Story Reviews » SA: Round 169 · 10:34pm Mar 28th, 2020
Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.
Floyd never really got why FanficFan always insisted on the both of them carrying all the groceries in one trip to avoid multiple excursions to… the outdoors. Sure, it meant fewer trips to the van, but he didn’t think toilet paper was meant to be stacked this high.
“Are you sure you don’t need help with that?” Floyd asked, his arms looking like a coat rack overburdened with shopping bags.
“No, no,” FanficFan retorted, straining to keep the toilet paper tower, easily double his height, from tipping over. “You’re already carrying enough. I got this. I’m just glad we got as much as we did. At least we have a valid reason to be getting all this toilet paper. This is a reasonable amount for at most twenty people being quarantined together in one building.”
“Doesn’t mean judgey people aren’t going to judge.”
“I know, but at the very least someone could have asked. It’s just common decency!”
“You think we should get started on our reviews once we’re finished with this?” Floyd posed. “I mean, we should have done it last week, but… fourteen days, y’know? Better to be safe than sorry.”
“Considering how quickly things went from ‘Everything’s Cool’ to ‘Essential Employees Only,’ I think the pandemic threw everybody off,” Fanfic replied. “But yeah, we should probably do that.”
Unfortunately, that sentence stole just enough of Fanfic’s attention that the toilet paper tower made its spectacular collapse, soft thuds cascading around the pair. “Oh, poop.”
“I won’t say ‘I told you so’, but…”
“Just pick up a couple so we can get this done.”
ROUND 169
STORY 1
Broken Record, by Somber
After years of grit and hard work, Rainbow Dash has broken every record that she could ever set as a flyer. However, as the old saying goes, records are made to be broken.
Now that the series has reached its conclusion, I’ve seen a lot of stories pop up lately that share a bit of a theme: they follow one or multiple members of the cast as they age and explore themes that come with that, such as legacy, parenthood, etc. Broken Record centers on Rainbow Dash’s status as a legendary flier and record holder, and it is something to behold. Somber delivers a brilliant character study for Rainbow Dash, putting her in an inevitable position that would test the competitive and determined pegasus we’ve come to love.
It says a lot that this story single-handedly made me view Rarity Investigates! in a completely new light. Writing a story about Rainbow Dash where her role is reversed and now she’s the pony whose records are being broken was a brilliant move. She’s always been a competitive pony, and showcasing how that developed as she aged was really well done. Somber really understands Rainbow Dash and does an excellent job taking readers into her headspace. To say that his/her writing is engaging is an understatement. Every word has weight behind it and leaves an impact. Also, the way this story utilizes Wind Rider is an absolute stroke of genius.
It’s honestly a crime that this story doesn’t have more views, so if you’re up for an emotionally deep character study or just a fan of Rainbow Dash, I’d highly suggest giving Broken Record a read.
Veterans of ponyfic might recognize Somber as the author of Fallout: Equestria - Project Horizons or “Simply Rarity,” but this story (written years after those) deserves to be highlighted and brought to attention as well.
Rainbow Dash is, of course, an awesome athlete in every sense of the word. Time, though, doesn’t care, and slowly but surely, there are newer athletes. Faster. Faster than Rainbow Dash, who doesn’t like this turn of events at all, especially when allegations of cheating start to bubble up. After all, in her eyes, a record is something you can point to, years later, and proudly state, “That was me! I did this, without any help, because that’s how good I am.”
There’s a strong argument for having a discourse about the idea of, and fanatical obsession with, records and statistics in everyday sports. Are they using performance-enhancing drugs? Are they reading the other team’s playbooks? Does it even matter? Whatever the case might be, this fic draws strong parallels with the modern (and past!) athletic world with a great life lesson wrapping the narrative up. Strong prose and tactful characterization make this a winner.
In a rush to prepare for a presentation, Twilight is looking for a nice quick breakfast. Unfortunately, fate has other plans.
You know what I love about this story? It’s relatable. No matter who you are, at some point in your life, you’ve become so mad at an inanimate object that you want to give it a piece of your mind, only to realize that isn’t going to solve anything. electreXcessive taps into this universal experience to deliver a Twilighting story that I certainly won’t forget for a long time.
We’ve had lots of stories where authors tap into Twilight's more neurotic tendencies to show that our fandom has an odd affinity for watching our resident book horse lose her mind, but this one does a particularly great job with that by combining absurdity, relatability, and comedy. My only nitpick is that some of Twilight’s dialogue makes her sound like Rarity, but I’ll admit I even found that pretty funny too. So, if you’re the sort that enjoys a good Twilight freak-out, then you couldn’t go wrong with this one. Grab yourself a bagel and give it a read.
In all honesty, this story goes about as you might expect. How hard is it to eat a bagel, really?
If you’re Twilight Sparkle, the answer is evidently “damn near impossible.” This is a rather silly fic that depicts a very neurotic (and smart) purple pony princess just trying to eat breakfast. What really strikes me is not only how Twilight is written, but also the prose of the story, which has notes of Pratchett sprinkled throughout in a scientific, observational sort of way. It makes for a hilarious read, but the story doesn’t overstay its welcome.
If you like a combination of adorkable and ridiculous Twilight, this one’s for you.
STORY 3
Broken Roads, by Not_A_Hat
Dinky Doo and Silver Spoon travel through a shattered world. When all the world is ash around you, can you stand to build again?
Any author that has the creative muscles to come up with such a lived-in and intriguing world deserves a pat on the back, so congratulations Not_A_Hat, here’s yours!
I really like how the author toys with the idea of a world run by chaos, and not chocolate milk rain kind of chaos. I’m talking about the kind of chaos that rips apart the fabric of reality. Not_A_Hat does a good job of laying down this world’s rules right away in the first half of the story. As for the second half, it’s a very tried and true story about a dystopian world that asks “Could we right the wrongs that lead to the world being like this?” It’s executed pretty well.
Also, slightly unrelated, but I got a lot of Maze Runner vibes while I was reading this. I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but if it was, then I really liked how he combined aspects of that and Equestria to create a world that I genuinely would like to learn more about. So, if you too would like to explore Not_A_Hat’s dystopian chaotic world, then go check out Broken Roads.
This is legitimately “Worldbuilding: The Fanfic.”
It’s difficult to discuss this particular story in great detail due to how much is left unsaid and unknown. Apocalyptic stories tend to run similar themes of the destruction of innocence and yearning for the past, and while this fic does use these themes, the sheer enormity and circumstances of the world on display here puts them into a unique light that does the characters and narrative a great service. Dinky Doo is a pleasure to follow; she’s not the filly we know, not anymore, but she’s the one this world needs.
To say nothing of the actual prose, of course, which is excellent. For all you apocalypse and chaos fans, give this one a read.
Rainbow Dash receives her first weather assignment as a Wonderbolt, but she’s not exactly enthusiastic about what it is.
While our previous Rainbow Dash entry explored her competitiveness and drive, Cloud Control elects to examine the trait that we associated with her from Day One, Loyalty.
One criticism of Rainbow Dash that I’ve seen is how much of a showboat she can be, which is something I can easily see, especially in Mysterious Mare Do Well. However, TheLegendaryBillCipher manages to take this aspect of Rainbow’s character and deliver it in a more charming package by mixing it with her loyal nature. Plus, the premise of the story ends up giving an interesting interpretation on what the Wonderbolt’s purpose is in everyday Equestrian society.
Also, if you look at this story’s description, you’ll see this was actually a speed-write. I have to give props to an author that manages to churn out such a well-written character study like this one on a deadline. So, I once again call out to all the Rainbow Dash fans out there, or anyone that likes stories that imitate the show really well, to give Cloud Control a shot.
More Rainbow Dash!
This is a charming little story that, with a few tweaks, could have very well been a canon show episode. The focus here is on the aspect of our technicolored heroine that involves weather. Specifically, how lame fluffy clouds are compared to something exciting. Thunderstorms in Appleloosa! While Rainbow is pouting and generally feeling sorry for herself, she seems to find a silver lining in her calm weather.
A great character mini-arc (and some surprisingly effective worldbuilding) in a small amount of words, this is worth a look as a cute and overall uplifting read.
“So, now what?” The duo looked around at the barren office space, the rest of the Angels mostly in their own spaces, practicing social distancing. “I mean, I know I have enough time now to read Fallout: Equestria, but…”
“Well…” Floyd turned his eyes up to the ceiling. “I was saving this for a special occasion, but it’s as good a time as any,” he said, throwing open a random filing cabinet and pulling out a box.
“Is that a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle-”
“With Cyne’s face on it? Yes, yes it is.”
“I have several questions.”
“I’m not sure I have any answers.”
“Fair enough.”
Feel free to visit our group for more information and events, and to offer some recommendations for future rounds. See you all next time!
Way to close out those url tags, FF920.
Oh well. Another day, another dollar.
5230675
Dang it.
I will never cease to smile over how something as simple as a character eating can make for a nice little read