• Member Since 31st Aug, 2018
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Ghost Mike


Hardcore animation enthusiast chilling away in this dimension and unbothered by his non-corporeal form. Also likes pastel cartoon ponies. They do that to people. And ghosts.

More Blog Posts226

  • Monday
    Ghost Mike's Ponyfic Review Monday Musings #106

    In Monday Musings’ early days, if I was lacking in a suitable blurb opener, I would often reach for whatever I’d been watching or playing lately. I kind of retired that after a while, mostly because they tended to not be what my regular readers are interested in, and largely only elicited shrugs of the “I don’t care for it” variety. Well, this time, it’s too dear to me to hesitate: on Friday, I

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    20 comments · 150 views
  • 1 week
    Ghost Mike's Ponyfic Review Monday Musings #105

    Nice advantage of a Bank Holiday Monday is I don’t have to have Monday MusingsTM ready to go on Sunday night, owing to not working up to nearly posting time of 6PM UTC (distinct from GMT, which doesn’t account for time zones). Meaning I can, and am, throwing this together shortly before pressing submit instead. Not a bad side bonus to national holidays always giving the following

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    12 comments · 128 views
  • 2 weeks
    Ghost Mike's Ponyfic Review Monday Musings #104

    March 1st saw witness to a brief but strong (and unexpected, to the ire of the weather people) bout of snow. Which, if you’ve never been to Ireland, is extraordinary rare – the last notable such spell we had was six years ago in March 2018, a cold front so strong it actually shut schools and college down for several days (all your Northern Americans and Canadians are yawning at this,

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    9 comments · 96 views
  • 3 weeks
    Ghost Mike's Ponyfic Review Monday Musings #103

    Eventually I’ll have to contend with these yearly anniversaries getting a day further off each time (or two, Leap Year and all), as I started on March 7th. Price to pay for committing to a fixed day in the title, eh? But that day isn’t yet (likely next year, where I’ll have it three days after rather than four before, to be closer). Right now, it’s here. Folks, Ghost Mike’s Ponyfic

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    20 comments · 187 views
  • 4 weeks
    Ghost Mike's Ponyfic Review Monday Musings #102

    Anyone else ever remember giving something up for Lent when they were young? Even though it hasn’t been a thing in close to two decades for me, I’m reminded of it by two people in the house doing it for the first time in donkey’s years. Okay, one person, my mom to combat her sweet tooth: my brother is merely relaxing on the soft drinks outside of before and after sports training/matches.

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    11 comments · 156 views
Jan
2nd
2023

Ghost Mike's Ponyfic Review Monday Musings #43 · 6:00pm Jan 2nd, 2023

Happy 2023, my friends! I hope you all had a good holiday. Mine was okay; uneventful, and I still allowed myself to get stressed over nothing for stretches. But towards the end, I relaxed and loosened up, and it did me some good. If nothing else, I’m resolving to try and go with the flow more this year, continuing to work hard on what matters, but allowing myself to have fun, in casual and dedicated hobbies, without worrying or guilt-tripping myself as much.

Anyway, hard to believe we’re into the Ponyfic review blog’s second calendar year already, eh? Not quite celebrating the one-year mark, that’ll come in March. But this review blog has kept me engaged with reading Ponyfic regularly, thinking about it more after I’ve finished it than a normal read would. And it’s broadened my follower base from less than 40 to tipping on 100. Not bad for 2022 on Fimfiction for someghost who only publishes two one-shots a year. And more importantly, it’s brought in some regular faces, some site-famous, some not, all of whom I cherish that they read this, and our interactions more so. You know who you are. :raritywink: Here’s to 2023, my friends!

And how about we start the year off on a very strong note, yes? I may have neglected to publicly state that the review blog was taking the week of Christmas off. I think I pulled the trigger on doing so a bit late. Given the influx of Jinglemas fics at the time, and everyone being busy (hopefully) relaxing with the holidays, probably wise. Though it does mean the themed week of festive stories I had prepared for then went unused. Oh well, it’s still New Year’s, the timing isn’t too bad; no time like the present, as they say.

Because this was intended to be for Boxing Day, I largely selectively hand mitt-picked the fics here, leaving us not just with a higher overall quality, but the first week to have more than one Excellent fic. Would you believe only 7 fics of the prior 235 reviewed here reach that rating? And there was a 24-week gap between the end of #17 (June 27th) and #41 (Dec 12th) without a single one? Fair is fair, it is basically this series' equivalent of a 5-star rating, but evidently, I need to get more fics that earn that rating in here.

And what better place to start with then some of the better fuzzy festive fluff pieces you’ll find? As a bonus, these serve as a sort of representation platter, with one fic each from Jinglemas’ 2018-2021, and another from its precursor back in 2015. The first two in particular are already regarded as minor fandom classics among those who have read them, so I may well be preaching to the choir. But if these are new to you? Then you’re in for a real treat.

This Week’s Spectral Stories:
Dinkin’ Donuts by Pascoite
The Perfect Drink by GaPJaxie
A Changeling Walks Into A Bar... by Shakespearicles
Hearthswarming Eve at Canterlot Café by Sonicsuns
Princess Luna: Mall Celestia by Miller Minus

Weekly Word Count: 19,240 Words

Archive of Reviews


Dinkin’ Donuts by Pascoite

Genre: Slice of Life
Dinky Hooves, Pinkie, Derpy, Donut Joe, Other
6,086 Words
January 2016

Listened to via Neighrator Pony's reading

There’s nopony Dinky loves more than her mom. What with Hearth’s Warming Eve being right around the corner, she knows she has to get her the best gift ever, and she has the perfect idea in mind. Problem is, she’s stumped on how to make it a reality. But she does know a certain perky pink pony who’s bound to have the answer. Or, at least, know who to go to in lieu of having it herself.

This is a pure holiday season festive children’s story (which, let’s be honest, even most E-rated fics here aren’t really for children), with an adorable, purely innocent child doing everything they can for the one they love, and everyone they come to for help in their quest touched enough to drop everything and pitch in. As will happen when you have Pinkie Pie on hoof to plead your case. That’s a solid starting point, but what’s most impressive is the writing style. Not that I’m surprised Pascoite can nail a musical rhyming verse to his prose (I’ve seen it in some more recent Secret Santa entries), but I have to wonder if it’s been topped since. Between the unobtrusive rhyming dialogue that never has any trouble breathing, scene transitions accomplished with a poem that evolves as the group expands, and a very effective use of whimsical hyphenated terms to capture a child’s thoughts, this one just oozes with rhythm. And even in moments where those aspects aren’t present, wit carries the sentences to sublime finish.

The end result is that a very cute and whimsical story ends up penetrating quite deep, never mind how silly the subject matter is. Did I get misty-eyed at the expected ending of the gift not working out but the effort made along the way being the true gift? Reader, I wasn’t not misty-eyed. Granted, a lot of that is probably down to the superb reading from Neighrator Pony, which for sure improves on the story (all the musical constructions just sings, as does the metre, not least in using a familiar guest narrator for the poem scene transitions).

Oh, and the story is also kind of the best continuation of MMMystery on the Friendship Express, all while making it seem like child’s play. This would be a great story to read any time of the year, but it’s even more perfect now. Don’t pass on this one – our reigning EqD pre-reader shows why he’s just a fantastic writer as editor.

Rating: Excellent


The Perfect Drink by GaPJaxie

Genre: Slice of Life/Romance
Berry Punch, Discord, Fluttershy
2,634 Words
December 2018

Reread

Berry Punch always knows the right drink to make for the right pony. Nopony questions it, they just ask her to hit them up, and there it is, the drink they need. That even extends to ponies who don’t normally drink, like Fluttershy, for whom she makes the same drink on Hearth’s Warming. This year, while doing just that, she crosses paths with a certain “reformed” draconequus, and is utterly unfazed by him.

Another Fimfiction veteran I’m only now reviewing a story by? Hey, when you only cover five stories a week and just go with what you want to read and is on your lists, it’ll happen. Anyway, this is at least my third time reading this fic, which is fitting, because it really is a story worth revisiting about once a year (and not just because of the content). Casting Berry Punch as what amount to an omnipresent barmare whose earth magic lets her know exactly what drink is best for the pony is already quite the funky masterstroke, as is the matter-of-fact way the quick narration and sly dialogue plays out, spacing her making drinks around holding her own with Discord in a verbal battle of wits, getting in a few moments of what others’ Perfect Drinks are, all culminating in Discord unable to comprehend what just happened. Already, this is just a chortle of wits to read.

What pushes it into the stratosphere, and makes it a deft blendy of comedy and pathos (yes, pathos; GapJaxie may traffic near-exclusively in cynical, bleak and dark fics, but he usually manages to get sincere emotion in when he wants, even as it’s atypically accompanied by a snarky streak; said streak is minimal here, of course), is the experience of the Perfect Drink. Without giving too much away, it takes the recipient to a special experience, the memory of it, and thereby guides them towards something that’s better for them, or others, or both. I’ve made that sound hackneyed, I’m sure, but in practice it’s as natural as sliced bread.

This is honestly everything I want need from a Hearth’s Warming fic; if it is fluff, it is the best kind of fluff, with substance, sweet without drowning in it, really funny, magnificently dense for its short word count, and just endlessly charming and affable. Lord knows where ideas like these strike from, but as long as they continue to do so, I’m not complaining.

Rating: Excellent


A Changeling Walks Into A Bar... by Shakespearicles

Genre: Slice of Life
Ocellus, Berry Punch
2,214 Words
December 2019

Reread

Sequel to The Perfect Drink by GaPJaxie

During their time in Ponyville, the Student 6 have heard all about Berry Punch, the master brewer, and her preparing one perfect drink for every pony. Being teenagers, they can’t have one themselves, and being teenagers, they’re dying to know what it’s like. So, Ocellus dons a pony disguise and slips in, cautious to not blow things before she’s gotten a taste. It goes about as well as you’d expect.

This is, in many ways, the best kind of sequel (and clearly a labour of passion, given Shakespearicles wrote it for GapJaxie for Jinglemas as a sequel to the Jinglemas story he got from GapJaxie the prior year). It shares the basic concept of Berry Punch as an all-knowing fairy bartender, and Discord’s supporting role follows on from the story there, but it is quite different otherwise, using a different lead as a gateway to a different kind of life lesson. All while having details and rich bounties of characterisation and wit sprinkled throughout. It’s not exactly the same style as GapJaxie’s fic, but it’s within the same wheelhouse enough for the differences to feel neutral/positive (Shakespearicles is a fantastic writer, to judge from accolades from others, but as almost three-quarters of his library is M-rated content of the variety this ghost ain’t going near, I have minimal direct experience with his work). A lengthy spiel on Discord is especially enlightening, and it all ties together into a neat little package.

It doesn’t have quite the same punch as the original (and is less dense, meaning I took notice of the length & pacing once or twice as opposed to never for the first story), and lacking the feel of the new makes the wisdom Berry Punch dispenses has marginally less sparkle. But that’s all that can be levelled against it; this is immensely satisfying, and a real treat. Even if it’s not as fantastic as The Perfect Drink, this is still just the right kind of side dish of a fic to read for Hearth’s Warming.

Rating: Really Good


Hearthswarming Eve at Canterlot Café by Sonicsuns

Genre: Slice of Life
Sweetie Belle/Octavia
2,019 Words
December 2021

Reread

A freak weather accident results in a snowstorm striking Canterlot, halting the trains and stranding many ponies waiting for a trip home in the café by the station. Stranded and running late on getting her present for Rarity delivered on time, Sweetie Belle finds her mulling broken by a grey-coated earth pony mare sitting nearby, and a conversation is struck up.

This is certainly slight, ending quite soon after Sweetie is brought out of her shell by Octavia; the first 40% of the fic is setting the atmosphere of the setup and locale. So there certainly could have been more to this, even for a holiday gift fic, but that’s no sin. What’s here is quite sweet, firstly in capturing the tight-knit quarters of everypony cramped in here, Sweetie Belle reflecting on how she ended up here, and then in gentle, amicable chat between her and Octavia. The connecting points found between the two are hardly surprising, given the characters, but they do work (especially as this is a pre-Crusaders of the Lost Mark story). And the way Sweetie is brought out of her shell gently by Octavia towards the end feels organic and right.

A simple feel-good piece about doubting our worth to others and what we do for them and getting a pickup from a friendly stranger, but a lovely one all the same.

Rating: Decent


Princess Luna: Mall Celestia by Miller Minus

Genre: Comedy/Slice of Life
Luna, Celestia
6,287 Words
December 2020

Reread

Since her return from the moon, Luna has not thought much of the annual tradition of Hearth’s Warming, content to largely ignore it. This year, though, she doesn’t need to invent an excuse, for Equestria is going to war! Alas, it turns out, it’s more of a war prevention that only requires Celestia, meaning on top of everything else, Luna has to assume another of her sister’s duties: dressing up in a red suit and listening to the local children ramble on about their ridiculous wishes. Luna knows the wish she’d be making…

Rare is the story that can seamlessly blend comedy and slice of life and feel like a seamless mix of the two. Much of this fic traffics in the kind of dry, deadpan comedy you’d expect, first with Luna being gung-ho for war, then the ridiculous justification Celestia gives for Equestria’s version of Santa, and then Luna enduring torture for being Santa at the local mall. Which works because it’s so real, just exaggerated, like all good comedy. From stupefied palace staff to indifferent mall workers and bored parents, plus children that are just the worst (a cameo from one show character is just gold), all filtered through sarcasm from Luna so thick you couldn’t cut it with a knife, it’s just corking dry humour.

Then the story nearly does a 180 at the end to something really sappy and sentimental, something that should by all rights break the story, yet manages to fit and act as a suitable thematic tie off to the ostensibly disparate events throughout. And hey, being moved to both laughter and emotion feels fitting both for the genre mix and being a Christmas fic.

Not perhaps the most memorable fic (as good as it is, the warmth sticks in the mind far less than the comedy), but one you can’t really go wrong with. Absolutely worth a read if it sounds even mildly amusing.

Rating: Pretty Good


Spooky Summary of Scores:
Excellent: 2
Really Good: 1
Pretty Good: 1
Decent: 1
Passable: 0
Weak: 0
Bad: 0

Comments ( 14 )

Shakespearicles never disappoints.

Dinkin' was indeed a great piece. Haven't read those others yet. Might have to give them a go.

Oh hey, not only did you review one written by me but one written for me as well. I like this trip through one fic from each Jinglemas.

The one written for me was sweet and cute. On mine, it's still one of my top few favorites of my own stories, and for the most part, it's been really fun in general to do these Jinglemas exchanges to come up with a heartwarming seasonal tale involving someone else's choice of characters. Jaxie's sounds like something I should read (as does just about anything he writes, except most are too long to fit in my schedule). I like that description of Berry's function, and I wrote her a little like that once, but I knew I'd seen something like that expertise before, and it finally dawned on me: Andre, the ice cream guy in Miraculous Ladybug.

Happy 2023 to you as well, Mike! It actually slightly surprised me for a moment to realise that you hadn't reached a year of these yet. You've become part of the reviewing furniture pretty quickly, and for good reasons. :twilightsmile: Always particularly enjoyable when a week's slate ends up heavily tilted towards the good stuff, even when (as here) the way the stories were picked makes that more likely.

5706696

Andre, the ice cream guy in Miraculous Ladybug.

Hey, a non-Pony cartoon reference I actually get! Since I like Miraculous for (or maybe because of) all its ridiculousness, that little comparison has made me all the more interested in reading GaPJaxie's story.

...and yours, which I have still not read despite years of various people giving it glowing reviews. That will be rectified in the near future!

5706717
I've really enjoyed Miraculous, and as I lamented in my anime blog, of course the one time they ended a season on a cliffhanger was the one time I actually caught up and had to wait for more. Not sure if they're on a hiatus right now, as I watch it on Disney Channel and they haven't gotten a new episode in about a month, but waiting on S5 to pick up again. I assume it's just vacation time for the VAs now? Some other things I watch have also had a notable gap in the English dubs, but various others have continued without a break, so I don't know.

I'd known for some time that you had "Dinkin' Donuts" on your RIL plus one other still, which was written for the next Jinglemas after that. Looking forward to seeing what you have to say about it!

PresentPerfect
Author Interviewer

Dinkin' Donuts is a masterpiece, I'm glad you enjoyed it :D

5706696

On mine, it's still one of my top few favorites of my own stories

A bold claim for someone with 99 stories to their name (no, Sweetie Belle, we’re not doing “99 stories of Pascoite’s on the wall!” :unsuresweetie:), but even though I’ve only read between 28 of those, I could easily believe that. It’s just that good. And seeing the high-praise reviews from 5706655 and
5706728 after I’d read it just confirmed it further.

it's been really fun in general to do these Jinglemas exchanges to come up with a heartwarming seasonal tale involving someone else's choice of characters.

You know, despite getting characters or character pairings I’ve struggled with thrice now, I wholeheartedly agree. It really does bring out the best in the characters, as far as morals go, anyway.

Jaxie's sounds like something I should read

At 2.6K, it’s a literal steal for one as busy and thus as reluctant to commit to longer fics as yourself. With as few Excellent ratings as I’ve given out thus far, you’d better believe this earned it. If me reading it thrice now isn’t proof enough, of course. :scootangel:

I like that description of Berry's function, and I wrote her a little like that once

Oh, another depiction of Berry as a omnipresent bartender type? With as much as she’s been on my mind lately after writing the mare for Jinglemas, this has piqued my interest. I may have to read that one.

5706717

It actually slightly surprised me for a moment to realise that you hadn't reached a year of these yet. You've become part of the reviewing furniture pretty quickly, and for good reasons. :twilightsmile:

Well, there were also the review-like comments before that. :raritywink: But yeah, it does feel like more than a year already, doesn’t it? Here’s to more!

And furniture, eh? Well it doesn’t blend in quite as much as the phantasmal, but I’ll take it. :scootangel:

made me all the more interested in reading GaPJaxie's story.

...and yours, which I have still not read despite years of various people giving it glowing reviews. That will be rectified in the near future!

Considering Pretty Good ratings are often enough to get a fic here on your radar, a pair of Excellent ratings should be a no-brainer, no?

Actually, with two Jinglemas/Hearth’s Warming five there for you, maybe you should scour your RiL list and see if you haven’t got two more to make a themed week of your own… :moustache:

5706742
I didn't write Berry so much as knowing just what kind of drink would perfectly suit each pony, more that she's a master mixer of drinks that have magical effects. But it's only a side thing, not part of the main plot.

5706755
Oh, so you weren’t referring to your fic We Get Diplomatic Immunity, Right?, but a different one altogether? In any case, I wasn’t assuming you meant Berry was used in exactly the same way, more just within that general wheelhouse. Which fits the way you described.

5706721
Dinkin' Donuts got accidentally dropped from my RiL for a while, otherwise I'd have already read it. Mea culpa. I plan on doing so in the next few weeks now.

I was introduced to Miraculous by a friend back in S1, when it was still just in "villain of the week" mode. I'm not sure I'd have continued with it after S2 if it hadn't become more interesting. But since it did, I did! Mind you, its release schedule (if such it can be called) makes late-series FiM look the model of order and straightforwardness!

5706743

Considering Pretty Good ratings are often enough to get a fix here on your radar, a pair of Excellent ratings should be a no-brainer, no?

Well, I should have read Dinkin' Donuts long ago. Given the subject matter and the author, that would apply even without anyone else's verdict. But yes, I intend to read that this month now. GaPJaxie's I didn't know so much about, but it interests me certainly.

5706809
That is in fact the one I was talking about.

An Excellent I haven't read yet? Woo-Hoo! :pinkiehappy:

5706858

An Excellent I haven't read yet? Woo-Hoo! :pinkiehappy:

“Check one off the desired quota of iisaw appearances in the comments by including an Excellent fic he hasn’t read: check!” :ajsmug:

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