Read It Later Reviews #64 – What Do You Do With a Drunken Unicorn?; What Do You Do With a Drunken Princess?; Whatever Happened to Captain Cloudsdale?; By Process of Elimination; Business in the Front, Party in the Back · 7:12pm Jan 24th, 2017
There are some writers who have little universes of their own. A writer who writes a bunch of stories in the same continuity. This can lead to a lot of fun, as we can see hints of future stories in past ones, and vice-versa, and there’s a sort of interwoven tapestry between them. From Ghost of Heraclitus’s Civil Service stories, to Skywriter’s Cadance of Cloudsdale cycle, to Estee’s Tryptich verse, there’s a lot of fun to be had in these stories.
Tumbleweed is a good writer who has his own little universe, a much lower-key continuity, without any features you couldn’t find in the show (well, save for drinking and lesbians). There are fun little tie-ins between the stories, and you can see hints of future relationships and developments between the stories, as well as references to past ones – and yet, they mostly stand alone pretty well.
But what really makes them is his writing style. He does a good job with the voicing of the mane cast, taking the characters at a slightly more extreme point than the show does and making excellent use of them. His stories are a blast precisely because of the silly interplay between the characters, and there’s tons of funny little bits spread out through all of them. As well as a bit of shameless implications of shipping which manage to go a long way.
As such, I thought it would be nice to review a number of his stories I have hithero not reviewed (or in some cases, yet read).
Today’s stories:
What Do You Do With a Drunken Unicorn? by Tumbleweed
What Do You Do With a Drunken Princess? by Tumbleweed
Whatever Happened to Captain Cloudsdale? by Tumbleweed
By Process of Elimination by Tumbleweed
Business in the Front, Party in the Back by Tumbleweed
What Do You Do With a Drunken Unicorn?
by Tumbleweed
Comedy, Slice of Life
1,971 wordsThe girls get together to have a few drinks. Silliness ensues.
Why I added it: I read it a long time ago and wanted to review its sequel.
Review
This is a short little comedic slice of life piece focused on Twilight getting drunk at a little Tuesday night party with her friends.
This is perhaps one of the more believable stories along these lines that I’ve read – Twilight loses her filter, but is still very much herself, while Rainbow Dash is crude and embarrasses Applejack. Meanwhile, Pinkie is an enabler and the others are themselves (and probably not drunk at all, because they know that it is a Tuesday night and they shouldn’t get totally soused). Fluttershy is adorably supportive, and the dialogue here is quite amusing.
That being said, in the end, not much really happens, though Twilight does learn a Very Special Lesson™ about friendship and drinking.
In the end, this story made me smile, but it is pretty lightweight.
Recommendation: Worth Reading if the premise is up your alley.
What Do You Do With a Drunken Princess?
by Tumbleweed
Comedy, Random, Slice of Life
9,772 wordsTwilight Sparkle hosts a gathering for all the other pretty pony princesses at her magical castle. Sometimes, even royalty needs to let their hair down, right?
Hitting the liquor cabinet is a very important part of that process.
Why I added it: Tumbleweed is a good writer.
Review
Twilight invites the other three princesses over to her castle for a princess party. Of course, Twilight didn’t quite realize it was just a party – after all, it seems like every time they get together, something calamitous is waiting in the wings, or some lesson is lurking in the shadows, waiting for Twilight to learn it.
But it turns out, not every night has to have some deeper meaning behind it.
Plus, Princess Cadance and Princess Luna are loud drunks.
This is a rather silly story, and I suspect it is not something that everyone is going to enjoy. Much like its prequel, What Do You Do With a Drunken Unicorn, not all that much really happens in the end, and Twilight doesn’t really learn anything from the experience, still being something of a neurotic wreck.
On the other hand, I know there’s a market for people who like reading about ponies getting drunk, and for those people, this is a story about the princesses getting drunk – and while they get a bit wild and reckless, they actually don’t get too bad (well, except for Luna, but that’s to be expected). Cadance decides to act like a teenager and blow off some steam, while Celestia is a fairly mellow drunk, even if she thinks back on a few things from her younger days.
And of course, Twilight remains no fun. 
The lack of anything really happening, or much in the way of coherent character development, makes it hard for me to love this story at the length of over 9,000 words – but at the same time, there’s a bunch of silly little moments in here, and while Twilight is “no fun” in the story, her being somewhat inebriated (and wanting to impress Princess Celestia) bringing out her worried, neurotic side is something I find entirely believable.
Note that, while this is listed as a sequel, it isn’t really necessary to read What Would You Do With a Drunken Unicorn? to understand this story, though most likely, if you’d enjoy this story, you’d probably enjoy that one as well.
Recommendation: If you’re the sort of person to whom the premise has a great deal of intrinsic appeal, and don’t mind the story ultimately not really going anywhere, you’ll likely not be disappointed. If you're looking for something which goes somewhere, you're apt to feel like this lacks direction.
Whatever Happened to Captain Cloudsdale?
by Tumbleweed
Adventure, Comedy
8,313 wordsA masked and mysterious pony has come to Ponyville! He's looking for the bravest, strongest pony in town- and where better to start, than with Rainbow Dash?
Why I added it: I read it a while ago and enjoyed it.
Review
A costumed hero named Captain Cloudsdale comes to Ponyville and helps Rainbow Dash break up a tornado. But that isn’t his real reason for coming – no, he’s looking for the strongest, bravest pony in town to help him on his quest.
So naturally, he asks Rainbow Dash whether she knows where the Mysterious Mare Do Well lives.
But things get more complicated – there’s an angry wyvern out in the Everfree Forest, and according to public records, Captain Cloudsdale has been missing for sixty years…
This is a fun little romp with a surprisingly low viewcount. It is a compact little story full of fun little character moments and some solidly in-character dialogue – Tumbleweed has a very fun way of writing Rainbow Dash, and the story has a lot of fun little gags in it. It kept me smiling the whole way through, and while the story was fairly basic, it manages to accomplish its goal while simultaneously being fun to get through.
Recommendation: Worth Reading
By Process of Elimination
by Tumbleweed
Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life
2,857 wordsPinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash got to go to the Griffin Kingdom.
Rarity and Applejack got to go to Manehattan.
Stuck in Ponyville without any magical Friendship Quests to go on, Twilight can do little but try to unlock the secrets of the Cutie Map herself. Fluttershy tries to help.
It doesn't go well.
Why I added it: Tumbleweed is a good writer.
Review
Set in the same continuity as Tumbleweed’s other stories, this one is set during Rarity and Applejack’s trip to Manehattan. Twilight is stuck sitting around her castle and is contemplating what is going on, when Fluttershy shows up and has a brief chat with her.
During the conversation, Twilight discovers that Rarity and Applejack are together, and thinking back, remembers Rainbow Dash seeming a little bit upset at the idea that Twilight might be interested in Pinkie Pie back in Strange Bedfillies (which I have previously reviewed here).
By process of elimination, that leaves her and Fluttershy. But they don’t have feelings for each other, right?
Of course not. That’s silly! It isn’t like Twilight has feelings for Fluttershy. Or Fluttershy has feelings for her. And it would be terrible if they had to get together to make the table’s magic work.
Or at least, Fluttershy thinks so. 
This is a silly little TwiShy story which reminded me in some ways of Horizon’s Demense for Sale. Fluttershy is adorable here, and Twilight’s obliviousness and vacillation (and a bit of loneliness mixed in) makes for some funny interplay when Fluttershy starts talking about awkward subject matters.
This isn’t a serious shipfic, but that isn’t a bad thing, and for all that, there’s a pretty cute idea here. Twilight and Fluttershy are wonderfully awkward here, both in general and with each other, and it is a little bit sweet. If you’re in the market for something silly and ponies contemplating nuzzling by process of elimination, this might just make you smile.
Recommendation: Worth Reading.
Business in the Front, Party in the Back
by Tumbleweed
Comedy, Random, Slice of Life
2,254 wordsApplejack gets a new haircut.
Rarity does not approve.
Why I added it: Tumbleweed is a good writer.
Review
Applejack shows up at Rarity’s boutique with some much-needed nourishment for the fashionista. Naturally, Rarity, being the polite pony that she is, invites Applejack to join her for a meal, and even manages to get Applejack to take off her hat.
That’s when she sees… the haircut. A crime against all good things in life that must be rectified.
This is nothing more than a bit of silliness at a rather tired Rarity freaking out over Applejack’s new haircut, but it is fun at that – the dialogue is spot-on and the overall situation is amusing enough for what it is. It is always enjoyable watching Rarity and Applejack bounce off of each other, and while it doesn’t end on quite the strongest of notes, it is a short read and it made me smile.
Recommendation: Worth Reading if you’re up for a spot of silliness.
Summary
What Do You Do With a Drunken Unicorn? by Tumbleweed
Worth Reading
What Do You Do With a Drunken Princess? by Tumbleweed
Not Recommended
Whatever Happened to Captain Cloudsdale? by Tumbleweed
Worth Reading
By Process of Elimination by Tumbleweed
Worth Reading
Business in the Front, Party in the Back by Tumbleweed
Worth Reading
And there we go! Five stories I have been remiss in reviewing.
Don’t mind the flying pigs.
But I’m far from done. I’ve got another set of Recommended Story Reviews which is at 4/5 stories. I’ve got Bookplayer’s book sitting here on my desk with a bookmark in it. I’ve got a lot more of Skywriter, Tumbleweed, Absolute Anonymous, Estee, and Cold In Gardez stories to read. As well as a whole bunch more stories by countless other writers. I mean, just look at the end of this post.
Thousands!
For months I’ve been remiss in doing… well, much of anything of value. But I managed to spend the last three and a half hours doing stuff, and it felt good.
Let’s see if I can keep it up.
Number of stories still listed as Read It Sooner: 164
Number of stories still listed as Read It Later: 577
Number of stories listed as Read It Eventually: 2108
That should be [ /i], not which causes the rest of the review to be italicized.
Everything is in italaics! Or is it just that my head is leaning to the left?
4395082
Fixed!
Oh wow, I get a featured bit? This really did make my day. Thanks for reading!
I'm also kind of surprised you didn't review "I am Trying to Break Your Heart," as that's the Rarijackiest of my stuff. Unless you did it before and I just forgot? :)
Anyway, the continuity thing is kind of funny, as I never really set out to create a 'Tumbleverse' or anything (even if that has a nice ring to it). It's just, well, continuity and running gags are fun. Plus, I try to keep my fanfic 'compatible' with the show-- well, except for the drinking and swearing and crossovers and lesbians --but still.
I am a little curious, however-- do you read EQG stuff as well? As I started playing around in that sandbox last year, and it seems to have been received pretty well. A lot of it was fun to write, at the very least. Plus, writing characters with HANDS makes a huge, huge difference. :)
Anyway, thanks again! I'm gonna have to keep an eye on your blog to see if there are any other Author-centric reviews. :)
4395112
You're a good writer and I enjoy your stuff.
I have, but it hasn't been posted yet - it will be in my next Recommended Story Reviews post (posts which are devoted to nothing but stories I've previously read from my favorites list - basically, stuff I liked a lot which I read before I started doing reviews).
Yeah, it is a fun thing running between your stories. Plus you make fun use of stuff from the show.
I haven't read any of those stories yet, I'm afraid.
Man, I feel that end note. :B