Fic recs, October 19th! · 4:29pm Oct 19th, 2016
What have I been doing lately? O.o It feels like it's been a week since the last time I did one of these! I don't actually have any news this time, so head below for reviews of The Brightest Timeline by protractror, BillyColt's I Have a Hat, To Dethrone a Princess by Codex Ex Equus and a whole bunch more!
H: 3 R: 1 C: 1 V: 2 N: 1
Firstly, The Adventures of Batsy Fluffentuft the Magnificent finally updated, and… I tried to give it a chance, but I quit. Not only is the new chapter about her trying to take a shower — something one of the entrants in ocalhoun's contest already wrote about — not only does the combination of her sexual appetite and otherwise innocent outlook remain offputting, but now she's doing numerous things that are actually illegal. (Well, that's apparently something that happened in chapter 1. I guess it's not that memorable, either.) I can't stand it, I don't think it's going to get any better, and I'm done.
Not Recommended: DNF 2/???
The Brightest Timeline by protractror
Reading by Scribbler, Shellah and Ribon Chan
Genre: Drama
A conversation about the nature of the universe sends Pinkie Pie into an existential crisis.
This is fantastic because at its core, it's about how big Pinkie's heart is, and how, despite being innocent, she can nevertheless grasp universal concepts with ease and apply her own brand of naive joy to them. Well, maybe "joy" isn't quite the right word, since the end result sends her off to cry in her room. But really, I love how earnest a defense of Pinkie this is, and there's enough comedy, and even some interesting world-building, around the edges to keep it from being dour.
Highly Recommended
Earning Her Stripes by ocalhoun
Reading by Scarlett Blade
Genre: Drama
Rarity's friends stumble onto her darkest secret.
Man, I don't even. The first half of this story, all I could think was "Damn, Rarity's racist". The latter half, my thoughts were consumed by how badly it fails the Zecora Test. But all talk of cultural appropriation aside, this falls flat for two reasons: it rushes through its idea, and it doesn't make a point. On the positive side, Zecora's open welcome of Rarity was refreshing, and Twilight and Rainbow are Good Friends the entire time. I hate to crap on an author twice in one journal, but I don't plan these things out. D: All I can say is at least this had some personal value to one commenter.
Not Recommended
I Have a Hat by BillyColt
Genre: AU
Upstart is sure the magician is the unicorn he met in the woods. But of course, unicorns don't exist.
This is pretty remarkable. I was reminded of ToixStory's excellent Reach, in that this takes place in a world where everyone's an earth pony and no one remembers magic. It's populated by a magnificent cast of characters, whose dynamics are laid out in small ways, in real time. The setting is never described to us, inasmuch as images or scenery, but there is a definite sense of time and place to the piece. Really, there's nothing about this I dislike, and if you're interested in a setting rather distantly removed from the MLP we know, give this a try. It'll have you believing in magic by the end.
Highly Recommended
Family Resemblance by HapHazred
Reading by Scarlett Blade
Genre: Comedy
Fluttershy's father visits. He's big.
Obviously no longer canon, this is a one-joke fic that suffers from meandering and not having much of a point. I will say I got a couple chuckles, but the jokes don't so much misfire (with the exception of the last one) as simply don't exist. This leaves a bit of room for some heartwarming family bonding stuff, but beyond that, this is inoffensive as much as it is insubstantial.
Vaguely Recommended
Bastion by Cloud Hop
Reading by Solar Pony, et. al.
Genre: Slice of Life
Being Celestia's personal guard requires loyalty, dedication, and selflessness, to the point of having no friends.
This one didn't leave much of an impression on me, either. I like the idea behind Celestia's personal guard being this friendless near-pariah, but when the adorable filly in the story leaves me with a shrug, something is wrong. I can't honestly put my finger on anything that is wrong, save that this kind of beats the reader over the head with Bastion's circumstances and how nobly he's suffering. Overall, it's just kind of okay. Fans of the royal guard ponies might like it?
Vaguely Recommended
To Dethrone a Princess by Codex Ex Equus
Reading by Scarlett Blade
Reading by Savrin Drake
Genre: Comedy
With her guards incapacitated and her power stripped from her, Celestia faces the leaders of the coup in her throne room.
What a marvelous joyride this is. :D I, of course, am a huge Celestifag, so I enjoy stories about her being badass, especially when they come with a heaping helping of her putting dumb ponies in their place. If you like that sort of thing, you will adore this piece. If not, I think you can still appreciate the slow, natural build to the story's central joke, and the jokes derived from it in the denouement.
Recommended
From Princess Twilight Sparkle, President of the Twinkle-Nebula-Frie-Neutron Family Reunion by Georg
Reading by Scribbler
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Epistolary Comedy
Twilight's most recent family reunion was a bit larger than expected.
Two great comedies in a row? The readers spoil me sometimes. This is a hilarious look at a family reunion gone wrong, after the fact. The deadpan delivery fits Twilight well, and I just love the idea that her family are all math nerds. (Poor Spike, though.) No joke fails to hit the mark, and in all, it's a ridiculous romp of hilarity.
Highly Recommended
Canterlot Seven by LightOfTriumph
Genre: Dark
This reminds me of another piece with a similar idea, and I think this one pulls it off better. Sure, no points for guessing who kills the mares, but it's the reaction at the end that makes this work. Well, that and the very matter-of-fact, almost flippant narration. Quite a lot of typos, but otherwise a quick, effective read.
Recommended If You Like Dark Fics and Don't Mind Typos
Darnit! Just when I was getting my ego under control. Down, boy! Heel! Back into your cave!
I remember reading Georg's story during that Writeoff and loving every second of it.
I still pine for the day that PresentPerfect would check out more of my stories...
Argh! So many more fics to read! I can't keep up!
Definitely some quality stuff here, along with one or two I'll definitely need to check out. Needless to say, I adored The Brightest Timeline. It's hard for me to not appreciate a spin on multiple timelines.
I didn't really notice most of the typos in Canterlot Seven, and I usually do notice them. That's what happens when I really like a fic, I suppose. Also, being dense, I didn't see the ending coming, so it had much more impact on me.
4262250
I do the same thing. :B And it seemed like they were mostly constrained to the first half, oddly enough.
I'm glad you liked I Have a Hat! It's somewhat near and dear to me, so much so that I struggled with whether or not it was good enough to post for a few years.
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