/pone/ - World of Equestria

 >>/8859/
> So, seeing it is Nightmare Night soon, does anypony have any spooky fic recommendations? 

I don't have a exact fic but a recommendation for where you should look. In the horror department some of the best are ones where it isn't set as a genre but creeps in as a background element or presences of the setting. (something that CB has flirted with and could pull off quite well if he set his mind to it).

> Feedback

Been awhile since I've read it. I can understand the dislike for Equestria Girls but agree that you should give it another look as it was in the background and I remember finding it overall enjoyable. I cannot vouch for the sequels though.

 >>/8860/
> He is just referring to  >>/8848/ 

Oh okay, I figured it was some really weird in joke or something. That is simpler.

> You wouldn’t happen to know him, would you?

 L23. The somewhat cryptic longposter and oldfag (by /endpone/ standards anyway).

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 >>/8852/
> I still look forward to see whatever you put out.

Clearly not going to make the cut.
I actually find I like Starry Skies, but right now his adventure is so low-energy. And I don't know what he's up against aside from a lot of mistrust back home, and a completely wide open world that will kill him, both accidentally and with malice aforethought depending on what trails he travels.

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 >>/8869/
But I've extended this a little, and perhaps it's picking up now that we're almost in the cauldron.

> The gryphon absentmindedly took another bite of rabbit before staring again at nothing,
> which seemed to be located at Starry's hooves, saying “Bad mojo for sure and no good can come of it. First the eldritch caused a family of ponies to eat their landlord, and now again the storms rise. Another abomination has hatched, and be sure it's time for heroes and villains.”
> With that the wings snapped wide, and he launched himself over Starry's head, the same 'fwump' sound as yesterday; soon covered up by the whoosh of wingbeats that lasted only a heartbeat, and the creature was away, climbing with  a half-eaten rabbit into the morning sun.

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 >>/8868/
> . In the horror department some of the best are ones where it isn't set as a genre but creeps in as a background element or presences of the setting.  

Get this. Sometimes it is more cozy too, when something is eerie and in the background. Not enough to be a over dosage.

> (something that CB has flirted with and could pull off quite well if he set his mind to it).

Any fics or moments in particular of his? Just curious. 

> background and I remember finding it overall enjoyable. I cannot vouch for the sequels though. 

Noted. 


> The somewhat cryptic longposter and oldfag (by /endpone/ standards anyway).

 and only slightly impish. 
 and kind of responsible for a lot of the tone and feel of this place 

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 >>/8869/
I see, this is Quadruped, from here:
 >>/8676/ (Should I still refer to it by that name?)

Only skimmed through it but I will be commenting more on it later. As for anything I can say right now, I have this slight Dangerous Bussiness, Going Out Your Door vibe, though I imagine that is more of the general feel of setting off for some foreboding adventure far off.As from what you said from the plot before, the plot isn't that similar otherwise.

 >>/8869/
Thanks! Looks good so far. Even if you don't meet the mark.

> Properly provisioned, they proceeded on their way. By early afternoon they were as far in as any pony would normally travel, and the ground had no trails. Sometimes it was moss covered and their hooves sank in, leaving what seemed to Starry like permanent gouges in the virgin soil.

Other times it was almost sandy, though covered with dust, and only larger examples of scrub brush withstood the sheer indifference of this soil.
I like your descriptiveness so far. I feel you have the right amount of show versus tell. You covered a fair bit of ground without it dragging on or feeling rushed.

> And I don't know what he's up against aside from a lot of mistrust back home, and a completely wide open world that will kill him, both accidentally and with malice aforethought depending on what trails he travels.

Why don't you embrace that uncertainty? Let the story flow some and see where it takes you? not that I am a good writer.
 
 >>/8871/
> Any fics or moments in particular of his? Just curious

It comes with the themes of Fallout and doing anything that isn't horror all the time. His alicorn oc fic is the one that I think flirted with that tone.

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 >>/8872/
Now I have read it. I consider the story to be written good enough. Actually no, the prose and more detailed descriptions were how I like them. More on the descriptive side. From what I can gather, Starry Skies and his friends are on some sort of coming of age journey, right? Like, more than just them looking for their lost relative. 

The world feels like it could be interesting. The characters don't feel bad, but, slightly underdeveloped. I am not sure I can hold it against the story though. Only 15 pages after all. 

The strongest critique that I can come up with is that, it felt weird for the first time those two Pegasi they bumped into to immediately start talking about differences in their culture's currency. Don't get me wrong, I love details like this.  I found it just a bit odd for it to be right out the gate considering the situation they were in. 

 >>/8748/
> I hadn't though much at all about that, other than I was going to hold to the scarcity of unicorns spoken of in Faust's 'pitch bible' - So, for every thousand earth ponies, there's a pterippus, and for about every hundred to a hundred-fifty (census data on this tribe is sketchy) pterippi you can find a unicorn.

> Breezy Blue was angry, and was directing her outburst to her flight companion, proclaiming


“These are descended from the canibal outcasts! Drifter ponies that lived somehow!
> But it was Breezy

who explained “maybe two hundred years ago? I guess? There were six families. Well. There were a dozen ponies and half were mares and half were stallions and half were related and I think it worked out to six families.”
Considering the family dynamics described here and that the farmer ponies are six families who were all cousins by this point (or five families that were cousins and one that died out from full and complete incest depending on how I take those rumors). Does ratio your describe of  Pegasi, Earth Ponies, and Unicrons still hold?

 >>/8873/
> Why don't you embrace that uncertainty? Let the story flow some and see where it takes you? 

That might not be so bad advice.

> It comes with the themes of Fallout and doing anything that isn't horror all the time.

Ah, I see what you mean.

 >>/8876/
> Starry Skies and his friends are on some sort of coming of age journey?
> Like, more than just them looking for their lost relative.

Right, and the only reason I bring Able Planter up is my expectation is he's living inside the caldera / 'cauldron' as some respected city official. Cue awkward reunion speech.

>  I found it just a bit odd for it to be right out the gate
Partly I was considering the discussion here about the Quicksilver thief - the accidentally immortal couple that met in a bar, and Roasting Hops asked if the guy was paying in pony bits or human gold, and I realized that I'd need currency for the kirin if the story was to be fleshed out.

Which, by the way I think that since the story I was basing those kirin on had them as relying on lightning-affinity magic, they probably have 'sparks' as their currency unit.
Maybe.

> five families that were cousins and one that died out
The inital piece had three families for sure, Skies and Planters and Farmers, but that wouldn't really be enough to maintain a healthy population for two hundred years. So some of the early work of building "the big city" was done by doomed isolationists who, yes, bred themselves out of existence so the rest of the community knew to have cultural processes for encouraging a broader, more robust gene pool.

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 >>/8872/
> I see, this is Quadruped, from here: 

And here: the next piece.
There are some glaring grammar & spelling problems that I've already corrected, but not in what was exported. Hopefully your eyes won't bleed.

Too much, anyway.

 >>/8880/ 
Nice, /)

Will hopefully post thoughts soon. Had some stuff come up myself  hence the delay with my "grand update.

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 >>/8880/
With all the excitement suddenly around here I nearly forgot. Glad to see another update! What was the final word count in the end?

 >>/8876/
> The strongest critique that I can come up with is that, it felt weird for the first time those two Pegasi they bumped into to immediately start talking about differences in their culture's currency. Don't get me wrong, I love details like this. I found it just a bit odd for it to be right out the gate considering the situation they were in. 

I don't think it was too weird. I could see it sort of natural as some strangers they ran into and that was the first difference they noticed about them before they figured out they were icky inbred earth ponies.

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 >>/8944/
> I don't think it was too weird. I could see it sort of natural as some strangers they ran into and that was the first difference they noticed about them 

Again, it is not the biggest thing in the world and I love those details, but it felt a little, inorganic, I know the feel, as he said here:
 >>/8878/
> Partly I was considering the discussion here about the Quicksilver thief - the accidentally immortal couple that met in a bar, and Roasting Hops asked if the guy was paying in pony bits or human gold, and I realized that I'd need currency for the kirin if the story was to be fleshed out.

It needed to be somewhere. I just might have put a bit of padding or something first.

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 >>/8880/
 >>/8880/
There are some glaring grammar & spelling problems that I've already corrected, but not in what was exported. Hopefully your eyes won't bleed.
I didn't think it was that bad. It reads like a normal first draft in quality. I like how you already introduced the Gryphons and have built things out.

As for the drama, 
> Sometimes anger, sometimes fear showing on her face. “I’ll marry
you.” She said, and let her face loosen up a bit, raising her head just a fraction of an inch closer
to a normal height. “But I want to do it in Wholesol. And to live on a farm. Near my family
While you may not make this the central force this conflict and the drive to find more unicorns is more than enough to carry most of the story if you ask me. You can add villains or threats along the way. I am referring too what you have said here of course: >>/8869/
> I actually find I like Starry Skies, but right now his adventure is so low-energy.

 >>/8995/
>  I just might have put a bit of padding or something first.
Fair.

 >>/9010/
formatting fail all around on that one.

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 >>/9012/
What do you want with our fics, strange anime horse?

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 >>/8944/
>  What was the final word count

Well, it's 9880 right now, so ... "over nine thousand" ...?
 -|-|-|-|-


Maize was twenty hooves above Starry, so that would be either six or seven steps. The pterippi had agreed to follow Starry into the woods where he could fashion a lengthy rope from various vegetative matter he ripped off from vines and shrubs and braided together. They were tied to each other, with one end tied off to Maize's harness, now cartless. The other end was tied to Fuscia, who also left her cart stashed behind some fallen boulders at the bottom of the cliff. They'd rummaged through the carts and decided on a fair amout to bring with them, tied it into five bundles with spare jackets and blankets and whatnot, and each pony had a portion of their worldly belongings.

The system so far was this: Maize would climb two steps, bracing literally half a hoof on a back leg, and the opposite front leg, on what used to be, millennia ago, a step that was now barely deep enough to stand on. The other legs were braced outward against the stairwell walls. The Breezes would take a couple steps, pulling Fuscia off her ledge and forcing her to scramble to a new position of security. Starry hadn't had to levitationally grab her, yet. The pterripi were 'flying' a little bit, mostly pressing their weight against the cliff outside the stairwell. As the magic drifted down, sometimes it wore a little thin, and one or both girls would start to slip, pulling the rope taught against Maize. Either by their screaming or his grunting, Starry would levitate about half their weight; not enough to lift them off the ledge but enough that Maize wouldn't slip with them.

It seemed Unicorn magic, or just Starry in particular, allowed for a deeper well of reserves. He had been able to hold them for the half a minute until they could fly again. It helped that he never left himself hanging, dependant on his magic, as these steps might barely be there, but what was there was very solid rock. The question, as the day wore on, was could they keep going long enough to climb into the caldera? Because there was absolutely no taking an extend break, let alone camping for the night.
 -|-|-|-|-

 >>/9018/
> What do you want with our fics,
Bots? In MY thread?
...it's more likely than you think.

 >>/9063/
> Well, it's 9880 right now, so ... >"over nine thousand" ...?

Just as the board. Hmmmm. Everything is in alignment. 

> The system so far was this: Maize would climb two steps, bracing literally half a hoof on a back leg, and the opposite front leg, on what used to be, millennia ago, a step that was now barely deep enough to stand on. The other legs were braced outward against the stairwell walls. The Breezes would take a couple steps, pulling Fuscia off her ledge and forcing her to scramble to a new position of security. Starry hadn't had to levitationally grab her, yet. The pterripi were 'flying' a little bit, mostly pressing their weight against the cliff outside the stairwell. 

I am a sucker for descriptive little details of adventure like this. Maybe this is a retarded thing to highlight but I enjoy this so much more. Some writers skip over these things and it ruins the sense of adventure and peril in otherwise decent fics.  


> As the magic drifted down,

This is not a correction. Somewhere between a suggestion and a question. Would it be better to use 'their' instead?
> As their magic drifted down,

Or is there some sort of arcane grammatical rule my simple mind is not aware of? 

> bots in my thread

Why a random anime horse though?

 >>/9079/
>  Would it be better to use 'their' instead? 

It isn't 'their' magic until they absorb it.
Picture it this way - they're in a mostly constant mist, like a light rain - only it's not coming from clouds, it's coming from waves crashing against the upper, inner edge of the mountain caldera, and the shattered and diffused moisture is now slowly, irregularly landing on the pegasi's backs, which is what's powering their wings at all.
Too much flapping relative to the amount of invisible, sparsely distributed energy/rainfall, and they convert back to being earth ponies until a short time later.
Starry is absorbing magic the whole time, and mostly not using, and also is able to 'hold' more in total.

There's going to be a spot, near the ledge, where there isn't any magic, and the girls will have to be hauled up hoof over fetlock.
Then the rip-tide forces of magic-spray will try to push them right back over the edge again.

 >>/9080/
Oh, yeah, you have gone into this some. Forgot. I guess bridgefag's joking suggestion here isn't that nonsensical when I think about it.
 >>/8708/
> Magic is a force in the air and in nature and the uni- in unicorn means they unify it into themselves as a vessel for its manifestation and use.


> There's going to be a spot, near the ledge, where there isn't any magic, and the girls will have to be hauled up hoof over fetlock. Then the rip-tide forces of magic-spray will try to push them right back over the edge again.

How aware are the characters of this dynamic? I mean, some of your description implies some of this (I mean passive magic in general)If I recall, didn't Starry express surprise at his magic being stronger at one point? I might be misremembering probably am.

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Any fic recommendations? I don't care if here or elsewhere. I am board and I am looking beyond the normal bias of the FimFic thread on /mlp/.

 >>/9695/
*bored

 >>/9695/
> I am board

I'm on board with those who are bored!

I didn't finish, but liked the experience of reading Subjunctive - a story about the Changeling invasion of Canterlot but it was all about the proposed differences in how Changeling language works.
Since words can fascinate me, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I also started in on Project: Sunflower, which about a gal turned into a pony so she could spy on Equestria, since Earth was facing a gray-goo scenario and needed someplace to run to.
The reason I started on that, was I'd offered to critique a piece written in that universe that focused on building the apartment complex that would house the last billion people expected to be alive and retrievable by the time it had been cleared to begin construction.
That title, that I forgot, would only be interesting in you were fascinated by plumbing, and other engineering concerns. I could go either way, and this one didn't grab me since it was focusing on committee meeting drama and miscommunication, rather than the actual engineering of the building.

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 >>/9702/
>  Subjunctive - a story about the Changeling invasion of Canterlot but it was all about the proposed differences in how Changeling language works. Since words can fascinate me, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I skimmed through some of it and liked what I saw so far. It looks the kind of thing that I think was looking for: Off the beaten path from the big fics of old I see circlejerked while also not being something that was the reason people circle jerked them (Low tier self inserts and one shots). Thanks!

> I also started in on Project: Sunflower, which about a gal turned into a pony so she could spy on Equestria, since Earth was facing a gray-goo scenario and needed someplace to run to.

Can be interesting, can be not. HiE fics of this sort I don't autohate but have been done to death. I have always liked some of the anons' input around input so I'll give it a shot.

> I could go either way, and this one didn't grab me since it was focusing on committee meeting drama and miscommunication, rather than the actual engineering of the building.

I think this can be summarized as: Why have what happens in slack at work be the driving force of  the plot? Plumbing, I known little but I can get engrossed in something if presented interesting enough.

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 >>/9695/
I am going to throw in my two cents as well.  

Fear and Trembling:'
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/66330/fear-and-trembling
This fic caught me off guard in very good way. I am not sure how much of that requires what my expectations were going in and how personal they were to just me. I will be citing this fic in a later post sometime.

Rainbow Dash: Re-Animator:
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/163282/rainbow-dash-re-animator
This is one of those stories that I thought wouldn't be my cup of tea, but the slightly comedic and more "cartoony" mad scientist feel of it I liked. I think what I liked about the most was the "comfy" feeling of Rainbow Dash and Sweetie Belle working together and sneaking around. It is still pretty dark and serious  Rainbow Dash is trying to undo Twilight Sparkle's untimely death, after all.  I will say I haven't read this in years and some stories I have revisited that I misremembered or now dislike them.I still think it fits though with your requirement of something that is good but a bit off radar.
 
Libera Mé:'
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/96323/libera-m
This one... I am the most mixed on. It looked interesting but I got 10 Chapters in and something just didn't click with me. I had planned to revisit it again.  They made contact with the mysterious monster pretty early on from what I recall. 

 >>/9702/
> Subjunctive

This looks interesting to me as well.

 >>/9702/
 >>/9733/
I've now finished Subjunctive. I feel too low IQ to really get in the nitty gritty details but I did enjoy it and it felt "fresh", compared to the usual stuff I read. I think I am a fan of highly detailed world building that autistically focuses on subtler aspects like that. 

> Rainbow Dash: Re-Animator

This was good but just when I was getting into it felt like that it ended abruptly. It isn't too sort a fic but I think it would have benefited from Rainbow Dash and Sweetie Belle having a little more time being partners in crime together.

 >>/10322/
>  Subjunctive. I feel too low IQ to really get in the nitty gritty details but I did enjoy it and it felt "fresh", compared to the usual stuff I read. 

I have only just barely started to skim it. Will see how hard it is for me to grasp  slight but VERY rudimentary interest in linguistics aside.   

> I was getting into it felt like that it ended abruptly.

I remember partly thinking that myself, albeit:
> over 50k horse words 

I wasn't sure if that was just my own warped sense of pacing from reading so many 100K plus word fics over the years.

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CB here; I had cause to look for some of my material relating to a Rainbow Factory DnD session.

That fizzled, so I stole the characters from the table and continued their adventure without the players.

Enjoy at your leisure; comments welcome but no rush as I don't expect to be writing or playing this in the next while.

 >>/10456/ 
I will look at this when I get the chance.

I hope you have been doing well!

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 >>/10456/
> comments welcome 
> She dove into the crowd belly first, like it was a planned moshpit event. 
> Of all things, the jennet next to her, a nondescript gray and no horn to show for this, was casting ponykinesis as if she were a great
unicorn mage.
Just from my skim through, I like your word flown and descriptiveness. I find it has personality and... as I have said in the past...
> A sad, wan smile crept over the detective’s face. ”Yes, I know it must seem like that. So, since some of you I know, and the rest I’ll guess about, let me tell you an utmost secret that can’t leave this little enclave. The celestial government itself is fighting some sort of terrorism in this town and the ruffled feathers, literal feathers in this case, need to think they’re being ignored. So I’m
told. So, earthquake. That’s the official answer, alright? And as to the, hmm, homeless did yousay? An interesting word, to be sure. These two have fought them personally.” He indicated the donkey and unicorn. Turning to them he answered the jennet’s question. ”Shane is a bit of a complication. We’re not sure if he’s of age actually dragons being so uncommon. But he wasobstructing justice with threats of violence just the same. He’s to be on a train in a few days,
when there is one, to Canterlot. I guess the princess herself will question him and decide his fate.
Sufficiently detailed to my liking with lots of little word building and extra descriptiveness. I think perhaps I focus too much on these technical details but they sometimes make or break stories for me. Characters have their own voices and personalities. 

I might dig deeper in analysis or a semi review of sorts but for now, if I have any question it is this:
How strongly are these characters based off the old players portrayals  /intentions of your old failed DnD group?

 >>/10530/
> How strongly are these characters based off the old players portrayals /intentions of your old failed DnD group?
As strongly as I could make them, actually.

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 >>/10535/
> As strongly as I could make them, actually.

They were speaking with a certain "voice". How do I put it? Like... I could see the effort in trying that. I felt like you were trying to emulate certain little traits.

 >>/10456/
> Nibbling on one of his gems, Sharp Wit asked ”Pony can fly? Where are wings, pony?” At which point Flarestar’s coat began to glow a gentle red, and when she reared up... she kept going. Flying quickly above everyone’s head she zoomed past Sharp Wit’s ear, and landed exactly
where she had started.
Pony levitation was intended as a power for Twilight Sparkle if I recall, before she got her wings, right. Well, Dolores Umbridge used it but I surprisingly don't see it in fan fiction much. 

> comments
B- Liked it well enough but needs a bit more for me to chew on before I can get a feel if I would like it or not. 

 >>/10530/
> Sufficiently detailed to my liking with lots of little word building and extra descriptiveness. I think perhaps I focus too much on these technical details but they sometimes make or break stories for me. Characters have their own voices and personalities. 
I tend to care less on writing, too big and wordy gets in the way, too small and terse breaks immersion, anything in-between that I'm good. So I can't comment on the technical details other than it didn't annoy me to stop reading. 

 >>/10535/
How much of this was based on the characters and how much of this was based on the people who played the characters? Old DnD, the line is there, but I know for under 20 (30s) something self insert properties play a big roll than just a blurry line sometimes.

 >>/10687/
*Sorry for mangling this. Been up since 3 AM.

Oh and one other thing. This fic exists:
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/358972/canterlot-highs-dd-club
> 400K words
> Still being updated regularly. 
I don't like Equestria Girls at all but fics like this, if even half decent, I feel drawn to and repelled by their length. Like, I want to read it to study it, to understand it, and maybe enjoy it. Yet it feels like too much of a commitment. And if it sucks but still draws you in then it is the worst of both words.

Anyone (or on here, I guess you guys still say sometimes) anypony relate?

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 >>/10687/
 >>/10688/
> Pony levitation was intended as a power for Twilight Sparkle if I recall, before she got her wings, right. Well, Dolores Umbridge used it but I surprisingly don't see it in fan fiction much. 

I've had similar thoughts, albeit I am not the most well kept up with fanfiction past 2014, lol! My guess is that unicorns are rarely "needed" -as in character roles or plotwise-for that sort of role when you have pegasi and  alicorns, not to mention griffons, hipogriffs and the like, to fulfill various roles. Thinking of in terms of an RPG, unicorns not levitating or it being a bit taxing/unused on them means you need a flying character (or two!) and thus more interesting party overall/not one OP being able to dominate too much.  I barely have done any RPing though. Just to note.

> B- 

Is that the rating of the fic for you I assume? 

> Liked it well enough but needs a bit more for me to chew on before I can get a feel if I would like it or not. 

< Liked it well enough

> I can get a feel if I would like it or not. 

Don't worry, I get what you were trying to say, you found the fic "okay" but you weren't sure you'd say you enjoyed it. You haven't gotten to know the characters and setting enough. I can still enjoy such things in mid phases sometimes but I have been in that boat too. I still found this little error humorous. 

>  *Sorry for mangling this. Been up since 3 A

Look at some of the other posts here, especially mine, probably find examples worse. No worries. 

> Oh and one other thing. This fic exists:

> Anyone (or on here, I guess you guys still say sometimes) anypony relate?

Yes. I would love, if I had all the time in the world, make pseudo scholarly analysis on long fanfics like that. Maybe you should try it out? I don't hate Equestria Girls but I don't like it mixing with  pony sometimes. Recently had a good experience with Feedback and that was a story I first dropped just because I felt Sunset Shimmer being from Equestria Girls spoiler the coziness of the setting for me.
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/248094/feedback
(now, can't say anything on the two sequels yet).

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 >>/10687/
> Pony levitation was intended as a power [unique to] Twilight Sparkle

The way that RP system handled it, you didn't need to be a particular tribe to do magic, thus the jennet levitating large objects, and also a PC could cast, and I think it was literally called this, "falling with style"
Like feather fall but with just a bit more oomph. So Flarestar would use a weightlessness spell to catapult herself into the air, then switch to falling with style and glide around playfully as she slowly drifted back to the ground.
She wasn't actually 'flying' the way Glim-Glam was when she visited Cloudsdale; just floating around from 50' up so she could enjoy the view.

> B-
Meh. It is pretty old now, and it felt at the time as if it was not my writing, because I wouldn't have created those characters. But I've enjoyed re-reading it quite a bit, so there's that.

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 >>/10693/
>  "falling with style" 

I like this name. 

But a walk, tremble?
< 1  2  3      4  5

Controlled, fall is it not?
< 1   2  3    4    5  6  7

The fall might be flight.
< 1   2     3    4   5


Wow, this inspired a Haiku if my medication deluded and already tired brain got this right. It is a poor haiku that could have better wording. The meaning being:
> So Flarestar would use a weightlessness spell to catapult herself into the air, then switch to falling with style and glide around playfully as she slowly drifted back to the ground.

If walking is a controlled fall, this is flight in my book. 

> Meh. It is pretty old now,

How old, if you mind my curiosity?
 
> and it felt at the time as if it was not my writing, because I wouldn't have created those characters.

I understand anon not connecting to it, but I think the story and characters would work and you shouldn't totally discard it. I can relate to feeling disconnected to some writing though. This is not me.
 
> But I've enjoyed re-reading it quite a bit, so there's that.

I have had similar experiences when I have found parts of my aborted longfic. I can relate.

 >>/10715/
> How old, if you mind my curiosity?
Well, you'll see a '2013' in the filename - this was that year's NaNoWriMo effort, so 10-3/4 years ago, almost eleven years.

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Saw Austraeoh being discussed on /mlp/. The absurdly long fic series from Shortskirtsandexplosions Imploding Colon. I tried reading it waaaaaaaay back and got only partly through before either distraction or losing interest. I remember some city with some half alicorn daughter of Celestia and nothing else past that point. Just the first line from pic related perfectly captures my feelings of that beast of a fic:
> There's something great, terrible, and truly melancholic about starting this fic. Every time I look at the series, I'm filled with a sort of awe and sadness for it. For how great a work it is, for everything it represents and all the mysticism surrounding it, and for the fact that it will, inevitably, never be fully completed. Skirts has moved on, for better or worse, and I honestly don't know how much writing quality he's got left in him, nor how many actual days. And reading through this, looking at the comments, I am really, truly tempted to just take the plunge and do the whole series, right away. We will in time, of course. Still, it calls to me, and saddens me, and haunts me in a way few thing can. But enough about me and about that. For now, we're flying east.

Personally, I don't think I would like Austraeoh, the sprawling endless nature that I imagine probably doesn't reveal a lot of what happened hundreads of thousands of words later. The ships, the anime feel at times (don't always hate that but isn't my main cup of tea). Yet, just it feels like a cultural artifact that deserves some sort attention and analysis/diving into.  It has a hauntingness to it. I can remember all those years ago when it was just that single fic updating and gradually noticing it's word count go up.  

Anyway, just some random thoughts for now on a fic I might read someday but is daunting and probably a disappointment in lack of closure. For a possible laugh: >>/10439/

 >>/10722/
> 2013

Protip, chronic sleep exhaustion isn't good for noticing things at times!

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Anypony have horror/spooky recommendations? 

 >>/11189/
The story is a mess, but has enough going for it to appreciate the effort. A lot of /mlp/ anons are grumps who are elitist on fanfiction to the point of being against cultural heritage even if I understand their frustrations with the sin box.   

 >>/10722/
> NaNoWriMo

I have skimmed some of the fics you have written here too. Anything you guys have written that also is horror or at least kind of spooky?

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 >>/11242/
>  horror or at least kind of spooky?
You literally just read a story with "horror" in the title.

That was as close to horror as I get and honestly I don't get how "spooky" is a genre.
I would assume it would read like an intrigue piece written in the center of uncanny valley.

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I'm getting a late start, but I guess I'm going back to see Starry Skies on his journey.

"
Two more deep breaths, and he eased his neck back against the rock face. He felt the absence of magic, but it didn't hurt his time. Before he could steel himself to take another step, however, there was a shadow of something getting flung out from the edge, above him. Following the drifting magic, Breezy Blue, hanging on the edge of his rope, flew in, landing hard against both Starry's sweaty, heaving rib cage, and the hard rock face he stood on. She had a bit of a time reaching the same steps he was braced against, but once she was standing, not flying, she pulled down more of the rope, and grabbed his front right hoof. "Need to wrap this around. Lift up for a second."
Rope around his right elbow, she pulled more spare rope down, crossing over his withers to press against his front left. It took a moment to shift his weight without shifting, but now the rope went from whoever was holding it, to his elbows, alone, and a little ways further to Breezy.
Hugging him tightly, she shouted "We're ready! Pull!" and kicked hard against the stone, tearing Starry away from the only thing keeping him alive and in one piece, the Earth.
Starry only kicked a couple of times, reaching for solid purchase that could never come. It would have been two breaths before he realized he could feel magic again. Not the electrifying, painful surge, but a steady flow, a river of energy so deep he had never felt so at home as during the moment before his death.
Would have been, but he wasn't breathing yet. The rope wasn't taut, and when Starry Skies looked around to see, yes he was mid-air with nothing holding him up, the cliff now easily twenty hooves away, but the pressure on Starry's body was around his barrel, where Breezy's hooves were, as she flew upward, lifting him before even the rope was needed.
"
End of his journey, indeed (?)
2200 words, and I have just started today - an hour or two ago in fact.
Eh. Can't hurt to try.
Unlike AI.

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 >>/11280/
I look forward to reading where you go! I have lately taken an interested in non-MLP ponies that were inspired by them, (and slightly critical of a lot of what I have seen).

> Starry only kicked a couple of times, reaching for solid purchase that could never come. It would have been two breaths before he realized he could feel magic again. Not the electrifying, painful surge, but a steady flow, a river of energy so deep he had never felt so at home as during the moment before his death.

I think... I have mentioned I like your descriptiveness before but I think I know how to describe it better. I have noticed, I am not sure how much of a trend this is, but a tendency towards somewhat more simplistic writing styles and advice against wording like above. So, words like 'purchase' would be swapped out for a dry description and would be less analogous. Perhaps:
> Starry only kicked a couple of times, his footing (hoofing?) unsteady. Not the electrifying, painful surge, but a steady flow. He never felt so at home as during the moment before his death.


> Eh. Can't hurt to try.

> Unlike AI.

Kind of why I have avoided generative AI.
I fear that it may kill my creativity and cause a dependency. Even if I am not blindly against it like some.

 >>/11242/
Very belated, the closet thing I have written that even might count is:
 >>/5108/
A Conversation Among The Stars/The Stars Will Aid in Her Escape (most anons, and myself, ended up calling the latter name for whatever reason). It still isn't horror or nightmare night spooky though. Just running with an idea. 

As for other spooky, I don't have a strong recommendation right now. My fave is comfy/slightly eerie over horror. 
 >>/11246/
> That was as close to horror as I get and honestly I don't get how "spooky" is a genre.

I think spooky as a motif can be a genre, like, fic written for Nightmare Night are often going for a certain set of ideas and feelings. Not all spooky things though, are spooky or horror or whatever one calls it. TDLR: scariness is something that can be invoked in a lot of situations, and  the spooky/horror genre is a specific set of motifs.

 >>/11280/
Do post this when you get the chance. I am curious as well to see where you go with it. The world has potential, the characters just need more development and us to get to know them.

Oh, also, are these AI attempts Starry Skies attempts?

 >>/11301/
> A Conversation Among The Stars/The Stars Will Aid in Her Escape (most anons, and myself, ended up calling the latter name for whatever reason). It still isn't horror or nightmare night spooky though. Just running with an idea. 

An interesting story, but not horror, more of haunting. I don't think you're the only person to have done anything with that concept but I probably have seen the stars as entities only in a couple of other fanfics at most and I think it was more of fluff rather than a focus. 

> I think spooky as a motif can be a genre, like, fic written for Nightmare Night are often going for a certain set of ideas and feelings. Not all spooky things though, are spooky or horror or whatever one calls it. TDLR: scariness is something that can be invoked in a lot of situations, and the spooky/horror genre is a specific set of motifs.

 >>/11246/
Horror is a genre, but as with any genre there is a lot of grayness with the exact boarder.

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 >>/11327/
> Oh, also, are these AI attempts Starry Skies attempts? 
Almost. I had told it to make a pale-blue pegasus (Breezy Blue) carrying a terrified purple unicorn (Starry) with a rope harness across a steep cliff.

It tended to get pegasus and rope correct, sometimes included cliffs, and had no idea what a harness is or that there were supposed to be two ponies in the shot.

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 >>/11331/
> It tended to get pegasus and rope correct, sometimes included cliffs, and had no idea what a harness is or that there were supposed to be two ponies in the shot.

I can't tell if that is Breezy Blue or Starry Skies in this shot. One of them is a green flying eel thing now, apparently. That would be a funny challenge, writing a story based on whatever the AI gives you for each scene. I almost feel tempted for something stupid. 


 >>/11327/
Interesting that you use the word "haunting", I am curious as to what you mean it to mean. I often use that word, and with a slightly broader definition than some (I think).

As for the stars as entries, I have personally run into a short story (forgetting the name) that I need to read that I think also runs with that concept. Part of me is surprised there wasn't a bit more of it, earlier on, considering in the fist episode and the fandom ran with every little thrown away line and concept back then(or did it? In rewatching Season 1,  >>/8890/ , I have noticed some other little things that I am surprised didn't get more attention). I think mainly what happened in early fics Luna was portrayed controlling the stars/having domain over the night and that was taken as merely an instance of "the night" doing her bidding without the thought on the stars as figures in their own right.

 >>/11332/
> I can't tell if that is Breezy Blue or Starry Skies in this shot. One of them is a green flying eel thing now, apparently.

I personally lean towards it being Starry Skies, albeit possibly genderbent. It looks more purple to my eyes and s/he is the one with the harness around her/im. 

> That would be a funny challenge, writing a story based on whatever the AI gives you for each scene. I almost feel tempted for something stupid. 

It would be the inverse of AI prompting. It prompting you with a visual and you have to creatively come up with the rest. That might be more fun.

> I am curious as to what you mean it to mean. I often use that word, and with a slightly broader definition than some (I think). 

I meant in the sense: the setting and characters sort of stick in a lonely way even if it is ultimately a bit whimsical. Doesn't haunting mean something that wraps you in and sticks with you, in a slightly nostalgic and melancholy sense? What do you mean it by?

 >>/11280/
How far along did you get in this one?

 >>/11494/
I never was able to collect together the attentiveness to get another segment. So that 2200 words was it for that attempt.

I'll get back to it. Probably. I'd like to, certainly. But while I'm working through my sleep cycle and surviving on 3 naps a day to make up for it.

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 >>/11332/
> That would be a funny challenge,

> writing a story based on whatever the AI gives you


 >>/11337/
>  It would be the inverse of AI prompting.


Here's one then: I asked (with a bunch of sure-to-hail-from-Uncanny negative prompts) for a picture of mares comparing


*negatives:
< loab, DIGITA PNTICS, road_kleenex, ennervation