Finished Favorites (25-1) · 5:24pm Dec 18th, 2015
All right, one last round, then I can move on to my Grand High Classics! Let's-a go!
TL;DR: Check out Twilight Sparkle of the Royal Guard, Mood Wings, An Academic Visit, Modern Medicine, A Change in Three Parts, Drawing Conclusions, Twilight Sparkle Gets a Free Salad, and... you know what, basically anything and everything by Chengar Qordath.
25. A Reasonable Response
The premise of this fic is basically that Twilight appears in this guy's backyard, but rather than shelter her or keep her from being found out, he immediately calls the police and turns her into a national spectacle. It... basically works out for him in the end, even though he broke his promise to her. I had an idea for a story similar to this at one point called "Ten Thousand Dollars." ...Anyway. This story wasn't a big deal, but it's one long, 16K-word piece, so maybe you'd like to check it out.
24. Second Sun
This fic is kind of awesome, in a bizarre way. Princess Celestia, in a fit of frustration, breaks herself apart into two separate ponies: her id and her superego. (I... think that's a spoiler, but it's also kind of the premise of the story, so...) The id version of her is completely out of control, so Twilight and co. need to wrangle her into fusing back with the superego. It's actually a lot of fun; I even think it does the "id as separate pony" better than "Green" did.
23. Princess Twilight's Protector and the Prankster Pests
This one is part of the Winningverse, and it's actually a sequel to this fic, which I didn't even favorite because I thought it was, frankly, kind of cliche. But this one's a little better! Chengar Qordath, as great a writer as they are, always struggles with making character dialogue too explain-y, and this one's no exception. It's about Twilight's new guardspony trying to protect her from Rainbow Dash, Sparkler Doo, and Star Kicker, who are trying to prank the two of them as much as possible. It's a silly little thing, with the guardspony playing the straight pony, so... if you like that sort of thing, maybe give it a looksee.
22. Mate in Five Moves
A RariPie story about Pinkie being awesome at chess. I've always liked Pinkie (as may be evidenced by my "Pinkie the Genius" meditations), so reading a cute little fic like this is a lot of fun. Oh, and this fic also has exactly five chapters, so that's a sneaky little trick, there.
21. The Sweet Meet and Greet
These are one of my favorite kinds of fics: explaining sections of the canon that have only been lightly hinted at. In this case, we're looking at Pinkie Pie's first few days at Sugar Cube Corner. I don't... quite remember how this went, but it was probably good. Not as good as Slice of Pony Life's explanation (Part 1, Part 2), I'm sure, but fun nonetheless.
20. The Clock is Ticking
...Why do I keep putting terrible sex comedies on my Favorites list? The "clock" in the title is the vaunted biological clock. Pinkie wants to have a baby, but she's dating Rainbow Dash, who is notably not a stallion. Twilight, er, makes her a stallion, then they try and have a kid. But shock of shocks! They keep getting interrupted by sexist wackiness! Seriously, don't read this.
19. Twilight Sparkle of the Royal Guard
Awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome. This one's in my Grand High Classics, too. Basically, it's under the idea that Twilight went to the Royal Guard instead of Shining, and Shining became Celestia's student instead of Twilight. So Twilight meets Princess Cadance and becomes her bodyguard, they travel out to the desert to avoid the return of Night Mare Moon, but strange things start to happen. I'm not gonna spoil anymore, because seriously, go read this!
18. Mood Wings
This is an extremely well-known fic. You could basically write any sort of pegasus reflex in your story, and if your readers were confused, say, "You know, just like 'Mood Wings,'" and they'd nod and keep on reading. It really is a foundational fic in this fandom, so go check it out!
17. For Want of a Book
I...really don't remember this fic, which is odd, considering how recently I must have read it. ...Ah, that's right. Skimming it, I remember it now. Basically, it's about her trying to find a book with no title in a labyrinthine library. The ultimate moral is to teach Twilight the value of fiction. Also, there's an odd cameo, but I'll let you see that for yourself.
16. An Academic Visit
This one is fascinating (and a lot... shorter than I remember it being). A pony scholar visits the Griffon Republic, who have opened a portal to a human outpost. There's a lot of great stuff going on, with politics, language, science, and psychology all playing a part. You've gotta read this one.
15. The Witch of the Everfree
This is another Sunset Shimmer story, where instead of escaping into the EqG mirror, she ran to the Everfree Forest and became a mysterious, ghostly figure. It's a charming little story, not perfectly written, I'll admit, but fun still the same. Is Chengar Qordath's version better? Probably. But this one has its merits, too.
14. Modern Medicine
This story is fascinating. It's kind of a spiritual successor to "A Change in Three Parts," which is in my Grand High Classics. Where that one was about the personal and societal costs of scientific advancement, this one is about the cost of eradicating death itself. That's not... really a spoiler, but you've got to read this one to learn more about it. GaPJaxie's pretty great, so give this one a look.
13. I Am Not the Actor
This is one of many "The wrong Pinkie gets sent to the mirror pool" type stories I've seen. I think this one is probably one of the better ones I've read. The fake Pinkie tries really hard to be as good as Pinkie in everything she did, but she just can't quite do it. But maybe that's not what she should be doing, in the end? I don't think I'll give it a full recommendation, but it's probably worth checking out if you like "Clone Pinkie" stories and want to read another one.
12. Inexcusable
This is actually a sequel to another story, but this one takes the concept "If You Came to Conquer" set up and really runs with it. The premise is this: The Luna we've seen is actually a contrite Night Mare Moon, trying as hard as she can to pretend to be Luna again and act as though everything is okay. But the Night Mare is a monster, and she's willing to do monstrous things Luna (and Celestia) would never do. This story starts with her killing Tirek, then all sorts of crazy time travel shenanigans ensue. Give it a look if you're interested.
11. If Horses Had Gods
Ponky is a great writer, but before I go any further in this review, I feel it only fair to mention that he's a Mormon, and that peppers the execution of this story. But for what it is, I think he does a remarkable job. All Twilight does is ask her friends one simple question: "Do you believe in God?" She gets a bunch of different answers: monotheistic, atheistic, polytheistic, and so on. Rainbow (the atheist) is... kind of a jerk, but her position seems pretty reasonable. It's a short read, and it's quite good for what it is, so if you like religious stuff, maybe check it out.
10. A Guide to Magic
Ah, another fic I can lump into a big group. This one is "earth pony tries to enter Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns." This one's probably not as good as The Moon, The Flower, and the Door, but it does have its own identity, so I'd say check it out. It's about Apple Bloom trying to use the potion-making skills she learned from Zecora and Twilight to prove she's worth her salt. Bet you can probably guess how it ends. :P
9. A Change in Three Parts
...Oh. Here it is! I thought it was in my GHC. Looking at it again, I remember why I put it here. It's a fascinating little fic that raises a lot of questions. Wait... I already said that. :P Okay, here's something new. The reason why I ultimately decided it wasn't a GHC was because he botched the landing. First, he's much too idealistic about the implementation of science; the ending literally says that society-wide change can occur in less than three years. Second, he intentionally made all of the characters' arguments against the MC logical fallacies. And yet I still think they're pretty reasonable, fallacious reasoning aside! I don't know. I was a bit disappointed after reading such a thought-provoking fic to see the deck stacked so much in one direction. Still, though, if the dramatic reading I did for this story didn't clue you in, I still really like this fic.
8. Humans Don't Have Wings
This fic is pretty good, but the ending is so heavily telegraphed I'm just gonna spoil it for you. It's Rainbow Dash herself; she's the human. She's like Lyra from Anthropology, thrown into Equestria as a baby. She hates humans because she was one long ago, and she hates the fact that, well, they don't have wings. See, that's why I had to spoil it. The spoiler is literally the title of the story! Anyway, it's all right. Check it out if you like that sort of thing.
7. Pandelirium
Part of the Inscape series. While the other ones are really great explorations of the ideas of truth, existence, fear, and happiness, this one's kinda... eh. Although this one does have The Great and Powerful Trixie with a fascinating take on the concepts developed in the previous stories, so... huh. I dunno. I like it, but I kinda don't, but it works... I guess I'm kinda torn. Oh, and the chapter numbering is backwards, because... Discord, I guess? >_>
6. From Princess Twilight Sparkle, something something Family Reunion
This fic is goofy. It's a letter after a disastrous family reunion Twilight planned. It's... honestly pretty tough to explain the humor on this one, so go read it for yourself.
5. Freeport Venture: Auction Night
Okay, Chengar Qordath's gonna show up a lot, since they have, what, four 'verses going at the same time? This one's part of the Freeport Venture series, with Sunset Shimmer as the Grand Magus of Freeport. It's... kind of disappointing, actually. For all its setup about this auction, she basically stomps in, bids an arbitrarily high amount for the thing she's purchasing, then there's a brief, weak fight scene, and then it just ends. But it is Chengar Qordath, which means every word and scene drips with character and setting flavor. If you love Chengar Qordath, even this little tidbit, weak as it is, is more of that CQ writing you love so much.
4. Freeport Venture: The Hunted
Speaking of which, here's yet another Freeport story. This one was CQ's Halloween special. CQ's Free Changelings are fascinating, especially their curious speech affectation (which is important in this fic, by the way), so getting a whole story about the adorable Kukri Doo was a delight. Honestly, this one's a lot better than "Auction Night," but it too is a bit too quickly over. Okay, I'm not saying I want "Winning Pony" or "Freeport Venture"-length stories all the time, but still, the pacing is kind of off, even for shorter stories like this.
But it is Chengar Qordath, which means every word and scene drips with character and setting flavor. If you love Chengar Qordath, even this little tidbit, weak as it is, is more of that CQ writing you love so much.
3. Drawing Conclusions
As soon as I read this fic, I knew. Mmm! It's just... an absolute treasure of a read. The fire and heart Sci-Twi has in this fic for Sunset is just overwhelming. I can't recommend reading it enough. As the sort of kid who had these sorts of life-consuming crushes, it really resonates with me. ...Oh my gosh, the author of this fic is actually an alt of Short Skirts & Explosions?! That explains so much.
2. Keep on Twying
This fic is... hmm. It's... something else. It... you know, I really can't explain it. It's a story of mystery, of despair, of terror and heartbreak. I really can't... recommend it, but it... I don't know. Tuhka, you've broken me! XD
1. Twilight Sparkle Gets a Free Salad
Ah, this is much easier to explain! Basically, Twilight blows up a restaurant because they won't give her a free salad. Shenanigans ensue. It's great. It has just the right amount of wackiness that it feels natural without being overbearing. I actually like it a lot more than similar stories I've read, like the one where Pinkie organizes a casino heist, or that one that hit the featured box recently where Spike asks why Starlight didn't just go back and time and fix her relationship with what's-his-name. I'd put it up there with that great one about the librarians asking mares how old they are, whose title I can't find because I didn't favorite it, again, like an idiot. But no, this story is great! :D
Phew! Finally, done with those. Now it's time for my Grand High Classics! I've got so many great fics in store for you there. You can check out the list for yourself, but here are some of the highlights: A fic about Twilight in 18th-century France. A fic where the shipping actually doesn't work out. The fic that made me decide to become an editor. A fic about Rainbow Dash being summoned by the LHC. A fic about zombies. The only fic I know of that literally starts with "What? I have a crush on her?" and ends with the ship getting married. A fic about dying, a fic about being absorbed by a computer, a fic about being absorbed into your best friend, a fic about being from your best friend's brain. Seriously, I am ridiculously excited to share all my favorite fics with you. Get hyped!
Woah. What story could have done that?
3626525
You'll find oooout!
3626525 Well, I know I twisted his arm into helping edit Two Unicorns at one time, but I hope that's not it. Generally, a story that makes you want to help edit is one with a good plot but such horrible writing that you want to walk up to the author and yell, "Gimme that! Now, what were you trying to say here? Because what you wrote makes no sense."