Ponyfic Roundup 258

Read it Later story count: 248 (nc)

With temperatures going past 30 °C again this week, I'm taking things as easily as I can. The fan's on full blast, but it's still not much fun – and opening the window only makes things even warmer! Even so, I've somehow managed to get through five fics this time around. Okay, several are really short, but hay. They are:

The Quest by iisaw
Seeking Love in Laughter by Leafdoggy
Though the Present is Never Perfect, She Bought the Perfect Present by Star Destroyer
I Am a Pegasus by Tranquil Serenity
I Dream Of Dashie (But I Wish I Didn't) by Eskatarina

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

The Quest by iisaw
Twilight and OC
Dark/Adventure/Alternate Universe; 12k words; Apr 2015; Teen

A brave stallion goes on a quest to save the world by finding a lost princess in an enchanted forest. Things don't work out as he planned.

This fic is set in the same universe as what's now known as the Alicorn Mystery series, the excellent tales that began with The Celestia Code (PR 59). You don't need to have read that to enjoy this, though I think it makes it more satisfying. We're in the far future here, as the presence of a ruined Castle of Friendship underlines. The princess, it's not spoilery to reveal, is Twilight – and the brave stallion (who is, basically, a spy) has the Alicorn Amulet to help him succeed on a mission from which nopony has ever returned. As with the Alicorn Mysteries, you may find yourself at odds with elements of certain characters' moralities, but that's part of what makes the story so satisfying. World-building, adventure and an intriguing look into the depths of Twilight's character? That's worthy of a hearty recommendation, I think. ★★★★

Seeking Love in Laughter by Leafdoggy
Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash
Romance/Slice of Life; 2k words; Jul 2019; Everyone

Convinced to give romance another shot, Fluttershy ends up on a first date with Pinkie Pie, trying to learn how to get past her nature and have fun.

Fluttershy's problem in this new fic is that she finds it hard to enjoy relationships, since she ends up worrying that she's not doing enough for her partner. This is a pretty decent setup, but and there are some nice touches here: "Should I wear anything?" is such a pony-world question. The writing is unobtrusive if you can deal with the present tense, barring the author's irritating habit of omitting the apostrophes from words like "gettin'". However, there's really nothing here you won't have seen many times over; I guessed from the description alone how this was going to go. The ending is also a bit weak. Mostly a fic for those who just can't get enough of E-rated cuteness with this relatively unusual Mane Six pairing. ★★

Though the Present is Never Perfect, She Bought the Perfect Present by Star Destroyer
Twilight and Celestia
Dark/Comedy/Slice of Life; 2k words; Jul 2015; Mature (Sex)

Celestia would like Twilight to experiment a little. Twilight is reluctant. Bats are embarrassed. Eyeliner is involved.

With a title like that, my first reaction was that this must have been written to wind up Present Perfect. Then I came across the word "thestral" and was sure of it. The story – such as it is – consists of Celestia teaching younger (but adult), still-unicorn Twilight about certain things it's about time she knew. There's also an amusing bit where Twilight gets annoyed that Tia keeps calling flasks "beakers". But really it's just a setup for some fairly non-explicit sex (this might not even need the M rating). And an ending which, once it clicked, I found really, really uncomfortable. I can't say exactly why as it's the stinger of the whole fic, but Celestia doesn't come out of it well. I'm decidedly not the target audience here. ★★

I Am a Pegasus by Tranquil Serenity
Fluttershy
Slice of Life; 1k words; Jul 2019; Everyone

Fluttershy is a Pegasus, but she's pretty different from the ones that live up on the clouds in Cloudsdale.

A first-person fic that consists entirely of Fluttershy's internal monologue about the way she is, including how the butterflies that saved her long ago had such an influence on her life. It's all very simple and straightforward, so don't expect any startling revelations or wild digressions. In fact, 'Shy feels like an older, simpler, almost S1-era incarnation than the one we see in the show today. It's not really believable that the current Flutters would entirely miss another pony's blatant chat-up line, for example, but perhaps the Flutters of S1 might have done. A quiet, gentle story for a quiet, gentle pony. ★★

I Dream Of Dashie (But I Wish I Didn't) by Eskatarina
Moondancer and Mane Six
Comedy; 1k words; May 2019; Everyone

Moondancer is getting mercilessly spammed by advertising in her dreams. Can she prevail against sleep-disrupting sales ponies?

Now here's a fun idea: every time Moondancer tries to dream in peace, Rainbow or Pinkie or somepony turns up to try to get her to buy something. It doesn't help that the hucksters are rather poor at things like remembering her darn name. Eventually, Moondancer realises who she needs to turn to. This is a silly little story, perhaps stretched a little bit thin to creep over the 1,000-word minimum but still fairly funny and with some nice dialogue. A shame the ending is a bit clunky and will date badly, but I can mostly forgive that as the fic did make me chuckle several times. ★★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: stories reviewed should include Skywriter's How to Remove a Unicorn Tooth.