Ponyfic Roundup 286

Read it Later story count: 221 (-1)

I don't have a great deal to say today, so rather than fill this space up with some pointless complaining about tutti frutti ice cream having become more or less extinct, I'll get straight on to reviewing fics. Three today:

Plural Possessive by Aquaman
The Last Windigo by Doctor Disco
Balance by Original Username

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

Plural Possessive by Aquaman
Sombra and Dinky
Comedy/Slice of Life; 16k words; Jan 2015; Everyone

King Sombra meant to possess Twilight Sparkle's body and take over Equestria with it. Due to an addressing error, he ends up in Dinky Doo's body instead. Neither of them is very happy about it. *5th place in the More Most Dangerous Game contest*

This fic is entirely ridiculous and somehow makes that work. The short description above gives you most of the premise, apart from the fact that Dinky is on the verge of asking a colt to go out with her. Sombra (pre-S9 version, of course) becomes unwillingly drawn into the resulting shenanigans. He narrates in an amusingly loquacious style that's very different from his "Crystalssss" approach in the S3 premiere; the reason is fine and touched on in-story. I did find my attention just starting to wander as things got a little predictable later on, but for the most part this was a delight. ★★★★

The Last Windigo by Doctor Disco
Applejack, Apple Bloom, CMCs and Other
Sad, 2k words; Dec 2016; Everyone

Applejack relates to the Cutie Mark Crusaders the only Hearth's Warming story they still haven't heard... The Tale of the Last Windigo

Yes, I'm reviewing a Hearth's Warming story in March. This is a fairly representative example of the genre, especially when you factor in the [Sad] tag. The events depicted in "Hearth's Warming Eve" mean the Windigoes are dying out, and the very last one encounters a sad, cold filly. And she... well, it's E-rated and a seasonal fic, so what do you think she does? Very predictable and not especially memorable, but it does get props for making a windigo the central character, and the premise itself seems reasonable enough. ★★

Balance by Original Username
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash
Sad/Slice of Life/Alternate Universe, 2k words; Nov 2014; Teen

Remember that pivotal race that led to the Mane Six getting their cutie marks? Well what would've happened if Fluttershy had managed to keep herself on the cloud...?

That setup really intrigued me, probably partly thanks to my own interest in the moment, as expressed in my ancient fic Clouded Minds. Anyway, in Balance Flutters stays up in Cloudsdale. She doesn't have the happiest life all told (she's an orphan) but Rainbow Dash looks out for her much as she does in canon and a solution is found to that. 'Shy doesn't get her cutie mark, though, and even in her early 20s she's a blank flank still. Then Dash is transferred to Ponyville... another story where a good premise is slightly wasted, and the "20% cooler" and "lone tear" don't help. Probably still worth it for firm fans of this friendship (like me!), but maybe rather less so if you're not. ★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: stories reviewed should include Crowley's Operation Firework. (Which is M-rated, just to give you a warning.)