Ghost Mike's Ponyfic Review Monday Musings #53 · 6:00pm Mar 13th, 2023
Very much a throwback this week, which feels appropriate for the first set in Year 2 of these Ponyfic reviews; not only is this a week of just short one-shots akin to when I started out, but I’m finally back to doing Author Spotlights again (the Ninjadeabeard one being a special and timed feature). This week, it’s Tinybit92.
They're the opposite of a regular author, with only 9 one-shots totalling 20K across five years; as expected, those fics are largely short n’ fluffy pieces. But there’s nothing wrong with that approach or that output, writing only when struck with the idea, and after reading a trio of Sunset fics of theirs, which would dominate any week they were included in (they’re basically one fic, little sense in separating them) they impressed me enough to add two more to the list. No vastly underdiscovered gem of an author here, I won’t lie, but their pieces (what most of this spotlight consists of) grabbed my attention to read, and satisfied me plenty. That counts for a lot; even when I’m selective about the fic I read to begin with, I don’t take that for granted.
But, yes; this is basically a filler week somewhat serving as a counterpoint to the hefty word count last week, being my shortest review week ever by quite a margin. Rest assured, my author spotlight in a fortnight’s time – I’m gonna be doing a few in quick succession to make up for missing them from October to January – will be more than substantial.
For now, on to the reviews. And you know that, if I’m having a week of mostly EqG fics, even just very short ones, they have to be at least worth a look in.
This Week’s Spectral Stories:
Asking a Favor by Tinybit92
Being Honest With Yourself by Tinybit92
Accepting Help by Tinybit92
What We Were Is Not Who We Are by Tinybit92
Finding Comfort in the Smallest Places by Tinybit92
Weekly Word Count: 12,481 Words
Asking a Favor by Tinybit92
Genre: Slice of Life
Sunset Shimmer, Rarity (EqG), Sweetie Belle
3,018 Words
January 2015Reread
While grateful her clothing remained intact and whole from the Rainbow Laser Explosion™, the fact remains that Sunset’s favourite jacket, the one she gained from nowhere upon crossing to this world from Equestria, took quite a beating. Fortunately, she knows someone who could help. Unfortunately, it’s a former enemy, and despite them agreeing to be her friend, Sunset remains certain she won’t do her this favour she knows full well she doesn’t deserve.
You want Human Rarity being utterly selfless, you’ll get that here. This taps into a lot of the humanity and sincerity within EqG, all in service of a few side lessons on the meaning of friendship and how generous Rarity is no matter the world. The first in an unofficial thematic trilogy of Sunset adapting after the events of the first EqG movie (all standalone, mind), the most notable thing here is how humble Sunset is. This fic fully adheres to the 180 she did at that movie’s end, meaning rather than her behaviour change up to Rainbow Rocks being a gradual thing, it’s instant. Reflects canon, to be fair; I guess it just feels more fitting for fanfic to make it more nuanced and gradual. There’s certainly none of her falling back on or being tempted by old habits, just certainty Rarity will turn her down.
No matter. We’re still left with a pretty swell series of interactions between two ponies, and enough wry moments along the way, like Human Rarity learning about cutie marks and an unusual interpretation of Sunset’s, that it skates on by and provides a good time.
Rating: Decent
Being Honest With Yourself by Tinybit92
Genre: Slice of Life
Sunset Shimmer, Applejack (EqG)
3,296 Words
October 2016Reread
Standalone Sequel to Asking a Favor
While helping Applejack out at Sweet Apple Acres for the day, she runs into the first horse she’s seen this side of the portal. While this only results in lighthearted comparisons between equines back home to here at first, once Sunset volunteers to perform a farrier’s duties on the stallion, it soon gets far more introspective than she expected. Yet sometimes you just need the right advice from the right friend.
I’m still not sure I’m altogether over the weirdness of Sunset openly discussing wearing horseshoes in Equestria. Yes yes, they have appeared as an odd joke here and there (most notably in Trade Ya!), but my brain still refuses to process Equestrians actually nailing horseshoes into the same hooves they use to handle things. But no matter, I can accept it for this fic, as it’s mostly just amusing surface dressing on the real point of the fic. Plus, it’s helped by Sunset saying not all ponies wear them, and that they did it themselves, rather than needing to go to a farrier.
Besides, the actual fic is about Sunset being in a position where she opens up to Applejack about some self-loathing, and when she was truly happy in the past, and the topic of deciding whether others should even have the chance to forgive you, rather than leaving it to them. Weighty stuff, yet much like last time, Tinybit92 handles it in such a way that it’s never overbearing, easy to read, yet not compromising on the matter, long as a quickly sunny outlook from the Humane 5 member doesn’t jar. It is, at a first approximation, a reskin of the previous fic. This one works a little better, off of having a smoother, lighter introduction that doesn’t preach before we get down into the topic, and also building off Sunset accepting having others as friends, to facing one of her underlying issues. These are basically two chapters of the same story, or at least a collection meant to be enjoyed together. And it builds on that one; smoother writing, flow and pacing, alongside just as solid use of Applejack’s virtues (honesty that hurts yet is needed) as Rarity’s.
Whether read on its own, or after the prior fic, this is a nice yet nuanced depiction of Sunset taking steps to feeling more comfortable in this world under her new circumstances, all nestled around a funky lore topic and enjoyable-yet-sincere dialogue between her and Applejack. Quite glad to have read it!
Rating: Pretty Good
Accepting Help by Tinybit92
Genre: Slice of Life
Sunset Shimmer, Fluttershy (EqG)
2,885 Words
February 2018Reread
Standalone Sequel to Being Honest With Yourself
Sunset’s not quite done yet with making up for her past; her long-running detention still has some time to go. One particular night runs late enough that the homeless shelter is well full by the time she gets out, and her backup plan for where she can have a kip falls through, leaving her facing the streets on a cold autumn night. Then another of her once-enemies-now-friends appears, finding out what she didn’t want anyone to know.
I don’t know what more dedicated EqG fans’ opinions are on Sunset being homeless, in general or at this point in canon. It would be easy to pick the notion apart, but given how fantasised much of the realism context of EqG is, especially as it goes on (and no, I don’t just mean Sunset’s killer pad in the shorts, there’s also Rarity having a limo and seemingly already being a big fashionista), I’ve learned to just roll with such punches. Besides which, Tinybit92 has put decent thought into the logistics of it, as evidenced by the details Sunset spills later on. It could also be argued this only syncs with sympathetic Sunset, not her earlier mean personality, but that’s been the case since the first fic of this short story collection, so it meshes up.
The fic is perfectly fine, Fluttershy offering to put up Sunset for the night as you’d expect, and then having a similar conversation as Rarity did beforehand, why she offers kindness even in a situation like this. It cannot help but feel a little routine towards the end; it wasn’t until reading it that I realised one reason the prior two worked was because there were at least some diversions in how the Humane 5 member interacted with Sunset, why and how they embodied their element, or something else. This one is played pretty straight, and it’s technically quite good, well-paced (the shortest, clocking it at under 3K), the works. So only a little soft on the landing.
Sadly, the stories for Rainbow Dash and Pinkie never materialised, and with this being Tinybit92’s last story, published five years ago, and them not having logged on in three, it’s dead-certain to remain that way. According to the Author’s Notes, the Rainbow story was finished, but could only be published after the Pinkie one, and it had been finished as far back as October 2016, when the Applejack story Being Honest With Yourself was published (I’m guessing Tinybit92 published this one after a year-and-a-half hoping it might motivate them to finish the Pinkie entry). So the non-conclusion takes a little out of this one, given these stories functioned better together than apart (they really are multiple chapters of one fic published separately). But as they can be standalone, it’s only a mild annoyance. There are worse things.
Rating: Decent
What We Were Is Not Who We Are by Tinybit92
Genre: Slice of Life
Sunset, Sci-Twi
1,463 Words
October 2015Reread
Mere days after the Friendship Games, Sunset crosses paths with this world’s Twilight at Canterlot High, ostensibly there just to finalise her transfer to the school. In reality, she’s staring at the remains of the Wondercolt statue with a lost look on her face. A few polite enquiries later, Sunset finds out what’s really troubling Twilight, and she has a piece of advice or two to share on the matter.
Even if it weren’t for the “**Friendship Games Spoilers**” in this fic’s long description and its release date only six days after the film’s wide release on Discovery Family (and its short length), it would be pretty clear this is a quickly-written response to the film. Not that there’s anything wrong with such things, and as such pieces go, this has a few nice ingredients. Tinybit92 builds well off how they’ve written Sunset as learning from (three of) the Mane 5 in the above fics (only one written/published at the time this was, granted), being soft-spoken and earnest as she lays out to Sci-Twi how her own demon transformation felt great too, and how she had more to overcome, being an actual bad person as opposed to just a socially unaware one who got too caught up in something. The dialogue and beats mostly feel right too, leaving it appropriate friendshipping between the two.
That said, it feels rather shallow, more acknowledging its topics rather than having anything to actually say about them, and relative to the other EqG fics, the prose flow gets somewhat stilted throughout. It is a fic where reading the long description, or this review, is more or less akin to actually reading it, once you’ve correctly guessed the beats within.
This could have been worse – it does deliver what it says it will, just not anything more and without much to plus it. A pretty common set of issues for reaction fics like this, then. Still, the short length means if the subject matter interests you, it’s worth the read.
Rating: Passable
Finding Comfort in the Smallest Places by Tinybit92
Genre: Slice of Life/Sad (?)
Twilight, Celestia
1,819 Words
September 2013
Nightmares of banishing Luna have been all too common for Celestia across the centuries. She’s mostly okay at handling them, though that doesn’t mean she doesn’t appreciate something to comfort her thereafter. Normally that just takes the form of a cup of tea from her personal guard, but tonight, she also gets a visit from her new student, Twilight Sparkle. And learns afresh how a few words and the presence of a close one can do wonders for one’s mood.
The only fic of the five today I hadn’t read before, this is unmistakably a debut fic. Even apart from a peculiar choice to write it in present-tense that largely works but has its share of slips, it has the usual sets of tics: a common expansion on something in canon that doesn’t really add anything beyond present an existing close relationship between two characters and reinforce it through them being there for each other; prose that is functional but fumbles on pacing, flow and thoughts that would let the incident resonate better; a well-intentioned plot choice that slips as it goes, in this case being Celestia using a hypothetical retelling of Nightmare Moon’s backstory that slips to referring directly to herself, thereby leaving Twilight fully aware of this years before the show started (though, according to the comments, the fic at least had an Alternate Universe tag at one point; if so, possibly it was removed off that element being more of an unintended slip then a deliberate choice, hard to say). Much like the above EqG fic, reading it doesn’t really add to forethinking on its contents from the packaging.
That said, it is awfully cute, and at least has the right broad plot and incident choices, enough that it still goes down easily enough. With a solid editing pass (and a minor content one), this would leap up a tier. As it is, while slight and meek, it’s a fine enough first fic, even in Tinybit92’s form, and ability to construct prose that’s more real and immersive, would improve heavily by the time of their Sunset trilogy. Which is always reassuring.
Rating: Passable
Spooky Summary of Scores:
Excellent: 0
Really Good: 0
Pretty Good: 1
Decent: 2
Passable: 2
Weak: 0
Bad: 0
Ooh, intriguing: an author spotlight on someone who isn't well known. (Okay, not very well known; they do have over 200 followers.) Not something I've seen done often at all. Maybe not an astounding return, but as you say not a terrible one either, especially with that Pretty Good in the mix. And really, even a Decent isn't too bad a result with stories this brief.
It looks like it's going to be author spotlight time for a while. I'll look forward to that! (I also have such a blog coming up soon, though that one will be of a name you'll immediately recognise...)
5717992
No, you're probably right; their stats show the majority of those followers come from the latter two Sunset fics above, probably from triggering new viewers to read the prior ones and getting them hungry for more. Those 5-figure viewing figures for two of them don't lie!
Not at all: I can easily imagine the reviews you'd write for these being affable and impressed enough, (and I'd predict all three of the Sunset trilogy would be three-star contenders for you, myself). It wasn't just me trying to build up enthusiasm for a small week.
I am, in essence, making up for not carrying through on my public ambition of one a month for four months (October last year through to January). As I've already covered February and now March, my aim is to make it fortnightly to have an extra one per month for the next while, see where that takes us. Whether I'll follow through on that ambition, well, that's another story!
We'll see.
Considering the process for my Author Spotlights usually comes when I notice I have three or more fics by the same author reviewed and waiting, and deciding to capitalise on it, that is the norm for me too. Not all on the level of Lets Do This, of course, but cases like today are rather rare, as it requires an author with several works I've liked enough to have read purely on their own merits.