R4 (Reactions, Reviews, Reference, Redirection) #0016

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Here are five slightly edited old reviews:
Princess Celestia Hates Tea by Skywriter
Twilight Sky Over Canterlot by Twilight Flopple
Drop Of Moonshine by Pen Stroke
Flitter by Nyerguds
The Moonstone Cup by Cyanide

Princess Celestia Hates Tea by Skywriter
(story link) (my original review)

Yet another piece of comedy gold. The author of this one is fast becoming one of my favorite writers around. He also writes Skin Horse which is a favorite webcomic of mine. He just has so much range both comedy and serious. This one is right up there with The Contest and Martial Bliss. As well as a hilarious look at the theme of Princess Celestia presenting a perfect eternal facade for the stability of Equestria.

Twilight Sky Over Canterlot by Twilight Flopple
(story link) (my original review)

I really enjoy a good slice-of-life. Add in some cool magic and creative worldbuilding and that’s the reason I have been enjoying so many of these My Little Pony fanfics. There is no major conflict in this story, nor any big message really. Just some things that happen and Twilight Sparkle’s internal monologue while she deals with the fairly trivial events of a few days in her home town of Canterlot. This story left me very relaxed by the time I finished it.

Drop of Moonshine by Pen Stroke
(story link) (my original review)

Silly story about Princess Celestia and Princess Luna getting drunk. Pretty good, but not great. The idea that there is no alcoholic drinks in all of Equestria simply because Celestia is a alcoholic is a fun idea, but not one I’d use in a larger storyline.

Flitter by Nyerguds
(story link) (my original review)

I really liked this one. A great story, ties in with the show in a minor way, and has interesting worldbuilding. Three things that make a great fanfic in my opinion. Changelings are starting to move towards the top of the list of things I enjoy in My Little Pony. Just such a cool concept to play with, identity and truth. Plus it is nice to see a fey concept that isn’t half wish-fulfillment. The idea that the changeling attack in the wedding finale was not typical changeling behavior is a great idea to play around with. The story also touches on the idea of love overcoming barriers, which is always nice.

The Moonstone Cup by Cyanide
(story link) (my original review)

This story didn’t feel much like MLP to me. Too much straight fantasy, not enough anachronistic absurdity. Like reporters or endorsement deals. Also had Twilight doing pretty much everything by herself, even the ‘friends help out’ moment later in the story seems like just magic-based internal monologue.

Another nitpick is that Twilight Sparkle is simply too powerful in this story. Almost to the point of being a Mary Sue self-insert character. The character mostly felt like Twilight Sparkle during the story, one of the few characters the author did well, so it never got really bad. It does get a little, well, dull when Twilight defeats incredibly powerful wizards, some even legendary, one after another with no research or preparation. Well, she did do a tiny bit of preparation for the legendary powerful god-wizard who is completely undefeated and master of all magic ever used. She spent like twenty minutes reading someone else’s research on him before that match. It gets a bit ridiculous.

The couple of chapters from Trixie’s perspective are interesting, but a bit awkward. They paint a picture of a arrogant, yet sympathetic Trixie, which is nice. Yet they mangle the flow of the story and it would lose nothing if they were simply removed.

Pretty good story, but no real character development and did not feel like MLP at all. I’d recommend the time loop trilogy that starts with Hard Reset, or the stand-alone Duel Nature over this one if you are looking for a badass Twilight Sparkle.

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