Ponyfic Roundup 18

Time to get back into the world of ponyfic! Three stories were in the running for my overall pick this week, which was pleasing. I don't think I'll bother with a long intro paragraph this time, so let's get galloping:

Pick of the fics

And We Are Not Yet Saved by Grey Heather
Chrysalis and Changelings
Slice of Life; 1K words; May 2014; Teen
A really rather remarkable shortfic dealing with the aftermath of "A Canterlot Wedding" from the perspective of the vanquished changelings. Excellently written, with good insight into both Queen Chrysalis and those she leads – or, perhaps, led. An interestingly ambiguous ending, too. 9/10

Other stories

As a Mother by The Descendant
Celestia
Sad/Slice of Life; 7K words; Apr 2014; Teen
Many years hence, Celestia has a new student, who asks her to tell of the War of the Witches. Initially reluctant, the Princess agrees, and the story she tells is a moving one. Written in very flowery language which may put off some readers, but with some haunting ambiguity. Excellent worldbuilding, too, especially for such a short fic. 8/10

As You Fancy, Minister by The Usurper
Fancy Pants and OCs
Crossover/Slice of Life; 10K words; Mar 2014; Everyone
A My Little Pony/Yes, Minister crossover? My life is complete! Fancy Pants takes the Jim Hacker role, and considering that the author is not actually British, they make a very good stab at this. The story starts a little bit iffily, but the characters grow into it well, and by the second half you can really feel that Yes, Minister atmosphere. A shame that an otherwise nice story has basic errors in speech tags and a few errant Americanisms. 6.5/10

Tiny Wings by DeadParrot222
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo
Sad/Slice of Life; 36K words; Jun 2012; Everyone
One of the older ScootaDash friendshipping stories around, but still among the best. The story follows the two through many years, and their friendship develops in a convincing, interesting way. One slightly surprising violent scene, but I don't think it warranted a Teen rating. Might even have rated a 9 if not for slight overuse of "the mare", "the filly" etc, and an irritating stylistic choice right at the end. 8.5/10

You Really Bug Me by BronyDad
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy
Comedy/Slice of Life; 2K words; Jul 2014; Everyone
Rainbow Dash, having been dragged along to the butterfly migration by Fluttershy, is determined to make things more interesting. So, she challenges her friend to a contest to see who can catch the most of the insects. Her opponent is a little tougher than she'd bargained for... a really nice friendshipping story for this fantastic pairing, and one with a lovely, sweet ending. 8.5/10