Fanfic Spotlight #19 · 12:25pm Jan 11th, 2015
Howdy ya'll, and welcome to another issue of the EFNW Fanfic Spotlight. This week our stories are all a bit oddball. We have one of the longest stories ever (in or out of ponydom) as Rainbow Dash flies East; the alternate, fandom reality of Brad and Twilight, before EqG; and a wedding inside Twilight's gallbladder.
Austraeoh
by Imploding Colon
Words: 212,744 Complete: Yes. . . kind of
Recommended by Silver Flare
I’ve been eager to write a review/recommendation for this particular story for a very long time. A couple of years, in fact. I almost want to be that bookstore owner from The Neverending Story, chewing on the end of a pipe and gruffly warning you young’uns away from this particular tale, telling you that you aren’t ready for it, that you never will be ready for it, that it’s only for the stout of heart and the masochistic and those with nothing left to lose. Full knowing you’d go behind my back anyway, snag it off the shelf and skip school to read it in a dusty attic somewhere. So forgive my enthusiasm as I delve into the most ambitious literary experiment I’ve ever heard of.
There is a subtle thrill involved in stepping into the unknown. Adventure calls out to some of us, tempting us to leave the safety of our predictable lives behind. Opening the first chapter of Austraeoh is exactly that; leaving behind everything you know in exchange for wind in your hair and the taste of freedom. And if adventure is what you’re after, this story has absolutely freaking everything.
Austraeoh is, hands down, the start of the most epic story I have ever read, and that is saying something. The description simply reads: Rainbow Dash flies east. The image is a simple, gorgeous, empty landscape. And the chapters are very short and easy to devour. You are given precious little information to go by when you begin reading, and that is part of the genius of this work. Allure and mystery are driving forces throughout this story and its sequels. So when you begin to read, all you are treated to is an eastward flight, incredible imagery and a strange, aching loneliness.
Soon enough, questions begin to hound Dash’s journey. What is she flying towards? What, dare we ask, is she flying from? Where are all of her Ponyville friends? Why does she wear her Element, and why can’t she take it off? And what is in the book she carries like a talisman, but she cannot bear to open? These questions promise a tale the likes of which you’ve never seen, but unlike many such literary promises, this author delivers in absolute spades. Stick with this story long enough and the answers will come, and more that you’d expect. Once you get beyond the first flurry of exploration, you’ll find that Imploding Colon can write excellent character, dialogue, action, drama, horror, heartache, and most everything in between.
Keep in mind that Austraeoh is a literary experiment of sorts. The occasional typo is the price we pay for a story that updates a chapter a day, and has for years (While the first book is complete, it and its sequels already make up a story that is longer than the Harry Potter series and the Lord of the Rings sequence combined, and is far from over). I firmly believe that the author began without an endpoint or even a plot in mind, attempting instead to allow the story to grow its own way. And, to enjoy the tale more fully, don’t skip over all the comments. The author has a reputation for using the story as a way of interacting with its followers. Many commenters have found themselves drawn into the story, their namesakes taking stands and fighting for their lives through chapter after chapter after chapter.
If nothing else, read the first few bits. They are short, and it will take very little of your time. If it’s not for you, then that’s fine. Put the dusty old book back on the shelf, kiddo, and scoot yourself right back where you came from. Return to your home and your school and your predictable routine; I promise you’ll be much safer there. Nobody will ever blame you. However... If the imagery pulls you in, if the writing pulls you in, then I suggest you buckle up, because it’s a long, beautiful ride. A ride you will never, ever forget.
The Mixed-Up Life of Brad
by D G D Davidson
Words: 61,639 Complete: No
Recommended by Ckat_Myla
When the tales about something called Equestria Girls were still shrouded in mystery, one writer decided to take it upon him/herself to write a long story centering around the flashiest generic love interest to shake the fandom. We would soon come to know him as Flash Sentry, but before that he was known as Brad. This is his story. A tale of his love for a magical pony princess from another world, and how – upon following her to that world – he comes to find that whatever magic that caused Twilight to go from pony to human doesn't work in reverse.
Stuck as a human in her world, he and Twilight try and make things work, and try to obtain for him citizenship in Equestria. This reviewer has regrettably(?) not read a lot of Human-in-Equestria stories, but assumes that this one has just about as much similarities as fun differences. It holds the reader's attention with an exhaustively intricate overview of the author's version on how Equestrian politics works as well as how certain characters' magic is utilized.
With each chapter coaxing you in with a new pun title and the fact that this fan-made 'Brad' is about twentyfold more interesting than canon Flash Sentry, it might be one FlashLight story for the non-FlashLight crowd. T-rated but not – to this reviewer's knowledge – all that much to worry about in terms of content.
Scootaloo and Celestia: Adventures in Twilight's Gall Bladder
by Admiral Biscuit
Words: 1,612 Complete: Yes
Recommended by Xepher
Let me start by saying I am not normally a fan of crackfics. If you are not either, please put your prejudice aside one moment and hear me out. Because I feel this one is special and genuinely hilarious. It is also properly short, not overstaying its welcome. Even better, there is a dramatic reading of it which is genius in its own right.
Now, that disclaimer out of the way, I believe what I found so amusing about this story is that it doesn't even posit a plausible plot. It simply jumps straight into inanity and revels in it. Along the way, the very dry wit and British style of humor pokes fun at many of the memes and ideas in the fandom, without coming across as bitter or uptight.
To me, and especially in the dramatic reading, it echoes the tone and attitude of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, reminding me very much of passages like the one explaining the Bablefish. I also adore the excessive use of asides, parentheticals, em-dashes, strike-throughs, and emphasis throughout. The structure of every paragraph is wonderfully convoluted, like some sort of Rube Goldberg device made of words.
All I can say is that, at 1,600 words, just read it. Actually, and with all due respect to Admiral Biscuit, don't read it. Watch the dramatic reading of it by ShadowOfCygnus, then read it. I promise you, the inflections and pacing of the reading add even more to the humor to the already-excellent prose, and the dozens of sight gags in the animation are properly amazing on their own. Then, with that style in mind as you read, you can take the time to catch all the more subtle jokes in the wordplay itself.
And that's it. Thanks again for reading, and we'll see you here next week... probably with a slightly saner crop of tales.
Until then, have fun!
--Xepher, Silver Flare, and Ckat
I agree. The dramatic reading is brilliant.
Austraeoh is amazing. It's one of the fics that makes me drop everything to read the new chapter, and it happens every day.
If you like Austraeoh.... you might want to check out
Eljunbryo 223,505
Innavedr 313,419
Ordsjot 357,354
Urohringr 438,033
Yaerfaerda 242,380 (only slightly over the halfway mark. And he claims there's going to be a total of 12 installments.
And yes, I memorized their titles.
Austraeoh and its following books are simply a masterpiece, hands down. I really want to be able to direct readers to other stories that are supposed to be the best, most amazing and enthralling stories on the site, but . . .
Nope. I cannot tell someone that. I firmly believe that the Austraeoh series is the greatest piece of literature to spawn from this site, a testimate to how one spindles a well-written and (arguably
) paced adventure story, but it also represents something else a little bit harder to see.
That story is truly an experiment of sorts, whether it be for Rainbow Dash or for adventure stories or for something else, but it is an experiment in that this could never be done outside this site or other such sites. (I'm more firm in believing this site is the only site it could have surivied on because of how much traffic we get and the overall system of this site that truly allows stories to get the attention they need and deserve.) It is a comment-driven story, a reader/writer experience. The story may have been able to exist without it, but that is tough to say. The story is far more entertaining and truly magical due to this.
And so, this story is, in my mind, the best example of fan fiction and how it can be done, and I also think it represents a very well-written argument for fan fiction's continued existence. Honestly, I could go on for hours and hours and hours praising the author and the story.
But don't take my word for it . . .
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How much do I love the Austraeoh series? It's my favorite story on the site and I recommend it to pretty much everyone and I'm Slowly retelling the entire first book in haiku form and I agree reading the comments is tedious but makes it feel like you're a part of an amazing tight knit community and seriously guys read this book
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Oh, give yourself some credit, Admiral. I couldn't have come up with the reading without the fic to base it on.
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Seriously, you guys make a perfect team. The story is good, the reading it good, but together it's something really great. The fast pace of the reading adds humor, but going back and reading it lets me appreciate the more subtle wordplay that gets lost in the reading.