Second Birthday by xjuggernaughtx
Sixes and Sevens by GeodesicDragon
The Best Job in Equestria by Mooncalf
Our Gifts by The Descendant
A Light In the Woods by RattPitt
The Mare With No Name by Heavyhauler75622
Second Birthday by xjuggernaughtx
Spike and Mane Six
Comedy/Slice of Life; 3k words; Aug 2015; Everyone
Spike reveals the secret of Second Birthday to the girls. Twilight is not amused.This is a slice of silly fun; don't look too hard for any deep meaning: if there is one, I didn't spot it. It's a (deliberately) unpolished story, and that does show a little – especially at the end, which is a bit of a tonal shift from the rest. Still, treat it as a low-stakes, vaguely old-fashioned ensemble piece and it's quite a decent read. The author wrote a (rather irritable) blog entry about one aspect of the reception to this fic; read that after the story, as it's somewhat spoilery. ★★★
Sixes and Sevens by GeodesicDragon
Fluttershy and Discord
Comedy; 2k words; Nov 2015; Teen
"Why was six afraid of seven? Because seven ate nine!" When Fluttershy tells Discord this harmless joke, she gets a lot more than she bargained for.Another piece of silly fun, though considerably more tilted towards out-and-out comedy than the last fic. I don't much like the ending – maybe I'm missing an obscure reference, in which case it's too obscure (for me) – but the rest is entertaining tea-breakery with an amusing Discord. ★★★
The Best Job in Equestria by Mooncalf
Derpy, Dinky and Sparkler
Slice of Life; 4k words; Feb 2014; Everyone
What does Derpy Hooves really do for a living?Since "Crusaders of the Lost Mark", she's been canonically a mailmare, but this fic is still one of the more interesting answers to that question I've seen. It's set during S2 (there are abundant show references, though they don't feel too forced), but the story holds up fairly well. An annoying diabetes reference, and a "Celestia's sun", but the writing is okay on the whole. Some rather gratuitous Carrot Top, but why not? A lowish three, but a three nevertheless. ★★★
Our Gifts by The Descendant
Twilight, Spike, Cadance, Shining Armor and Other
Slice of Life; 12k words; Dec 2012; Everyone
You know that feeling? You know, the feeling that you've forgotten something important? It is 10:32 p.m. on Hearth's Warming Eve, and Twilight just got that feeling...There are few certainties in ponyfic, but when TD writes about Twilight and Spike, it's a surefire bet that the story will be a good 'un. So it is here, with this sweet tale of just how much Twilight truly cares for the little dragon. There's a good deal of clearly-deliberate repetition of phrases, and the whole thing fits the season well. (I read it over the holiday myself.) I do think the word "fingerling" is odd and overused, but otherwise there's very little to complain about here. Anyone craving respect for Spike is probably already following TD. Even if not, read this. ★★★★
A Light In the Woods by RattPitt
Twilight
Adventure/Dark; 2k words; Dec 2015; Teen
Twilight awakens alone in a dark forest with only a vague memory of how she arrived.A dialogue-free fic in which Twilight has to come to terms with her surroundings. She ends up travelling quite a long way, arriving in a surprising place. I'm all for authors trying something a bit different, but this doesn't quite gel: the lesson drawn is a tad too obvious and the ending is a bit on the underwhelming side. The first half is definitely the more interesting. ★★
The Mare With No Name by Heavyhauler75622
Applejack
Alternate Universe/Dark; 2k words; May 2014; Teen
Applejack as a gunpony.This taught me a new word (pradera, which seems to mean "prairie"), but otherwise it's a rather odd beast. We get no indication as to why AJ is living the life she is, and I imagine that's deliberate, but maybe it might have helped me to identify with her a bit more. If you can cope with Applejack having a gun (called "Lil' Macintosh"!) then it's all very atmospheric and enigmatic. It's just not much more than that. ★★
Next time on Ponyfic Roundup, stories reviewed will include Benman's Changelings, Changelings Everywhere and Blueshift's Life is a Lemon.
Between two and three stars is where I feel like that story sits, so I completely agree with this review. I was honestly shocked that more people didn't call out that tonal shift at the end. I thought it was odd even when I was writing it, but since the exercise was just to go with it, that's what I did.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of going with it, if that story has any deeper meaning, that's it. I don't really think it's all that deep, but that was the point. Twilight needed to learn to let go and go with the flow rather than be controlling.
And yes, I was irritated after that story was released. to me, the story is about Twilight and Spike, which is why we begin and end with ONLY those two. What happens with the rest of the ponies is immaterial in my book. I was caught a little off-guard that some people were so focused on the rest of the cast apologizing.
The fic has something of an early-seasons feel to it, and I like stories like that, which probably helped push it into the three-star band. The "non-apology" thing was a non-issue for me -- I'm surprised it was such a big deal for some readers.
Delete>Some rather gratuitous Carrot Top
ReplyDeleteimplying there is such a thing
Unusually, you've managed to hit on six different stories that I haven't read. I suppose I should give a couple of these a look!
Oh, good: I was convinced I was the last person left in the fandom who hadn't read Our Gifts!
DeleteNah, I only just got around to it myself.
Delete