[THE LIST] OK, so not NSFW, per se, but does deal with controversial topics

This list is not about my favorite stories of all time. That's my favorites list and it's nearly 200 fics strong. The thing is, I've got high standards for my favorites list. It's got to be a completed fic. I can't have said at any time during the reading of it that I would rather be reading (or doing) something else. It's got to be high quality, and if it doesn't follow tried, tested, and true formulas for creating a successful narrative work, it's got a damn good reason and pulls it off with flying colors. Sometimes, however, there's a fic that I'd like to recommend to people, but it's just not finished yet. Maybe it doesn't quite merit my favorites list but it does something unique and interesting and is worth more attention than it's getting. Perhaps it's just not something that ever reaches the feature box, so most people never hear about it.

The List is about stand-out works that deserve more love, for whatever reason. In addition to general reviews of the fics, these blog posts will tell why I picked a particular story and highlight any features the reader should look out for. Spoilers will be appropriately marked, so you'll be able to read my reviews with confidence that you'll be able to read the story itself and experience the same surprise and delight I did when I first found it.

Also, authors and fans of works will be able to submit stories. Your particular selection may not make it onto the list, and the more information you give me for why you think it should be featured, the more likely I'll be to read and post it. To submit a fiction, simply PM me through FiMFiction's link on my profile.

The list can be found here: Princess Columbia's List

No spell for that
by
Jeweled Pen

Premise
Twilight Sparkle encounters a student at her alma mater that causes her to question some of her assumptions about the world, her studies, and how she treats others.
Meanwhile, a filly who wasn't born one is desperate to find some way to simply be who she knows herself to be.

Princess Columbia's Synopsis
Reading this fic was kinda painful for me, because so much of my own struggle was reflected in the story of Drifting Petal, and I actually had to put on my Big Girl panties in order to read this in such a way as to be able to properly review it. (I'd made the mistake of allowing my feels to overwhelm my writing sense before back in the heyday of the Ranma 1/2 fandom's prominence with the fic, "The Clothes Make the..." only to come back to it a couple years later and realize the writing itself was just...dreck. Decent plot points, spent too much time yanking the emotional chain to pay attention to the actual story)

The writing on this one is...not professional. It's not nearly as tight as it should be and the focus jumping from Twilight to Drifting Petal very abruptly will be very jarring if you're not expecting it, because there's not really a good transition or even a narrative reason to do so. Is it Twilight's story, or Drifting's story? Answer is...not sure yet. Both characters have great starts to complete story arcs and I eagerly await seeing what happens for both. I'd really like to see Twilight interacting directly with both Celestia and Luna, and a cameo from the Crystal Imperial Royal Family would be wonderful as Drifting is struggling with figuring out her own feelings when it comes to relationships.

I will say that the reader should hang on through the sections featuring Drifting's parents (specifically her mom) and therapist. While critical to the story they're a bit painful to read.

Why am I highlighting this fic?
There's just not enough good fics that feature a trans character. While there's epic crap-tons of trans-centric works, the vast bulk of them get stuck in the "I'm trans, poor me" phase and don't move on no matter how badly they need to. I think this is the same problem most romance fiction has; when the central feature of the story is the romance/trans-experience, it's gotta be stretched out to ridiculous length to have anything there.

The best bad example of this that I can think of off the top of my head is "The Saga of Tuck." There's nothing wrong with the story, per se, though I think the only reason it wound up being as popular and (in)famous as it is was due entirely to the fact that, at the time it was written, there just wasn't anything else worth reading, so when something came along that was decently well written, had a good plot and fleshed out characters, and dealt with actual real-life issues (as opposed to the fetish-centric fiction that was all you could find for trans-characters at the time), that the fact that the story turned into a stagnant slog through a Chocolate War-esque narrative nightmare was ignored.

Back to this fic; Twilight feels real, as do the ponies around her. Her surprise, reactions, and overall accepting nature as The Princess of Friendship plus her drive to learn more with an open mind resemble her on-screen version magnificently, and this leads to hilarious interactions. The fashionista- and spa-ponies exposure to trans-ponies feels real, and Starlight Glimmer's reaction (this is in Ch.1, so I don't consider it a spoiler) makes perfect sense.

What makes this fic particularly good?
The catharsis, in both the classical and modern senses of the word. Catharsis was originally meant as a way to describe the playwright's ability to extract the correct emotional response from the audience for the scene being written and performed, and over the centuries has come to mean the author/playwright/actor being able to portray the intended emotion because they actually feel the emotion in question, often in a therapeutic way, as they're relating it to the audience. I'm not reading tea leaves on this, btw, the author explains in the author's notes at the end of a couple of chapters that she's writing the story as catharsis regarding her own experience as a transwoman.

Who would like this fic?
Transwomen, naturally. Additionally, anyone who enjoys Twilight tripping over her own nerdery to comedic effect.

Does the author monetize?^*
Yes! Go visit their profile for commission information and shower them with filthy lucre!

Endorsement on Princess Columbia's List is an endorsement of the selected work of fiction only and is not intended to endorse the creator of the work in any other way.

* Why highlight whether the author monetizes their work? By providing renumeration to the author, you often get the opportunity to request certain works be given higher priority. Additionally, when a person is able to get paid for their passion on their terms, it can often allow them to cut out things that otherwise distract from said passion, like a day job. Please support your content creators!