Fic Spotlight » Fic Spotlight #13 · 12:49am Nov 29th, 2014
Hi guys. How was your Thanksgiving? Did you remember to give thanks for pony words? No? Well, that is fine. There are many things for which we should all be thankful, and it is easy to forget about stories about colorful horses, if only for a little while.
That said, this is now an excellent opportunity for you to remember that pony words exist, and that we should all be very thankful for them. To that end, The Royal Guard has collected a whole bunch of stories that you can read while being thankful. Sleep off the last remains of empire with these!
Merry Thanksgiving to you all.
If you're interested in more regarding The Royal Guard and their story recommendations, here're some links for you:
-The Royal Guard Group
-Submit Your Story!
-The Royal Guard's Reviewing Omnibus
-Join The Guard!
AND NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO... STORIES!
This Week:
Slice of Life
Keepers, by Bad Horse
Postclassical, by Horizon Runner
The Voice of Reason, by Pascoite
I Chose You, by Minds Eye
Little Apple, by Oroboro
Comedy
Seacord and the Moderately Inconvenienced Rainbow Dash, by Palm Palette
My Little Economy Economics is Science, by mylittleeconomy
Today is a Good Day to Die, by Aragon
Bad Horse's Bedtime Stories for Impressionable Young Colts and Fillies, by Bad Horse
SLICE OF LIFE
Berry Punch made a mistake, and now she has a problem. A little problem that could grow into a big problem. Question is, her artist friend Happy says, is it the kind of mistake that needs fixing? Or the kind where fixing it would be another mistake?
Will I like this? A nice little story about the nature of mistakes, what it means to make them, and how we can react to them. A thoughtful piece, despite its short length. —BronyWriter
Where there's life, there's change.
Be that comforting or terrifying, it remains true. Equestria has been unchanged for a long time, and now the gears come unstuck with a single, mighty blow. One age ends, another begins.
But even after tragedy impossible, life continues on the streets. In the grand scheme, a single pony will be remembered only by the mark they leave, be they a ruler of the world, a faithful student thrust suddenly into the light, a soldier loyal to a vanished master, or a simple cellist with a run of bad luck.
For just as life begets change, so do the living beget the future.
Will I like this? There are countless stories about Octavia meeting Vinyl Scratch. There is exactly one story about Octavia and Vinyl Scratch waking up to discover that the Equestria of the day before no longer exists. If you want to watch these characters make their way in a world where nothing is certain, you should probably read Postclassical. —Prak
Everypony is her own worst critic, but few take it to the extreme that Derpy does. Still, where friendship and magic abound, a helping hoof is never far away, if only she'll reach out and take it.
Will I like this? If you've ever felt like you're not worth it, like you're nothing but a burden, like you're unliked and unloved, then please read this story. If you've never felt that way... well, you should read this story too, because it's touching and well-told. —R5h
A week ago, love was in bloom. Cadance, the Princess of Love and Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard defeated and banished an invading army with the power of their love alone.
So why can't their sister start a conversation with her marefriend? They're already dating, for pony's sake! Maybe they just don't know each other well enough yet...
Will I like this? A short but sweet story that offers a rare look at a time after two characters start dating. I Chose You is about anxiety and learning what being in a relationship really means. —Lab
Apple is a funny word, one that Winona doesn't quite understand.
Her family uses it to refer to food, to trees, to themselves and to each other. It's all very inconsistent.
But whether she understands it or not, she'll always be there for the pony she knows as Little Apple.
Will I like this? There is often a noticeable difference between what a dog sees and what actually happens. The simplicity of Winona's perspective makes for a charming read, and it brought back fond memories of the dog I grew up with. —Lab
COMEDY
Sea Swirl loves to tell outlandish stories. Discord loves to make outlandish stories come true. It's a match made in heaven, right? Not for the rest of Equestria it isn't.
Will I like this? This story is weird. So very weird. Also silly. It is not for everyone, but if you enjoy absurd comedy, you'll enjoy this. —NightWolf289
Princess Celestia is the world's most powerful economist, and Twilight Sparkle is her most promising student. But when Twilight is sent to Ponyville to oversee preparations for the summer solstice celebration, she will have her hoofs full trying to make friends and save the world from a thousand years of bad monetary policy. Along the way, she might learn an important lesson or two about economics.
Will I like this? Douglas Adams himself could have written this story (if he were alive, a brony, and had an interest in economics). Economics is Science puts the English language through its paces like a showhorse on display, and I can guarantee it'll make you crack a smile at the very least, so it's in your rational self-interest to read it! —R5h
One night, just like that, Celestia realizes she's going to die in less than twenty-four hours.
Will I like this? A really fun story that delves into the difference between immortal ponies like Celestia and Luna and their subjects. Celestia and Luna have absolutely no idea what death truly is, and that almost adds a level of tragedy to this otherwise hilarious story. —BronyWriter
Kids. Kids. I'm telling you like it is. Who are you going to believe, some old book, or your Uncle Bad Horse?
So, anyway. Like I was saying. Once upon a time...
Will I like this? I was laughing out loud reading this, and I don't do that very often. The titular Bad Horse is such a fun and interesting character, that I'm sad that this story is only two chapters instead of a hundred. —BronyWriter
DARK
When Private Fleethoof recognized his dream and joined the Royal Guard, he never thought he would ever experience the might of Equestria's military firsthand. But when Equestria's safety is threatened by an old enemy, he'll find out just what sacrifices war and survival demand, what it truly means to serve for Princess and country, and just how important some friendships can be. See the war through the eye-witness account of a soldier on the front lines, all taken from one enduring journal.
Will I like this? At long last, The Royal Guard features a story about the Royal Guard! And it's a heck of a story, as promised by the title: Fleethoof's memoirs of the war pull you into the story from Chapter One, thanks to skilled writing and relatable characters. Enjoy! —R5h
This thanksgiving my cousins came to my house and threw bricks at me!
About time y'all recognized Dusk Quill's awesomeness!
I don't mean to complain, but I'm pretty sure I sent in a story, and I never got any word back on it whether it was rejected or not...
I actually remembered to be thankful for FimFiction.
?
2622166
I'll look into for it in the queue and send you a PM in a few minutes to let you know what's up.
2622238 Alright. Thanks.
And in one fell swoop, Octavia Harmony added way to many stories to his read later.
2622166 It takes about 4 months. I submitted "Keepers" on July 20, and "Bedtime Stories" on July 27.
I had 5 new favorite notifications today. Thanks, Royal Guard!
2622499 Last time I submitted, It was rejected only a couple days before the previous Fic Spotlight. I hadn't sent it in for submission much more than 1 month before hand. I think it just depends on the story, it's length, the chapter amount, stuff like that.
I'm very thankful for those pony words.
For a Thanksgiving list, I notice a distinct absence.
2622507
No, we review stories pretty much in the order they're submitted. It's taking a while to work through the queue because we're under-staffed. We're trying our best to recruit new PRs, which would speed things up, but qualified applicants are a rare commodity.
2622499
That's about the longest it's ever taken. We've been working our way through the oldest submissions, and the wait time is decreasing. To completely catch up, though, we'll need more manpower.
Speaking of which, we don't ask for much of a time commitment, folks. If a PR can only review one story per week, it's still a valuable contribution, and we're happy to have it. With enough of those, we'd be able to reduce the wait time to a matter of days instead of months.
2624584
Is there a blog post or similar where one can read over the necessary talents required as PRs?
2627272
This forum thread should contain all the relevant information. If you have any further questions, though, I'd be happy to answer them.
Ooh! I'm glad that one of one of the stories I decided to feature on my home page (Little Apple) managed to make it to a Royal Guard post. I suppose this means I'm 1/10th of the way to having good taste, at least in the past two weeks anyways.
Good job, Oroboro, and congratulations! :)
Not for everyone is right. I know that Seacord and the blah blah blah has some pretty good timing and jokes, but I stopped being able to laugh as soon as Dash became a skeleton and got shit on all the time, to the point where Twilight said the best she could do was find a way to like the taste. It hits a bit too close to home.