Some of my Favorite Stories · 2:30pm Sep 18th, 2016
Hello again!
In my last post, which was a retrospective of my own work, I mentioned that Anon in Equestria stories were my favorite thing to come out of MLP. I enjoyed them so much that I ended up writing a few of my own! But the funny thing about being a writer is that when I finally picked up the pen, it left very little time for me to read anymore. All my free time was spent either planning, writing or editing stories and I was no longer able to actually read the works of others, including most of my contemporaries of the time.
But retirement is a wonderful thing. With all my own stories now faithfully recorded and stowed away on the digital shelves of the infinite library that is the Internet, I’ve found myself free to revisit some of my favorite AiE stories from the past, as well as discover new ones.
I figured it’d be neat to make a post to highlight seven of my absolute favorite AiE stories over the years. They’ve certainly brought me joy, so perhaps my readership here will find joy in them as well.
Hot Monkey Dock
Written by Driverbang
Click to ReadA humorous chronicle of Anon’s trials and tribulations as he works as a waiter at a horrible pirate-themed restaurant run by Berry Punch and fends off the unwanted advances of a certain butter-yellow patron.
Some of you may recognize the name of the author. Yes, this is none other than the legendary Driverbang, author of With a Little Help, the story widely recognized as the catalyst for the ascendency of the Flutterrape genre, and one of the stories that most influenced me when writing I Dream of Luna. Believe it or not, he wrote many other stories too, and I singled this one out in particular among them because I think it’s a great example of classic Flutterrape as only the master himself can portray it. I guarantee it’ll put a smile on your face. Also, it has pirates! What’s not to love?
Luna’s Anonymous
Written by Nebulus
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - EpilogueLuna records her thoughts in her diary as she interacts with a strange alien visitor from another world.
Let me tell you about a guy named Nebulus. A master one-shot comedy writer nonpareil, he shocked everyone one day by releasing this incredible multipart romance story out of the blue and to much-deserved wide acclaim.
Luna fans, you’re in for a treat. Neb’s take on Luna here is absolutely wonderful. The diary format of the story gives us a front row seat to how she evolves as character throughout the story. Funny, sweet, and a little dramatic to boot, it’s probably my favorite Luna story of all time. Give it a read; you won’t regret it.
Office Love
Written by Flutterpriest
Click to ReadAnon moves to a new town and starts a new career to escape the unwanted advances of Flutterbutter, meeting a new and endearing cast of characters along the way. However, after settling in to his new life and job, he’s shocked to find that a familiar face has also joined the company to be his personal secretary…
Sometimes, on clear nights, I'll walk out on the back deck and gaze at the stars. I like to imagine that somewhere out there, amidst the vast infinite expanse of the created order, Priest is working on Office Love. Because if he isn't, then what's the point of all this? What's the point of man's struggle for meaning if there's no ultimate reward presented to us in the form of a continuing saga of a convoluted romance quadrilateral (or is it really a pentagon? Who knows?!) between a man and a bunch of miniature horses in a contemporary urban setting?
To even consider the possibility that he's not currently out there working on it is too much to bear, so I keep hoping, and I keep watching the sky. Ultimately that's all I can do, because at this point that hope, as faint but constant as the shimmering stars themselves, is all I have to left to cling to.
—The ramblings of a madman
Normally I wouldn’t include an incomplete dramatic story in a list like this, but Office Love is a special exception. I have a reasonably good expectation that the story will be completed in my lifetime, so I’m not too worried about it remaining unfinished.* But the main reason you should read this story, or at the very least tuck it away into your favorites until it’s finished, is because the drama bomb Priest is building here could reliably wipe out all life on Earth were it somehow to become more than a metaphor. Seriously, you can cut the tension with a chainsaw. Also the story’s kinda cute in places too, which is always a plus.
Someday, the time will come when we’ll finally get to see this thing go off. I welcome you all to get on this wild ride too as it crests over the biggest drop, though keep in mind that I’ve already called dibs on the front row seats.
* Given that the advancement of medical technology results in a significant extension of the average human lifespan within the next 20-30 years.
Punny Pinkie
Written by Bolding
Click to ReadPinkie makes funny puns and also sends you into an existential crisis spiral that causes you to question everything about yourself and the world around you.
Have you ever stood on the beach and gazed out at the ocean and the waves rolling in on the shore? Have you ever thought what would happen if you just kinda started walking out there, into the cold water and swirling foam, and never stopped?
That’s the kind of feeling you’ll get from this story. Each pun will take something from you. You may not be able to articulate what, exactly, but it’ll be something important; something intrinsic to who you are. You’ll feel it happen, yet you won’t be able to stop. Once one starts down the road of madness, there’s no turning back.
Why this story isn’t tagged horror I’ll never know.
Moonie Shorts
Written by 8th-Sin
Click to ReadA filly Nightmare Moon plots her schemes for world domination, at least until her Daddy Anonymous says it’s time for bed.
Do you want to regain what you lost to those puns? Do you want your faith in humanity and the world around you restored? Then read this story.
As the title says, this is a series of shorts, and I feel it’s best to read a few each day instead of all at once. They’ll put a smile on your face and a spring in your step, and you’ll eventually start looking forward to the time you’ve set aside each day to read them.
Fans of the manga Yotsubato will find a lot to love here.
Diggy Hole
Written by Love and Powerlifting
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8In order to install a new septic tank for his house, Anon sets out to dig a hole in his yard. This is his story.
Good old LaP. No one can write hijinks better than he. For you see, this story is set in RGRE, which results in an uproarious comedy for both you and me.
For those of you not familiar, RGRE stands for Reversed Gender Roles Equestria. It’s fairly simple – gender roles in the story are reversed, and the proud mares of Ponyville would never allow a delicate “stallion” such as Anon to do something as physically involved as digging a hole for a septic tank. What follows from this is pure insanity. Even though the story’s only about a year old, I think it’s a great example of what the early days of AiE were like. I laughed till I cried at certain points, and any fan of comedy should definitely give this epic yarn a read.
Summer Sun Celebration (A Scootaloo Adventure)
Written by Frostybox
Click to ReadA teenaged Scootaloo wrestles with her feelings toward her good friend and skating buddy Prince Anonymous as the Summer Sun Celebration draws near.
Much like Diggy Hole above, this is an RGRE story, told from Scootaloo’s perspective, and it really plays to the strengths of the reversed gender roles concept. An adorable, heartfelt, exciting and adventurous tale of young love, it had me enthralled from beginning to end.
I’m going to come right out and say it, this story is a masterpiece. It’s not often that you see something pop up that’s so well structured and presented. I guarantee it’ll put a smile on your face.
One word of warning: there is a completely optional clop scene not connected to the main narrative at the very end. To skip it, simply stop reading at lines 2852-2853 (both lines are blank). Honestly, I think the story is stronger without it, but that’s just my own view.
Well, there you have it, seven of my favorites. As you can probably tell from the list, when it comes to pony stories I prefer happy, funny and romantic stuff with humans and ponies, and am always on the lookout for more. If you know of any good ones, be they AiE or HiE, feel free to mention them in the comments below.
Happy reading!
Of the stories I've read that are yours, I loved them. I'll definitely check some of these out.
Hey, thanks for posting these. Just started with 'Diggy Hole', and its great. Could maybe be better with a rewrite.. or maybe I'm just not used to read on Pastebin...
Nice to see that you enjoy your retirement *cough* please more stories *cough*...
Thanks again for the stories you made, and the one's you posted here. Hope you do it again
I miss your stories, I wish you would come out of retirement and rejoin the world of story writers, so many good authors are jumping ship for some reason or another.
Diggy Hole is fucking awesome. I know the rule is there to keep low-effort crap out, but it's a damned shame that greentexts are completely banned from FiMfic, because this shit deserves to be on here.
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You guys'll be happy to hear that I have word from the man himself that he intends to clean up that story and bring it over here one day. No idea when, but it'll no doubt be a huge hit.
Is there a fanfiction.net alternative (source) for all stories, which are on pastebin.com? Is there a tag system on pastebin.com?
"Let me tell you about a guy named Nebulus. A master one-shot comedy writer nonpareil, he shocked everyone one day by releasing this incredible multipart romance story out of the blue and to much-deserved wide acclaim." How he was recognized? Is there a place when you can see these stories not mentioning fanfiction.net? Is pastebin some sort of Atlantis for writers and readers?
Thank you for your list.
"Office Love" (Written by Flutterpriest) i've read and tracked. I agree, it is story which deserve a kudos despite anyone preferences.
"Diggy Hole" and "Summer Sun Celebration (A Scootaloo Adventure)" get into my intrest.
Thank you for your list (again; it deserve it)
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Does he have an account on here already? I don't see a "Love and Powerlifting", and I'd love to follow him now and avoid the rush.
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All these guys are from 4chan's /mlp/ board going way back. Since 4chan posts aren't permanent they archive their stories on pastebin instead.
Sorry to say, there isn't a tagging system or anything. Much like this site, you just have to dig for gems. Some write threads on 4chan have a master pastebin that lists the pastebins of all their writers and some even attempt to keep the stories organized in some way, but most fail to maintain it after a while and their master lists are woefully outdated.
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Indeed he does. Here ya go. He's already pretty popular though, so you'll be caught in the rush no matter what.
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Well, holy crap, it's that guy! He was already on my "follow if he writes one more thing I like, including any of this stuff in my Read Later pile" list. I'll just click that button now.
oh thank you for this list was looking for good stuff to read. Idk why but i really dig RGRE stories.
That is the most eloquent and beautiful way of saying "Office Love WHEN" I've ever seen.
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/13616/arrow-18-mission-logs-lone-ranger
This is an interesting one, a more "realistic" approach to the human in equestria genere, told via logs by an astronaut.
Worth a read in my humble opinion
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I've been meaning to read that for years. Guess it's finally time to dive in.
Diggy Hole part 4 and part 5 link to the same pastebin.
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Son of a...
Sorry, fixed it!
That one really took the anon in Equestria to a new level, from what the first chapter is like. Yes, Luna, you're a faggot.
Gotta give it to the guy, that ending was really satisfying.
A savage land, where the girls are girly and the guys are girlier.
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Yeah, I have a real soft spot for stories that take that route, where snuggles and pillow fights are considered horrible acts of violence. A lot of the "Anon in Pone Prison" stories are like that. A few of them may have even been brought over here, though I haven't searched around in a while.
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Honestly, that kind of thing is half of what I even like HIEs for to begin with, so that really worked perfectly for me. If you know any more stories in the same vein, here or offsite, I'd love to hear about them. I haven't laughed that hard in months.
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I'm fairly confident that I'm going to do another post like this at some point in the future to highlight some more of my favorites, and if I do it's a guarantee that a few stories of that style will make the list. It's only a matter of digging them up from my (admittedly terrible) memory, or hunting down the good new ones which I'm sure are floating around out there.
Thanks very much for the list, and it's good to hear from you. Exchange and I Dream of Luna were both JOYS, and I still need to read Homemade Kites and Whatnot.
I started to stagger through little big pony's list and BAM, immediately a human X Rarity cuddle romance story right to the jowls.
Lots of quality pony words ahead of me. Thanks again dude.