Fic recs, December 6th! · 6:56pm Dec 7th, 2023

So I've got about a half dozen Agent Fluffy readings left. 👀 After that, I'll do a week of Pony & Wolf, then organize all the non-P&W readings and do those on the weekly schedule I've been keeping lately. And after that, who knows!

Also I am having the worst time with the "trying to find a place to move" situation but I might not have to worry anymore, wish me luck x_x

H: 1 R: 5 C: 6 V: 1 N: 1

Karen in Equestria (For About 10 Minutes) by Estee
Reading by Agent0Fluffy
Genre: HiE Comedy
A new being enters the throne room and makes… a few demands.
So! Karens! This story got me thinking all about them, and the term itself. Has it reached the point of "Mary Sue", where it may describe a thing usefully but, being derived from a gendered name (I have heard male Karens referred to as "Kevins"), has been reevaluated for usefulness separate from meanness. In other words, is it too inherently misogynistic to use? Because these people exist. You've seen them. I've seen them. We all hate them. I would not even suggest that half of them are women. And, in listening to this story, I couldn't help but note the logical path through all of this person's arguments which bore a striking resemblance, and link to, some which led certain individuals to storm a certain government building, oh, let's say, about a month before this story was published? So fuck Karens? Shame about the hair. Only Estee could turn a societal disdain for entitled windbags into this many well-crafted words, with an ending satisfying as it is funny.
Recommended

Ten Things I Hate About You by daOtterGuy
Reading by Midnight29
Genre: Sad Shipping
Sunburst has a few choice words for Spearhead.
In case you don't remember, Spearhead is the former guard who became a painter and spent the B-plot of some later-show episode baffling Shining Armor and Cadence with his large, pure-black canvas. I liked him, but he's definitely a character I'd forgotten about in the meantime. And even if I hadn't, I think pairing him with Sunburst still comes out of nowhere, but I applaud the author for going after an M/M ship of two unlikely characters who actually have, y'know, character. Stallion shippers have always had a dry well from which to drink. As for the story itself, it's pretty easy to figure out where it's headed, but I feel like the structure and pacing are both solid, and the whole thing overall works. So if you need more sad gay stallions in your life, here they are!
Recommended

On the Wing of Friendship by Deathscar
Reading by Agent0Fluffy
Genre: Cute Re-Mark/Sad
Rainbow Dash just lost one of the most important things to her.
It occurs to me that, anymore? If you want to write about Rainbow Dash losing her wings, write about the Sombra future from The Cutie Re-Mark! It's built right in! And as this story shows, watching Rainbow Dash wake up to the horrid realization, while being all stoic and having her priorities straight, not to mention a Pinkie Pie who can't Pinkie right watching on helplessly, it really gets you, right there. Usually, I want to see these AUs explored more in depth, but in this case? Just exploring this moment was enough, and it was done well.
Recommended

Applejack Goes Super Saiyan by totallynotabrony
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Random Comedy
Applejack wakes up to a bad hair and a whole lot of questions from other ponies.
Saiyans are one of those things that are kind of ubiquitously known, right? Cultural osmosis and all that? Even if you've never seen Dragon Ball, surely you've at least heard the term? Well, even if you somehow haven't, this should still amuse, as what a Saiyan is is at least explained in the story. And really, that's what's so funny about this: everyone in Equestria is apparently a total weeb, except for Applejack. Their reactions to her supposed change are hilarious, her excuses for why nothing's happened are great, and this even skirts but just avoids making a very tasteless joke at the end, the subversion of which makes for a solid punchline. :) This is pure, unadulterated goofiness, and it works so well!
Recommended

"I'm so… so sorry…" by Silver Melodies
Reading by Agent0Fluffy
Genre: Sad
Applejack loses a loved one.
So this is told well, with the 'current', aftermath scenes sandwiching the past, 'how-it-happened' scenes. The only real difference is that the scenes of AJ crying over a tombstone are a bit on the maudlin side. Still, the bulk of the story doesn't overreach for the feels, and while the opening scene is maybe a little too coy about who had died, I did appreciate a couple of fakeouts in the buildup to the climax. There is, I should note, some background, one-sided Appledash that really has nothing to do with the plot, but… Y'know. <_< Call her a lesbian if you will. Ultimately, I was just glad that the reason for Applejack's sadness was distinctly worthwhile.
Recommended If You Like Sad Stories

Forced Retirement by DwarvishPony
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Random Comedy
Celestia calls Luna in to discuss retirement.
Well, this is fun. It totally works due to treating princess retirement like any other. :) If you fancy a bit of bureaucratic silliness, you will not be disappointed.
Recommended for Laughs

Final Regrets by ObeySaturnGod
Reading by Agent0Fluffy
Genre: Dark/Tragic Apocalypse
Equestria is over. Everypony is dead. And I deserve what comes next.
So, positives. The writing is solid, really sells "pony writing final confessions during an apocalypse" a lot better than many which have tried. This also handles a zombie apocalypse in a completely unique way. You will not see many of the expected tropes here, and that's pretty refreshing. All that being said, the word to describe this story is "bleak". Everything's awful, there's no hope, Twilight Sparkle has betrayed her friends and her ideals in the name of trying to save Equestria, Applejack offs herself for admittedly understandable reasons. There's just no hope anywhere to be found, so if you need some? Don't bother! But if you feel like reading something horrendously dark and hopeless? You could certainly do worse!
Recommended Only If You Like Bleak Apocalypses

Final Thoughts by NotARealPonydotcom
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Episode Followup Comedy
Rarity isn't the only one who learned a lesson in Manehattan.
I would like to stress just how fucking bizarre it is that this story and the previous one have such similar titles. Especially when they couldn't be more different! This just keeps happening and it's so weird. Also, I want to do this because otherwise this review is going to be short and unsatisfying. <_< This is basically just a rundown of the events of Rarity Takes Manehattan. While presenting them from Twilight's perspective does lend some comedy, and this is a well-written letterfic, A) it's just a rundown of the events of that episode, B) it then devolves into very standard fandom complaints about the episode, and C) I really don't think early season 4 Twilight thought this highly of herself. Hearing these fan arguments coming out of her is just kind of irritating, to be honest. I got nothing out of this, but I dunno, maybe you're still mad about that episode and would like to see it fully skewered.
Vaguely Recommended

Introspection by Thinky Think
Reading by Agent0Fluffy
Genre: Character Piece
Rainbow Dash contemplates what she's lost.
This is the epitome of treating a pony like her Element, but when it's the focus of a story, it's not so bad. Unusual to see this level of introspection from Dash, but it felt true to form. Not a lot to this otherwise, but it's not bad.
Recommended as Light Reading

Princess Celestia Bursts Into Flames by GemstoneTheUnicorn
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Random Comedy
Now that Twilight is an alicorn, it's time for her to learn the truth.
This is quite unfocused, and it's a one-joke fic, but the sheer absurdity of it rather makes up for any misstep on the author's part. Like the scene in which they talk directly to Twilight. <_< Can't say I was a fan of that, but it's fine for a first fic.
Recommended for Laughs

New Day by Silver Inkwell
Reading by Agent0Fluffy
Genre: Slice of Life
I have to give Agent0Fluffy credit for keeping a story's integrity in her reading. Unfortunately, this piece needed an editor not just to shore up basic writing issues, but also because the sentences are so meandering and jumbled that I found narrative threads almost impossible to follow. I have no idea what this is about, other than Applejack thinking about things. What are those things? No idea, for real.
Not Recommended

The Battle We All Face by Sweet Tale
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Random Comedy
Twilight does battle with her eternal foe.
My one complaint about this story is that the author needed a word other than just "being" to coyly describe just what it is Twilight is doing battle with. But I felt the punchline was fully earned. I did not see it coming whatsoever!
Recommended for Laughs

A Cold Winter Morning by PonyThunder
Reading by Agent0Fluffy
Genre: Cozyfic
Fluttershy enjoys a morning in winter.
Can I just say I'm mad this doesn't have the rhyming title like the last five PonyThunder fics I've read? >:| Where's Applejack, man, I'm just sayin' Anyway, there's nothing quite like carving a niche for yourself and then filling it completely, and PonyThunder here has captured the feeling of the titular morning and all the cozy comforts one can enjoy during one in word form. It doesn't hurt that it's a cold winter morning as I write this. :) A scene about befriending a bird lends this a bit more than your average slice of life, without ever taking it from the genre. We've got a master on our hands here!
Recommended

The Darkest Day by Summer Knight
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Random Comedy
In which Trixie informs Starlight they are out of coffee.
So you know how much I hate "coffee fics"; so much that I created my own pejorative label for them in an attempt to fully encapsulate my disdain for the 'genre' and all those who indulge in its one, single, never-been-funny joke. And the first scene of this story, admittedly, does fit that bill. But even then, it gives you a few things. First, there's Trixie having to be the responsible one. This is always funny. Then you have not just Starlight Glimmer, but Headmare Starlight, resorting to her old depends-too-much-on-magic ways in order to try and solve an otherwise fairly mundane problem. Again, always funny, funnier because it's set in or beyond the final season of the show. But most important is what Starlight finds after she casts that spell, and it was the funniest, most unexpected punchline anyone could ask for, not just in what it is but how it's presented. I had a huge laugh that I both was not prepared for and totally needed. It would be a mistake to say this surpasses the "coffee fic" label; rather, it elevates it, makes that one joke worth telling over and over again, or at least as many times as it took to get us here. This was really funny and it had no business being so. :)
Highly Recommended