Whatcha reading? -Don't go outside by Wolokai-

Hello, thar. Meinos Kaen here!

Damn, I'm nervous. Going to start working again, tomorrow. Brand new place, maybe a different position than from where I'm started. I keep going 'What if I'm late? What if something happens on the way there? What if it's worse?'. Oh, well. Nothing I can do about it now. And as I write this, I also found solid directions to get there and also figured a way to not get stuck in traffic on the way there. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Ah-rumph. Now, let's go and explore some more Fimfic together.

As I browsed, I noticed a strange trend to this brand of Fanfiction. Among them, there are a large number of ones featuring tags such as Tragedy, Dark, Sad. You'd think a show as happy as FIM wouldn't have much in that department, and instead, it has many. Like the infamous Cupcakes, which you will forgive if I don't provide a link for. So, today I'm reviewing such a fic. Don't go outside by Wolokai. A good piece which focuses on classical horror, and which made me go back with my mind to the first Resident Evil...

Don't go outside is a horror story which puts you into Twilight Sparkle's POV as she is trapped alone inside her own home. The only contact she can have with the outside is a basket on ropes. She cannot make the slightest noise, and cannot use her magic. Two months prior to the start of the story, something has happened to Ponyville... It's up to the reader and Twilight to discover what. And it's up to the author to receive this outstanding 9/10.

What did I like?

Wolokai can do atmosphere. You can just feel the sense of claustrophobia and helpelessness. The fear is not created by the monsters, but by the characters and the writing choices of the author. One particularly sublime one is how Wolokai uses Twilight to explain everything there is-or better, everything she knows- about the threat. It's in character and logical, flows perfectly with the story. And his places are just so evocative... I had a flashback to Resident Evil 0 when Twilight goes back to where it all began...

What didn't I like?

It's a nine, yeah? Well, what I didn't like is... I couldn't really perceive the monsters of the story as a real threat, you know? I mean, it all rotates around a virus that gets transmitted via bodily fluids or scratches... If you know horse anathomy, you know how hard that is for them to do. For a sole individual, they can be a handful, but I just can't wrap my head around how did the ponyvillians get themselves isolated to the point of this threat becoming... Well, a threat. Especially seeing how Applejack held them at bay in the story.

My tips to the author

I – Work on the dangerousness of your monsters, buddy. I mean, your scenes can be plenty scary. The Afflicted? Not so much. I mean... I can't perceive them as that big of a threat.

That said, I can't wait for more chapters of the sequel. Yep, the story has one, simply called Don'tgo outside II, conveniently linked by yours truly. Hope you enjoy!

Meinos Kaen out!