Story Reviews » Seattle's Angels Round 135 · 10:12pm Aug 25th, 2018
Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.
Ebon Quill, braving the outside of his normal atmospheric room, walked with a purpose through the compound halls, a manilla folder tucked under one arm. Deciding to write reviews early had been a brilliant idea; not only did he save time to get back to proper writing but it also cut down on how much time he had to deal with the other Angels. Now, all he had to do was find Intern, hand in his work, then retreat back to his wonderfully gloomy abode.
His master plan neared fruition as he turned a corner and found his target. Intern stood in the middle of the hall, both arms raised up towards the ceiling. Ebon Quill strode up to him, eyeing his peculiar stance. “I know I’m going to regret asking this, but what are you doing?”
“Waiting to ascend,” Intern answered, his gaze locked on the ceiling above.
“Ascend to what?”
“What else? Princesshood! Well, in my case princelyhood, but you get what I mean.”
“No. I don’t.”
Sighing, Intern said, “Look, we all know Twilight Sparkle got to be a princess because of all her hard work and understanding of friendship and magic and whatnot. With all the trials and tribulations I’ve been through, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before I get my own wings and become a true Angel.”
Ebon Quill looked away. “I’d rather descend.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing!”
“Anyway, may as well see what you got while we wait.”
ROUND 135
Seven years have passed since Grand Pear moved to Vanhoover, and time has dulled the pain of leaving Pear Butter behind. Though the scars remain, life for the Pear family has done its best to return to normal.
But one day, a letter from Ponyville comes in the mail.
We start off with a fic inspired by what is one of the most well received episodes to date. In this we follow Grand Pear and the fallout of his daughter Pear Butter leaving for Ponyville to join her new family. It hasn’t been easy for him to get over it, bottling up enough emotions to fill the mines under Canterlot. Those emotions begin to spill out as a letter arrives from Ponyville with unfortunate news.
This story is all about dealing with feelings you never wanted to deal with again. Grand Pear thought he was over it, but pony/human nature isn’t something you can just switch off. We aren’t machines. We are living, emotional beings that all have a breaking point.
However, this isn’t a fanfic that just grinds Grand Pear’s face into the mud for over ten thousand words. We get to see that even tragedy can make a person better themselves. I was very pleased with how Grand Pear’s difficult journey makes him realize what’s most important and that it’s never too late to change.
I could say more, but gosh-darn it, go read it! It’ll really speak to people experiencing similar feelings of loss and need a way to work through the grieving process. With ponies!
Healing a rift in a family is hard. Most of us won't experience the pain of disowning someone close, and most of those that do never see reconciliation. This already puts the life of Grand Pear in a tenuous position, so it stands to reason all it'd take to topple him is one bad day.
Having a fair amount of experience with this sort of thing, I found this one the hardest to read. I even tried to invent silly reasons not to.
Don't be me. Read this, and then maybe see if that grudge you're tending like it's a prize-winner is really so important.
Scootaloo watches Applebloom and Sweetie Belle realize their true potentials, wondering when the same will happen to her, or if it ever will.
Now I know there’s as many sad Scoots stories as there are romance stories, but I think I picked out a good one. It highlights something that a lot of writers tend to ignore and that’s that ponies are more than the sum of their cutie marks. They may display to the world what they are best at but there’s so much more to them than a butt stamp.
In this one, Scootaloo’s having a bit of an identity crisis as she sees ponies around her happy about their future while she’s struggling to find the bright spot in hers. Even though she finally has her cutie mark, that doesn’t mean she has a solid idea on what it does for her. A chance encounter with another pegasus struggling to fly makes her realize that it’s not what she can’t do but what she can do that makes a difference.
I’ll end it off there. I really liked the message in this one and encourage you to check it out!
I've never empathized more with Scootaloo than I do here. There's things that some people find effortless that others just can't. It's not stubbornness, nor a desire to act against what is requested, but a biological fact.
However, as this story illustrates brilliantly, just because you can't doesn't mean you don't understand the theory.
And sometimes that's enough.
STORY 3
Gambling Foals, by Coyotek4
The Flim Flam brothers introduce gambling to Las Pegasus, and Rainbow Dash is quickly drawn to the allure of the new games while Pinkie remains indifferent ... but when Rainbow's luck takes a turn for the worse, can Pinkie salvage their vacation plans?
Okay, enough with the sad stuff, let’s get to some fun stuff! I love this story and can totally see it being an episode if it weren’t for that pesky American taboo about showing gambling in children’s cartoons.
Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are vacationing in Las Pegasus and are excited to try out this new concept called “gambling”. It’s really interesting how both of these characters react to this new activity, particularly Pinkie Pie. It’s kinda amazing to see, really.
The characters are great and the execution is great, with a beginning and end that bookends the entire package perfectly. I can’t express my admiration enough so double down on pink and take a look!
This is a cute trip through Las Pegasus, Pinkie-style! And, just as you'd expect, the old town’s not quite ready for her.
As fun as it is, it also does something rare; it treats the Flim Flam brothers with respect. They're not mustache-twirling villains, which is something I don't see enough of.
Come for the antics, stay for a better representation of our favorite hucksters than even the show could manage.
Trixie, after returning to Ponyville seeking revenge/forgiveness/redemption/bus fare back to Hoofington, winds up in a coma for three months, through no fault of her own. When she wakes up, she's a little concerned by the hole in the ceiling and the one next to the bed, but not enough to really do much investigating. At least, not until she runs into Rainbow Dash who tells her Twilight has gone missing. Then, things get even weirder when Spike comes crawling out of the basement talking about mysterious books and milk and whatnot. Clearly Trixie has no other option than to get to the bottom of things. She just never expected where that bottom would be.
Now I know Alex was an Angel way back in the day, but the statute of limitations has got to have run out by now. Whatever, he’s not here to recommend Trixie stories so I’m here to pick up the slack.
This is a silly one but it’s got enough heart and character to carry it through to the end. Trixie is Trixie and Rainbow is Rainbow and the duo work well in getting to the bottom of the current disaster affecting Ponyville this week. It’s too bad we don’t get more interactions with the two in the show because I’d watch an episode where these two bumble through to a solution to whatever problem they’re facing.
It’s quirky, it’s funny, it’s got a gallon of milk. What more could you possibly want? Cookies?!
Only until you finish reading this.
Trixie pre-Amulet is always interesting to read, and who doesn't like a little Rainbow Brash?
Not much more to say. It's a light story that's paradoxically heavy on the random, but it's a fun romp regardless.
“Great, perfect, that should do it.”
Ebon Quill crossed his arms. “You think just because we managed yet another review post that it will be enough to make you ascend?” He shook his head and dropped the manilla folder at Intern’s feet. “I got better places to be.” He turned to leave but a gasp from Intern brought his attention snapping back.
Before his very eyes, Ebon Quill witnessed Intern slowly rising off the floor, a look of astonishment and pure joy etched on his face. “It’s happening! It’s really happening!” Intern spread his arms wide, letting the rapturous moment take him. “Finally! I will be joining the ranks of the most prestigious reviewers to—”
Intern abruptly fell to the floor, landing on his butt.
There came the buzz of an intercom turning on, followed by Red’s voice. “Sorry about that. There was a malfunction with our anti-gravity engine so some of you may have experienced a brief bit of weightlessness. It’s back to working now so nothing to worry about.” The intercom click off.
Ebon Quill looked down where Intern lay, the part-time reviewer’s face slowly reversing its earlier elation. Huffing, Ebon Quill turned and marched away. “If only that had been me.”
Feel free to visit our group for more information and events, and to offer some recommendations for future rounds. See you all next time!
Look guys we DIDN'T kill Ebon, I swear that's the real him and not a fabricated hologram! Just because it's been long enough since his last time reviewing for us to bury his body and create holographic technology doesn't mean anything
4925709
>_>
... seems legit
Whoa, hey! That's me! Glad you guys enjoyed the story, and thanks for the feature!
We are all Alex Jones