Fic recs, June 9th · 3:55pm Jun 9th, 2016
S Ninja's newest reading is InquisitorM's Empty! Dr. Wolf has done a reading of Akumokagetsu's Evil Belle! ShadowOfCygnus's latest include Pagemaster's Radio Ga Ga and Trixie's Favourite Pony by Blueshift! (He's really gone back in time there!) That's a lot of readings!
It's technically an ongoing story that I am following, but I already reviewed it, so I don't know what to do. Part 13 of Fuzzyfurvert's Tiny Lesbian Stories (or Tenny Let's Bean Storah) is up. Kids that gore don't score!
Also, if you didn't get a hard copy of Twilight's List, kits has a few left! (Also check out that journal if you like TwiDash, it's full of cute art.)
This is the last of the short audiobooks for a while. Gearing up for a big(ish) one! Probably do a couple editions and some minifics in the meantime. For now, head below for reviews of Fiddlebottoms's Twilight Sparkle Is Dead at a Fashionable Occasion, Thanks, Mom by Oroboro, MagnetBolt's The Witch of the Everfree, and my 500th story reviewed this year, among others. :)
H: 2 R: 4 C: 3 V: 0 N: 1
Good Girl by Super Trampoline
Genre: Drama
Princesses don't just have casual sex with strangers, do they?
This story originally had a ridiculously long title — a Super Trampoline signature — that was later shortened by quite a bit, so if the comments seem weird, that's why. Anyway, this is a nice, short, all-dialogue piece about Twilight freaking out the morning after she fucks a hippogriff. Twilight's voicing is really strong, definitely the highlight of the piece, and helps keep the conversation easy to follow, formatted text or not. While not a comedy in the classic sense, I was pretty amused by it overall, and it's got hilarious use of an in-text image early on. One could say the conflict wraps itself up easily, but I prefer that to Twilight dragging on a freakout forever and ever. All in all, worth the read.
Recommended as Light Reading
Twilight Sparkle Is Dead at a Fashionable Occasion by Fiddlebottoms
Mature: Gore
Genre: Dark/Absurdist
And no one seems to mind.
Fiddles gets top billing now that I've gone and read all his previous stuff. Good for him! If there's one reason I love this story, it's that it enters the esteemed halls of upper-class-skewering episodes, presenting Canterlot nobility in all their nose-lifting, lower-class-oppressing, oblivious-for-propriety's-sake glory. If there's a reason I don't like this, it's the depiction of Fancy Pants, though really I just couldn't tell if he was having a lark at his peers' expense or not. (Fancy Pants is very important to me.) If there's a second reason I love this, it's the twin ass gods. That's more ups than downs, so turn off your mature filters and gawk as Twilight's corpse breaks down during a fancy dinner party. It's really something.
Recommended
Any Cost by Crystal Moose
Reading by Captain Sand
Genre: Dark
Shining Armor wasn't supposed to die so soon. Now Cadence will do anything to bring him back.
I'm not quite sure how to take this one, overall. The bargain Cadence ends up striking in the end is "expected", to put a word on it. It's not surprising in the least, for all that it does make sense. Contrast this with Twilight's appearance, which "unexpected" doesn't even begin to cover. There's so much going on with that scene, it's absolutely tantalizing in ways the final scene is not. But it sounds as if the author doesn't even know what to make of this, so I feel safe labeling it a curiosity and nothing more.
Recommended If You Like Dark Stuff
Thanks, Mom by Oroboro
Reading by CoffeeMinion and BriLizyT
Genre: Mother's Day
It's a Sparkle Family reunion for Mother's Day.
I tend to look askance at holiday fics, because they're generally filled with Hallmark-style platitudes and overall uninteresting. But thanks to one small inclusion, this story sidestepped my expectations and became quite a lot of fun. That inclusion? Flurry Heart. Yes, season 6's own bundle of fanon-breaking joy meant that there was plenty of new parent humor at Shining and Cadence's expense. This also showed me that I really care about Twilight's parents getting to be grandparents, one of those things I don't realize I need until it happens. The rest of it, yes, is slice of life and kind of fluffy, but I didn't begrudge that, especially since the particular way Twilight's family celebrates the day is unique, and there's plenty of good family dynamics to go around. All in all, this is a great, positive piece that's definitely worth the read.
Highly Recommended
The Witch of the Everfree by MagnetBolt
Genre: Alternate Universe/Drama
Forced out of Celestia's School for GIfted Unicorns, Sunset Shimmer ekes out a solitary life in the Everfree Forest.
This is a very good example of what you can do with an AU. Change one thing, and not everything else has to change: the world doesn't need to go to pot, the story doesn't have to be dark or edgy, you can just explore a character in a new context and see how they react. And what a character Sunset is. Her voice is powerful, which is good, since this is in first-person. The whole plot is predicated on her lashing out, getting kicked out of the School, and then suffering under the weight of her guilt as she matures while living in the Everfree. She spends a lot of time reminding herself that she's "the most powerful unicorn in Equestria", and trying to build up this frightening mien as the titular witch, making her comeuppance and reconciliations all the stronger. There is some really gripping interpersonal drama, from a might-have-been-a-dream reunion with Celestia to a reckoning with Cadence. The humor keeps things light, and her relationship with Twilight especially was a highlight.
That said, there are some issues. More an issue with the show at large is this story making me realize that canonically, Sunset doesn't have much of a personality. I mean, I love her and everything, but in the movies, she's defined entirely by her redemption arc, which is to say, as the opposite of the terrible things she did in the first movie. Even reading the comics this piece uses as a jumping-off point, we don't get much of a picture of who she was or what she wanted before she became power-hungry and left Equestria. So the reader can be forgiven for noticing that she goes through the Standard OC Introduction, making friends with each of the mane six in turn (thankfully not all at once). And while the first two-thirds or so is a good example of AU done right, in not changing everything, this story almost doesn't change enough: compare scenes toward the end where Sunset just stands around awkwardly, watching the events of the pilot unfold, to earlier scenes that evoke new spins on A Dog and Pony Show, Luna Eclipsed, and others. And while the humor kept things light-hearted, it isn't exactly show-tone (there's a lot of innuendo, plus one mention of "electro-gonorrhea"), and fandom references start to pour out of the woodwork toward the end of the story. (It also fails the Zecora Test while passing the Luna Test, and I don't know what to make of that.)
But overall, my impression of this story is still massively positive. If you're tired of AUs that demand everything become immediately grimdark when one thing changes, if you thrive on drama and personal redemption, or if you just really, really like Sunset Shimmer, this piece will be a worthwhile read, I'm sure of it. :)
Recommended
Language Barrier by Aquaman
Reading by Scarlett Blade
Reading by Snogwritts
Genre: Comedy
(Once again, Captain Sand allows me to read sooner something I'd planned to read anyway. :3) I remember learning my first swear word in school: "Say 'shirt' without the 'r'." I complained to the teacher about my classmates making me say nonsense words; I was a sweet summer child indeed. This story captures that feeling perfectly, of learning 'adult words' and, by understanding and utilizing them, brushing with, if not passing into, adulthood. Of course, I think the real joke is "pony swears are really innocuous", but it's the slice of life look at childhood that really sells this. Don't pass it up!
Recommended
Only, Only, Only You by Corejo
Reading by ABagOfVicodin
Genre: Poem
It's pieces like this that remind me I do not hate poetry, it's just really hard for most writers to pull off. Wow. The meter? Infallible. The rhymes? If ever close, it's only because words like 'hoof' and 'again' have more than one pronunciation. Each of the one-thousand, five-hundred and ninety-four words is exquisitely chosen and perfectly in-character, Luna fitting use of poetic prose. And there's just so much excellent wordplay besides. Lest I praise the structure above all else, the plot hooked me as well. Love letters from Nightmare Moon are not a thing you see often, and the idea that the Nightmare really needs Luna, in more ways than just being a physical host, reframes everything about their story. I can certainly believe it, and not just because the yearning and longing come through strongly in every line. I would hold this up against Melt, The Sisters' Coronet and Racing Thoughts, among others, as some of the absolute best poetry in this fandom.
Highly Recommended
Apooljack's "Dae" Oof by Casca
Genre: Crackfic
Apparently this is another goofy-ass fic I inspired somehow. That plus the title gave me two (count 'em!) reasons to read this right the fuck now. So yes, this is one of those classic "find and replace" kinds of crackfics: Rarity is Scottish, Spike's a dragon, Aloe only speaks Polish, and that's just to start. Beyond that is plenty of funny wordplay, goofy tangents, and fun parody of the episode in question. It's not an amazing comedy, but it did make me smile quite a lot. Fookin' A!
Recommended for Laughs
Discord's Assistant by midashguy
Reading by Captain Sand
500th review of 2016!
Genre: Random
...Is not so great.
Judging by the author's note, not even they know what this is about. For all that I appreciate the nod to the Bronycon water vendors, this really is just a bunch of references strung together in an attempt to be weird and random. Granted, if anything works about it, it's the other characters, Discord most especially, are just not having it. But that leaves the reader staring awkwardly at a bunch of wacky stuff going on that everyone agrees isn't funny. Plus, the ending just isn't. The punchline is incredibly weak, and nowhere in this is there any kind of point. I was not amused, and I don't think many others will be (though the upvote count shows how much I know…)
Not Recommended
Constants by NorrisThePony
Reading by Dr. Wolf
Genre: Slice of Life
Celestia's newest student is feeling homesick.
I very much enjoy seeing Celestia be motherly to a filly Twilight. There's an undercurrent that I wish had been emphasized a little more: Twilight's feeling guilty at missing her home and family, because she lives in the castle! With the Princess! She's got everything she ever wanted! She definitely shouldn't be feeling this way. But what we have is nice, and while Celestia's solution for Twilight isn't earth-shattering (it brings to mind a certain animated movie about a mouse), I appreciate that it involves the moon. This story is cute in a good way.
Recommended
Wow, that review went much better than I expected, after Rarity EQM tore the story to bits in the comment section, and a lot of people in general found it lazy and Meh. I'm glad you found twilight's voicing strong because that's something I've been working on lately.
That's... a very awkward way to be taught that word. I mean, yeah that's how it works on paper, but when I try to do that out loud, I still go "shur—" and then try to reverse the "r" sound back into my mouth, like I'm in a YTP or something.
sus
Seconding Language Barrier. There's a real charm to the execution there, a sort of spark that's refreshing to read.
YOU MISSPELLED MY NAME!
Thanks for the recommendation yo.
I'm curious as to what mouse movie it reminded you of...
I'll be honest, I don't know much about anything.
That scene with Twilight, though. That was something I kind of had developed in my head much more, and was going to write a fic about… but then I stopped writing pretty much anything pony so it went by the wayside.
Interesting fact about said story, I did have an idea where Rainbow Dash came back but was inhabited by the nightmare force, but rather than being jealousy, as was Luna's fall, Rainbow's was pride. Pinkie was desperate trying to convince her not to call herself Rainbow Pride.
So yeah, looks like you are right, I have no idea what I was doing with that. On that note, I need sleep, damn it.
4011060
So what you're saying is you're not Fuuzyfuvvert? :B
4011074
An American Tail, whichever one features the song "Somewhere Out There". I've actually never seen either, it was just the song I was thinking of. :B
4011122
If there was a way to reconcile the goofy name with the dark concept behind it, that would be worth writing.
Glad you liked my story, and that it moved you so. It was a lot of fun to write!
Thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks Mom was an interesting piece for me, since I literally wrote it in an hour before going to visit my mom, older brother, sister-in-law and my (at the time) 6 month old niece for mother's day. Meant as a present for my mother.
So yeah, it was basically a self insert fic that drew heavily on my own experiences with family. Also, that fic reading is fantastic and BriLizyT is a RL friend of mine, and she didn't realize it was my story when she did the recording which was hilarious.
Edit: I'm also highly amused at how a family full of unicorns never actually touches the damn baby and just passes her around telekineticly like a football.
4011482
This makes it even better. :D
How much progress have you made digging through Pirene, I wonder :3
4012395
Not nearly enough ;_; I'm sorry, I'm hooked, I'm just 100% not used to reading books anymore.
... am I going to have to come out of fic cold-drunkreading retirement for this one?
4013395
Indubitably :V
Wait up. Spike's a dragon? That's just crazy, PP.
4018145
Well, he's usually a dog, so... :V