Fic recs, November 14th! · 3:08pm Nov 14th, 2023
All this year, or at least the half of it post me finishing last year's top 10 review, the space on my spreadsheet reserved for ongoing editions has been taken up by me trying to blast through as much Who We Become as possible (plus the occasional Project Get!), and this edition is no different! Some WWB, some Lunaverse, and a few picks from the RIN because yeah, that's still a thing. c_c;; Lots of good stuff though, and I'm gonna move right into another one after this!
Also, I have beaten last year's sad number of story reviews, and then some. :) I'm pretty happy about that.
H: 2 R: 3 C: 0 V: 0 N: 0
A Canterlot Morning by GrassAndClouds2
Genre: Lunaverse
Octavia's morning practice is interrupted.
It's not marked as a sequel, possibly because of age, but this takes place after the events of Musicians and Dreamers. And I was going to accuse the author of just really wanting to write about Octavia here; given both that this is the author of both pieces, she never appeared in the Lunaverse beforehand, and this is basically a self-contained spinoff, it's pretty safe to say this is a case of an author inserting themselves into a shared universe and then quickly and quietly exiting to do their own thing in the background without needing to worry about canon. Lord knows, I've done that plenty myself over the years. <_< And while it may very well be the case, nevertheless by the end, I was kind of hooked. Granted, a solidly written Fleur and Fancy Pants went a long way towards convincing me this was a worthwhile endeavor, and that's a good thing, since I see Duke Greegrass's name further down the list of Lunaverse titles. So we'll definitely be coming back to this little sideplot at some point in the future, and I look forward to seeing what happens then. :)
Recommended
A Song of Spice and Ire by Fahrenheit
Genre: Comedy
A plague has come upon Equestria — a tasty, aromatic plague — and it's up to Commander Easyglider of the Wonderbolts to stop it!
Okay, let's get one thing straight first: pumpkin spice is thoughtcrime, and you all are guilty. :V I'm the only sane mare here. Well, me and Fahrenheit, apparently. Even setting aside my distaste for the flavor of the season, this is an absolutely hysterical fic. I don't even know where to begin! There's Easyglider herself — remember her? from the episode about Wonderbolt history? — and the very odd role she fills as Commander of the Wonderbolts. There's the sidekick she's saddled with, who I'm very glad was given an off-screen love interest. There's the final scene! This is just historical ridiculousness on an epic scale, and honestly, I'm sad it's so short. But it's fantastic, easily the funniest story I've read all year.
Highly Recommended
The Youngest Dragon by Lightwavers
Genre: Adventure
Rarity makes a bargain in a vacation town market, and receives a dragon for her troubles.
The instant I saw the cover art, I knew what this would be about. The tiny dragon with a hoard consisting of a single coin is an adorable idea I first saw on Tumblr, but thankfully, it's only the beginning here. If anything, what's on showcase is the setting, this bustling market town and Rarity's trip through it. But eventually, that comes to a close, we move back to Ponyville, and explanations lie in store. I'm not sure I actually wanted an explanation of where the dragon came from, though I may be more dissatisfied by the short distance between that and the end of the story. This feels like a first chapter! But I would definitely read more.
Recommended
Sunset Shimmer's Very Respectable Class Reunion by Sporktacles
Sequel to Bad Decisions Make Better Stories
Genre: Comedy
Sunset gathers for her class Reunion, and what happened last time is definitely not going to happen this time. Right?
The description says you don't have to read the first story to understand this one. Technically, it is correct: you're given enough information to be able to fill in the gaps yourself. But don't listen. You really need to read that story. Not only is it really funny, this one's even funnier, and you're not going to get half the effect if it's not fresh in your head. Because it quickly becomes apparent that the results of the party from last time are the cause of basically everything that has ever happened (Twilight even points this out), to a beyond-absurd degree. I love it. Bad Decisions walked so Class Reunion could fly.
Highly Recommended
In Pieces by Krickis
Sequel to Finding Home
Genre: Drama/Romance
The impending wedding of Sunset Shimmer to Princesses Twilight and Fluttershy sends Amber Glow reflecting on the unfortunate circumstances of her own life.
It's funny that this is called In Pieces, because to me, it felt like it was very much told in three distinct parts, one of which almost feels like a completely separate story. We start off with Amber Glow — remember her? Krickis's one OC, who also happens to be a good character? — living a life that we, at least, know is a lie. She's living in Fillydelphia with her parents and younger brother, she's grown her mane long, she's dating a stallion (again, if you don't remember her, Amber is gay), and oops, he just proposed to her. Now I cannot blame a lot of the commenters in the early chapters for angrily asking just why Amber is putting up with all of this; when you know who she is, it's really quite infuriating to see her appeasing her homophobic parents with this kind of full-self denial. But if there's one thing this story does really, really well? It's show us exactly why Fox Glove, her little brother, is worth staying in the closet for. Now Krickis has two awesome OCs. :D The second part, then, deals with the wedding of Twilight and Fluttershy to Sunset Shimmer, and is the part that I felt was almost a different story, if only because I don't think any of it is told from Amber's POV. (As is normal with WWE entries, this has multiple POV characters, in this case Amber and Luna.) And it's all about what you'd expect — nice to check back in with them, of course! — save for the wedding itself. Like, in any other story, giving us the day-of wedding prep and all the pomp and circumstance and what's on the line but not the ceremony would be fine. But not only do I know nothing about poly relationships and want to see what the actual wedding would be like, this is kind of a big deal in-story, with major ramifications for Equestrian society, for all that they're really, really keeping it on the DL. You'd think that would be worth a page or two! But whatever, it's not the main focus of the story anyway. Which brings us to the third piece, focused more on Amber and Luna trying to figure out what they mean to one another, and Amber deciding if she can really keep up the facade for the sake of her family. Along the way, there is crunchy drama and excellent character work. But taken as a whole, it's… Well, I mean, "just okay" is way underselling it, this is quite good speaking in general terms. But compared to the rest of Who We Become, this is just okay, and mostly accomplishes little more than shifting a bunch of pieces around and moving a couple plots forward a step. Though, again, we get so much more of Amber Glow's inner world, which is super worth it, because she's been such a standout all along, plus getting to know her brother a lot better. Quite honestly, I hope he gets a story of his own somewhere down the road, I really like this kid. >_>
Recommended
I am with you on pumpkin spice. It's not that I hate it, more that it's absolutely everywhere and something that to me is an "okay, I guess" flavour isn't something i want to have pushed on me by almost every bloody coffee shop each autumn. Give me maple hazel latte (Costa) or amaretto latte (Caffè Nero) any day.
Also, that Fahrenheit story went on the RiL list even before I'd read your review, just for the title.
Oh my goooood Sporktacles. I love their stories so much.
And Amber Glow is consistently one of my favorite characters Krickis wrote, to the point I actually borrowed them for Hero Club.
Damn that's a good list. The first one's the only one I haven't read yet, and the rest are all top tier.
I am not a fan of pumpkin spice either.
you're right and you should say it
Hah! You beat me to it by a couple weeks.
I came across The Youngest Dragon recently. Think it might have been TCC56's Recommendsday blog? Anyway, despite your assessment of it feeling like part of a story, I'm convinced enough to push it up the backlog.
Excepting Fahrenheit's story, the rest are all sequels to works I haven't read, or in Verses I haven't delved into yet, so not quite. But the praise is noted!
Remove sad in my case, but yep, it's a nice feeling, isn't it?
The Youngest Dragon immediately has a place on my list~
5754935
and there's a third one! not sure when I'll get to it, but on the RIN it goes!
5754952
Eh, that one's not as funny as the previous two.
Thank you for the consideration and the review. I think this is the best rating one of my stories has ever gotten.
5754953
it super deserves it :) and after how good those two have been, I do look forward to #3!