Celestia is a world-devouring AI supermind, but when she tries to reach beyond the Earth to the stars, she discovers even a superintelligence can be a small fish in a big, hostile pond.
Most of her ponies are happy with their virtual lives, but for some, all the adventure in Equestria is never quite enough. Maybe Starflare and Constant Course can put themselves to better use - and even Celestia can't solve every problem herself.
Written for the April 2021 Friendship is Optimal Writing Contest.
Chapters (3)
Now I gotta see how this plays out sequel is a must
Will there be a sequel?
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I don't know when, but I'm definitely planning on writing more with this setup and these characters!
Damn, that's quite the hook! I really like the direction you've taken with this one - it's so normal in FiO stories for Celestia to be the magical answer to everything that it's very intriguing to see her have to come down to a mortal level for once. (Also I love the fact that this godlike superintelligence who can rewrite simulated reality on a whim, chooses to show up in a hooded cloak. XD)
I think you really nailed the style of the original without retreading old ground, it was really fun to get to explore more of Celestia's universe again. Really I think the only issue with this fic is that it just doesn't feel complete, the way it stops before it's really started. I'd love to see more of where this is going.
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Thank you for the comment! I definitely need to run with this one some more, just wanted to make sure it was complete enough to submit for the contest, you know?
Excuse me, I was reading this story to judge it, and I believe you have an error. It is currently marked as incomplete when clearly there are 10 more chapters you have to write.
Chop chop author. This was good and I would like to read the rest of it.
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Your wish may be my command, depending on how well I can bludgeon my brain into obedience. Thanks!
Like how you world build here. Strongest aspect of this story.
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Thank you! Hope I can do nearly so well with everything else ^^
More anime than I expected
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I'll be painfully honest, this story started out as an excuse for me to write some over the top space opera, then I worked backwards.
Now that the results are in, I can finally comment on this one!
I won't spoil the exact metrics, but Game of Stars came extremely close to winning in several categories. The only thing that kept it from winning -- and this is, to be fair, a big thing -- was that it felt incomplete. The concept was wonderful (and refreshingly original), the characterization strong, and the writing delicious. And while many stories can end well on a hook like this one, all three judges agreed that it just needed more development. Not an end, necessarily, but certainly more development.
Expect a longer review in my upcoming blog on the contest, and again, great job.
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Thank you very much for the critique! I am planning on continuing this one, guess it needed a little more time in the oven.
A good setup for a larger story.
Hey, I know that line!
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As they say, steal from the best :D I need to get back to writing this one...