Ponyfic Roundup 237: His Toeses are Roses

A day later than most weeks, but here's the new PR for your delight and delectation. You don't seem to be allowed to have delectation without delight, so you'll just have to lump it. I'm feeling mildly cheerful at the moment, since the weather has been almost springlike lately. Into double figures, crocuses out, you know the score. Onward.

Read it Later story count: 268 (nc)

Just the three fics to look at this week, all E-rated, but if you'd had the week I have then you'd be struggling too. Nothing especially terrible, just that stuff kept coming up in all sorts of places, often stuff that needed dealing with there and then. I hope things will calm down a bit now. Cue hollow laughter.

Brain Problem Situation by Tumbleweed
The Firework Lotus by ArgonMatrix
Decisions by hester1

★: 0 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 2 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.

Brain Problem Situation by Tumbleweed
Twilight, Applejack and Rarity
Adventure/Comedy; 4k words; Jan 2019; Everyone

One day, Twilight no can do word right.

Another new story! And it's fun. As the description above may hint, Twilight and her friends are alarmed to discover that her usually vast vocabulary is shrinking by the hour. It turns out that the culprit is a Thesaurus. And that's not a book. It's a creature. The comedy of Twi's increasingly frantic attempts to communicate is pretty silly, but it's silly in a way that's consistently amusing. RariJack is a thing here, but it's mostly kept to the fringes. Mostly. The secret to overcoming the Thesaurus seemed a bit out-there for my liking, but still. ★★★

The Firework Lotus by ArgonMatrix
Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Mane Six and CMCs
Drama; 17k words; Jan 2014; Everyone

The bonds of friendship between Twilight and Spike are tested when a tradition held dear to the dragon's heart is changed for the worse.

An RCL inductee, this one, so I was hoping for something memorable. I got it, too. This is a highly satisfying story exploring how Twi and Spike's relationship changes as they grow, seen through the lens of an annual Equestrian celebration. It does a fine job of showing us the contrasts between the simpler days of Spike's infancy and the more layered emotions of recent times – "recent" here meaning when Twi was new to princess-hood. The Mane Six are generally used well in backup roles, though Fluttershy seemed a little hard-edged for my liking in a performance routine late on. I also wasn't moved by some (original) song lyrics sung by Sweetie Belle as much as I was probably supposed to be. These are small complaints, though, and if you've enjoyed The Descendant's Twilight/Spike stories then this will probably be to your taste too. ★★★★

Decisions by hester1
Sparkler, Roseluck, OC [and others...]
Sad/Slice of Life; 3k words; Jul 2013; Everyone

A server waits on six ponies in a restaurant. The diners have drinking contests and discuss social responsibility. The clock ticks ever on and on.

This was the second and last fic by a long-gone author. It got a favourable City of Doors review over four years back, which is why I know about it at all, but I've only now got round to writing this. It's very much SoL, as the whole fic takes place in that one evening session at the restaurant and is narrated by the waiter. The relationship between Sparkler and Rose takes centre stage, and builds towards a dramatic conclusion. I didn't see it coming, but maybe I should have given the other focus of the story, a group of friends discussing (and drinking) nearby. They have a secret, albeit one so badly disguised that I assume the whole town is in on it. Readers will work it out almost at once, which I'm sure was the author's intention. The two strands of the plot fit nicely together, and this makes quite a satisfying scene. ★★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: right now, I have absolutely no idea!