Fic Spotlight » SA Reviews #117 · 2:42am Dec 3rd, 2017
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Warmth. Beautiful, blessed warmth. It didn’t matter what it was, or where she was--all that mattered was the warmth. The endless hellcold of winter had been temporarily banished. Cynewulf might yet survive the 50 degree farenheit blizzard hoarfrost of December yet, if only she had a few more minutes of--
There was, of course, an explosion. Because there is always an explosion.
Memory came back swiftly, in the microsecond before disaster. The warm thing was the cat and also the beanbag floof pillow. She grabbed the cat and shielded her precious blobby body from the no-doubt incoming shards of wood and plaster.
But nothing came. Seconds passed. Cynewulf opened her eyes.
Above her she saw a sight unlike any other. Ascending on tongues of flame, born by chariots of many fired eyes and holy terror there rode a ferret whose eyes were topaz and who wore a crown of burning laurel.
“HAVE YOU SEEN A SQUIRREL” she roared with divine force.
Cynewulf gaped.
“I REQUIRE HIM.”
“I… I think he was gonna bring his revi--”
“COME. WE RIDE.”
“But I don’t want to ri--”
But it was too late. In the blink of an eye she was caught up into the air, and ferret went in search of the reviews
ROUND 117
When a strange, unexpected storm settles over Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle investigates. She discovers that not only is the storm the fault of the weather ponies, but only the weakest flyer in Ponyville can stop it.
You know what the best thing about Twilight being an alicorn is? Seeing people make stories where the conflict isn’t resolved through the extreme power Twilight’s power grants her. Twilight is an alicorn in this fic, but it’s mostly incidental. This is instead a great little story involving fun worldbuilding with interesting creatures, a dilemma that is somewhat alarming but show-levels of dangerous, and characters who are all given unique opportunities to shine in their own ways. It’s a grounded, principled approach to fanfiction, with a good understanding of not only the ponies themselves, but the show and the world they inhabit.
We hear it a lot--”This could be just like an episode of the show!”--but here’s a prime example of what that looks like. This story is well paced, well-written, and keeps pretty decently within the canon of the show. It’s a fun little adventure with a pretty decent understanding of the principles that make the show itself such a delight to watch. We have Twilight being perfectly herself, Dash being as brash and reckless as one expects… honestly, it was like watching an episode from season 2 or 3 being played right out in front of me, and though this story doesn’t bring anything mindbogglingly new to the table, there’s something to be said for any tale that can make me grin like this one did.
STORY 2
Movies, by TheBandBrony
Vinyl and Octavia's new apartment isn't exactly spacious--in some places, there's barely any room to breathe. The lack of space is driving Vinyl crazy, and she won't stand for it a second longer.
I dislike enclosed spaces, and I dislike crowds because they make me feel like I’m in an enclosed space. But what to do when your own loved ones start to make you feel cramped and ill-fitting? How can Vinyl and Octavia keep their relationship going when they themselves are causing the tension? Well, that’s what this fic tries to explore. Working through the fragility of two people who love each other, yet can’t really know each other. Living close without treading on each other’s hooves. Figuring out how to navigate life when the only ones bumping shoulders are your loved ones. It’s a good read.
Relationships are… complicated. All kinds of relations--progeny and parents, friends and friends, lover and lover--all kinds of relations have a certain degree of uncertainty, a certain degree of vulnerability. Relationships present us with challenges and with the fundamental truth of what we are: creatures that break down over time.
This story isn’t about plot. It’s about a singular, solitary instant in an established relationship. Vinyl and Octavia are down on their luck. Things could be worse and have been worse, but they could be a lot better. Things are not ruined, but they are very, very shaky. It is moments exactly like these that the uncertainty of relationship shows itself. We can’t really know the mind of the person next to us, and all we have is what they show us on the outside. It’s that shaky moment that teaches us that we can, in fact, live with this state of affairs.
STORY 3
Three-Quarters, by SPark
When Fluttershy was a filly, she wanted four things when she grew up: a nice home, a stallion by her side, a foal or two to make a family, and a place where all her animal friends could live and be happy. Now, with her animal sanctuary finally completed, she takes a quiet moment and considers some of her other goals.
Planning is easy, but having those plans pan out in ways you didn’t expect can be life-changing. Fluttershy never struck me as a pony who has “goals,” necessarily, or even that many plans. But the fic does do a good job making us believe that, and takes a dip into the turbulent waters of ‘what if my life doesn’t go the way I intended?’ It’s not super intensive, but it doesn’t really need to be. Just a thoughtful few thousand words -- and I liked them.
Dreams are hard to let go of, and anybody who has ever had one will tell you the same. Real dreams, ones that play on the most basic drives we have, hurt us as we let go of them.
This story is about Fluttershy having all but one of the things she longed for, and wondering in a quiet and very-so-much typical of her way about whether or not the passing of one of her dreams is something she can live with.
The lives we plan out for ourselves may not be the ones we imagined. And honestly? That’s okay.
Hearth's Warming eve has never been colder. But, as snow falls and ice forms, contrast appears in our trench. Not a blink, strobe, or flash; nay, the sun itself.
World War 1 was straight up awful. No two ways about it. Few wars encompassed the awful, all-consuming horror of the phrase ‘war is hell.’
So what are ponies doing in Hell?
Well, this fic has them ask themselves just that. On a day like any other, in the middle of trenches and disease and blood and tears, ponies and griffons are forced to ask just what the heck they’re all doing there. Why? What’s it all for? Is there a way it can all end?
If you’re a student of history and you’re familiar with how Christmas impacted The Great War, I expect you already know the answer. This is a lovely look at how ponies just might pull themselves back from the brink.
Anyone who has read my longest fics (two of them in particular and maybe a third) or has talked to me at all knows that I adore the study of history. It’s a passion of mine. So is the study of the first world war. I have a lot of stories about it that I love to repeat.
But if you know me, then you know there’s one particular one that almost makes me weep. This story, whether it intended to be or not, is a direct callback to that particular moment in time.
It’s the Christmas Truce. It’s one of the most beautiful things that ever happened in all of human history. It is one of the only times in all of our bitter and bloody days that we deserved to be called anything other than savages. It was a time when we could, for a moment, be said to have lived in something like… harmony.
This one is worth the read.
“And that, my friend, is why bitcoins are the future.” Red gripped his extra-long pointing stick between his paws, flexing it happily.
The other assembled Angels squinted. The intern scrambled around to refill everyone’s coffee if they took so much as a sip.
Plum pointed at the screen. “All you did was draw an acorn and a bitcoin with an ‘equal’ sign between them.”
“Yes! Bitcoins equals more nuts! That’s the whole point I’ve been trying to make!”
Plum shook his head. “Yeah, I’m leaving.”
Everyone else soon followed suit, leaving Red alone in the conference room. He sat down on his bushy tail and pouted.
Then there was an explosion.
“MY MORTAL HUSBAND,” spoke Ferret as her divinity burned through the ceiling, wreathed in glory and also literal wreaths because it’s almost Christmas, “I HAVE COME TO UNITE YOU WITH YOUR REVIEW PARTNER AND RETRIEVE THE HOLY SCRIPTURE.”
“Yeah, here they are,” Red said, holding up a sheaf of ink-splattered papers.
“FOR A TIME AND HALF A TIME I HAVE AWAITED. NOW THE PROPHECY IS COME TRUE. THEY SHALL BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE MORTAL MASSES WITH GREAT JOY.”
Cyenwulf was dropped onto the conference table and crashed through it. Her cat landed daintily atop her and started licking her paws as Ferret receded into the Aether Realms.
Red punched his wee little paws together. “Well, if I can’t get bitcoins with words… I’m gonna have to scare it out of them.”
He grabbed Cyne and pulled her limp body through the wreckage. “Come on, review buddy! It’s way past October, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still be spooky. It’s time to make a costume for the Ghost of Christmas Shame.”
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I often don't read these beforehand and they're always hilarious.
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I never read these beforehand. Heck, I didn't even know what fics were being done.
That said, I swear, Coffee, I had nothing to do with this! And now that it's happened I totally won't claim it isn't a way to butter you up while you wait for me to get off my butt and do stuff! Confused? Good. But actually, this was all them.
One day... I will get my story on one of these reviews...
Ferret is our resident demigod. Long live the Ferret!
I still have no idea why this keeps popping up in my feed.
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Cause it's site news
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Hm, interesting.
Well, I had no idea you guys reviewed my story! It suddenly got an influx of upvotes and favorites, so I had a hunch you had done it again! Sure enough, I was right. Thanks so much, and I'm so glad my story was liked by you two!