My Year in Ponyfic · 5:31pm Jan 2nd, 2016
I'll do a more general look back at my fandom experiences in 2015 over on Louder Yay in the near future (edit: and here it is), but this little retrospective is concerned specifically with my pony-related writing. I didn't have a massively productive year, but I did get four stories published, as well as finishing another. There were also a few minifics in the mix. In chronological order, my four one-shots were:
Ever Let the Fancy Roam: This [Slice of Life] about Fancy Pants and his faithful-but-mildly-irritating butler, Silver Cloud, did better than I'd expected. Despite a pretty brutal first comment, it won the "Making the Most of the Mundane" contest and did quite well in its only review (by PresentPerfect). I like this double act, and may eventually return to the pair.
To Be the Candle: This, on the other hoof, has been by some distance my least read story. Probably the combination of [Dark] and [OC] tags did for it, but I'm still moderately pleased with it considering that it was my first shot at writing this type of ponyfic. This OC, Silver Buck, isn't one I feel any particular need to bring back, though.
The Unbearable Lightness of Bucking: I wasn't sure how well this fic would be received, given that it depends for its full effect on at least a very basic knowledge of existentialist philosophy, but it's done quite well. Applejack and Twilight's dialogue proved to be a good deal of fun to write, and this is definitely my own favourite of this year's stories.
Shining Armor's Amour's Armour: This came about because of a comment I left and Cerulean Voice's nudging in response. It is the silliest story I've written since Ra Ra Raspberry, and I really wasn't expecting it to make such an impact. One day there'll be a reading. One day...
There was also:
Where They Understand You: This one was started way back in the spring of 2014, but for one reason and another it languished unfinished until more than a year later. Despite some rough edges, I'm proud of it: if you want to know my headcanon regarding Fluttershy and Rainbow's backstory, this is it.
As for minifics: I added "The Hay Ridge Disaster" to Friendship is Poetry; it attracted a downvote or two from people who (the horror!) didn't recognise the homage to William McGonagall. To Little Bits I added "Out of Darkness Cometh Light" (runner-up, Weekly Contest #16), "Just Visiting" (runner-up, Weekly Contest #25) and "The True Beginning of Our End" (blame PresentPerfect).
Oh, and "And Thou No Breath at All", my entry for my first-ever Writeoff. It did... oh, no secrets here: it came 59th out of 71, and frankly it deserved to. It's not going in Little Bits, at least for now, because I still think it could be expanded into a short standalone one-shot. Still, it's by a long way my least successful ponyfic of 2015!
