Fic recs, September 25th · 7:54pm Sep 25th, 2018
Tuesday is boring when I'm not listening to the Letters Page. ;_;
Do you like Starlight Glimmer? Do you just like making fun of the show? Starlight Fixes Everything is stuck in season 6, and we need writers to help fill in the gaps! Just go read this, and maybe a chapter if you want, continuity's not a big thing. Here's the list of episodes remaining. Claim them here!
On Your Marks
No Second Prances
A Hearth's Warming Tail
Spice Up Your Life
28 Pranks Later
Where the Apple Lies
I've already done three this season, so I'm good. :B Anyway, fic reviews! Got some great stuff today!
H: 4 R: 1 C: 0 V: 0 N: 0
An Ordinary Day by alt-tap
Reading by Illya Leonov
Genre: Slice of Life
Fluttershy's day, like every day, is filled with love and friends.
The writing in this story is sheer sex, and the author has a tremendous knack for summing up a character in a single sentence. Dude needs more patrons for his Patreon, he's the real deal. Guh. Sometimes, I just wanna read writin', and this is the best kinda writin' you could ask to read. Those cutting one-sentence character reads mean this has considerably more depth to it than you would otherwise think, and this goes to some really unexpected places for an otherwise unassuming slice of life. This story is a credit to its genre, and to our community.
Highly Recommended
The Season of Grace Willow Wren
Genre: Romance
Fluttershy wakes late at night to a familiar face and a ride through the snow.
Oh my god, you guys, this is the cutest shit, for serious. :D And it's another excellently written story about Fluttershy! Of course, you'll get the most out of it if you're into Fluttermac — which is still a good and pure ship, thankyouverymuch — but for the rest of you, there's lush imagery bolstered by strong word choices and just the joy one gets from seeing Flutters be happy. Oh, it's wonderful.
Highly Recommended
Decisions by hester1
Genre: Sad Romance
A waiter serves three tables at a restaurant.
Just on another level with the fic choices today. I was primed, coming into this one, to look for more than was on the surface and pay attention to things unsaid. Now, you are too. Suffice to say, if you get through this and feel the least bit confused or unsatisfied, read through the comments, then read the story again; it's short enough, it won't take you long. This is how you do 'show, don't tell', and even if you're not good at picking up on things, I think you'll find it satisfying to puzzle this one out.
Highly Recommended
And the Serpent Said Unto the Princess by Undome Tinwe
Genre: Fable
The true account of The Serpent, The Princess, and The Hero.
It's the fall of pony society, all because Celestia couldn't keep it in her pants. XD Who doesn't love a good creation myth? This is certainly one, and with an excellent ship at its core. Moreover, it casts Discord not just as a Deceiver, but as a Prometheus, bringing poisoned fire to Earth and dooming all those who take up its use. And that by itself would make this worth reading. But oh baby, you're not gonna guess who the Hero is, and when you find out? That's the kind of reveal that makes me stop and shout things at my computer. :D And even better, as if it were possible, all of this is actually political screed, as revealed in a framing introduction, and just… you'll never expect what's going on here, it's great.
Highly Recommended
Sugar and Spice by Pearple Prose
Read by Fimfiction
Genre: Thriller/Romance/Comedy
All his life, Pony Joe wanted to be a hero. But not like this.
God bless this fandom for seeing a new character and immediately trying to ship them with all and sundry. I'd have never considered pairing Saffron Masala and Pony Joe, but boy does it make sense on some level! That said, what a way to ship. @_@ Joe gets caught up in underworld dealings in Restaurant Row, takes on the persona of Con Mane (a tad on-the-nose) to try and impress Saffron, and learns a hard lesson about trust. This is full of unexpected comedy and thrilling action sequences, culminating in a gripping climax. Along the way, there's a ton of world-building that turns Restaurant Row into a burgeoning community, of which the Zesty Gourmand "incident" was only a small part, for all that it put the Tasty Treat on the map. I will say the story sort of reaches an end, only to keep going, but the denouement is at the very least interesting, for all that it's somewhat overextended, and the writing is solid throughout.
Recommended
>tfw you feel bad for giving someone a Recommended :(
Urgh. Aragon pointed out that it felt odd how the external conflict was resolved before the story finished up, but didn't think it was a bad thing, and I didn't want to have to rewrite the story to "fix" it.
Thanks so much for the review, though, PP. Sugar and Spice was me trying to learn more about multi-chapter structuring, and this feedback was super helpful.
Stop liking things, dammit! I don't have enough time to read as it is!
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As much as I like the ship, and as clever as the Celestia reveal turned out to be, I think I'd have been okay if it ended on an epilogue of "he apologizes and there's a promise of something more than friendship down the line". Cuz, no lie, the whole mansion infiltration was tense and awesome, that was worth writing all by itself. :D
Okay, An Ordinary Day isn't even going on my RiL list. It's just gone straight to Moon+ Reader. All of this week's batch look great, but that one is one I can't wait for.
Highly recommended or not, I'll read every story you mentioned here. Thanks for sharing them.
You just keep handing out the gems PP :)