I resume my journey into MLP fanfiction with three goodies:
Aurora, wherein Celestia leaves Luna and Twilight in charge of Equestria under the assumption that bad shit will not happen. Bad shit happens, and the characters react beautifully. Two turn-offs are shipping and a really stupid ending, but the fic itself is really nice.
Body and Mind, wherein a loyal changeling warrior is captured during the siege of Canterlot, and he learns about cultural misconceptions and theater. Really good characterization, and fleshes out the Changleing Hive in some really cool ways.
And
Our First Steps, or Kerbal Pony Program. Really, really close attention to detail, and very interesting interactions between OCs and the mane cast makes for an interesting - and scientific! - fanfiction.
While i'm at it, some fanfiction I've found in the past:
Night's Favoured Child, where the immortal empress Nightmare Moon finds a young, incredible talented unicorn orphan filly named Twilight Sparkle, and take the filly under her wing. Included are: a very interesting political system, several hints at an insurgency, character development for the Nightmare Moon character, rational!twilight, and adventures out the wazoo. In progress, I believe.
Turnabout Storm (more of a fanwork, I suppose) where the legendary lawyer Phoenix Wright is summoned by none other than Twilight Sparkle, and must contend with a seemingly unwinnable case concerning a murder and a certain rainbow mare...
Shephard's R&R, where Commander Shephard, shortly after defeating the reapers, must negotiate with a newly discovered race of multicoloured ponies. As always, characterization is on point, and the plot is really interesting to follow.
And to finish the MLP roundup, two HIE fanfics with diametrically opposed viewpoints:
Arrow 18 Mission Logs, about a lone astronaut handling first contact with Equestria, and
Article 2, about a lone survivor of a terrible spaceship crash who has to contend with a world where he is completely alone.
Both stories have the same basic premise (Astronaut humans discovering Equestria), but while one is rather lighthearted (Arrow 18 features first contact through apples and calculus with twilight sparkle), the other is a very, very black comedy (Article 2 features first contact through hostage taking and attempted suicide with twilight sparkle). They both keep a consistent tone, and they are both, again, very entertaining.
next post i'll run through the gamut of really good HIE fics and rational fics out there, but tonight I sleep