I have to say I found the ending disappointing, but not because of the writing, or what happened... It just that I felt that it didn't need a whole chapter on it's own.
Spoiler
I feel the whole third spell mishap would have been better played as a little "oh! Here we go again!" Joke (or at least that's how I would have felt if the whole situation have happened in chapter 16) instead of a cliffhanger, leaving it as the latter made me feel this final chapter didn't pay up...
But this is actually my first real negative when it comes to this story...
Looking back at it, I guess I could say the most negative point this fic has is the fact that fresno took some poor (or risky) decisions at some time, some of them made the history more immersing, some made the same effect but at the same time alienated the people who didn't want to see certain things... I guess this is the first one I can say it went really bad and doesn't have that much of a redeeming quality, but it's such a minor timing mistake in what is otherwise one of the best stories I've read since The Vinyl Scratch tapes... I'm willing to let it go.
...
Oh yeah, and the mother who beat up a colt (despite being the foal version of prince Douche), I feel that will not sit well with some people...
But I guess that overall I really enjoyed this fic, it made me feel many things, even from the early chapters where I felt really pissed at Pinkie and how she was hiding things from her friends (later we find the awful truth about this secrecy and I couldn't avoid to feel bad for the pink pony... Also, all of my hate towards her parents)... I also felt a lot for the sisters, I really love the way fresno handled them, neither of the 2 is perfect, there was no right nor wrong side, both sisters had their problems and justifications and all of them felt so believable, at the end the princesses themselves recognize their mistakes and how even the 2 almost immortal alicorns can still grow and learn new things. This was by far, my favorite side of this story.
All in all, this one was one hell of a rollercoaster, hilarious jokes and pranks abound mixed with some really heavy and sad moments, add both character and relationships exploration and development and finish it up with a back story that is not be apt for most people (read, dark as fuck)... This fic pretty much covers everything (except maybe romance).
This one is the first of 2 Blueshift fics I'll be posting today, the reason I decided to name this post after him it's because a quick author search revealed me I've been reading a lot from this guy, and my reactions to all of his fics are quite different, from The Legend of Star Swirl The Bearded (a fic that you've already seen me gushing about) to The Mane Cast-Offs, a fic that I would rather forget about. >_>
The 2 I'm going to be talking about today are almost polar opposites, this one deals with a relatively lighthearted topic in a pretty dark way and the second is a completely different story that somehow manages to feel like FiM episode (with some exceptions, but the feeling is there).
But let's talk about this fic... What if Mr.Cake is literally... A cake?
Well, let me tell you this one is an odd one.
Spoiler
It starts with some quite awesome comedy, I read someone above me saying joker comedy and I think that somewhat fits, these are the kind of jokes that makes you laugh and then it makes you feel bad for laughing at them.... It's an odd feeling. (but Blueshift pulls them off masterfully), all of this while keeping a quite dark undertone in the background (seriously, some scenes like the one with Twilight make you cringe when you think about it, and I think the purple unicorn reacted like most of us would if something like that happened to us)
The second chapter keeps with the silly but somewhat dark pace but then it turns into a full on dark fic, it's in this moments that I begun to think this would be an awesome tale to read at Nightmare Night Halloween... But there is a full chapter left and I have no idea how this could turn out.
The third chapter keeps the dark tone of the second one but then it makes another turn and it goes into WTF territory... I'm not sure if the author (some people seem to know him so they might be able to explain it to me) tried to make things sweet and happy or if he purposely made an odd mix of sugar and vinegar with the clear intend of leave me both happy at how things turned out and horrified about the implications of what happened here...
Like the fact that the baby cakes are literally baked. Or how Krastos spent part of the fic talking about ancient rules and conditions his magic carries when it seems that nothing of that was true and he just made that up to mess with the ponies... Hell, the fact that there is that kind of powerful magic unrestricted (since there were no consequences at letting Mr.Cake and Pinkie free) is quite frightening by itself! The fact that the cakes were considering cooking Krastos was quite horrifying too (despite what he did through the story).
So yeah, the thing left me feeling a really weird mix of sensations...
BTW, there is only one thing that has been bugging me (beyond the whole WTFery that happens in chapter 3) and that's about the letter Mrs.Cake had that informed her of her sterility, exactly what drives a teenage pony to make that kind of test on herself (and one that didn't even have a boyfriend)? Or is this the kind of information that you can get out of your regular physical exams? As it stands in the fic it looks like she randomly decided to go to the doctor and see if she could have foals for no real reason...
Of course, a later answer from the author revealed that most of this was intentional (except for the exam, he didn't think that much about it), he was trying to recreate some of the hidden horror that we find in kid stories, and it's true! Some of the classics really feel like this! The kind of stories that when you are a kid you can only react like "this is crazy" or "this is bad", you never really think about most of what's happening nor about the feelings of the character in question, nowadays you can look at that stories and realize how messed up they were... As I put it, one of the joys and curses of growing up
So yeah, all in all I could say this one is... Something... Yeah... I think something describes it nicely.
But now, we can tell most of the G3 ponies are really messed up (or will be by the end of the fic), they might not even have real appearances since they seem to be designed to take some current ponies look (but this theory hasn't been tested in universe), they also seem to be at least half discorded... Ouch.
We also get to see the first 2 castles though their purpose is still unknown.
Some people say that even if someone ceases to live, their are never truly dead as long as we kept them in our hearts and memories... Some people say that leaving a mark in the world is the only and true way of achieving immortality...
So what can we say about a pony who dies every time she talks to a pony, looks at a pony, or shares the same atmosphere as them?
“My name is Lyra Heartstrings, and you will not remember me. You won't even remember this conversation. Just like with everypony else I've ever met, everything I do or say will be forgotten. Every letter I've written will appear blank; every piece of evidence I've left behind will end up missing. I'm stuck here in Ponyville because of the same curse that has made me so forgettable. Still, that doesn't stop me from doing the one thing that I love: making music. If my melodies find their way into your heart, then there is still hope for me. If I can't prove that I exist, I can at least prove that my love for each and every one of you exists. Please, listen to my story, my symphony, for it is me.”
This story...
Ever watched a first chapter of a story and you knew that what is coming is going to be freaking epic and it was going to blow your mind? I bet some of us felt something like that the moment we saw the first chapters of what would become classics like Lost, House, Dexter or so many others.
This is the feeling I had while reading the very first chapter of this fic. This one is going to go far...
Spoiler
The only thing I would count as a negative so far is the heavy emphasis there is in some philosophical themes and the fact that is Lyra (of all the BG ponies) the one exposing them... What am I trying to say is that some people might feel put off about that. (I personally think the whole situation drove her, as she put it herself, mad).
That and I've read some guys complaining about how purple the whole thing is... (so you might be wary of check it if you have anything against purple prose)
I personally have no problems with it, I love where this is going and I can't wait to see more of this (this fic also made me realize you wrote "The End Of Ponies", a story that has been in my reading pile for weeks... Now I can't wait to check it out).
BTW, that whole dying babble I posted at the beginning? Lyra doesn't believe that... She actually has an even more morbid version of this, and considers the whole freaking town is dying around her. (As I said before, maybe she got a little mad because of the curse)
This one is quite an interesting tale, about how some decisions can lead to some really tragic consequences...
I don't remember a lot about this one but I'll try to point the most important things I've noticed.
Spoiler
* The whole tragedy is because Twi and Celly ruin their relationship at the worst possible time.
* At some point in this story the main premise is forgotten and the whole fic becomes an almost completely different story, then a the very end it retakes it's original course and deals with the problem at hand.
* This story drags on and on and on... I personally feel most of my negative feelings towards it is about how boring I felt while reading some parts, I feel like I could skim through a lot of the text and read the very same story, this actually harms the story when some of the most shocking or sad scenes happen, it spends so much time narrating the whole thin that by the time it's done I no longer feel anything. (that, or I shouldn't read fics until 3:00 AM)
* EqD mentions a sequel/prequel but you are not going to find it, there was some drama in the middle and the author scrapped everything (he seems to be trying to rewrite everything as a non pony story though) so there are some references that will go way over your head (as did with mine).
* I feel really bad about the way the rest of the mane 6 were treated here, I know they had almost nothing to do with the story but watching them in the sidelines somehow hurt me more than not watching them at all, the biggest offenders might be Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo who had a nice alternate story dealing with their issues but they never got addressed.
* The whole tragedy thing sort of goes to the drain in the last chapter... I'm still not sure how I feel about that ending. (I can find some positive points but really, the negative ones seem more noticeable for me)
* The dark and terrible secret Celestia has is horribly revealed, it's pretty horrid how she has been imprisoning Sol for so much time, but the way it was revealed hardly makes you feel anything for the hydrogen ball.
Annnd that's all I can remember, it's a nice (well, it's sad/tragic) and looooooonnnng story, it has it's negative points (especially that ending) but I guess as long as you have some large amounts of free time in your hands you can give it a shot.
This is the kind of story that I read... And then I decide to check the comments just to find out what the fuck I just read.
And I'm going to copy paste what another guy said, who pretty much sums perfectly my feelings about it.
Spoiler
The entire experience of reading it was unpleasant - a fever dream described in disjointed, almost stream-of-consciousness prose. I assume that was what the author was going for, given the tone of the piece, so well played there. As far as the meaning goes, I do agree that it was thought-provoking. It's an interesting look at characters suffering under the cruel yoke of a heavy-handed author (or a whole fandom full of authors). But I do want to raise an objection to some parts of it.
First, I think the presentation was a bit blunt. Over and over again we're reminded of the beautiful weather, honestly the most boring of the clichés it touches on, while other potentially interesting points - the rest of the mane 6's problems, for example - receive only a single paragraph at most. And actually seeing the word "narrative" in there was like getting slapped across the face by the elephant in the room that we had already noticed quite clearly, thank you very much. (I'm not mixing metaphors there, either. I'm genuinely trying to evoke the image of being slapped across the face with an elephant.)
Then the original (apparent) meaning of the story breaks down when Twilight starts running. The voice that urges her to return to Ponyville bears no resemblance to a well-intentioned but misguided author any longer, and becomes increasingly desperate and aggressive as its obviously-beleaguered victim slips through its grasp. It starts to feel more like some in-world enemy, a mad spirit like Discord, than a parody of something familiar on our side of the fourth wall. But interpreted that way, the story becomes nothing more than a brief description of an unpleasant situation and Twilight's flight from it, without any background on the enemy or how things came to be as they are. Surely not the author's intent.
Then Twilight escapes. Into the Everfree she goes, where artificially-enforced order holds no sway and the thread of her story is free to take its own path again. And... nothing. The story becomes a self-parody, as it falls victim to the same barb it had originally aimed at romance fics: it builds up to the exciting climax, then once again abandons the character to her own devices. What happens next? Does she live out her life as a hermit in the Everfree? Does she brave Ponyville again in hopes of saving her friends from their grim fates? Do her friends go out searching for her? Or does she find that even the Everfree isn't safe from the curse of narrative, and fall in love with someone's forest-dwelling alicorn OC? The world may never know; Twilight apparently escaped from our view shortly after she entered the forest. Exactly as she intended.
Overall, I have to assume that my own view of the story is much different from the author's intent, and that wiser readers than I were able to correctly interpret its meaning, because surely nothing that falls so short of its goal would have made it onto Equestria Daily. Still, I'm writing and posting this in hopes that it might be interesting to some, even if it turns out to be fundamentally wrong.
My own objections aside, congratulations to the author on writing a story that, at the very least, has provoked quite a lot of thoughts. Not everyone can say they've done that.
Of course, the only thing I don't agree is with the ending part, which another guy also explained pretty well.
As far as I can tell in reference to the ending it was supposed to be interpreted exactly as you interpreted it. That's the irony. All these superficial stories were taking a toll on her life by forcing her to go and do things she did not want, then just ending. This story was her, just once, breaking free of that influence and finding a reprieve. However this, like all the others was just a story. So it just ended. But at least it ended where she wanted it to instead of where she was forced to. Then again, this being a story, she was forced to anyway. So it's ironic. Or symbolic. A gift from one author to an overworked character.
This one is quite good, it grabs what would be considered by most as an horror story and translates is almost flawlessly into the FiM universe, I had a really nice feeling while reading this one because (while not being well versed about the topic is dealing with) I had a pretty clear view of where this would be going... Like... Cthulhu (or similar entities) being released upon Equestria or Twilight being driven insane because of the book and destroying the world, and a pretty long etc...
Spoiler
But it doesn't...
It almost feels like Blueshift played with my genre-saviness and made something completely different.
This is the story of Twilight and how she is driven insane by the evil magic surrounding a book titled "The Star In Yellow" which narrates the tale of Yellowstar, a pony who did her best to made everypony happy...
Twi kind of gets consumed by this book and is driving to the point where she becomes zealous about Yellowstar, it is told at some point that if Twi finishes reading the book the starring of that story will become real, and she will be able to accomplish her dream of making ponies all over the world happy... And it's like this that Twi decides to begin this crusade to finish the story, despite Rainbow's, Spike's and some random Canterlot librarian's effort to stop her.
Like the fic I mentioned above, this one likes to mix dark and comedy, but unlike the other one this mood switches happens at random points and they are (in my opinion) way better done than the ones in Cake Story.
I have to say, despite the fact that I praise this fic for keeping the FiM feeling I must admit that the author sometimes takes some... Liberties while writing. And by that I say that he is outright evil against some ponies (I think the most affected where Pipsqueak and Dash, poor Rainbow can't catch a break against the constant blurry of hits Blueshift throws at her at some points).
But as I said, the most positive point about this fic is how FiM-like it feels despite everything I just pointed out... Like (just to state an example) how the evil sealed in a can wasn't so much of an evil, since it was just a confused filly (who ends up sacrificing her chances to be free for Twilight, though i'm still not so sure how she did it).
Or how heartwarming the whole thing is, by chapter 2 you kind of already figured out who wrote the book but that doesn't stop the reveal from being good.
Another thing I really love about the fic is how it leaves a whole story untold for us (as readers) to fill, who was Yellowstar father and why did he abandoned her? (her vision is kind of biased so you can't tell how much of it it's true) The villain of the piece pretty much says Yellowstar made her evil, which speaks a lot about how the author sees the whole final battle.
And by the end you really feel bad abut Twi, Blueshift somehow makes you question how much of her actions were driven by insanity/magic and how much was because she wanted to save a filly who just wanted to make everypony happy... And how she ultimately failed at that... Her conversation with the author also makes you think a lot... And I really liked that.
So yeah, unlike Cake Story which was a fic that seemed lighthearted but left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth, this one made me feel wary at the begining but it developed into a wonderful and moving story.
The author seems to like this odd kind of storytelling, and that's why I decided to dedicate this post to him.
I've been following this for a while but I hadn't commented about it because I was expecting for something to happen.
And after the latest update we are finally beginning to see some action.
This is a Dieselpunk (I didn't even know this term existed before this fic) story, about the CMC and this new age they are facing... (or at least it is about that so far)
Spoiler
The first chapters are an introduction the the world, and the characters who will play an important role in this part of the story (we still don't even know what are the mane 6 doing).
There is not a lot else going on, but it seems like the first act of this story has finally started, and I'm quite curious to see where this goes... I'll also love to see more of this new world, I kind of like this mix... It makes me think about Starcraft... For some reason. >_>
This one together with Background Pony have become THE fics, the ones I eagerly await for updates and the ones that make me drop everything the moment they do (of course, they are also the old ones, like Ballad, Progress, VST and a not so long etc.).
Follow best crusader as she keeps travelling from world to world, in this episode she enters a place where everything is like it should, except for a (not so) little twist, a place where feelings were encountered in the past for the mane 6, a place where narcissism took a whole new level, of course I'm talking about...
This one managed to masterfully mix both the main story, Luna Eclipsed and the fic it was supposed to be entering into, there were some places where it didn't clash that well (like with Zyrcon's tale) but mostly it was once again, a beautiful insertion of best crusader in an unknown world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I46md7UshHg Dark World - For Anarchy Apollo (awful name BTW >_>)
I loved all the little nods to the fic (and it's ongoing sequel according to some other bronies), I loved how Wanderer dealt with Luna Eclipsed's problem (not talking about the episode, talking about Luna's problem with Nightmare Night) before they even surfaced, and pulled a quite cool twist to the episode (if it weren't for Stella I would have thought this was another Nightmare Night after the one we saw in the show).
I also found hilarious how much of the April Fools episode turned out to be truth.
And the scenes with Rarity are pretty much soul crushing (seriously, she is devastated, and watching her like that hurt me).
And I love Puppy! Can't wait to see how mixing her with Sweetie plays out!
And that's it for today folks, next week I'll try to talk about something that was not supposed to be read, biker ponies (not from Mars though), a 25 chapters long epic dealing with Discord's back story (and i think it's only halfway through it) and samurai Lyra.
I have to say I found the ending disappointing, but not because of the writing, or what happened... It just that I felt that it didn't need a whole chapter on it's own.
Well, now that it's finished, I might as well give it a looksee sometime soon. Seems like an interesting story and with five stars, why not?
This one is the first of 2 Blueshift fics I'll be posting today, the reason I decided to name this post after him it's because a quick author search revealed me I've been reading a lot from this guy, and my reactions to all of his fics are quite different, from The Legend of Star Swirl The Bearded (a fic that you've already seen me gushing about) to The Mane Cast-Offs, a fic that I would rather forget about. >_>
The 2 I'm going to be talking about today are almost polar opposites, this one deals with a relatively lighthearted topic in a pretty dark way and the second is a completely different story that somehow manages to feel like FiM episode (with some exceptions, but the feeling is there).
But let's talk about this fic... What if Mr.Cake is literally... A cake?
Spoiler
So um... *Scratches head* Seems like a pretty odd story... Dunno what to make of it from your description... I was a little disturbed when you mentioned the cake twins being baked. And Krastos? As in the glue maker? Oh dear, not sure what to think about that... Of course the author saying that he was trying to recreate the hidden horror in kids stories sparks a bit of interest in me. I finished a fanfic starring Mr. and Mrs. Cake which made me like the characters more, so this is going to the "If I'm bored" Pile.
Ah yes, I remember reading this story some time ago, and I stopped for some reason... Dunno why. It was around when they mane six go to the g3 ponyville.
As much as I hate g3, it's nice to see a fanfic not being immature about it for a change, and making the characters stay in character... I'm sure the mane six wouldn't kill them upon sight if they were ever to appear in front of them.
Some people say that even if someone ceases to live, their are never truly dead as long as we kept them in our hearts and memories... Some people say that leaving a mark in the world is the only and true way of achieving immortality...
Spoiler
Hmmmm... Doesn't seem like the fic for me... I'm not sure how I feel about the whole philosophical nature of this fic, and looking up purple prose, I think I'm a little put off. I may give this one a pass.
This one is quite good, it grabs what would be considered by most as an horror story and translates is almost flawlessly into the FiM universe, I had a really nice feeling while reading this one because (while not being well versed about the topic is dealing with) I had a pretty clear view of where this would be going... Like... Cthulhu (or similar entities) being released upon Equestria or Twilight being driven insane because of the book and destroying the world, and a pretty long etc...
Ah yes, I remember reading this story a long time ago... It was pretty good.
Spoiler
Some things I didn't like about it was the ending, which I felt like it could have been a bit better... Plus I hated that Librarian guy for some reason. It may be just me, but he came across as kind of a dick... Well meaning, yes, but he still bugged me. Though that's probably what the author intended.
Other than that, I agree with your statments about it. I really liked the story's antagonist, Yellowstar, whom was more of a well meaning villian than an outright evil one.
So yeah, I liked it... It was good enough for a save in my fanfic folder.
This one together with Background Pony have become THE fics, the ones I eagerly await for updates and the ones that make me drop everything the moment they do (of course, they are also the old ones, like Ballad, Progress, VST and a not so long etc.).
Follow best crusader as she keeps travelling from world to world, in this episode she enters a place where everything is like it should, except for a (not so) little twist, a place where feelings were encountered in the past for the mane 6, a place where narcissism took a whole new level, of course I'm talking about...
Spoiler
So uh... What exactly is this story about? Is it like Quantam Leap-esque, multiverse crossover with different fanfics? Hmmmm.... That actually sounds like a pretty neat concept if that's the case!
Okay then, continuing from last time, I took a look at some of the fics you recommended, Gato.
I haven't read Anthropology yet but I see quite a bit of praise for it. (And since I haven't read it I'm not sure how much of Bon Bon there is)
I've actually been following and reading Anthropology for some time now... I kinda like it... Spoilers if you want, though if you ever plan on reading it and don't want spoilers disreguard it.
Spoiler
It started off pretty great, it's pretty much the misadventures of Lyra studying humans, which I thought was pretty cute... But the second act of the story has a twist with Lyra actually being a human herself. Apparentally, she somehow got into Equestria as a human newborn, and was changed into a pony by Princess Celestia so she could fit in. The second act pretty much focuses on the Misadventures of Human Lyra in our world, trying to find her original human parents.
Personally, it kinda ruined the entire story for me... It may be just me, because I tend to have a problem with non-human characters becoming a human for the rest or most of the story... That was pretty much my problem with Shrek 2, but that's another story.
It still does a good job of keeping me in suspense, but I probably would have done without the whole Human Lyra.
Finding Your Voice is a little cute story with them, I wanted to comment about it at some point but for some reason the sequel sort of killed all my inteest in the fic. :l
Yep, I read that when you recommended it... It was cute like you said, I enjoyed it.
Your already reading Harpflank and Sweets so there is no point to recommend it (I still did it though, for those who haven't).
I actually stopped reading that a while ago... Mostly because I was reading other fics. I'm gonna have to pick up on that again.
Heartstrings and Gumdrops is CoffeeGrunt's LyraBon fic, I haven't heard from him in a while and last time I saw him he seemed quite annoyed with something... I'm not sure if he is even updating this one anymore (and if he does he doesn't seem to want to send them to EqD so I would look for this fic in other sites), also, I haven't read this one either.
Hmmm... if he's not updating, then I guess this will be a skip. I don't like to be left hanging when fics are cancelled.
One Day, They Throw Flowers is another nice story, I can't remember much about it though...
Read this one too, I thought it was pretty well written for a ship-fic...
And then out of nowhere, a sloppy makeout!
Yeaaaahhh... There's something about technicolor ponies tounge wrestling kinda makes me cringe harder than I should... Though I should have expected this from a ship fic. Other than that, I liked it.
Well, that's all I have to say. I'm once again procrastinating and hiding from the sick and twisted bastard known real life. I gotta face it sometime sooner or later.
And with that I'm off.
Edited by Wayward Vagabond, 17 April 2012 - 03:14 AM.
MAD just did yet another MLP:FiM parody, this time called MY LITTLE PWNY. Basically it's all the ponies (featuring Tara Strong once again as Twilight and Pinkie) being dicks to everyone. Funny, but probably the least funny one they done so far.
Every day is fanfic day, it's just today that I waste my life posting about them.
Well, now that it's finished, I might as well give it a looksee sometime soon. Seems like an interesting story and with five stars, why not?
Because you are not grimdark tolerant like me?
Spoiler
Chapter 15 has a soft version but the whole Kuchen thing is still there, just warning you about that.
Spoiler
So um... *Scratches head* Seems like a pretty odd story... Dunno what to make of it from your description... I was a little disturbed when you mentioned the cake twins being baked. And Krastos? As in the glue maker? Oh dear, not sure what to think about that... Of course the author saying that he was trying to recreate the hidden horror in kids stories sparks a bit of interest in me. I finished a fanfic starring Mr. and Mrs. Cake which made me like the characters more, so this is going to the "If I'm bored" Pile.
Spoiler
1) Odd is another nice way of describing this story
2) I didn't want to spoil that much but the baked thing is not as cruel as I make it sound, it's that the baby cakes are... Well... Cake.
3) Yes, the glue maker, in this fic he has some pretty powerful magic and makes Faust-esque deals just to mess up with ponies, once again, once you read the whole story it's not as cruel as it sounds.
Spoiler
Ah yes, I remember reading this story some time ago, and I stopped for some reason... Dunno why. It was around when they mane six go to the g3 ponyville.
As much as I hate g3, it's nice to see a fanfic not being immature about it for a change, and making the characters stay in character... I'm sure the mane six wouldn't kill them upon sight if they were ever to appear in front of them.
That's pretty much my biggest praise towards this fic, I remember I mentioned this in my first review, my other fanfic experiences with the previous gens were not pretty for the older ponies, this one actually treats them like one would expect the G4 ponies to act towards them...
Spoiler
Hmmmm... Doesn't seem like the fic for me... I'm not sure how I feel about the whole philosophical nature of this fic, and looking up purple prose, I think I'm a little put off. I may give this one a pass.
Your choice, it's a shame because it looks like a really cool idea.
Ah yes, I remember reading this story a long time ago... It was pretty good.
Spoiler
Some things I didn't like about it was the ending, which I felt like it could have been a bit better... Plus I hated that Librarian guy for some reason. It may be just me, but he came across as kind of a dick... Well meaning, yes, but he still bugged me.
Other than that, I agree with your statments about it. I really liked the story's antagonist, Yellowstar, whom was more of a well meaning villian than an outright evil one.
So yeah, I liked it... It was good enough for a save in my fanfic folder.
Spoiler
Yellowstar was a younger version of Celly, she wasn't a villain at all, it's the magic of that book what could have caused problems in the long run. (thinking about it, I don't remember who made that kind of spell, was it Celly? Why would she do that?)
When you look at things from Celestia's point of view is when you stop thinking of Yellowstar is an antagonist, she is a young and confused foal who wanted the best for everyone but the whole world kept denying her wishes, then she meets a friend (Twilight) who decides to help her but after what happens to her mother Yellow just doesn't think it's worth the time, she spends a big chunk of the story trying to convince Twilight that she should just stop bothering and leave her alone, but Twi doesn't want any of that (and I still don't know how much about that was because of the spell and how much was because of Twi's feelings).
After some talk Twi convinces Yellow that she is worth the sacrifices, that she deserves to be real and be loved, and at the end when she has a choice to make her dreams true or save her only remaining friend she chooses her friend... Her most faithful friend...
When you get to the reveal the fact that Celly always calls Twi her most faithful student gains a lot of weight.
And as I said before, one of the points I loved the most was how Silver Crescent says Yellowstar made her evil, when you think about it that means Celestia (the writer) made Luna (Silver Crescent) blame her for the whole Nightmare Moon incident, Celly feels so guilty about all of that that she pretty much put herself as the main cause behind Yellow and Silver's fight.
Hell, the fact Yellowstar spends some time criticizing Celestia because of her actions talks a lot about how Celly sees herself...
It's like I said, it's that hidden story inside the fic what makes this one stand out compared to the rest.
This one also made me ask myself about where Discord fits in all of this (i didn't mention him before because I didn't want to spoil you, I know you sometimes read the spoilers before reading the fic >_>), it would be quite the twist if he turned out to be Yellowstar's "father", but I bet this is one of those things Blueshift didn't really thought that much about.
And yes, the librarian was an asshole, that was pretty much his whole character, starts hating on Twi for messing up with the books and then proceeds to do his best to save his sorry flank (he is more worried about that than the world falling under who knows what kind of magic the book had)
I usually don't like AU or Distant future fics, but this sounds pretty interesting.
Be my guest, remember that things just started so it might take some time to get to the biggest arcs.
Also, the fic is rated Teen in FiMFiction, so you should expect this one to deviate from the show PG nature at some points.
Spoiler
So uh... What exactly is this story about? Is it like Quantam Leap-esque, multiverse crossover with different fanfics? Hmmmm.... That actually sounds like a pretty neat concept if that's the case!
It's a massive fanfic crossover, here is a little resume:
Spoiler
Sweetie starts studying magic under Twilight's tutelage but after some incident the purple unicorn pretty much breaks into pieces and Sweetie get's transported to another world, at this point Sweetie's main objective is to get the pieces together and save her teacher and friend.
And I must say I love what Wanderer is doing with this stories, I should probably mention that I don't really like the first 3 fics the guy used but since he is not shoehorning Sweetie into the stories most of their defects pretty much disappear.
Instead, what he does is put her inside the fic's universes and make full use out of the differences between their worlds and the default one to create a marvelous mix of hilarious, dangerous, sad, and many other emotional situations. I think the best example of what I love about this fic would be the third chapter, about a sad fic that didn't really made me feel anything... But putting our Sweetie Belle into that context makes a whole different (and actually depressing) story.
I hope you read it and enjoy it because as I said before, this is one is so far one of THE fics, the ones who are way at the top of my reading priorities.
I might warn you though, that rollercoaster tag is there for a reason, and the upcoming chapter is going to deal with one of the most renown grimdark fics on the internet (Fallout: Equestria, though one of the most lighthearted versions of it)
As for LyraBon, I actually forgot about that scene in One Day, They'll Throw Flowers (otherwise I would have probably warned you about it) D: ... And I also kind of dropped Harpflank and Sweets, truth to be told I only read it because it had the complete tag and I'm probably not going to check it until it's completed. (hopefully, this time for reals)
...
And I think this is as far as I go, now I'm going to do my nightly visit to Ponibooru and then get some sleep.
Fluttershy IS adorable, especially in the Find a Pet Song and Hurricane Fluttershy. But I still think Twilight and Rainbow are more, although for different reasons each.
Last night's MAD skit of MLP http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1P8HJKxdmg
I really enjoyed the whole skit. It was pretty funny and I absolutely loved that they got away with the two pony toys that the little girl had kissing were mares.
One thing stood out to me though. The two pony toys appear to be Lyra and... Colgate.
Either they weren't paying attention to the colours or they're just trolling. Either way, I enjoyed the skit.