Ponyfic Roundup 126: Our Tongues with Songs of Joy

Just the four stories this week; it's been rather busy around here, for one reason and another. The timetable for UK PonyCon has been published, for one thing, and to my great surprise they have two writing panels. I know (slightly) one of the people doing one, but I have no idea who the people doing the other are. I shall try to get to both, and will report back! Anyway, off we go with today's limited selection of ponyfic.

That Changeling's a Pony! by Raugos
Tower of the West by Lasairfion
Butterscotch by Silvermoons1
Relinquishing by Chris

★: 1 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 2 | ★★★★★: 0

That Changeling's a Pony! by Raugos
Changelings
Comedy; 4k words; Aug 2016; Everyone

A changeling gets kicked out of the hive for being a pony.

Considering how much I enjoyed Integration (PR 24), a new changeling fic by the same author was a must. This one is a lot sillier, and has quite a few meta-jokes and references. (One is to a certain fic that blew up a few months ago.) It's a whole lot of fun, and even manages to bring Quibble Pants into the equation without it seeming too forced. I think the "Thorax" referenced here is the Integration one, not the canon one, but it doesn't matter too much. I wrote "Great stuff!" in my notes, and I think that's a fair assessment. ★★★★

Tower of the West by Lasairfion
OCs and Others
Adventure; 8k words; Feb–Aug 2014; Teen

Wrath, a pony of fortune, sees a lit window at the Tower of the West Gate during curfew's dusk in war-torn Vanner. The secret behind that light could change the course of a war. [Set before MLP:FiM].

The only published story by this author (yes, the guy from BUCK), this is a bit different from the usual run of adventure fics. Wrath doesn't actually do much fighting, but mostly travels and observes in a land with echoes of the Europe of around 100 years ago. Its best feature is its world-building, which builds up a compelling, if a little hurried, picture of this place. Wrath himself is interesting, though his strange name (though seemingly a cover) is a little distracting. The writing itself is quite good, though it could do with a quick pass to break up some overly long sentences and to switch a number of semicolons for commas. The story is let down a little by its underwhelming ending, though it seems it will eventually gain a sequel, which may help. Certainly worth a look, though. Also, I know what the bar name means. :P ★★★

Butterscotch by Silvermoons1
Pinkie Pie
Comedy; 1k words; Feb–Apr 2015; Everyone

Pinkie Pie is on a mission to find Butterscotch candy. (Picture from CawinEMD on DeviantArt.) [look, it's in the short description, all right?]

This is an 896-word story (it got over 1,000 by adding a "read if you want" preview of the author's next fic!) in which an only vaguely in-character Pinkie has to visit Arch Town to get her precious candy. Dull name for a town, huh? The author agrees, and intervenes to talk about "forth wall" breaking three times. This isn't a "so bad it's good" story; it's just not much of a story at all. ★

Relinquishing by Chris
Twilight and Celestia
Sad; 1k words; Sep 2016; Everyone

On one day each year, Celestia and Luna turn control of the sun and moon over to a group of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria. Twilight is finally old enough to take part. But she can't.

This started out as the winner of the "Princesses Not Included" minific Writeoff, and has been slightly expanded into a quietly heartbreaking tale of... well, it's so short that I can't say much about it, other than that it's lovely. Be warned, though: you may find yourself trying to think up loopholes. I did. ★★★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: stories reviewed will include a SoarinDash shipfic. As Rainbow herself might say: "Oh, this oughta be good."