Fic recs April 26th: 5000TH REVIEW EDITION!!! · 10:31pm Apr 26th, 2018
It's true! As of this blog post, I have reviewed over five thousand fanfics for this crummy fandom! It's time to celebrate... me being a complete and utter madman, I guess! :B I had meant to post this yesterday, but Louder Yay celebrated 200 entries and I wanted him to have his time to shine. :D
Speaking of Louder Yay, I'm doing something he came up with: Review one story from each year of the fandom. Of course, he did it last year, so I had one more fic to do, but whatever. I found a story from before MLP:FiM was even a thing! :D Fun times.
And there's even some news! Winged T. Spears has done a reading of Georg's My Brother the Tooth!
So that's that, here's to five thousand more! :D
...Oh god, I'm going to read five thousand more fanfics. D:
H: 2 R: 4 C: 3 V: 0 N: 0
Pre-Fandom:
Do You Ever Wonder? by Scribbler
Genre: G1 Fic
When Fizzy goes missing, Masquerade gets stuck searching for her.
I wasn't actually looking for a pre-G4 fic, but while trying to find the fandom's oldest stories on Fanfiction.net, I just so happened to notice a certain familiar black-blue-and-pink avatar in the story list. Yes, this is something Scribbler wrote in 2002, and I hope she won't be horribly embarrassed if I read it. :V (I won't even count it in the fic stats.) Anyway, this story stars Masquerade, who I don't remember at all (she's from the episode with Optimus Crab, so it's easy to see why I'd forget anything else from that one), and by its own author's note is very fluffy. And yeah, it is (though I love the passages about Masquerade thinking about what a yutz Fizzy is, because she is), but good lord is Masquerade angsty about it. Lots of weight is given to how much she just likes being alone and pondering the universe. Fizzy is angsty and thoughtful too, despite being a yutz. It ends up being a cute bit of friendshipping from a young author who would go on to bigger things in time. :)
Recommended If You Like G1
2010:
The Make Me Better Boutique by Jimbo
Read by Fimfiction
Genre: PinkieDash
Rainbow Dash is feeling down. What can Pinkie Pie do to cheer her up?
Just to prove this was only uploaded to Fimfiction in 2012, you can find the original on Fanfiction.net, which is where you need to go if you want to find anything written before January of 2011. This, I should mention, is written by the same author who did the 2010 fic Loganberry reviewed for his blog post. The description claims that this was one of if not the first fic to explore the idea of 'wingboners', a dubious claim to fame if ever there was one. :V Reading it, I couldn't help but be floored by what this predates: Fimfiction, the Pony Fiction Vault, Equestria Daily… Even the knowledge that Pinkie lives in Sugarcube Corner! Which I think makes it prescient in terms of presenting Rainbow Dash as having deep-seated insecurities. As for the story itself (finally), it's very early-fandom in scope, not to mention features a lot of tropes that have become well-ingrained in the years since. But it really made me remember why I've always liked PinkieDash. It's cute as fuck, and if you're into that ship, you'll probably like it, too.
Recommended for Shippers
2011:
The Three Notes by Ebon Mane
Read by Fimfiction
Genre: Future Fic/Sad Shipping
Not everyone gets a happy ending.
One nice thing this blog gives me is a chance to go back and review some old fics I'd favorited before I started doing reviews. Dang, here's a blast from the past that'll blast you right in the feels. >.> It's probably a little too cloying to praise highly, but it's very well written (go figure, it's Ebon Mane), and very good at putting together its central idea. I also have to say I rather like how positive Twilight's portion is, considering she's super old by that point and the last of her friends still alive (or not napping for a century). Made me a little nostalgic for the days when Twilight was just a librarian, you know?
Recommended
2012:
The Art of Friendship by Blueshift
Read by Fimfiction
Genre: Blueshift
Twilight Sparkly Night never thought she was a special painting.
This was part of a series of stories about shipping two ponies… who are something other than ponies. In this case, works of art in a gallery. It's unspeakably amazing how Blueshift was able to take the setting of Equestria and filter it through art-based puns into whatever this is. It mocks standard fanfic openings, shipping, and just about everything else that could be fit into a thousand words. Make sure you read it if you haven't already, it's hysterical.
Highly Recommended
2013:
An Unepic Pony War in the Non-Distant Future by anowack
REVIEW NUMBER 5000!!!
Read by Fimfiction
Genre: Comedy
Now that there are four princesses in Equestria, Celestia and Luna think it's time to take a vacation. And that's just the start of their problems.
This was a great opportunity to get some old favorites out of the way. :) This takes place at an interesting point in show canon, between seasons three and four, which is why we get odd things like the Ponyville library also being called a palace. It's quite a lot of fun, though, for all that it's a fairly light comedy. The laughs aren't huge, but they are frequent, and this feels no need to rush to get where it's going. The best part is, it's good, clean fun that wouldn't be too out of place in the show itself. If you haven't read it yet, make sure you do.
Recommended
2014:
The Railway Ponies: Highball by The Descendant
Read by Fimfiction
Genre: Sad
If ever there were a pony and an engine made for each other, it was Highball and #3803.
A good writer is able to craft real, breathing, sympathetic characters who the reader can live alongside, whose cares become our cares. A great writer can create legends, such that, within a page of hearing about something, we not only care about them as our protagonist does, we are in awe. Such is the case with this piece's titular pony. This is a story about a living legend, what he's done to earn that title, and what happens when the world starts to move on without him. But interestingly, Highball isn't our protagonist; the narrator is only ever called "colt", which I found intriguing, almost a legend being made in its own right. It's through him that we learn about Highball and the Equestrian rails. On that note, if you don't know anything about railroads, don't fret the jargon at play; what you need to know is explained, and the rest you'll either be comfortable with by the end, or isn't important enough to understand in detail. Expect to have your feelings trampled on; like A Cup of Joe, this is heart-wrenching in places. It's a story about progress and tradition, not necessarily set as at odds as they can be, and for a slice of life, it's pretty damned epic.
Highly Recommended
2015:
Silver Spanner, Journeymare by Admiral Biscuit
Sequel to Silver Spanner Gets Her Cutie Mark
Genre: Slice of Life
Silver Spanner isn't your average workmare, as everypony likes to remind her.
This is a piece about prejudice, of multiple sorts, that pulls no punches about its main subject. One could maybe argue it's a little after school special-y in how it resolves, but it accomplishes its aim without ever being preachy, letting the characters do all the talking. Reading the author's blog at the end is quite enlightening, as well.
Recommended
2016:
The Changelings Are Due in Canterlot by Meta Four
Genre: Drama
After the changeling attack on Canterlot, ponies had a lot to worry about.
This is a very odd story. Clearly inspired by "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street", it's one part tense thriller as a mob of ponies hunts for changelings, and one part personal drama as Twilight yells at her friends. Also one part fixfic. And one part Would It Matter. And, like, one part "What if Amending Fences aired right after A Canterlot Wedding?" It is, in other words, a whole lot of stuff, and the more of it I read, the more I started to feel like it wasn't entirely cohesive. Other than just applying a Twilight Zone veneer to the changeling situation, culminating in a reason for Chrysalis to have ever invaded Canterlot, I'm not really sure what the point was. There might just be too many fingers in too many pies here. But it's certainly not bad, Meta Four being a good writer and all. I just was never quite certain what my reaction should be, or, more precisely, I would start getting indignant about the fixfic aspect only for something else to arrest my attention and keep me from thoroughly contemplating that feeling, and that happened a whole bunch. Still good as changeling fics go!
Recommended for Changeling Fans
2017:
Every Time a Pegasus Flaps Their Wings, a Kitten DIES by Estee
Genre: Random
That's just what ponies say, anyway.
Take the setting of 500 Little Murders, turn everything up to 11 and hit "Liquefy", and you get this story. Fluttershy and Twilight ascertain that the title is, in fact, not just a common and strangely morbid saying, then try and get to the bottom of things. And that bottom is just what. I really have no words for this. I thought, when Luna started talking about dwarves and lava, that this might end up being a nine-thousand-word feghoot, but instead, it just ends in the most crazy-pants way possible. I don't even.
Recommended
2018:
Best Friends, Forever by Bookish Delight
Genre: EQG Shipping
Their first date isn't what Twilight expected.
It's funny, this story was published as I was collating fics for this blog, and something about it just stood out to me, I had to read it. But yes, this is about the pure and wholesome ship they call SunLight, well in progress and exploring the boundaries of what a 'date' actually is. It is super fucking cute, the dialogue is all on point, though I did find myself wondering about some of the little things, like the retro diner from Coinky-Dink World being part of Sugarcube Corner. Nothing serious, just something I'd never thought about before. Regardless, this likely won't convince anyone who's not already on board with the idea, but if you are? Totally worth it, it's just so sweet.
Recommended for Shippers
...I've got a lot of catching up to do.
Interesting as Estee's version of it would no doubt be, that story is one of Georg's.
Speaking of, I feel I should note/admit that I may have contributed to the dwarves and lava with a comment on one of Estee's blogs discussing the kitten-killing story.
In any case, congrats on five kiloreviews!
4848159 I think we all kinda-sorta feed on each other in that regard. And thanks!
4848159
Stupid Georg, not being Estee. >:|
Geez I can’t believe we’ll be reaching a decade soon
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOLY SHIT I FORGOT YOU ASKED ME ABOUT THAT FIC!
In my defense I was 17 when I wrote that and waaaay too into purple prose.
4848207
We all were at some time! :D
Man, I miss The Descendant. The railway story is on my favorites shelf, and is criminally underappreciated, IMHO.
That's a lotta reviews!
Get a life!Congratulations!4848303
I wish he'd check in with us.
I think of him often.
Well, for what it’s worth, I read Would It Matter If I Was?, and that angry rebuttal fic by Reality Check, and had problems with both of them. My biggest issue was how, for the purpose of pushing a real-life message, they twisted characters out-of-character and ignored relevant information about changelings to better slot them into their allegories. So I had vague ideas of wanting to write something about “What would happen if Twilight argued with her friend(s) over what to do in response to the changelings, and no one was a mouthpiece for the author?” but couldn’t think of anything else to make it more interesting. A bit later, I got to thinking about doing a ponified version of that Twilight Zone episode, and realized that was the something extra to make my Would It Matter knockoff stand on its own. Twilight’s proposal to protect Equestria by turning it into a police state would parallel the mob’s attempt to protect their city by attacking suspected changelings (a point that, in retrospect, I could have made clearer).
I see where the fix-fic comparisons are coming from, but oddly enough, I didn’t really intend it that way. My logic was just that this was happening immediately after the events of “A Canterlot Wedding”, so Twilight’s feelings about her friends disbelieving her hadn’t had time to fade—and therefore would be a good source of drama. If you can believe it, “Everypony needs to get called out for what they did wrong!” was never my motivation, because normally I assumed that everypony apologized for everything sometime off-screen. (If you want to see me do a real fix-fic, read “Between a Spike and a Hard Place”, from my anthology Their Variables. :P )
Since TD isn't around I just wanted to say something on his behalf:
Highball was a bitch to edit because I fell in love with it the first time I read it – that's not a good place to be for critical analysis. However, it did inspire me to get feisty and push him a little further than he was comfortable with because the thing he'd written deserved it. As such the story contains a few style choices and conventions that TD hadn't used before, and he was an absolute champ about it. But for my sins, I missed a lot of basic proofing mistakes because I kept getting swept up into the story. The fact that TD is a steamhead and I know absolutely nothing about it helped, though. I was careful to make sure that the terms and expressions were mostly readable to a novice because that was going to be an important part of making it work.
It was a good time that really showed me that TD was dedicated to being a better writer and not just entertaining people, and it's a rare moment when I get to feel that I've been honoured just for getting to work on something. It's in my 5 top stories for a reason :)
4848399
All I can say is I know he's alive still, at least. :C
4848477
You did good. :D
4848538
That is legitimately nice to know, thank you!
Being one of the fandom's original ficcers yet repping 2018 gave me a giggle, thank you.
I searched all around for the name to that damnable retro diner and found nothing because EQG is still in Spitball Mode, so I decided to make the setback work in my favor. Though seeing that in action requires you to read the fic's B-side that came out the following day.
Woo! Nice going on the milestone! That's a seriously impressive number of reviews! Also, exclamation marks!
Out of this lot, i've read Blueshift's (liked it), anowacks (liked it a lot) and TD's (WHY THE HELL DOES THIS NOT HAVE MORE VIEWS?) None of the rest are must-add-to-RiL-right-now material, but several I might have a look at in the future. Maybe even Scribbler's, once I've seen some more G1. :P
4848852
3 words: not pony enough.
Sad but true.
4848852
You need to sit down and watch all of G1 like, right now.
Some of it is painful, but a lot of it is really awesome.
4848935
I've seen "Rescue at Midnight Castle", the 1986 movie, "The End of Flutter Valley" and "The Ghost of Paradise Estate", plus a few other bits. Oh, and Tales. I'll get there, eventually.
4849032
You missed the one with Katrina, then. Not that it's a standout episode, just that it comes after Rescue. :B
That's a monumental an achievement. Your tastes don't always align with mine, but I can still get an excellent idea of if I'll enjoy a story based on your review (and half the time know when to run away screaming based on your one sentence summary).
4848538
The fandom has been impoverished by TD stepping away… Not that I blame him for having a life of his own, of course, I just feel a pang of loss whenever I happen upon some new user's page and don't see TD's "welcome to the fimfiction" comment
4849074
It's probably the next one I'll watch. Then I'll probably do a marathon to get me up to the Tambelon episode or thereabouts.
4849129
I know, right? It's amazing the things you miss when someone's not around. :(
Congratulations on the landmark!
Man, five thousand stories.
4849387
And I've probably got a solid hundred reviews sitting around, waiting for the right moment. c.c
That ebon mane story is story #84
Good times all around. Whenever I see a historical horse, like Bill the Bastard or see the warhorse threads on /mlp/ I think of how much we need somewhere cycle vol 2.
WOOOOO!!! Congrats, PP!
Blueshift why you no make more stories like only you do... :(
Okay, so checking out "The Art of Friendship"...
Great start, and man that's a lot of puns. Work well too. Reminds me a bit of Flatland as of a couple paragraphs in. That can only be a good thing.
OH MY GOD THAT TRIXIE. XD
Unfortunately, "Unepic" was one of those things that I was pretty sure I had heard of, and read, and didn't leave a strong impression... and it looks like I was right (though also possible that's just early enough I wasn't upvoting as well as commenting too little). Maybe try again later.
aaaaaaaaaa Highball. I love Highball. Glad to see you liked it too. And one of the things that's always really impressed me about (besides the narrative style, non-central protagonist, surprising depth of worldbuilding for so short a story...) is how in a lot of ways, it's one of those stories that doesn't seem like it needs to be ponies--it could in some senses be a slightly-magicified age of industrialization with humans, or elves, or whatever in terms of most of the plot--but it feels Pony through and through. (I miss you, Descy! D: )*
"Kitten DIES" was one where I was like waaaiiiit... oh yeah! Doing horrible things to kittens and Fluttershy for fun and profit and crackfics. Good times.
* 4849129 4849271 Or organizing the December Santa hats thing. And of course we're sadly down one high quality writer who likes and tries to do well by Spike. (On which note, thanks for being one, Blazzing!)
4848852
Well, I'm kind of doing my part, but who knows when that'll come to fruition...
4848477
Yes, and working with him really is a pleasure.
4848538
Glad to hear it!
... Man, I really should have gone through the comments before commenting myself this time. :V