Story Name: Up Where the Air is Clear
Link To Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/421432/up-where-the-air-is-clear
Word Count: 1,306
Tags: [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Rainbow Dash tries to fly as high as she can go.
Why it's Awesome: This story just sums up Rainbow Dash's character perfectly. I won't dare spoil it, but I just think the mere act of her flying as high as she can is a microcosm of who she is as a character and Rambling Writer demonstrates this perfectly.
Oh, And Also: 125 thumbs up, 0 thumbs down

Story Name: Laughing Her Way to the Bank
Link To Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/417890/laughing-her-way-to-the-bank
Word Count: 3,793
Tags: [Comedy] [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Twilight is called upon by Celestia to solve a problem. Somepony has just paid off all of Equestria's debts.
Why it's Awesome: Okay, based on the title, you all know who it is. However, once she enters the story, Bok does an amazing job of portraying Pinkie Pie. This is EXACTLY how Pinkie would react to the world of finance and it is HILARIOUS.
Oh, And Also: It was posted yesterday and it already has 148 thumbs up, 0 thumbs down.

Story Name: Peaceable Kingdom
Link to Story
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/414812/peaceable-kingdom
Word Count: 25,362
Tags: [Drama] [Slice of Life] [Tragedy]
What It's About: On an otherwise ordinary day, the citizens of Ponyville see smoke rising over Canterlot. When they turn on the radio, they discover that something is very, very wrong...
Why It's Awesome: I can't give away too much about this one, but it's an absolute whirlwind of a read. The sense of creeping dread that the author builds through this story is excellent, and even AFTER the "big event" we're graced with excellent characterization and an ending that couldn't have been done better.
Oh, and Also: This story is criminally underlooked, currently sitting at 88 likes and 14 dislikes: it's my very favorite on this site I have read and I implore you to take a look at it.

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Thank you for the recommendation! We've already featured AShadowOfCygnus' Cold Light, but it's great to know they're still turning out quality stories. :)

Story Name: Pinkie Figures it Out
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/422086/pinkie-figures-it-out
Word Count: 3,042
Tags: [Comedy] [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Pinkie has just made an amazing realization. Now if only she could prove it.
Why It's Awesome: This is a great short comedic story that has both Pinkie and Twilight in character and an AMAZING central joke that builds off "Sounds of Silence" and a certain fandom meme.
Oh, and Also: 310 thumbs up, 2 thumbs down

Story Name: The Cheek's in the Mail
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/422576/the-cheeks-in-the-mail
Word Count: 2,251
Tags: [Comedy]
What It's About: The photocopying of butts has quite the history in Equestria.
Why It's Awesome: This story is stylized like it's a story that focuses on worldbuilding. This works in the story's favor since it has a great understanding of deadpan humor. Just a standout comedy story that does a great job explaining its central topic.
Oh, and Also: 318 thumbs up, 7 thumbs down

Story Name: THe Beard with a Jerk-Ass Hanging off of it
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/392063/the-beard-with-a-jerk-ass-hanging-off-of-it
Word Count: 61,067
Tags: [Sad]
What It's About: Starswirl, the pillars, and the Mane Six have to figure out how to defeat the Pony of Shadows. Only one problem. Starswirl is a sexist jerk-ass.
Why It's Awesome: The portrayals of the main cast and The pillars are different than the show, but nearly all of it is for great comedic effect. Starswirl's delusions of grandeur, Sunset's relentless anger, etc. It's almost like MLP was made by Seth MacFarlane. (MLP-Family Guy) I can't tell you how many times I laughed.
Oh, and Also: 385 thumbs up, 23 thumbs down.

Story Name: Last Nightmare Night
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/415371/last-nightmare-night
Word Count: 3,369
Tags: [Drama] [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Twilight grapples with not wearing costumes anymore for Nightmare Night.
Why It's Awesome: It's such a relatable story. The internal debate Twilight goes through is extremely similar to others people go through as they get older. Don't want to spoil too much else.
Oh, and Also:

Story Name: April Fools!
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/179685/april-fools
Word Count: 1,114
Tags: [ROmance] [Comedy] [Random]
What It's About: Pinkie plays a prank on Sombra for April Fools Day.
Why It's Awesome: This story poses the situation if Pinkie Pie were to reform Sombra in the same way Fluttershy reformed Discord, and not only is this story funny, but it also really makes me buy this relationship between Sombra and Pinkie. In this one scene, readers can easily discern their relationship and the role they both play in it.
Oh, and Also: 1,014 thumbs up, 18 thumbs down

Story Name: History Forgets
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/219169/history-forgets
Word Count: 1,900
Tags: [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Twilight explains the advantages of being immortal to an elderly Scootaloo.
Why It's Awesome: This was a very touching take on the "Twilight grapples with immortality" genre. Won't spoil any more than that.
Oh, and Also: 817 thumbs up, 7 thumbs down

Story Name: I'll Miss You, Big Sister
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/100130/ill-miss-you-big-sister
Word Count: 9,950
Tags: [Sad] [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Rainbow Dash has to leave on a tour of duty with the Wonderbolts for a long time, but Scootaloo doesn't want her to go.
Why It's Awesome: If you, or someone you know, has had a loved one leave to serve the military, this story is an amazingly accurate depiction of a child's reaction to that situation. The emotions Scootaloo and RD go through feel raw and real and it really to=ugs at the heartstrings.
Oh, and Also: 86 thumbs up, 3 thumbs down

Story Name: This Nose Knows
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/394631/this-nose-knows
Word Count: 228,852
Tags: [Romance] [Adventure] [Comedy]
What It's About: The story of Baked Bean continues as he and his new wife, Princess Celestia, now deal with Changelings, Tirek, and lots. of. family matters.
Why It's Awesome: All the characters are very fleshed out and developed, and even the canon ones get a bit of a different spin on them. A very wholesome story.
Oh, and Also: It may be a sequel, but if you ever wanted to consider giving an indication to an entire series of fics... well, here you go. Just a thought.

Story Name: Necromancy for Foals
Link To Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/378154/necromancy-for-foals
Word Count: 112,404
Tags: [Adventure] [Romance] [Dark]
What It's About: A young foal finds a special talent in necromancy. Unfortunately, necromancers don't exactly have the best reputation...
Why It's Awesome: This particular story is the best example of a MLP adventure epic I've seen thus far. The character struggles, while not always relatable, feel honest in how people would react to their situation. References to recognizable characters in the form of their ancestors gives the reader something to keep an eye out for.
Oh, And Also: One of my personal favourite stories, I am very excited to see where the sequel takes the story.

Story Name & Link: Empty Horizons
Word Count: 185,792
Tags: [Adventure] [Sci-Fi]
What It’s About: When the pre-S2-finale M6 awaken in a distant future where Equestria lies drowned under a global sea and the magically drained remains of civilization are spread across floating islands, they are torn between solving the mysteries of the old world’s destruction and the political machinations of this strange new world.
Why It’s Awesome: Whether you’re a fan of steampunk, flying cities and airships, or you enjoy a solid mystery explored by well-characterized protagonists with increasingly different goals, or you just like fights with enemies ranging from ancient deep-sea monsters, to ruthless mercenaries, to the demons in your own mind, this probably has something for you.
Oh, And Also: Act 1 of a planned trilogy. One of my favorite stories on this site.

Story Name: A Thousand Words of Noise
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/424063/a-thousand-words-of-noise
Word Count: 1,000
Tags: [Sad] [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Twilight thinks about life.
Why It's Awesome: This story does an excellent job portraying depression in such a short amount of words. Not kidding, it manages to clearly and poignantly convey DEPRESSION in a 1,000 words. It's a really quite remarkable feat that I couldn't just ignore it.
Oh, and Also: 308 thumbs up, 8 thumbs down

Story Name: Celestia and Luna Save Christmas
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/72202/celestia-and-luna-save-christmas
Word Count: 1,085
Tags: [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Celestia and Luna fill in for Santa's reindeer.
Why It's Awesome: Bok writes a great poem about Christmas. Just a great story for the season.
Oh, and Also:

Story Name: Permission
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/424389/permission
Word Count: 1,098
Tags: [Coemdy] [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Soarin' asks Big Mac for permission to court his sister.
Why It's Awesome: Well, the conversation between Sorain and Big Mac is great and well written, but the reason I recommend this is because of the end which had me ROLLING.
Oh, and Also: 321 thumbs up, 18 thumbs down

Story Name: The Battle of Fort Book
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/45217/the-battle-of-fort-book
Word Count: 1,108
Tags: [Coemdy] [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Cadence and Twily must defend Fort Book from the enemy.
Why It's Awesome: Remember that Powerpuff Girls episode, "Best Rainy Day Ever," or something like that? Yeah, this story is like that. It captures that feeling of childlike innocence so well, and the comedy, in that context, is great.
Oh, and Also: 4,258 thumbs up, 66 thumbs down

Story Name: Spike the Babysitter
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/416990/spike-the-babysitter
Word Count: 1,167
Tags: [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Spike babysits Flurry Heart.
Why It's Awesome: It's Spike babysitting Flurry Heart. What more do you need?! This fic explores a bond we never really saw in the show. Spike has never really been left alone with Flurry before and it's great to see them interact. Also, plus Infinity for adorable-ness.
Oh, and Also: 144 thumbs up, 4 thumbs down.

Story Name: Critical and Apathetic
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/424476/critical-and-apathetic
Word Count: 1,172
Tags: [Drama] [Sad] [Slice of Life]
What It's About: It's about to get dark and Sweetie Belle hasn't come home. Rarity worries for her sister, but once she finally arrives, something is wrong.
Why It's Awesome: This story explores a scenario that we never really thought of as a fan. Ponies that get their cutie marks to find their purpose in life. We have postulated before about if a pony's mark relates to something they don't want to do, but what if a pony gets a cutie mark and then when they show off their talent, people don't like it? It's a really intriguing story that has genuine emotion from Sweetie Belle and a scenario we don't normally see.
Oh, and Also: 34 thumbs up, 0 thumbs down.

Story Name: Words on a Page
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/425023/words-on-a-page
Word Count: 1,192
Tags: [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Spike finds a book while cleaning Starlights room, so he reads it.
Why It's Awesome: It's best you go in blind so you can figure it out for yourself, but if you're a writer, then you'll relate to Starlight HARD.
Oh, and Also: 356 thumbs up, 5 thumbs down

Story Name: Interview with a Cab Driver
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/222714/interview-with-a-cab-driver
Word Count: 1,381
Tags: [Slice of Life]
What It's About: A reporter interviews a common everyday taxi driver.
Why It's Awesome: I love Slice of Life stories like this where we see the everyday problems of a common pony. The cab driver is just such an interesting character only after one conversation. Makes me want to read an entire story just to see it all play out.
Oh, and Also: 106 thumbs up, 2 thumbs down

Story Name: Vent Writing, by Spike
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/181152/vent-writing-by-spike
Word Count: 1,437
Tags: [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Spike vents about his life.
Why It's Awesome: This is a great character study into Spike. Drizzle Quill does a great job channeling his existential frustration and it truly feels like this is Spike writing. I don't want to spoil much because the root of this story is the emotion it elicits.
Oh, and Also: 261 thumbs up, 5 thumbs down

Story Name: Rainbow Dash, Don't Drink My Love Potion!
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/426387/rainbow-dash-dont-drink-my-love-potion
Word Count: 7,562
Tags: [Romance]
What It's About: Rainbow Dash ingests a potion Twilight brewed up, so now the studious alicorn has to keep watch over her until it wears off. One problem, she has the hots for the Pegasus.
Why It's Awesome: This story expresses the exact reason why Twidash is one of my fav. Mane Six ships. Rainbow Dash gung-ho attitude is the perfect counter to Twilight's reserved and hesitant tendencies, and the way the two philosophys clash in this story is really intriguing. Plus, the relationship is handled well, the writing is on point and it's just a really great shipfic.
Oh, and Also: 168 thumbs up, 15 thumbs down

Story Name: With Celestia As My Witness
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/427174/with-celestia-as-my-witness
Word Count: 11,078
Tags: [Sad] [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Stone Spring is having trouble making friends in his new school, but when he states "With Celestia As My Witness," the Solar Monarch appears.
Why It's Awesome: Not only is the concept itself very intriguing, but this story has a very excellent emotional center that balances the comedy perfectly.
Oh, and Also: 132 thumbs up, 3 thumbs down

Story Name: One Castle, Two Alicorns
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/415416/one-castle-two-alicorns
Word Count: 20,261
Tags: [Slice of Life]
What It's About: When Evil Twilight from "The Mean 6" evades the Tree of Harmony and Chrysalis, she seeks refuge at Twilight's castle.
Why It's Awesome: Equestria-Forever does an amazing job of developing Evil Twilight as her own character here. I also love the dynamic she creates with the rest of the cast. Don't want to spoil much else.
Oh, and Also: 531 thumbs up, 31 thumbs down

Story Name: First Cut
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/423881/first-cut
Word Count: 3,154
Tags: [Drama] [Sad] [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Marble Pie depressingly contemplates what could have been after witnessing Big Mac and Sugar Belle touching snouts in "Best Gift Ever." Sugar Belle comforts her.
Why It's Awesome: True Edge portrays Marble excellently here. He/She manages to capture her heartbreak perfectly, and Sugar Belle does an amazing job. Just a great story about two characters who don't get written about too often.
Oh, and Also:

Story Name: The Bucket List of Princess Celestia
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/422663/the-bucket-list-of-princess-celestia
Word Count: 29,154
Tags: [Dark] [Comedy] [Random]
What It's About: Luna pranks Celestia by getting her doctor to falsely inform her that she has only a week left to live. So, Celestia sets out to make sure that she won't leave the mortal world without regret.
Why It's Awesome: It's comedy, mainly. Celestia's antics are really what drive this story. Just read to see for yourself.
Oh, and Also:

Story Name: Spectrum of Gray

Link To Story:

TSpectrum of Gray

• MLP: FiM
• Romance
• Drama

Something is wrong with Rainbow Dash and Applejack, and Twilight Sparkle is determined to figure it out. But not even the Princess of Friendship is prepared for the possibility that, sometimes, love alone isn't enough to keep a marriage going strong.

• Twilight
• Rainbow Dash
• Applejack
• Granny Smith

Amber Spark · 18k words  ·  168  14 · 2.6k views

Word Count: 17,470

Tags: [Romance] [Drama]

What It's About: Rainbow Dash and Applejack have cherished the years gone by at one another’s side, but beneath the wear of time, the fuel that is love can turn to ash and smother the flames they hold dear.

Beyond the smoke rising from the cinders, they face an uncertain future. Now, they must come to terms with the harsh truth that, sometimes, love alone isn't enough to keep a marriage burning bright.

Why It's Awesome: A well-deserved winner of the 2017 AppleDash contest, this story is painfully real, portraying a conflict that many people face in marriage while also staying true to the characters. It's a wonderful exploration of what love and commitment really mean beyond the "I do," and written in such a way as to tear your heart to pieces. I feel like it also provides valuable insights that younger audiences should have into long-term relationships.

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Story Name: The Pony of Vengeance

Link: The Pony of Vengeance

Word Count: 141, 153

What it's about: An unknown figure eliminating random crime leaders leaving very little trace of its presence. As the Main Six investigate, they find that there's more to this mysterious figure than they could've ever imagined.

Why it's an awesome story: Because it has a nice good buildup and reveals secrets that make everything about the plot fit in so flawlessly. The action, violence, mystery, and tear jerkiing scenarios are ones that'll leave you with chills and make your heart ache.

Side Note: The story is also complete, so you don't need to worry about waiting for it to be finished.

Tags: Dark, Horror, Sad

Story Name: Little Memories
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/424432/little-memories
Word Count: (In-progress)
Tags: [ROmance] [Sad] [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Picks up a day after the events of "Little Consequences."
Why It's Awesome: It's the Little Flashes series by Skijarama, why WOULDN'T it be?!
Oh, and Also: I figured I'd just get this recommendation up now because the ENTIRE LITTLE FLASHES series deserves a place in this library at some time in the future. However, since reading it takes a long time, it's better to just recommend it now so you guys would have less to read later on.

I'll just say that this entire series has AMAZING character arcs, emotion to the grim, and genuine edge-of-your-seat storytelling. It's a true epic of a series. If you haven't read any of it yet, DO IT!

Story Name: Anniversary of What?
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/435419/anniversary-of-what
Word Count: 4,492
Tags: [Romance] [Comedy] [Random]
What It's About: Twilight finds out AJ and Fluttershy are dating.... and it's their One-Year Anniversary.
Why It's Awesome: It's an extremely funny story. Can't really say more than that without spoiling jokes.
Oh, and Also: Maybe you can have a Mass-induction of Pure Comedy stories, kind of like how Netflix has it's comedy specials?

Story Name: In My Life
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/52371/in-my-life
Word Count: 1,732
Tags: [Sad] [Slice of Life]
What It's About: When Twilight falls ill and is nearly at death's door, Celestia reflects on her relationship with her most faithful student.
Why It's Awesome: It's a very touching scene showcasing the relationship between Twilight and Celestia.
Oh, and Also:

Story Name: We Regret to Inform You
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/169295/we-regret-to-inform-you
Word Count: 5,030
Tags: [Sad]
What It's About: When the Cakes tragically pass, Pinkie has to break the news to the Twins, as well as adjust to the new role she finds herself thrust into.
Why It's Awesome: I love how this story takes Pinkie's character to a new place, and also achieves great emotional beats.
Oh, and Also: Dr. Wolf recorded a reading of this story in 2 separate videos.

Story Name: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/431251/i-have-no-mouth-and-i-must-scream
Word Count: 5,611
Tags: [Horror]
What It's About: Nightmare Moon has won and subjects the defeated Mane Six to their worst Nightmares.
Why It's Awesome: Each dream does an amazing job of tackling the mane SIx's fears, which I won't spoil. In addition, the writing is done really well to where it carries it's emotional beats extremely well. I also particularly loved the ending and what the author did with Nightmare Moon, as I found it extremely clever and I won't spoil it here.
Oh, and Also:

Story Name: The Pony of Vengence
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/387122/the-pony-of-vengeance
Word Count: 141,153
Tags: [Dark] [Horror] [Sad]
What It's About: When a vigilante begins killing criminals in Manehatten using stolen cutting-edge technology, The Mane Six are called upon to investigate.
Why It's Awesome: This story really shines once we learn about this story's villain. He's an extremely well-developed character by the time the story ends, and his interactions with the Mane Six puts their values and friendship to the test. This villain's presence permeates the entire story, even when he isn't in the scene. Plus, the Battle scene at the end was very well written.
Oh, and Also: Full Disclosure, I am friends with BradyBunch and have edited for his story "A Rather Large Adventure."

Story Name: It Sleeps Beneath Foal Mountain
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/425946/it-sleeps-beneath-foal-mountain
Word Count: Incomplete (Currently 27,351)
Tags: [Dark] [Horror] [Tragedy]
What It's About: When Twilight witnesses the Tree of Harmony neutralize the evil doppelgangers of her and her friends as seen in "The Mean 6," she begins to grow suspicious of the tree and sets out to discover it's secrets, risking her sanity along the way
Why It's Awesome: the7Saviors once again impresses with a dark tale centered around an eldritch abomination. However, unlike his previous work, this story is a full-on love letter to the works of H.P. Lovecraft and you can see it in the story's style. The way he manages to fit Lovecraftian conventions into the pony world is an amazing read, and it's not even over yet. This is a story to watch.
Oh, and Also: This story isn't complete, but I think it deserves to be monitored for induction once it does finish.

Story Name: The House That Built Me
Link To Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/436547/1/the-house-that-built-me/the-house-that-built-me
Word Count: 1712
Tags: [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Firelight laments on the mistakes he made in the past with Starlight and how he and his daughter are working to correct and overcome them.
Why It's Awesome: The House That Built Me puts Firelights feelings and regrets into view and gives you a feel for his emotions, and the hard choices he had to make for Starlight. There's a good feeling at the end as they are bridging the gap that once existed between the two.

Story Name: The Velocity of Blood
Link To Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/386628/the-velocity-of-blood
Word Count: 20,395
Tags: [Sad] [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Twilight and Spike go around Ponyville and Canterlot preparing for an experiment.
Why It's Awesome: The Velocity of Blood is a criminally underrated story that puts both of its genre tags to good use. The mundanity of everything creates a bleak and depressive atmosphere, and figuring out what's going on with Twilight is like realizing you're about to witness a train crash yet you can't look away. It's well written, compelling, and devastatingly sad.
Oh, And Also: It seems that a lot of people found the ending confusing and/or disappointing, but I strongly disagree with that. Your mileage may vary, though.

Story Name: Rain Curfews
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/436844/rain-curfews
Word Count: 8,118
Tags: [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Climate is changing in the lands around the changeling hive, and this means a lot of rain. Rain makes flying and venturing outside dangerous for changelings, so Thorax has to come up with a solution.
Why It's Awesome: Very cute story showing how changelings deal with the changes coming over their land. Characters are well-written and have a lot of fun interactions. There are lots of details about changelings and their new ways of doing things that is very nice.
Oh, and Also; If you like cute, happy stories, this is a great one!

Link To Story: Mother
Word Count: 2,178
Tags: Slice Of Life, Sad, Drama
What It's About: Rainbow Dash goes through the struggles of missing her mother after a grave loss.
Why It's Awesome: This story really shows the more emotional side of Rainbow Dash. It shows how even the toughest ponies aren't able to remain so under tragedy, and how it's okay to break. It's heart wrenching, emotional, and opens up a conversation about mortality. It made me want to hug my Mom for ten minutes after I read it.

Story Name: The Seven Ages of Pony
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/410606/the-seven-ages-of-pony
Word Count: 21,453
Tags: [Romance] [Sad] [Slice of Life]
What It's About: Celestia tries to live her life after banishing her sister to the moon, but a lot can happen in a thousand years.
Why It's Awesome: ObabScribbler (Yes, that Scribbler), proves her writing prowess in a great portrayal of Celestia that humanizes her extremely well.
Oh, and Also:

Story Name: Together in the End
Link to Story: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/59645/together-in-the-end
Word Count: 4,188
Tags: [Dark] [Sad]
What It's About: When the world's about to end, Rainbow Dash spends one last time with Scootaloo.
Why It's Awesome: The emotions for this story are really resonating. There's one moment in particular that I loved and it fit RD and Scootaloo so well, I won't dare spoil it here. It's a brief story, but it hits the emotional core well.
Oh, and Also, it had over 1,000 upvotes.

THello, Sedna

• MLP: FiM
• Dark
• Sci-Fi
• Tragedy

An alarm sounds. There's a planet nearby. I wonder if anyone can hear me.

• Human
• Other

shortskirtsandexplosions · 7.3k words  ·  1,331  27 · 19k views

Probably my favorite after hard reset.

story name: never broken
storh link: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/263840/never-broken
word count:135,630
Tags: [dark] [adventure] [tragedy]
what its about: Spike has been battling the eldritch horrors of timeless Ginungagap for over two millennia, yet even to this day, his shame remains gnawing at his very heart and mind. Until the day comes when he is told of the danger that threatens what is most precious to him.
why its aweome: Its a very intense and dark story, one that will get you genuinely feeling for the characters in it. It really gets you invested in the story in a way i havent seen before, and havent since

Story Name: You Will Always Belong
Story Link: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/443903/you-will-always-belong
Word Count: 1,149
Tags: [Slice Of Life]
What It's About: Twilight Velvet gets ready to give birth to her first child, and writes something for him.
Why it's awesome: This story captures the feeling all first-time mothers have for their children. Plus the original song is totally awesome! I cried when I read it because it was so sweet and real! It's a story you don't forget.

Story Name: The First Real Mother's Day
Story Link: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/445149/the-first-real-mothers-day
Word Count: 3,776
Tags: [Slice Of Life]
What It's About: Shining Armor spends Mother's Day with his mom after becoming a dad.
Why it's awesome: This story totally gives perspective on that whole "We-don't-understand-our-parents-until-we-become-parents" Idea. This story is full of little mini-stories, a lot of cuteness, conversations between a new father and seasoned mother, and a whole lot of mother-son bonding. I loved it!

Story Name: Circles
Word Count: 25,233
Tags: MLPFIM, Death, Dark, Horror, Celestia, Luna
What It's About: Luna tells her sister a secret that has haunted her since her exile
Why it's awesome: I normally avoid Dark/Horror tags, but Grimm is a great writer so I gave this a shot. That I'm recommending it here should indicate how strongly this story pulled me in. Grimm's distinctive narrative style shines through here, coupled with a command of voice/tone that bathes the entire story in a velvet blanket of doubt and uncertainty. I found myself questioning my assumptions and partial conclusions as often as Luna was as she recounted her story. Grimm unravels the threads oh so slowly, which only spurred me to keep reading and follow Luna and Celestia along. The Horror at play is very psychological, but its implications are chilling to the bone.

Again, Horror and Dark stuff usually goes over the top for me and turns me away. But this kept me engaged 110% and also had me looking out of the corners of my eyes more than once - just in case.

Story Name: Behind The Wall
Story Link: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/447179/behind-the-wall
Word Count: 1,734
Tags: MLP FIM, Alternate Universe, Sad, Tragedy, Drama
What It's About: Twilight Velvet deals with abuse from Night Light after he finds out she's pregnant.
Why It's Awesome: This story takes a look at something most people don't talk about- Abuse in relationships. There's even links in the Author's Note for resources for people experiencing that kind of abuse. This story took a solid look at a dark subject that many people face every day, and calls attention to something that others don't see very much. It's as much about looking inside the mind of a victim and why they stay in that relationship as much as it is about the abuse itself. It's a hard pill to swallow, but it was done really well, and it was realistic too.