My Top Ten Favorite "My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic" Fanfics. · 8:36pm Dec 19th, 2021

Hello, my fellow bronies,

In honor of the holiday season, I shall share some of my top favorite MLP fanfics with you.

These stories hold a place in my heart for their quality writing, rich worldbuilding, and sense of humor.

Note: These are stories mainly within the Friendship Is Magic sphere. I will post my top ten "Equestria Girls" stories later.

Anyways, let's get started.

10. Princess Celestia Gets Mugged by Bronywriter

This is just...a really hilarious, adorable, yet weirdly fluffy story.

As the title states, Princess Celestia is mugged while wandering around Canterlot disguised as a regular pony. Of course, Princess Celestia is not in any genuine danger, especially since the crooks kidnapping her are just weak losers. She decides to let herself be kidnapped for laughs.

The story features hilarious comedy, absurdity, and a weirdly heartwarming ending befitting the optimism of MLP.

9. Balloon to the Moon by Sleepless Beholder.

This adorable and fluffy story also turns an incompetent villain into an endearing and admirable figure.

You have the pony version of Wallflower Blush deciding to visit the moon by tying balloons around her body to ascend the heavens. Predictably, this doesn't work, and Celestia has to rescue the naive filly. But the Princess of the Sun discovers that Wallflower finds a rapport with the mysterious "Mare of the Moon," understanding her feelings of alienation and lack of appreciation. Celestia ends up revealing a bit of her vulnerability underneath her princess mask. And the two ponies work toward a goal that will make even the most cynical person find hope.

8. Anthropology by JasonTheHuman.

This story is a gem from the fandom's early (anything predating Twilight's ascension to the heavens and Equestria Girls) days. And one I still enjoy re-reading in my spare time.

The first part of the story takes the gag of "Lyra liking humans" and weaves a tale of comedy, drama, mystery, and intrigue. I am incredibly impressed with how the author incorporates many canon elements of MLP episodes and plausibly builds a mystery that Lyra takes it upon herself to solve.

The second part of the story is a fish out of water story that Lyra rediscovers her human heritage and adapts to life in America. The gags of Lyra trying to play a human while other people speculate about this weird girl make for great comedy but also drama as Lyra tries to find the exact values she found in Equestria.

7. Heir of the Nightmare

Many stories have speculated on the idea that Twilight was not only destined to be the Element of Magic, but she may also have a divine parentage. But never has a story taken this idea and added such a dark and tragic background.

In this story, Twilight is the daughter of Princess Luna, with her descent into villainy being driven by a cruel world that despised her and her filly. Not for anything they did, but because of who they were.

When Luna returns after 1000 years on the moon, she seeks to reconnect with her daughter, but her vengeful desires are still present. She declares she will oppress Equestria if it means keeping her daughter safe, forcing Twilight to choose between the mother she only recently knew and cares for and the world her mother seeks to destroy out of hatred and paranoia.

The story is not just dramatic. It is almost Shakespearean in its depiction of the consequences of hatred, impulsivity, and how the path to evil is laid with good intentions. And these good intentions lead to a dark twist in the story that will bring even the most hardened soul to tears. Sadly, the story has not been completed, but if Luna can wait 1000 years to leave the moon, I can wait for a few more years for this story to come to its long-anticipated conclusion.

6. The Great and Powerful Heart by Deep Pond

This story was so good that the writer of another story sought to give it a much more satisfying conclusion years later.

A corrupt sheriff more or less bullies Trixie into looking for a lost foal instead of being arrested on a bogus charge. While Trixie doesn't want this task, an encounter with another mare will force Trixie into seeing true depths others can sink...but also push her to become greater and more powerful than she ever imagined herself to be.

The story is a good balance between comedy, drama, and deep horror. But it is not just the horrors of the monsters one can find in Equestria, but also the horrors of hatred and bigotry, horrors which force others to become the heroes we never think we can be. And Trixie and Derpy make for an incredibly odd couple in their adventure, working off each other so well.

But the best part is seeing Equestria's top show mare become a hero in a way that stays true to her character.

5. Trixie's Gettin' Back On Her Hooves by Shadow Raikou

This story holds a special place in my heart because it was the story that convinced me to become a brony.

You can tell this is a story from the earliest days of the fandom since it features a not-yet-alicorn Twilight and Trixie as a homeless mare. But...it still could work as a pre-season three story.

A homeless Trixie (reluctantly) accepts charity from Twilight Sparkle and her friends, and in the process, learns about the magic of friendship. But her healing process is interrupted by the arrival of her cruel older sister, who will stop at nothing to leave Trixie in the poor house.

This story features everything one would expect of a good MLP two-parter: hilarious comedy, well-written songs, painful drama, the struggle to change, and a dark villain who represents the antithesis of all that is good and kind...but in a bone-chilling way.

All in all, it is a fanfic classic.

4. Past Sins by PenStroke

This story is practically a classic within the fandom, as it made Pen Stroke practically one of the big fish of FimFiction.

You all probably know the plot, but I'll give a basic outline anyways: as a result of a botched ritual by a group of cultists, a filly version of Nightmare Moon is born and is taken in by Twilight Sparkle.

The story idea is just so...beautiful. It is lovely its depiction of Mama! Twilight. It is beautiful in its description of a young filly learning about and exploring the world, and it is beautiful in how Nyx arrives at the lesson she does not have to let a sordid past control her actions.

It is good enough that it could be an excellent MLP episode in its own right.

3. Hot Heads, Cold Hearts, and Nerves of Steel by Trinary

This is part of Trinary's well-written Dashverse, an AU fanfic series in which Rainbow Dash became Princess Celestia's prized pupil.

But the story itself is an excellent example of how one can improve upon an existing canon story: it takes King Sombra's canon debut. It takes a weak two-parter and adds genuine danger, fear, and peril.

King Sombra makes his return, but he makes it terrifyingly: by kidnapping the foals of Ponyville under the muzzles of other ponies, with the Mane 6 being the ones who have to rescue them.

I won't say anymore, except the story works because even though I know there will be a happy ending, I still have moments where I hold my breath. And the showdown between Sombra and Rainbow was so epic that I couldn't stop re-reading it.

2. Rainbooms and Royalty by Trinary

As stated above, this is the story where Dashie became the heroine and leader of the Mane 6. And like with the above fanfic, it takes a canon event, in this case, the series's pilot, and adds genuine danger, terror, and drama to what was already a decent opening for MLP FIM.

We see a Dash who, unlike Twilight, is far more at odds with an all-knowing mentor within the story. We see the Mane 6 forced into serious peril on the path towards the Elements of Harmony. We see romantic tension within Rainbow, a more menacing Nightmare Moon, the Mane 6 forced to work harder to prove they've earned the Elements, and badass mentor Zecora.

All in all, this is a better take on MLP's opening two-parter.

1. Elements of Harmony and the Savior of Worlds by RK_Striker_JK_5

While MLP-FIM acts as if it was ashamed of its past generations, this is a story that not only celebrates the more "juvenile" past but embraces and builds upon it.

The story's premise was that Megan Williams, the human protagonist of G1, made Equestria what it is today. Not just through her acts of heroism but by bringing human ideas into the then-desolate and broken pony world that she found. And after an incident with a dragon, Megan Williams will be reunited with a changed Equestria...but one where the ideals of magic and friendship still hold. It also features an Earth where many of the other Hasbro franchises, like GI Joe and Transformers, were also real.

This story is good, not just for drawing a connection between past MLP and the celebrated Friendship is Magic in the way that G5 wishes to connect itself to G4, but improving upon those elements and making one proud of enjoying G1, as limited as its storytelling may have been.

It also features excellent worldbuilding by drawing a connection with not only G1 but with the other great franchises of Hasbro, excellent interactions between the ponies and the humans, and excellent action and violence in the parts where villains make their debut.

Excellent...everything.

So there you have it: my top ten MLP FIM fan stories.

I'll be publishing my top ten Equestria Girls fanfics within the next few days. Until then, I'll see you all later.

Happy Holidays,

Redandready45.

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