Ponyfic Roundup 280

Read it Later story count: 228 (+1)

A quick plug, for which I am (sadly) receiving no remuneration whatsoever: MoonReader+ Pro is a fantastic ebook reader for Android. I've used it for five years now and I have no real thoughts of going anywhere else. I very, very rarely shell out for the pro versions of apps, but I've never regretted doing so for this one. Anyway, there are three stories reviewed this time around, and there's not a dud amongst them! Here they are:

That Distant Shore by Alaborn
Sometimes Maps Are Dumb by HoofBitingActionOverload
A Winter Walk by Scribblestick

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

That Distant Shore by Alaborn
OC and [spoiler!]
Adventure, 6k words; Sep 2015; Everyone

A half-seapony comes of age and looks to the distant shore. His destiny calls him to the surface, where he will find adventure, along with a more personal quest. For somewhere in Equestria lives the mother he never knew.

It's always interesting to go back to the days before G4 had canon seaponies. For such a short story, there's some interesting (mainly background) world-building of their society here – for example, stallions carry the young, as with our-world seahorses – although the action quickly moves onto land. I'm not sure where "narwhal seaponies" fit in, but it seems this story's culture is built on another I haven't read, so that's my fault. I'm maybe a little over-cautious with spoilering out a tag above, as it's not hard to work out even without that. This is something of a self-discovery story, in spite of the plotline being "Green-Fin" and his search for his mother. Some nice character work in here, and it's only slightly hampered by an uninspiring ending. A fairly strong three, and it should be good reading for pre-canon seapony fans in particular. ★★★

Sometimes Maps Are Dumb by HoofBitingActionOverload
Trixie and Twilight
Comedy, 5k words; Sep 2015; Everyone

Twilight's magical map calls Trixie to solve the llamas' friendship problem, but Trixie's true reasons for accepting aren't entirely altruistic and she may not be nearly as over being upstaged by Twilight in the past as she lets on.

Hey, doesn't the Cutie Map feel like ancient history now? That doesn't detract from this story, though, except in the tiny way that when it was written only the Mane Six had been called. This is a comedy – a funny comedy. Trixie, finding she's been called by the Map, is... well, very Trixieish about it. This is why the story works so well, as she travels to the far-off Llamaland (it's not actually called that, sadly) and sets about solving things in her own inimitable (thankfully) way. Twilight and Applejack are very good in their supporting roles back in the castle, and the ending is funny too. If you want a good laugh, this is a fine place to get it. ★★★★

A Winter Walk by Scribblestick
Twilight and Spike
Slice of Life, 1k words; Aug 2016; Everyone

Spike and Twilight go for a morning walk.

I read this after seeing it reviewed by Present Perfect, and I can only agree with him: it's just calm. The writing nicely brings out the feel of pony and dragon out in the crisp, cold air, and I enjoyed it very much. The tranquillity is mildly (but only mildly) disturbed by some wolves, and in all honesty I'd have enjoyed the story more as a pure SoL without them – but they do add a little touch of incident. Barring that, there's no excitement or conflict in this fic, but as simple, clean slice of life it's very good. A strong three as a result. ★★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: stories reviewed should include Lucky Seven's The Place I Feel Safest.