Fic recs, December 17th! · 3:19pm Dec 17th, 2015
ShadowOfCygnus has released new readings of Pride by InquisitorM and The Saga of Dark Demon King Ravenblood Nightbane, Interior Design Alicorn by Bad Horse. The latter I’ve not reviewed because it remains sadly incomplete to this day, but suffice to say it’s one of my favorites. :D
Currently, I have all my stuff -- what stuff it is -- backed up on both my laptop and my external hard drives, and any new stuff (because I'm always getting new stuff) is being backed up daily. Because that's easy. <.< Next step is trying to recover the dead hard drive, which will happen maybe this weekend? I've looked into things, is what I'm saying.
Okay, so I'm still thinking about the season finale a lot, and I've got no better platform than this to dump my headcanons on you, because I don't think it'll be worth writing a story about. :B So the big question is always "what led to the wasteland", right? I once jokingly posited Trixie, and ROBCakeran wrote it serious. I've had a thought that it could have been Sunset Shimmer, with no Twilight to stop her school takeover, but that would insinuate a direct connection between show and movie canon that we're supposedly never going to get.
But what if it was no one?
What if Celestia didn't need Twilight to stop all those attacks? What if she herself destroyed Nightmare Moon, re-statued Discord, found Cadence to stop the changelings (admittedly, this one's hard to conceptualize), killed Sombra and returned Tirek to Tartarus all by herself? What if, in doing so, she used up all of her power, so that by the time Twilight arrives back in that timeline, the sun's been dead for a couple of years, and everything in Equestria along with it? What if Twilight's purpose wasn't to stop the monsters, but to keep Celestia from having to do it, because she knew what would happen?
Anyway, don't think I could make a decent story out of it. :B To the reviews! Shortfics this time around, plus review #2800! Also, this is the first review journal since I took my Patreon down. Kind of a weird feeling.
H: 2 R: 6 C: 7 V: 0 N: 0
Tempest by Cold in Gardez
Genre: Slice of Life
A pegasus teaches his son the finer aspects of weather control.
This is a very atmospheric and haunting piece. However, and it might be because I’ve read so much of Cold’s stuff, for all that this attempts to be poetic, the writing errors are pretty glaring. There’s a whole bunch of close repetitions, telling and spots where things just plain could have been worded better. Plus, I’m not sure who these characters are, though I don’t think I lost anything for it. This is definitely for those who aren’t hung up on word choices.
Recommended If You Value Function Over Form
Teacher's Favorite by Esle Ynopemos
Genre: Slice of Life
If Fluttershy’s such a weak flyer, why is she the teacher’s favorite?
Okay, once the teacher’s identity is given, it’s not too hard to figure out what’s going on here. What then makes this worth reading is the look into the life of a young Fluttershy struggling through flight school. That, and the prompt that spawned this piece seems pretty well geared toward Twilight and Celestia, so it’s neat seeing someone use other characters.
Recommended
110% by Chris
Genre: Comedy
Twilight and Rainbow Dash have slightly different coaching styles.
This won a writeoff at some point, and it’s easy to see why. “Twilight gets upset because Rainbow Dash pushes her students too hard” would be funny on its own, but hardly noteworthy. Instead, this story treats Rainbow as more than a one-note character, and her ability to turn the situation around on Twilight brings the story into a whole other class, pun unintended. It doesn’t even need more words!
Highly Recommended
Love Thine Enemy by Pascoite
Genre: Thriller
Princess Cadence debriefs one of her soldiers, back from the Bad Lands.
This is a quickly set up and executed piece that nevertheless works. It’s pretty unexpected, considering it seems, for most of the story, that all the action has already happened. But that’s not all there is to it, and the ending is pretty neato.
Recommended
Switched by Wanderer D
Genre: Drama
A dream leads to a startling revelation.
For a second, I thought this was going to be a comedy, but instead it’s a pre-S5 piece about Filthy Rich and a couple other ponies. It’s also more or less the first chapter to something longer that hasn’t been written yet, but for positing a very tantalizing idea, I liked it.
Recommended
Insomnishy by Ezn
Genre: Light Comedy
Going by the title, this is unsurprisingly a story about Fluttershy being unable to sleep. It’s equal parts cute and funny, though it feels a little rushed and is ultimately fairly predictable.
Recommended as Light Reading
A Very Difficult Insurance Claim by Nonagon
Genre: Comedy
A quick piece about the dangers inherent in Twilight’s life. It makes a whole lot of hilarious sense, when you think about it! :D
Recommended
”$%!+, It’s the Fuzz!” by FuzzyFurvert
Genre: EiH
This actually edges up on being pure non-pony fiction, a piece about a police officer taking a drunk back to the station and listening to his statement about encountering horse-shaped aliens in a field. What really stands out to me is a passage where said drunk inquires as to the well-being of the officer’s daughter; that really sold the rural, small-town setting. There seems to be a bit of stealth EQG in this (?), but bafflingly, the main plot is actually Twilestia. Not that it’s any surprise, there’s a link to the contest this was written for at the top, just that this is the damned strangest way of telling that kind of story I have ever seen. It honestly overrides any objections I would otherwise have, especially with the way the story unfolds. I was in stitches by the end. :D A shame it wasn’t valid for solo posting. If you’ve appreciated the way authors like Horse Voice have approached human-pony interactions, do yourself a favor and check this out.
Recommended
Worth the Risk by HoofAndQuill
Genre: Shipping
Fluttershy reflects on the dangers in her life.
I think the whole “life/friendship/love is an adventure” thing has more or less been done, but this is still a decent piece of Fluttershy POV.
Recommended for Shippers Only
Antithesis Statement by FanOfMostEverything
Genre: Comedy
Discord reflects on just what a poor planner he is.
This is not the kind of short comedy Discord tends to get. It’s actually quite fun, a bit of humor stemming from some deep reflection. Definitely worth the read.
Recommended
Darkness in the Sky by darf
Genre: Word Porn
This is the kind of thing I think of when I hear the name ‘darf’. It’s a convoluted ball of thesaurus abuse (well, ‘abuse’ might be strong, I’m sure it’s all very directed) with a slight Joycian penchant for neologisms. I think it’s a Luna and Nightmare Moon piece, but I honestly have no idea. It’s certainly fun to read!
Recommended If You Like Word Poetry
I Wasn’t Prepared for This! by Admiral Biscuit
Reading by ShadowOfCygnus
Genre: Slice of Life
Twilight discovers more changes than she thought came with her princess title.
This is one of those “it’s an idea, not a story” things. I mean, it doesn’t even have a proper ending. The mention of estrus cycles made me look askance, but the author’s notes actually clear up what was meant to be going on, and it’s a good bit more interesting than your average heatfic, even if the full details of the idea didn’t quite make it in. Again, this is decent, but really has no more content than the journal linked at the end.
Recommended as Light Reading
Seventeen Clouds by AugieDog
Review #2800!
Genre: Haiku
I like the distinction of English haiku; I’ve always been a haiku snob, but I can accept this. :V This is admittedly a tad repetitive, given that every seventeenth word is ‘clouds’, but on the other hand, it has seventeen things to say about clouds, and that rigid repetition makes for a tight cycle of poems.
Recommended for Poetry Fans
Cinderarity by Sharp Spark
Genre: Comedy
When everything goes wrong, Cinderarity will need all the help her fairy godmother can provide to make it to the Grand Ball on time.
This is a marvelous fractured fairy tale, one obviously told by Rarity, in which our heroine struggles with First World Problems and the inanities of life. What impressed me most was the ending, which surprised even as fairy tale subversions go. It ends up being a fun and funny look at Rarity with an excellent moral.
Highly Recommended
I Dream of Socks by Silvernis
Genre: Comedy
For all that ‘ponies in socks’ is such a done thing, I was highly amused by this short piece about Luna’s dreamtime encounters. Welcome to the newest addition to these journals!
Recommended for Laughs
Perhaps the most interesting idea I've seen for the wasteland timeline is that that's the world where the plundervines succeeded beyond Discord's wildest dreams, killing the Tree of Harmony and taking the world with it.
That would certainly explain why we never see her go all out on anyone.
~Skeeter The Lurker
It would certainly justify why she holds out when she very much could get involved; she probably knows that if she dies or loses control of the sun, Equestria is as good as screwed.
Personally, I say fuck logic and blame the G1 Smooze. Trixie probably summoned it. I can't think of any other thing in any of the ponyverses whose one sole purpose was to destroy everything.
3624246
Ooh, I like that one, too.
You know, for a minute I had to think 'who the heck is Horse Voice?' Then I remembered Biblical Monsters(which is on my fave list and one of the fics I've pointed out to nonfanfic readers as an example of excellent writing in fanfiction and ponyfiction specifically).
That's actually quiet a compliment. Thanks, PP. Honestly, I've been waiting for you to get around to that one. I was quiet interested in your take on it, since it's so different from my usual drivel.
Hmmmm:
If you're going through the poetry collection one by one, maybe I oughtta go back and reread the other early ones. Just to be on the safe side, y'know?
Mike
I love gooey clumps of sweet words. I am planting my flag in the darf story.
3624632
Ho ho! :V
3624713
I think it'll sound good, especially if you read it. :D
Glad you liked 110%! I also see you're almost at the end of my collection; I guess I'd better get off my butt and edit a few of the pieces of flashfiction I haven't added to it yet.
(Still holding out for my first NR, by the way)
3625401
NO DON'T DO IT LET ME FINISH D:
Wouldn't Luna's eternal night essentially create a wasteland? With no sun, there's nothing to drive the water cycle, so clouds stop bringing water inland, and no sun also means no photosynthesis, so goodbye to all plants and the animals that feed on them.
3625575
Not apparently given the conditions we saw in Nightmareverse! :B
It's not "incomplete" as in "more planned". It's "incomplete" as in "it's unconnected short stories, so I might add more." DDKRN, Sisters, Bedtime Stories, and Twilight Zone will always be marked incomplete.
I like the Steven Magnet idea. No idea yet what he might do.
3625979
You were serious about that.
Oh bother.
3625979
THEN I KNOW WHAT I MUST DO
3626224 Yes, PresentPerfect, but where will you get an industrial torch and a jar of Marmite at this time of night?
3626872
I have my sources. :V
I love that theory