ILP's Good Fallout Equestria Fanfic Library: Tales of Chicacolt · 9:31pm April 23rd
Hello folks and welcome back to another Fallout Equestria fic review. Details can be found here, story can be found here:
Already breaking the mold by reviewing what is actually an anthology of smaller Fo:E stories. All the stories share a common theme in that they’re based in and around the city of Chicacolt, and features some recurring characters and factions from the author’s major fic Fallout Equestria: Starlight. I have not read Starlight, but the fic makes consistent reference to characters and events from that fic. That said I still enjoyed some of these fics and wasn’t too lost, so it’s up to your discretion how you want to approach this universe. I've made note of spoilers and how significant they are in this review so you can plan to avoid them if you like.
The fic starts with a prologue that’s way shorter than this review is gonna end up. While I understand the desire to hype up your story, I’m personally not a fan of it. At under 300 words though it’s ultimately inconsequential. Up to you if you want to read it or skip right into the good stuff.
The Moose…is Loose
Off to a great and hilarious start with this one. One of the major factions in Chicacolt and probably the best morally is the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Mafia, a bizarre mix of, well, the mafia, with sweet treat suppliers. There’s definitely some context I’m missing here by not reading Starlight, but I like it enough that I don’t care.
This one features the Moose, the leader of the MMMM’s Chocoholics, whose product should be obvious. Moose is also a sugar addict who gets higher than a kite whenever he so much as catches a whiff of the stuff. One of the gang’s chocolate making machines suffers a busted gear, requiring the Moose and reluctant employee Chocolate Swirl, a mare who drew the short straw on having to babysit Moose, to go find one.
Not much to say here; reading about these two trying to find something as simple as a gear is about as entertaining as it gets. Moose’s stoner attitude is hilarious, both nearly getting them killed, and getting them out of trouble. One of the best ones in this anthology.
Verdict: Well worth it, especially if you want a more lighthearted Fo:E fic.
It Started With a Dame
Good god, I can practically feel the noir inspiration dripping from this fic. While I ultimately don’t mind, I think this one layered it on a little too thick.
This one follows detective Flash Bang, named in the author’s notes but not the story. He gets visited by a frantic mare trying to find her daughter, sending Flash Bang into the wretched hive of scum and villainy that is the city’s old Ministry of Morale hub. Morale is now repurposed into the city’s main…entertainment venue. Sex, drugs, and ponies that are way too young to be there.
In true noir fashion we subsequently have some action, a pretty good twist, and a bittersweet ending. It’s not my favorite, but still good, and I’d say the twist makes up for the occasional over the top writing.
Verdict: Recommended for noir fans especially, but you might still like it if you aren’t into that.
‘Joy and the Giant Vine
Not much to say about this one, good or bad. It's just kinda there. The story concerns a young griffin called Featherjoy and Finishing Touch the smooze…
Hang on, the smooze? What is that doing here? And why is it implied there's more of them? I know I'm missing context here, but man, talk about raising questions right out of the gate here.
At any rate, Touch and Featherjoy help investigate a vault where some weird experiments had been done with plants and get more than they bargained for. It’s well written, with some nice action near the end, but otherwise unremarkable.
Verdict: Average, but worth a shot.
From Zebrica With Love
Like It Started With a Dame, this one lays it on thick, but with a spy thriller coat of paint. This one is set just before the bombs drop, and follows Pipsqueak as he tries to thwart a group of zebra infiltrators attempting to set off a megaspell inside Chicacolt itself.
Didn’t hate this one, but nothing really jumped out at me either. There’s some good action here, and cheesy spy drama, so if you're into that sort of thing then here you go. I'm not, so I haven't a whole lot more to say about this one.
Verdict: Recommended if you like spy thrillers.
A Black Lotus
Here we go, here’s something a little darker and edgier. Another one of Chicacolt’s major factions is the Lotus Triad, a group of escorts and other…entertainment specialists, that do covert assassinations on the side.
Berry Blossom is one such escort, one who’s not a fan of her job, but in way too deep to stop. The fic centers around her making a huge revelation that turns her worldview upside down and forces her to question her life choices, and that’s all I can say without delving into spoiler territory. This is definitely one where you want to head in blind. It ends in a beautifully depressing way, and is probably one of the best here next to the Moose is Loose.
Verdict: Depressing, but in a good way. Heavily recommend.
Discord’s Day Out
So this one’s a bit odd. It concerns Discord, yes THE Discord visiting Chicacolt to cause some brief chaos while he monologues about the wasteland. In theory this sounds like it could be a good premise, but I dunno, this one’s just really meh for me. Sitting around a thousand words means it's not a huge waste of your time though.
Verdict: Skip unless you have nothing better to do.
Wasteland Rugrats
A one shot so big it needed to be a two parter. This time we follow a pair of siblings, Lightning Chaser and Starry Night, two young'uns who are eager to go on their first ever mission for the MMMM. A routine caravan run aided by several guards and one of the MMMM's top guys Apple Danish.
Naturally it immediately goes wrong, resulting in Apple Danish being captured by Talons and taken as a slave by the fierce Cult of Iron Will; a group of minotaur who have good reason to kill Danish as soon as they realize they actually have him. Starry and Lightning get the bright idea to go help him, but this quickly goes wrong too and they narrowly escape.
The second half of the story involves the two siblings getting some help and concocting a proper plan to bust Danish out of the O'Mare airport. Radiant Star is there at the end to wrap up some unfinished business from Starlight, but beyond that it stands well on its own and isn't too spoilerful.
So yeah, I like it. I think the execution of the plan at the end is a little shaky, but the rest of the fic is pretty strong. Probably should still read Starlight first, but you won't be lost if you haven't.
Verdict: Solid fic that stands on its own and won't spoil Starlight for you
A Star of Hope
Hoo boy, if there was a story you needed to save for later it's this one. This one follows alicorn Radiant Star, protagonist of Starlight, and there are A LOT of references to the first fic. As far as the plot goes, it involves Star and co checking out an old stable. Though it's already open, it's supposed to be picked clean and abandoned. When they get a tip off that something is amiss, it sets off doubts about old events and forces them to go investigate.
Writing is good, there's some good tension and action here. I can't really say much more without delving into spoilers for both fics. There's a lot here I missed by not reading Starlight though. If you've already read the first and haven't touched this one, what are you waiting for? This caps it all off nicely.
Verdict: Good epilogue to Starlight, but you reeeeally can't read it on its own.
Sunshine, Sunshine
The last fic here is a sequel to It Started With a Dame, and I'd easily say it's better than it's predecessor.
The missing daughter from the first fic is an adult now, wasting her life away with cheap sex and alcohol until an almost forgotten figure from her past reappears to try making amends. Realization hits like a freight train and she tries to get away.
Not much more I can say without spoiling but damn, it's good. Builds on and surpasses the first fic. Oh, and it's not dripping with noir anymore!
Verdict: A sequel that's better than the original. Just don't skip the first, you need context.
And that wraps it up for this review! Hopefully the 'mixed bag-ness' of an anthology isn't a turn off. I did try to highlight the better parts, but obviously not everything's gonna click for me. I intend to keep writing these, and with summer coming up I'll try to work on some instead of just laying around. Till then!
