Fanfiction Spotlight #53, and a Happy New Year · 4:33am Jan 2nd, 2018
A Very Happy New Year to everyone! We at Everfree NW are looking forward to seeing you all in May, and as always, we're starting the New Year off with a pair of stories for you to check out!
Our first story this month is an interesting piece, because it's a collaboration of several authors getting together and writing about the mysterious Alicorn Amulet. The second is a rather introspective piece that looks into the mind of Pinkie Pie, and perhaps not in the ways you would expect. Both Novel Idea and Silver Flare will tell you why you should read them after this.
As an aside, we will likely get onto our normal track of weekly story posts starting this month as we ramp up toward the con itself. Details will come in future blogs about the upcoming Scribblefest, which will start on February 1st!
---Review by Silver Flare---
Break Away: The Alicorn Amulet Collaboration
By cleverpun, but also by Titanium Dragon, No Raisin, Chris, FanOfMostEverything, Moosetasm, Kai Creech, nioniosbbbb, Solace, and Winston
Words: 49,430 Complete: Yes
Recommended by Silverflare
The Alicorn Amulet. An obscure artefact washed ashore by the strange tides of time. It may offer you power. It may offer you revenge against your enemies. Perhaps it’ll just offer you comfort. Or truth. And it cannot be taken from you once you have chosen it. Yet, for all its mystery, Twilight has discovered one thing. Should you face it’s temptations, yet still choose to set it aside, the amulet’s power will weaken. Perhaps if it were weakened enough, it could be destroyed.
This collaboration, taken as a series of vignettes, explores themes of family, friendship, heartache, and memory, even as it plumbs the depths of some of our beloved characters. With a double-digit number of authors throwing their hats into the ring, you’ll find the tone shifts from comedy to drama to downright crushing. What they all seem to have in common is narrative quality, and respect for these ponies who volunteered to protect Equestria during a time of peace.
All in all, this was a deep and sinister project that kept me scrolling page after page to see how each author would leverage this mental manipulation, and ultimately how each heroine tried to find their own answer when confronted with the hollow places of their souls.
The Choices We Make
by Monochromatic
5,150 words - Complete: Yes
Recommended by Novel-Idea
Be warned. This is one of those stories that’s going to make you think and it should. In this story, you’ll not only get a glimpse at one of the best Pinkie Pie-perspective stories I’ve ever seen, but a very real look into the minds of people who spend every day trying to save lives.
While the plot appears simple, being “Equestria Girls Pinkie Pie helps at a Crisis Hotline Service,” the story is anything but. The amount of time spent crafting every nuanced detail of this story is nothing short of astonishing. Mono did her homework for this story, actually talking to people who are in this line of work. She researched the building layouts. She even learned how the conversations go.
What’s more, it’s all shown through Pinkie Pie’s perspective. Despite her surroundings—and likely because of them—she’s still the energetic, cheerful young lady we’ve come to know and love, from things the acronym of HAPPY that doesn’t actually stand for anything, her intimate knowledge of everyone’s favorite cupcake (save for Silvertongue who’s on a diet and gets sugar-free cookies) and a few of her mistakes that we’ve all made at some point of our lives.
The Choices We Make is an insightful, brilliant, moving and poignant look into a world that some never even think of. It’s written with loving attention to detail and a full grasp of the subject knowledge. It’s one of those stories that’s going to stay with you.
And trust me, that’s a good thing.
