Desert Island Ponyfic

It's over to you today. Not permanently, I hasten to add! I do intend to do some work on this blog still. :P However, I have a medical appointment on Wednesday; it's a routine one, but it does mean Ponyfic Roundup will be on Friday again this week. So, in the meantime, here's a question for you:

If you were marooned on a desert island for one year without internet access, but you could take with you FOUR ponyfics, what would you choose?

You cannot choose stories you wrote or had a significant hand in bringing to completion. (I'll leave what counts as "significant" to your conscience.)

The stories you pick must also be currently and publicly available, so that readers can give them a shot if they like.

Other than that, no special rules. If you want to take four million-word unfinished behemoths, you can. If you want to take four perfectly crafted shortfics, you can. If you want to make all your fics crossovers with some weird anime I've never heard of, you can. Your move!

Sounds of 2013, nos. 6 to 4

It's getting very near the end, as the Beatles once sang. Only three more editions of "Sounds of 2013" remain, including this one. I'll be covering three songs today, two next time, and the track voted number one will get a post of its own. As usual, here are the criteria used to determine inclusion or otherwise:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

The three songs included today are:

06: YourEnigma – My Roommate is a 'Bassist'
05: Ponky & Eccentrifuge – Bright Eyes (A Wonky Anthem)
04: EileMonty – I Am Octavia

As ever, if you want YouTube embeds and waffling from me, you'll find those after the page break. If not, I'm sure you've got more interesting things to do! But for those who do want them, read on.

Ponyfic Roundup 321

Read it Later story count: 182 (+1) 

I haven't really got a great deal to say in this space today. I know, I know, when did that ever stop me before? Let's get on to the week's three stories, though. Without those, you'd only have my ramblings to read here, and that really is not a fate I would wish on anybody. Today's trio:

The Wagon Repair Mare by Admiral Biscuit
Who We Are in the Dark by NaiadSagaIotaOar
A Package in the Rain by Church

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

My Little Repeats 59: "Wonderbolts Academy"

This shot really underlines how Rainbow has matured emotionally and LD hasn't

S3E07: "Wonderbolts Academy"

Written by Merriwether Williams
15 Dec 2012

My original rating: 7/10 (=★★★)
IMDb score: 8.2

The one with Pinkie emerging from the mailbox

Thoughts: For reasons I now can't remember, The Hub had a two-week gap between "Sleepless in Ponyville" and this next episode. For my money, it's one of Merriwether Williams' few definite hits. Lightning Dust is a hugely watchable character, though it's a bit of a shame that (as we learn five seasons later) she doesn't really learn much from her ejection from the Academy. Rainbow herself demonstrates how she's matured since the start of the show, and that's something I really do appreciate. As for Spitfire? I've softened a bit towards her portrayal, but this is a kid-friendly version of Sgt Hartman, a character type I find frankly tiresome. (Most real-life militaries do not take this very American "break them before you make them" approach, incidentally.) The two best scenes are confrontations: first when Rainbow snaps at Lightning Dust for her who-cares attitude to the tornado's consequences, and second when Dash quits. That scene had a real gut-punch impact when we saw it the first time. A bit less so now we know Rainbow's future, but still. Pinkie's portrayal can feel a bit over the top for this late in the series, and I'm afraid I still don't much like Bulk Biceps. Nice to see Twilight Sparkle's Balloon, though! Overall, an entertaining episode with a little extra emotional punch, but slightly let down by its flaws. I'll stick with a three-star rating.

Choice quote: Applejack: "Is anypony else followin' this?"

New rating: ★★★

Next up is "Apple Family Reunion". I was distinctly underwhelmed with that episode in 2012, but I'm cautiously hopeful I may enjoy it more this time around.

Ponyfic Roundup 320

Read it Later story count: 181 (-1) 

Three stories again today. Unfortunately the mid-length fic I was going to review was something I ran out of time to finish, so that will be part of next week's collection. Instead, I fired up the random number generator and read the first thing it found that was actually complete and not a crossover. Did it pay off? We'll see later on. The three fics are:

The Ship-Off by TheBrianJ
Six More Weeks by Cold in Gardez
The Memory Stealer by cherryfeather101

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

My Little Repeats 58: "Sleepless in Ponyville"

Lighting effects really do help the atmosphere of this episode

S3E06: "Sleepless in Ponyville"
Written by Corey Powell
1 Dec 2012

My original rating: 9/10 (=★★★★★)
IMDb score: 8.7

The one with sleep-scootering

Thoughts: Well, here we are: the first episode I ever reviewed for this blog! Back then I called it "a flawed classic, but one in which the flaws didn't hurt it much at all", and I stick by that. I'd change a few details, for example the "flight" at Winsome Falls would be my closing scene, but not much significant. I love Applejack in this episode – she clearly knows what's going on with Scootaloo, but she doesn't want to embarrass her by saying so openly. I'd forgotten how long it takes for Luna to show up at all; this is her first dreamwalking episode, so it's very significant lore-wise. Rarity is perhaps not at her best in terms of her treatment of Sweetie Belle, but I have to admit she's immensely entertaining to watch. Rainbow I didn't mind so much, as I felt her slight emotional insensitivity worked here while Scoot was trying way, way too hard to impress her idol. Besides, Dash showed another side to her character – when nopony else was looking! – at the end, in a heart-melting scene that I unashamedly adore to this day. Objectively, this is probably a four-star episode: very good, but not perfect. But you know what? I'm not going to be objective. I love "Sleepless in Ponyville", and it's a major reason Scootaloo is my favourite CMC and second favourite character overall. Corey Powell went on to write a few more eps, but as we'll see none of them could touch her remarkable debut here. This episode remains, seven years on, a five-star gold slice of Pony for me.

Choice quote: Scootaloo: "Here, branches branches branches..."

New rating: ★★★★★

Next up is "Wonderbolts Academy", which I quite liked but which I know some people find really irritating. I'll be interested to see what I make of the first appearance of Abrasive Spitfire.

Sounds of 2013, nos. 10 to 7

We return you now to Everfree Radio's Top 100 of 2013, as voted for by its listeners seven years ago. Herewith a quick reminder of the criteria I use to determine whether a song should be included – though you can take it as read that something that made the top ten qualifies under Rule 3 regardless of anything else.

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

Only four instalments of this series left now! Four songs today, then three, two and one for the remaining editions. Here's today's mixture:

10: BlackGryph0n & Baasik – Faster Than You Know
09: Aviators – Equestria Girls (Helping Twilight Win the Crown) [remix]
08: AcoustiMandoBrony – Kindness
07: SlyphStorm – Castle of Shadows

YouTube embeds, rambling and in some cases links to HQ downloads follow after the break. Meanwhile... here is some music!

Ponyfic Roundup 319

Read it Later story count: 182 (nc) 

In the real world, it's been rather an incident-packed week one way or another. Here on Louder Yay, however, we spend as little time in the real world as possible, so it's ponyfic that's our main concern today. Here are the three stories I've read over the last seven days:

Exiles by Coyote de la Mancha
The Blue Feather by TheLegendaryBillCipher
Mittens by breeziebee

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

My Little Repeats 57: "Magic Duel"

The bunny suit is cute, but it makes absolutely no sense

S3E05: "Magic Duel"
Written by M. A. Larson
1 Dec 2012

My original rating: N/A
IMDb score: 8.4

The one with Saddle Arabians

Thoughts: Trixie's (first) return is more popular with the fandom as a whole than it is with me. I dislike the way it treats Fluttershy, for a start: in particular that bit near the start where she threatens Twilight, but also the way she reverts to almost early-S1 levels of timidity. From a writer as accomplished as Larson that's a real disappointment. Thankfully there are a number of good things, starting with the (at the time) eye-opening look at the less salubrious backstreets of... well, probably Canterlot, but who knows? We also get the first use of the word "alicorn" in the show thanks to the eponymous Amulet, as well as Zecora playing a major supporting role with both actual magic and what Granny Weatherwax would call "headology". The spells in the first magic duel are variable: the age spells are a bit dull, the gag with Pinkie's removed mouth is funny but slightly overused, and so on. The tricks Twilight uses in the second one are nice (double Rainbow!) though it's best not to consider too closely how convincing they'd actually be. I'm also not sure I quite buy Trixie going as far as getting the Alicorn Amulet in the first place, though the "magical item corrupts wearer" thing is straightforward enough. I didn't like Trixie at this point and still don't find this ep as strong as a lot of the fandom do. It's probably right at the top of the two-star band for me these days. Among my least favourite Larson episodes, at any rate.

Choice quote: Trixie: "The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't trust wheels."

New rating: ★★

Next up is "Sleepless in Ponyville", which I have adored ever since I first saw it. I cannot imagine it will get a low rating: unless something remarkable happens it'll merely be a question of whether I rate it four of five stars.

Sounds of 2013, nos. 14 to 11

Time to get back to Everfree Radio's Top 100 of 2013, as voted for by its listeners at the time. As ever, here are the criteria that guide my decision as to whether to include a track – although from here on up, Rule 3 would apply to everything even in the absence of any other reasons.

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

Down to four songs this week (and indeed next time too) as the tension starts to mount! What will be number one? That will have to wait a little bit yet, but for now we have:

14: Foozogz – Make It Special (Reflection Mix)
13: Sand Josieph – Mother Changeling
12: AcoustiMandoBrony – Generosity
11: Claire Anne Carr – Magical Mystery Cure Rock!

After the break you'll find YouTube embeds of the songs in question, as well as a briefish bit of rambling from yours truly. I'll also mention higher-quality downloads if I know they're available somewhere.

Ponyfic Roundup 318

Read it Later story count: 182 (nc) 

It's time for some ponyfic. In a roundup. Because I'm really brilliant that way, you know? Anyway, three stories this week, and in their different ways all of them have something interesting to mark them out. Here they are:

A Grand Day Out by Pearple Prose
Daring Didn't by Hoopy McGee
That Isn't Me by wishcometrue

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

My Little Repeats 56: "One Bad Apple"

I remember this gag being very widely appreciated back in 2012

S3E04: "One Bad Apple"
Written by Cindy Morrow
24 Nov 2012

My original rating: N/A
IMDb score: 6.6

The one with Sweetie's first little spark of magic

Thoughts: From one of S3's most popular episodes to one of its least: "One Bad Apple" has the second lowest IMDb average of any this season. It's not hard to see why: this is pretty much a Very Special Episode about bullying, and not an especially subtle one at that. Its high point is definitely the fantastic song, which is one of the catchiest FiM ever produced. The accompanying animation was apparently deliberately given a Hanna-Barbera feel, right down to the recycled sequences. It's beautifully done, though: watch how well the Crusaders' eye-blinks are fitted to the beat. The low point? Well, Babs Seed herself doesn't have much of a motivation to be a bully (and no, "she was bullied in Manehattan" isn't good enough), but for me it's that the CMC are nowhere near their most likeable here. Sweetie partly excepted, but I mean, getting a foal to drive a float over a cliff? It's surprising, since Cindy Morrow is usually pretty sure-footed when it comes to character interactions. Not, unfortunately, this time around. There are some wonderful moments, not least the little A-Team montage when the CMC are building the golden float, but they can't disguise the episode's central weakness. Great song or no great song, this has to end up down in the two-star bracket. Watch it for its fun little touches, not its hackneyed message. Oh, and Pinkie's "veggie salad!" line is still near incomprehensible.

Choice quote: Sweetie Belle: "That must be what Rarity uses on her emergency edible boots!" [Yeah, I know SB's "ironic" quote from the tub is a classic, but I wanted to choose something else for a change!]

New rating: ★★

Next up is "Magic Duel", which I've generally been able to take or leave, though now I like Trixie more from her later appearances that may change. As always, wait and see!