News Archive

  • 179 weeks
    MSPiper’s “Autumnfall Change” [Royal Canterlot Library]

    You might want to keep a whiteboard handy for today’s story.


    Autumnfall Change
    [Sci-Fi][Slice of Life][Human] • 8,419 words

    Magic and technology may have pierced the void and blazed a path between the realms, but that was the simple part. Adjusting to the changes that follow can be far more daunting.

    Yet despite the complexities involved even in basic communication, Serendipity has found friends to talk to among humankind who can cheer her up when she’s down. And occasionally inspire her to bursts of ingenuity unhindered by such trifles as foresight.

    Read More

    6 comments · 9,133 views
  • 193 weeks
    TCC56's "Glow In The Dark, Shine In The Sun" [Royal Canterlot Library]

    A villain might just have a bright future in today's story.


    Glow In The Dark, Shine In The Sun
    [Equestria Girls] [Drama] [Slice of Life] • 27,035 words

    Despite all attempts, Cozy Glow still hasn't been shown a path to friendship. No pony has been able to get through to her, and she's only gotten worse with each attempt.

    Reluctant to return the filly to stone again, Princess Twilight has one last option. One pony she hasn't tried. Or in this case? One person.

    Sunset Shimmer.

    Can Sunset do what no pony has been able to?

    Read More

    10 comments · 9,337 views
  • 195 weeks
    The Red Parade's "never forever" [Royal Canterlot Library]

    Today's story never says never.


    never forever
    [Sad] [Slice of Life] • 1,478 words

    Lightning Dust will never be a Wonderbolt. When she left the Academy, she swore she'd never look back. When the Washouts disbanded, she swore she'd forget about them.

    Yet after all these years, against all odds, she finds herself here. At a Wonderbolts show. Just on the wrong side of the glass.

    Read More

    20 comments · 8,131 views
  • 200 weeks
    Freglz's "Nothing Left to Lose" [Royal Canterlot Library]

    Don't lose out on today's story.


    Nothing Left to Lose
    [Drama] [Sad] • 6,367 words

    Some things can't be changed.

    Starlight believes otherwise.

    FROM THE CURATORS: One might be forgiven for thinking that after nine years of MLP (and fanfic), there's nothing left to explore on such well-trodden ground as changeling redemption — but there are still stories on the topic which are worthy of turning heads.  "Though the show seems to have moved past it as a possibility, the question of whether and how Queen Chrysalis could be reformed alongside the other changelings still lingers in the fandom's consciousness," Present Perfect said in his nomination. "In comes Freglz, with a solidly reasoned story that combines the finales of seasons 5 and 6 and isn't afraid to let the question hang."

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    26 comments · 7,541 views
  • 202 weeks
    Somber's "Broken Record" [Royal Canterlot Library]

    Today's story puts all the pieces together.

    (Ed. note: Some content warnings apply to this interview, regarding current world circumstances and mentions of suicidal ideation.)


    Broken Record
    [Drama] [Slice of Life] • 7,970 words

    There has never been an athlete like Rainbow Dash. The sprints. The marathons. The land speed record. She held them all.

    Until she didn't.

    Until she had only one left... and met the pony that might take it from her...

    Read More

    11 comments · 5,347 views
  • 204 weeks
    jakkid166's "Detective jakkid166 in everything" [Royal Canterlot Library]

    Missing out on today's story would be a crime.


    Detective jakkid166 in everything
    [Comedy] [Human] • 15,616 words

    "Every pony thing evre made would be better if it had me in it."
    - me

    I, Detective jakkid166, will be prepared to make every pony fanficion, video, and game better by me being in it. All you favorite pony content, except it has ME! And even I could be in some episodes of the show except cause the charaters are idiot I'm good at my job.

    The ultimate Detective jakkid166 adventures collection, as he goes into EVERYTHING to make it good.

    Read More

    171 comments · 9,616 views
  • 206 weeks
    Mannulus' "Sassy Saddles Meets Sasquatch" [Royal Canterlot Library]

    Today's story is a rare find.


    Sassy Saddles Meets Sasquatch
    [Comedy] [Random] • 5,886 words

    The legend is known throughout Equestria, but there are few who believe. Those who claim to have seen the beast are dismissed as crackpots and madponies. Those who bring evidence before the world are dismissed as histrionic deceivers. There are those who have seen, however -- those who know -- and they will forever cry out their warning from the back seats of filthy, old train cars, even to those who dismiss them, who revile them, who ignore their warnings unto their own mortal peril.

    "The sasquatch is real!" they will cry forevermore, even as nopony believes.

    But from this day forward, Sassy Saddles will believe.

    Read More

    16 comments · 6,203 views
  • 208 weeks
    SheetGhost’s “Moonlight Vigil” [Royal Canterlot Library]

    Take a closer look into tonight’s story.


    Moonlight Vigil
    [Tragedy] • 3,755 words

    Bitter from her defeat and exile, the Mare in the Moon watches Equestria move on without her.

    Read More

    1 comments · 4,842 views
  • 210 weeks
    Unwhole Hole's "The Murder of Elrod Jameson" [Royal Canterlot Library]

    Today's story is some killer noir.

    [Adult story embed hidden]

    The Murder of Elrod Jameson
    [Dark] [Mystery] [Sci-Fi] [Human] • 234,343 words

    [Note: This story contains scenes of blood and gore, sexuality, and a depiction of rape.]

    Elrod Jameson: a resident of SteelPoint Level Six, Bridgeport, Connecticut. A minor, pointless, and irrelevant man... who witnessed something he was not supposed to.

    Narrowly avoiding his own murder, he desperately searches for help. When no living being will help him, he turns to the next best thing: a pony.

    Read More

    14 comments · 5,329 views
  • 212 weeks
    Grimm's "Don't Open the Door" [Royal Canterlot Library]

    Today's story lingers like the curling mist in a dark forest.


    Don't Open the Door
    [Dark][Horror] • 13,654 words

    After an expedition into the Everfree Forest ends in disaster, Applejack and Rainbow Dash take refuge in an abandoned cabin until morning.

    This is probably a poor decision, but it's only one night, after all. How bad could it be?

    FROM THE CURATORS: "I don't care much for horror stories," AugieDog mused. "But this one does so much right, I found myself really impressed." Present Perfect thought it was "simply one of the best horror stories I've ever read," and Soge agreed "one-hundred percent" that "this is pitch-perfect horror from beginning to end."

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    8 comments · 4,645 views
Jan
26th
2018

Author Interview » DwarvishPony's "Tracks in the Sand" [Royal Canterlot Library] · 2:48pm Jan 26th, 2018

Today's story examines a young woman hoping that someday her prints will come.


Tracks in the Sand
[Equestria Girls] [Drama] [Alternate Universe] • 9,590 words

Scavenging isn't just a hobby, it's a means of survival in the ruins of the old world. When you go scavenging, though, you'll never know what you'll find.

Pinkie Pie is about to find more than she bargained for.

FROM THE CURATORS: Like all good AU fics, this stood out with a combination of the comfortable and the unusual.  "I love the setting here — the sandy ruins are practically a character, they're described so well — and Pinkie, while being very much the character we've come to know over the past few years, is also someone who's lived her life on the fringes of a society that's barely hanging on to the concept of civilization," AugieDog said in his nomination.  And while those two elements accumulated most of our praise, Present Perfect found even more to like.  "This has the two things you need to really get me into a story: a post-apocalyptic wasteland and friendship," he said. "Girls kissing each other doesn't hurt. Neither does an unreliable narrator."

But there was a great deal of emotional depth to the story, as well.  "As the depths of Pinkie's loneliness and delusions come to light, I was struck by the tragedy," Present Perfect said, and Chris agreed: "I really enjoyed the tragedy here; Pinkie's seeing the world she wants to see, and yet, her world is so terrible that the best she can summon up is 'everything's still awful, but at least I have a friend, sorta.' Her delusions are a macrocosm of Gummy: a grand idea, but feeble and helpless underneath that."

And it was that fine balancing act between the bleakness of the world and the authenticity of the protagonist that solidified our appreciation of the story.  "Everything about the story was showing us how much Pinkie needs companionship, how much she needs hope in this world that's utterly inimical to her personality ... and then, twice, taking it away from her," Chris said.  And that worked both ways, Soge said: "I enjoyed Pinkie's characterization.  You get the sense she's a stone's throw away from a breakdown, which helps sell the post-apocalyptic setting."

Read on for our author interview, in which DwarvishPony discusses space creation, compensatory delusions, and Hobbit mounts.


Give us the standard biography.

Standard human guy born and raised in California. I started watching the show around the end of season 3 after stumbling across a certain Fallout crossover fic and wanted to understand the pony half of the story a bit better. Eventually I got caught up with the show and started reading more fanfiction. At one point I decided ‘Hey, I want to try this!’, and the rest is history.

How did you come up with your handle/penname?

I stewed on it for a while since I didn’t want to use the handle I use for games and stuff on the off chance someone I knew stumbled across it. Eventually it kinda just came to me while I was rewatching The Hobbit. The fact that dwarves had to ride ponies struck me as funny for some reason, so I went with it.

Who's your favorite pony?

Yeesh, that’s a tough one. It’s a close call between Pinkie and Rarity, ironically enough. When I first started watching the show they were the two who I initially wrote off as the silly one and the diva. As the show went on, I had to change my opinions.

Pinkie’s got this exuberance and outgoing personality that I’m a little envious of. In some ways, she’s a character I strive to be more like, simply because at the end of the day she wants everyone to be happy and that’s a noble enough goal to emulate.

Rarity, on the other hand, is a character who grew on me. I hated her with a passion at the start of season one. She just came off as haughty and self-centered. But as she developed in the show, I came to really appreciate her. She’s probably one of the most well-rounded characters now, and the fact that she dreams of creating new things is something I can get behind, too.

What's your favorite episode?

Crusaders of the Lost Mark, hands down. It’s a lovely redemption episode for Diamond Tiara, I adore the songs, and it brings a story arc to a close in such a satisfying way that I can’t help but smile.

What really sets the episode apart for me is the moment right after the CMC gets their cutie marks. One of the first things they say is “Cutie Mark Crusaders forever!” and there’s this relief in their voices and you just know that the idea of drifting away from each other terrified them. Seeing that moment between close friends still makes me tear up when I watch it.

What do you get from the show?

Something to smile about. The show is one of those things that, for just a few moments, can help me unwind and forget about things like a bad day at work.

What do you want from life?

Stability, happiness, financial security. Same stuff as everyone else trying to get by. In a perfect world I’d be able to write for a living.

Why do you write?

You could ask me this once a day for a week and I’d give you a different answer each time. I write for me, to make people happy, to tell a story I feel needs to be told… The list goes on.

If I had to boil it down to one reason, though, it would have to be for satisfaction. Being able to sit down and just create something is a feeling that I don’t think I have the words to fully describe. It just feels right, I guess?

What advice do you have for the authors out there?

If someone tells you they think you’d do well at something, don’t be afraid to try it. Back in high school, I had an English teacher who kept telling me they thought I had the talent to get into writing. I look back at the years between high school and when I started to write with a tinge of regret, and sometimes I catch myself wondering how much better of a writer I could be right now if I’d just listened.

What inspired ”Tracks in the Sand”?

Tracks in the Sand is a kinda-sorta sequel/offshoot of another story I’d written for a contest that took place in the same alternate universe. The world itself just kinda sank its teeth in me and wouldn’t let me shake it. Eventually I just sat down and tried to figure out what the rest of the Equestria Girls cast would be doing in this world and it snowballed from there.

Why choose Pinkie Pie as the main character for a story set in a post-apocalyptic doomscape?

Pinkie Pie is one of those characters that I feel could be thrown into almost any situation and still find a way to try to make others happy. In a world where things aren’t always safe, someone’s got to go out and gather things to keep people going. Pinkie just seemed like the natural choice for it.

How much of the story did you intend to be part of Pinkie’s delusion?

Originally, just Gummy. Early on in developing the story, I knew Pinkie Pie was going to be a lonely person. But since Pinkie is naturally a very social character, she needed someone to talk to. So she dreamed up Gummy. At some point, I realized that sometimes things can’t turn out the way you want them to, and Pinkie’s delusions started compensating for that.

What elements do you feel are necessary to make a good alternate Pony universe?

I’d say that the most important aspect to keep in mind is “how?”

Throughout writing the story, the questions I would stop and ask myself most are “How did things get to this point?” and “How does the world affect the characters?” The first question is never answered in the story in regards to what happened to create this post-apocalyptica, but just knowing what happened helps to ground the story a bit and make it a bit more real to me.

As for how the world affects the characters, it really helped me keep Pinkie and Sunset consistent through the story. Because it’s a different world, you can’t have characters that are exactly like the ones from the show (or movies in this case), and you have to develop them in a way that creates a space for them in the world, rather than altering the world to fit the characters.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. There’s always going to be someone who can offer a perspective on things that isn’t like yours, and sometimes they’ll offer advice that could help you see things in a completely different light.

I’d also like to give a shout-out to R5h for his input on the story. It really helped me flesh out the world.

You can read Tracks in the Sand at FIMFiction.net. Read more interviews right here at the Royal Canterlot Library, or suggest stories for us to feature at our Fimfiction group.

Comments ( 4 )
R5h
R5h #1 · Jan 26th, 2018 · · 1 ·

Aww, shucks. Thanks for the shout out! The story was great fun to preread/edit for.

I really enjoyed this story and I do hope that there are more stories to tell in this setting and with this Pinkie Pie.

Soooo... I'm pretty darn sure I'm not subscribed to this PresentPerfect, yet I receive story news and story stuff from him.
Any way to, well, NOT happen ? A special ''opt-out'' setting ?

Majin Syeekoh
Moderator

4784006
That’s Fimfiction’s Social Site Post blogs, which are blogs that feature stories that are broadcasted to the site supported by certain groups of users in order to highlight stories they’ve found interesting.

If you want to opt out, click on your Feed, then click on the Options button, where you’ll find a checkbox for Social Site Posts. If you unclick that, you won’t receive those kinds of blogs in your feed anymore.

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