Ponyfic Roundup 268

Read it Later story count: 235 (+1)

At one point this week, I wondered whether I was going to get any sort of Ponyfic Roundup out today. So many things cropping up and causing trouble, most of them pretty minor but they do tend to mount up. Thankfully, I did manage to squeeze in a little reading at the end of the period, so herewith the last three ponyfic reviews on here for a fortnight. All good ones this time, too – remember, my rating system is skewed so that two stars means an average fic.

Treasure by paperhearts
Friendship 101 by BlazzingInferno
Making Do by Lurks-No-More

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

Treasure by paperhearts
Ocellus and Smolder
Drama/Slice of Life; 3k words; Aug 2019; Teen

Just like she does every night, Smolder attempts to steal a treasure she cannot hold. Just like she does every night, she invites Ocellus to watch her try.

The first story on paperhearts' account – though as they've said, not the first time the person has been around the world of ponyfic. Anyway, this is a nice character piece that's set some time after the series' present. Smolder is more boldly drawn than Ocellus, but then that's who she is – and she's the protagonist here, after all. Finding out what the "treasure" is was enjoyable, as was a gentle reminder that, for all Smolder's classes, she's still not like ponies. Downsides? Not many. Although it's not LUS, there's a little too much "the changeling" for my liking. More significantly, certain undercurrents are subtle enough that you have to be concentrating to realise what's going on and I think I only did so right at the end. A top-end three for me, but I could certainly see it nudging into the fours for big Smolder (and to a slightly lesser degree, Ocellus) fans. ★★★

Friendship 101 by BlazzingInferno
Celestia and Twilight Velvet
Slice of Life; 4k words; Jan–Feb 2017; Everyone

Twilight Sparkle’s cute-ceañera is on Friday. Finding some guests is proving harder than Twilight Velvet expected.

This time we're heading into the past, with Twilight's mum trying her best to persuade the filly's headmistress – a certain Princess Celestia – to come to Twilight's party. The kid doesn't actually mind if she spends it with her parents and brother, but Velvet is determined to make it otherwise. I really liked that her job as an author of foals' fiction was relevant to her negotiating skills, too. We also get a nice answer as to why Twilight ever had any friends in Canterlot prior to the start of FiM. Really, the only thing I can say against this is that the ending is a little unexciting. But otherwise it's a lovely little tale. ★★★★

Making Do by Lurks-No-More
Derpy, Rainbow Dash and Mayor Mare
Slice of Life; 3k words; May 2012; Everyone

Rainbow Dash deals with the aftermath of Town Hall's destruction in "The Last Roundup"

Finally for this week, a story set during the series. As the description says, it stems from that first scene in the show episode. These days it takes me a little while to get used to Dash as weather pony rather than Wonderbolt, but I think she was written quite well in that department. Ditzy Doo (as she's called here) is a mailmare, and there's a clever explanation as to why we no longer (even in 2012) see the aerial freight deliveries we saw in "Feeling Pinkie Keen". This is another story with a slightly dull ending, and there's the occasional bit of clunky writing (eg a too-long explanation of Dash's coat and mane making her recognisable) but it holds up pretty well otherwise. Mild point of order: "truly pissed" doesn't seem an E-rated phrase. Still, a good read if you don't mind the days-of-yore feel. ★★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: will be in two weeks' time owing to UK PonyCon. Stories reviewed then should include iisaw's Prejudicial Procedure Problem.