Fanfiction Spotlight #46! Where's 45? Heartshine can't do maths... · 2:19am Jan 31st, 2017

Good evening everypony! This week is going to be an exciting week for Everfree NW! We're going to be posting tomorrow (EEEEE!) the contest for the Scribblefest! This week we also have a fun variety of stories for you, as reviewed by our awesome staff! Xepher read a touching story about cats, relatives, and how we relate to them. Silver Flare read a story about Luna creating her own friend while on the moon, which also happens to explore Luna's psyche! And finally, Piquo Pie brings us a story that reminded him of simpler times in the fandom, when we only had 3 alicorns.

Where's my story? Well, I've been busy getting everything set up for the Scribblefest! I'll have a review in next week! Otherwise, see everyone tomorrow, and hope you enjoy the reads!

-Heartshine

---- Review by Xepher ----

What Cats Know

by Daedalus Aegle
Words: 9,157 Complete: Yes
Recommended by Xepher

This story is what I like to call a slow burn. There's no great hook or "in medias res" to kick it off. You have to commit to this story to enjoy it, as the opening paragraphs don't contain any gimmicks to drag you in. But if you do commit, you'll be rewarded with some beautiful language and one of the most atmospheric stories I've come across in quite some time.

The basic drive of this story is relatively simple. Sweetie Belle needs to understand something she saw when she was ten: Her grandmother had died, and her grandmother's cat had as well. She'd seen, on the way from the funeral, all the cats come out of hiding in the town, and wondered what makes their loss any different from a pony's. She goes out looking for answers the day of Nightmare Night.

As you might suspect from that description, the story is on the darker side. But it carries its darkness like a regal cloak, rather than the tattered robes of horror. Sweetie's quest for answers and understanding is... well, I think the best word is "foreboding." But this is an emotional journey more than anything, and more than any story I can remember, the journey is what matters most here. The reveals are slow, indirect, and subtle, but everything builds towards an inevitable reveal that you may even likely see coming. However, that is an absolute positive in this case. You can see the destination, but perhaps even get more from the telling because of it.

I absolutely love the language in this one as well. It's written in first person by Sweetie Belle, and the author has done a fantastic job of making her phrasing and language as beautiful as her name implies. It threw me a tad at first, being too elegant for a foal, until I realized that the opening scene, of her grandmother's death when she was ten, is obviously in the past tense, and we're hearing a grown Sweetie Belle here. Realizing that, it fits perfectly.

Lastly, I confess this one may strike a more personal chord for me now, as my own Granny (the last and most favorite of my grandparents) died a week ago today. She had no cats, but she loved all animals. Daedalus Aegle notes that scene was autobiographical, so my sympathy to you, dear author. My own Granny's house was the one anchor-point in a childhood full of more-than-yearly moves, and perhaps the only place from my childhood I will never truly forget. She also believed strongly in God, whereas I tend to not trust anything that doesn't have a p-value attached. But sometimes I like to think that maybe, just maybe, some little bit of magic like what this story shows might squeeze their way in between the error-bars of my certainty.

---- Review by Silver Flare ----

Rocky

by Flint-Lock
Words: 6,017 Complete: Yes
Recommended by Silver Flare

The moon sucks. There’s no food, no air, very little gravity… Just you, your inner demons, and an endless supply of rocks to keep you company. If dying isn’t really an option, what’s the next best way to pass a thousand years? Dabble in some ancient magic and make yourself a friend.

On its surface, this is a story about Luna’s time in exile and the rock sculpture she imbues with a little of her spiritual essence. It’s a light piece, speckled with the absurd, the fun, the adventurous, and then the even more absurd. From races to fencing to annual sand-castle competitions, Rocky is surprising in its creativity.

Beneath the surface, the story has much more gravitas. Luna’s attachment to her little friend reveals shards of her fractured emotional state, both in her relationship with her sister, and how she relates to herself. It does take as its premise, however, that Nightmare Moon is an entity entirely separate from Luna. Which, disregarding the comics, may or may not reflect canon (or headcanon). Also, some basic errors seem to have slipped through the editing process, but they weren't enough to detract from the story as a whole.

---- Review by Piquo Pie ----

Big Trouble

by Corejo
Words: 1036 Complete: Yes
Recommended by Piquo Pie

It's been a while since I've done much in the Brony community. I had a job that took up about 80 scattered hours a week for most of a year. So when it came time for Everfree Northwest to come around I started looking to get back into some good old fanfiction. This was the story that took it for me.

Big Trouble is short but sweet and takes place right after Twilight got her castle and focuses on the CMC trying to get their cutie marks. The ending could have delivered a little better but nothing about it was bad. The first two-thirds was highly amusing and spoke of simpler times when there were only three alicorns.

If you remember those years fondly. When fanfiction was just something most people did for a little fun here and there, then this is a cute little fic that will make you smile for a few good minutes.

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