Ponyfic Roundup 507

Read it Later story count: 94 (nc)

Words read this week: 42,959

There – I think I've somewhat made up for last week's low word count total! Indeed, this is substantially above my usual weekly number, so I'm quite pleased to have got through it all. Lovely weather for mid-September has helped, since I've been able to spend a little time sitting outside to read, something I wish I could do more than I actually can. Here are today's stories:

Tea Decisions by PsychicKid
Kindness's Reward by AVeryStrange
A Story to Relate To by SockPuppet
A Changeling Path by TCC56
Written in Synthetic Blood by Shaslan

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

Tea Decisions by PsychicKid
Twilight
G4; Slice of Life; 1k words; May 2019; Everyone

Twilight frets over her mounting paperwork as a princess.

Teafics are two a penny in this fandom, but they tend to centre on Celestia. This one, as befits a relatively recent tale, concentrates on Twilight. The shortdesc is pretty much the story, but that's fine. It's a very simple story, generally smoothly told. Fittingly enough, a suitable tea-break fic. High two, meaning slightly above average, and a perfectly reasonable fic to pick if you're not in the mood for too much brain work. ★★

Kindness's Reward by AVeryStrange
Fluttershy and Trixie
G4; Romance; 31k words; Jan 2012; Everyone

Fluttershy's used to taking care of all sorts of critters. Grumpy magician unicorns, not so much.

While in the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy realises a dark cave is occupied – by, as it turns out, a scratched and emaciated Trixie, who's been scraping by there since running from Ponyville after "Boast Busters". Flutters takes Trixie home to care for her and... well, that genre tag tells you a fair bit about what happens. There's a bit more interest than that, though: some hints at Trixie's backstory, the fact that her injuries have robbed her of magic and the less than impressed reaction of Applejack to her return. (That part goes a little over the top for me.) Twilight's investigation into how to bring back Trixie's magic is quite interesting, too. The actual shipping is fairly cute but also fairly predictable, but the bits around that are more diverting. A shame the climactic monologue from Trixie drags on a bit, so a mixed bag that averages out at a top-end two. Probably a three if you're more of a shipper, though. ★★

A Story to Relate To by SockPuppet
Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Nurse Redheart and Vinyl Scratch
G4; Drama; 6k words; Dec 2018; Teen (Gore)

On Scootaloo’s worst day ever, Applejack tells her a story to put things in perspective.

It's Scoots' worst day ever because she's finally been told by the doctor: no, you will never fly. This only happens to a few pegasi a year, but she's one of them. Rainbow takes her to see someone who might offer a bit of insight: Vinyl Scratch, who also had a huge shock as a filly. Her canonical muteness is central to her story, and be warned: that [Gore] tag is warranted, although SockPuppet is skilful enough to avoid it being gratuitous. A very young (but adult) Redheart plays a key role, and a fascinating one it is too. This is SockPuppet's oldest fic on Fimfiction, so there's the occasional minor issue, but the characterisation is satisfying and the story is interesting and original, so I still happily recommend it. In the end, it's Scootalove. ★★★★

A Changeling Path by TCC56
Changelings
G4; Drama; 2k words; Oct 2019; Everyone

In the wake of the defeat of the Queen and the change of the Changelings, a distant cell meets to decide their path.

The setup here is that when Thorax's changelings went all sparkly and good, not every one of them was actually in Chrysalis's hive – and those that weren't didn't change. So what now? We keep a tight focus here on the cell in question, and that very much works – all the more so when this 2,000-word one-shot manages to produce more than one real sideswipe. Add to that a really good use of coloured text, a touch of humour, and bonus background world-building and this is a really satisfying little piece. Recommended! ★★★★

Written in Synthetic Blood by Shaslan
Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara, Nurse Redheart, Starlight and Cozy Glow
G4; Horror/Sad/Sci-Fi; 3k words; Jan 2022; Teen (Gore, Violence)

A filly waits in a small white room. Waiting for her friends to visit. "Hi! I'm Silver Spoon and I'm the Perfect Patient! What medical symptoms would you like to treat today?"

If you're disturbed by that shortdesc, you're right to be. Fair warning, this isn't a story to read if foal abuse (of an unusual kind, as you'll see) is likely to be triggering. In this story, Silver Spoon is an android who is able to display any symptoms she's asked to – up to and including major trauma – for medics to train on, and then heal again on command. Well, mostly medics. One of the most shocking scenes is the very last, which it's impossible to explain without big spoilers but which includes a very different character. The story is set some time in the future, which means the "What's happened to Equestria?" feeling you're likely to have isn't entirely immersion-breaking – for me, though it was for FoME. Certainly a horrific fic, but one that was a little too horrific for me in a non-[AU] setting whose cause isn't clearly explained. Still a top-end three; might be a four for those who can reconcile the situation with the MLP we know. ★★★

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Next time I'll be returning to the Thousand Words Contest III winners, and I'll be reviewing the first ten Pewter Medal winners. A total of 16 fics were awarded this medal, but that's more stories than really I want to deal with in a single Roundup. I will of course be covering the remaining Pewter Medal stories the next time I return to this contest. In this first batch, I will be looking at:

Too old to start over by TheDriderPony
All the Right Questions... by daOtterGuy
Encamped, Entrenched by EileenSaysHi
Pool Boy by TheDriderPony
Twilight Sparkle is Moving Back to Ponyville by RB_
The Daisy Behind Her Ear by Math Spook
In the House by Cold in Gardez
　　　i　　　 [sic] by PseudoBob Delightus
It Was a Beautiful Day in Ponyville by gloamish
Jack of All Trades by TheDriderPony