Fic recs, October 10th: Legend of Everfree edition! · 5:47pm Oct 10th, 2016
Happy sixth birthday, Friendship Is Magic! I hope you die before you get old
Let us celebrate with a round of stories based on the newest un-horse movie. If you haven't seen it yet, well, you should, and you should do so before any of these reviews spoil you on the details! :B Onward! (And I know I've been posting a lot lately; this will probably be my last "plus-one edition" for a bit, I just had a lot of stuff to clear out.)
H: 1 R: 1 C: 4 V: 0 N: 1
Emotions Are Complicated by SamRose
Genre: Romance
Flash Sentry just has to accept that she isn't his Twilight. Why is it so hard?
This one was written prior to LoE, based off the previews. Despite that, the situation seems like something perfectly extrapolated from the movie — Flash and Sunset almost have the same conversation, even — so kudos. And I have to say, I really like it. It's got Flash dealing with rejection, kinda-sorta-not-dating Sunset again, and just being an emotional teenager in general. It's not angsty, and I found it a compelling portrayal of this time of life. I can't even say I'm disappointed by the alternate ending. If anything, just be aware that there are copious comma errors; I don't think they'll stand in the way of a recommendation, though.
Recommended
Born Again by Kickback
Genre: Slice of Life
Broken down in the middle of nowhere, the Sirens find something strangely familiar calling them.
It's nice to see a post-Rainbow Rocks story where the Dazzlings are down on their luck but not woobies. If there's anything to recommend about this, it's the strong characterization for Aria, forced to take over for Adagio after the shock of the loss leaves her more or less comatose. That said, the writing has some issues: proofreading errors, confusing pronouns, and overwriting that marks a young writer making the transition from 'novice' to 'experienced'. Actually, my biggest issue is that it feels unfinished, but at least it presents an entire idea. If nothing, a good Dazzlings fic.
Recommended for Dazzlings Fans
Sweet Dreams, Sunnybun by shortskirtsandexplosions
Genre: Friendshipping
The girls saved Camp Everfree. So why is Sunset acting so strangely?
This is a Tumblr meme. <.< Meanwhile, skirts has decided to lay it on extra thick. The dialogue is peppered with hesitations, ellipses (and just straight-up 'why did they say that?') The friendship is powerful, but it's surrounded by a lot of gloopy saccharinity, with a heaping helping of "I THINK THESE HORSE WOMEN ARE ADORABLE". Still, I can't say I disagree with that at all.
Recommended If You Can Handle Maudlinity
Magical Backlash by Shadowmane PX-41
Genre: Drama
Three years later, Timber still blames his sister for everything that happened.
This had an interesting idea: that the magic Gloriosa Daisy used has taken a physical toll on her body. Unfortunately, I can't say I care much for either the execution or the other ideas encapsulated in the fic. To a point, there are two ideas here — Gloriosa Daisy is paralyzed, and the Camp was bought by Filthy Rich sometime in the past three years — and both are continually and flatly expounded upon by the characters in every single scene. And because Timber keeps bringing up his sister's physical condition, then turning right around and blaming her for everything, he comes off as a severe jerk. Twilight's encouragement may have been trite, and Filthy Rich's teddy bear speech was completely unrelated to anything, but I didn't really care about Timber's feelings or want him to make up with his sister, because he's just an asshole! Not to mention Filthy Rich taking over the Camp after three years means that all the hard work the characters put in at the end of the movie was null and void for no good reason. And then we get to the final scene with Gloriosa, and it's "Oh pity the girl on crutches" and I just… No. No thank you.
Not Recommended
I Don't Got This by MrAskAPirate
Genre: Drama
After the disaster that nearly cost them the Camp, Gloriosa is ready to call it quits.
This is almost a complete one-eighty from the previous story. We've got a strongly characterized Timber Spruce and Gloriosa, with an equally strong familial bond, and a central conflict that isn't just 'woe is me'. Gloriosa's emotions are compelling, and her actions true to nature. It's a fairly simple piece, all considered, but excellently constructed.
Highly Recommended
New Magic by Jay-The-Brony
Genre: Headcanon Dump
Twilight and Sunset get some advice about their new magical necklaces.
I'm throwing this a lot of bones because it's apparently the newest addition to a lengthy canon of EQG fics, none of which I'm certain I've read. So when it comes to questions like "Why is Adagio being so cordial to them?", eh, well, I'm sure there's an explanation somewhere. As for my genre tag, I'm calling it like it is, but I'll say this is both interesting and well written, so it could be far worse. It's not much of a story, but if you'd be interested in reading an idea in story format rather than blog format, check it out.
Recommended for EQG Fans
I've Got This by Piccolo Sky
Genre:Character Piece
Gloriosa Daisy went through a lot, living at Camp Everfree all her life. But it's okay. She's got this.
This is a good one to end on, told first-person by Gloriosa throughout her life. The steps it goes through are a little predictable, but seeing how "I've got this" changes connotation over time is a real draw, along with watching her slowly lose her mind. The "typos" gimmick might not work evenly across the whole piece, but I dunno, I think it at least gets the point across. And though it ends on a headcanon dump, it's an even more interesting headcanon dump than in the previous story. (And I have to give points for the format of the story, the purpose for which is revealed in that final scene.) It might actually be something greater than the sum of its parts.
Recommended
Not really. Most of them are just brief slice-of-lifes that require the setup of 'this character is with this character', and one or two of them deliver the initial setup and nothing else. Not so much a canon as a folder for EQG fics by the same author which share some character relationships.
To be fair, it was just a commission. I wasn't trying to be too special with it.
I also believe that you'll hate me for this, Present, but I don't like how they turned the Equestria Girls into blatant Sailor Moon rip-offs with those geodes, and I DON'T like the interactions between Gloriosa and Timber at all in the movie. If anything, she should've been a Tarzan-esque girl, and Timber Spruce can just piss off and die.
It was a highly laboured task if anything, but it was worth it to get the art for another story of mine, "The Truth Hurts."
It's especially nice to see Piccolo Sky post more stories since he was planning on not doing so again on Fimfic. Legend of Everfree happened to inspire him enough that he did anyway. He really deserves more attention, especially his wonderfully snarky responses to each episode.
So how do you pic Fic to review?
4249826
I might have to check that one out, then. :) (Also I could swear I've reviewed a bunch of your stories, but this is apparently only #2. o.O)
4249936
Right now, it's more or less entirely because of what I'm listening to. The readers have picked the fics, I just put them together in random order. The longer answer is found here.