what happened to their friends and loved ones. There's also a lot of touching moments as they become a family of sorts in their own right, and learn to adapt in a world full of strangers and strange wonders.
For an "epic" (I have no idea why it's tagged "slice of life") it's short, but there is a lot of story packed into the novella length here. Take an afternoon or two and read this one.
Free Ride on the Friendship Express
by TotalOverflow
Words: 11,898 Complete: Yes
And our first community choice! Okay, in truth we only had one recommendation from last weeks comments, courtesy of Catalysts Cradle. I wouldn't feature it if it wasn't at least worth the read though. The story itself follows Sweetie Belle, in the first person, after a fight between her and her friends. She sneaks aboard a train bound for Prance with the Mane Six, planning to make friends with them instead. Of course things don't quite go according to plan.
What I liked about the story was the internal thoughts of Sweetie we get from the first person perspective. The author did a great job of portraying her as a bit easily distracted, rather than "dumb", and the logic in her actions is internally consistent, and really works pretty well for most of the story as how a young pony might think. The other thing the story has going for it, and what really sold me on it, was the overall "lesson" in it. It is about friendship, and how even the best of friends will eventually get into arguments with each other. In that sense, it really could have been an episode of the show itself.
There are a few weak points in the story, mostly in terms of plausibility with Sweetie's actions (and the reactions of those around her), and a few parts could be more succinct as well. Overall though, it's a fun read with a show-worthy message behind it.
That wraps it up for this week. Last week's edition can be found here. Don't forget to comment below, and suggest other stories for next week. Until then, have fun!
--Xepher
"Three Hundred and Fifty" was a great little fic, especially that ending!
Augh, Erase and Rewind made me so mad D:
2091292 Totally agree. (Obviously!) Piquo (our writing track lead) said it was one of his favorites as well.
2091866 In what way? It's definitely an oddball story, so I'm curious to know your thoughts.
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I took part in the writeoff that story won (it was notably published under an alias), and my reaction to it was "this is just a story about people talking". I thought it was confusing and pretentious, and admittedly I don't think I've reread it since he published it on Fimfiction, so who knows how much any of that remains. But it left such a sour taste in my mouth that I don't want to have to deal with it all over again. You can actually read my original review of it here, under the first spoiler tag. :O (I'm so glad the writeoff site is structured the way it is.)
2095404 Fair enough, and your review of course makes good points. Some of those came to mind when reading it myself as well, however I still found the overall experience enjoyable, hence the listing here. As I mentioned, it is an odd piece for sure, and I knew personal taste would play a lot into it, which is why I'm glad to hear an opposing opinion. Thanks! And with luck, next week's choices won't annoy you as much.
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This is why I like these fic recs. Other fic recs out there in the fandom often fall into the trap of "if we like this, you have to like it, and if we don't, you should hate it too," sort of the same, snooty literati trap that some major parts of the book industry fall into (I mean, that whole controversy at the Worldcon awards right now is ridiculous). But then there's recs like these, where the prognosis is "hey, you might not like it, you might like it. Either way, some will, so here you go." It's the same way Twilight's Library works, and it's a great system.
Speaking of recs, I waffled on recommending this one, but after some thought, despite a scene that's pushing the boundaries of the teen rating I gloss over, it's still a great fic. "A Taste of the Good Life," by Eakin, is quite possibly the best "Scootaloo lives on her own" fic I've ever encountered and read, and takes a very well-written and gripping approach to it. I hope you like it.
2100999 Curiously enough, that was already on my "read later" list... which is admittedly way longer than it should be. Eakin is a fairly popular writer of course, but that said, I probably will be shifting into some more popular stuff as this series continues. I'll still try to feature "obscure" stuff as much as I can, but fimfic does a pretty good of making sure that good stuff gets seen already, so sometimes (to steal a phrase/title from Eakin) "you can't fight fate."
Also, thank you for the kind words about this venture itself. You can't please all the people all the time, so I both expect and welcome opposing opinions here.