Fic recs, March 6th! · 1:26pm Mar 6th, 2017
Stop the presses! FanOfMostEverything has started an Imposing Sovereigns Contest! Get ready to write about some crazy princesses!
There's also a Flashfic Group now, founded by Loganberry, and they're hosting their own contest starting April 1st!
Scribbler's newest reading is Jade Ring's A Girl Walks Home Alone at Midnight! ShadowOfCygnus read his own story, Fifteen Friendships!
I'm a whole chapter into PH4 already! :D And there's so much left to go. D: So it's time for minifics! I even finished a collection!
H: 3 R: 8 C: 7 V: 0 N: 0
How to Hold Your Lover's Hand by Cold in Gardez
Genre: Romance
This is ostensibly written about EQGs, but spoilers: it isn't. It's from one of the original fiction writeoffs, which are a thing, and CiG has cheated like a cheaty cheat butt to post it here. So you can imagine this is about any two characters you wish, really, maybe even more, and it won't matter. It's still absolutely fantastic flash fiction.
Highly Recommended
Inapropriate by Esle Ynopemos
Genre: Bittersweet
Pinkie Pie "helps" Applejack with the funeral arrangements.
This one's a little cringeworthy, given how, well, inappropriately Pinkie is acting, but the ending really saves it.
Recommended as Light Reading
Chickensitting by Esle Ynopemos
Genre: Comedy
Oh god, this is funny. I did not see the punchline coming. Furthermore, this deals with something I've not seen before: Scootaloo's opinion of Fluttershy. Which is not great, cockatrice incident aside. This is great fun, be sure to read it!
Recommended
A Good Night by Esle Ynopemos
Genre: What Happened Last Night
This is neat, because it involves six different accounts all fit into one very short story, yet none of them feels anemic. It's a bit more shippy than it is funny, but it definitely has a punchline. And hey, Twilight gets all the mares for once. :V
Recommended
Pony Poems by Pascoite
Genre: Poetry
This is a collection within a collection, with some author commentary besides. I think my favorite bit may just be the title of "Derping by Muffin on a Hungry Afternoon". :D It's genius. The rest of the poem itself is worth giving this an H, and it's all good poetry besides. Check it out.
Highly Recommended
For Great Justice by Nonagon
Genre: Mystery/Comedy
I'm surprised, with as few words as these stories are allowed, that this one had time for a fakeout. It made me laugh. :)
Recommended for Laugh!
Hungry by FuzzyFurvert
Genre: BDSM
I skipped the "Rarity" prompt because it's not a finished piece. Pretty good, though. Anyway, as the author's note says, this pushed the Teen rating to its breaking point. c.c It's a short, thoughtful piece about the appeal of domination, with Luna as the one tied up. I mean, if nothing else, that aspect isn't something I expected.
Recommended If You're Into That
The Final Spell of Princess Twilight Sparkle by HoofAndQuill
Genre: Slice of Life
So this kinda fits under the umbrella of Immortality Blues, but in doing so, presents a unique rebuttal to the entire concept. It's got some excellent misdirection, as well, as it seems obvious what that "final spell" is going to be. Hopefully that's not giving away too much. I was impressed by this!
Recommended
Peer Review by FanOfMostEverything
Genre: Magic: The Gathering Crossover
An MTG crossover in a collection of stories based off MTG cards. Who'da thunkit. This runs parallel to something else FOME has written, I'm pretty sure, as Derpy is a planeswalker. While I'm not exactly sure what that entails, it means she has some crazy magical abilities that won't make any sense to the outside reader. If you can just accept that, though, this is worth the read solely for an excellently written Flim and Flam. And, well, her shutting down their current hairbrained scheme is fun to watch, too.
Recommended
Dinner Party by Admiral Biscuit
Reading by ShadowOfCygnus
Genre: Random
This is a very short piece based around a fandom meme, and I don't know why it took me so long to recognize that. XD
Recommended If You Like Memes
Surreal Estate by AugieDog
Genre: Poem
A short warning about staying in Ponyville, set to a well-crafted poetic form. I mean, really, what else do you expect from these by now?
Recommended
Ponybello Road by Silvernis
Genre: Comedy
Rainbow Dash joins Rarity to shop for dragon pearls in a somewhat disreputable area.
Well, this was fun. It's told all-dialogue, contains some original dragon-based world-building, and has a solid punchline thanks to all of its not-saying-things.
Recommended
I Remember by Bombastic Bookpony
Genre: Sad Shipping
The way this is told, with the title a constant mantra, was a tad hokey, but darned if it's not a pretty solid shipfic. Won't appeal to anyone not into that, of course, and do note the 'sad' tag.
Recommended for Shippers
Surprised It Took That Long, Really by Eakin
Genre: Sci-Fi
The second contact between Earth and Equestria doesn't quite go as anyone would have expected.
This is really something. Part first contact, part comedy, part touching human interaction, pun intended. Two lonely engineers end up making small talk across an interdimensional radio, and then things get personal. It's actually very funny, but the heart is what should be the real draw here. Quite an original piece!
Recommended
The Simple Solution by FanOfMostEverything
Genre: Dark Comedy
This is a really great piece of Discord writing far better than the entirety of season six that also serves to answer a nerd question about the S6 finale, and does so in a way that's remarkably entertaining. It's just really funny, go read it.
Highly Recommended
Why We Guard by KingMoriarty
Genre: World-Building
This was neat, a fascinating scene about how Canterlot stands out, architecturally, from other world capitals, followed by an aftermath-epic trudge through the streets to deliver some good news. The bit with Prince Blueblood confused me, but in hindsight, it's obvious there's been more than one pony with that name, through history. Where this ends, I did not see coming, and that alone should make it worth the read.
Recommended
You Were Killed By by Shrink Laureate
Genre: Video Games
Okay, so, the problem with this one is that it's painfully obvious who Button's opponent is from line one. There are only two video game ponies in this fandom, and Sweetie Belle doesn't count. Genre-awareness aside, this was surprisingly good for what it is. A lot of thought has gone into what online gaming in Equestria might look like (I mean, a/s/t/l, that's all you need to know), there's a hilarious aside about Discord, and it all ends in a spot I didn't see coming. So I know the underlying premise won't appeal to some, but it's not too bad if you're going to read something along those lines.
Recommended If You Don't Mind Gamer Luna
Don't Say a Word by ObabScribbler
Genre: Tragic Romance
So the pairing is Rarity and Shining Armor (chosen randomly, of course). This is played to the hilt, as infidelity on Shining's part, and Rarity fully understanding that what she is doing is wrong, yet not wanting to stop. This is not my cup of tea, and it won't be many others', but darned if it's not written well! That last line was the perfect thing to end it on.
Recommended If You Don't Mind Infidelity
Civics by GhostOfHeraclitus
Genre: Comedy
It's Dotted Line ranting about modern elections for 900 words. It hits a little close to home. It might be polemic.
Recommended Only If You Like Political Comedy
There are some really good ones in this batch. Also mine.
Yeah, Ditzy Planeswalker dates back to my very first pony story. I did the outline back before we heard that John de Lancie would be voicing the new villain. It's... very much a product of it's time, for better or worse.
Also, thanks for the contest plug.
4445231
I swear I've read another Planeswalker Derpy fic of yours, but I might just be mixing it up with Big Butterfly Brouhaha and Alarm Clock. :B Good company, at least!
Thanks for the plug for the Flashfic group! I'd better make it clear that it isn't a serious contest. It's intended as a laid back, monthly thing, starting on 1 April. (And that's not a joke.) There are deliberately no prizes for it, other than that the winner gets to choose the next prompt. The idea is to make it seem a bit gentler and less scary than the big contests around the place.
Also, I'm trying to cut down my RiL list, and so trying not to be distracted by good minifics for a while. You are not helping with all this! :P
4445259
Anything you can say that regard, I have infinitely worse, so eat me. :V
Arrrrgh!! Too many stories, too many contests, too little time!
Y'know the scene where Twilight unrolls a list and it runs out several yards? THAT'S NOT FUNNY!!!
**furiously scribbles at to-be-read list*
Okay... I gotta say that Civics is totally worth it if only for the mental image induced by the second paragraph.
What you say about "How to Hold Your Lover's Hand" (which was an absolutely excellent story) reminds me of how I thought of it like "Quiet Boy and Moon Horse" in reverse: totally MLPEG posted on Fimfic instead of totally unrelated to MLP posted in the Original Fiction competition. But of course, who cares if they're writing things that good?
Always a pleasure to please you, sir.
4446382
oh my~
4446529 raises eyebrow in a suggestive manner