FimFiction Link - Short ID: 145056/the-library-of-discord
Published: Nov '13
I can confirm that Borges is, indeed, good.
With that out of the way, this story really feels like someone writing about an idea they think is neat rather than fully weaving a story around that idea.
While I still enjoyed it, The Library of Discord has its own bookshelf full of shortcomings. My biggest gripe has to be how telly the narrative is at times, and I'm not just talking about the parts where Twilight goes "I'll math my way into teleporting myself!". Generally, big chunks of the story read like "The character felt this. Then the character did this. Afterwards, this happened. As a result, the character did this other thing."
It's so dry, and it's a disservice to what's actually being told.
The idea of conjuring an endless library, but one that's actually curated to have words that mean things opens the door to endless possibilities. Keeping the plot point of Twilight scanning the library for relevant things, imagine if she found books with the solution, but there were thousands, and each had a different outcome. Which one do you try? How could you narrow it down? I think there's potential here.
However, it all boils down to a friendship lesson that--while I feel is good--doesn't have nearly enough time to properly unfold.
Also, Fluttercord. I won't deny I can be a filthy shipper, but I like it when my pairings are developed throughout the story rather than in the last chapter and a half.
Ultimately, I cannot say I hate this story. I even enjoyed myself at points. But it is quite flawed.