Howdy! I'm Xepher, and welcome to our third edition of Fanfic Spotlight. This week we've got three more stories: A uniquely realistic and alien take on human-in-Equestria, a short and sweet piece with Celestia helping Twilight through a magical flu of sorts, and a sad-but-profound look into the strength that belies Fluttershy's timid exterior.

A Voice Among The Strangers

by Tystarr
Words: 205,112 Complete: Yes

This is a novel length, human-in-equestria piece. But unlike many others, this isn't Mary Sue wish fullfillment of any sort. Instead, the author does an amazing job of showing a realistic take on what it might be like to wake in an alien world.

The main character, Jessica, finds herself in Equestria, and her first real contact is a changling, not a friendly, helpful pony. There is also a nearly-impenetrable language barrier for much of the tale, with Jessica unable to understand the Equestrian language at all, adding to her sense of isolation and alienness. In some cases, this can become slightly frustrating as you read, but it's the same frustration the character herself is enduring. This combines with realistic emotions to give us a slow-paced, but very in-depth study in character development, with Jessica eventually gaining friends and understanding in a world radically different than her own. Throughout it all, she grows realistically as a character, and her knowledge of this new world around her grows as well.

The end result is that this story does something very rare: It makes us see the ponies and world we all love and (at least in our imaginations) call home, for the weird, confusing, and truly alien place it really is. This is a long story, but if you plan to invest in reading it, you can look forward to one of the better, slow-burn character developments I've seen in ponyfic.

Melt

by ambion
Words: 1,980 Complete: Yes

This recommendation comes from Everfree's Director of Media, PonyTim and I've only recently read it myself. It's a short little tale, but sweet and endearing none-the-less. When Twilight has a strange disease, only Celestia can get close enough to comfort her, and a tender moment between teacher and student is seen. As it's under 2,000 words, the best thing I can say is "just read it already!" There's also an equally-short sequel, Drip, which is pretty good as well.

Five Hundred Little Murders(No Cover Art)
by Estee
Words: 11,285 Complete: Yes

This story follows Flitter, a mean pony that doesn't really like weakness in others, and would normally shun most of them. But when her cat gets sick, she has to ask for help from Fluttershy, the weakest pony of all.

On the the first level, this is an amazingly well executed glimpse into what makes Fluttershy tick and does an excellent job of showing the true strength behind her timid personality. But what really sets this tale apart is the fact that it's done in first person and from a completely outside and unlikeable pony's perspective. Flitter is a jerk, has no respect for most other ponies, and is generally awful, yet we feel for her deeply by the end, and that's no small feat.

So yes, this story is sad, but it's imminently worth it. Just have some tissues handy.

That's it for this week. Last week's edition can be found here, and I hope to see you all again next Thursday!

Cheers!
--Xepher