Fic recs, November 23rd! · 2:47am Nov 24th, 2023

Whoops! Missed this reading of Lucefudu's Equinox by Midnight29! And one of Unicop's Sunset Versus Windows Update!

And VisualPony has done a reading of Jack of a Few Trades' Trixie and Spike Go to the Drive-Thru!

hap thangibbn :B I tweaked my back something fierce while trying to get a bag of meatballs out of my parents' standing freezer and now I can barely walk upright!

H: 2 R: 5 C: 7 V: 1 N: 1

A Simple Story by Pensive
Reading by Midnight29
Genre: Slice of Life
There is beauty in simplicity.
Dang, this kind of exceeded all my expectations. :O It starts out like one of those stories where the writer's kind of just doing whatever, writing without much of a point, except it does have a point, and it conveys it rather skillfully. And then, suddenly, we have a character! I never see first-person OC fics of this sort where the protagonist isn't just a blank slate, unless they're explicitly named somewhere first. (And even then…) So this was a very pleasant surprise for such a short fic!
Recommended

How Rainbow Dash Stole Winter by Fields-of-forever
Reading by Agent0Fluffy
Genre: How the Grinch Stole Christmas Ponification
Okay, so, the idea to retell Tanks for the Memories in the vein of Grinch is, frankly, a fantastic, hilarious idea, especially given Dash actually does a Grinch smile in the episode, as I recall. But this? This was not the way to do it. The original poem is treated as a mad lib, words replaced here and there to be relevant to the episode while leaving the rest intact, and yet still somehow making a hash of the original meter and rhyme. This should have been an original poem, taking on the structure and broad strokes of the original's story along with a few key familiar phrases here. Instead, it's basically plagiarized.
Not Recommended

I Have Friends by Odd_Sarge
Reading by Midnight29
Genre: Character Piece
If I'm being honest, I don't really know what I want.
Dang. Short, simple, well crafted. This is the kind of story longtime Spike fans have been looking for all their lives. It not only reveals his inner world, not only speaks in his voice, not only regards him with the dignity he's often deprived of, it's just a really good story! And it's just Spike talking, I think, to the reader. As a fan of the show. I'm not 100% on that, but it's at least one interpretation. This is just what comes from a solid idea, strong characterization, and a good writer.
Highly Recommended

A Season of Giving by JasonTheHuman
Reading by Agent0Fluffy, et. al.
Genre: Scootalove
Hearth's Warming Eve is swiftly approaching, but something is off about Scootaloo. Why doesn't she want anyone coming over to her house?
Hey, who's up for a good Scootaorphan fic? :D If you're the sort of person who never headcannoned the idea, found it ridiculous, whatever, this is the rare story that treats it with due seriousness yet somehow never delves into melodrama. On top of that, this has really good writing for all three Crusaders, not to mention a Rainbow Dash cameo, and it's perfectly paced, to boot! Come get your heart slowly broken as Sweetie and Apple Bloom gradually realize their friend doesn't have any of the things for Hearth's Warming they've always taken for granted!

…Except that's not what's going on here at all, ten oudda ten, would get played for an absolute fool all over again.
Highly Recommended

Secrets Better Left Untold by naturalbornderpy
Reading by Midnight29
Genre: Random
Twilight has never seen the princesses eat much. What fuels Equestria's most powerful ponies?
Boy, this is absolutely bonkers. For being a decidedly random story, it's also pretty logical? I mean, it holds up under its own logic, for sure. But you're never going to guess the answer to the thesis question until you're actually reading it on the page.
Recommended If You Like Weird Solutions to Strange Problems

City Streets and Fancy Eats by PonyThunder
Reading by Agent0Fluffy
Genre: Slice of Life
Rarity trots through the city.
I believe this is the last of this series. Guess AJ never got one. And I gotta say, this is quite different from the others, and I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not. Well, this being set in a city, with notes made of the business and clamor thereof certainly keeps it far away from 'cozy'. But otherwise, it's just a nice little SoL journey with Rarity, as she stuffs her face with delicious pastries, god I wish that were me. D:
Recommended for Rarity Fans

Twilight's Picture Day by gamerator10
Reading by Midnight29
Genre: Comedy
Oh no! It's School Picture Day and Twilight's slept in!
I have to say, I feel like this didn't work for me. The punchline isn't completely given away in the first scene, but once you explicitly are told it's not actually Picture Day, I kind of had to question what the point of the rest of the story was. The best bit, for my part, was Twilight's reaction to the opening of a new building nearby, in light of her earlier panic. But otherwise, this is just okay at best. I got nothing out of it.
Vaguely Recommended

Genuine by Skeptical Poet
Reading by Agent0Fluffy
Genre: Shipping
On a winter errand, Twilight comes upon a lone pony sitting under a tree.
I almost hesitate to call this "shipping". It's tagged Romance, but by the end, all we've really gotten is a very, very strong hint that something could progress in their relationship, and no guarantees that it will. But if you like TwiPie, that might be enough. If not, well… This is full of good scenery at least! For my part, I found the pacing rather slow, however, and honestly I was kind of bored by the whole thing. Also, this is yet another shipfic where one party must be brought to an emotional nadir before the shipping can commence (inasmuch as it does, anyway). Pinkie in this story is like, turbo-depressed; even the narrative says she's "more than sad". The reasons why are actually original and fairly interesting, but not enough to carry the story by themselves. On the whole, I find this well executed on a technical level, but just okay at best.
Recommended for TwiPie Shippers Only

Walking With the Princess by Note Worthy
Reading by Midnight29
Genre: Slice of Life
Why should Princess Luna be reviled just for returning from the moon?
This is essentially a paean to Luna, not quite a love letter but suffused with the same sort of awe-struck reverence one might find in one. It's quite good, giving us nothing about the speaker save their affection for the princess, and thus keeping the focus on her and Equestria-wide views about her. That's about all you need!
Recommended

Bad Vibrations by FamousLastWords
Reading by Agent0Fluffy
Genre: Sad Romance/Drama
It's their one-year anniversary. It was supposed to be special.
Hey! Do you want to read a story about a relationship falling apart in a dramatic fashion? Because this is a really good example thereof! That said, man, it's still kind of hard to watch these characters go through something like this. D: I will say I'm pleased that it doesn't all seem to be Twilight's fault. Far too often, I feel like I read sad shipfics from her partner's POV where she's the issue, specifically by being distant, as if that's her only personal flaw or something. And while that's the case here, it seems Rarity has also been distant, and she's quite obviously depressed, which is never helpful for a relationship. But yes, solid drama, good writing, the question is just… do you want to read this?
Recommended If You're Looking for a Sad Shipfic

I'm a Zeppelin by Penn Hooven
Reading by Midnight29
Genre: Comedy
Just how did Drone 319 get into this situation, anyway?
I was afraid at first that the description of this story gave away its joke, but thankfully no, that's just the jumping-off point. This is all about what the changeling does with the Zeppelin story once he's caught. Also, ponies being dumb. :) Though it does beg the question… "Zeppelin" is an eponym. So was there a pony Zeppelin? Sadly, the story does not take the time to cover this pressing issue, zero out of ten, to the sun. :V
Recommended

Impending Hug by FrontSevens
Reading by Agent0Fluffy
Genre: Shipping
Rainbow's hugs were neither careful, nor safe for the organs.
I used a line from the story for the summary here mostly because it's a good line, but it might also make you think this is a comedy. It's not; it's actually rather serious. And the key lies with just why Twilight doesn't want a hug right now, which we learn in short order but not immediately. The way this unfolds is great, but even better is Rainbow Dash herself. You know I get kinda emotional about stories where she's actually being a good friend instead of a huge jerk. Well, here's one where she's doing that, and also dating Twilight, so she's being a good girlfriend too, and I just. ;_; It's so beautiful, you guys. I love this. Highly Recommended for Shippers
Recommended

Justified Fears by Shrinky Frod
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Comedy/World-Building
It turns out Twilight's fear of ladybugs isn't completely irrational after all…
Man, why did they saddle Twilight with the stupidest fears in the show? The ladybug thing was actually worse than the quesadilla thing, because, y'know… "Sunshine, sunshine"? Why the fuck would she be afraid of them? Late seasons really were run by hacks. But, every issue with canon is an opportunity for a fanfic writer, and so has Shrinky Frod come to the fore with a solid and ultimately fascinating — if also hilariously outlandish — reason why it's worth being afraid of ladybugs. The one thing this is missing, unfortunately, is a link to why Twilight has this knowledge, but… Well, I guess it's Twilight, she could have learned it somewhere along the line. I'll bet Moondancer's afraid of ladybugs, too.
Recommended

Taking a Second Glance by TheAutumnPrincess
Reading by Agent0Fluffy
Genre: Romance
Why in the world does Applejack put up with Rarity when they argue so much?
This is a great little story that includes not only Rarijack as its centerpiece, but teasings of Fluttermac and even more alongside. That said, the authors made an unfortunate error with the description: it sums up the story well, but that's also all there is to it. Like, this lays out its thesis skillfully, but it doesn't give us anything more than that, and when the description does the same thing but in even fewer words… Well, at least the characterization is good. Granted, the accents are also really, really thick, so YMMV.
Recommended for Shippers

Motherhood by Jade Ring
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Future Fic Comedy
Rarity and Fluttershy meet for lunch and talk about their kids.
So if you want a comedy set in the future where two ponies talk about parenting half-pony offspring? This will deliver. For my part, though, I cannot stand either pairing, though that's just a me thing. I will say I didn't actually get the punchline, so that might be more of a problem. But at least the rest of it is funny.
Recommended for Shippers

My Dream Seems Like a Nightmare by butboifranko
Reading by Agent0Fluffy
Genre: Shipping Drama
Rainbow Dash just told Fluttershy off… Why is she still following her?
Despite what the flowery intro (and typo in the description) might have you think, this is actually pretty good. We've got Rainbow Dash unable to deal with her emotions in a constructive way — not just one, either — and having to face the fallout from that. She and Fluttershy are already together at the start of the story, something I hadn't expected, and she gets to play the part of Element of Loyalty, herp derp. So on strength of character alone, this is worth the read.
Recommended for Shippers