Ponyfic Roundup 349

Read it Later story count: 131 (-4) 

Back to the usual three stories this week. Those of you with long memories may recall that once five fics per week (if they were short) was my standard, and maybe one day I'll get back to that. It's not as if I'm running short of ponyfics, after all! For now, though, it's likely to remain three. How much I like them each time can go all over the place, and I haven't been as lucky this week as I was last; today we have:

Baby, It's Cold Outside by Captain Unstoppable
Heart Filled Picnic by Brian Sheil
Reality From Nightmares by Ashtotron35

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

My Little Repeats 84: "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils"

The dream sequences really show how far the animation has come since S1

S4E19: "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils"
Written by Dave Polsky
22 Mar 2014

My original rating: 8/10 (=★★★★)
IMDb score: 8.7

The one with red ribbon. Or cherry. Or maybe cinnamon

Thoughts: After everyone (ish) disagreeing with me over "Maud Pie", what will happen today? There's a strong case for saying S4 was Dave Polsky's best season, with solid eps including "Rarity Takes Manehattan", "Twilight Time" and now this. Actually, this episode might get my vote for Polsky's best episode full stop. Sweetie's mixed relationship with Rarity comes across well here, and you can tell she's a little closer to teenage argumentativeness than to the more childlike complaints of "Sisterhooves Social". I like her casual use of a little magic, too. The other CMC provide nice backup ("Serve Her Right!"), and the visuals are very pleasant as you'd hope to see in a Rarity episode. I like how Luna is written and shown, too. She's there to help, but that doesn't mean she's going to accept any old whining from Sweetie and she can be stern when required. The dream sequences are interesting and give us a little backstory, too. I'm still unsure how much I actually like Sapphire Shores, who (I suppose unsurprisingly) does have a hint of diva-ishness about her. Watching this ep again, it's interesting that I'd forgotten it was a Polsky one. It seems a bit more restrained than many of his efforts, and in this case I think it's all the better for it. Good character work for Sweetie in particular sees this episode sticking with a four-star verdict.

Choice quote: Sweetie Belle: "I... prefer show tunes."

New rating: ★★★★

Next up is "Leap of Faith", Applejack's key episode and one I've never been more than moderately enthused by. Perhaps that will change.

Pre-2017 Unlisted YouTube videos will become inaccessible next month

(Via EqD.) YouTube has announced that, as of 23rd July, all Unlisted videos that were uploaded before 1st January 2017 will be set to Private. In other words, they will become completely inaccessible to anyone but the uploader, regardless of whether or not you have the direct link. As far as I can see, the only exceptions will be where the channel owner personally opts out between now and then. If they don't do that, then kaboom: no more public access.

It's hardly news that, when MLP creators moved away from the fandom over the years, some of them preferred not to leave their Pony videos public for a variety of reasons. However, quite a few did set said videos to Unlisted instead of Private, thereby allowing access if you had the direct link. This often happened if the artist was okay with access from within the fandom but not with people stumbling on their old MLP videos accidentally.

Needless to say, this news has caused a bit of a stir. There are a heck of a lot of Unlisted videos in the fandom, some of them pretty big. "Flutterwonder" was Unlisted for quite a while, for example, although it's been Public again for a long time now. And a number of channels are now unattended and inactive, so the chances of their creators logging back in to opt out are very low. In under a month, those videos will be no more as far as the fandom is concerned.

Sure, archive channels exist, but those are morally ambiguous in that you don't have the same confidence that the creator is okay with fandom access that you do when they've kept a video Unlisted on their own channel. A link from an old EqD post that points to the creator's own now-Unlisted upload will also not tell you where to find the same video in an archive. Plus archives quite often overlook more obscure and/or specialised works.

Some things will be saved. Perhaps quite a lot, given this fandom's continuing size and activity levels. But quite a bit of fandom history will disappear forever on 23rd July. Regardless of YouTube's reasons for making this change (which seem to be to do with the security of Unlisted links) it's certainly going to be a rather sad day.

Ponyfic Roundup 348

Read it Later story count: 135 (-2) 

As I'd hoped, I managed to read four stories today to make up for the shortfall last time around. Yay! Admittedly they're not very long stories, but then would you really expect that of me? Here's what I've been reading this week:

For When it Rains by Vivid Syntax
What's Your Problem? by RockstarRaccoon
Just Leave Well Enough Alone by Pascoite
Relaxing on a Cloud by Admiral Biscuit

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

Generations looks interesting

Amy Mebberson is the cover artist here

EqD reports that IDW's Friendship is Magic comic series is to come to an end with issue 102 in September. I doubt most people are too astonished. What's caught my eye, though, is the five-issue miniseries that will immediately follow it: Generations. This will see "the familiar faces from Friendship is Magic must call upon the original G1 Ponies of the 1980s for help against a new witch threat erupting from the Volcano of Doom!"

I absolutely love this idea! Covers aren't always representative of the stories inside, but I really hope that we will indeed see the Mane Six meet their direct G1 inspirations, rather than just a bunch of semi-random G1 ponies. It'll be written by Casey Gilly and illustrated by Michela Cacciatore, neither of which names I know anything about. Nevertheless, if Generations gets its premise even halfway right it could get me reading the comics again.

My Little Repeats 83: "Maud Pie"

The rabbit is doubtless Angel's worse-tempered cousin

S4E18: "Maud Pie"
Written by Noelle Benvenuti
15 Mar 2014

My original rating: 8.5/10 (=★★★★)
IMDb score: 8.8

The one with Granny Smith's apple spiced muffins

Thoughts: Noelle Benvenuti's writing debut was a big hit with fans on release, and it's still a lot of fun today. I was very positive about "Maud Pie" in my 2014 review, but I was concerned it might have lost its allure slightly now the element of surprise had been lost. Really, no. Maud is still great value (props to Ingrid Nilson) and here we see Pinkie on the upswing of her yo-yoing portrayal in S4. Why can't she be written like this more often this season? Rainbow Dash is particularly good value, too. And of course, rock poetry. Who could ever forget rock poetry? On the downside, what could have been an audacious and brave moral ("Your friends' friends/family won't necessarily become your friends") was slightly downgraded to a decent, quite satisfying but more kid-cartoon-expected moral. Maud's superequine powers were perhaps a little excessive, too. I really liked the sketch method used when Pinkie was explaining Maud's backstory. Rarity's absurd hat divides opinion, but I found it (mildly) amusing rather than annoying. Boulder is brilliant, but Maud steals this show. This episode will be keeping its four-star rating.

Choice quote: Rainbow Dash: "Is she even moving?"

New rating: ★★★★

Next up is "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils". I remember Sweetie's "dream" episode as being quite solid, though I wasn't quite as taken by it as some were.

Ponyfic Roundup 347

Posted early by mistake. Whoops! Oh well, might as well leave it up now.

Read it Later story count: 137 (nc) 

My apologies for the fact that there are only two fics in this week's Ponyfic Roundup. That's because one author nuked their account very recently. It's actually quite a long time since that happened to a story I was going to include in PR, whereas a while back there was a bit of a spate of nukings. Anyway, I'll try to do four stories next week, though as usual I make no promises. The two I do have for you today are:

A Lesson in Preening by Wabbajack
Second Best by DiscordedSheepcityUSA

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

My Little Repeats 92: "Somepony to Watch Over Me"

The lighting in this section is very atmospheric indeed

S4E17: "Somepony to Watch Over Me"
Written by Scott Sonneborn
8 Mar 2014

My original rating: 7.5/10 (=★★★)
IMDb score: 6.1

The one with the Hats and Bows Closet

Thoughts: A really uneven episode, this one. Scott Sonneborn's debut starts pretty badly, with Applejack's protectiveness towards her little sister turned up to 11 and beyond. Yes, she's shown a bit of that before ("Bridle Gossip") but never like this. I really find it a chore to watch, and if that was all this episode had to offer it might be looking at a one-star rating. Happily it isn't, and after some fun CMC antics AJ's concern about Apple Bloom going missing is much more convincing. Then, of course, we get the chimera stuff. A really dangerous monster, with perhaps the most open death threat any character had received up to this point in the show – and a kid character at that. Some very striking visual design in the flame forest, too. The Cajun town at the very end was a bit strange, but I suppose it served its purpose. I'm more than happy to give the chimera segment a highish three at least, maybe even a low four. Average that out with the unenjoyable earlier AJ scenes and you no longer get the high three-star rating I gave this episode in 2014. You get a moderate two, and overall that's probably what it does deserve. Had its moments without a doubt, but horrendously uneven and oddly paced to (fireproof) boot. Not one of S4's finest.

Choice quote: Scootaloo: "Stop! No time for a song."

New rating: ★★

Next up is "Maud Pie", which I liked a great deal on its first appearance. Maud herself had quite a bit to do with that. I'm hoping I'll still like it as much.

Some retro-style music for a Saturday

d.notive – Becoming Popular [1987 House Mix]

This is posted for no other reason than that I want to! It is a 2011 song (uploaded to YT 12 December that year) so I could have left it for a 10th anniversary song in the winter... but I didn't want to wait. I suppose d.notive is best known for his Depeche Mode impression with "Vicious Lies", but here he turns his hand to an musical era young Cheerilee would probably enjoy. If you get a Stock, Aitken and Waterman vibe from this, that was quite deliberate on d.notive's part. Clear influences from Kylie Minogue's "I Should Be So Lucky", among other SAW tracks.

Ponyfic Roundup 346

Read it Later story count: 137 (-2) 

The weather continues warm. I say that not because it's interesting, but because it's the first time I've been able to say it (truthfully, at any rate) for about nine months. I've been doing plenty of reading, but to be honest a lot of it has been non-Pony. Yes, I do also read stories that are not about colourful equines. I apologise profusely if this breaks any of you out in a cold sweat. Anyway, here's today's little bunch:

First by Winston
Twilight Takes a DNA Test by Dewdrops on the Grass
I Am Waiting For A Bus by darf

★: 0 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 3 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.

My Little Repeats 91: "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies"

You have to assume Fluttershy made that sax, unless the Breezies brought it with them!

S4E16: "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies"
Written by Natasha Levinger
1 Mar 2014

My original rating: 7.5/10 (=★★★)
IMDb score: 6.8

The one with the Doctor's 3D glasses

Thoughts: Not the most popular instalment of S4 with the fandom at large, but Fluttershy's key episode has its interesting points. For a start, it was the first time outside EqG that we'd seen a dimensional portal. Fluttershy's "cruel to be kind" moral is a solid and satisfying one, too, and this is certainly an episode that wouldn't have worked centred on anypony else. It's a rather good ep for her – the problems come with how contrived much of it is, in particular the spell that Twilight just happens to have learnt that just happens to solve the problem. Turning a pony into another creature feels morally iffy, too, especially as the others didn't get told what they were in for. The Breezies... well, Seabreeze is pretty good value, but him apart the creatures don't have much personality. It's also another downswing for Pinkie's characterisation, which as remarked before is all over the place this season. Really, whether accurate or not, this feels like it was made because someone at Hasbro wanted to sell Breezie toys... though in the event we got hardly any. (Blind bags and... er...) An odd mixture, then: some fine Fluttershy, a very good moral, and good visuals and music. However Seabreeze apart it has rather unsatisfying supporting characters and a uneven plot that didn't really fill 22 minutes. I see the flaws a bit more clearly now than I did in 2014. As such, I'm downgrading it a tad from the top-end three it used to have. Even so, it keeps its three-star rating – just – because, well, I'm biased and it's a good Fluttershy episode.

Choice quote: Fluttershy: "Okay... well. A confusing pep talk, but nonetheless..."

New rating: ★★★

Next up is "Somepony to Watch Over Me", and it's no secret to anyone who knows me that I'm not especially looking forward to reliving Applejack's portrayal in that one. The ep did hold some appeal for me in 2014, though. How much now? Wait and see.

Happy belated 10th birthday, "Pinkie's Lie"!

WoodenToaster – Pinkie's Lie

 

One of these days I'll actually remember to put these posts out on time! But another big milestone happened on 28th May: the 10th anniversary of WoodenToaster's first MLP track being uploaded to YouTube. It maybe hasn't maintained its fame quite as well as some of his slightly later works, but "Pinkie's Lie" is still at least moderately well known. Not that many spring 2011 tracks can claim that.

Ponyfic Roundup 345

Read it Later story count: 139 (-5) 

I've been sitting outside to read in the nice warm weather recently. I state this merely because, as anyone who lives here will appreciate, most of this May has been pretty grotty weather for doing that. I like reading in the garden, but when it's cold and wet it's not exactly a good idea! (Well, not unless you've got a gazebo, I suppose. Which I haven't.) Anyway, today's threesome are these:

The Equestrian Opposition Party by Chessie
Relevé by Cillerenda
A Bittersweet Lesson by Nouvelle Tale

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