What's Been Happening (And Things I've Been Reading) · 5:05am May 7th, 2017
It's that time again where GreyGuard waxes about what's going on in her life and the state of her stories! 
With When it Rains now in the can, I've opted to focus my limited time and attention on finishing up Blood and Ponies and a Tale of Two Trixies. At that point everything I've started and uploaded piecemeal will be done and I can get back to a more sane production schedule.
Speaking of When it Rains I submitted it to Equestria Daily! And they rejected it! 
While some of their objections were more subjective, I am thoroughly embarrassed to admit that there was a fair amount of technical errors in there. A lot of technical errors. I'll be picking away at fixing it as I have time but if any of my followers can help with a deep dive on editry, I'd appreciate it. Just PM me if you have the time/interest/pity.
Time. That's something I will be having less of, as I'm pushing towards taking the first of my A+ certification exams. I is gonna fix the computorz gud! Alas, it must also take priority, so horsewording will have to come as time allows.
But! I do still do at least some reading of pony fic before bed each night. As such there's going to be a semi-regular feature on this blog where I pimp the pony that I'm currently reading. ....And that sounds worse than it is! Anyway, in the proud tradition of the likes of Jim Fucking Sterling Son and his Greenlight Goodstuff series, I present my current fics that I think are gud.
What's this you ask? A fanfic about people being transformed into ponies? What Conversion Bureau bullshit is this?
It is not that at all.
Pandemic is a story that happens across two worlds, earth and Equestria. On earth, people begin to transform into ponies after a bout with the flu. On Equestria, Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer stumble across a magic anomaly that becomes an all consuming mystery.
And that mystery is the one of the best parts of the fic. Not that the human side isn't compelling and the earth characters endearing, but watching Twilight and Starlight pick apart the mystery and then deal with the consequences as each layer is pulled back is what pushes the fic into the truly great category.
Give it a look and strap in for the ride!
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Second Chances: A Redemption Story by Cyrano
I'm a sucker for a good redemption story. When they're done well, they highlight the good points of a "bad" character and show just how awesome they could be on the brighter side of the world. The Dazzlings are a popular group of subjects for such a take, but the results have been hit or miss in my opinion.
Holy shit, does this one shatter that run of mediocrity.
Second Chances is Cyrano's second fic on FiMFiction and it is criminal, CRIMINAL I SAY, that a story that's so well done is currently sitting at a 36:1 rating on this side. All the characters feel like their show counterparts, especially the Dazzlings themselves. Their voice just oozes onto the page, while still allowing the growing redemption to feel natural. The wordsmithing is also top notch. I never had a hard time picturing the character's actions or their surroundings.
Seriously, five out of five stars on this one. Go read it and read it now! NOOOOWWWWW!
I can certainly help with the technical polish. Did they happen to provide a full list of their rejection reasons? Even if some of them are subjective, it won't hurt to take another look at them. Maybe one of us can figure out a way around them without actually changing the story.
I mean, 260 heads are better than 1, right??
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As it is rather late right now, I'll PM you the links to the three pages of notes they gave me in the morning.