Story Reviews » SA Reviews #114 · 2:33pm Oct 21st, 2017
Seattle's Angels is a group that promotes good stories with low views. You can find us here.
Intern burst open a door, startling the Angels gathered inside sitting next to a poker table, and causing many to drop their cards.
“Hey, I was about to win that hand!” Cynewulf yelled.
Intern ignored her. He cast a quick glance over their confused and concerned faces, scowled, then slammed the door shut. He stomped towards the next door and threw it open much the same way he did the first. Long past the point of caring, Intern once again looked over everybody inside the room. At last, sitting towards the back in a darkened corner, he found his target.
Waltzing in and brushing past anyone in his way, Intern loomed over the figure that was furiously scribbling away on a piece of paper.
Intern reached over and flicked the on switch for the light.
Novel Idea jerked, his hand slipping and making a long, thick pencil line on his paper.
“You know you can see better with the lights on, right?” Intern asked, his arms crossed.
Novel blinked his bloodshot eyes a few times, allowing them to slowly adjust. “Uh, yeah. It kinda does. Thanks.” He vigorously erased the stray pencil line and went back to his writing.
Intern scowled deeper. “Those better be the reviews for this week.”
“Reviews?” Despite answering with a question, Novel didn’t let up with his writing.
“Yeah, those things we tend to do? I’ve been looking for you all over the place! They’re nearly due!”
“Oh, right.” Using the hand that wasn’t busy putting down words, Novel pointed to a stack of papers next to him on his desk.
Intern reached down and looked them over. “Well, I’ll be. Guess I got worked up over nothing. Thanks!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Novel said, not looking up from his work. “Can we get this over with already, I’m behind on words for the day.”
“That definitely sounds like a segue.”
ROUND 114
A year after the first Hearth's Warming, unification hasn't gone as smoothly as ponies would have hoped. Old grudges and hostilities flare up despite the best efforts from their leaders. By the time the second Hearth's Warming has come around, cold, bitter feelings claw once more at Princess Platinum's heart.
Things take a turn for the weirder when she finds a tree in her living room and Commander Hurricane in her kitchen. He promises that there's a simple explanation for everything.
The only catch is that the 'explanation' will take all night. Generous though she may be, Platinum can settle for two hours.
The clock is ticking, Hurricane.
Let me start by saying this: Timaeus is one of my favorite shipfic authors on FimFiction. There are few others who can drown me in heartwarming fuzzies and make me love every second of it. If you need something to cheer you up, you can’t go wrong with this guy. He’s a maverick, a wizard and a genius at that beautiful thing called love.
Now, to see him tackle some of the most legendary characters in all of Equestrian history? That’s icing on the cake. We’ve got the impudent, annoyingly-good-looking Commander Hurricane and the beautiful if (trying-to-be) scornful Princess Platinum… and an undeniable chemistry that feels like it’s right out of one of the best romantic comedies of the decade.
Both Platinum and Hurricane are definitely inspired by Rarity and Rainbow respectively, but they are anything but recolors of the characters we know and love. Both of them feel completely authentic to their time period and the attitudes we saw in “Hearth’s Warming Eve.” But even more, we get to see the slow and delicate process of the three tribes working together to create a true Equestria-wide holiday a year after beating back the Windigos. Set against this tableau is Hurricane treating Platinum to a town-wide explanation as to why he broke into her home, dragged a pine tree into her living room, baked her cookies and wrapped her a blanket.
It’ll end with Hurricane paying for it for quite some time to come… though I don’t think he’ll mind all too much.
Everything I’ve come to expect out of Timaeus and so much more! Go get your fuzzies!
Two hours, huh? Sounds like a challenge!
So what we got here is 13K+ words of adorableness. Set just one year after the windigos were driven away by the Fires of Friendship, the ancient ponies have settled into Equestria but some lingering traditions and resentment are still present between the three tribes. This puts Princess Platinum in a sour mood and it takes an elaborate scheme by Commander Hurricane to pull her out of it.
I love how Platinum and Hurricane are depicted in this. A year being friends has really softened their views on each other and they play off of each other so well. Shades of Rarity and Rainbow Dash can be seen in them, but they are still their own characters. It’s a delight to see Hurricane slowly unveil his plan and Platinum’s gradual mood shift. It really shows just how much this day means to both of them and how far their society has come.
Warmth and coldness play a big part in this story. There’s plenty of imagery on display, though nothing so subtle that you’ll miss anything.
That’s all I’m going to say about this! If you want tender moments and squishy emotions to lead into the holidays, then we’ve got a winner for you!
When Trixie's untimely arrival ruins a local charity auction, she finds herself and three other ponies swapping bodies. Now Trixie, Applejack, Golden Harvest and Fleur de Lis are stuck in the uncomfortable position of living one another's lives until they can find a solution. But what starts as a bad situation for all grows into something different for each of them. From crises of conscience to deeply romantic personal conflicts, all four will find their integrity challenged. The clock is ticking, and if they don't hurry they may find themselves stuck in one another's bodies forever.
For some, that might not be such a bad thing.
Hm. A body swap story? And a sequel? I admit, I was rather surprised when RT suggested such a thing for SA. But, I’m the new kid on the block and I wasn’t about to turn up my nose at a chance to read another one of PaulAsaran’s fics after his epic Sunset Shipper Contest entry, so I dove in.
The last thing I expected to find was a fantastic four-perspective story that somehow effectively captures Applejack, Trixie, Fleur and—of all ponies—Golden Harvest. Everypony stands out in their own effective way. From Applejack’s jealousy of Golden Harvest because Golden snared Rarity (even if I still have trouble with RariJack because of hanging around Tchernobog too much), to Trixie’s desperate attempts to fix her life, to Golden Harvest’s aching feeling of being unworthy of Rarity’s affections, to Fleur’s blasé dismissal of the pawns in her schemes… every single character had their moment in the spotlight. Every character shone brilliantly, even down to the Fine Crime spymaster (even if he came a little out a left field toward the end, he more than made up for it in his play against Fleur after the faceoff.)
Can I also just say I loved this Trixie? This is a Trixie who actually took the Alicorn Amulet incident to heart—plus the little revelation of her challenge at the end—made her a wonderfully compelling character. While I do like the (mostly) unrepentant Trixie we’ve gotten in MLP, this version of her, one who ends up finding a brand new home with the last ponies you’d expect just made me all kinds of happy.
Also? Rarity just finally going “buck it!” to Golden Harvest’s advances was perfect. I squeed so hard at that scene.
In fact, I got so wrapped up in the events of the story, I actually broke one of my cardinal rules for the first time in well over a decade: I actually skipped to the end because I needed to know how it would all turn out! I know, I’m a horrible person. But you don’t have to be! Instead, be a good person and go read this right now!
I originally had four stories picked out featuring Trixie in some way (totally coincidental, I swear!) but had to knock three of them down for one reason or another. However, I got to keep the best of the lot to showcase here.
Hoping to sell off an artifact of unknown origins for some desperately needed bits, Trixie manages to instead cause a series of events to happen that switches the minds of four ponies into other ponies’ bodies. So, you know, a typical day in Ponyville.
Now, body swapping stories are nothing new around these parts, but the narrative here is far more clever than just having characters bumble around trying to act like the pony they’ve become. Instead, each of the four goes through a learning experience that significantly changes their viewpoints on rivals, family, special someponies, and society at large. It’s a fascinating look at how the things we want out of life are more apparent once we’ve had a chance to perceive things from a different point of view. The author manages to make each character’s arc interesting and relatable while still keeping a good pace so that we don’t lose sight of the overarching plot.
Some things to keep in mind is that this is a sequel, but is structured in a way that it stands on its own. Really, the only things to know going in is that some of the main cast have developed romantic relations with other ponies and that Fleur de Lis moonlights as a secret agent. Given the prevalence of romance on this site, I’m going to confidently assume these won’t be too high of hurdles to get over.
Which you should so you can read this wonderful fic!
Rarity helps Cheerilee remember that she is an amazing mare.
Ha! You probably thought since it was October, these would all end up as spooky, creepy horror stories, huh? Well, too bad! Instead, you get romance and wonder! Take that Halloween!
More than anything, this story felt natural. Both Cheerilee and Rarity were perfectly in character. Cheerilee has always been a favorite of mine. Partially because she has a gorgeous sarcastic streak a mile wide hiding just below that chipper teacher’s personality. Partially because we’ve seen signs that her love life has left a lot to be desired. And partially because she’s Nicole Oliver and Nicole Oliver is awesome.
But the real star is Rarity here. Because this story shows Rarity at her best: generosity personified. She simply shuts down her shop because poor Cheerilee has been so out of practice in love that Rarity wants to help her with a lesson. A lesson for Cheerilee on how to be the mare she could be. And that is Rarity is full form.
Not only that… but we find that both mares have the same problem. They’re both lonely, though for very different reasons. One’s unattainable. One’s unavailable. But even through that, they can find a little something between one another.
The truth is, romances don’t ever reach a ‘happily ever after.’ And any romance that ends with that it usually selling itself short (or selling itself too hard). This story doesn’t do that. It shows a beginning. We don’t even see how that beginning ends! We see how things start. It’s a wonderful start. A start based on somewhat of a fib… but an understandable one. And one that’s forgiven almost instantly.
So why are you still here? Go read it! (You know… after you read the rest of the reviews and stuff.)
More romance! We be plugging that particular genre hard this round. However, if we’re going to do romance, we may as well do it right.
This one gets my admiration for taking things slow. There’s no sudden epiphany that one is now in love with the other or that marriage bells will be ringing by the end. No, this is a story about two ponies who are gradually coming to terms with their feelings. It’s the first tentative steps towards something more.
It always annoys me when a story starts out with two characters already in a relationship. This story decides to give the time for readers to really get invested before moving on to the next level.
And there’s lots of blushing. It’s so cute!
Have at it, shippers! I may not be the biggest romantic around here but I still thoroughly enjoyed this. You’re welcome.
One night every month, Rarity creeps out of her house and sneaks unseen into the Everfree Forest. Her saddlebags are full and her destination is secret. She is going in search of The Witch, and Rarity will find her. But some monsters we create ourselves and others aren't monsters at all.
It’s rare that we get a story that really recognizes the wonder of a childhood fantasy and how that fantasy can still play out in later life. While the story starts out a tad bit telly, it does find it’s stride in giving us a rather delightful version of Rarity who enjoyed sneaking out in the middle of the night to go into the Everfree to learn to be a witch like the dark and mysterious Everfree Witch (No, not Sunset, wrong story).
At first, I admit I was a little lost. It felt off to have Rarity learning to be ‘a witch.’ But once the reality of the situation set in, I have to say, I fell in love with the concept. HoofBitingActionOverload did a great job stretching out the story to make you curious enough to push you forward, even as Rarity continues to reflect on the difference between the world as it was through the eyes of childhood and how the exact same situation can still be just as fun as an adult.
After all, nopony ever said witches couldn’t have fun.
And now for something completely different and more appropriate for the season.
Rarity spotlights this fic (huh, she’s come up a lot in these reviews, come to think of it) and proceeds to show us why she’s so popular in the community. Going out of her way to keep a promise, Rarity visits the witch in the woods, intent on delivering a special package. What’s in the package? Well, that’s for you to find out!
This one’s short, so I’ll keep it short. Needless to say, this drips with atmosphere despite its length. It dips into childhood wonder while smoothly transitioning to more adult concerns. It gives just enough to set the tone and ends on a satisfying character moment.
Give it a read. It’ll be worth it.
“What are you working, anyway?” Intern asked, trying to peek over Novel’s shoulder. “And how did you know what we were reviewing? I hadn’t gotten the chance to tell you yet.”
Novel sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes. “I already knew. I’m from the future, remember?”
“Oh, right. That explains everything.”
“As for what I’m working on, it’s NaPoWriMo and I’m trying to get my entry done, along with organizing everyone else’s stories. I’m behind already, so if you don’t mind, I need to focus here.”
Intern glanced at a nearby hanging calendar. “But it’s not Nov—”
“Future.”
“Got it.”
With nothing else to say, Intern turned to head out.
Only to stop short as another Angel bared his path, Cynewulf cracking her knuckles. “I waited for the reviews to get done first. Professionalism and all. Now that that’s done, you’re paying for messing up my game.”
Intern swallowed and leaned over to Novel. “Hey, future boy. How do I get out of this?”
“You don’t,” Novel muttered distractedly, his pencil never stopping as he drove his word count ever higher.
“Great Scott.”
Feel free to visit our group for more information and events, and to offer some recommendations for future rounds. See you all next time!
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I've been hoping for an SA review for a while now, and to see that it's one of those stories I loved writing?
All my thanks.
Do one of my fics sometime! Seriously! The crowds will go nuts!
Yeah for Teach Me Beauty!
!!!
Wow, a SA review for Teach Me Beauty, Teach Me Grace?! That's so awesome. Thank you very much. I had a ton of fun writing that for the contest, and I'm glad you guys enjoyed it.