Graverobbing: A Look At Dead/Hibernating Fics · 8:49am May 9th, 2015
Pawing through the latter half of my favourites led me to write this blog to showcase some stories that are either abandoned or on "Extended Hiatus". These are stories that I really miss and get all nostalgia-ey about the first times I read them. Please note I haven't read most of these in a very long time so my reviews of them will probably be wonky at best.
Tales of Winter Magic Academy by Storytayler
This one was a very Harry Potter-esque romp of magic and mystery. The secrets and wonders of the island on which the Academy was based are plentiful and the adventures and shenanigans of the characters are colourful. Twilight Sparkle, some background characters and some OCs go off to an island academy of magic that Princess Luna opens and while they learn and develop new relationships with each other they stumble upon a growing mystery involving Luna and the ancient history of the island. This fic was a great read while it lasted but with the author gone from FIMfiction for two years and the story ended for an even longer amount of time, this is one mystery that will never be revealed. If you like varied interactions between nicely done OCs and Background Ponies and, of course, Twilight, with some creative magical adventures then you'll be in for a treat.
Educating Equestria by GnollReader
This one is my favourite Human in Equestria story and one of the few I consider worth bothering about. It's set some time before the show with an academic exchange of sorts between a steampunk, science-based human civilisation and Celestia's magic-based Equestria. The eccentric human characters leave a definite imprint and the hilarity is spread thickly throughout the chapters like a good helping of cream cheese on a warm, toasty bagel. Plenty of fun is to be had with the contrasting dynamic between the humans and the ponies, their sensibilities and cultures clashing and overlapping and all the characters' reactions to each other's quirks. A definite read if you're in the mood for something light, especially if you love steampunk and SCIENCE! though sadly cancelled by the author.
My Choices: Twisted Tales Through Time by Koolerkid
Time travel is hard to write, but this story hits its mark, in my opinion. With Twilight sent back to the past and the present changed drastically as a result, we follow two time periods and the characters dealing with the circumstances they find themselves in. A classic fish out of temporal water story for Twilight is the better part of the story, dealing with the alien culture of the past and the strange ancient attitudes of the past versions of the princesses, as she tries to make the past and future better for everyone but inadvertently paves the way for something disastrous. I love the way she interacts with the characters in the past and how the narratives of both time periods tie together, as well as the ominous clues the readers get of what will happen. Since it hasn't been updated since December of 2012, it is likely never going to be, but the author is still active so there's a slim hope.
A classic epic adventure story featuring Celestia and Twilight investigating some dark stirrings to the east. The suspense steadily ramps up over the course of the story and backstory is provided with ominous undertones. It seems like something is hanging over Celestia and Twilight would learn something about herself and her teacher that permanently changes their relationship, but nothing was revealed before it stopped, with the author having gone from FIMfiction for about a year and a half. What we have is intense and heavily atmospheric, with a unique party going on the quest and deep characterisation being scratched at. Definitely worth checking out.
The Stranger and Her Friend by TheUrbanMoose
An epic fantasy military story complete with good vs evil, gods, chosen ones and heroes. A young Celestia pops up with no memories and is rescued by a hero and his soldiers. She is taken along to a Canterlot at war and, as an alicorn, is roped into a desperate struggle against Discord as a symbol and heroine. The OCs here are very well-written and the relationships between them is perfectly complex. Discord is unique in this setting and wonderfully diabolical. There are arcs in this that present problems and changes that the characters react very intensely and emotionally; it's all so palpable. I can't wait for this to be continued; though it hasn't been updated in a long time, I gather the author has been away for some years on a temporary but long retreat of import and will return to it when he goes home. I highly recommend it be read; it's one of my favourite stories on the site.
A unique take on the "Guard loves Princess" idea. The characters are rich and flavourful; the Luna is something I seldom see in fiction and works very well. The pacing is expertly done, as are the emotions of the characters and their interactions with each other. A truly great piece of romance fiction and character building that I hope will be finished in the future.
An extremely unique take on the "Pregnant Mane Six" idea. It deals with the pregnancy and relationship between the mother and father and the parents and the unborn child with incredibly realism and maturity that I've not seen in any other story in its genre. The characterisation and the progression of the story really sucks you in, especially because the way it plays out is so utterly rare. The emotions of this story are raw and the reactions are understandable. If you've come across Winter's Child by Softy8088 then you'll have similar emotions and maturity in this story, without the twistiness and controversy of Softy's fic. With the update schedule of this story, though, I don't give it much hope of being finished.
The Abyssal Forge by Ponydora Prancypants
The sequel to the utterly fantastic The Flight of the Alicorn, this story promises to greatly expand the scope of the first story and further develop the characters. So far certain characters' actions are very, very interesting and the reaction of their fellows is something I love to watch and would love to see continue, with all sorts of questions having been raised as to their behaviour and the general secrets of the setting. Not sure why the sequel has ground to a halt after so few chapters though, especially since the first story was fairly consistent in its updates.
Most I have to go on with this story is the premise and the establishing of the setting and plot done in the first few chapters. It's a Twilestia romance woven into an epic adventure, which should prove exciting. I have little idea of what the adventure is going to be about, but what has been written and the story's summary make me eager for an update. Don't see much Twilestia shipping with this kind of plot.
As The Sun Sets, Twisted Tales, and Golden Rule are literally some of the very first stories I read on this site. Reading about them here gave me a bunch of nostalgia.
>great
NO
Man. Years on and I still haven't managed to get this one out of my head.
3056701
Hey, romance was in the tag.
3056822 It wasn't the tags I was talking about buddy. I just think it's
prettysuper shitty. Like anyone who looks at their early work, I guess.Good blog post. You say a lot without saying much. Was a good read.
That's a good little walk through memory lane, if a slightly sad one. I'd forgotten I'd read Winter Academy...
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Hey man, for what it's worth, I liked it too. I think. It has been a while since I read it. It's on my favorites list in any case, so I'm sure past me enjoyed it!
It's weird to read this when you have a story that, judging by the ratings, could fit into this group
I don't like to be left hanging so I usually wait until stories are complete to read them. Night's Favored Child has been on my read later list (which doubles as my watch list for stories I'm waiting until they're completed to read) for a while and it's another one I'm doubting will ever be finished 
It sounds really interesting, so that feels like quite the shame.
Ooh, golden rule and as the sun sets are quite good. Interestingly, in the past few months two fics on my fav list have been ressurected.
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/6735/equestrias-twilight
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/19341/alicorn
were both gone for around 3 years. It makes purging my fav and read later list very difficult work now.
Ho yeah this is like when you how Favored Child of the Night is like for me!