Multiple short stories, by: Japanese Teeth · 4:13pm Jun 1st, 2016
This one is going to be a bit different. As the title says, I’m not reviewing a single story, but rather a collection multiple short stories from the same author. Which means the format will be a slight bit different, but not very. The stories are all similar enough in most aspects that everything except the “Story” portion will be looking at the stories as a whole and referring to all of them. While each one will have it’s own little section in the “Story” portion. So lets take a look at this body of work.
Why did having a parasprite eat her slice of pie make Lyra cry? Turns out that it was simply the capstone of a day in which nothing went right. Where Lyra dealt with disaster after disaster after accident. All very well done. While the shear amount of stuff she goes through over a single day could seem absurd, every single one of the accidents is just that, an accident. They are all just low key and ordinary enough that they don’t feel absurd, and even how many of them happen is spaced out well enough, or the result of a chain of causality that, it never goes to far. And in one case, tied into the episdoe of the show she is living through, with Pinkie ‘borrowing’ an instrument from her. The concept could easily come off as absurd or over done, or make it hard to care when everything is just so bad, but the story keeps it fun, lighthearted, the issues really are not that bad, it’s just how many of them in a row she goes through that makes the Parasprite eating that slice of pie the last straw.
Pinkie Pie has found her dream stallion. A famous rocker puts on a show in Ponyville with her friends taking her to try and cheer her up after a party she’d been planning gets cancelled. And a long standing debate among them is settled when they finally figure out what is Pinkie Pie’s “Type” when it comes to stallion, she is a party sexual, and Mosh Whiplash (A ponified Andrew WK) Could party even harder then her. But when she tries to meet him after the show, she finds out that while he’s her dream she simply isn’t his type. Turns out, he likes mares with a bit of extra padding, and despite her diet of every sugary thing in sight, Pinkie’s metabolism keeps her at no more then “Pleasantly Plump” And so she embarks on various wacky schemes to put on weight before the rocker leaves town. Not a whole lot to say, that description pretty much says it all. Pinkie’s schemes are funny, and make Pinkie Logic sense. The story does a good job of keeping it ambiguous just what type of “Partying” is going on in the trailer, it could be the regular g-rated stuff you’d expect in the show, or, it could be what you’d expect a hard partying rocker to be doing after a show when surrounded by mares. But, not a whole lot else to say about it.
After the fight with the Plunder Vines Twilight stops by to see her parents, needing a touch of ‘normalcy’ after all the changes that have gone on in her life recently. A touch of nostalgia makes her realize she still his a tiny bit of Zecora’s potion on her, maybe it could be fun to go relive a bit of her fillyhood. But she overdoes it, going back to before she was born...... about nine months before she was born. (Or however long pony gestation is.) The slow dawning realization as she finds out just what is going on is amazing, and the story really captures Twilight’s emotions and the general sense of nostalgia, her attempting to process all the changes in her life, the memories brought on by being back in her old house. It truly is a fun read, even before you get to the big pay off at the end.
Twilight has invented a device that will reshape all of Equestria. The Longevox! Allowing two ponies, anywhere in the world to talk to each other instantly. Of course, she kind of forgot that she’d need to build two of them to actually test it out, oh well that can wait till after some sleep. Wait, why is it ringing? And what ensues is the most hilarious take on one of the oldest, most overused and cliched prank calls ever. Can’t say much more this time, but more because anything else I could say would spoil the whole thing. And yes, this story contains much sleep deprived Twilight being the lovable, if borderline insane, adorkable pony we love.
After getting to know her sister’s friends, Maud has a request of one of them. Specifically, Fluttershy. Turns out, to the surprise of nopony, she wants to be a rock, and Fluttershy knows a cockatrice that just might be able to help. But will it be everything she thought it would be? And yes this was written long before her wishing to be a rock was explicitly canon.
Luna needs to have a talk with her big sister. Celestia’s latest hobby is simply getting out of hoof and she is spending far to many bits creating elaborate stained glass windows for every little event. Something needs to be done. This is hooves down my favorite of these stories, just a talk between sisters that starts off about something, rather absurd, and yet ends up revealing a lot of depth about each of them, and leads to a much deeper understanding between them. All while being lighthearted and fun. Proof, yet again, that yes, just because you are being silly, doesn’t mean you can’t have a point.
Rainbow Dash and the Feather Flu Vaccine.
RD is all set to join the Wonderbolt’s Academy, though Twi notices she’s forgetting one important piece of paperwork from the checklist, her vaccination records. Turns out, it’s because RD hasn’t had any. Well, that’s easy enough to fix, it’s not Rainbow Dash of all ponies would be terrified of needles.... right?
Twilight Sparkle Versus Exercise.
Twi realizes she needs to get in shape, and maybe cut back on the Hayburger binges. So she decides to start an exercise routine, but needs a bit of a pep talk from RD to actually stick with it. This, is the weakest of the entire lot IMO. It’s the only one where any of the characters feel OOC, or more specifically where a pony who we know is smarter then this, holds the idiot ball. There is no way Twilight Sparkle of all ponies, after researching everything she did about this stuff, wouldn’t have had a checklist, for her checklist, of safety precautions, and right up at the top would be, don’t bench press without a spotter. And the whole thing, just, kind of feels flat. It feels like RD is just giving Twilight some school PSA about the importance of exercise, including a rather contrived set up to give her a reason to.
And we come to the final one of these, and also the odd mare out of the group. All the rest are just cute, fun, lighthearted, slice of life comedies. This is a much sadder story, no humor, no hijinks, Just a heartfelt letter from Celestia to Luna at some point after her banishment to the moon. But it’s not sad in a bad way, it’s Celestia missing her sister, trying to express just how much pain and regret she feels over not having done something to help Luna before it was to late, at having to take the steps she did. Yes, it is sad, but also touching, and we know that, in the end, these two will be reunited. Just an incredibly heart-touching insight into how, while yes Luna was banished to the Moon, she was not the only sister suffering for those thousand years.
Characters: You likely noticed that the “Story” section was rather light, mostly just a summery and maybe a few quick reactions. That’s because for all of these, the narrative really is little more then an excuse, a framework for the true point to the stories. The characters. Giving them something to react with, or placing them together to interact with each other. It is the character and their reactions and interactions that make these stories. With very few exceptions there are no OC’s, no new additions, simply the Mane 6 and/or the Princesses being themselves. (Yes, with the above exception of Twilight failing to follow basic safety precautions while lifting weights) Yes with the notable exception of the Lyra story. And his take on her is also very sweet. A bit more toned down then your usual take on Lyra, but still with her own little quirks.
And these stories nail the character, it really does feel like it is them, you can hear their voices in the writing. Their reactions are all natural feeling. From the other Mane 6′s exasperation at what seems like Twilight going off on another sleep deprivation induced breakdown, To Twi’s gentle, and not so gentle, pushing of RD to just get the damn shot. To some truly tender, heartfelt moments, such as between Luna and Celestia, or Pinkie and Maud. It’s what makes what could have been an absurd work of implausible or maybe mean spirited feeling disaster after disaster work. Because the focus is never on those disasters, but rather on Lyra’s reaction to them, and the slow, gradual building of her tension, her stress, until it all finally breaks when the Parasprite eats her pie.
The set up really doesn’t matter, they are just ways to get the characters into certain places to deal with certain issues, and no matter what those are, the characters are always an absolute blast to see.
Engagement: Not a huge factor in these stories, given how short they all are, each of them being very easily to quickly get through. And yet, still they are amazing fun, the humor and characters making every page a treat, making you want more, while not being overplayed. A very fun set of stories that it’s easy to quickly read through, and each of which is thoroughly enjoyable in its own right. As well as just having so much to enjoy and so many good bits, they are easy to read over and over again.
Ponyness: Another high point of these works. J-Teeth is a massive proponent of Original Flavor fics, and it shows. Every one of these stories would perfectly fit in in Equestria. And most would be perfectly at home as part of the show. Barring a few choices if subject matter that are a bit to risque for a ‘kids’ show, but which do make perfect sense to exist in this world and are still handled well. It keeps the same mood and tone of the show, funny, but not letting that get in the way of character growth or serious moments. Just all around a perfect set of stories if you simply want more of what the show gives us.
Overall: Going to group these up by rating.
Fair:
-Twilight Sparkle Versus Exercise. As I said, my least favorite of the group. Twi holds a bit of an Idiot Ball, and RD’s speech feels more like some PSA about exercise then being natural. But it still has plenty of cute little moments and great interaction between RD and Twi.
Good:
-Lyra’s Lousy Day
-Pinkie Bulks Up
- A Rock and a Hard Place
Just good, basic, fun stories. For all the reasons listed above
Great
-Crashback
-Equestria’s First Prank Call
-Rainbow Dash Versus the Feather Flu Vaccine
As above, but these one I simply found to be more hilarious, the jokes were funnier, the set up more interesting, the interactions just a but more engaging, and overall story just more fun to read.
Incredible:
-Window Dressing. As I said, my favorite of the shorts. Both in how hilarious Tia’s window obsession gets, and for how it can use this to make a very amazing point about both Sister’s desires, their conflict between Luna wanting her subjects to take her seriously, respect her, and Celestia wanting ponies to lighten up around her once and awhile, not take everything about her SO seriously. And both coming form places that make sense.
-Between Sisters. The odd mare out, this really is a great, touching bit of exploring just how much it did hurt Celestia as well to be separated from her Sister. That it was as much a punishment for her own failings to help Luna before it was to late, as it was for Luna herself. Showing how strong their bond was, how much she truly does love her sister.
As to over overall, just an amazing little collection of one shots, each with their own charm to them, and each worth checking out.
