Read It Later Reviews #76 – Unstable Sale, Morning in the Kitchen, I Can Wait, Scootadate, A Watchful Changeling · 12:36am Jun 1st, 2017
This set almost became an Estee story only set. Then I ended up reading one other story, then a second… and then it became a normal review set.
Also, every one of Estee’s stories that I haven’t read yet is 20k+ words long. And I’ve been saying I’d read bookplayer’s Lost Time, Cold in Gardez’s Salvation…
I’m so good at putting off getting stuff read that I’m sure I’ll find fascinating.
Still, there was some good stuff in here.
Today’s stories:
Unstable Sale by Estee
Morning in the Kitchen by Pen Stroke
I Can Wait by Eakin
Scootadate by shortskirtsandexplosions
A Watchful Changeling by Carapace
Unstable Sale
by Estee
Sad
13,754 wordsThe Crusade has costs. When materials can't be "borrowed," they have to be paid for. And after adding in the reparations which have allowances something close to permanently docked -- well, the Crusaders are finally broke. So in order to fund their next mark-finding attempt, they're going to hold a sale during Ponyville's next market day.
The Crusade also has consequences, and part of that bill is about to come due.
Why I added it: Estee is a good writer.
Review
A lot of Estee’s Tryptych stories do stand alone.
This one does not. Interestingly, it is not so much because it is incomprehensible otherwise, but because it just makes so many references to other Estee stories, it would feel weird to read it as a stand-alone.
Which is something of a pity if you’re not into the Tryptych verse, as this is an interesting story.
Estee’s conception of the Cutie Mark Crusaders is very season 1 – them being something of a destructive force of nature who cause trouble around Ponyville on a regular basis. They’re a bunch of little terrors in their own way, and while they aren’t malicious, they are single-minded in their pursuit of cutie marks as a group. And that means that they’ve caused far more than their fair share of damage. Every time they were brought around to apologize, they were still thinking of what they might do in the future to earn their marks the next time around, instead of really thinking about what they were apologizing for – and in some cases, who they were apologizing to.
Apple Bloom can barely remember all the ponies she’s wronged in one way or another.
But they can all remember her just fine.
The story’s frame story is that the CMC are trying to raise funds for their next crusade. Their allowances have been permanently docked to pay reparations to ponies they’ve either damaged the belongings of, or from whom they borrowed stuff and failed to return it in proper working order. And so, they decide to sell all the stuff from their old crusades in the town square, in a garage stable sale of sorts. So Apple Bloom gets to spend all day around all of the CMC’s failures, all the things that failed to bring them their marks, all the things that they tried that hurt other ponies in various little ways so that they all are avoiding them now.
And so Apple Bloom is left with nothing to do but to think about the things she’s done, and whether the price of having every pony in Ponyville hate her is worth a cutie mark – and indeed, whether being a member of the crusaders is what is stopping her from getting her mark in the first place.
This is a sad story, but I thought it was quite good for what it was – it is a subversion of the cartoon child who causes untold destruction via their childish antics, as instead of it all being swept under the rug and forgiven, it isn’t. Apple Bloom’s fears about what the Crusades are doing to her (and to a lesser extent, to Sweetie Belle), as well as the fact that she’s clearly suppressing the idea that none of this will work, as well as refusing to admit that she already knows what her special talent is and just refuses to actually admit it to herself – it all lands quite squarely.
And while it is pretty divergent from canon at this point, it is an interesting story, and one worth being told, even if it takes a rather extreme view of the destructiveness of the Crusaders.
If I had a complaint, it would be that the story is kind of rambly, especially at the start – the start of it makes it look like yet another Cutie Mark Crusaders antic filled story, but the story really isn’t that at all. And while that kind of subversion can be interesting, it didn’t really feel like it actually landed as far as this story goes, as the main body of the story was about Apple Bloom’s doubt about the worth of what they’re doing, as well as being scared of losing Scootaloo as a friend.
But once the story really gets going, it lands pretty well.
Recommendation: Worth Reading.
Morning in the Kitchen
by Pen Stroke
Sad, Slice of Life
2,509 wordsFew things hold memories the same way as a family recipe. Each time it is made, it allows us to reminisce about the previous times the recipe was prepared and enjoyed with friends, family, and even strangers.
On one particular morning, Applejack is preparing every family recipe she knows for a very important reason.
Why I added it: It was featured.
Review
The cover art and story tags pretty much spoiled this story for me. I read this story hoping it would be something other than it was, but it turned out to be a grave fic.
Grave fics are simultaneously really easy and really hard to write. They’re easy to write because they basically write themselves; have some character go about their day as if things are normal, and then, at the end, have the character that you assumed they were preparing for/talking about/going to go visit is dead, and they’re visiting their grave/going to their funeral/gaining closure/whatever.
It is a pretty tried and true formula, and it works because, well, Dead All Along is a pretty powerful trope, and by showing how much someone cares about them before the ending, you can then stab people in the gut by showing them to be dead.
Unfortunately, it is also a really hard genre to write for a few reasons. First off, it has been done a billion times because it is really easy to write. Secondly, as with a lot of twist ending stories, if you know what the story is about from the beginning (and sadly, the cover art on this one, combined with the tag and the obvious lack of Granny Smith emotes and the tag, gave it away), there needs to be more than the twist at the end. This is true of all twist ending stories, as the story needs to be worth reading otherwise if the reader knows the twist from early on, and unfortunately while baking pies is okay, it isn’t the most engaging of things independent of the twist.
They’re also a lot harder to write than it seems – while using “they were dead all along” as a twist at the end can work well, the really good examples of the story generally play with the readers’ expectations, recast what the character was saying/doing in the rest of the story in a more major way than usual (The Ending Changes Everything, but writ even larger, as we see that we misinterpreted all their actions completely, rather than just “oh, they’re going to a funeral”), or do a lot to develop the point of view character and show how they have grown as a person as a result of the dead character.
This story didn’t end up hitting on those additional things very hard, and because it played its hand of being a grave fic for me very early on, the “twist” didn’t do anything for me.
Recommendation: Not Recommended.
I Can Wait
by Eakin
Sad
4,897 wordsRainbow Dash can't wait to start the awesome day she has planned for her and Applejack. She's so eager she's already parked herself right outside the Acres, bright and early.
But geeze, what's taking AJ so long?
Why I added it: I read it before I started doing reviews.
Review
Reading Pen Stroke’s story reminded me of this one.
While this story may seem like a grave fic, and structurally resembles one, it differs in one important way – the audience knows from very early on that Applejack is dead. The story isn’t about the twist that she’s dead. Rather, it is about Rainbow Dash being in denial about it. For some reason, Rainbow Dash seems really good at being in denial, but it seems to work in a number of stories, regardless of what she’s in denial about.
The story might have dragged on a bit – this story clocks in close to 5,000 words, and while it does in fact have stuff happen, a lot of the “meat” of the story happens in the second half of the piece. While the first three characters visiting do set things up a little, in the end, the first three are all basically the same thing, and hit on the same note of “Rainbow Dash is in denial about what happened.” One of them probably could have been cut and nothing would have really been lost.
But on the other hand, I felt like it ended strong. When Twilight finally comes along, the audience comes to understand why Rainbow Dash was in such denial. We get to see some additional characterization, as well as her have an emotional moment with Twilight. Finally, when Appljeack “shows up”, Rainbow Dash seems to get some closure, before it is roughly ripped it away from her as she was forced to acknowledge the reality of the situation and let it all out.
While this isn’t my favorite story of this type, the fact that I still remember it, even years later, says something, I think.
Recommendation: Worth Reading.
Scootadate
by shortskirtsandexplosions
Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life
5,194 wordsApplejack and Rainbow Dash have been dating in secret for weeks now. One afternoon, they finally find the opportunity to spend some "quality" time alone together. When Scootaloo shows up, happy and unannounced, what are the two marefriends to do?
Play laser tag with the filly, of course.
Why I added it: SS&E is a good writer.
Review
Unfortunately, this story didn’t really hit for me. The story is pretty much what it says on the tin – Scootaloo accidentally interrupts Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow Dash makes up lame excuse after lame excuse to cover for them, resulting in them doing things with Scootaloo instead of each other.
While this is one of those things that could definitely be funny (goodness knows I am amused by ponies making excuses for sexy shenanigans), I think the actual writing here ended up being offputting. The story is extremely focused on dialogue, but the dialogue here feels terse. There’s not much real “meat” to it beyond the obvious, and none of it felt terribly memorable or like it distinguished the story from other such things I’d read. It never really feels like it draws outside of the lines, and while there’s a funny End of Ponies reference in there, in the end the story felt unremarkable on the whole.
Recommendation: Not Recommended.
A Watchful Changeling
by Carapace
Slice of Life
3,483 wordsWith Princess Cadence and Prince-Captain Shining Armor out on a date together, Thorax is charged with caring for their darling filly. Which means tonight is the perfect time for important things like pouncing lessons, complete with live guards to surprise!
Why I added it: It was featured, and I love changelings.
Review
This is really a pure fluff story. I’m not quite sure why I read it; pure fluff stuff isn’t generally my thing, especially things about little fillies who can barely talk, and this story doesn’t really go above and beyond in any way. But at the same time, it is a kind of hollow complaint, given the description. This story is exactly exactly what it says on the tin.
Consequently, I’m not sure what value I can add beyond saying that it really is exactly that. There is a bit of characterization here of Thorax, setting him as being rather protective of Flurry Heart and having a slightly warped view of things because his people are rather violent by comparison to civilized society, and thus thinking he needs to defend Flurry Heart with his fangs if necessary and such, but it doesn’t really feel like it truly distinguishes the piece.
Recommendation: If you’re a fan of pure fluff about little kids, this might be up your alley. If you aren’t, this isn’t going to change your mind.
Summary
Unstable Sale by Estee
Worth Reading
Morning in the Kitchen by Pen Stroke
Not Recommended
I Can Wait by Eakin
Worth Reading
Scootadate by shortskirtsandexplosions
Not Recommended
A Watchful Changeling by Carapace
Not Recommended
And there we go.
Ended up getting Breath of the Wild the other day and spent far too much time on the starting area; I think I got almost everything in it before leaving it, but it took hours. The game is ridiculously vertical.
And I should have spent that time writing. 
Number of stories still listed as Read It Sooner: 197
Number of stories still listed as Read It Later: 611
Number of stories listed as Read It Eventually: 2115
Oh gosh, this post led me to read I Can Wait again... and uggghhhh
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Yeah. The last two conversations stuck with me; they were the only part of the story I really remembered, but their emotional impact is very solid.
For shame TD, linking to TVTropes not once but three times. Do you want people to read ponyfic or do you want them to get lost in tropes?
4554678 Yes
pro tip: when choosing SS&E stories, pick older ones. They are much more likely to be worth reading.
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I find SS&E has never been terribly consistent, but I remember a number of 2016 stories by SS&E that I found worth reading.
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Really? I find that super hard to believe, especially because our tastes don't seem to be too dissimilar afai can tell.
Are you maybe just comparing 2015 skirts to 2016 skirts? because that's both well into the meh zone (not saying he's necessarily bad but nothing special). He was good in 2012 and 2013. Basically up to The Funeral Of Derpy Hooves; back there are the gems. Have you read Herald/Scale/When I was Thirty/The Numbers don't lie/fear and Trembling/Gift/I met a pony in Hell.../The last tears in Tartarus/Background Pony / End of Ponies?
*Looks through your highly recommended list...* Hah, see? BgP, the numbers don't lie, and gift are in there! All super old stories.
When I got into fanfiction, I spent over a year reading skirts exclusively... now I don't even keep up with his stuff.
4555043
I mean, it is possible, but... it is hard for me to say for sure. I don't think I've read even half of what SS&E has written. But looking back:
From 2016, Coco Beware, Cherish, Rari'Doh, SS&E's One Thousand One Hundred and Seventy-Eight Word Rarijack Fic for Fourths, As I Lay Smiling and Best Friends, Too got upvotes. Best Friends, Too ended up getting a Recommended, though As I Lay Smiling had something going for it as well. I can definitely understand people not being a huge fan of the others, as they're kind of strange by comparison, but I did upvote them for a reason. I actually can't even remember Rari'Doh, though.
2015 had No Wonder You Feel So Strange, Step Right In and Start Again, The Ever Ash Project, Mamunia, Tea Time With Tomahawk Missiles, Y'allin, and Just a Few Things that got upvoted. None got recced, but a number of those were pretty solid; the first three in that list were three stories he released back-to-back which all got green thumbs. I can't really remember Y'allin and Tea Time with Tomahawk Missiles, and Mamunia is a story whose feeling I can remember, but I had to go and look at my review to remember what it was actually about.
2014 had Table For One, Refraction, Tethered, Scoot's Company, and Dulcet. Table For One got a recommended, Scoot's Company got a HR. I remember all of those stories, though.
2013 had There Is Love Beyond What Lingers; Theory; Simply Darling; The Numbers Don't Lie; Do You, Now?; Come Back To Bed, Sugarcube; and Closing the Door. There Is Love Beyond What Lingers and The Numbers Don't Lie got highly recommended. I can't really remember Do You, Now?, Come Back to Bed, Sugarcube, and Closing the Door, but it has been four years since I read them.
2012 had The Tail End of It, Hello Sedna, Gift, Hiccups, Bon Bon Bon Bon Bon Bon, Nopony Needs To Know, Background Pony, and Spelling It Out. Hello, Sedna and Spelling It Out got recommended. Gift and Background Pony got a highly recommended (though I haven't finished Background Pony, and thus have never reviewed it). I can remember all of them.
That's all the stories of his that I've read, unless I'm forgetting something/some alt of his.
The thing is, SS&E writes some really good stuff, and then he writes some stuff that I don't care for at all. I can totally understand not really following him slavishly; I think he's a good writer, but there's a lot of stuff he's written which I haven't liked. But then, he's written enough stuff that I have liked that I do follow him and do consider him to be good.
I can't really say with a huge amount of confidence that SS&E has gotten "worse"; maybe 2012 had a higher hit rate, but I'm not sure if that's because he got "worse" or if it is just that SS&E has less of a filter these days and just writes more random stuff. But even back then he was writing stuff like Bon Bon Bon Bon Bon Bon, which is pretty freaking weird, and The Tail End of It is a pretty odd story as well.
I dunno what to say. I'm not saying you're wrong for not following him or anything (and I don't know why your post got downvoted; maybe someone thought you were being too harsh?), and I can't even say that you're wrong about not liking his more recent stuff, but I don't really know if I can say with a great degree of confidence that he's a worse writer, as I still find stuff he writes that I enjoy, and I don't read everything he writes.
Moreover, I haven't read his super long stories really at all, so I don't know how Rainbow Dash Flying East is, and he's been devoting a lot of his focus to that series.
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Yeah, I agree with the colored part. I don't think he had a filter back in the day, and even in 2012 there are some stories which I'd call outright bad *cough*. But there were so many more amazing stories! And I'd say your list is a weak to medium support of that hypothesis. Particularly this
Those are 5 years old! Isn't that telling? I'd bet you couldn't still remember the new stuff if you read it 5 years ago. Similarly, if I read some of his new stuff now, I'd probably upvote most of it (it has a gant heads up over your average fimfiction story based on grammar and writing style alone), but I probably wouldn't really care about most of it.
Austraeoh is similar (though I realize if you haven't read it you can't say much about it). I read the first book, which was good (though not as good as EoP or BgP), the second, which was okay, and gave up in the third. Quality aside, I think it's pretty safe to say that it doesn't have a lot in common with MLP anymore. If you take away all characters from the show (except for RD), and your locations aren't in Equestria and aren't like Equestria (neither values nor even the lack of technology), and you have a large cast with RD just being one of them, you end up with something that feels less like an MLP fanfic and more like an ultra long alternate universe fantasy/scifi epic with ponies rather than humans. Although the fact that the world is a giant oval shaped plane is super cool.
I'll also make the unique prediction that the funeral of derpy hooves will get a high recommendation from you if you finally get to it! And Herald has good odds too if you like Horror.