Fic recs, August 14th! · 2:39pm Aug 14th, 2017
Heeeeey, you need some horsewords written? Go check out SPark's rates!
And if you're hard-up for Well of Pirene audiobook options, it's on Illya Leonov's Youtube channel now, too! Still being worked on, but I'd say that's a good sign for the future. :)
Dang, actually posting on something like a regular schedule! :O Usual note about paid reviews. Y'know, if I ever hit my money goal, I'm gonna raise my prices, so you'd best get in now while you can! Head below for reviews of Earl Grey's Once More, With Feeling, Fluttershy Is Best Pony by Super Trampoline, Gojira007's All Good Things Must Come to an End and some other stuff!
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Rarity Stuffs a Sno-Cone Up Derpy's Ass by Star Destroyer
Paid Review for Star Destroyer
Mature: Molars?
Genre: Random Comedy
And for some reason, it's not melting.
The funny thing about this story is that a large portion of it focuses on Rainbow taking things literally and getting salty because Twilight doesn't appreciate it. Also, Rarity lies a lot, and it's generally hilarious. Then again, soup enema. On that note, the mature tag? Aside from being a little gross, this story contains an act that, in another context, would be sexual, but here, isn't. Be thou guided by that knowledge. Regardless, you couldn't ask for a better tribute to RainbowBob. If you like his style of random comedy, you'll probably get a few laughs out of this.
Recommended for Fans of Random Comedy
Once More, With Feeling by Earl Grey
Reading by Scribbler, et. al.
Genre: Shipping
Tasked with ordering uniforms for her music ensemble, Octavia finds Carousel Boutique a less-than-appropriate venue, given its location. But the proprietress is going to change her mind about Ponyville…
I am so conflicted. On the one hand, this is a very nice romance, mostly about differences in class and so forth, and Octavia and Rarity slowly becoming friends as their business draws them together. It doesn't overstep itself, it doesn't make them fall madly in love over the course of 10k words, there's no kiss. On the other hand, there's almost no romance whatsoever. D: Not to spoil anything, but it ends on only the merest hint that there might be something more between them than just friendship, and this comes about only because two other characters bluntly ask if there is or not. I had a very "that's it?" moment at the end, is what I'm saying. That's not a bad thing, though, since it means I was invested in the story and interested in the pairing; just know that if you go into this for sweeping romantic gestures or even an "I love you", you're going to walk away feeling somewhat deprived. All that aside, my only real complaint is head-hopping, not just between Octavia and Rarity, but often including side characters. And yeah, there is a lot of contrivance to bring them closer together, like Sweetie Belle suddenly wanting to learn an instrument, for all that that, at least, is well lampshaded. I have definitely read worse shipfics, I'm just not sure who's going to get the most out of this.
Recommended for Romance Fans
Fluttershy Is Best Pony by Super Trampoline
Paid Review for Super Trampoline
Genre: Comedy
Or is she? Gabby Gums is on the scene to find out!
Okay, the formatting in this story is a treat. Outside of Breaking News and Weather, this is the best newspaper-style fic you'll find. I mean, it doesn't explain the hyperlinks, pictures of humans or the gifs, but I was amused. As for the substance, it's just goofy as heck, and I was also thoroughly amused. :) The CMCs are just sort of used as a fandom mouthpiece while they go around, asking the mane six whether Fluttershy is best pony or not, but c'mon, if you don't think that's funny, how come? (Pinkie gives the best answer.) I mean, for a story that's just a bunch of fandom memes, this is really a lot of fun. :D
Recommended
The Secret Life of… Big Mac by Dreadnought
Reading by DrWh0oves and Daring Don't
Genre: Random
Big Macintosh is not the pony his family thinks he is.
I'm not usually one for live and/or cold fic readings, but in this case, I was pleased the readers were right here with me in terms of "what the hell is going on here?" To the point, this is a story about Big Macintosh getting a "species exchange" in order to become a unicorn. But of course, it's framed in light of Brotherhooves Social to lead your expectations elsewhere. I'm not sure I'm okay with that. Certainly, the writing is pretty simplistic on a conceptual level, so I never really got invested. It's all about the twist ending-slash-punchline. Not a terrible story, but I dunno, it makes me wonder if the other "Secret Life Of" stories by this author are actually worth reading.
Not Recommended
All Good Things Must Come to an End by Gojira007
Reading by Scribbler, et. al.
Genre: Dark/Adventure
Twilight's friends have been searching all over for her. And now they've found her…
Quick note up front: This author has a collection of Thirty Minute Pony Stories on Fimfic, but this isn't one of them, and I have to wonder why. So anyway, crafting a short story that invokes the weight of a full-blown epic adventure is hard. This story comes pretty close to pulling it off. It crafts a mood and a conflict, then resolves both in a satisfying way. Plus, it's got a neat idea at its core. Short, but worth your time.
Recommended
The Magic Touch by TheNewYorkBrony
Reading by Scarlett Blade
Mature: Sex
Genre: Sexual Comedy
Sunset Shimmer discovers the downside to being able to read others' thoughts.
Okay, so, one: This is the most obvious direction for a fanfiction writer to take the powers Sunset earned in Legend of Everfree. Two: Knowing that, you can probably figure out what that 'downside' is. Three: That's not the point, and I don't care. :V This is the kind of sexual comedy I live for. It's all about the breadth of the main joke and the reactions of the other characters to it. After the initial discovery, it takes a bit to really get going, but the payoff is so worth it. If you like sexual comedy as much as I do — and this doesn't really need the Mature rating, if you ask me — you'll like this.
Recommended
What Happens Next by TheBandBrony
Reading by Scribbler, et. al.
Genre: Bureaucratic Drama
Celestia faces the press after the coronation of Twilight Sparkle.
Hey, who's ready to jump backwards in time and angst about Twilicorn? This story is old enough that I think all the fallout over Twilicorn was still entirely in the fandom's wheelhouse. We hadn't, for instance, even heard "Princess of Friendship". This might go a long way toward explaining the very non-event-ness of the story overall. That said, I will admit this bounced hard off my headcanon. I can't see ponies being this fearful of Twilight's ascension, or this critical of Celestia, and I've never understood the fandom sector that claims, as this story does, that Celestia "made" Twilight into an alicorn. Ignoring all that, this is still aggravating. I mean, I kind of really sympathize with the press here: Celestia keeps telling them becoming an alicorn was Twilight's destiny, and that her destiny is important to Equestria's future, and they keep asking what that destiny is, only for Celestia to give the same, circular answer. Given that we're in her head, we should really be privy to what she's thinking. Are we meant to understand that she doesn't know what the destiny is, only that it exists? Why is this question going to bring down the monarchy? And why can't she just fucking explain things to everyone? I'm really not sure what the takeaway is meant to be, and so what it is for me is that the author was going with a soft touch, setting up some dominoes but letting them stay to capitalize on the fervor of the moment without risking being screwed over by canon later. And that's not how you do fanfic.
Vaguely Recommended
Glad you enjoyed "fluttershy is best pony", a story where I actually put effort into the jokes. It was cool, one of my roommates at BronyCon had a fluttershy shirt, a fluttershy tote bag, Fluttershy plushie, flutter shy hat, etc. I told him that I had a story on fimfiction Called "Fluttershy is best pony" and he said he had read it!
I went straight to Star Destroyer's story tailor-made for you and ohgodwhy
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That wasn't made for me, it was made for RainbowBob, geez. :B
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The one with bat!Celestia stealing makeup from the Princess of the Night
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oh that one :B
I claim no responsibility
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Don't believe him, Luna Farrowe! My PM box was filled—filled, I say—with messages from PP crying out for sweet, sexy TwiLestia bat lovins! I finally had to relent just to save my sanity! I still bear emotional scars from crafting that tale!
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PresentPerfect, is this true? Did you bully this poor Imperial vessel into catering to your interests?
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