Fic recs, March 19th! · 8:15pm Mar 19th, 2022
You know what we haven't had in a long time? Someone entering the fic-reviewing gig. Mike Cartoon Pony's first foray into reviewing is honestly a big deal, since over the last few years, we've really only seen people get out of doing it. He's a Smart Person of Good Taste, and it also looks like he's using Scribbler's readings as guideposts, so be sure to give him a follow and get ready for new reviews every Monday. :)
It's been a crappy day, let's talk about fanfiction! -_-; This isn't officially an edition, but the first five stories in this blog are the runners-up and judges' choice awards from the G5 Bingo Contest.
H: 0 R: 5 C: 3 V: 0 N: 0
What Do Pegasi Even Like? by ArDee
Genre: G5 Slice of Life
Sunny and Pipp plan a big get-together to help ponies get to know one another.
I would characterize this story as "aggressively positive", and I'm having a hard time convincing even myself that that's anything like a problem. Everything goes off without a hitch cuz he's not in the story lol, all the worries and fears are easily shown to have been for nothing, it's just a completely happy end with basically zero conflict. That said, it's got a lot of other things going for it: the characterization of the two background ponies who are its main characters, not to mention a very good look at what this sort of "getting to know other ponies" conference might look like in G5. So yeah, pretty good, and if nothing else made good use of its word space.
Recommended for G5 Fans
This of Earth and That of Air by Wolfsong6913
Genre: Comedy
Lost and atoning, respectively, Princess Pipp and Sprout are given a task by a rhyming zebra who lives out in the middle of a swamp by herself.
Oh dear, someone had to use Zecora. D: I might have been more forgiving if this had been forced upon the author, but their prompt was actually "G4 character". And while the reason why Zecora is still around in G5 is amazing, it also doesn't really get explained in-story, which was kind of a letdown. But yeah, I did spend a lot of time being completely dismayed at Zecora's dialogue. If you can get around that, this has good action and a solution to the main problem that, while it comes out of nowhere, is amusing for just how appropriate it is for Sprout to have. That said, I'm not sure about the characterization here? I do think Sprout is in the right spot, between "seething and spiteful" and "actually feeling remorse". But I don't recall Pipp being quite so stuck up? I mean, she is worst G5, and Sprout is second-worst, maybe I'm just remembering badly. >.> I don't know if shipping would have improved this, but the ending is extremely cute regardless.
Recommended Only If You Don't Mind Some Tortured Zecora Rhymes
Finding Honesty by Trick Question
Genre: Adventure
Sunny wants to take her friends to a magic circle that works with the Elements of Harmony only once a year. Unfortunately, they've only got five Elements.
For a story with as emotional an ending as this has, this is quite the comedy. It rapid-fire explores a whole lot of ideas, from previous-gen callbacks to a couple of side characters, to what Element of Harmony each of the mane five represents. Which, I should add, is way more agreeable to read than the mane six doing the same. One thing that I was really pleased by was watching how, in the leadup to discovering who Honesty really is (it's not hard for the reader, mind), everyone else is actually pretty dishonest about at least one thing. That was a fun touch. Otherwise, this could've used more words, but it didn't have them, and I think it did quite well with what it got.
Recommended
What Is Lost, What Is Found by Arcelia
Genre: Adventure
Izzy Moonbow brings Alphabittle along on a quest to find an ancient amulet for Sunny.
Here's an adventure that makes good use of the low word count by measuring out its pacing: fast when fast works, slow when slow is better. It's because of that that so much is able to be stuffed in here. Clearly, the whole point of this story is showing off what a badass Alphabittle is, so make of that what you will. But other than that, it really tells the story of his relationship with Izzy, and how he in particular realizes that she's not just, y'know, an annoying bubblehead. Izzy can do stuff, too. At least it wasn't one of those stories where the sillier character screws everything up, she's just not as good at surviving in the wilderness is my point. A good entry!
Recommended
Hitch and Pipp Meet a Manticore by Kaidan
Genre: Comedy/Shipping
With the return of magic comes the return of magical creatures. And Pipp was going to get Hitch to help her find a manticore. Which was just the start of their problems.
Well, this is a fun, goofy story told in a really good way. Though I will say the scenes with Izzy interrogating her friends are a good bit funnier than the 'here's what happened' bits, that's mostly just because Izzy. The shipping kinda comes out of nowhere, but you know what? That's not an issue at all.
Recommended
Back in the Day by TheKMExperience
Genre: Comedy/Historical Adventure
Behold, the tale of Star Swirl's quest for the Rosewood Crystal! As told by himself.
This is entirely dedicated to making the hilarious cover art happen, but that's fine. It's quite a fun little romp, not overly marred by a few typos, and it ends on a surprisingly heartwarming note that I really appreciated. What a neat comedy. :)
Recommended
Blizzard by RubyDubious
Genre: EQG Romance/Drama
Rainbow Dash wouldn't be out driving in a whiteout like this if not for Twilight.
Whew, this one hits hard! A much grittier version of Equestria Girls that left me wanting to know even more, and yet it gives us Rainbow and Sci-Twi as a couple, which… I actually don't think I've ever seen before? Like, how? c.c One thing that struck me in the middle of this story was the flow, like, just transitions between thoughts were handled really well. It's a weird thing to notice, but there you go! Beyond that, the intensity of the situation is also conveyed well, and I like the smaller touches, like Rainbow smoking, that help inform their relationship. I coulda read even more!
Recommended
Absense of Chaos by The Ancestor
Genre: Immortality Angst
Empress Twilight Sparkle calls upon her last friend.
I like the way this is told, with descriptions of their conversation rather than actual dialogue. It kind of drives home how distantly alien this far future is from what we know. That said, this is pretty standard IA up until Discord shows up and that conversation takes place. A few errors here and there. It's not bad, at least it has something different going for itself.
Recommended If You Like Sad Fics About the Future
Aww, I appreciate the review.
I wonder what brought this on, but nevertheless, really grateful! 🥰
Thank you for being awesome/you.
its also my birthday!
5644875
lol, no u :D
5644885
Happy birthday, you!
5644919
Nonsense, I be a simple nerd who refuses to stop watching cartoons 🤓
Thank you for reviewing my story, even though it didn't place in the top five of the contest. I really appreciate it
Thank you for reviewing 5644923 's story. This was the longest and most out-of-comfort-zone story she's written to date and she really wanted her vision to shine through. The positive reception has been very heartening for both of us.
Thanks for the review!
Really appreciate the fact that someone found the time and effort to do that!
I have a special version of my contest planned for tomorrow that pertains to an observation you made in the review: you might find the results interesting. (I'd planned it prior to reading the review, though.)
If I could, I’d be blushing something fierce here, PP.
You flatterer, you! 
Well, not quite as much as you, buddy. I just listen to them when one crosses my path and it’s a fic that looks interesting enough to me. I don’t base my whole reading schedule around her readings, and listen to few others, frankly.
Now I have extra reason to deliver on a weekly basis. Nothing like pressure for this spirit!
I’ll do my best to deliver. 
But the signal boosts from Loganberry and yourself have been pretty awesome.
What a great community this is, eh? 
Of those G5 bingo entries, I’ve read What Do Pegasi Even Like?, which I found pretty good, with solid characterisation for its leads and outside of the lack of conflict, really only slips by the strain to integrate some bingo elements in the final scene. Then there’s Finding Honesty, which on top of being crammed and straining to fit in its elements as is usual for these contests, I found told too rote, like Trick Question was having an off day with the prose construction, and thus everything happens plainly. Just about a decent fic, but that’s as high as I can go. Finally, there’s What Is Lost, What Is Found, which I found handled the integration of its bingo elements better and also managed its pace and word limit more effectively for the reasons you said. Still got plenty of contrivances, cause the base characterisation also suffices too.
While a lot of G5 bingo entries have been strained results because of the length limit and size, the highly-picked ones I’ve read have generally been quite solid. Starting to wish I’d given the contest a go! But oh well, can’t be helped. And piecing together a story from those prompt in a short size is tricky, there’s every chance I’d have folded.
Thanks so much for the review! Gotta admit, I never thought I'd see the day that you'd review one of my stories!
Glad you enjoyed it despite any shortcomings it might've had.
The "aggressive positivity," as you so perfectly put it, was really my attempt at a reflection of the same tone that G5 and its characters had, imo. The idea that anything (even warmongering in your own country) can be overcome with enough mutual kindness, love, and understanding is a wonderfully utopic ideal, but has the same unrealistic "let's all hold hooves and sing Kumbaya" moral lesson as I was aiming for. If I could use one phrase to describe Sunny, it'd be "aggressive positivity."