Fic recs, May 13th! · 12:29am May 14th, 2020
Both of the next regular review blogs I do are gonna take a while, my RIL just ticked over 9000 (haha memes) and my unread chapter count just topped 2000, so let's do some minifics, huh? I actually haven't done of these since last year. :O
H: 1 R: 12 C: 11 V: 0 N: 0
The Panopticon by Cold in Gardez
Genre: Fiction
As the A/N at the start says, this isn't ponyfiction, but that doesn't mean it's not great. A short piece about corporate prisons — is it sci-fi? It's definitely set in a bleak future that could almost be now — with a fantastic twist at the end. I loved it.
Highly Recommended
Sleep on It by Esle Ynopemos
Reading by Scribbler
Genre: Shipping
Twilight and Applejack discuss wedding rings.
This is a nice bit of shippy world-building. I have to wonder if the ritual Twilight discusses is actually part of a real-world tradition or created whole-cloth.
Recommended for Shippers
The Pink Punmaster Returns by Nonagon
Genre: Feghoot
I mean, you have to expect it. It's right there in the title. And yet my review of this story can be summed up by a lengthy and long-suffering sigh.
Recommended If You Like Puns
Let It Out by FuzzyFurvert
Genre: Twilestia, But Still, What?
I mean, it's obviously a drama built around something that can't be whatever it is you're thinking. And yet, whatever it is you're thinking this can be is not what it is. I just don't even.
Recommended If You Like Fart Jokes
Home in Canterlot by HoofAndQuill
Genre: Slice of Life
I was anticipating a little shipping, but I can't say I was disappointed when it didn't come. This is just a simple piece about how different Rarity and Applejack are, and how different the both of them are from Canterlot nobility. Told quite well.
Recommended
Alone in the Darkness by FanOfMostEverything
Reading by Illya Leonov
Genre: Historical
No one believed my words, but I could see the darkness lurking in their hearts. And I could save them from it.
This is a backstory for King Sombra, as becomes quickly apparent, and it's like no other I've seen. It paints him tragically, as a would-be hero, and is cannily silent on his ultimate fate. We know where he ends up, yes, but not how he gets there, and that I think is this piece's best move. It'll give you a lot to think about!
Recommended
November by Admiral Biscuit
Reading by ShadowOfCygnus
Genre: HiE
So this actually takes place in the Sam and Rose continuity. And it's mostly just a short, introspective piece that focuses on what ponies (and their sole human companion) do for the cold weather. Definitely worth it if you've read the other stories in the series.
Recommended for HiE Fans
The Princess Sleeps by AugieDog
Genre: Poem
Remember how Princess Luna rejoined with the Tantabus at the end of Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep? What might she be doing with it since then? Not a question I thought to ask myself, so I'm pleased to see someone like Augie taking a crack at it.
Recommended
When We Fall by Silvernis
Genre: Drama/Light Shipping?
I'm not actually sure what to make of this one. It's pretty intense, as we follow Rainbow Dash nearly pulling herself to bits by overdoing Sonic Rainbooms. But the reason why is rather glossed over, and I wanted to know more about her motivation. The shipping is what you make of it.
Recommended for TwiDash Fans
Perfection by Bombastic Bookpony
Genre: Dark
This isn't written terribly well, but it takes an interesting angle on the changeling invasion. The one changeling that Pinkie kept asking to do new forms becomes obsessed with her, and… Well, that's about it, but I like how it moves from awe to something akin to desire before descending into the darkness.
Recommended for Changeling Fans
Knowledge Is Power by QueenMoriarty
Genre: MtG Crossover
Star Swirl the Bearded wastes his time in a ruined world of his creation.
The parts of this that didn't make any sense or seemed like they held some deeper, unassailable meaning seemed that way purely due to the crossover aspect. The rest of it is a pretty neat look at a dead Canterlot — full of ghosts, no less — and Star Swirl, drained of magic, bitterly making his days as they pass. It's bleak, but it's also about second chances.
Recommended for Magic Fans
Discord Stole the Title by ObabScribbler
Genre: Comedy
You ever wanted to see Discord after he accidentally takes a love potion? Now's your chance. It doesn't come to conclusion, sadly, but oh boy is it a good read.
Recommended
Horrible Mechanical by SirNotAppearingInThisFic
Genre: Ponies Working
Though written, I believe, before Admiral Biscuit started his little not-a-contest, this would fit admirably into it, for all that it's about a pony working with airships. Like, Admiral Biscuit and fans of those stories should definitely read this. (He already has, of course.) That said, this is a little dry, just giving us the day-by-day of a mechanic's yard. Actual mechanics will doubtless get everything that's going on here, not just the magictechnobabble but the interoffice drama as well.
Recommended for Slice of Life Fans
The Path Best Left Untraveled by GroaningGreyAgony
Genre: Traveller in Black Crossover
Heyyy, minus a couple mini-sequels, I'm done with Pone-Shots! :) So this is a very short scene ahead of Nightmare Moon happening, which ends on an ominous note that nevertheless doesn't make much sense if you're unfamiliar with the crossover. :B So go read that first, I guess?
Recommended for Fans of That Series
Absent by KwirkyJ
Genre: Sad Shipping
Applejack waits for her out in the barn.
Fuck me sideways, this really hit the ol' feels. It's short and simple, and somehow highly effective.
Recommended
No Present Like the Time by Pascoite
Genre: Heartwarming
This is a very short piece about Discord giving Fluttershy a very thoughtful gift, and I think that's all that needs to be said. :)
Recommended
Washed Up on the Rocks by Abecedarian
Genre: Epistolary
This is another short piece, about a sea pony delegation's first contact with the surface. I liked a lot of the details, not to mention the author's voice. It's good!
Recommended
HiE RPG by 2Merr
Mature: Sex, Profanity
Genre: Comedy?
Done with (A)Nonsense! :) This isn't really a story, per se, but if you've read Anonfic before, the ending will likely make you laugh.
Recommended for Anon Fans
Nori-grets by FanOfMostEverything
Genre: EQG Comedy
Twilight and Twilight go out for sushi.
Booooy do I know how this feels. And I really like the idea of Sunset doing everything she can to make Princess Twilight's visits to the human world filled with the worst culture shock. :)
Recommended
Some Exotic Fever by Loganberry
Genre: Feghoot
I think it's safe to say the reference made in the final pun is one that's ubiquitous enough, everyone familiar with modern pop culture should be able to get it. Still, ouch.
Recommended for Laughs
After Work by Aquaman
Genre: Sad
Yeah, uh, whew, was not prepared for that ending. Just keep in your mind the question of, "What job, exactly, does the narrator have?"
Recommended
Dark Is Sexy by MythrilMoth
Genre: EQG Comedy
Twilight's transformation during the Friendship Games had some unexpected consequences.
Not to get too sad after the last story, but it's now just over a year since Mythril left us. :/ I wouldn't have even noticed, save that I keep track of the 'last seen' for authors of these collections, so I remember which to leave comments on. But hey, this story is funny, so let's talk about that. Taking place right after Friendship Games, this deals with the Twilights meeting for the first time before delving into some serious comedy. There are some amazingly hilarious lines in here, god damn I miss him.
Recommended
Ulex by Not_A_Hat
Genre: Dark
A pair of roadside bandits get more than they bargained for.
So this takes place in, I dunno, a lawless future or a Dark AU. Doesn't matter. This was cool and kind of chilling, especially the reveal at the end.
Recommended
Marked by Benman
Genre: Psychological
No matter what he did or where he went, Ward could not escape his fear.
This is a near perfect story, if you ask me, marred only by the fact that it was never completed. The writing is tense, the pacing is tight, and it presents us with a character mired in the depths of his own psyche, unable to deal with what happened during the changeling invasion. Really, go check this out, Highly Recommended If You Don't Mind Incompletes
Recommended
Horrible Mechanical is fantastic, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes stories about ponies, airships, mechanics, and office drama. In that order.
It wouldn’t technically qualify for my not-a-contest, ‘cause it’s not set on Earth.
I actually do know what happens to Sombra after the events of "Alone in the Darkness." At least, in my mind. Feel free to come up with your own answers.
5262023
The way I see it, either his plan didn't work and he was corrupted by his own magic, or it did work and the cure was a hell of a lot worse than the sickness. Or both!
So do I. *hugs*
You always write the best stuff about me
Well thanks to your fic recs my RIL also building up, slowly but still, I have over a 1000 stories in it already and it scares me, can't imagine your with so many.
5262118
You just have to let go of the idea of ever reading them all while at the same going, "One day, I'll read all these stories!"
My life is hell. :')
Okay, now I feel a bit better! :P
Not sure how I feel about that, even if it is a brilliant story by a brilliant writer. (I read it a while back.) My feeling is that non-ponyfic belongs in blogs as far as this particular site is concerned, not in published stories -- not even anthologies. Certainly not going to make a big deal of this, or even probably mention it ever again, but still. (Though I now suspect that every other person on this site will have decided that this is ponyfic, on the grounds that "Stories about people are stories about ponies." Hmm...)
Um. Well. Yes. I never thought anyone -- anyone -- would review that... thing. It's horribly clunky, and the pun is stupidity squared. But thank you anyway!
5262013
You flatter me. As for the not-a-contest, I'm likely to only produce storied about ponies in Equestria doing human-like things rather than PoE or even HiE. Well, I did do HiE once, but that wasn't meant to be taken seriously at all.
So I guess it's a not-an-entry in your not-a-contest.
If'n I do revisit Trinket Toss (AB wondered how I came up with the name so easily at one point), I have plans that would better keep it from being dry.
5262320
I really hope you do, I like her.