Read It Later Reviews #85 – One More Shot, Red Meat, You and Her, When They Found Common Ground, A Bridge to Somewhere · 9:41pm May 8th, 2018
There are times when you realize you’re just wasting your time doing things that don’t matter, not only to anyone else, but also to yourself.
That you can be doing so much more.
I have these realizations constantly. And yet, so often, they are Ignored Epiphanies, and I go on, doing the same thing, even though not even I like it.
Playing a game I don’t enjoy to completion.
Arguing with people on Reddit.
You know what I like?
Reading and writing.
I should do more of that.
I’ve managed to go five days in a row with a blog post here. Can I produce content every day for a week once more, as I did in the days of yore?
We’ll see, I suppose. But I had fun reading these.
Today’s stories:
One More Shot by Rated Ponystar
Red Meat by Hap
You and Her by Fourths
When They Found Common Ground by Craine
A Bridge to Somewhere by Skywriter
by Rated Ponystar
Sad
2,416 words
Seven months since she quit the academy, Lightning Dust has hit rock bottom. Her dreams are gone. Her heroes hate her. She's got no job and spends her days drinking. Yet sometimes, life always gives us another shot...
Why I added it: I read it before I started writing reviews, and I remember it for the pun title.
Review
Seven months after the events of Wonderbolts Academy, Lightning Dusk is a drunk in a bar, ranting at the barkeep about how she’s been wronged.
But one night, the one more shot she gets isn’t a shot of liquor, but Rainbow Dash strolling in through the front door.
This is one of those stories that is fundamentally a hope spot for a minor villain, a chance for redemption, and it works reasonably enough as such. It is a bit on the simple side – it is basically Rainbow Dash coming along and offering Lightning Dust a second shot, not much in the way of character complexity or development here – but I think there’s a group of people who don’t mind that sort of thing. If you just want to see a little vignette about Lightning Dust getting a second chance, this is decent, but if you’re looking for a more in-depth (if kind of depressing) look at Lightning Dust, I think The Parasprite’s Gloomy Every Day is more along the lines of what you’d be seeking.
Recommendation: Worth Reading.
by Hap
Human, Dark, Comedy
1,265 words
There are a number of compounds the human body is incapable of synthesizing; these are found only in red meat. To save a dying human, Twilight asks her friends - except for Fluttershy - for advice.
Why I added it: Super Trampoline is to blame.
Review
A human in Equestria is slowly dying of malnutrition. Humans can eat a varied diet, but he’s no expert, and ponies, being herbivores, don’t even know how to save him, as they don’t need such a varied diet to survive. There’s only one thing that can save him.
One thing that is hard to come by in a land full of intelligent animals.
Red meat.
But I’m sure that everyone (except Fluttershy) can figure it out, right?
This is a story that is on the long side even at 1,200 words; jokefics often want to be pretty short, and this story is definitely one of those, and this is one of those stories that carries almost its entire weight on its punchline.
But I have to admit, it got me to snort out loud.
Recommendation: Worth Reading if you enjoy jokefics.
by Fourths
Romance, Sex, Sad
7,335 words
You told me that a young designer from out of town would be coming to stay with us for a few days while she discussed business plans with you. I told you that would be fine, that I wouldn't mind.
I lied.
Why I added it: After reading The Moondella Effect, I was interested in seeing what else she had, and this story caught my eye.
Review
Fancy Pants has invited Rarity to come to Canterlot and spend the week in his house while he shows her around and introduces her to various Very Important Ponies. Fleur said she was alright with it. It’s not like she would be jealous.
It’s not like she would be worried about her husband sleeping with another woman.
It’s not like she can’t sleep, because she knows she isn’t alright at all.
This is a great sad story, told from the point of view of Fleur de Lis, as she is operating under the full belief that her husband has invited Rarity over to their home in order to fuck her. Fleur is struck by a mixture of emotions, and is hurting a lot throughout the story, but for more complicated reasons than is obvious – as it isn’t just that Fancy Pants is going to cheat on her, but that he plans to cheat on her with Rarity, a pony towards whom Fleur’s own emotions are far from simple.
The story does an excellent job of presenting Fleur’s suspicions, as well as her own halting attempts to verify her own suspicions while simultaneously not wanting to. It’s described in the story as a carriage wreck, something she doesn’t want to watch, but can’t look away from, and Fleur’s oddly entranced behavior is very compelling. The story is sad, but it is more than that, and the more complex texture of emotions that Fleur feels throughout the piece really sell her pain, but also her obsession with learning more, as well as her strange obsession with Rarity.
I really liked this. The story makes excellent use of detail in its excellently written prose, using the detail to help fill in the scenes and make them come to life, as we see the things that Fleur notices, and the things she chooses to focus on as her world cracks around her. We get to see not only Fleur’s own mixture of emotions, but we see hints of both Fancy Pants’ own feelings, as well as those of Rarity, little details that help us to understand what other people are thinking and feeling.
Recommendation: Highly Recommended.
by Craine
Romance, Comedy
13,877 words
What could a smug, arrogant, disrespectful, inconsiderate, country-town farmpony possibly have to offer a seamstress down on her luck? Migraines, premature wrinkles, a revolutionary new fashion line, and a burning attraction that they'd both deny until the moon crashed into Equestria. That's what.
Why I added it: It is one of the highest rated RariJack stories that I have never read.
Review
Pinkie Pie knows that Rarity and Applejack are in love.
Twilight isn’t so sure.
Sure, Applejack has been going over there every day. And, sure, Applejack is wearing her smirk, and teasing Rarity, and intentionally not showering before going over, while Rarity is storming around, ranting and raving, and always seems to be on the verge of kicking Applejack out, but at the same time, never does, and invites her back to help every single day.
But clearly, there’s a logical, reasonable explanation! Applejack is over there to help Rarity out with her new country line, that has caught on in Canterlot for some annoying reason, which is definitely not related to Fancy Pants covering for Rarity’s friends at that one party. It’s not like Rarity would voluntarily choose to keep Applejack’s company, right?
But the more Pinkie chews Twilight’s ear off about it, the more crazy it drives her. So Twilight and Pinkie Pie resolve to talk to Rarity and Applejack about it to settle it, once and for all. But, you know, separately.
Applejack doesn’t have a single clue what Pinkie Pie is talking about; she’s just helping out a friend. It’s totally platonic. Why is Pinkie Pie trying to turn it into something it’s not and making things weird?
And Rarity? Why, the very idea that she has feelings for that unsophisticated brute is completely ridiculous! Her anger is totally genuine; Applejack drives her crazy! She doesn’t like it when Applejack soils her boutique with her rugged hooves, or when she comes in with her sweaty coat covering those thick muscles, and…
This didn’t quite end up going the direction I was expecting from the beginning, but it was all the better for not doing so. The story is, as RariJack stories tend to be, quite amusing; Rarity and Applejack bouncing off of each other is always fun, as they are a great pair of foils, part of what makes them such a fun couple to write about. Their constant sniping at each other, their arguing, and their own very special way of flirting is always lovely to see, and of course, their normal behavior can be turned into Unresolved Sexual Tension quite easily, which is probably why they’re shipped so heavily in the first place.
And of course, it always amuses me when characters have their own pair of shipping goggles.
Stories about characters being in denial about being in love with someone are a particular favorite of mine, but this story was interesting because the denial was actually a lot more reasonable than usual – their behavior could easily be rationalized, even by themselves, as being normal, and indeed, it isn’t entirely clear that it isn’t. Characters showing us that de Nile ain’t just a river in Egypt is a lot of fun, as stories like Spring is Dumb and Bitter Harvest clearly show, but showing characters’ denial as actually being plausible is interesting in its own ways, while still having a great deal of potential for amusement – but also some character development, as the characters decide whether or not they actually are in denial, or are actually right about their own behavior.
This was a fun story, and I have to admit it made me chuckle more than a few times, and left me smiling by the end of it.
Recommendation: Recommended.
by Skywriter
Slice of Life
4,363 words
Five private heavens have gone horribly wrong, leaving behind five little ponies just trying to find a way out.
Why I added it: Skywriter is a good writer.
Review
Ever wonder how the ponies of Our Town ended up where they did?
Skywriter apparently did, and decided to tell us how.
But it is more than that; while it appears to be four independent stories at first glance, as you read through them, you realize that the stories are all connected to each other and form an arc, so by the fifth story – which is the ultimate point of the other four stories – you’re ready for it.
This sort of storytelling can be a bit dicey at times, because at first, it seems like the stories are just random background stories, that don’t really tell us much – we already know that Party Favor, Sugar Belle, Night Glider, and Double Diamond ended up in Our Town, but how they got there is basically favor text – it isn’t important unless it ties into the story somehow. Thus, after the first two stories, my attention began to drift a little; it was only when I got to the fourth story that I realized that there was an actual arc here, and the fifth story made it all work, while also recasting Starlight Glimmer’s reformation in a slightly disconcerting light. I was left with some interesting thoughts by the end of this story, thoughts I’ve sort of had before, but not seen so clearly and cleanly presented in a story.
If you’re interested in Starlight Glimmer, this is definitely worth a read, as it lends an interesting view into her character, and why she became the pony she is in season 6 and onward.
Recommendation: Recommended.
Summary
One More Shot by Rated Ponystar
Worth Reading
Red Meat by Hap
Worth Reading
You and Her by Fourths
Highly Recommended
When They Found Common Ground by Craine
Recommended
A Bridge to Somewhere by Skywriter
Recommended
This was a lovely set of stories; the last three were all on my “You’re Next” list, which seems to be increasingly poorly named, despite the fact that stories that end up there often end up pleasing me.
Why is it that I don’t just read those stories next?
Incidentally, as I mentioned a few days ago, I'm going to Everfree Northwest. If you're planning on going and want to hang out at some point during the con, shoot me a PM and some contact information and we can figure stuff out. 
Number of stories still listed as Read It Sooner: 222
Number of stories still listed as Read It Later: 674
Number of stories listed as Read It Eventually: 2239
I must get a pair of those goggles!
Also yay for writing.
Not gonna lie. I was expecting a biochem rant about how the entire premise is bullshit because obviously there's nothing in red meat that humans can't get elsewhere.
You've disappointed me, TD.
I believe Fourths is she/her.
You and Her is one of my top 5 on the site. Easily.
4856351
This is correct; I'm a girl, fool! Thx for the kind words, though!
4856360
Thanks to you, too. You're a peach.
4856371
4856351
Whoops! Fixed.
4856360
It's a very good story! I should have read it sooner.
4856338
While it is certainly true that almost everything in red meat can be found elsewhere, I'd imagine that 95% of the population couldn't tell you where offhand. Given that the person in the story didn't seem to know his vitamins very well, and that ponies in the story didn't even know what vitamins were (accursed herbivores), it made sense.
Devouring the flesh of the once-living is an excellent source of nutrition.
That's some good ratings for a RIL set!
I'll be rooting for you to finish your week of blog posts
With a con coming up in two days, I doubt I'm getting anything of consequence done until afterward.
Ooh. Five for five. I'm intrigued.
4856535
Sometimes I get lucky!
My overall hit rate is about 50%ish.
4856566
50% of the time you get 5/5 stories that are recommended at some level?
... I really wanna find out if that's true later. Maybe do some math...
4856570
About 50% of the stories I review end up at a worth reading or above. Sets outside of the recommended story reviews (which are all stories I favorited before I started to do reviews) end up at about a 50% hit rate. Thus, I only rarely get a set which is 5/5 worth readings or above - it basically requires me to flip a coin 5 times in a row and get all heads, in effect. So in a "Read It Now" or "Read It Later" set, it happens (on average) about 1 in 32 times.
That being said, which stories I end up liking isn't actually truly random.
Kinda wish there were links to the stories after the review as well as before. I don't decide on if I'm going to look in to the story until after I read the review and it is annoying to have to scroll back up for the link. (I read this site on my phone more often than my desktop for extra complication there.) And just opening each link in a new tab only to close it out is also a bit annoying... Eigh, hashtag first world problems I guess.
I really should start working through reading my backlog of stories instead of adding more to it.
Really should get back to writing stories instead of reading them.