Ponyfic Roundup 15

If you like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fanfic, but are feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume, then Ponyfic Roundup is for you! In these posts, I take a (reasonably) regular look at a mix of stories old and new. And you know I said last time that I hoped to find another 9/10 (or above) story one day? Well, looks like "one day" came a bit quicker than I imagined!

Pick of the fics

You Can Fight Fate by Eakin
Twilight, OC and Other
Dark/Adventure; 62K words; Aug 2013; Teen
The rating for this one needs some explanation. I think its predecessor, A Stitch in Time (PR 14) is probably slightly the better read in itself, but this one rounds off the time-loop trilogy that began with Hard Reset (PR 8) in a very satisfying manner. The fact that all the varied plot strands and loose ends are gathered up is very impressive. For once in a ponyfic, the extended Author's Notes at the end are genuinely interesting, too. 9/10

Other stories

A Day with the Wonderbolts by AntiquatedAnnomaly
Rainbow Dash and Wonderbolts
Comedy/Slice of Life; 12K words; Dec 2012; Teen
Rainbow Dash's prize for winning Best Young Flyer was to spend a day with her lifelong idols. This fic tells the story of what happened that day. It's good fun for the most part, with some nice interaction between Spitfire, Soarin and Misty Fly. Dash herself interacts amusingly with them, too. Let down very slightly by a less than compelling ending, but nevertheless this is a pretty solid read. 8/10

Diamond Tiara's New Diversion by Yukito
Rarity, Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle
Comedy/Slice of Life; 15K words; Apr 2014; Everyone
Cheerilee tires of Diamond Tiara's feuding with Apple Bloom, and punishes them both. AB has to do farm chores... but DT is sent to work for Rarity. Sweetie Belle is horrified, feeling she's being pushed aside for a bully. Diamond, meanwhile, is – despite herself – getting into her new job. The odd "huh?" moment and some (U-rated) ship-teasing may divide opinion, but an interesting look at a character who's rarely given much depth. 7/10

The Grand Galloping Gallia by opuscon789
Mane Six, Celestia and Blueblood
Crossover; 2K words; Oct 2012; Everyone
This story's full title is (deep breath) The Grand Galloping Gallia (Opuscon789's Cinderella Mash Up), which tells you some of what you need to know. The rest? Well... basically, it's terrible. The characters bear almost zero resemblance to the ponies we know. An apple implodes 15 times a second. Pinkie barfs. Slavery is legal (but only if you're "paying her to"). It gets a point for giving us the most cherishably ridiculous Fluttershy line in ponyfic history. 1/10

Her Angel by Gumball2
Fluttershy and Angel
Sad/Slice of Life; 7K words; Jun 2014; Everyone
A potentially really interesting wider look at the shared life of Fluttershy and Angel, going back to before they even met. Unfortunately it suffers from an excruciatingly slow-paced opening section, as well as some slightly awkward phrasing. The story is partially redeemed by a rather satisfying ending, but you may not have the patience to get that far. This could have been great at half the length. 4/10