Cerulean's Voice On The Matter #23 · 6:23pm Jul 1st, 2015
My month of reading may be over… But I still have a few fics left on my list! So why not just keep going until I smash them all? More reading for me, more reviews for you guys. It’s a win-win!
The last of my updated favourites as well as the start of some promising new stories. Some odd choices and concepts below, but there’s at least one you’ll definitely want to get into.
It’s about to get very Sunny in here…
Previously-reviewed favourites with new chapters read: Love, Sugar, and Sails
Story: My Little Villains
Author: HiddenUnderACouch
Synopsis:
Life is full of surprises. That is a known fact. However, you always expect some kind of minor surprise, like your train arriving a little too late, or your ice-cream having vanilla taste rather than strawberry. But sometimes, life will give you surprises you could never predict. For Fluttershy, it was three little foals. But not her own foals, or even orphans. Three little foals that used to be her and her friends' most fearsome and dreaded foes.
Sombra, Chrysalis and Nightmare Moon.
Length: 94,954 words over 14 chapters, averaging 6,782 words per chapter
Status: Incomplete
Review: Are you a sucker for adorable? How about comedy? How about some actual decent character development? Yes? Well then, you’ll want very much to dive headfirst into the zany antics of My Little Villains. The whole story gives off vibes similar to watching the Looney Tunes, or Tom and Jerry. It’s hard to decide who’s more adorable: Tsundere Moonie with a curious case of sun allergies (and still with an olden-day formal vocabulary), playful Sombra with his naiveté and bizarre tendency to suck on anypony’s mane, or the impish Chryssie who puts up a tough front and puts Diamond Tiara to shame with her mean-spirited tricks. You have to feel for them at times when their actions repeatedly get them into trouble, like Chryssie smashing Fluttershy’s favourite vase or Moonie getting stuck in the cookie jar, but honestly you’ll probably be chuckling the rest of the way. There’s a surprising amount of feels present as well, and they’ll get you when you don’t expect it. Now the writing is a little rough, but considering that English is the author’s second language, it’s nicely presented. Some sentences might be structured a little weird is all I’m saying, but there’s really not much else to warrant mentioning besides a couple slips in grammar every now and then.
If you’re feeling down and need a dose of both comedy and cuteness to lift you up, it’s a great choice.
Story: Dismay
Author: Danger Beans
Synopsis:
Within the deepest recesses of Tartarus, there is a storm that never ends. A swirling maelstrom fueled by the dark and terrible magics that reside within the infernal pit. Within the eye of this storm, like a pearl within an oyster, is the great floating city of Dis. Dis was intended to be a paradise where all could be free, and live in Harmony. A place where hunger, sadness, and even death would hold no sway.
But you cannot build a paradise at the mouth of Hell without consequence . . .
A spiritual adaptation of Bioshock Infinite & prequel to Twilight's Inferno. Assumes no knowledge of either.
Length: 4,057 words over 2 chapters, averaging 2,029 words per chapter
Status: Incomplete
Review: What can I say? If the prologue's subject matter doesn’t hook you, the competently executed present tense should. We’re introduced to Green Leaf after a little fable explaining her name and establishing her character as just your average pony. Even though the fic is still in its early days, this looks like nothing I’ve ever read before. It’s always risky when you read a fan tribute to another person’s story, but it looks like Danger Beans has the chops to pull it off. I’m expecting great things, particularly since Twilight’s Inferno is in my top 5 ponyfics. It has the PaulAsaran seal of approval though, so it must be higher than decent at the very least.
Story: Transdementia
Author: Kwakerjak
Synopsis:
Things have started to settle down since Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie were crowned as princesses of Equestria, but that doesn't mean that any semblance of normalcy will be arriving. The first major summit of Equestria's ruling princesses is cut short when a thief steals the Element of Magic and escapes to another world. However, because of Pinkie's rather unique skillset, Celestia sends her to retrieve it, rather than Twilight. But even though the other Element-bearers will be staying behind, Pinkie won't have to face this task alone....
Length: 5,966 words (one chapter)
Status: Incomplete
Review: Honestly, I’m really not a fan of when stories begin with a lengthy expository recap of events in the prior story. There are ways to integrate that sort of information without having a “Previously on X:” feel to it. The story is aimed at fans of the Petriculture Cycle and assumes a great deal of lore knowledge to understand. I don’t see the point, honestly. That said, seeing Equestria Girls from the perspective of Pinkie and Penumbra instead of Twilight and Spike is sure to be a wild and wacky adventure. So far everyone seems in character and the idea is great. This looks very promising. If you’ve read the Petriculture Cycle through to Pandelirium, this ride is begging you to tag along.
Story: EG: Nyx and the Sunset
Author: Chaos Phantasm
Synopsis:
For one so young to be alone such as her would be to throw a child over a cliff. Darkness would surely take her and in the end starvation end her. She was alone in the world, nobody to care for her anymore, and just weeks after a tragedy that led her to this state. She was lost in the world, awaiting a fate she had no concept of.
She was wild when she found her, a little girl in rags, afraid of contact with strangers, with people who had showed her mistreatment since she had come to be homeless and in poverty. Still she took her in, and cared for her. They formed a bond that could be unbroken. A home provided, a person to count on, talk to, and care for her. Somebody to love her for who she is.
Length: 26,026 words over 4 chapters, averaging 6,507 words per chapter
Status: Incomplete
Review: Before I even started this fic, I had to admire both the writer’s bravery and thoughtful idea. After all, there are many haters of Pen Stroke’s Past Sins and its characters, especially those of its star, the reincarnated filly Nightmare Moon, Nyx. Sure, hundreds of people have written recursive fanfiction about Nyx and others have in fact made an entire following out of ripping off Pen’s universe and leeching off his fame (not naming names—you know who you / they are). This, however, appeared to offer something different with absolutely no intent to “better” the story or cash in on the universe like so many Displaced stories. So is it any good? Well…
Tell you what, it wastes absolutely no time trying to tug on your heartstrings. Trying being the operative word there. We’re obviously supposed to feel sorry for Nyx here, and we might if the narrative was less explicit about people not caring and just helped set the scene more. I was worried the prose would be a little boring when Sunset woke up and started going through motions of a morning ritual, but thankfully this didn’t last more than a couple paragraphs. I did notice that everyone likes to sigh a lot. Sunset’s feelings tend to flick between sad and happy like a light switch too. Oddly enough, the opening chapter seems to revolve around the Rainbooms and the Dazzlings a lot more. I feel the first chapter would have been stronger if Nyx wasn’t mentioned at all. The focus feels too schizophrenic, even with a third-person omniscient narration.
Grammar’s not the best, and there’s a lot of redundant tell where simple show would serve better without being followed by it. LUS is a mild annoyance but not a dealbreaker. Comma splices everywhere. Some characters take frequent missteps in logic. Yet for all its faults, it’s a charming little piece with its own unique spin on the original, like how Nyx gets caught in barbed wire instead of a thorn bush. The character voices are all decently solid at least, so that helps. A promising story with a lot of potential, but would benefit from a decent scrub and polish—much like the focus character, actually.
Now for a special special announcement. After twenty-two long and arduous months, thousands of man-hours, divided opinions across the fandom and back around again, and a whole lot of friendships forged in the process... I am beyond pleased to announce that Sunset of Time has finally come to its epic conclusion. If you have read this, you know it has been worth every word. If it's on your read-later, boost it higher up your queue. If you haven't thought to read it, or even heard of it before, then shame on you! Rectify that right now. SoT holds a special place in my heart for a multitude of reasons, not least the brilliant storytelling present. This should be read by everyone. It's the best damn ponyfic I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing.
The wheel of time turns, as destiny and history clash together.
Fifty years into the future, Sunset Shimmer is Princess Twilight Sparkle's most faithful student. She is smart and eager, but doesn't always think things through. Her life had been perfect, right up to the End of the World.
With a ruined future, Sunset travels into the past to alter the course of history. With only her mentor's cryptic word to go on, Sunset and the Elements of Harmony must solve the riddle of the Dark Regalia and stop the mysterious Vesper Radiance from rising to power. But the further Sunset goes, the more she feels like she's been through it all before.
Is destiny set in stone, or can Sunset shape her own future? Only time will tell.
Final score: 10/10
Length: 231,017 words over 26 chapters, averaging 8,885 words per chapter
Status: Complete(!!!)
Only 6 fics remaining on my RL list! Go ahead—pick the next one I should read.
Not just my seal of approval; I helped brainstorm it, am acting as an advisor to keep it canon to my AU and am acting as pre-reader. And since The Bean's the one who acted as my pre-reader/editor/advisor for Twilight's Inferno, yes, I think he'll do fine.
You should read The Evolution of Harmony! That one's on my RL list too, and I'd love to see how it holds up. My Little Economy is a bit of a weird one. Not necessarily bad... I don't know. Will be interesting to eventually see what you make of it.
You say you really like Twilight's Inferno but from the description that is one heck of a dark story. It doesn't sound like something I could handle.
3197524 was kind enough to point me in the direction of this review. Certainly an unexpected surprise, but not an unwelcome one. I actually got the idea for first-person-present-tense from the story Siren Song. Because of how well it put the reader into the protagonist's head, and that's what I wanted to go for with Green Leaf. Thanks for the shout out!
One story complete.
Two to go.
Plus some.
It will never end.
"Sunset of Time" is next in my queue. I remember following it until chapter 11, and I remember it being very good. Lets hope it still lives up to that.