Ponyfic Roundup 512

Read it Later story count: 93 (-1)

Words read this week: 6,000

Still no properly working PC for me (don't worry, I'll get there) and so I'm keeping this next look at the Thousand Words Contest III medallists very short. Covering all twelve Bronze winners in I've go would have pretty much guaranteed I'd have made some stupid mistake. I know I do that already sometimes, but not all the time! So, here are the Drama and Slice of Life fics that won bronze:

White Painted Walls by applezombi
Millennium by Discombobulated Soul
Damn These Vampires by RB_
Balloon Animal by AltruistArtist
Pure Absurdity by FanOfMostEverything
Space Pony / 40 Winks by alafoel

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

White Painted Walls by applezombi
Adagio and Sonata
G4 EqG; Dark/Drama; 1k words; Jul 2024; Teen (Narcotics, Suicide/Self Harm/Profanity)

Adagio Dazzle has lost control of her own life. 

Adagio lies in hospital, apparently mentally damaged as well as physically injured. Sonata tries to visit, and eventually Adagio allows it. A fascinating and disturbing look at the Sirens' sibling-style relationship not treated as funny  – with added interest in the background from the role of "that Sparkle girl" and his she's changed Sonata. This is "technically" (authors term) a sequel to their much older and longer Consonance and Dissonance, but prior knowledge isn't required. A very different approach to these girls, and one that's stuck in my head. ★★★★

Millennium by Discombobulated Soul
Celestia
G4; Drama/Sad; 1k words; Jul 2024; Everyone

A thousand years. A thousand years. A thousand years. Gone.

Now there's an ominous shortdesc. Anyway, the setup of Celestia missing her banished sister isn't new, and I'll admit I've seen a few too many "Oh Luna, I'm sorry, it's my fault" stories over the years, so it's all in the execution. Fortunately this one does do something different, though the big reveal isn't, er, revealed straight away. The atmosphere works and the ending is nice (though using the end A/N as a kind of epilogue is pushing the word limit quite a bit). A non-English word is important, and as it's not translated in the story (although easily Googled) I found that slightly annoying. So a mixed bag, but the central conceit is clever and fitting, bringing this to a three. ★★★

Damn These Vampires by RB_
OC and Nightmare Moon 
G4; Drama; 1k words; Jun 2024; Teen

What is art to a dictator but a means of conquering the heart?

I worried a little when I saw that this story made poetry a significant aspect, as I'm not always that good at interpreting it. This fic, though, made it past that. The opening line of both poem and story is "The stars were beautiful once" and that immediately got my attention. Quillfeather, in his readiness to stand against Nightmare Moon despite the consequences , is a winning character, and the ending is surprising yet fitting. Interestingly, the fic is not tagged AU, and that says something in itself. Memorable and inspiring. ★★★★

Balloon Animal by AltruistArtist
Party Favor and Troubleshoes
G4; Slice of Life; 1k words; July 2024; Everyone

Party Favor travels to Appleoosa in search of work. He leaves with something he didn't expect to find.

It's always interesting when a story puts two characters together you wouldn't expect, and in this case Party Favor and Troubleshoes chat at the rodeo. That's most of what's here, and it's a simple tale, but simple doesn't mean boring. The two ponies' characters are well on display and the way their respective backgrounds have shaped them is evident. It's not a flashy fic, but it has a natural tone about it that's quite satisfying. Upper half of this star band. ★★★

Pure Absurdity by FanOfMostEverything
Mane Seven (EqG)
G4 EqG; Comedy/Random/Slice of Life; 1k words; July 2024; Teen (Sex)

Unicorns doing unicorn things, much to certain girls' chagrin.

Rainbow Dash boasts to her fellow Rainbooms about her about-to-visit boyfriend and what the two of them will be up to. Sunset isn't having any of it, telling Dash, "You're a virgin." Turns out that old Earth legend about unicorns may be... not entirely unconnected with pony ability, let's say. Although yes, slice of life, this is to a fair extent a teen sex comedy. Those are rarely my thing, but FoME picks his characters and barbs well enough here that I still had fun. Though Twilight, you really need to learn when not to say anything... fun stuff and a highish three. ★★★

Space Pony / 40 Winks by alafoel
Applejack
G4; Slice of Life; 1k words; Jun 2024; Everyone

It's a beautiful night, and Applejack can't sleep.

A much more lyrical, even poetic, tale now. No dialogue here, just a description of a night, from the Sisters "dance of Sopor" (a striking phrase, and not the last) to the steam engine in AJ's head that won't let her rest until she's done an important and specific thing. A small but lovely jewel of a fic, condensing what home and family and duty mean to Applejack into one little action and a thousand words. As for the double title? That link is very nicely made, too. This one rather captivated me. ★★★★

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I'm continuing with my intention to alternate contest and non-contest fics, so next week we're moving away from thousand-worders once again. Given the date, I'm going to have a Spooky Special edition! Here's what you can expect on the 30th:

Tick by billymorph
Zombie of One by Impossible Numbers
Meat and Bone, Sinew and Bile by RB_
A Crazed Gleam by FanOfMostEverything
Into Darkness by Donnys Boy