Ponyfic Roundup 456

Read it Later story count: 91 (-2)

Words read this week: 34,327

As summer gets close to its end, the weather is the usual infuriating British mixture of warm sunshine and drizzle. Sometimes at the same time; I blame the weather pegasi. Not that we have weather pegasi on Earth, or indeed any ponies of the Equestrian persuasion... although that isn't the case in one of today's fics. Here's the list:

Forsaken Shores by garatheauthor
The Great And Powerful Trixie Falls In Love With A Pine Cone by angelofrombelow
Nosflutteratu by Charcoal Quill
In the Sun's Shadow by Rare80
Parsnip by Admiral Biscuit

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

Forsaken Shores by garatheauthor
Twilight, Rarity and Shining Armor
G4 AU; Dark/Drama/Human; 5k words; Feb 2020; Teen (Violence, Death)

With her life-long experience as a merchant, Rarity joins a diplomatic envoy to broker peace between her people and an armada flying the banner of an exiled nation: Equestria.

This is one of those times when I have to say, "Take the tags seriously. All the tags." That's because the world we're in here is very different indeed from that of FiM canon. Equestria lost to Sombra and now their lost, legendary fleet has landed on Rarity's homeland's shores. Cadance and Shining Armor are its leaders, but don't go expecting a cute, happy reunion. They're not the same people they once were, and there's much bleakness here. The world-building is grimly fascinating, but frustratingly there doesn't seem to be anything else set in this AU. What saves this fic from being impossibly miserable is Rarity, whose essential generosity shines through. I still find it a bit too harsh for my liking, but I could see others giving this an extra star. ★★★

The Great And Powerful Trixie Falls In Love With A Pine Cone by angelofrombelow
Trixie, Twilight, Spike and Rainbow Dash [and a pine cone]
G4; Romance/Comedy/Random; 8k words; Feb 2012; Everyone

Nothing sensible can come of this

That shortdesc has it right. Set after "Boast Busters", this weird fic sees Trixie wandering in the woods when she realises a pine cone is speaking to her. Not figuratively, literally. Things get odder from there, and though the title is slightly misleading (romance isn't a major feature, though it is there) the relationship between "Piney" and Trixie is weirdly compelling at times. I think the joke is carried on a bit too long, and there are some small mis-steps such as a clunky Earth-astrology reference. A highish two I think, though who knows really when a story is this bizarre? ★★

Nosflutteratu by Charcoal Quill
Twilight, Fluttershy and Mane Six
G4; Dark/Comedy/Slice of Life; 15k words; Dec 2012; Teen

Twilight Sparkle had been looking forward to a quiet, relaxing day with a friend, but when Twilight discovers Fluttershy's appetite for blood, the knowledge proves to be anything but relaxing...

Twilight (who narrates) is on a meal date with Fluttershy when she realises that the pegasus is a vampire. She's somewhat disconcerted by this, and even more worried when it seems that everypony in Ponyville has known this for ages. What follows is a very funny story with a pitch-perfect S2-vintage Twilight wavering between panic, confusion and books. Fluttershy herself is great, but Rainbow Dash has an outstanding supporting role; let's just say that anyone who like me loves "Hurricane Fluttershy" should enjoy it. There's some really good dialogue, and even a few footnotes – though these are too far spaced from their references for easy reading. Maybe slightly weaker towards the end, with an OC who while entertaining perhaps feels a little out of place. The last line makes up for it, though. Top-end four and recommended; buckets of blood fun. ★★★★

In the Sun's Shadow by Rare80
Celestia and Luna
G4; Drama/Sad/Slice of Life/Tragedy; 2k words; Oct 2017; Everyone

Princess Luna begins to grow weary of constantly living under the glow of her older sister.

The author of this fic is a name familiar to me from UK of Equestria days, although I didn't know him very well myself. This is his only completed fic and that shortdesc will give you a good idea of how it goes. I like that it begins with the two future princesses as fillies, and interestingly the one thing it doesn't do is show the final banishment. Luna's temper seems unreasonably hot, though, and she takes excessive offence from small things more than once. There's a sprinkling of technical issues, notably tense mismatches, but its main fault is in not really convincing as a backstory to get us to what we know from canon. ★★

Parsnip by Admiral Biscuit
OC
G4; Slice of Life/Human; 5k words; Oct 2022; Teen

Most food carts in Philadelphia have a theme and menu. Parsnip doesn't have a menu, but she does have a theme—whatever she can get cheap at the farmer's market the day before.

Here we have one of Admiral Biscuit's fairly numerous Ponies-on-Earth stories. Their being on our planet is just a fact of life, so don't go expecting backstory – though Parsnip does still think of Equestria as "back home" occasionally. Parsnip is a very appealing character, apparently somewhat based on a real person in Philadelphia. We follow her through a day, and what could be mundane and dull is neither of those things. I really enjoyed Parsnip's company; I think she's one of AB's most appealing creations. There's a very mild tinge of anti-tourist-ism here and there, which isn't my favourite thing about the fic,¹ and I had to look up what an Oliver was (an old US brand of tractor) but this really is a very good read. ★★★★
¹ I live in a tourist town myself, so I am aware of the issues. Still applies.

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Some good stuff again this week. Including good stuff featuring Fluttershy. Yay! Anyway, here's next week's slate o'fics:

Succession by archonix
Flower Wars by Shaslan
Princess Celestia's Private Library by Shrink Laureate
Fun & Games by False Door
Scootaloo, Formula One Driver by SockPuppet