Words read this week: 34,865
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
★: 0 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 3 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 1
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I enjoy an average amount scores two stars.
Succession by archonix
OC and Twilight
G4 AU; Drama; 15k words; Jun 2014; Teen
When she was birthed with horn and wings she was thought to be a pegacorn, a rare and blessed blending of the tribes, whose long life and power brought wealth and stature. Then the guards came, seeking the first alicorn born in over a thousand years.
This Most Dangerous Game contest entry is set in an AU where Princess Twilight has been ruler of Equestria for many, many centuries. One day Morning Glory is taken from her parents and to the Princess. As you read, you wonder how Twilight of all ponies can be so cruel, but also how Morning Glory can be so mature – it's notable that she doesn't collapse after being taken from home. We don't altogether get answers to the second, but this is a damaged Twilight who has had to make unbearable choices to protect her subjects and hasn't always got them right. Fascinating world-building and I like Morning Glory as an OC, but it feels like half a story – a mooted sequel never happened. High three, though could have been a four with more of a resolution. ★★★
Flower Wars by Shaslan
Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy and Raven Inkwell
G4 AU; Dark; 3k words; Aug 2023; Teen (Death)
Rainbow Dash was beautiful, the most beautiful pony to be born in a century — and so her fate was sealed. Beauty must be sacrificed, and so Rainbow Dash must die.
Another AU contest fic, but this one was written in just two hours to enter (and win) the 2023 EFNW Iron Author title. Quite frankly, this is spectacular. I'd have thought it was fantastic even had I not known about the time limit, and with that knowledge I'm left in awe. This is a world brilliantly built on Aztec mythology, in which Rainbow is an apparently willing choice for sacrifice to appease the gods. Fluttershy has a memorably anguished minor role as a beastmaster, but it's Applejack who plays the main supporting part; she's written in a perfectly slightly-different-AJ way in her incomprehension of the pony so special to her being willing to die. I got slightly fed up with the word "Ohuaya" by the end, but that really is all I can say against it. Wow. ★★★★★
Princess Celestia's Private Library by Shrink Laureate
Celestia and OC
G4; Slice of Life; 6k words; Feb 2017; Teen (Sex)
A tale of poetry, pornography, puns, printing presses and pretty pony princesses.
Given its widespread praise from various quarters, this is a fic that I've been rather slow in getting to. I now regret that. Celestia invites a printer named Tercet to make a copy of her private library. Yes, that includes the... NSFW pictures that have built up over the centuries, but also many other very personal and private pieces that cannot be allowed to be known if Celestia is to remain who her little ponies expect and need her to be. Lots of fine stuff in here, including judicious use of poetry and Old English (actual Old, not Early Modern) and some satisfying pre-S1 backstory to go with it. A slightly annoying (though I imagine deliberately written as such) assistant who happily isn't on the scene much. As with a few others, I wonder whether Tia really needed to be this obsessive about suppressing certain publications – but then she has been (at this point) ruling alone for centuries. A very interesting and intimate (in a non-porn sense) look at the just-pre-FiM Princess. ★★★★
Fun & Games by False Door
Rainbow Dash, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Other
G4; Dark/Comedy/Slice of Life; 9k words; Jul 2023; Everyone
Rainbow Dash reluctantly takes the CMCs to the grand opening of Rinky Dink's Funtown. After a disagreement at the prize counter, she hijacks their outing to wage an escalating grudge war against the kooky proprietor and mascot, Rinky Dink.
The author says this reads like an episode of The Amazing World of Gumball – but I don't watch that, so I have to assess it without that aspect. Rainbow really, really wants a big plushie – but it costs 20,000 tokens. Scootaloo is happy with a hundred-token popper. Dash's determination soon spills over into a willingness to cheat, and there's an exciting climactic go-kart race. Some fun exchanges between the CMC, too. The (possible) bad guy is a little bit FlimFlammy, as lampshaded by Dash herself. The story's ending is (deliberately) rather different in tone, but if you can swallow one or two plot conveniences it's quite memorable. High three. ★★★
Scootaloo, Formula One Driver by SockPuppet
Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, Rumble and Wind Sprint
G4; Slice of Life/Human; 1k words; Nov 2019; Everyone
Scootaloo races Formula One on Earth. How do you even drive a race car with hooves?
I wrote a racing fic about Rainbow Dash in More than Alive in 2016.¹ That being so, how could I not review this story? This differs in that it's an Admiral Biscuit-style "ponies on Earth" fic rather than the completely fictional AU I used. That means real-life drivers like Lewis Hamilton appear as supporting/background characters, and Jeremy Clarkson shows up as well. (He actually has the fic's best line!) As with AB's stories, the presence of ponies being treated in a matter-of-fact way is what makes it convince – well, apart from the bit with actual overtaking at Monaco... There are a couple of other stories by SockPuppet in this mould, and I may well read them in due course. A fun read for this motorsport fan. ★★★
¹ Though there she was a speed hillclimb driver, not an F1 one.
And after this week's five stories, next week we'll have... another five stories! I don't know about you, but I find that quite incredible. They'll be:
Room by AstralMouse
Shadow Unto Crystal by enne
Coco Powder by PaulAsaran
A Strange Tea Party Indeed by Aray
Waffles by Ninjadeadbeard
Overtaking at Monaco IS silly, but it's the most recognizable race name to non-F1 fans. Glad you enjoyed!
ReplyDelete-Sock
It was good fun, indeed! Thanks for writing it, and for taking the trouble to comment here. :)
DeleteThat's quite a slate! :O And a five-star? Got my attention with that one!
ReplyDeleteThe comments section on that Shaslan fic is sensational. Admiral Biscuit, R5h, Cold in Gardez, FanOfMostEverything, Pen Stroke, Winston and GaPJaxie all praising it to the skies -- and that's not even a complete list. :o
DeleteI usually find myself reading at least one Iron Author entry shortly after they go up in the wake of EFNW, typically the highest-performing one that appeals to me. Which isn't always the winner! But in this case, off that many big names praising it, it kinda has to be this one, eh? Expect my take on it in a month or so!
ReplyDeleteYou know, hearing that many big names are at this event and partaking in Iron Author does make me want to d that one year. To the extend of journeying all the way to Seattle, not quite, but you never know. Maybe some year, I'll find an excuse to travel to Washington.
Also, happy to see you had a similar reaction to Private Library as myself, really managing. Otherwise, that episode-like fic does look curious too, though only to the point of maybe considering it, not for sure.
But yeah, really strong slate for you this week, with nothing below ★★★ and even those fics being largely strong ones in that rating! Made me feel good just reading this post.
Yes, it was a very satisfying week all round. Absolutely nothing disappointed me, and that five-star fic was a stunner. :)
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