Ponyfic Roundup 83: Mr Flibble's Very Cross

BronyScot 2015 seems to have gone very well, which is good to hear. It's a shame it's such a pain to get to Edinburgh from here, or I'd have been tempted to have gone. Well done to the BS crew (who, I suspect, don't actually use that name!). Anyway, another eight fics this week, which isn't bad going by my standards. Don't expect me necessarily to keep up this rate of reading, especially since I've been reading some slightly longer stories of late. Still, here are today's candidates:

Twilight's List by kits
Let Me Tell You About the Hole in My Face by Slavoj Zizek
Madmax x Pacce by roygbiv
A Real Baked Bad by Propellerface

Cancelled by Lucky Roll
The Truth Hurts by Metool Bard
Bloody 'Ell by TaviTwoHooves
Rainbow Rocks by Twinkletail

Twilight's List by kits
Twilight and Rainbow Dash
Romance; 49k words; Apr 2012; Teen

Twilight Sparkle must go on a date to complete her List

Ironically, given my intro to PR 82, kits seems to have left the fandom during S4, with "Bats!" being the final straw. Still, they left us this enjoyable TwiDash shipfic. It's considerably longer than it really needs to be, so you'll need a fair degree of tolerance for rambliness. There's the odd nice bit of worldbuilding, though, and a less clichéd ending than in most shipfics. It would have been better at half the length, but it's still worth a look. ★★★

Let Me Tell You About the Hole in My Face by Slavoj Zizek
Applejack
Dark; 1k words; May 2014; Teen

Applejack tells you her only secret. It is about a hole. The hole in her face. The breathing, living hole in her face. (Inspired by the cover image and a recurring dream)

Slavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher – and, it seems, a writer of interesting ponyfic. This would justify a [Horror] tag now, actually. The story is told by Applejack, and is creepy as all hay. Don't go into this because it's short and you want something light and fluffy, because this ain't it. Full of uncomfortable symbolism, a lot of which is explained in the story's comments if you don't get it. (I didn't get everything myself.) For the second time in two weeks, I'm four-starring a remarkable story on the grounds that I didn't enjoy it very much. You should read it, though. Just not late at night. ★★★★

Madmax x Pacce by roygbiv
Big Mac [and OCs]
Comedy/Random/Romance; 2k words; Jan 2015 [on Fimf; it's actually much older]; Teen (Sex)

Written back between S1 & S2, this story is of two OCs meeting on 4chan...

This made EQD way back when, but... remember Ponies Discover /co/ (PR 45)? Like that, only even less comprehensible to anyone who wasn't there. Me, for example. ★

A Real Baked Bad by Propellerface
Twilight and Pinkie Pie
Comedy/Dark; 1k words; Nov 2015; Teen

Pinkie ruins Twilight's morning with culinary shenanigans.

Given that description, I was terrified that this would end up being some sort of Cupcakes clone. Thankfully, it isn't. There's some mild amusement to be had here, and a couple of nice Twilight moments. Don't expect especially close adherence to canon, though, especially with the ending (which I don't care for). ★★

Cancelled by Lucky Roll
Celestia and Mane Six
Human/Random; 5k words; Feb–Jul 2012; Everyone

Your worst nightmare is coming true: Hasbro cancels My Little Pony. Why would they do such a thing?! //Written for the February Write Off//

You'd think this would be terrible, wouldn't you? Amazingly, it isn't. There are certainly some bad bits (the ending is weak, Pinkie doesn't have a job, etc), but there are also a few genuinely amusing sections. Most of all, this isn't just the tale of a bunch of bronies whining about the Hasbureaucracy. In that, at least, it exceeded my expectations. ★★

The Truth Hurts by Metool Bard
Lightning Dust and Others
Dark/Sad/Slice of Life; 5k words; Oct 2015; Everyone

Haymaker teaches Lightning Dust a lesson the only way she'll understand.

Haymaker is Lightning Dust's trainer in this short but decent story, and he's distinctly unimpressed by her victim complex. He's even less impressed when Wind Rider shows up and tries to befriend LD. Nothing too deep here, and a few small technical problems, but it's quite a good time-passer about a pony we could do with seeing in the show again one day. ★★★

Bloody 'Ell by TaviTwoHooves
Twilight, Spike and Mane Six
Comedy/Random; 1k words; Sep 2014; Teen

Twilight's latest spell takes a turn for the worst! It seems her nationality changed!

According to the author, "not one of [their] best ones". That's a relief, as this is pretty forgettable stuff, and it has some annoying dialogue punctuation errors to boot. I'd advise the author to read Asterix in Britain, a book that shows how to do British stereotypes really well. ★

Rainbow Rocks by Twinkletail
Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Maud Pie
Comedy/Romance/Slice of Life; 12k words; Jun 2014; Everyone

Rainbow Dash and Maud Pie couldn't be much more different. Now they're stuck as each other.

Twilight does a body/mind swap between Rainbow and Maud – but in her absence, they can't change back. A tad on the waffly side, and things do get a little confusing at times, but it's something a bit different from the usual shipfics. I can't say it gripped me, but those who like low-stakes romance with a bit of comedy thrown in might enjoy this. ★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup, stories reviewed will include Kwakerjak's Petriculture and JMac's Quizzical.