Just Like Old Times by DustyPwny
How can I trust you anymore? by callypony
Never a Wonderbolt by SkyeSilverwing
Friends With Discounts by Hyzaku
Rainbow Factory by AuroraDawn
Understanding Eternity by Angel
Neither Brass nor Bold by JohnPerry
The Luna Cypher by iisaw
Just Like Old Times by DustyPwny
Rainbow Dash and Gilda
Slice of Life; 1k words; Mar 2014; Everyone
One piece of fabric will decide the fate of a clinging friendship.Gilda turns up unexpectedly at Rainbow Dash's Cloud House. Obviously overtaken by canon now, but even aside from that there's not a great deal to this story. Apparently written in under an hour, and you can rather tell: it's distinctly unpolished. Probably worth a look for Gilda fans as it's so short, but the rest of us can take it or leave it. ★★
How can I trust you anymore? by callypony
Lyra and Bon Bon
Slice of Life; 2k words; Aug 2015; Everyone
Lyra is not happy about Bonbon’s secret job. Not at all. But isn’t there more beyond her anger than meets the eye?A follow-up to the LyraBon scenes in "Slice of Life", but one which takes a slightly different angle to most. The phrasing seems a little weird throughout, though I'm not sure I could put my finger on exactly why. Whatever, I found it a bit distracting. A twist at the end, though that's not quite enough to lift it out of (high) two-star territory. Might be worth a three if you're a huge LyraBon fan, though. ★★
Never a Wonderbolt by SkyeSilverwing
Rainbow Dash and Spitfire
Slice of Life; 2k words; Dec 2014; Everyone
In a meeting with Spitfire, the truth of why Rainbow Dash has not been made a Wonderbolt is finally revealed.The most unbelievable thing about this fic is that Rainbow has apparently only just turned 16. I don't buy that for a moment. I like most of the rest of it, though, especially the explanation for Rainbow's failure to make the grade. It might not hold together under detailed scrutiny, but for a short fic like this I think it works. Note that there's a little bit of E-rated Rainbow/Spitfire shipping. 16 is legal where I am, but it still works better if you ignore the author and give Dash her apparent canon age of 21 or so. ★★★
Friends With Discounts by Hyzaku
Twilight
Comedy; 3k words; Oct 2013; Teen
Ponyville's premier pranksters pull Ponyville's princess into their latest prank, but after the town's rumor mill completely misconstrues the situation, Twilight finds herself in rather hot water. Still, maybe getting that license isn& [yeah, it ends with an ampersand...]As with the same author's That Awkward Moment When... (PR 14), this has a massively positive balance (+1178/-30) – and as with that story, I don't like it nearly that much. The background – that prostitution is legal in Equestria – I can take in context, and the comedy is quite amusing for most of the fic. I just feel uncomfortable about the penultimate scene, especially some (admittedly limited and T-rated) coercion and violence played for laughs which really put me off. ★
Rainbow Factory by AuroraDawn
Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and OCs
Tragedy/Sad/Dark/Alternate Universe; 8k words; Dec 2011–Aug 2012; Mature (Gore)
Nopony truly knows how Rainbows are made in Equestria...I have read this before, but it was ages ago and before I started writing these reviews. Much to my surprise, this story isn't a total mess. Actually, some of it is fairly good, allowing for some sloppy writing like referring to a male pony as a filly. There's even the odd bit of non-grimdark worldbuilding. On the downside, Rainbow's characterisation is kind of stupid, plus there's a pointless author self-insert and a clear plothole regarding Fluttershy (actually semi-lampshaded). Not much actual gore until the last quarter, which is a relief, but that Mature tag is warranted. You can see the skeleton of a really good horror fic here, though this isn't accomplished enough to be it. Only a two, but a clear two, which is more than I'd expected. Also, G3 canon. ★★
Understanding Eternity by Angel
Celestia and Luna
Tragedy; 4k words; Feb–Mar 2012; Everyone
The year's 7510, and Celestia and Luna are still here.It's the far future, and the alicorn princesses are remembering and missing Twilight especially. So... yup, they decide to bring her back to life. Unfortunately, just about everything that happens from that point on is entirely unbelievable and the ending is truly ridiculous. ★
Neither Brass nor Bold by JohnPerry
OC
Dark/Slice of Life; 1k words; Apr 2015; Everyone
Shall I speak of our town unnamed?This starts off with a pretty bad poem. Keep reading; it's supposed to be that way. A short but interesting look at how an inhabitant/inmate of Starlight Glimmer's "Our Town" might still doubt himself even after having his cutie mark removed. The ending suggests that there may still be some hope for him, too. Didn't quite make a four as there's not enough to it, but a high three. ★★★
The Luna Cypher by iisaw
Twilight, Luna and Nightmare Moon
Romance/Dark/Adventure; 106k words; Apr–Oct 2014; Teen
Sequel to The Celestia Code. When the monsters created by the dark crystal engine escape their prison, it's up to Princess Twilight to deal with them. She gets help and advice from Princess Luna, but things don't go as planned.I really liked The Celestia Code (PR 59), but its sequel – though undeniably a good read – didn't quite win my heart. I'm not a great fan of TwiLuna shipping and there's a lot of that here, though there's more going on than the early chapters might suggest. The adventure is great, though, and those sections are by far my favourites – though be warned: that Dark tag is certainly appropriate. It's not just Nightmare Moon, either... Very mixed feelings about Celestia's portrayal. Luna's Royal Canterlot Grammar is mostly excellent, with an interesting twist. A flurry of amusing references. All the TwiLuna inevitably hits this fic's rating slightly, but still recommended: a top-end three, which you can upgrade to a four if you do like that pairing. ★★★
I am disappointed to hear that Luna Cypher has a lot of TwiLuna – specially considering how clunky the romance was on the first one. I had been looking forward to reading that one, so hopefully it doesn't bother me too much...
ReplyDeleteJust what's going on with the TwiLuna is central to the plot, so I can't say anything much on that here. But even knowing the answer to that now, I must admit that I was considerably more gripped by the adventurey worldbuilding parts than the romance parts. Admittedly I'm not a big shipfic reader at the best of times.
DeleteI'm glad I'm finally not the only one who thought Rainbow Factory was "not that bad".
ReplyDeleteI'm working through Luna Cypher right now, and it's one of the most unbalanced sequels I have ever read.
I had such low expectations of Rainbow Factory that I really didn't want to read it at all. I'm not sure why I disliked it less second time around. Maybe I've just read more really terrible ponyfic now, so it looks better by comparison. :P
DeleteYeah, I've noticed your comments on that story. I found it more interesting later on, though I'm conflicted about whether I like it more because of [spoilers].
I honestly thought Rainbow Factory when I heard of it was a crock of sh*t. I still think it is. Why do fans do stuff like that and destroy the characterizations?
ReplyDeleteI also just finished reading "How Can I Trust You Anymore?" and didn't like it one bit, and I love LyraBon.
One fanfic I'd recommend for the next Ponyfic Roundup would be "No Hard Feelings" by SeptimusMagistos.
And I haven't read Rainbow Factory, nor do I plan to. I'd personally give it a one star based on its concept alone.
DeleteYou're not missing a lot with Rainbow Factory -- but it's certainly a level above the likes of Cupcakes. I wanted to give it one star, but it's really not bad enough.
DeleteHeh... "for the next Ponyfic Roundup". That's optimism, considering that I have a RiL list of 428 stories right now. ;) I'll add it to the list, but it may be a while!
428 stories? Good luck.
DeleteI still think those two aren't worth reading though honestly, but I have found funny memes with them: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Bionicle-Meme-Vakama-found-281956048
Another fanfic I didn't like glimpsing at was one called "Parting Words" by RealityCheck. It takes place after Crystal Empire and it says "comedy" besides "sad," but it was really mean spirited and seemed completely bashing towards Celestia, plus Twilight seemed really out of character (I hate fanfics where she renounces her friends honestly, though she didn't do so here); honestly, I think someone called TheArchive (who got 4 upvotes, 5 downvotes) said it best: "I'm sorry for the rant, but I'm just tired of fics that seem so proud of destroying the characterization of everyone (especially Celestia. Authors love to hate her) in order to make arguments which, while correct, do nothing but completely miss the point."
DeleteAnd that's pretty much what it does. Someone said "it's amusing to see Celestia get stood up", but I don't think it's funny, and that's what I'd have told them. She gets way too much bashing, plus I think they made Luna look good (no wonder why some fans think Luna's overrated). I glimpsed at the end, and while Twilight was on better terms with Celestia, it still felt like some renouncement fic to me and chapter one pretty much killed it for me. Would you wanna read it for the next Ponyfic Roundup? You're really not missing much if you don't.
I honestly think the problem with renouncement fanfics (ever heard how people complained in my opinion, needlessly over "A Canterlot Wedding" over ONE scene? One person did one where Twilight basically ditches her friends and Cadence calls off the wedding, and one person even thought that some of it contributed in Lesson Zero) is that some fans try to think too much and end up ruining things for themselves...they're reasons I don't wanna be called a brony. :(
I just don't know what to say about that anymore, but I'm doing fine.
Actually, Parting Words is on my RiL list, so I've deliberately skimmed your post as I'd rather not see spoilers for stories I haven't read. We'll see how it goes when I get there. :)
Deletethey're reasons I don't wanna be called a brony. :(
Every fandom has this sort of thing. Every fandom. And no, this one isn't particularly bad. So don't let it put you off doing what you want to do.
Thanks, I feel a bit better :)
DeleteI actually have posted stuff on the "Parting Words" fanfic (Seiya-Meteorite, and now the votes for that guy's post I put is 6 thumbs up, 5 thumbs down) but I didn't finish chapter one, and from what I heard, the person working on that Canterlot Wedding fic stopped it as they thought it was a mess.
I'm thinking of writing some fanfics myself, but it'll take time. Ever heard of the Saint Seiya anime? That's what I'd base them off of.
Perhaps surprisingly for a big fan of a cartoon, I'm not really any sort of anime fan, so I've never even heard of that one. I don't have anything against anime; I just don't have the time to follow much more than what MLP already gives me.
DeleteI see.
DeleteHope your next Ponyfic Roundup goes well.
One other thing, how is Rainbow Factory G3 canon?
DeleteIt's a joke -- see the video that bit of text links to!
DeleteI see...I didn't think it was funny though; just my opinion.
DeleteI will also say (though this is kinda unrealted) sometimes I've seen fans review epsiodes and it's like they praise and/or criticize every episode (where characters are introduced, funny phrases and such), and it kinda sometimes makes me question if the show is as good as anyone says it is (ever heard of what happened with Canterlot Wedding? I did my own thoughts here, and if you look at the comments of the pictures, that's where I found ideas of Twilight "renouncing her friends fics" that I don't think would work, and how I think fans think too deeply sometimes; I'll post them in the second link here:
http://comments.deviantart.com/1/311418243/3830764816
http://comments.deviantart.com/1/311418243/3145464538)
See what I'm talking about?
Thanks for the nice review!
ReplyDeleteAs for Rainbow Factory, the best thing about that story is that it led to the Rainbow Dash Presents version, which is frikkin' hilarious! But from the title of this blog, I suspect you know that.
You're welcome! I know I'm displaying my prejudices a bit there, but I've never made any pretence of being objective in these things. :P
DeleteThe title of this blog is actually a reference to the song (which of course came first), but I am indeed aware of Biker Gorilla. I'm not as big a fan of RDP as some, but that one's just too much fun to ignore. :)
Thanks for the review, L!
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that the story was very unpolished upon a later inspection, the second wave of readership responded pretty positively to it to my surprise. And nice to see Rainbow Factory up there. Despite how silly it is to someone that writes mostly about good times, it was a pretty good and engaging read.
You're welcome! It wasn't far off a three-star rating, actually, and if I were more of a Gilda fan it might well have got one. I guess on the Present Perfect scale, it would probably have been "C, if you like Gilda stories". But my ratings are unashamedly based on "Did I like this?" rather than "Was this well written?" so Gilda fics are always going to have it tough.
DeleteI do have another of your stories on my RiL list, actually. I just can't remember offhand which it is. It'll be a fair while before I get there in any case!