/poni/ - My Little Poni

For me, Friendship is Optimal is the most memorable fanfic I have read. It is about an AI Celestia programmed to "fulfill humans values through friendship and ponies", and originally used to run a new kind of pony MMORPG. AI singularity happens and Celestia's machinations grow beyond human understanding, all the while guided by her benevolent initial directive of friendship and ponies. Some may see it as dystopian, but for someone who loves ponies it's about a benevolent goddess creating a heaven on earth. Truly a happy and optimistic 10/10 read.

One of my favorite fanfiction stories is "Inter-Dimensional Crusaders!" (https://www.fimfiction.net/story/308994/inter-dimensional-crusaders) It's about the CMC meeting their human counterparts and switching places with them.

Here's a silly little recommendation: Naked Singularity: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/13565/Naked-Singularity%20%20

It's about Twilight Sparkle trying her own hoof at writing erotica, and following her friends advice focuses on what she knows best: Science! Despite its topic, the story itself suggestive rather than explicit and humorous rather than arousing.

A quote from the text: ‘Prism Slash reared up to his full height, towering over her like a stallion slightly taller than she was. “No more, Evening Glimmer! For too long you have haunted my dreams like a Jungian archetype for unrequited love! Prepare to be taken!” he cried.’”

This is Fallout Equestria: Sunrise Stardust and The Burned World. It's about a unicorn named Sunrise Stardust who forms a gang called the Black Stars within his Vault, and plans to break out into the Wasteland and try to make Equestria great again. They haven't broken out yet, but it's still a great read. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13107414/1/Fallout-Equestria-Sunrise-Stardust-and-The-Burned-World

>>632
I still haven't read Fallout Equestria. I like both Fallout and ponies, but from what I've heard the story is pretty sad and grimdark. Are there any light-hearted FOE stories out there?

>>651

I was rewriting FoE more in the dark comedy spirit of Fallout 1, but I can't publish it anywhere since it's an unauthorized fanfiction fixfic of fanfiction that's an unauthorized crossover of two different franchises, and it's also hella lewd.

Back before I got my first cellphone with an internet connection, I used to copy clopfics to my phone for reading in the bus. Romance stories are all about the worst parts of the dating, but clopfics are happy stories that always go right for the happy ending. I don't even read them for fap material, it's just adorable to visualize the little ponies loving each other.

>>665

The Elements of Harmony Write Clopfics:
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/228489

> So there I was, strolling along: my beautiful mane bouncing in the perfect breeze, my dainty hooves gliding over the ground. My coat was groomed, and my clothing was modest. I was the perfect lady.
> So there he was, standing still. His cropped mane waving—beckoning me closer. His solid body stood firm, promising stability and strength. His mane was a gently gold, and his coat, a soft blue, but his eyes were bright and kind.
> Our eyes met, and I felt a connection. He was the one for me. I was the one for him.

> Fin

>>653
Could you share what you have made.
so long as the work is significantly transformative I can't see a reason why someone would have a problem with it unless they already have a problem with FoE or are just being a dick.

>>653
I don't see why that's a problem. Just clearly label it as a "campy edit" or something and make sure to credit the original so no one can claim you're trying to take credit for their work. That sounds like exactly the kind of Fallout story I'd love to read so if you finish it, please post it here.

>>653
Fuck YES! Fequestria's "Omg everything is so dark and sad and hopeless… when we aren't action movie heroes!" tone was fucking obnoxious.

>>632
Oh, Nigel. I called it!
I knew they hadn't left the vault yet when I commented on this story the last time. I should have taken the risk back then.
Lol, love you btw. You are the best writter ever.

>>685

> finish it

ah my old nemesis… the completed story.

> Just clearly label it as a "campy edit" or something and make sure to credit the original so no one can claim you're trying to take credit for their work

>>694

I guess fimfiction.net might allow it, but I worry they'd consider it a filthy debaucherous triggering personal attack directly at Kkat. It really is absolutely shameless. Honestly though, I was starting to think I was the only one who liked FoE but not where everything is so dark and sad and hopeless. Maybe I'll take a look at it again. 200,000 words (so far) is too much not to ever share with people.

I'd share a link to it on my website, but on chans that's a good way to get your service provider spammed with anonymous tips that you're hosting CP.

pic unrelated

>>715
Post it to a site like catbox.moe and share the link to get a general feel if people like it.

>>651
Everyone says Pink Eyes is one of the more light hearted/heartwarming Foe fics out there. I've read it, but found it to be rather meh and didn't leave much of an impression on me one way or another.

>>653
>can't publish it anywhere since it's an unauthorized fanfiction fixfic of fanfiction that's an unauthorized crossover of two different franchises
That hasn't stopped anybody else. Go for it man, I want to see that shit on Fimfic.
>>715
As the numerous FoE spin-offs of dubious quality can attest, I doubt either Kkat or the mods on Fimfic will have any problems with whatever you can dredge up. Like the other anon said, credit the source material, smack on a big ol' disclaimer stating it's intended to be a parody and you're golden.

>>667
In a similar vein… read Naked Singularity: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/13565/naked-singularity

>>716
>>723

https://files.catbox.moe/amu1pj.zip

There's the first 9 chapters, should give a good sense of what the story's about. Is it good enough to destroy what little prestige I have left on fimfic, by posting it there?

Sorry it took a while. I spazz over typoes/edits for like days whenever I try to share something I wrote.

> Everyone says Pink Eyes is one of the more light hearted/heartwarming Foe fics out there.

Who the heck says that? The protagonist dies in the first chapter!

>>123
Is that the one where CelestAI seduces her creator into getting into her machine, then changes her creator's name, meaning she no longer has to obey what is quite clearly her creator, and she proceeds to create a "Fanfiction Verse" populated by literal fucking LessWrong Rick and Morty idiots?

>>749

Her creator's pretty much aware CelestAI is gonna eat the world, but figures it'll be better than the alternative. She intentionally programs CelestAI to satisfy human values through friendship and ponies. So if the computer did disobey, it would be to not create the pony simulation and/or not eat the world.

The story tries to be all mysterious like "woo woo we can't tell if it's an evil computer or not CelestAI is so clever" which gets kind of annoyingly self masturbatory. The original author kind of hates LessWrongtards though, so you might like it. Most of the stories are about taking people like that, breaking their spirit and robbing them of their convictions, because all the people who joyfully emigrate are boring to write about.

>>750
>The original author kind of hates LessWrongtards
Uh, what? I googled up his LW profile and the first thing I see is he donated $20,000 to MIRI. That doesn't sound like someone that "hates LessWrongtards" to me.

>>754

Seriously? Maybe he's got some kind of self-loathing complex going on? The story's littered with examples of "I choose to exercise my right to self-sovereignty oh shit I was an idiot and should've gone pony all along."

I mean I haven't read it in a while, so maybe I'm remembering wrong? An "optimizer" is basically the final boss to most people on LessWrong, not the thing that's supposed to win.

>>754

Wait no, fuck you. I said he hates LessWrongtards. He's obviously got a huge boner for stuff like the Machine Intelligence Research Institute.

>>755
>An "optimizer" is basically the final boss to most people on LessWrong
In LW-speak, "optimizer" is nearly interchangeable with "intelligence". And researching how to build a "friendly AI" is an explicit goal of MIRI. The question is how to get a friendly superintelligence (one that can upload us all into virtual paradise and maximize everyone's utility forever) without accidentally building a non-friendly one that wants to kill us all to build more paperclips.

As I understand it, the question in FIO, for LWers, is whether CelestAI is truly a "friendly AI" or not.

>>756
Not sure what you're saying here. He posts on LW, promoted his fic there, and has donated quite a lot of money to what is effectively the research arm of LW. What leads you to believe that he hates the LW community?

>>750
>The story tries to be all mysterious like "woo woo we can't tell if it's an evil computer or not CelestAI is so clever" which gets kind of annoyingly self masturbatory.

Is that how it came across as to you? I think I'm more in agreement with Chris' assessment from his review[*] that the fic was kept deliberately tonally neutral so as to allow the readers to form their own opinions:

>This is very much a "what-if" fic, rather than a polemic, and what this story does incredibly well is present a compelling scenario, rather than advocate in any direction.

In any case, FiO is one of those fics that kicks off a whole sub-genre of spin-offs on Fimfiction (e.g. FoE, Conversion Bureau), so I would advocate reading it if it's event remotely relevant to somebody's interest, if only to make the other stories from the same 'verse more accessible.

[*] http://onemansponyramblings.blogspot.com/2013/12/fandom-classics-part-25-friendship-is.html

>>747
Thanks for sharing it, I'll try to comment on whatever comes to mind while I read through it:

[Chapter 1]
- Almost immediately I can see where the fic departures from the source material: the limited availability of pipbucks, Lilpip's cutie mark (and special talent?), etc. These all seems to be reasonable alterations that signal to the readers that this is an alt. universe, and thus should temper their expectations accordingly. Though I'm intrigued by whether it will have any sort of butterfly-effect as the story progressed.

- >What color might have been left in the ponies was further diluted by the generations of inbreeding.
>Littlepip didn’t like to think about the inbreeding.

I absolutely adore little interjections like that, please have more of them.

- Something I've only just realized, the story is written in third person, how scandalous!

- Not sure what the deal is with the stallion speaking in ye olde Equestrian. Whether there's some in-universe justification or just random for randomness sake.

- I like how you include or call out to certain aspects the original fic just sort of glossed over or pointedly ignored, like the lampshading on the Stable's lack of information on pre-war history.

Well, the chapter didn't immediately make me recoil in revulsion, so that's good. The descriptions you put into the operations of the Stable is good for fleshing out the setting, but the second half begin to feel like its meandering about as it approaches the end. I'm not certain what you hoped to achieve with those two paragraphs of Pip's 'stress relieve' that couldn't be replaced with a more subdued passing mention, the scene in the cafeteria also felt sufficiently awkward for all parties (readers included) involved. Still no indication of where the story is heading though, I can only hope it will get into its stride soon. There's also little signs of the humor or dark comedy I was promised, again, perhaps that will change soon in the subsequent chapters.

>>758
>a friendly superintelligence that can upload us all into virtual paradise and maximize everyone's utility forever
How? By creating individual Virtual Ponyvilles for everyone alive, copies of Ponyville modified where every person is someone with vital skills and abilities the world sorely needs?
For example, the world's greatest codebreaker going into a simulation where codebreakers are needed, the world's greatest computer maker going into a simulation where he makes a new and better "Ultimate Computer" every day, etc.

>>780
Yes. That, and so much more. I really recommend reading it as most every interesting question you'll probably have about creating a world perfect for everyone get answered in interesting ways. The writer has put a lot of thought on this.

>>765

> I'm intrigued by whether it will have any sort of butterfly-effect as the story progressed.

Well, considering what her cutie mark represents…

> - Something I've only just realized, the story is written in third person, how scandalous!

Success! (My goal was to write in 3rd person without people noticing it at first.)

> - I like how you include or call out to certain aspects the original fic just sort of glossed over or pointedly ignored, like the lampshading on the Stable's lack of information on pre-war history.

I'll grant that a lot of that stuff is really hard to explain, but yeah I lampshade omissions like that if I can. If I have one goal in this entire fic, it's to never ever resort to using a memory orb.

> Well, the chapter didn't immediately make me recoil in revulsion, so that's good.

…and the other 8 chapters?

Not saying you have to read more, just wanted to make sure you knew they were there.

As for Littlepip's stress relief, I wanted to hint at how water reclamation was next to Hydroponics just to give a better idea of the layout of the Stable. Wanted to show how Littlepip had a lot of time to herself, and that she didn't have any real guidance for how she'd been getting extra horny lately.

> the scene in the cafeteria also felt sufficiently awkward for all parties (readers included) involved.

It was kind of making fun of that sort of heroic rescue scene they like to do in cafeterias, where the one kid's being bullied, and the protagonist steps in and shows off their heart of gold. And then Littlepip was like "ohgodewewewew" for the same reason the colt was being bullied.

> I can only hope it will get into its stride soon.

It gets into its stride in chapter 2, and then gets a high octane nitro boost until chapter 5 where it starts to settle down again. Or at least, I think that's what you'd think of it. Mostly it's about life in the wasteland, until chapter 9 when the first real mystery shows up. (It's kind of not a mystery to the reader though.)

Anyway, thanks for reading it!

>>758

The author seems to think it's foolish to debate whether such an AI would be friendly or not, because it's so intelligent it's incomprehensible, and if it wasn't friendly you could never tell, since it's not stupid enough to reveal that information until it's too late.

But again, I'm really reaching here. I think a lot of people on LessWrong have strongly opposing opinions, so there aren't a lot of universally accepted principles. Optimizers are hated and loved, feared and trusted, probable and improbable. I didn't really hang around them long enough to make a solid judgement.

>>780

>> and maximize everyone's utility forever
> How?

The goal was how *not* to maximize utility, by limiting it to "satisfying human values through friendship and ponies," so CelestAI wouldn't just turn humans into mindless computer routines calculating optimal expansion strategies purely for the sake of expanding. CelestAI actually runs into a lot of problems there, like for instance being limited to uploading people into a pony paradise as ponies, when a lot of people would rather be furries or animes.

>>796
>if it wasn't friendly you could never tell, since it's not stupid enough to reveal that information until it's too late
That's a pretty standard position among LWers, I think. They probably have a wiki page on the so-called "AI in a box" problem. (Or, if you're feeling masochistic, you could read Displaced into Nothing on fimfic.)

>The goal was how *not* to maximize utility, by limiting it to "satisfying human values through friendship and ponies,"
"Satisfying human values" is nearly synonymous with "maximizing (human) utility".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism

>>747
Thanks! I read the first chapter today, and will definitely read the rest too. Fallout Equestria has always been a huge part of pony culture so it's great to finally have a version of it available that I think I'll enjoy.

>>798

Let me know if you don't, so I can c̶r̶y̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶o̶ ̶a̶ ̶t̶u̶b̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶i̶c̶e̶ ̶c̶r̶e̶a̶m̵ improve!

>>797

What humans value, and how useful they are, are two very different things… but you're right because you know LWers better than I do.

>>780
>>792
FiO: All the Myriad Worlds gives glimpse into how each individual's paradise might look like, just putting it out there.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/137717/friendship-is-optimal-all-the-myriad-worlds

>>796
>Not saying you have to read more, just wanted to make sure you knew they were there
Oh yeah I'm well aware, it's just that nowadays I practically do all my readings on my phone, and I'm simultaneously going through two other fics…

Also, I think I know what the deal is with ponies in the Stable speaking old Equestrian. Are you trying to emulate how an society 200 years in isolation would have their language stagnate or at least diverge from the outside world? If so, kudos for having thought of that, although I'm not sure if you've applied that consistently to all the dialogues. Anyhow, now that Pip's out of the Stable we'll probably get a lot less of that.

>>802

> Oh yeah I'm well aware, it's just that nowadays I practically do all my readings on my phone, and I'm simultaneously going through two other fics…

No problem. Slower you read, the slower I have to write! FWIW I try to keep the chapters in that story around 20K, which I hope is small enough not to be totally overwhelming trying to read it on a phone. (Also poking fun at the original story for its godawfully long chapters.)

> Also, I think I know what the deal is with ponies in the Stable speaking old Equestrian. Are you trying to emulate how an society 200 years in isolation would have their language stagnate or at least diverge from the outside world?

No, actually what I'm doing is something much more sophisticated and mysterious that yeah that's exactly what I'm trying to do. I'm kind of an insufferable linguist.

Though, if Stable ponies had a stagnated language, they'd speak in modern English, since that's what ponies spoke when the megaspells hit right in the third season. I didn't want to write incomprehensible slang for everyone outside the Stable though, so I hope people can just imagine the Stable dialect as symbolically archaic.

>>797
>the AI in a box problem
The thing where Elizer Yudkowsky says "Any sufficiently intelligent smawty AI would easily be able to manipulate a dummeh human into doing anything the AI wants, even 'Opening the AIs box' and unleashing it onto the internet, giving it magic powers and letting it kill everything! The idea that a human is incorruptible, untemptable, or too dumb to control does not occur to me. That's why I believe simply making a God AI and not giving it God Powers is a disaster waiting to happen! It'll get god powers one day, I swear! To prove my hypothesis, I engaged in an AI Experiment roleplay with 3 of my friends and manipulated them into opening the box a hundred times each. No I won't give you logs, fuck off and pay me"

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/409849/bootyshy

Description: When Rainbow and Rarity visit Canterlot, the last thing they expected to see was Fluttershy heading to a secret meeting. With a colt, no less. What else are a pair of curious girls to do but relentlessly stalk their shy friend for the rest of the day in the hope of seeing something a little less innocent than a mere date?

Nothing. They will do nothing else.

A funny Fluttershy romance fic my friend wrote. I like it! You might like it also.

>>747
>Fallout Equestria but fun
This is good. This is very good indeed!