Story Reviews » SA Reviews #82 · 1:57am Apr 24th, 2016
Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.
High above the Earth, right about the point it starts to become a blue ball floating in the void rather than the planet we know, two little shapes floated in the void.
One was a Seattle’s Angels intern, and the other was a squirrel, the both of them dolled up in spacesuits, though the squirrel had an adorable little squirrel-sized one with a large pouch for his tail.
“So,” Red the squirrel said to the intern, “do you think they forgot about us?”
“Maybe,” was the dismal reply. RT waggled his arms helplessly. “This means I’ll get paid even less than before. What’s less than nothing?”
“The number of Celestia episodes we’ll get,” the squirrel snarked, staring hopelessly at the single hazelnut he was able to salvage before the explosive decompression of Red’s walnut oil storage bay during re-entry flung them out of the ship. “They really should put a mouth hole in these helmets.”
“At least I was able to hit the transmit button on the way out,” RT sighed. “They’ll get their reviews.”
“Is that really all you can think about?”
RT did a somersault. “No. For instance, I love the view of the mountains we have.”
Red pondered as he slowly twirled in place. “I love the big clouds.”
“I love the green valleys.”
“I love big oak trees.”
“I love the solar breeze.”
There was a pregnant pause, and then two voices in unison filled the vacuum.
”Boom de yada, boom de yada, boom de yada, boom de yada~”
ROUND 82
After realizing that Pinkie Pie is, without a doubt, one of the fastest ponies she's ever met, Rainbow Dash decides to challenge her to a race.
If only she knew what she was getting into.
What even is Pinkie Pie? Is she an animation glitch come to life, one of the fabled Putty Ponies? All we know is that Pinkie is a happy little thing, and she lives to make others happy, up to and including at her own expense. Blur is one such story, short and simple yet competently written, of Rainbow Dash being her old proud self, unable to admit that Pinkie Pie is, in fact, faster than her.
The story is just a little clash of personalities, with Pinkie Pie innocently trying to have fun, and Rainbow Dash taking “fun” to mean a contest of wills that she absolutely, positively must win. It’s as simple as a story can be: Rainbow Dash wants to win, and Pinkie Pie keeps winning instead. But the story, at the end, is more about Pinkie and what she is sometimes willing to give up just for her friends to be happy, even if that happiness isn’t necessarily honestly given. I can’t give away the entire plot for how short it is, but I can tell you it is competently written, fun to read, and definitely in need of more viewers.
There are two types of Pinkie Pies in this world (not counting Mirror Pool shenanigans): one that is hyper and insensitive and the other that isn’t so hyper and seems to have a deceptively deep understanding of the characters around her. This story deals with the latter, and I got to say I miss seeing this side of Pinkie. Sure, her normal antics are funny, but it’s when she stops to think and consider the situation around her that we come to understand just why she’s the Element of Laughter.
So the setup is that Rainbow Dash is going about her business, flying all over Ponyville at speeds normally reserved for oceanic flights. She spots Pinkie but goes so fast that she misses Pinkie’s wave. A little further on, Rainbow Dash sees Pinkie Pie again, this time stopping to ask just how Pinkie got there before she did. Pinkie being Pinkie, the simple answer is that she did because she was afraid Rainbow Dash had missed her greeting the first time.
The gears inside Rainbow Dash start to spin, putting two and two and two and two together to get 2,222 and says there’s no way Pinkie Pie is faster than she is. And to prove it, it’s race time!
Of course, things don’t go as planned for Rainbow Dash, leading to more frustrated and desperate attempts to prove she’s the fastest equine alive. It’s here that Pinkie Pie tips her hoof and comes up with a solution that would make season one Pinkie (the one that knew that pranking Fluttershy was a bad idea) proud.
This is about as slice of life as you can get, but it’s that special type of story that brings forth a very simple conflict that speaks volumes about the characters. If you’re up for a quick, fluffy read, this will fill that need and give you a fuzzy feeling on top.
STORY 2
Closing Time, by MalWinters
She was just trying to do her job: sell some tomatoes and get enough bits to meet her deadlines. But after being cheated into selling her tomatoes at a lower price by a certain pink pony, Roma's afternoon does nothing but go downhill.
How can a mare cope when her life is falling apart around her ears?
You know how some stories take the hijinks of the mane six way too seriously? This one almost does, but I was drawn to it not because of the way it inflates a crisis out of a gag (you’ll see why that’s a bad pun if you read the story), but the way it incorporates a Pinkie-ish solution.
Recall if you will the Looney Tunes scenario where Pinkie manages to haggle the price of a tomato down for Fluttershy. Now paint that tomato seller as a single mother in a financial crisis, which has just reached a tipping point due to Pinkie Pie’s haggling. It seems melodramatic at face value, but it’s how the story comes to its resolution with ponies coming together happily as ponies do, and adding a little pink to the mix, that makes the read worthwhile. This is Pinkie Pie as she should be in the show: not the manic, oftentimes completely insane lol randum, but the surprisingly empathetic and unique emotional center of much of Ponyville.
I tip an imaginary hat to this story, for cleanly and quickly introducing us to a world behind the scenes. This kind of quiet imagination is something sorely lacking in a lot of fanfiction.
This is a story about unintended consequences. A story about how the person on the other side of the counter is a person just like you, with their own emotions and reasons for doing what they do. Having worked in customer service for a time, I relate with our main character, Roma, quite a bit.
Remember that craggy mare in Putting Your Hoof Down, the one selling tomatoes? Well, seems as though Fluttershy wasn’t the only one have a bad day, that day. Roma’s in a tight situation, one that nopony would know unless they knew her better. Fortunately, Roma does have friends of her own, even if she’s too proud and stubborn to let them help.
A story like this feels more human than pony, given the real world struggles that Roma faces here. I doubt we’ll ever see anything like this in the show, but that’s the beauty of fanfiction: doing the things that the series can’t.
The ending does loop back around to that My Little Pony “everypony’s happy” sort of thing, but I really do appreciate how the author took the time and effort to drop Roma into a scenario that may be a little too close to home for some readers. It sometimes takes a challenging piece such as this to help us realize and appreciate what we have already.
STORY 3
Quantum Vault, by WishyWish
Fleeing from a shattered future that never should have been, a mint-coated mare galloped into the Quantum Vault Accelerator...and vanished.
She awoke to find herself trapped in the ebb and flow of realities, facing mirror images that were not her own; and driven by those she had wronged to change history for the better. Her only guide on this journey is Hal, a pegasus from her own spacetime, who appears in the form of a hologram that only she can see and hear.
And so the minty mare finds herself vaulting from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that her next vault, will be the vault home…
I used to think that any fic written about the children of a particular character just couldn’t be interesting. I mean, you see them in their hordes on DeviantArt all the time: a menagerie of neon colors and blithely written personality sheets that somehow read like obituaries for the not-well liked. They’re usually just carbon copies of the parents, with traits like “enjoys darkness but laughs around friends” and “plays guitar” and “recommended you place in a dry, cool storage space” to define them. Ponies were infected by this strange affliction too.
But then this fic came along, and now I’m a believer.
Quantum Vault, as you can imagine, is a play on Quantum Leap, that cultural semi-icon of the early 90s, and is about a character you might not expect: Trixie’s own daughter, Quantum Trots, who is no magical prodigy but a brilliant arcane scientist. Unfortunately, Trixie isn’t really all there to appreciate her genius, due to madness inflicted by her use of the Alicorn Amulet and a little thing called “mass murder.” In the wake of a lethal crime that got ponies killed, with the implication Quantum is at least partially guilty, Quantum tries to escape into the time machine she built to set everything right. Except the universe has different plans for her.
Quantum is definitely her own character in this story, which works to its strength; instead of being there just to be a second smaller Trixie, Quantum has her own motivations, life, and friends. She insists she views the magic of friendship “differently” than other ponies, but as the story progresses (yes, it is incomplete) she gradually comes to uncomfortable realizations about herself and the world around her as she is forced to atone for her crimes by fixing what’s gone wrong in different points in time.
What I love the most about this story is what I love about any story calls itself a crossover and is brave enough to be more: it takes the base components of pony and Quantum Leap, and goes in its own brazen direction. Quantum Trots (affectionately dubbed “Cutie”) is not Scott Bakula’s character, and her Hal, who is called Hal, is not Quantum Leap’s Hal. The two of them, and the ponies they encounter, are all lively, colorful, and well-realized. Quantum is fun to get to know as she struggles to come out of her scientific shell and empathize with ponies she’s never met, and never been. There is also worldbuilding, delicious, delicious worldbuilding.
This is a story marching to the beat of its own drum, which I adore to pieces. Once again: this is the proper way to do a crossover, if you ask me, and it is absolutely criminal that this story hasn’t gotten more views.
Sometimes we do crazy and evil things for those we love. We end up hurting others just so that the ones we care about are satisfied. That’s the situation Quantum Trots finds herself in at the beginning of this story, and it’s up to her to set things right.
Or will she?
Make no mistake, this story is paying loving homage to that cheesy but lovable late 80’s/early 90’s show, Quantum Leap. However, this isn’t a crossover, as the mechanics of Quantum’s journey are significantly different. Instead of a straight timeline of events to bounce around to, Quantum finds herself being taken to places that may not even exist in her world or fix the disaster that she’s trying to prevent. Is she making a difference or is there a greater plan in place by forces yet to be identified?
The writing and characters are fantastic. I’m really gripped by Quantum’s plight and the struggles she’s faced so far. The side characters are also interesting to learn about as they do what they can to help Quantum with her quest.
About the only complaint I can throw against this story is that there’s a mild case of Lavender Unicorn Syndrome. Nothing too outrageous, but it pops up just enough to be noticeable.
Quantum Vault hasn’t finished yet at the time of this writing, but what I have read so far leaves me yearning to know what’s coming next. Don’t worry, the author seems to be updating at a consistent pace, so I have high hopes to see how this will end.
Pinkie Pie's entire day revolves around getting every pony she meets to feel happy. She's a master of it all, from practical jokes to slapstick comedy. Sure, she's had a few tough nuts to crack, but in the end those nuts always crack a smile!
… Except for today. A strange spell has infected Pinkie's home, somehow leaving only her immune to the effects. Clearly there is only one solution: an epic adventure to return the smiles back to Ponyville! With her trusty sidekick Gummy at her side, there will be no stopping her quest!
We had an excess of cotton candy on our space station, so we have even more Pinkie Pie! This story is labelled adventure, but it could fit neatly into the kinds of adventure you see on a Saturday cartoon - no world-spanning epic in this one, but Pinkie does cover a lot of physical and emotional ground.
After convincing herself that some kind of supernatural activity is responsible for the lack of smiles on everyone in Ponyville, Pinkie sets out to find a magical flower that will return good cheer. Bringing along only Gummy, who she may or may not be having one-sided conversations with, she comes to terms with what it means to be happy, and what it means when she can’t really cheer anyone up. It’s a sweet story, which characterizes Pinkie very well. I can tell you that she’s a distinct challenge to write (even for the show writers) so to see the author succinctly bring across both her strengths and weaknesses is very refreshing. The ponies she meets along the way add their own unique flavors, often being the kinds of characters you’d expect to see in a quasi-mystical road trip.
I will say the ending was rather confusing for me, and didn’t seem to connect to the larger narrative, but it’s a nitpick compared to what the story does well. Hopefully, this finds you with a smile on your face as well.
More Pinkie Pie? Why, yes!
Showing the great length’s she willing to go to to make her friends smile, Pinkie Pie embarks on a journey to find a special flower that will lift the gloom that’s surrounding Ponyville. Accompanied by her trusty sidekick Gummy (mostly so that Pinkie Pie has someone to talk to so that and we don’t get thought dialogue the whole time), Pinkie Pie must traverse the lands of Equestria to succeed.
I really like the way this is written. It’s simple and straightforward, like what you would find in a middle-school short story. I could see parents reading this to their children.
Pinkie Pie is likable and quirky, learning things as she goes. Such as, bring water bottles instead of cans of foam snakes. Ah, season one Pinkie Pie strikes again. However, she does go through a very subtle character arc that, after finishing the story, puts her whole adventure in a very different light.
Give this one a shot if you want to see another example of Pinkie Pie done right. I’ll never tire of Looney Toons Pinkie, but sometimes a more low key character makes the journey all the more special and satisfying.
“Keep scanning!” Plum the literal plum said, biting his imaginary nails. “We’ll find them eventually.” He paused. “Or at least the one we don’t have to pay in nuts.”
“It’s space,” Ferret mumbled, wringing her tail worriedly. “Everything is in space. So they have to be in space too.” She threw up her adorable little paws. “I can feel how less fluffy the room is and I hate it!”
“Wait.” Pav looked up from his terminal. “I think I’ve got them! I had to adjust my scanner from shipped pairs to irascible acquaintances, but I’m getting a signal!”
“Patching it through now,” Raz said with regal formality. “I… I think it’s a looping message?”
“What is it?” Ferret asked frantically. “Are they hurt? Is Red’s tail still fluffy?”
Raz just calmly flipped a switch, and over the intercom came the happily repeating refrain of the space-bound reviewers.
Pav cleared his throat. “They’re, uh. They’re not stopping.”
Plum sighed and wobbled back and forth on his pedestal, annoyed they were not suffering a fate equal to their worry. “Maybe we can leave them up there a bit longer...”
Feel free to visit our group for more information and events, and to offer some recommendations for future rounds. See you all next time!
Pinkie sure is getting some love this round.
Anyway, I'll try checking these stories out when I have the time.
More to the "Read Whenever" list...
But, are you guys still doing the guest reviewer thing? I don't think I saw any last round or two...
Unless I'm mistaken on the whole thing.
~Skeeter The Lurker
3892164
They only get the guest reviewers on when the Angels themselves fall behind. They're less "guest reviewers" and more "backup reviewers."
Lotta Pinkie in this round. I approve.
Well, at least you had some cotton candy on the return trip, though I expected starfruit and Moon Pies.
I love that Discover Channel ad.
That thing's been sitting in my docs forever. Oh yeah, SA story updates.
I'm glad ya didn't kill off the nameless intern! He was starting to feel an awful lot like Carmine from Gears of War.
I hate being the guy who shows up years after something was posted, and then forgotten about, but:
I'm not quite old enough to remember when "Quantum Leap" was first on the air, but I loved the syndicated reruns in the 90s. I got back into it around 2008, when I found it back in syndication, and my "Complete Series" DVD boxed set is one of my favorite clearance finds. As far as I know, "QL" never had a character named "Hal." Red may be thinking of "2001: A Space Odyssey," where Hal was the computer that wouldn't open the pod bay doors. Albert Calavicci, a.k.a. "Al," was Dr. Beckett's cigar-chomping traveling companion for five seasons.