Fic recs, November 16th · 2:38pm Nov 16th, 2013
Lo and behold, it's been three days and I've stumbled into another round of recs. :B This one's a bit shorter than the past two because I have been reading all the batponies, so expect a HUGE journal about those this weekend. (It's also a really good set of stories!) Then it's back to scouring my to-read, although I have to admit at this point, that strategy is not working in the least. D: I'm destined to have thousands of unread fics forever. ;_;
H: 1 R: 7 C: 2 V: 0 N: 1
Good Girl by Golden Vision
Genre: Mental Health
This is another one of those “driven by strong voice of unusual character” pieces I love so much, centered around Screw Loose (the barking pony, y’know?) and her mental transformation into full-blown caninity. It hits a lot of the standard points, owing in no small part to being based on the amazing song by The Living Tombstone, but all in all I liked it. It came from the last writeoff, fyi, which is why I don’t have much to say in detail. He’s fixed it up a bit, even, so it’s doubtless better than it was, and people who like this kind of thing will find a lot to enjoy here. :)
Recommended
The Long Haul by RedSquirrel456
Genre: Epic Fantasy
In the midst of an epic battle with dragons, griffons, and airships, a unicorn and a minotaur chat about friendship while trying to break into a citadel. I’m glad I could sum up this piece, another from the WBA, in such a way, because it just sounds really cool like that. This should really appeal to fans of epic fantasy wars, even as short as it is. It packs in a lot of detail, yet only enough to make the ending really resound. And while the piece is just the precursor to an epic climax, there’s no denying the scope of the battle raging around it. This is really fuckin’ cool.
Recommended
The Tail End of It by short skirts and explosions
Reading by Scribbler, et. al.
Genre: Absurdity
This is one of those ridiculously, hilariously absurd ideas that are hard not to like. Unfortunately, I’m not overly pleased with the execution here. The story starts off with a number of episode rehashes to make sure the reader has it firmly in mind just how often Applejack stops Rainbow Dash from doing things by biting her tail. But if you are well aware of that fact to begin with, you won’t miss out on anything by skipping down to “Finally”. Really though, starting off that way was a bad idea because it just highlights how not-in-the-show the “real” scene is. But that scene, geez. Once the tail comes off, it’s a laugh a minute. I especially appreciated the shipping joke. It’s not the best and not everyone will appreciate it the same, but I sure had fun with it.
Recommended If You Skip the Opening
I Alone by RazgrizS57
Genre: Mindfuck
I hope you like stories where writers play with language, because I sure do. This is yet another story told from the POV of someone a little off, a pony who conceives of the world and others only as facets of himself. The way he talks is a little hard to get used to, but easy to follow once you’ve figured out the logic behind it. There are two issues with this. First, the B-plot of him fighting an “angry tree”, as neat as that monster is, isn’t overly interesting and takes up the first half of the story or so. It does provide a clear explanation for how someone so unhinged and naive can survive in the Everfree Forest, but that leads into the second problem. This character is perfectly capable of taking care of himself but can’t deal with getting leaves and sticks out of his coat. He has a rich and colorful vocabulary, but doesn’t understand the concept of a reflection, or other ponies. It’s believable, but only up to a point, and that’s what’s keeping this from reaching my highest level of recommendation. But while I’ve seen better exemplars of the technique (again, Beyond the Wall), this was nevertheless highly enjoyable to read.
Recommended
We Had Today by Butterscotch Cream
Genre: Romance
An old stallion climbs into his attic and reminisces about the love he’s lost. This is a story, at its heart, about love, with the main character’s habits and memories serving as the soft frame around a really wonderfully-written romantic letter. It’s really emotional stuff, and while the narrative isn’t always at the same level of quality, the letter pretty much makes this worth reading.
Recommended
Like a Mighty Flame by Cynewulf
Genre: Introspective
This is apparently set in a larger universe that I’m unfamiliar with, but I can say for certain that that didn’t hold me back. As long as you can accept RariDash off the bat, you’ll be fine with this. So, along with being romantically involved with Rarity, Rainbow has been injured — some of the details are given later in the piece — and while she hasn’t exactly lost her wings, she can’t fly like she used to, and she has ‘episodes’, one of which happens while attending a Wonderbolts show. There’s a lot in here, mostly related to Rainbow’s recovery and how she deals with her current handicap as well as the reactions of others. There’s a really interesting bit contrasting the kinetic beauty of flight with the more permanent, aesthetic beauty of Rarity’s dresses. Dash’s voice is there, though definitely suggestive of an older, more mature Rainbow, doubtless due to her injury. As for the shipping, well, it’s sort of central to the “why is Rarity there” issue, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say, if you can just accept that it’s a Thing, there’s plenty to enjoy about this and it won’t get in your way.
Recommended
Plainswalker by Burraku_Pansa
Genre: Worldbuilding
It’s a good day for worldbulding. Here, we have a short piece that really cuts to the core of zebra culture. It addresses the importance of things like shamans, sigils, and even the rhyming speech, and all extremely subtly. I will say that the A-plot is a bit odd because it just ends for the sake of imparting a lesson on the shaman initiate who sets the story in motion, but the lesson is told well and the end result is hinting at a whole lot more story to be had. I give the author about a 99% rating on the zebra speech, with one line that I felt took too much liberty. But seriously, he did a good job and didn’t even format it as poetry, which it seems is often too much to ask of most authors.
Recommended
Never So Far Away by PoweredByTea
Reading by ABagOfVicodin
Reading by BigAshRandomVids
Genre: Slice of Life
This is really great, one of those stories that proves the SOL tag does have a purpose. Twilight heads out to a forested part of Canterlot she’s never been to before, runs into Philomena and ends up having a lovely surprise chat with Celestia. The Princess is marvelously characterized in this, and the strength of the piece is in her interplay with Twilight. This is maybe one of the best scenes featuring the two of them I’ve ever seen, and it never even hints at shipping (glorious!) I’d like to make mention of Philomena. Someone recently posted a journal about least-liked episodes and brought to my attention the idea that in Bird in the Hoof, she was by all rights a horrible little shit, and absolutely awful to Fluttershy. (This was their reason for not liking the episode.) And in hindsight, she was, so it’s nice to see an author remembering that and giving her some character. (Although, in all honesty, it’s nice to see an author flat-out remembering she exists. I hardly ever see her in fanfics.) This isn’t really mind-blowing, but it is out and out good, with no misstep that I can think of. No wonder it’s on the Vault!
Highly Recommended
I’ll See You to Shore by Educated Guess
Reading by Scribbler, et. al.
Genre: Seaponies! :D
I love seaponies. I never get to talk about them much, but they’re one of my top “want to see in the show” things. That is, if they’re not the horrible, malformed waterbabies of G1. Using seahorses for the design is clever, but come on, hippocampi exist for a reason. Thankfully, that’s the template used in this story, so I had a lot to enjoy. It’s kind of a classic mermaid romance tale, albeit with a merstallion, wound up in a bunch of worldbuilding and meeting of cultures and so forth. That said, the bulk of the worldbuilding comes in the form of a four-year war and its fallout, presented as a couple pages of history report at the end of the main story. I was kind of disappointed by this, as it sounds like a great tale, though looking at the author’s notes in the description, it’s at least clear that they weren’t trying to go for a world-spanning epic this time around. It’s ultimately not very deep, but it is good worldbuilding and I found it immensely enjoyable. Not to mention it uses Tall Tale, a city from the official map of Equestria, and does a fantastic job of making the town itself a character in the story. Except that I’m not sure I want to think about how a seapony can have three children with an earth pony.
Recommended for Seapony Fans
I Love You, Princess Luna by DontWannaKnow
Reading by Scribbler, et. al.
Reading by DrWh0oves
Reading by lieilengi
Genre: Sad Luna
Princess Luna is sad because she was Nightmare Moon and everypony is scared of her, and she’s sadder because nopony loves her. Sure, somepony loved her once, two thousand years ago, but nowadays, who would want to love somepony like her? At its heart, this is a story about learning to love oneself by learning that oneself is worthy of love, but… Wrapped as it is in such a tired, played-out, and thoroughly worn trope, I just can’t like it. The pony whose affection she is the object of is a nameless, faceless, thoroughly personality-less guard who sacrifices himself to save her from an anti-Luna zealot (because those exist). She learns about his feelings after his death, through a series of journal entries and some really sappy emo poetry that I absolutely could have done without. What was least satisfying about it was, once again, something that makes me look back on my own story with a curled lip: Luna ends up falling in love with the guard’s memory just because he was willing to love her. Yes, she learns that she’s worthy of love, but that just smacks of desperation, and it leaves her looking pathetic for completely different reasons than in the story’s opening. You might get more out of this if you still like Sad Luna, but I really can’t suggest reading it.
Not Recommended
Schweigen Ist Folter by NickNack
Genre: Romance
I edited this, and quite some time ago, but apparently Nick is just now (re?) releasing it, so let’s see what I can remember. This is, technically speaking, a side-story to his classic Heart of Gold, Feathers of Steel, derived more directly from its followups, Summer Days and Evening Flames. It expands on Gilda’s family as presented via flashback and reminiscence in those stories, specifically her older brother, but honestly, none of those stories should be considered necessary reading. NickNack has taken pains to make it generally stand alone. So if you’re interested in gay griffon romance, this is the story for you. It’s a very emotional look at duty versus following one’s heart, set against the backdrop of a dying society that needs all of its males making as many babies as possible to prevent extinction. I was really touched by the relationship between the two characters, but then I am a big fan of M/M romance. I think this will have merit for anyone who isn’t, necessarily.
Recommended
Can you post the word count after the title in the future?
I didn't know "mindfuck" was a genre. I'm proud of this achievement. I'm glad you enjoyed it though!
Oh geez, I'm sorry, PP. I haven't been around to brighten your day with my witty and insightful comments as of late. I shall rectify this by crafting a thorough and thoughtful reply to today's recs:
balls
See you next time!
(And I can't believe I'd not read Never So Far Away before this. Thanks!)
I need to start reading more again. and not just ponyfic.
Have some d'aww RariSpike.
th01.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2013/320/b/d/dream_in_summer_night_by_miradge-d6uhp1g.jpg
1512368
I've considered it, but I feel like these reviews are cluttered enough as it is.
1512900
kore?
that picture is glorious
1513473
Sorry, typo. "More."