Fic recs, August 23rd! · 4:28pm August 23rd
Wow, you guys! c_c My audiobook list, for the first time in about three years, is well below 100 videos! I am, frankly, beside myself.
Though it does feel a tad anticlimactic. Most of the reason isn't because I've finally listened to that many stories, but because I skipped through a couple readings by No One and Nobody that I didn't really enjoy, the second of which came with not one but two multi-part sequels. So dropping those dropped me below 100. But still! VisualPony's insane output during my time wrangling through both Agent0Fluffy and Lotus Moon's enormous channels has finally been conquered! The end is in sight! There are actually several video at the bottom with no Pony & Wolf Productions in between! XD Like I said, beside myself.
Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to go spend money I don't have on baked goods I don't need, for the second time today. D:
H: 2 R: 4 C: 1 V: 3 N: 0
Dueling Granjos by TheDriderPony
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Character Piece/Comedy
And now we attend a masterclass on how to write a character in a thousand words, making them equal parts amazing and thoroughly loathsome, and infinitely memorable. :D I have to agree with Lady Alice, family reunions are awful, but also she's such a snobby shit, she totally deserves to suffer. XD By the end of the story, I felt like I knew everything about her, and I am absolutely dying to see her reappear in something longer! What a complete hoot!
Highly Recommended
Better Homes and Gardens by Admiral Biscuit
Reading by No One and Nobody
Genre: G3 PoE
It's not everyone who can have their yard cared for by ponies!{/i]
Once again, Biscuit approaches the topic of ponies living and working in our world with workmanlike aplomb. The choice to use G3 ponies is an odd one, but then again, Wisteria is Fluttershy with plants. The story is mostly about them pushing back, gently, against the human who organized them into this lawncare force, because he's in it for the money while they're… not, so much. The moral thus is as subtle as it is profound, and it's good stuff. As in, it will make you feel good by the end. :)
Recommended
Tales from Twilight Town by iisaw
Reading by VisualPony
Sequel to The Skyla Pseudonym
Genre: Anthology
It's sadly been a while since I read any of the Alicorn Adventure series, and as delightful as The Skyla Pseudonym was, I can't remember any specifics from it. c_c; Hopefully, that won't matter too much as we dive into this anthology of unconnected tales about the little extra-Equestrian town Twilight founded! (EDIT: It won't!) Haven't done one of these in a while. :)
Commerce Culture: The Flim-Flam Brothers come to Twilight Town and discover the populace are not the rubes they'd hoped for. And one could characterize this as "how real people with the internet would react to old-timey snake oil salesmen" (which is not to say that's not funny), but actually, this is more a statement on the kind of town Twilight has deigned to run. Quite amusing! R
The Hay Field: This is one part story, one part history. The bulk of this is world-building directed at how Twilight Town does commerce, as well as just, like, living where it does, with a particular eye toward hay shipments via boat. This is all told to us by a grizzled old sea captain to his very plucky young niece, and they comprise the story part. They're honestly quite a hoot, even when it's clear they're just there to give us all this history straight up. And of course, to let Biscuit flex his nautical knowledge, be it learned or researched. :) The characters really make this, though. H
Tuesday: And here we have another statement about life in Twilight Town, made in the most economical way possible! C, for Laughs
Molly's Toffee: So this story opens with a mare teaching her grandson how to properly construct and throw a Molotov cocktail, and why. c_c I should not have to review it further in order for you to want to immediately read it. R
Judgement: A fascinating and slightly terrifying bit of world-building regarding the laws of Twilight Town… or lack thereof, and precisely what that means. This really showcases how different Twilight has become in this universe. Some may find it disturbing! But it is nevertheless illustrative. R
Acceptance: And if this is the final entry in this collection forever and ever, it will be one hell of a note to go out on! It's a short, simple story told by a single stallion who's recently settled into Twilight Town, and he gives us a lot of thoughts about the local religions and common beliefs in regards to Twilight herself. She is, after all, quite a lot larger than most ponies' lives; who's to say she's real? I'm not sure what it is, but the ending took my breath away! H
Recommended
Immortal Affliction - Subject 1 - Rarity (MLP Infection AU) by Magpiepony
Reading by TheLostNarrator, et. al.
Genre: Medical Horror
The classified files detailing an unknown condition afflicting one Rarity Belle.
You know, sometimes a story is just so good, it's hard to do anything but say, "This was really good" over and over again. c_c This is a straightforward body horror piece, coupled with the psychological horror factor as Rarity slowly loses her mind, set in the far, far future and just executed extremely well. I mean, it reminds me a lot of the best of the SCP Wiki, and I of course always react very positively to that. The reading is also another exceptional production, and recommended if only for the extra artwork included. (And Scribbler's performance, hot damn!) But at the end of the day, this is just good because it's good! No notes, as they say!
Highly Recommended
Prince Blueblood Rules Equestria by Charx
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Random Comedy
Celestia needs a vacation.
So, I was expecting a thousand words dedicated to shitting on Prince Blueblood. I had, apparently, come to the wrong neighborhood, as it seems this author has written several stories about Blueblood being a capable ruler, actually. So this gets by on inversion of expectations. That being said, it also ends with the worst possible ending trope, which leaves me with significant questions. Also, the internal logic kind of doesn't make sense, since Celestia says he's "not actually royalty," whereupon this fact is immediately forgotten by all present. So, this could be better, but if you ignore the final line, it's still pretty funny.
Recommended for Laughs
Contamination by Raugos
Reading by No One and Nobody
Genre: G5 Random Comedy
Sunny finds an old tin of… food?
Coming into this, I knew I'd read a story about ponies encountering surströmming before. Turns out, I had, and that story uses the same cover art even. If a picture paints a thousand words, it seems some might do it more than once. Raugos' take on the topic is much more straightforward, but it's also pure comedy, just a laugh a minute. All the major characters show up and get to exercise their single character trait, most notably Izzy, who is a laugh riot. :) I will say the ending kind of drags a bit, as the story works its way to its final punchline, feeling like it didn't quite know when to end, but it is worth it for Sprout's appearance. Good fun!
Recommended
The Hate Game by King Ice
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Random Comedy
So, what is it that Twilight hates the most?
I hate (heh) to say it, but the best joke in this story is the intense bit of trolling it opens with, and that's a joke the butt of which is us, the readers. The rest is basically explicitly author ranting, not that I'm necessarily against it — because fuck those things! — but also it's worth saying that you'll kind of get the point early on. I mean, filtering your own ranting through a character's voice like this, when it's the point of the story, can be a great deal of fun, and this is. But also I was kind of miffed that Twilight didn't even mention the disease angle. Like… c'mon, be thorough in your hatred!
Vaguely Recommended
Big Balls by Shakespearicles
Reading by Agent0Fluffy, et. al.
Genre: Nonstop Innuendo
Prince Blueblood and Shining Armor make a little wager.
So, I've heard the AC/DC song that this story has just got to be inspired by, and the joke is thus plain for anyone to see. But what Shakespearicles did was continue it to an impressive length; I've never seen so many euphemisms and innuendo in one place! I wish I was clever enough to construct this review likewise, but I am very tired right now. Regardless, if you're twelve years old at heart like I am, you will get a kick and a half out of this! Highly Recommended If You Enjoy Innuendo!
Recommended
The Pink Tax by Silk Rose
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Random Comedy
Pinkie doesn't want to pay this year.
Well, that was… Sure something, all right. The very weird thing about this is that I got a sense that the joke wasn't anything to do with the title at all, but actually where everyone shows up in order to pay the tax. Like… it's clearly not where you're supposed to go, right? And no one has any idea where they even are supposed to go, so they all just show up at the same place more or less coincidentally, which would be really funny and very clever for its subtlety if only it had been capitalized on for a punchline! I think the author just took the idea and pantsed it with no real plan. <_< Tense slid around a whole bunch. Weird, weird story!
Vaguely Recommended
Twilight and Friends Can't Stop Rhyming by deadpansnarker
Reading by No One and Nobody
Genre: Random Comedy
Something in Ponyville has gone very wrong…
This wasn't ultimately as comedic as I'd hoped it would be. Weirdly, I have to say the author made too much of an attempt at telling a whole story, rather than just milking a funny situation for laughs. Given that the resolution to the issue is both straightforward and resolved without incident, one almost has to wonder why this was even a noteworthy event. Ironically, especially because of the way Zecora is handled in this, I'm not really even going to comment on the rhyming. Like, they're new at this, of course they're not gonna be perfect.
Vaguely Recommended
Thank you for the nice review(s)!
I think you're the first person to ever review the collection!
5800025
Only reason Present Perfect got to it, sure. 
You should probably be thanking VisualPony for doing a reading of it, then.
5800028
Visual Pony is a frikkin' hero for a lot of reasons!
That "Immortal Affliction" one sounds interesting. But boo on the author for misspelling "anomaly" in the description. Those squiggly lines mean something.
5800028
Hell yes! :D
5800030
Absolutely!