Ponyfic Roundup 441

Read it Later story count: 95 (nc)

Words read this week: 33,784

Here we are again, then. As I type this the sun is out and if I squint a bit I can see a reasonable amount of blue sky. Springtime is here! This being England, that usually means that within ten minutes it's freezing cold with overcast skies, but I shall remain determinedly optimistic. [Like the fool you are —Ed.] Yes, well. Another lowish word count this Roundup, but what about the actual stories? Let's have a look at this week's quintet:

For the Love of Science by Cold in Gardez
The Hug by the dobermans
The Perfect Drink by GaPJaxie
Amo Ergo Sum by DrakeyC
Eternity by DawnFade

★: 0 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 2 | ★★★★: 3 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I enjoy an average amount scores two stars.

For the Love of Science by Cold in Gardez
Twilight, Spike, Doctor Whooves and Mane Six
G4; Romance/Comedy; 13k words; May 2012; Teen

Twilight Sparkle has a date... with time!

It's more than two years since I reviewed a CiG fic (How We Burn, PR 331), but I quickly felt at home here with the light, fun feel of his earlyish comedies. Twilight's date is with a certain Doctor, and she fantasises about a relationship based on mutual love... of science! Meanwhile, her friends really aren't helping as they go about making and stocking a time capsule. There are plenty of chuckle-worthy jokes (Rainbow's awkward misunderstanding of a particular word is a particular highlight) and an increasingly fraught time-travel adventure adds extra fun. Some late-story Pinkie characterisation feels off even for 2012, and the fic inevitably suffers by comparison with the similar and IMO better Naked Singularity (PR 2) – but "not quite as good as Naked Singularity" is still pretty darn good. Enough to sneak a four, especially for those who liked the earlier story. ★★★★

The Hug by the dobermans
Cozy Glow and Twilight
G4/G5; Dark/Tragedy; 4k words; Jan 2020; Teen (Violence, Death)

Twilight administers The Hug in the manner of the ancient alicorns.

An intriguing little fic in which millennia hence, Cozy is taken out of her stone prison and brought before Princess Twilight in a much-changed Canterlot. As the description says, Twilight is to give Cozy The Hug, in front of a vast crowd of her subjects. Sounds like a stupid crackfic comedy, right? Look at those genre tags again. To understand what's going on, you need to think about how Twi got from there (the S9 finale) to here, and it was certainly disturbing when I did that. As for the G5 origin mentioned in the longdesc, this is only revealed very late on, but suffice to say it's something I haven't seen before. Well worth a look even if you don't in the end subscribe to the G5 connection. A high three, this. ★★★

The Perfect Drink by GaPJaxie
Berry Punch, Fluttershy and Discord
G4; Romance/Slice of Life; 3k words; Dec 2018; Everyone

Every year, on Hearthswarming, Berry Punch makes a drink for Fluttershy. One perfect drink.

Berry's special talent is making the right drink for the right pony at the right time. She doesn't do a whole lot of explaining, but the results speak for themselves. While making up 'Shy's drink this year, Discord turns up, but Berry is by no means intimidated or overawed. I really like her characterisation here, and the way earth pony magic is featured in a slightly less straightforward way than in many fics. This was written as a gift Hearth's Warming fic, so it's largely cute fluff, but there are just enough darker undercurrents to make it more than that. A sweet ending, too. I think most readers would find it hard to go wrong with this one. ★★★★

Amo Ergo Sum by DrakeyC
Twilight and Sunset Shimmer
G4 AU; Romance/Drama/Sci-Fi/Human; 9k words; Apr 2021; Everyone

Twilight looks to what the future holds for her - a girlfriend, a new world, a new existence. And all the associated fears that come with making a commitment to them

This is a Friendship is Optimal (PR 80)-inspired fic, and I think it will help to have read that first to get the background context. Anyway, Sunset has uploaded and Twilight... well, she might. But she's not sure about things. She can visit Sunset in the virtual Equestria, and so she does, but being on the queue for permanent uploading is a much bigger step. This is a really nice character-focused tale, one which very much convinced me of the positions the two principals were taking. The world-building is well fitted to the universe and the conflict between head and heart (and even soul) is interestingly explored throughout. There are some nice little touches (note the initials of the Digital Resistance Movement) and also a certain amount that feels relevant to things like the rise of AI in our own world. There's the occasional minor bit that I was mildly at sea with (I had no idea what a "lane push" was in gaming) but nothing that significantly hurt the story. I really enjoyed this. ★★★★

Eternity by DawnFade
Pipsqueak and Dinky
G4; Romance/Sad/Slice of Life; 5k words; Jan 2012; Everyone

Pipsqueak and Dinky have a series of epiphanies over the course of their lives.

Sequel to the superb Pirates For A Day (PR 85), this fic goes beyond that story's simple friendshipping and makes Pip and Dinky a romantic item. We see three vignettes at different stages of their lives together, and a slightly more bittersweet version of PFAD's cuteness is often in evidence. I don't think the writing is quite as smooth as first time round, and the ending although moving is a bit on the predictable side with the odd bit of prose that feels mildly overwritten. If you liked Pirates and don't mind the shipping here, this is certainly worth a read – it's just not the classic the first story was. Top-end three. ★★★

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A good week, that! For next week, we will once again be in familiar "bunch of five" territory. "Bunch of fives" territory would perhaps be rather more concerning!

Firelight by MegatronsPen
B.B.B.F.F.B.R. by 8686
The Many Deaths of Twilight Sparkle by Jinzou
The Bun, The Oven, and The Muffin Man by Crosis
When The Rain Fell by Alicorn