Fic recs, August 2nd! · 3:21pm Aug 2nd, 2019

Not to be outdone by PaulAsaran, I am at Bronycon and posting fic reviews! >:V Don't worry, I read all these stories before I left.

Also, Oroboro's doing one more Sunset Shipping contest! Oh my god. @_@

H: 3 R: 2 C: 2 V: 0 N: 0

A Midnight Talk by RoyalBardOfCanterlot
Genre: Drama
Rarity arrives at Twilight's castle one night, clearly distraught.
This is a short piece about Rarity discovering that the nobility she's always sought after isn't exactly what she wants. Good character work here, with Twilight trying to comfort her and countering Rarity's dark feelings with her own. The writing I thought was a little flaky, though. Sentence structure tends to be a little simplistic, if nothing else. It didn't really leave an impression on me, though once I again I find myself appreciative that an easy shipping setup did not go anywhere near that road.
Recommended as Light Reading

Relevé by Cillerenda
Genre: EQG
Applejack is no dancer, but today she's going to try.
The weird thing about this story, I had to read the A/N to really figure out what was going on. I dunno if that's my bad or the author's. Suffice to say, this is a very believable look at a side of AJ no one would expect her to have, likely including us.
Recommended

Ten of Cups by bahatumay
Reading by Midnight29
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Slice of Life
Trixie performs at a foal's party.
This is a very straightforward story, but that doesn't keep it from being good. There's a strong theme related to the prompt drop, plus a really good look at how stage magic actually works. And for being another story about poor, pathetic Trixie… Well, she's not doing that bad, even if her other option is starvation, and she's not quite as pathetic post-Magic Duel as one might think. So yeah, this wasn't too bad.
Recommended for Trixie Fans

Into the Other by President Dead
Reading by Lotus Moon
Genre: Horror
Fluttershy has something stuck in her throat.
I have got to stop reading horror stories, because analyzing what they're about takes all the fun out of them. That said, I was on board with this right up until the monster started talking. Like, this actually makes good use of inducing horror by showing the monster, but then it starts spouting all this cryptic Lovecraftian bullshit, and that reminded me of Aragon's comic about Lovecraft and… Yeah, left a bad taste in my mouth. That said, I think there are a few other things that can be read into this that make it more worthwhile, it all depends on how you interpret it. I just may have overthought it for myself. :B
Recommended If You Don't Think About It Too Much

Half a Pair Short by Posh
Genre: Sad EQG
Twilight Sparkle visits her friend Applejack on the other side of the mirror. Some things are different.
Need to get your heartstrings tugged on? Look no further. The Appleparents question having two different answers on either side of the mirror is something I'll never get tired of, and what makes this really work is that it's not as cut-and-dried as "one is yes, one is no". I mean, the title clues you in on what's going on, but there's more to it even than that. This was fantastic.
Highly Recommended

Midnight Flowers by BlueBook
Genre: Adventure
Roseluck and Princess Luna travel to the Zebra lands to find a cure.
Oh, this was written at the Trotcon Speedfic panel two years ago! :) This is a nice, simple story, with good world-building. My only real complaint is the use of slashes in the rhymed dialogue, but even still, this passes the Zecora Test, and with three characters, no less! ~~oh god now it's got me~~
Recommended

Tartarus Island by Darkstarling
Read by Fimfiction
Genre: EQG
Tirek escapes from prison.
I love that having canon AUs allows for infinite "what would they do there?" prompts for fanfiction. This one has a really unique take on Tirek in the human world that I certainly never would have thought of. A fratricide, sure, but there's more to it than that. Add to this the strong supporting cast of his comrades in crime and the historical event the plot draws from, and you've got a really excellent story!
Highly Recommended