My favorite... I don't think I have one. Every serious fanfic I've read and enjoyed so far has dropped the ball in the ending to the point that I can't really recommend them.

How is it that they drop the ball in the endings? It sounds like they have a pretty consistent problem.

I haven't actually read that much fanfic, come to think of it. I mean, I've read it but seemingly not as much as everyone else.

I have a rather small reference pool, so I'm sure it's not a problem with fics in general. Usually it's when they become extremely cliched or suddenly become much darker than they had been up until the climax.

as I have mentioned in the past, my favorite serious fic is Elementals of Harmony and it's sequals, mostly because Derpy is the main character and I thought it did a really good job fleshing her out/giving her backstory. and I also like it's representation of Luna. and NMM. and Trixie. And Scootaloo. and Angel Bunny.

oh hey, I didn't realize we have a trope page for it!

edited 22nd Sep '12 2:21:54 PM by Blissey1

I don't think CEQ is that great.

I tend to not bother with most longfics as most of them tend to deviate too much from the show for my liking. Yay for being nitpicky.

I took a look at the page then turned out it is a crossover with something I know nothing about. Urgh.

really, you don't have to know too much about Magic: The Gathering to enjoy Elementals of Harmony. It does a good job explaining what you need to know in story. I highly recommend it.

I think there's a particular problem with a tendency to make Pikie really crazy and fourth wall breaking.

Not to mention being copiously reference spouting.

Both are getting really annoying.

edited 22nd Sep '12 2:27:52 PM by dRoy

Yeah, she's just really crazy. No fourth wall powers required.

I think Spike has actually broke the fourth wall more often than Pinkie in the actual show.

This is why whenever I right Pinkie I try to keep her at "believably eccentric" levels rather than making her 100% zany.

Also, Part 2 of my overview. Probably nothing in there that you guys haven't heard me ranting about already, but there it is.

at least in Elementals of harmony, I find Pinkies fourthwall breaking powers acceptable as she actually has a reason for them. But then again, I have a high tolerance for meta shenanigans, so YMMV I guess.

Well, My Little Alicorn does get dark, but only in the backstory, which is already dark in canon, so I see no problem with that.

Oh yeah, and another good comedy: A Slice of Life.

Canon Pinkie does break the fourth wall occasionally, but to my knowledge she never does it in a way that the other characters notice. She looks at the camera occasionally, directly talks to the audience at the end of episode 2, she rants at the voiceover at the end of "Over a Barrell". But she never says anything that the other characters could hear that would tip them off.

(Equestria has a Lighter and Softer equivalent of the SCP Foundation. Pinkie is one of their agents tasked with protecting against threats from beyond the fourth wall. )

I think fanfic's tendency to have Pinkie blatantly referencing the fourth wall in conversations with other characters is rather less interesting.

I did like how Background Pony handled the Pinkie-centric chapter. Her dialogue is loaded with references to production details about the show, or other fanfics, or even Lampshade Hanging Background Pony's own conventions—yet none of it is outright fourth-wall breaking, and all her lines make sense from a purely in-universe perspective as well.

I used to have a high tolerance, but at some point it dropped to the ground and now I have a low tolerance for meta/zaniness/gratuitous references/memes.

When I say "things get dark, " I mean a fic that was simply adventurous and maybe a little grim, with a lot of weight given to the maybe one or two deaths so far in the story starting to kill off characters left and right and expecting us to feel for every single one of them.

@J Teeth: I noticed that you had some of the same problems with Discord as I have (though they didn't bother you as much though). One thing that I have come to the conclusion about Discord that I'm not sure if others have said, but I believe that Discord is actually not as smart as he would lead you to believe. That if he didn't have his phenomenal cosmic powers, he would actually be more of a bumbling villain then he puts himself further to be.

Rain.

Bren dimoge.

no one said Discord was a villainous mastermind the likes of which even Xanatos himself would envy, he really does come off as so confident and arrogant that he lets himself get lazy and sloppy.

@Freeman - I love the rain bit. I love this comment:

Discord prolly has a massive ego. It's likely how Celestia and Luna were able to get him petrified in a pose that doesn't scream of fear/terror.

reading J teeth's wrap up...sees how low WWU is.....Brakes out the torches and pitchforks.

"Alright everyone, we got some lynching to do."