Ponyfic Roundup 236: Hey now, the story must go on

Gosh, it's been years and years since I've watched Willy Fogg. You can probably get the box set on DVD—but I don't like it that much. It was just something I'd watch in the afternoons on Children's BBC after I got home from school. I keep it together in my mind with the likes of Dogtanian, The Mysterious Cities of Gold and Ulysses 31. Anyway, ponies now.

Read it Later story count: 268 (-11)

I really do want to read another long story for a PR spotlight at some point. For me, "long" is anything over 50,000 words. I won't say what the story I'm thinking of is, but I will say that it's a very old one. Written in 2012, in fact. A couple of people I've asked recently say it still holds up quite well, so expect it... er... sometime. Anyway, now I have five stories (yay!) of which three were published in the last year (also yay!) so let's get a wriggle on.

Friendmaker by Lets Do This
My Limitless Lily by Allonsbro
The Legend of Falling Rocks, Buffalo Brave by Titanium Dragon
The Hand of Friendship by Incredible Blunderbolt
Hopeless Romantic by Flutterpriest

★: 0 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 4 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.

Friendmaker by Lets Do This
Twilight, Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, Discord and Luna [plus a couple more]
Drama; 9k words; Sep 2018; Everyone

"I am Friendmaker!" -- Twilight is concerned she may one day go insanely evil, as with Nightmare Moon or Daybreaker. Knowing Twilight, you think she's just going to wait for it?

I really liked this author's My Little Student (PR 221) and was very happy to see such good stuff from a relative newcomer (assuming their account isn't an alt). With Friendmaker, they've done it again! This intriguing tale ask various reformed villains what tipped them over the edge. They're all nicely characterised; it's so good when I come across a convincing Discord. Twi then decides there's no alternative but to try the high-risk strategy of deliberately enhancing her powers, using a rather familiar artefact. Although Starlight plays a significant role, the star of the show is Trixie, who Lets Do This uses in a way that fits her personality perfectly. Add to that some excellent lightish-touch use of and playing with canon (have a look at pp102-3 of the real Journal of the Two Sisters...) and you get a very satisfying, very Twilight story. Recommended. ★★★★

My Limitless Lily by Allonsbro
Flower Ponies and Other
Romance/Slice of Life/Tragedy; 5k words; Feb 2013; Everyone

Money Shot tells the story of how his marefriend Lily overcomes losing two of her legs in a fire

It's an E-rated story, so don't get any funny ideas about Money Shot's name. In fact, he (as narrator here) addresses that very point straight off. This is pretty much a straight retelling of the events that led up to Lily's injury and what was done to make her life better, and it's generally quite touching. Unfortunately, the cover art makes what was done instantly obvious, while the fic's early evasiveness about what happened also feels somewhat pointless. The straightforward genuineness of Money Shot's feelings mean the story is still worth reading as a character piece, despite an unwelcome fandom reference. ★★★

The Legend of Falling Rocks, Buffalo Brave by Titanium Dragon
OC and Buffalo
Adventure; 3k words; Apr 2014; Teen

Long ago, when the buffalo roamed free across the hills and plains, a brave named Falling Rocks became legend. Come, listen to the tale of how he saved his people. A story of buffalo mythology.

Here's another story written for the EqD Outside Insight contest nearly five years ago. Here we get three linked short fables, written in a style appropriate to that form, telling the story of this mythical hero. They're all solid reads, with some interesting looks at windigo-era ponies, though the third chapter's ending won't be to everyone's taste. (I rather liked it.) A pretty good three, this, and I'd have read more chapters if there had been any. ★★★

The Hand of Friendship by Incredible Blunderbolt
Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash (EqG)
Slice of Life/Equestria Girls; 3k words; Jan 2019; Everyone

Rainbow Dash shows up while Sunset Shimmer is busy repairing the broken wall of Canterlot High School.

Yay – the very first story I've reviewed to have been published in 2019! This author has been on Fimfiction since 2011, but I've never read one of their fics before, so here we are. As the description suggests, it's set after the end of the first Equestria Girls movie, and it's a nice story too. Very Equestrian in tone (despite being set in the human world) and with some satisfying interaction between Sunset and Rainbow. It does hit one of my personal bugbears (Rainbow's coat/skin colour is not cerulean) but that's about it. A simple tale, but that's sometimes what works best, and so it is here. A strong three for me, but probably a four for those really into EqG. ★★★

Hopeless Romantic by Flutterpriest
Changelings and Spa Ponies
Romance/Dark; 1k words; Sep 2018; Teen

Everypony wants to meet their soulmate. What sort of pony would I be if I took that away from them? After all. True love only strikes once in a lifetime.

A poster in the Fimfiction comments describes this as "a dark chocolate fic [...] Sweet, bitter, and over before you want it to be" and I think that's about right. The tags inevitably take away some of the mystery, but you may well not spot the exact twist that's coming. This story packs a fair amount into barely a thousand words, and it does so without seeming crowded. The narration is nicely done, too. After being slightly underwhelmed by the same author's Permission to Land (PR 220) I'm happy to say that I enjoyed this tale considerably more. Another strong three. ★★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: stories reviewed should include The Firework Lotus by ArgonMatrix.