Fic recs, January 5th, 2022: Background Pony edition! · 6:19pm Jan 5th, 2022
Lordy lordy, guess who's got the 'rona. x.x The worst of it was actually last night, when I was just completely exhausted, but I am feeling much better today. Still, everyone around here is sick, and there's no better way for me to come down with something than sharing a house with other people. :|
Anyway, this blog is a bit of cheekery to start the year off. As many times as I had to search "background pony" over the last few years so I could mark chapters read, I noticed there were quite a few other stories around besides the big, well-known one. So here's five random stories from the first page of results for the search. :)
H: 1 R: 0 C: 2 V: 1 N: 1
Two Background Ponies Eating Cookies by Piccolo Sky
Genre: Comedy
Two ponies discuss reality while eating cookies.
Dude, what the fuck. I think it was only around the time they reveal what their full names are that I realized this is meant as satire. Granted, I'm not 100% sure about that, and if it's not, then it's an honestly very dull conversation about how inconsistent and illogical the world of MLP:FiM is. And I really hate stories like that. I've read this author's work before, I think I'll just say this isn't his best idea and move on.
Vaguely Recommended
Am I a Background Pony? by RushyFiction
Genre: Sad 2P
You wake up. You have things to do. Nothing ever changes.
I really like the early line that talks about smelling responsibilities. Overall, this is a very good writing exercise, though I do wish it had been a bit less vague about what was going on. I mean, there's something to be said for making this second-person nobody character relatable, but also giving them a character would not be out of bounds for the story that's being told here. Mostly, it was just hard to keep track of what was going on. But for all that this is not the kind of story you're gonna want to read if you wanted to be happy today, it does have an uplifting ending, delivered in four small words in the very last sentence. And that wasn't something I had expected.
Recommended If You Need a Little Pick-Me-Up
Just a Background Pony by IsabellaAmoreSirenix
Genre: Madoka Crossover/Emotional
Octavia promised to protect her friend, but she couldn't.
Okay, wow. First off, I don't talk a whole lot about anime, but if you've never seen Puella Magi Madoka Magica? You need to change that. I mean, at least if you're familiar with mahou shoujo tropes, because it's all about subverting them and it is a trip. But who'd have thought I'd not only find a crossover in this little edition, but that it would be this good? The first half is all action, and it honest to god reads like watching anime. I can't describe it any other way, it's excellent action writing, the prose is purple as hell but it's great. And then everything calms down and we have a very good heart-to-heart between Octavia and Vinyl. And like, I also appreciate the ponification "mahou filia". It makes zero sense, but I love it, personally. I don't even think I'm too close to the source material here, it's been ages since I watched Madoka, but I thought this was totally great.
Highly Recommended
Background Pony Cuddle Simulator by Player 4
Genre: 2P HiE CYOA
You've been invited to a sleepover, and the ponies there want to cuddle!
I knew going in that this was not the kind of story I would be interested in, and I was right. But even if I leave off personal taste, there's a lot to be desired. The writing is very simple, the dialogue overly straightforward and stilted, and there is a pervasive dialogue punctuation problem. It's also really boring? Like, the conversation of the first cuddling scene is almost akin to pre-sex negotiation, except the end result is going to be far less interesting. Maybe it's just me. Anyway, the best thing I can say about this is that it is very up-front with what it is, to the extent that you will know ahead of time if you're going to want to read it.
DNF: 2/10
My Little Background Pony: Friendship Is Magic by comicfan616
Reading by Rob Royale
Man, I can't escape new readers, huh? This guy has a fun, friendly delivery, but unfortunately his background music is too loud. And while I appreciate that he edited in, like, Dr. Who sound effects, he also didn't take the time to edit out bad takes? Probably won't come back here.
Genre: Doctor Who Crossover/Longest Night Retread
The Doctor returns to Equestria at just the wrong moment, or the right one, depending on who you ask.
Given how many rehashes of the show's pilot I have read over the years, I found this story fairly boring thanks to its predictability. Yes, there are new situations for the ponies to go through in the forest, but that just means it's treading on the toes of the Lunaverse. However you slice it, I've seen this before. Except for the crossover part, that is, which honestly doesn't add much to the story. And the writing is pretty flat and plain, dialogue especially. But all that said? This is the author's first fic, and it's honestly not too bad, considering. It could have been a little more original, but I think they've started off on the right foot, so good job. :)
Recommended If You're Not Tired of Rereading the Pilot
This disgusts me
The story it's a part of sounds cool though, will have to check that one out.
Thanks for the review! First time I've ever gotten one. Going point-by-point:
Fair enough. I guess I was taking cues from other cuddling/affection stories, which, from what I've seen, tend to be pretty simple. The story by another author that spawned my idea is one such example. But whenever I do one again, I'll go at it differently, per your feedback.
What exactly does this mean? The story definitely does have problems with tense shifting, which was a pretty common mistake I used to make and try to pay attention to nowadays, but what is dialogue punctuation?
It must be noted that I have a very strong distaste for sexual content. I never read stories about it, I avoid info about what people say or do before or during sex, etc. so anything in my stories that "teases" at it or something is 100% unintentional.
> background pony
> I am not mentioned
Sorry to hear you're ill, Present. Much as I love your review posts, please take time to rest and heal. Make sure to beat this thing back 100%. Sending hugs and well wishes!
Don't overstress when coming out of it, and make sure to keep at least something going in at all times to compensate for the out part. (I forced myself to drink a whole glass of water whenever I took my every-two-hour pills, and the wife tossed a bottle of gatorade and a banana into the room on a regular basis. I lost twenty pounds. Unfortunately, I found it again. It was hiding in the refrigerator. You get your appetite back *before* you get your energy.)
5624689
All your quotes have a comma outside the quotes between the dialogue and the speech tag, something like this:
"Hi.", he said.
The comma should go inside the quotes, and it's only there if the dialogue ended in a period, in which case, it replaces the period instead of both sitting there. So it should look like this:
"Hi," he said.
If the dialogue ends in something other than a period, then the end punctuation remains unchanged and there's no comma, like so:
"Hi!" he said.
5624690
wie angemessen
Glad you're improving, pee pee. Stay safe.
5624724
Ah, got it. I do believe I have fixed this problem in my more recent stories, at least with the first example. I'll have to keep your comment in mind.
5624749
Heh pee pee