[THE LIST] I genderswapped this title · 4:54pm Nov 16th, 2018
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
Premise
Following the events of Dimension Jumper, another employee of ARCO who has long admired the protagonist of the previous fic does something incredibly brave and stupid in an attempt to assist his waifu, steals an AI and a demon, then manages to smuggle himself to what he thought was the same universe. It's close...so very close...but not quite the same.
Princess Columbia's Synopsis
I'm not a fan of the R63 ponies in general. It's less to do with me being trans (as has been claimed when the subject has come up in the past) and more to do with how...uncreative it is. With just one or two ponies being gender-swapped, that makes for an interesting change in interaction that has the potential for new stories and different results for similar starting points. Having everyone in the entire poni-verse be gender swapped and that being the only difference just means that it's the exact same story but they're now all (insert gender here).
However, when there's an outside vector that enters into the scenarios, the gender presentation gender roles of the characters suddenly matter. Where a setup for "Look Before You Sleep" might only have a couple of reframed lines and still have the exact same outcome, how the Mane 6 as mares will react to a strange male alien from another universe will be distinctly different from how the Mane 6 as stallions react.
So Justin has a yen to play the hero, and amidst the chaos of Sarah's actions in Dimension Jumper he manages to gain access to the tech and magic he needs to slip the bonds of his home universe and try to follow his crush to the universe she's now inhabiting. He realizes that things didn't go as planned when he arrives in his destination universe and finds not a sign of the woman he was hoping to ride in to assist. Compounding matters is his lack of training, physical ability, or mental preparation in advance of binding himself to a demon and an A.I., something fully qualified dimension hoppers are equipped with.
Why am I highlighting this fic?
I wouldn't normally post a sequel to "The List," but I'm making an exception here because you don't actually need to read the previous work. Through accident or design, the author has managed to create an interesting sequel that avoids the vast majority of sequel problems.
What makes this fic particularly good?
The R63 of an entire universe is written in such a way as to make sense thematically. It's a story about jumping universes, so it makes sense that the protagonist might not necessarily jump into the universe we're all expecting. Most other R63 stories are done up for shock effect (Gasp! It's male pones instead of girl pones!), as an excuse to do some gay shipping ("Bubble Berry-san, what are these feelings you're stirring in me?"), or just because the author has decided to write for "something different," though most of the time they usually wind up writing something that looks just like what they could have produced with mares.
This one avoids that. Sure, there's some implications of gay shipping, but that's not the point of the fic. Since the adventure is about this guy who's trying to get his feet under him, the ponies assisting him could be Rando and his good buddy Annon and the story would still be interesting and different because the focus is Justin, not the ponies.
Who would like this fic?
If you like adventure, especially Contemporary Fantasy or "20 minutes into the future" sci-fi, you'll enjoy this one.
Does the author monetize?*
No, be sure to drop them a line to encourage them to become a filthy, filthy capitalist. 
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!
