Paul's Thursday Reviews CXLX · 9:51pm Feb 21st, 2019
As we all know by now, the show is coming to an end. With everyone out there throwing their two cents in on the matter, I figure I might as well do the same. And what do I have to say?
It’s about damn time.
That’s right, I’m glad the show’s coming to an end. Frankly, I feel it should have done so three or four seasons ago. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy the show in general, but the more and more the show creators add, the less and less interested I am in what they’re adding. Ending the show is the single best thing that could happen to us, the fanfiction community. Why? Because we no longer have to work around stupidity.
No longer do we have to accept as canon that a beloved character’s crowning achievement will be reduced to an episode of stupid hijinks (Rainbow Dash).
No longer do we have to watch powerful and epic characters reduced to inept punching bags with little to no survival skills, magical power, or good ideas (Celestia).
No longer do the shippers have to live in fear that their OTPs will be denied by canon (Big McIntosh).
No longer will we be forced to accept as canon the sheer impossibility of a single character being a world-traveling savior of Equestria, a fashion icon, a national businessmare, a socialite, a lead musician, and a daily schoolteacher all at the same time (Rarity).
We might not all agree on what the worst moments of the series have been or why, but we can all agree that there have been some profoundly bad ones. And they all can be placed squarely at the feet of Hasbro or the show’s writers. But when Season 9 is over, that all ends. Fanfiction writers can do whatever they want with Equestria’s future, and there’s no longer any pesky future canon to tell us we’re wrong, make us work around inane concepts, or generally flip the bird at our masterpieces. Equestria will be ours, and I can’t think of anything I like more than that.
This all comes with a few caveats. We still have Equestria Girls shorts (which I’ve begun to like more than the main show in some ways). We’ve still got the comics (which I suppose will now have a stronger say in what is and isn’t canon now). We’ve apparently got a movie coming up that may or may not be G4. And let’s not forget the possibility that G5 could just be a continuation of G4. I seriously doubt that last one; the better an idea is, the less likely it’ll happen.
But for now, I take the news of G4’s official end happily. Because while the fandom can be home to some truly terrible ideas, it can also be home to some beautiful ones, and I’m tired of canon getting in the way of that.
Let’s have some reviews, shall we?
Stories for This Week:
For Whom We Are Hungry by Cold in Gardez
The Sun Also Sets by SaddlesoapOpera
The Shortsighted Princess by Summer Knight
Pony Up A Tree by Estee
Twilight Sparkle vs. the Situational Multiverse by pixelbit5
Supper of Scootaloo Stew by Lucky Dreams
in tenebris by Crystal Moose
Because She Can by Erisn
The Silver Standard by PatchworkPoltergeist
Time Turner's Discordian Detective Agency: The Panther of the Bluebloods by Rodinga
Total Word Count: 389,580
Rating System
Why Haven't You Read These Yet?: 3
Pretty Good: 2
Worth It: 4
Needs Work: 0
None: 0
For Whom We Are Hungry
14,935 Words
By Cold in Gardez
I was looking forward to this one, which is not a common thing for me. It ended up not at all like I anticipated, but that’s not a bad thing at all.
Gin Star took part in the invasion of Canterlot. He not only survived the Love Bomb™, but recovered fast enough to avoid being found and killed in his sleep by pony search parties. Now he lives alone in Ponyville, starving and doing everything he can to blend in. There is no queen, no hive mind, nothing but survival, and that means behaving like a pony at all times and stealing love however he can. It’s a terrible life for a changeling. But things change one day when an accident makes him do something unexpected.
This is a delightful story about a lone creature finding its own home in a world that it fears. It shows us – emphasis on shows – the difference between surviving and living. The story in general might not be original, but the direction is as solid as can be. CiG delivers a subtly emotional story of growth, love, and bonding, and does so with perfect voice, pacing, and timing. It’s so well done that I can’t even muster my usual disdain for the second person perspective the story utilizes, and that should say something.
It all makes me wonder what those eleven downvotes are about. Is there some plot aspect that just doesn’t jive? Did I miss some characterization snafu? Are those eleven just mean-spirited changeling haters? Did they lose the contest and used the downvote button for petty revenge? I have no idea.
Regardless, I greatly enjoyed Gin Star’s little journey with Saw Dust. I only wish there could be more. Not that it’s necessary; CiG chose just the right spot to end it, realistically speaking.
Bookshelf: Why Haven’t You Read These yet?
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
All the Mortal Remains — WHYRTY?
Babel — Pretty Good
The Destruction of the Self — Pretty Good
The First Light of Dawn — Pretty Good
The Sun Also Sets
5,578 Words
By SaddlesoapOpera
Sunset has had it. She’s listened and watched, and she knows how Twilight keeps saving the day. But why should she? Celestia is an immortal alicorn. She can do anything. What in her own name makes her so high and mighty that she can ignore the plight of her ponies and send puppets to do her dirty work? It’s a pattern that’s been repeated for decades with royal student after royal student. Fed up with this, Sunset decides to go back to Equestria and ask Celestia directly just what her game is. The answer isn’t anything like she imagined.
Sunset goes to see Celestia is a common concept written by hundreds of FIMFic authors, if not thousands. To really make a difference, one needs something that stands out. SaddlesoapOpera tackles the challenge with another trope: alicorns are not immortal after all. The combination makes for a story more interesting than the average fare.
The story was approached in an unorthodox fashion as well. Most authors would have made the ~5k of this story be one big conversation detailing out the hows and whys and whats. There’s surprisingly little of that here. Instead we mostly get to watch Sunset react wildly to everything happening around her, mostly by either barging head-first into situations or running away from them – and I don’t mean that metaphorically. It’s not unrealistic by any means, just different.
The problem is that it makes it a little harder for things to sink in. The story felt almost rushed, like SaddlesoapOpera couldn’t wait to get it over with and move on. This is mostly due to directness and difficulty with pacing. A good example is a moment when Sunset asks Celestia why she’s being so honest with her. This would have been a good time to really show Celestia’s personal struggle through her appearance and actions, and instead we get a single sentence that is purely “Celestia did this”. It’s not riveting, it does nothing to clarify her mental state, and it’s not by any means emotional. I get the impression the author meant for it to be a major moment, but it’s so direct and impersonal that it achieves nothing but extra words for the count.
I get what SaddlesoapOpera is going for. It’s a good idea, and I’ve seen it worked to amazing effect. This one isn’t quite there, it’s narrative style being too direct and lacking the visual appeal to pull it off. I won’t fault the author for the attempt. On the contrary, I encourage them to keep trying.
The Sun Also Sets has a good premise with its combined tropes and is overall a good story. The author just needs to practice a bit more and get a little more creative with their style to make something truly memorable.
Bookshelf: Worth It
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
New Author!
The Shortsighted Princess
2,561 Words
By Summer Knight
Twilight has noticed something peculiar. Every person in the human world was perfectly identical to their pony equivalents, from Applejack’s Stetson to Rarity’s reading glasses. So why is it her counterpart wears glasses? She talks to her friends on the matter, but none of them are giving her the answer she wants.
This is silly. Which is what I expected, so that’s good. The story mostly revolves around taking the idea of a nearsighted Twilight to mild extremes, with a focus on her being in denial about it. It skirts the edge of outliving the concept’s value for humor, but stretches it out with a few asides like the idea Rainbow Dash dyes her mane or Applejack pulls no punches (or would that be “pulls no kicks” in this case?). Summer Knight did a good job getting each character’s signature voice down in text, which was nice, and while the story is silly it doesn’t descend into outright stupidity. In a way, it almost feels like this could have been an episode; the humor is right where it needs to be for that kind of thing.
The only thing that bugs me is how firmly Twilight denies her need for glasses. Maybe it’s just because I’ve been wearing them for the vast majority of my life, but I don’t see why it would be such a big sticking point. But meh, it’s a minor niggle.
This story is exactly what anyone would expect. And that’s fine. It’s not like the author was attempting to break new ground or make a literary masterpiece. It achieves its goal, and does so without any serious snafus in writing or stylistic quality. Certainly worth the few minutes I invested into it.
Bookshelf: Worth It
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
New Author!
Pony Up A Tree
8,021 Words
Estee failed to provide cover art.
In an act of petty revenge, Rainbow Dash puts Rarity in a tree. Thus begins what may be the longest night of Rarity’s life.
Oh, but I am entertained. This verbose story is exactly what the title suggests, with Rarity spending a full autumn evening stuck in a tree failing to find a way down and getting more and more frustrated with a certain blue pegasus by the hour. It was delightful.
Estee writes Rarity as being extremely wordy, speaking in longwinded and complicated sentences. This is not at all how she speaks in the show, but it does a good job of making her a little more ‘elite’ in appearance. Which, in turn, makes her situation all the more entertaining. As such, I’m willing to forgive.
This is more my brand of humor. Which is nice, considering it’s the second story in as many days to pull that off (see Supper of Scootaloo Stew below). The only thing that gave me pause is how the author tends to refer to the Moon without the “the”, as if it were a person instead of an object (the same courtesy is not granted to the Sun). But I consider that a minor thing, and it may even have cultural/worldbuilding consequences. If so, I’d love to see them.
I’m looking forward to my next Estee read.
Bookshelf: Pretty Good!
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
Five Hundred Little Murders — WHYRTY?
Twilight Sparkle vs. the Situational Multiverse
2,576 Words
By pixelbit5
Twilight Sparkle randomly starts seeing all timelines at once. She is understandably distressed by this, so Spike calls for some royal assistance.
This was spectacularly dumb. It earned my disdain when the first thing I saw was a x3 sized, all-caps, multi-exclamation-mark scream plastering the top line of the story. Then Celestia bursts in and starts referring to Twilight as “Twilight Waifu” while having the brain of a five year old and I gave up on liking the story. I expected it to be silly, but not stupid.
In his defense, pixelbit5 intended it to be stupid, so clearly I’m just not the intended audience. If you like your stories to be idiotic, then by all means give it a go. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to turn my nose up in the air like the snob I am and go read something with class.
Bookshelf: Crackfic
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
New Author!
Supper of Scootaloo Stew
1,531 Words
By Lucky Dreams
Rainbow brings Scootaloo to visit her Great Aunt Gloom Cloud. While dear ol’ aunty’s cooking in the kitchen, Rainbow decides to warn Scoots: don’t misbehave in Aunty Gloom’s place or she’ll eat you!
Oh, Lucky Dreams, you delightful writer you. You’ve discovered where my sense of humor lives. I can’t stop smiling. I am reminded, gleefully, of Stephan Chapman’s The Stiff and the Stile. The little poems (I read them as songs, myself) Rainbow recites for Scootaloo about all the past foals Aunty Gloom cooked in various ways tickled all my funny bones. It’s the author’s signature whimsy and fun with a dark twist.
There are two catches, neither of which bother me (I was having too much fun) but I can see some people being critical of. The first is that this is obviously a prank, and a rather cruel one to send Scootaloo’s way given that we know how easily she gets scared of such stories. You’d think Rainbow would know better. Princess Luna’s gonna have her work cut out for her tonight.
The second is that the poems are full of whimsical humor but Rainbow is repeatedly described as the picture of seriousness. It’s a hard contradiction to visualize, her being stone-faced while reciting these poems. I suppose you’re supposed to read them differently from how I did though, so that’s probably my own fault. Didn’t affect my entertainment any, at least.
If you like black humor, this’ll be a treat.
Bookshelf: Why Haven’t You Read These Yet?
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
A Candle in the Sky — Pretty Good
A Light in Dark Places — Pretty Good
Fly Before You Run — Pretty Good
Yes, Apple Bloom, there *is* a Santa Hooves — Pretty Good
In the Place the Wild Horses Sleep — Worth It
in tenebris
2,005 Words
By Crystal Moose
Obvious story is obvious.
Diamond Tiara is having a… rather ridiculous dream, even by dreaming standards. In it, she is having tea (made of literal gold) with two guests. Then Luna shows up and reveals those guests are demons akin to Nightmare Moon attempting to goad Diamond into ‘joining’ with them.
I might have liked this story more if it hadn’t interpreted DT in unrealistic extremes. She’s a C-movie villain, characterless and uninteresting at best. To go along with her silly evil, we have a Luna who is incapable of forming a coherent argument beyond “don’t do it”. It’s all rather cookie-cutter.
I can only assume Crystal Moose wrote this for the sake of having a little fun, which in turn probably means none of this is meant to be taken seriously. I suppose I’m fine with that, but I can’t in good conscience rate this highly.
Bookshelf: Worth It
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
A Good Girl Never… — Pretty Good
Any Cost — Pretty Good
What I brought back from Manehattan — Needs Work
Because She Can
9,441 Words
By Erisn
In What Lies Beyond the Dance, it is discovered that Celestia, Chrysalis, and Discord are immortal and omnipotent, and use their limitless power to gamble the souls of creatures in worlds they build. In Because She Can, we learn that Luna knew Celestia before she became the monster she is now, for they were always sisters. But when Celestia offered Luna the chance to join her in immortality and total control of the world, Luna refused. She has suffered horribly ever since.
The story is, essentially, a history of Celestia’s evil and cruelty as told by Luna. It operates under the premise that Celestia can literally and instantly remake the world and all within it. How Celestia came to have this omnipotence is never explained, for Luna never found out. That may bug the ‘need to know’ crowd, and I don’t blame them, but at the same time I applaud the author for sticking only to Luna’s perspective from beginning to end.
What I didn’t like was the blatant ripping off of Lord of the Rings in the first timeline. I’ll grant that infinite timelines means infinite possibilities, and I was okay with and even entertained by the subtle nods in the form of the number of Kings/nations, but when Erisn started making direct quotes and turning Celestia literally into Sauron I lost all respect for the attempt.
Fortunately, that major mistake only happens at the beginning and doesn’t replicate. Or if it does, it’s with sources I’m unfamiliar with.
Much of the story is a big wad of agony for Best Princess while she describes all the myriad tortures she undergoes under the attentive watch of Celestia and later Chrysalis. In this the story most certainly overstays its welcome. I can’t help but think the story could have been ~3k words shorter and not lost anything. We get it, Luna’s miserable and Celestia’s the cause. Move on, please.
Despite the abused theme and poorly chosen references, the overarching idea is an interesting one. It does have quite the sense of hopelessness though, which I can see the ‘happy ending crusaders’ having a problem with. There’s some hinting at possibilities of victory for Luna, particularly with the revelation that Celestia, Discord, and Chrysalis don’t understand things like the Elements of Harmony or the associated tree, but it seems so very little compared to 9,000 words of blood, torture, misery, and evil.
Overall, Because She Can is a decent story that goes longer than it needs to and is all about Luna’s struggle for hope despite an eternity of horror. It could use a proofreader and it won’t appeal to those opposed to sadfics. As a sadfic… well, I’d have to call it mediocre. It’s more a casual retelling of events than an actual story, which greatly hinders its overarching value and the potential emotional impact. Still, not a bad story by any means. If approached in a more direct fashion like its predecessor it may have been solid gold.
Bookshelf: Worth It
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
How to be Cruel — Pretty Good
How to be Kind — Pretty Good
Tell Me She's Adopted — Worth It
What Lies Beyond the Dance — Worth It
The Silver Standard
296,542 Words
By PatchworkPoltergeist
Sterling Silver Spoon was once a proper nine-year-old lady. A wealthy family, the second most prestigious school in Equestria (and only because hers wasn’t founded by a princess), near the top of the social ladder, and an entire lifetime of cultured sophistication ahead of her. And now? She lives in Ponyville, a lot less rich (but still so compared to most of the locals), attending a school so small it consists of one room, with adult ponies who have no idea how to behave like proper, well-mannered gentlecolts and ladies, to say nothing of the foals. It’s got to be the most terrible time of her life.
And then she meets Diamond Tiara.
Despite the show giving us so little to know about her, I love Silver Spoon. I imagine it’s the same thing a lot of people felt when Octavia first appeared in The Best Night Ever, saying not a single line and yet capturing the hearts of so many. Silver’s gotten a lot more lines than Miss Melody (or Miss Philharmonica, if you prefer), and it’s only wetted my appetite over the years. Really, the fact I still haven’t written that big Silver Spoon-centric story that’s been going on in my head since Season 5 is a minor miracle. So when I saw that the author behind A Diamond and a Tether had an epic-sized Silver-centric slice-of-life… well, needless to say I was excited. It’s rare for me to be so thrilled to finally read a story, but for this I was so happy to finally get to it.
That’s the long-winded way of me saying I might be biased in this story’s favor. Just a little. Or a lot. Fair warning?
The story follows Silver’s first two years in Ponyville, with the primary focuses being her struggle to acclimate to the new environment and her slippery relationship with Diamond Tiara. It is interesting to me that Poltergeist’s interpretation of Silver’s character isn’t too far from my own, although the details are certainly different. She’s an elitist obsessed with appearances – which of course means not getting dirty or ruining her mane – and she’s appalled by the ‘barbarian’ nature of her similarly-aged new schoolmates. She likes her tea time, her pet fish Ferdinand, and her butler/bodyguard Tacks. Many ponies accurately accuse her of snobbery. And why not? She comes from a world where entire wars are fought using glances, subtle wordplay, and the orderly collection and dissemination of secrets.
But Silver’s not a bad pony. She merely has standards. Watching her character growth – i.e. watching her standards shift to fit her new life – is a treat. In a big way, this is a story about Silver ascending beyond the petty cruelties of her old lifestyle to become a student of Friendship. With every chapter, she gradually comes to understand her new life. While the show depicts Silver as a bully and underling of Diamond, Poltergeist treats her with respect and makes her a unique and vivid character who was never the bad guy of the piece. If anything, Silver is a social combatant; she gets to know everyone at her new home, making her own friends and companions and navigating the turbulent waters of small town life. There’s no ‘good’ or ‘evil’ here, only a foal trying to make sense of a world that refuses to comply.
Which brings me to another interesting aspect. Silver’s relationship with Diamond Tiara is, again, one of the two central aspects that the rest of the story revolves around. In the show, Silver is often depicted as more Diamond’s lacky than anything. This story gives a reason behind that perspective while also clarifying something interesting: Silver and Diamond are friends. Not in a social climber, you-scratch-my-back kind of way, but the real deal. Through their interactions we get to see a side of Diamond that the show never offers, including the lengths she’s willing to go to protect their relationship. In a big way, this is also a story about Diamond Tiara, and it works wonderfully to make them both relatable.
And that’s not the only thing. Not by far. One of the most interesting aspects of this story, if not outright impressive, is how flawlessly Poltergeist weaves in canon with it. It’s two years of events that combines everything with Seasons 1 through 5. Ignoring debates regarding exactly how much time has really passed in Equestria between seasons, the author handles this aspect with impressive skill. Poltergeist constantly keeps a finger on the pulse of the show such that episodes are foreshadowed several chapters before they occur in-story, and they often have consequences for Silver long after they’ve passed. Events like Silver’s Summer Sun Celebration Tea Party, the Nightmare Night escapade, her absence during Ponyville Confidential, her brief encounter with Discord, and her personal emotional storm during Slice of Life are all handled with finesse. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg; happenings from the show are flawlessly interwoven into this story to make a clear and delightful whole. I’m honestly not sure I’ve seen the likes of it before, or at least not to this level of effectiveness.
Throw in a myriad of fantastic extra touches ranging from Silver’s unexpectedly close relationship with Pinkie Pie (it works a lot better than it sounds outside of context), her friendship with Twist, Pipsqueak, and Truffle Shuffle, or her (frankly adorable) crush on Featherweight. I especially liked the unorthodox depiction of Dinky as a fan or the paranormal and mythological, right down to holding seances to summon dead teachers to help her study for a test (insert That’s My Pony meme here). There’s so many nice details in this story. Poltergeist spared no expense when it came to making the characters interesting, even the side ones with far less screen time. And of course the Mane 6 and other characters get their due cameos and somewhat important roles, including Luna investigating a nightmare and Twilight Sparkle helping Silver work through a colossal friendship problem.
And yet there’s no sense of wasted space or excessiveness. At no point did what I was seeing not feel like an important part of Silver’s slice-of-life journey. Every chapter holds something valuable, every event leads to something else, and the strings all come neatly together to make a final, remarkably complete piece. The pacing is perfect, nothing happens without good reason, and Silver Spoon never stops growing as an individual.
I could go on (no, really, I could), but I think by now I’ve said enough. I loved every aspect of this story and spent every day looking forward to reading it. My only disappointment is that it’s over and I won’t get to watch my darling little rich pony grow anymore.
There might be a few stumbles. For example, I question Poltergeist’s depiction of nine- and ten-year-olds. It’s not just Silver’s manner, but every child in this story. They all seem very mature and well-spoken for being kids. I’ll grant that makes the reading easier, but it felt like I was reading a story more about older teenagers than preteens. The age issue widens with certain events where Silver reacts like one might expect a child to (Discord being a prime example) when throughout the majority of the story they seem more like adults, or something close to it (Silver’s ability to argue details and intent with grownups and write political speeches, for example). Silver very rarely behaves like a nine-year-old. Neither do any of the other foals in Ponyville, for that matter.
Still, the issues I had with the story are small potatoes compared to the endless “YES” I have for it. I absolutely need more Silver Spoon stories in my literary diet. In the meantime, I will be eagerly anticipating Poltergeist’s next work of literature.
Bookshelf: Why Haven’t You Read These Yet?
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
A Diamond and a Tether — WHYRTY?
Time Turner's Discordian Detective Agency: The Panther of the Bluebloods
46,390 Words
By Rodinga
Sequel to Time Turner's Discordian Detective Agency: The Missing Kitten of Inspiration
It’s been two years since Time Turner worked with Rarity, Octavia, Vinyl Scratch, and Lucky Catch to defeat the mafia and find Opalescence. Now we’re approaching the Summer Sun Celebration, which is to be held in Ponyville this year. Alas, Time Turner won’t be attending, for he’s been called upon by none of than Prince Blueblood to solve a mystery. The threat this time? A shadowy panther of legend that might not be as mythical as everyone thinks.
The Panther of the Bluebloods isn’t as witty, clever, or inventive as its predecessor, so I guess it’s safe to say one can’t catch lightning in a bottle twice. Even so, this one’s no slouch. It comes with a slightly less adventurous mystery that only coincidentally happens at the same time as Princess Luna’s return. Revealing what may be Time Turner’s Moriarty and introducing us to the true (and potentially disastrous) nature of his cutie mark and abilities, the story has plenty of new elements to keep things interesting. Time Turner’s constant struggle to avoid his assistant Lucky Catch’s marital advances is a nice touch, might I add.
The story suffers from some grammatical issues near the beginning, but they are quickly remedied within a few chapters such that by the end it’s easy to forget they were ever there in the first place. The story is also aided by Rodinga’s clever attempts to circle canon around Time Turner’s adventures, including but not limited to Shining ArmorArmour’s promotion to Captain, how Twilight came to learn about the coming of Nightmare Moon in the first place (which itself remains a bit of an unexplained mystery), and a possible hint as to why Octavia and Vinyl move to Ponyville later. I have to wonder, however, if canon hasn’t thrown Rodinga’s plans for a loop in the form of Ditzy.
I enjoyed myself with this one. While it may not be of the same stature as its predecessor, it has enough charm and wit to let it stand out on its own. I’ll be looking forward to the next Discordian Detective story, should one ever appear.
Bookshelf: Pretty Good
Previous stories reviewed for this author:
Time Turner's Discordian Detective Agency: The Missing Kitten of Inspiration — WHYRTY?
The Reign of Princess Dinky the Cute — Pretty Good
Stories for Next Week:
Purple Prose, or A Night at the Clopera by Bradel
Tick by billymorph
Angel Crashes a Wedding by Prak
The Game of Thrones, Alicorn Style by RK_Striker_JK_5
What's Under the Ground... by Sorren
The Little Mermare by AbsoluteAnonymous
Get Thyselves a Room by An Unimpressive
Shimmer by Autumn Wind
The Last Conversation by Sidral Mundet
Don't Look at the Fog by SpitFlame
Recent Review Map:
Paul's Thursday Reviews CXLV
Paul's Thursday Reviews CXLVI
Paul's Thursday Reviews CXLVII
Paul's Thursday Reviews CXLVIII
Paul's Thursday Reviews CXLIX
You Are Here
Paul's Thursday Reviews CXLXI
Paul's Thursday Reviews CXLXII
Paul's Thursday Reviews CXLXIII
Paul's Thursday Reviews CXLXIV
Paul's Thursday Reviews CXLXV
That is a trio of typos from someone who hadn't quite stamped out 'the' on autopilot yet. Fixed, and thankee.
It's part of the local worldbuilding, and so is very deliberate. The (very partial) explanation has appeared.
Kind of surprised to see you liked this one, as it's one of my more divisive stories. Reactions to character behavior range from 'Friends do this to each other' through 'And then the necklaces exploded.'
And this is the fountain incident.
The comics are the best canon :3
Upcoming S9 episode: Rarity has a nervous breakdown.
5017774 I always consider it as the moon and sun have proper names like Bob. (In all honesty, I've tried to write like Estee at times for practice, and even borrowed a character or two with permission. The important thing to remember is that Rarity does not merely get even. That would imply a certain degree of equality. Rarity gets ahead.)
I'm not particularly offput by the series ending myself either. While it is kind of sad to see G4 go, it has run it's course I think from a couple seasons back, though season 7 has some nice episodes with loose ties being wrapped up, if you like that sort of thing though I guess not here since fanfiction. Besides, from some of the small leaks I've heard about G5, it's going to be a soft reboot of the characters, so fresh characters again would be nice.
To be fair, it will still be canon, just not further developing into Pinkie Pie level of impossible maddness.
Heh, sounded like one of those inspirational speakers or some liberation group from a menace as I was reading it.
Honestly?
I agree with you on everything you said in this.
Granted, I still love the heck out of the show, but have sadly (or NOT so sadly, given some of the eps) missed the majority of the seasons beginning about halfway through Season 3, as our cable package does NOT have Discovery Family in it (gods, I miss the Hub SO much!), so about the ONLY way that I can watch the eps is through either Dailymotion or YouTube.
But I can tell you all that I have NOT liked some of the things Hasbro and the newer writing staff have come up with.
(Twi becoming an alicorn, Starlight becoming part of tbe cast... and don't EVEN get me started on that stupid school!l)
To be honest, with a VERY few exceptions (like Daring Do actually being a real pony, and not a fictional one (which I actually love the hell out of!)), I've been ignoring the show's canon in my writing and artwork.
In my own headcanon from Season 3 on, Twi is NOT an alicorn (and never WILL be!), Celestia and Luna are properly powerful and DON'T get Worfed all the dang time, the Pillars don't exist (Starswirl does, but only in mentioned form; I did catch the Shadowplay, and developed an instant and derp dislike of him after the way he acted through the whole season finale) and more importantly, neither do Starlight or that assinine, stupid school.
Nor do Cozy Glow or Chancellor Neighsay, for that matter.
As to the Equestria Girls, the movies and the shorts and so on, I'm still going to work them into my stuff.
Mainly 'cause I love 'em all to pieces!
As for us being able to do OUR thing without having to worry about it contradicted by stupidity in the show's canon?
Damn straight we can!
The sky truly IS the limit after Season 9 ends!
The only one of these I've read is "The Silver Standard," and then, not even much of it. The word count quickly spiraled past my ability to keep up. But Patchwork Poltergeist is one of my favorite ponyfic authors, and this story is a great example of why. Like you said, it weaves in canon effortlessly and in surprising ways, but also because she takes a character she's developed an interest in and fills them out wonderfully. You've already seen that she does this multiple times with Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara. She's also written a wonderful series of stories about Spoiled Rich that are brimming with great characterization. They're definitely worth reading.
Golly, Paul, you're making me blush!
This was a blast to do, but so dangerous with a still-running show. The fact that Crusaders of the Lost Mark didn't obliterate my plans is due to lucky timing and not having much of an ending in the first place. It rewrote the story for the better, but if it had aired a few months later I would've been sunk. It's too big an episode to ignore, especially when you've already built so much around show continuity.
That said, I softly draw the line at the end of season five for show continuity for this 'verse (are there enough stories in it now to be a 'verse?). I can wiggle out of a lot, but by now there's been enough solidly built that I can't double back if it turns out Silver Spoon is Octavia's sister all along.
Also, the timeline for this show is made of bubblegum and fever dreams and trying to make sense of it is like trying to eat soap bubbles with chopsticks. How does the school system work? Why does a one-room schoolhouse have a schoolboard? Hell if I know.
Fair enough. I remember at the beginning of this story, I had every intention of actually writing children like children... and then remembered what it was like being one. Not how it was, but how it felt. There's something to be said about how much gravitas Silver herself ascribes situations, but... yeah, I did Peanuts it more than a little. (Realistically, the Silver vs Apple Bloom vs Berry Pinch debate should have ended in more tears and less on-the-nose points but hey)
To be fair, three of those are part of the same career, and the Pony Tones seem more of a hobby. The schematics for how ANY of them manage to be a teacher makes absolutely no damn sense any way you slice it. Maybe if the classes are weekly. MAYbe. If you squint.
Ahh, Supper of Scootaloo Stew. Not the kind of story that gets loads of adulation, yet is entirely worthy of it. :D
I'm wasn't ever distraught over the show ending. Every show has to end sometime, after all, and 9 seasons is a great runtime. But I do agree, it is about time for it to end. All the character arcs are done, and there are only so many ideas left to play out. Anything beyond S9 would probably just feel dragged on and overused. Also, I'm completely in favor of Gen5 starting completely fresh.
That aside, I've read 1 of these and heard of 3, and the rest look pretty coolio. Can't wait for next week!
The show got worse after McCarthy left. The season 4 finale was the peak, then it went down hill afterwards, with a few bright spots flashing every one in a while (Amending Fences, The Perfect Pear, etc). What gives me hope for G5 is that McCarthy is back as the show runner.
Normally I’d say, “You take that back, you blasphemer.” But considering how bad season 8 was, I’m not even mad.
Paul, how could you doubt Rarity this way?
Nooo! Can we please, please have a proper batpony episode before the show ends?
I'm not sure I can fully agree. At this point, I think that the show's primary contribution to the fandom is by drawing in new fans rather than providing quality content for the veterans. I believe that most of the fandom's already operating on Marvel/DC logic anyway when it comes to canon: cherry-pick details that are relevant/enjoyable in specific instances whilst all having an unspoken agreement not to bring up contradictory 'facts'.
The show still does provide some unifying factor in guiding the fandom's creativity when it comes to new content, though. Less experienced/adventurous authors who are tired of, say, the Mane 6 or changelings will find it much easier to work with pre-established characters like the Student 6 or Kirin, which we wouldn't have gotten if the show had stopped earlier. And readers will know more or less what they're going to get instead of having to take a bigger risk in trusting an unknown author to captivate them with their personal creations.
It offers a good starting point for authors and readers to get to know one another's tastes before branching out to more unique material. It's not as if canon has really stopped people from coming up with weird and wonderful ideas, anyway. (But yes, admittedly, some authors have made the unfortunate mistake of bending their stories backwards to accommodate canon.)
The most concerning caveat for me would be the potential hit to the fandom population. As noble as it might be to make art for the sake of the craft, I think there's no denying that validation from the masses plays a huge role in powering fandom creativity. If we drop below critical mass, we'll probably lose many great artists.
Upcoming movies and G5 might help avoid that loss, but who knows whether they'll have the same impact that G4 did.
Then again, it's probably better to have a proper sendoff for G4 than to drag it out on a slow, painful decline until cancellation due to poor viewership.
I've found myself dabbling briefly in non-pony fanfiction sporadically over the years, but there's a trend of the characters I want to write about being ones that're dead or otherwise absent in-canon, or else are given sparse characterization to the point of basically being blank slates. And something I think the show's done well at times is having things be definite enough that the world feels consistent, but vague enough that there's room to fiddled with it--the sirens are one of my favorite examples, as creatures that fit in with only a sentence or two of backstory but leave many non-vital details open for interpretation. But it gets harder to keep that up the longer the show goes on, and while I know that in theory you can ignore a show's canon, in practice I just don't like actually doing it.
So I agree that the show's ending is basically a good thing, basically. I've been convinced for a while that while the show's got a lot going for it, there're a lot of topics touched on or alluded to in canon that fanfiction just flat-out handles better.
5017786
Isn't that every Rarity episode though?
I'm also glad to see it ending. Seriously, I fell way behind around season... 5? 6? I've lost track.
For me, the best season was Season 2, when I'd get up at ungodly hours of the night to catch the next episode. It was a different kind of magic. I'm going to have to catch up at some point.