Fic recs, June 15th! · 1:24pm Jun 15th, 2017
Been a while since I did this! And by "this", I both mean "reviewed minifics" and "updated on a three-day schedule".
Also, hey! No weird code parsing this time, how nice! :D Anyway, minifics while I cook up something considerably more expansive.
H: 2 R: 12 C: 7 V: 1 N: 0
Point/Counterpoint by Cold in Gardez
Genre: Comedy
Bouncy castles are intended for foals only.
This is a good heaping of fun. :D Presented as a pair of official missives, it tells the story of what happens when an overenthusiastic mare tries to use a bouncy castle. Who that mare is, I will leave for you to find out.
Recommended
Oxygen by Esle Ynopemos
Genre: Sci-Fi
This is a fun little space-venture about Applejack having a rather eventful spacewalk. Fakeout ending, but nothing any worse than you'd expect from a Hollywood blockbuster.
Recommended
Afraid of Her Own Shadow: The Climactic Finale by Esle Ynopemos
Genre: Action
This has a neat prompt: it's the ending of an unfinished story. To that end, what exactly is going on is easy to determine, but hard to make sense of. In other words, I'm not exactly sure what the stakes are, but there sure are some interesting reveals by the end!
Recommended
Shedding Tears by Esle Ynopemos
Genre: Not What It Seems
I mean, this is just a whole pile of lies, when you get right down to it. :V
Recommended If You Enjoy Innuendo
Daring Do and the Adventure of Awesome by Nonagon
Genre: Comedy
It's predictable, but I have to admit, it made me smile. :) I mean, these stories take longer to write the review for than to read, what do you expect?
Recommended
Sleep by FuzzyFurvert
Genre: Shipping
In the second sentence of this story, Luna: tells us something we were just told in the first sentence; misuses the word 'quoth'; and makes a Batman reference. Also, there's swearing by Faust. And other than listing off a (somewhat familiar) slew of sleep problems, there's not much story here. As in, it feels like this should have a note somewhere explaining that it was never finished. Short as it is, it didn't do anything for me!
Vaguely Recommended
Princess Twilight Sparkle by HoofAndQuill
Genre: Friendshipping
Princess Celestia helps Twilight get used to her new title.
This is a nice little bit of post-MMC bonding between Twilight and Celestia, wrapped around a big dump of ideas about just who, and what, Celestia may have been in her long, long life. A winning combo, if you ask me!
Recommended
Tomodachi Sentai Ponyranger by FanOfMostEverything
Genre: Action
I have to admit, I was a tad disappointed, but it's my own fault for expecting more of a tokusatsu vibe from something out of a Magic: The Gathering inspired collection. Even considering the title. It's a fun little romp, though, even if I don't get what's implied by the last line.
Recommended
Updates by Admiral Biscuit
Reading by ShadowOfCygnus
Genre: Comedy
This has a little bit of interesting Crystal Empire-based world-building, but really it's all just the set up for a joke that did not need to be told. I mean, it's not even a groan-worthy feghoot, it's just dumb!
Recommended Only If You Like Dumb Jokes
My Darling Asleep by AugieDog
Genre: Poetry
This is a perfectly exquisite pair of sonnets, told from the perspectives of Mr. and Mrs. Cake, detailing their day and how they work together as a unit. Absolutely stellar.
Highly Recommended
Red Pen Frenzy by Silvernis
Genre: Comedy
Rarity and Applejack entertain a new arrival in Ponyville.
The fun part of this story is realizing what Red Pen's 'problem' is. That's a really funny sequence, sandwiched in between two more stale pieces of bread made of your standard "OC in Ponyville" fare. Kind of worth it, though.
Recommended as Light Reading
Barred by Bombastic Bookpony
Sequel to Fight
Genre: Appledash
Hah, go figure, this is a followup from the previous story in the collection. :) It's really just an "and then" after the off-screen bar fight, followed by a prelude to shipping. Nothing mind-blowing, but if you like Appledash, it's worth a look.
Recommended for Shippers
The Totes-Amazing Nocturnal Adventures of Rainbow Dash by Eakin
Genre: Shipping/Comedy
I thought this was great. :D If you can't stand mane cast shipping, stay away, but otherwise, the romance is just one aspect of the whole ridiculous thing. Definitely worth it if you like ponies writing fanfic, except that's totally not what it is, so you should read it even if you're tired of that! :V
Recommended
Word of the Doomsday by FanOfMostEverything
Genre: Dark Comedy
A mistaken destiny leads to a fatal mistake.
This was just goofy as hell, and exactly the kind of world-threatening scenario I like to see from ponyfic. Also, a cutting satire of the season 5 finale. :V
Recommended
An Excerpt from the Planeswalker's Field Guide by KingMoriarty
Genre: Magic: The Gathering Crossover/Comedy
I have to give away what this is about: Breezies. Specifically, how much the universe shits on them, making it shit on them more, and being really funny about it. But the way it's written, that's not revealed until about halfway through, so I spent a large portion of this story being extremely confused about who was writing it and what was going on. YMMV!
Recommended for Laughs
Glitters of Ashes Tonight by ObabScribbler
Genre: Romance
>tfw everyone's waifu hooks up with a pony everyone hates, but also she's not your waifu, so you can laugh. :V In all seriousness, the draw here is a well-conceived Marble Pie. She's full of self-doubt and quite aware of how different she is in comparison to her sisters. The rest of it is Blueblood talking to himself at her, which is amusing. Definitely worth the read.
Recommended
The Mourning of the Nightingale by Corejo
Review #4300/400th Review of 2017!
Genre: Poetry
Took me a bit to figure out what the structure was, but this turns out to be a neat little piece about Celestia, post-Nightmare Moon.
Recommended
Swallow the Meek by SirNotAppearingInThisFic
Genre: Comedy
This is perfectly, appropriately silly to the world it inhabits. My one complaint is the framing device, of Pinkie and Rainbow Dash going back to Griffonstone so they can hear one of Grampa Gruff's stories (for free, even!) adds absolutely nothing to the overall presentation. Worth it for the funny story-in-a-story, though.
Recommended
If I Was Wooden Matter…? by GroaningGreyAgony
Genre: Parody
Yeah, it's another Would It Matter If I Was parody. The problem with this one is it gets going, then stops, but it's still pretty amusing.
Recommended If You Think That Stuff Is Funny Still
All Bark, No Bite by horizon and FanOfMostEverything
Sequel to If I Was Wooden Matter…?
Genre: Random Comedy
This is almost what the previous story needed, except it's completely silly. Won't work unless you've read the previous, of course!
Recommended for Laughs
It's Either That in the Cart, or a "Slightly-Used" Crocodile by Chris
Genre: Comedy
Nopony ever said Lucky was bright.
This is apparently from Chris's blog, but I'm pleased to be able to read it again, if even for the first time. Perfectly hysterical, and an excellent example of how to weave a story in a tiny number of words.
Highly Recommended
Raising the Moon by Shrink Laureate
Genre: Historical
Sadly, this is just the first chapter of an incomplete story, but it stands alone surprisingly well, and I rather liked it. I suspect it's meant to be a "Princess and Guard" shipfic, but only the merest hint of that resides here. Instead, this focuses more on politics, world-building and magical headcanons about how Celestia raises the sun and moon. It was all quite fascinating!
Recommended
A bunch of colorful warriors of justice came together and summoned a giant robot. How much more tokusatsu do you want?
Also, the ending is a jab at the tackiness of the Palace-Tree. It was still relatively fresh at the time.
4571853
Needs more posing, color-coordinated costumes, and declarations of justice and friendship. Well, maybe that last one happened... :B
Glad you liked my writing! For all that it's just a silly/sarcastic scene, I was pretty satisfied with that bit of dialogue, and I'm happy to hear that it tickled your funny bone. Carrot Top is best straight mare, after all.