In this thread, people can offer reasons for why they think a fic may be worthy of a Scrollmaster's recommendation. Some people might feel the need to offer a blurb as to why they personally decided to add a fic to our review process. Or a person might feel as though they saw something exceptional in a fic that our Scrollmasters might overlook when they read through the story. Or heck, people can even write their own reviews of fics and whether or not they would recommend the fic themselves.

Pointing out things like that certainly won't hurt the reviewing experience; in fact, I'm certain that it will add to the quality of our Scrollmasters' reviews overall. We like to discuss the fics we review and delve into the reasons why we do or do not recommend a fic.

So be sure to leave your personal takes on fics that are in queue to be reviewed (or are currently claimed for review). We'll be sure to read all such comments as we review each fic. Just make certain you state clearly which fic you are talking about, of course.

Equestria from Dust by Soundslikeponies

Equestria from Dust is something very unique and hard to classify other than that it is a creation story. While tagged alternate universe, with a little imagination the world depicted could easily be seen the history of the Equestria we know, or at least the Equestria we knew at the time From Dust was written. The AU tag is simply a warning that Soundslikeponies is not going to worry about the particulars (like the throwaway reference to a paleopony period) too much when they get in the way.

The strengths of From Dust are it's (if you'll forgive the double meaning) world-building, characterisation, and the intense vividness that comes through in the prose. There are few other pieces where I have felt so in there, riding along with the characters.

While reading, I found I myself caring for this Celestia and this Luna, not just because I find Celestia and Luna interesting in general, but because this realisation, their characterisation, and their plight carved out its own space in my head for them to live as independent entities. I was sorry to see the end, because I will never read more about them. That, I think, is a sure sign of success.

In short, I believe Equestria From Dust is worthy of consideration here.

Alaula and Diamond Tiara's Adventures in Romance by Yukito
Alaula and Diamond Tiara's Adventures in Romance is probably the most misleading title of any of my favorite fanfics. I love this story, not for the romance aspects (which aren't even really there anyway), but because it shows Diamond Tiara and Alaula becoming friends. It's been a while since I read the story and I'd rather not post spoilers in this thread, so I'm not entirely sure what to say about it.

The only part I didn't really like was Alaula's Cutie Mark Story. She's good at the High Jump. I don't think that's really a spoiler, it's not a huge part of the plot, and I just think of it as a way of saying "hey this is Alaula, she's nothing special."

It's a cute story and I really like how Alaula just slowly nudges her way into Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's lives. As I said before, it's been a while since I read it, so I don't remember how the characterization holds up, but even if it doesn't get in (and statistically, there's a very low chance that it will), at least I can get someone to read this story.

I really hope I didn't botch that recommendation. Uh yeah, Alaula and Diamond Tiara's Adventures in Romance.

Integration by Raugos

Disclaimer: I wrote this forever ago, but I can try to clarify if required.

I think the first thing I should mention is the duality of the title. Simply based upon the description, readers would assume that Integration refers to Caramel integrating into changeling society. But in reality, the title is about the integration of pony and changeling cultures.

I'd also like to note that Caramel x Sassaflash is actually a canon pairing from The Perfect Stallion, and that Sassaflash is not in fact an OC as I had originally assumed. This might help those less informed about background ponies to more easily accept a pre-existing pairing.

The world building within this story is another thing I find quite interesting, particularly in regards to creating a changeling society. My knowledge of fanon interpretations of this concept is pretty much limited to Mendacity (which, as an aside, is also quite interesting) and the idea that they're simply bloodthirsty monsters, so I found this story to be refreshing in its refutation of the latter idea. Changeling society and the characters within it felt like living, breathing creations, like how NPC's in Skyrim all lead separate lives independent of the main story. This provides a sense of immersion that sometimes isn't easy to find in these types of stories.

I've heard that flashbacks are almost universally terrible for story structure, tone, pacing, etc. within a story, which leads me to believe that this story is one of the rare exceptions. I personally never found them to be distracting; on the contrary I found them to be an adequate method of establishing the relationship between Caramel and Sassaflash, give further details into each of their personalities, and provide the reader with an emotional attachment to the characters.

But I think the aspect of this story that I find to most greatly influence my recommendation of it is the romance between Caramel and Sassaflash. I honestly think that this story might be more accurate with the inclusion of a Romance tag. As I noted regarding the aforementioned flashbacks, it not only becomes incredibly simply to accept Caramel and Sassaflash's relationship, but I find that this relationship felt more authentic--more genuine--than many actual romances I've read on this site. I'm not quite sure what my reasoning is for this, but I think it's a combination of growing up alongside the characters and the little touches that the author that preserve a sense of attraction between the couple without appearing overbearing. (That, or it's because I had recently read A Doll's House and was projecting my feelings on what constitutes a "good" relationship onto this couple, along with the flashbacks reminding me of The Descendant and his relatively recent blog about Hey Arnold.)
The concept of their love also parallels with the events of A Canterlot Wedding: Caramel and Sassaflash, both somewhat unremarkable in terms of their abilities (especially in comparison to Shining Armor and Cadence), are nearly capable of defeating Chrysalis, a creature who in turn was capable of defeating Celestia, in a duel.

Oh and the romance also paves the way for one particularly strong emotional moment within the story, which makes this story on of a small number on the sight to make me tear up.

My assessment is rather disorganized, so I'll try to summarize (and maybe add a bit more on the side). I recommend Integration because of its thoughtful world building, it's interesting characterization of its main characters, its powerful emotional moments (including both sad and heartwarming), and the simply lovely romance between Caramel and Sassaflash.