Ponyfic Roundup 91: Beats All the Lies You Can Invent

We've actually had a bit of seasonal weather recently. Of course, this is Worcestershire seasonal weather, which means temperatures of a few degrees above freezing and the occasional shower. No actual snow, as usual. Unexciting as that sounds, though, it's still a huge improvement on the torrential rain and widespread flooding so much of the country endured in December. Back to ponyfic, though, and this week's six fics are:

Rebirth by ObeySaturnGod
Changelings, Changelings Everywhere by Benman
Fine Print by nucnik
Dressing Room by GaPJaxie
Life is a Lemon by Blueshift
An Unfinished World by WorldWalker128

Rebirth by ObeySaturnGod
OC and Other [actually Rose]
Sad/Slice of Life; 2k words; May 2012; Everyone

When a Rose passes away, another will take its place.

The tale of how a filly's sadness at seeing her "grandmare" slip away teaches her something important. A quiet story, which is fine, but the grandmother in question doesn't really speak like somepony on the edge of death. ★★

Changelings, Changelings Everywhere by Benman
Changelings and Mane Six. [Also, Changelings.]
Comedy; 3k words; Aug 2012–Jan 2013; Teen

Even the scenery is changelings.

This story is ridiculous. I love it. What's nice is the way Benman gradually picks up the pace, until by the end I was just giggling helplessly. I suspect this will be more fun for those of us who've read a fair few changeling fics good and bad, and a little historical fandom perspective will help – if the phrase "New Larval Republic" doesn't tickle you, this may not be your cup of goo. Personally, I think it's hilarious. ★★★★

Fine Print by nucnik
Applejack, Apple Bloom, Big Mac and Granny Smith
Alternate Universe/Comedy; 6k words; Apr 2014; Everyone

The Flim Flam Miracle Curative Tonic has some warnings written on the back of the bottle. Too bad Granny Smith didn't read them.

It's revealed early on that Granny has been changed into a spider, so arachnaphobes may want to look elsewhere. A silly premise, but not really a silly enough story to do it justice. Some fun moments nevertheless, although the ending is underwhelming and one line from Big Mac really doesn't ring true. ★★

Dressing Room by GaPJaxie
Twilight
Alternate/Slice of Life; 3k words; Dec 2014; Everyone

Star Power isn't Twilight Sparkle -- but she does play her on TV.

The actress who plays Twi is interviewed about her job. A very nice idea that (as with so many nice ideas) I'm surprised I haven't seen used before. It works quite well, actually, with several nice lines, though I did find my attention wandering just a little at times. Apologies to Spike fans, but his treatment in Star Power's show is perfect for this story. There are more in the same series, and I'll probably look them out eventually. ★★★

Life is a Lemon by Blueshift
OC
Slice of Life; 18k words; Nov 2012–Jan 2013; Everyone

Lemon Dreams is a pony who thinks she is a lemon

Oh, Blueshift. Why, despite having read So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish (PR 19), did I still imagine this fic would be a goofy comedy? It's actually more of a mystery, eventually solved in a way that absolutely floored me, even though I saw it coming a couple of chapters out. I have personal reasons (which would be spoilery) for being so deeply affected by this story, but I don't imagine I'll be alone. I could have done without the clichéd closing lines, but even that doesn't diminish its impact enough to stop a five-star rating. ★★★★★

An Unfinished World by WorldWalker128
Twilight
Alternate Universe/Sad; 2k words; Oct 2014; Everyone

Making a world has consequences both good and bad. Moreso if it is left unfinished.

Twilight wakes up and calls for... but why does she think someone else should be in her house? This fic has a nice idea – roughly, that Twilight is living in an outlined story – and the feeling of unease is nicely captured. On the downside, it doesn't quite nail the execution: one stylistic decision is deeply annoying and (more importantly) the ending is pretty dull. Still, it gets a three because I like the concept and it has plenty of potential. ★★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup, stories reviewed will include JasonTheHuman's The Haunting in Ponyville and PresentPerfect's Dinky's First Kill.