Ponyfic Roundup 145: Lovely Rice Pudding for Dinner Again

When I was little, my favourite tea consisted of Heinz spaghetti somethings in tomato sauce (hoops, alphabetti, numberelli, whatever) followed by rice pudding and jam. Preferably sitting in front of the football results on Grandstand, despite the fact that I had nearly no interest in football.

Read it Later story count: 484 (nc)

We're back to mixed bag territory on Ponyfic Roundup this week, and I'm kicking off with a story that many people will probably look at once and pass over. I did the same thing several times before forcing myself to sit down and read it properly. This week, there are six stories to go through, as follows:

Pinkamena's Wake by GroaningGreyAgony
Pointless Pursuits by JC
We by Sessalisk
All's Well That Ends Well by billymorph
Pipsqueak Plod and the Quest for Crackers by Kegisak
A Good Filly by Orbiting Kettle

★: 0 | ★★: 3 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 2 | ★★★★★: 0

Pinkamena's Wake by GroaningGreyAgony
Pinkie Pie and Mane Six
Adventure/Comedy/Crossover/Dark/Random; 2k/6k words [see below]; Oct 2016; Teen

Pinkie has a bad Hairdra day, but she’ll make sure everypony else has fun again.

Cards on the table: Finnegans Wake itself totally defeated me the one time I dared try. Nevertheless, GGA's take on Joyce's brilliant and/or impossible work is worth the effort. I doubt anyone will get all the references – I certainly didn't – so the annotations chapter (longer than the fic itself) is welcome. Unlike with its inspiration, you can discern an actual story here without your brain melting, and one which more or less makes sense in Equestria, at that. It's also much shorter than FW, which is a relief. I can't in all fairness give this a five as it's just too hard for me to enjoy to the full, but consider this line: "Ho, Macintosh! Mac in Toffee? A fine candapple! Share in a cakecup, two bits!" If you get more than one reference from that, give this a try. ★★★★

Pointless Pursuits by JC
Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity
Sad/Slice of Life; 4k words; Jul 2013; Everyone

Fluttershy tried to move on from her own vicious behavior following Iron Will’s assertiveness seminar, but some of her friends have not been able to forget so easily.

In "Putting Your Hoof Down", New Fluttershy was very unkind to Pinkie and Rarity. In the show, everything was forgotten by the next episode. In this story, it isn't, and the remarks nag enough at the two that they bring it up with 'Shy. It's a wordy tale, repeatedly telling us what characters are thinking, but that doesn't tend to bother me that much. What does bother me is the voicing, especially Fluttershy's: I just can't imagine her saying some of this dialogue. And if it doesn't sound like Fluttershy, I just can't be drawn in. Pinkie and Rarity are better, but not great. A shame, because the setup is one I like. ★★

We by Sessalisk
Celestia, Luna and OC
no genre tags given; 4k words; Jun 2012; Everyone

Understanding isn't always the best course of action.

A PFV-inducted story now, which shows you how old it is. That means you have to get into the old-fandom mindset of the Princesses being basically gods for it to work. It's nicely written, and the story of Celestia and (to an extent) her sister is soaring in its scope. I'm just not entirely sure what it's actually all about. It's like reading A Brief History of Time: I enjoy reading it, things flow logically from one bit to the next... and then I close the book and realise I'm still a bit confused. If you're cleverer than me, you may well rate this higher. ★★★

All's Well That Ends Well by billymorph
Twilight, Scootaloo and Mane Six
Comedy; 2k words; Dec 2014; Everyone

Twilight Sparkle managed to swap her friends cutie marks, and they’re all surprisingly okay with it.

A version of "Magical Mystery Cure" with a different permutation of re-marking, and one that seems to work rather better. It's a nice concept, and I think the marks are well distributed, but the fic crams too many characters into too small a space and so feels superficial. You'll need to have some familiarity with G3, or at least a now rarely seen fandom meme, to get the end joke, too. ★★

Pipsqueak Plod and the Quest for Crackers by Kegisak  
Pipsqueak, Diamond Tiara, Other and OC
Adventure; 37k words; Dec 2014; Everyone

Pipsqueak and an unexpected friend set off on a quest to rediscover a Trottingham Hearth's Warming Tradition.

Pip is upset to discover that crackers are unknown in Ponyville, and sets off with Tealove (now there's an underused character!) on a shopping trip to Canterlot. Through misadventure, he ends up exploring the city's mean(ish) streets with Diamond Tiara. It's a mildly entertaining romp, having fun with Transatlantic Christmas differences but with a decently Equestrian magical element: a rather predictable one, but for a gently warming festive story I'll let it go. The single chapter does go on a bit, and the fic is also slightly let down by some poor editing ("sparrow" for "swallow" at least four times) and by some annoyingly written accents, especially a major OC and Pip's dad. (Who to me is definitely a Dad, not the "Papa" he is here.) Also, you pull crackers, not "play" them. The story is a pleasant time-passer but a bit waffly: a high two, maybe shading into a three if you read it at Christmas. ★★

A Good Filly by Orbiting Kettle
Crystal Ponies
Drama; 1k words; Dec 2016; Everyone

Sometimes it takes more than Flugelhorns and Crystal berries to heal old wounds.

An RCL inductee, this single-scene fic sneaks up on you. When it dawns what's going on, it seems obvious and fitting, but also rather sad. There's not much else I can say without spoiling the story, but you'll probably be thinking about it for more time than you spend reading it. ★★★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: she's yellow, she's shy, she's Best Pony, says I.