UK PonyCon 2025 report, part five: Sunday, second half

UK PonyCon personnel, somehow still upright after today

After returning from the Dragonlands, it turned out I'd missed nearly all the cosplay competition on the Mane Stage. That was slightly disappointing, although in truth I'm not quite as into that aspect of the fandom as many people are. I wouldn't be able to tell you who won what, for the most part. I did a bit more stalls shopping, though by now I'd mostly finished getting the few things I wanted. I also popped back to the freebies table to leave a few more things – though annoyingly not the blind bags that I discovered I'd left at the hotel – and pick up a couple more of the Kayou cards for others.

Next up was the Charity Auction. This is always a big deal at UK PonyCon, and it always seems to feature tension between wanting lots of... well, lots to raise money for the RDA and the thing overrunning, people overheating, or quite often both. To most of our surprise, the lot count this year turned out to be over 100, which it hadn't looked like a few hours earlier. I at first decided to stick it out, but as I was standing and squashed on the edge of the room I threw the towel in after a while. A shame, but I don't really regret it as I had very little cash left anyway.

A few of these are Worcester in-jokes, but you should get the idea!

The combination of all these extra lots and the compressed Sunday schedule did have one particularly sad consequence. Ghost Mike had worked very hard on his Pony Kart game and had achieved a high enough ranking to appear on the Mane Stage final at the end of the afternoon. But it soon became obvious that there just wasn't going to be time for everything, and Pony Kart was what had to give. Mike was impressively philosophical about it, and I'm sure he'll get another chance in the future, but when a friend works hard and through nobody's fault is denied the chance of Mane Stage glory, that's tough.

I hadn't done a lot of formal events on this day, and the one panel I had been to (the morning Fluttershy one) hadn't really happened. Still, Sundays at UKPC are usually more laid-back – and even though that wasn't the case for the staff this time round, it was still mostly the case for many of us. So I spent a while in the breakout room with friends, just chatting and trying desperately to fill my bingo card – not an official con thing, but one made up for our Worcester group by Hawthorn. I was truly thrilled to finish mine when Cozy obligingly asked me whether Tales was G1 or G2!

Fortunately our venue wasn't quite as small as it looks here

The closing ceremony was upon us now, and so we all trooped back to the main room and squeezed in as best we could. Because I'd taken a while to get there I had to stand up yet again – I didn't especially mind, but I don't think I've ever stood up more at a convention, which shows you just how maxed out the venue was. The ceremony itself was the usual mixture of thanks and photos, with perhaps the most memorable moment being Imalou's praise of the convention's diversity and inclusivity, including a wish to return at some point. We'd love to have you back, Imalou! Rebecca too, of course.

And with that, the official portion of UK PonyCon 2025 came to a close. There were a few nice leftovers to pick up in the entrance hall, such as unsigned versions of the Sunset Shimmer print Rebecca Shoichet had used for her autograph sessions, and I picked up a spare con book for Eliki. Then it was out into the street. In Nottingham the Worcester folks had often used this opportunity to take a group photo, but there was much less room here and so we ended up passing on that until later on.

This is my hotel bathroom, not the one at the Dragon!

After my lunchtime visit, we were fairly confident we could find room at the (Dragon) Inn, and so it proved. I think our group ended up numbering about fourteen, and so there was a good deal of moving tables around. Fortunately, Wetherspoons is unfazed by this kind of thing! We did take a group photo there, but that's not something I'll put in this public record. What I will note is that I ordered chocolate cake and then found it had sold out. Why am I not surprised that it was Ace who got the last one? ;) Fortunately I was offered apple crumble at no premium, and that was nice enough. No custard, though. Boo.

A particularly nice aspect of this meal was that we were joined by Pigasus, the Worcester meets founder and organiser, who'd never made a UK PonyCon before. Okay, this wasn't officially part of the convention, but for my money it counts. Pigasus is the reason I do social Pony things in the first place, after all. I think I stayed for about three hours before returning to my hotel. There's surely little chance we'll be at the same con venue in 2026, but in the event we are the Dragon has doubtless won itself some returning custom.

Next time: CoffeeStandCon

Ponyfic Roundup 560: Should ever be forgot

Read it Later story count: 90 (nc)

Words read this week: 12,724

Welcome one and all to another Ponyfic Roundup! There are six stories in the mix this week, which isn't something I've done outside of a contest medallist themed post for a long, long time. I'm back into a five-figure total word count, too. Don't go expecting a half-dozen stories to become a regular event, though! I just thought it would be amusing to do this run of titles, given the date. Here's the slate:

Remember by applejackofalltrades
Fifth by Nukepony360
November Rain by Lucky Seven
Gunpowder, Guillotine by Silver Sea
Treasonous Love. [sic] by wisp1
Plot Twist! by Mighty Fine

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

UK PonyCon 2025 report, part four: Sunday, first half

Yes, 7:30 am. Having been evacuated four hours earlier. These people are amazing

Well, this was an interesting morning. That's as in "may you live in interesting times" interesting. I woke up well on time and got my stuff together. There are no Sunday buses where I live, but this was not a deal-breaker. I'd been offered a lift into Halesowen, which was nice.¹ The weather was pretty decent, a bit chilly and breezy but largely sunny, so after being dropped off I was happy enough waiting at the bus station. The X10 duly arrived, and as it was a double-decker as usual I went upstairs for a lovely view of... well, Halesowen. Look, I was in a good mood, all right?
¹ This is not a sentence you will read very often. 

I flicked over to the UK PonyCon Discord while on the bus – and that was when I realised something was up. Long story short, the HSBC bank right in Birmingham city centre had caught fire and the area had had to be evacuated at around 3 am. No significant injuries, thankfully. The snag was that right above this bank was a Premier Inn hotel. And this hotel was where a large proportion of the convention staff were staying. They'd been given shelter in New Street station next door prior to being redistributed to other hotels, but one thing they hadn't had was any real sleep.

I went to the Soloman Cutler Wetherspoons pub on the outskirts of the city centre for breakfast, as I knew it would be quiet at that time in the morning. There I had a breakfast muffin and several cups of coffee while I kept in touch with both the con and my Worcester group friends. The staff had done a truly wonderful job in rescheduling to fit in nearly everything while delaying opening from 10 am to midday to allow themselves some kind of rest and preparation. This really does deserve tremendous appreciation, so here I am tremendously appreciating it!

Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdoch arguing whether to do karaoke or G3 merch shopping

Because of the delay, I was able to book into my own Premier Inn before heading to the con; fortunately it wasn't the evacuated one. Unfortunately the mess meant the check-in kiosks and main computer weren't working properly, but in the end I did get my room. As it was a Sunday night, the cheapest night of the week, I'd splashed out on a Premier Plus room, which was up on the seventh floor and had luxuries I wasn't accustomed to like a shower with halfway decent hair and body wash. Also, a couple more free mini chocolate bars! Green and Blacks this time.

Then it was off to UKPC. Everyone seemed in a good mood, and I was pleased to see a very strong feeling of appreciation towards the convention staff. The queue was again fairly long, but again it was handled efficiently and quickly. Once inside the venue, I made a point of thanking Bexi as she went past, but she rather played down her efforts, noting that she'd stayed in a different hotel and so had had some sleep. The venue staff had seemed slightly fussier about reminding everyone not to bring external food and drink in this morning, which as I said earlier they weren't always that consistent about. Ah well.

The first thing I headed for was the "Fluttershy Fan Club" panel, because the schedule rejig had meant the original clash with "Britannia Mare-ster" (of which more in a minute) had been avoided. This panel was intended to be a celebration of why Fluttershy is Best Pony. Obviously the fact of that is beyond question, but I was looking forward to basking in our mutual admiration for Flutters. Sadly, for reasons I never discovered but perhaps connected with the fire, the host didn't make it. We ended up watching Fluttershy clips for half an hour and then calling it a day. Could have been worse!

This was actually fairly relaxing. Not for the Gala animals, though...

That meant some time to spare, so I split that between chatting to friends and wandering around the stalls. It was just too busy to be comfortable, and I wasn't really in a merch-buying mood anyway, although I did make sure to stop by Imalou's table and buy an extremely amusing print of Izzy and Sprout – you can see that in the merch haul pic at the end of this series. Imalou was very nice considering the busyness, her prices were very fair, and I think all of us feel she would be extremely welcome if she ever wants to come to UK PonyCon again.

Then it really was time for Britannia Marester. That's a truly horrible pun – bravo! This has become a bit of a favourite for UKPC over the last few years. Based to an extent on the show Taskmaster, this sees a panel of contestants including the special guests set ridiculous tasks. In this case, things like choosing ten words from the FiM theme that nobody else would pick, running around collecting as many stickers as possible (Hawthorn was not a fan of this one) and designing an OC in a couple of minutes. Imalou's OC, "Fish Chips", was maybe the highlight of the whole game! Rebecca Shoichet won, but she immediately gave up her victory in favour of Amlaur. It was all a lot of fun.

Lunchtime! I decided to pop over to the Dragon again – and wonder of wonders, Britain's Got Talent had finally finished and so I could actually move. I wasn't that hungry so I confined myself to a soft drink and some chips. I'd been expecting to eat alone, but Roku joined me for a while which was very pleasant. This recce had been valuable, as it meant the Dragon was now a more viable choice for our Worcester group Sunday evening meal than the Briar Rose, which was apparently going to be full of Aston Villa fans...

Britannia Marester. A very boring photo of a very entertaining panel

Next time: Bingo!

UK PonyCon 2025 report, part three: Saturday, second half

Imalou (left) and Rebecca Shoichet (centre) answer the questions

Once I'd finished Languages of Equestria, it was time for the unmissable Special Guest Q&A and Script Reading. As usual, the latter was short but amusing, with Rebecca Shoichet demonstrating why she's a professional VA and most of us aren't. The question session was almost perfectly timed, with just a couple of minutes remaining after the last person had asked their queries. I don't remember anything earth-shattering in Rebecca or Imalou's answers, though the latter had some fun details about getting a certain red pony (Sprout) approved by Hasbro.

The freebies table had some fun little things by now, so I made sure to leave more stuff myself as I picked up a Sunny Pez dispenser. Because why not? Also some of the Chinese Kayou trading cards that have recently started appearing all over the place. These were mostly donated by James, whose attempts to practically throw packs of them at people became somewhat amusing by the final Monday morning! I didn't want any more UKPC merch, so that wasn't a factor. Also, by now I'd got the water dispenser in the breakout room to work properly: for some reason it took forever to start actually dispensing.

There wasn't a great deal that appealed to me in the early evening, which was a mild shame but not something I was too fussed about. I still have no idea why boba tea is supposed to be so fascinating, so I skipped Bexi's panel with that name, and while I was mildly attracted by the idea of a G4 fan-made videos panel, I wasn't attracted enough to prioritise it over some more stalls shopping. I ended up buying... well, not much this time. As you'll see when I eventually reach the merch haul pic, it was a case of slim pickings, something which is no reflection on the vendors.

This photo entirely fails to capture the lively, upmarket atmosphere. And no, I didn't win on the Monopoly

Getting evening food on a Saturday night is always a fraught endeavour. The Wetherspoons pub in the station was packed solid and had bouncers on the door by six o'clock. This is not what my local small-town pubs are like! I had to tell them we were looking for food, and they let us in. We then came out again sharpish as there wasn't a table to be had for love nor money. Nor mayonnaise (bing bong). The Dragon was still out as Britain's Got Talent was on to day 753 or something.

So a few of us ended up in the McDonald's on the New Street ramp. I think it was Bridle, Oily, Mike, Hawthorn and me; apologies if I've missed someone! It was nice to be able to talk to Mike properly for the first time since he'd made it, but other than the friends chat and the inevitable Big Mac I wasn't that keen on the place. It was incredibly busy and we only got a table by basically shoving large bags of ponies on the shelf and trying with varying success to repel non-convention people.

After a while it was back to the venue! UKPC had a second music event this time, the Forest Fest. This turned out to be an almost complete non-event for me because of timing. There was some kind of delay and it took ages before any music began. When it did, DJ Ben Love started with a wub that almost knocked me off my feet and went on from there. I stayed outside looking at a map of part of the Alps that someone had left in the bar area. No, I don't know why either. Maybe it was a clue, though to what I couldn't say.

Props to the bar for having cider. Unprops for having crisps at £2.50

And now, the bit that really mattered: Archer's Pub Quiz! This is a hilarious event run by one of the very few (maybe the only one) to have attended every single UK PonyCon. She asks 40 questions across all gens, split into four rounds of fiendishness such as colour-reversed symbols/cutie marks, and the team that answers Derpy correctly the most wins. In our case, we managed to include "Batman" as an answer in tribute to the absent Alli, but still somehow messed up an obvious "Night Glider" answer by putting "Night Light". Still, our team ("Kylie Minogue Tesco Edition") ended up joint third, our usual position. I took zero photos here. Go me.

I had to go at that point, and I was sorry to miss the Cartoon Riff with the Titanic cartoon featuring rapping dogs. There were probably other cartoons involved, but that one matters in cinematic history. I was less fussed about the late-night unofficial panel with Ember, basically roasting every pony. I'm told it was fun and I'm almost certainly in a minority of one on this, but if you're going to make a point of having a fully family-friendly convention, which UKPC does, an "unofficial, wink wink" 18+ event in the middle of the night just so the host can swear a lot seems kind of missing that point. I'd have had no problems had it been a fully casual thing in a pub somewhere.

Anyway, I was in a good mood regardless. As the con was so close to home this year I had decided I'd be going, well, home for Saturday night, thus saving about a trillion bits on hotel costs. For some bizarre reason the train was perfectly on time and had no yelling football fans; I was rather disconcerted. I was even more disconcerted not to have people shouting below my window until 4 am, although as I have a garden that would have been rather concerning. I had a bite and a drink, flicked through the Worcester Shires Discord, and ended up sleeping reasonably well. Early start tomorrow!

DJ Ben Love spins the decks, or whatever these people do

Next time: The morning burn

Ponyfic Roundup 559: More Thousand Words IV Contest entries

Read it Later story count: 90 (-1)

Words read this week: 5,000

Back to Logan Being Hopeless: It would take much too long to explain the details this week, so I won't even try. Think about millipedes or something, I don't know. Fortunately I shall be having a break from Ponyfic Roundup next week, as noted at the bottom. When I come back, I intend to gradually start increasing word count again! For today, though, it's still the lowest it can realistically be for five fics:

Bittersweet Memories by Shaslan
Always Has Been by Bandy
No Bones About It by Pascoite
Dinner and a Show by TheDriderPony
Aurora by Flashgen

★: 0 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 4 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I enjoy an average amount scores two stars.

UK PonyCon 2025 report, part two: Saturday, first half

My hotel room view was concrete, so have Birmingham Council House (which I did walk past) instead

It's been too long owing to that WiFi outage, but I'm back with the next part of my UK PonyCon 2025 report. I was delighted to get a good night's sleep at my hotel – I think I chose pretty well – and because of not having to travel into Birmingham from elsewhere I was able to have Saturday breakfast at the Travelodge for once. The usual buffet stuff, but I ate a lot as lunch is always a problem at cons, so we're talking bacon, scrambled eggs, sausages, tomatoes, hash browns, yoghurt, cereal, several glasses of fruit juice... you get the idea. Then it was time to check out as I wouldn't be returning to this hotel. All smooth.

It was a very windy day, but fortunately Storm Amy's worst effects were elsewhere, and it was at least bright so a reasonable experience to walk into central Birmingham. I know a few people were in the Briar Rose (same pub as last night) for breakfast, though memory for specific identities is already hazy, so even though I wasn't eating I joined them there for a bit. By now of course I had my con badge around my neck – I only really take it off for bed and showers during the weekend – so the excitement levels were building nicely.

Off to New Street station, but not to catch a train: walking through it was just the easiest way to get to the venue, which was a few minutes' walk out the back. I made it at just before 9:30, I think, and the queue was already substantial, although it became even more so not long afterwards. I remember seeing a few people go by – Ace, Zen, Trixxy, Charles, a few others I can't recall. The building overhang by the comic shop would have protected us a bit from any rain, but there wasn't any, yay. Pretty much on time (10:00) we filed in!

The crowded Opening Ceremony. Britannia and Bexi on stage

The bag checks from venue staff on entering were an unknown, but they were very professionally handled all weekend, even if the level of strictness over outside food and drink did seem to vary from person to person. I had a little more to carry than usual owing to not being able to leave stuff in my hotel, but it all fitted in one bag. There was a very basic cloakroom (basically just a coat rail and a space underneath for bags) which was unattended; I was willing to leave my old jacket there but not my bag.

It was nice to catch up with some friends before things started, including Ghost Mike who I hadn't seen until this morning owing to all those plane delays. Chatting away with sometimes long-absent friends before a con is one of my favourite things, so that was great. I also made sure to have a quick chat with JowyB – it might have been then, it might have been slightly later – who is a great guy and a great artist. I bought one of his lucky dip sketches for a fiver and came away with a 2014 one featuring both Chrysalis and Flufflepuff. Very happy!

The opening ceremony happened in much the same way that these things nearly always do, by thanking everyone for coming, introducing the special guests Rebecca Shoichet and Imalou, having a little bit of minor physical comedy from the fursuiter playing UKPC mascot Britannia, etc etc. It was very cramped, though: we were right up against the venue's capacity, with quite a few of us having to stand around the edges of the room. This went all the more so as some of the stalls were squeezed in at the back owing to the lack of a sufficiently large single space for all vendors to be together.

"Have you seen this mare? Reward: B10 or one cherry"

Then it was train time! Zenfox who presented ably, with technical assistance but still no cake from Ace, shifted from the recent setup of simply helping people travel safely on our railways to the far more challenging task of trying to explain Equestrian railways. Given my own attempt to do that in ponyfic with On the Wrong Track a few years ago, I was all ears. And it was tremendous fun. I have issues with the use of a crying Scootaloo image on the shaky grounds that it was the best picture of a particular station. And I have Issues with the portrayal of Fluttershy as a train hijacker and all-round criminal mare. But yeah, I loved this panel.

There wasn't that much I wanted to do for the next hour or so, and so I wandered around, exploring the "Collectors' Cove" for toy-focused stalls on the ground floor, making a quick visit to put a lanyard on the freebies table and pick up some other small thing, and generally get my bearings in the venue. I can't actually remember what I did for lunch, though I have a feeling it might have been another trip to the Briar Rose with just Patrick. Either way, that big breakfast meant I didn't eat very much.

Back to the venue to see the last moments of the cosplay contest, which has never been on my must-see list but which I normally experience a bit more than that of. Since we were in Birmingham, Luna (my friend, not the Princess) and some cronies had dressed up in Peaky Blinders-style attire (as the Pinkie Blinders, of course) and arrived in a stretch Hummer, of all things. I didn't see it, but he told me about it. That car was a bit less Brummie, though! They ended up deservedly winning the prize for Best Group Cosplay, though we didn't know that until later on.

"Pony Romance Languages" – eg Apple Bloom speakin' in Fancy

Finally for this part of the report was an unusual little panel from ImmyChan: The Languages of Equestria. I was very keen to attend her panel, as this has been a minor interest of mine since the days I created Frithaes! An Introduction to Colloquial Lapine for the Watership Down fandom over 20 years ago. I thought it might just be Hawthorn and me, but in the event the small room was packed. Immy gave a good account of herself, and even though the panel was short I found it intriguing: the North Germanic nature of Breezie-speak, for example, and a decent stab at explaining how a Latin word like "draconequus" exists in Equestria in the first place.

Next time: Getting Batman wrong... 

Ponyfic Roundup 558: Thousand Words Contest IV Gold Medallists

Read it Later story count: 91 (nc)

Words read this week: 5,000

I am late this week not because of Logan being hopeless, which I'm sure you will agree makes a refreshing change! It's because I've only relatively recently got WiFi service back after a major outage caused by someone digging through a cable or whatever the cool kids do these days. I wasn't entirely without internet thanks to phone data, but I wasn't keen to repeat my experience of trying to write PR on a phone. This is, by the way, also the reason for the pause in UK PonyCon reports. They'll be back! Anyway, here's today's slate:

Rinse Cycle by HearthsEve
The Middlemare's Market by hawthornbunny
Dollhouse by pneu
Butterfly Stains by Kintsugi Sunset
The Development of a Lexicon of Epithets for a Diarchal Equestria by gloamish

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

Sounds of 2016, nos. 5 to 1!

Here we go, then: we've finally reached the very top of the Equestrian Trot 100 chart for 2016! It's really rather thrilling stuff, isn't it? Okay, maybe it isn't, but you get the idea. Sometimes there's something to be said for rambling on in this intro paragraph, but this time let's get moving/

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

We're into the top ten now, so Rule 3 applies across the board. Here goes!

5: Michelle Creber, Black Gryph0n & Baasik – Getting Stronger
4: Delta Brony – The Spectacle (remix)
3: µThunder – Say Goodbye to the Holiday (remix)
2: ponyphonic ft. Kristen Calvin – The Moon Rises
1: Aurelleah – Luna's Future (remix)

All right, for the very last time for 2016, off we go!

UK PonyCon 2025 report, part one: Friday

My key to Equestria...

Here we go at last with my report of UK PonyCon 2025! To save you all waiting in suspense, I'll say right away that it was an extremely enjoyable convention. Not everything ran entirely according to plan, but that's cons for you. My small grumbles here and there should not take away from the fact that, given the unavoidable issues of a venue smaller (though more expensive to hire) than last year's, pretty much everyone did a sterling job to say the least.

So then, here we are on the Friday! It was nice not to have to start early in the morning for TrainCon. Indeed, I was almost in danger of being too early into Birmingham! There were no rail strikes this year, so it was a simple process. Sadly I didn't notice any other Pony folk I knew at Birmingham New Street station at first, and so I went to the Pret on the concourse for a cheap filter coffee. Nothing of great interest happened, bar Oilyvalves giving me a wave from outside as he passed by on the way to his hotel.

Surprisingly, I got to the KitKats before Pinkie did

I'd bought an early check-in add-on (though that's gone from £10 to £15 fairly recently, grumble) and so I set off to Newhall Street to find my Travelodge around midday. I'd selected it carefully as it was just far enough out of the city centre that I hoped it wouldn't be too loud on a Friday night, but still easy walking distance. I'd booked the very slightly upgraded Standard Room Plus, which meant being on the top floor (big plus), a coffee pod machine (shrug) and for whatever reason, a couple of complimentary KitKats. Not complaining!

Then it was off to town for the usual Worcester Shires pre-con meal, which was moved from the Dragon to the Briar Rose at the last minute because Britain's Got Talent was on at the Hippodrome meaning there would have been about 73 people for every table in the Dragon. This was the usual very pleasant experience, marred only by Ghost Mike's plane woes (which he's talked about himself) meaning he wasn't able to arrive until late evening. We did, however, discover the secret of the Briar Rose's mayonnaise cupboard.¹ Even if the staff themselves were later defeated by it...
¹ What it sounds like. A big wall panel behind which were shelves and shelves of mayonnaise.

The essence of UK PonyCon, really. The gens, not the rain

Pre-registration for UK PonyCon was in the venue itself, only a few minutes' walk away, so most of us made use of the opportunity as it didn't take long at all. My Bronze Sponsor badge was very nice, with Britannia on one edge and Sunny on the other, in honour of special guest Imalou. Lanyard in place, it was back to the pub for a bit. This year, for the first time at UKPC, there was going to be a Friday evening music event as part of the convention itself, and that's why our meal was in the afternoon rather than in the evening as it had been in the past.

The venue opened properly an hour before the "Jungle Jam" concert began at 6 pm, so we wandered over. Only the music hall and an outer hall with a bar were open, but that was fine. The bar sold at least some drinks at a non-absurd price, which was a plus. First up was Bexi with her now legendary cheesefest. As with last year, they're a tad too modern for me, and sorry Bexi but the "Cha Cha Slide" still isn't very interesting, but "5, 6, 7, 8" "Reach" (yay S Club 7!) and the Macarena are hard to avoid smiling at. She wasn't ridiculously loud, so this set made a good introduction.

Acid Applejack at the Jungle Jam

Next up was Acid Applejack, a Dutch EDM (and similar) musician. Not quite as much my cup of tea, but I still enjoyed his set. Actually, he seemed to have a good time at the con; I found myself standing next to his chair at a Mane Stage event later in the weekend. The third act was StormBlaze, who although probably best known as an artist gave a storming (ha) set. Some of the tunes were horse-related rather than strictly Pony, but it worked – and even if she was nervous about singing "My Past is Not Today" with Rebecca Shoichet in earshot, I think she nailed it.

I don't dance as everypony who knows me knows, but I got about as close as I'm ever going to get during some of these tunes! Still, after that things started to move more to the loud'n'hard kind of music and much as I respect Blackened Blue's ability, he's just a bit too much for me. So I retreated to my hotel room, finding the light rain annoying but it was very agreeable not to have to spend 45 minutes on a bus first! I'd really enjoyed the music – more than I'd expected to, if I'm honest – so I was in a very good mood for the following day. I even got a good night's sleep!

Next time: UK PonyCon hits the buffers, in a very entertaining way

Ponyfic Roundup 557

Read it Later story count: 91 (+1)

Words read this week: 11,840

I am back from Birmingham and the truly excellent 21st iteration of UK PonyCon, about which there will most certainly be posts in the coming days and weeks. I doubt I'll add updates every day or anything like, but you will get the full story from Friday to Monday! Now, here's the Ponyfic Roundup I postponed from last week, meaning that unusually you do get a PR just after a UKPC. The slate is:

Story Time With Equestria or How Twilight Turned Every Pony Bald by Mister E
Daring Do & The Rookie Editor by Naughty_Ranko
Sisterly Lies by Emerald Ray
Teaching the Values by Just A Random Pegasus
Scientific Progress Goes Crash by Drax

★: 0 | ★★: 4 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I enjoy an average amount scores two stars.

Sounds of 2016, nos. 10 to 6

I had a fantastic time at UK PonyCon. I'll be posting the usual multi-part con report in due course, but I wanted to get that out there first. Today, though, it's music time. We're almost at the sharp end of the Equestrian Trot 100 chart for 2016, so what will we find? Let's have a look...

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

We're into the top ten now, so Rule 3 applies across the board. Happily, though, it's not needed: all five of these songs qualify under Rule 1 in any case. Here's the list:

10: FritzyBeat ft. Sim Gretina – Neigh Anything
9: Sim Gretina – The Pony I Want to Be (remix)
8: Ink Rose & Baasik – Little Sunshine
7: TIX & The Pøssy Project – Ponyville 2016
6: Aoshi ft. Rina-chan – FluttERR

All right, for the penultimate time in this series, here we go!

Swapping around

 My workload (not all work, but you get the idea) has been heavy and UK PonyCon is imminent, so I'm going to swap around the weeks for Ponyfic Roundup. This week won't get one, but next Wednesday will. This is the opposite order from what I originally planned, but this one I can actually do!

Ponyfic Roundup 556

Read it Later story count: 90 (nc)

Words read this week: 9,998

I think it's only fair to say that I don't expect this "five very short stories" format for Ponyfic Roundup to change in the near future. With UK PonyCon rushing upon us at a rate of knots, that's increasingly going to take my time and attention until it's passed. (See last week's post about UKPC guests!) I'm probably going to take a week off PR in early October, just after the convention. After that... well, who knows? But today I have this:

Princess Celestia is in your bed. [sic] by ocalhoun
Trixie's night by Neutron Alchemist
A Letter to the Griffin Emperor on the Matter of War by Wages of Sin
Requiem by The Sumareian
Melt by ambion

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

Sounds of 2016, nos. 15 to 11

We'll be into the top ten next time around! But for now, our look through the Equestrian Trot 100 chart from 2016 isn't quite there. As ever, here are the inclusion rules:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

I had to skip one song last week. This week? Well... I don't! A pretty heavyweight line-up today, as you'll see:

15: Aviators – The Magic Inside (remix)
14: JoinedTheHerd – It's Gonna Work (remix)
13: Black Gryph0n & Michelle Creber – Here We Are
12: WoodenToaster – Prototype VIP
11: Michelle Creber & Black Gryph0n – Equality

Isn't that fascinating? Well, actually, it probably is if you're reading a post like this! So then... 

UK PonyCon announces Rebecca Shoichet!

Ponyfic Roundup is delayed again – but for a good reason this time! 

Some big news from UK PonyCon last night: none other than Rebecca Shoichet has been announced as a special guest. VA for Sunset Shimmer, Night Glider and Sugar Belle, not to mention singing voice for Twilight Sparkle, the reveal of her attendance has been extremely popular. I'm not surprised now that the staff who were in the know were finding it a real strain to keep things quiet until they were in a position to announce more!

Also in UKPC news, the weekend schedule is up! There's a lot going on considering the forced move to a smaller venue this year, and on a personal note I'm thrilled that Archer's Pub Quiz will be early enough in the evening that I can attend without having to sprint to the station for my train home at the end! :P Inevitably there are times when two events I'm interested in clash, but that's conventions for you! I'm really looking forward to the first weekend in October. :) 

Sounds of 2016, nos. 20 to 16

After a gap last week, which was largely because I was just ridiculously busy with other things, I'm back today with another look at what was making waves in the Pony music fandom nine years ago. As ever, I'm using the Equestrian Trot 100 chart, which runs from December 2015 to November 2016 – although if a song was popular then, it didn't have to have been released then to qualify. Inclusion rules first as ever:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

Now here's the list of songs we're going to be covering today. And yes, I'm sorry to say there's a skip. We're not quite at the point where Rule 3 conquers all!

20: Saynonara Maxwell – Light of Your Cutie Mark (remix)
19: Aurelleah ft. ButterflyIdentity & Decibelle – Midnight Lament
18: Magpiepony ft. WildCardVA – Our Sweet Little Flurry
17: Aurelleah & Orange B – Under Our Spell (remix)
16: skipped

With all that out of the way, let's get on with the actual music...

Ponyfic Roundup 555

Read it Later story count: 90 (nc)

Words read this week: 13,945

I apologise for the slightly late appearance of this blog, and for the general lack of updates recently. I'd been unexpectedly diverted by something I'd previously known nothing about because I wasn't in that fandom. Suffice to say here that the story of actress Sandra Peabody's experience on one film shocked me, and not in a good way. Anyway, I will be back with "Sounds of 2016" next week, and if everything goes right, hopefully a "Best Gift Ever" rewatch too. Off we go:

The Worst Form of Government by Aquaman
Another Night Alone by TwistedSkittles
Why? by The 24th Pegasus
The Smartphone by SilverStar7
How Many Princesses Does It Take by Georg

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

Ponyfic Roundup 554

Read it Later story count: 90 (+1)

Words read this week: 11,369

We're definitely into (meteorological) autumn now, given the constant flicking between torrential rain and bright sunshine, with the odd near-gale thrown in! As I've noted a few times now, for the near future it'll be low word counts almost always. Not forever! Just for now. Today's quintet:

A Day at the Tracks by BradMayFan
Spring Tide by SPark
Many Parts by OkemosBrony
The Truth About Dark Magic by Waypoint
The Fifth to Final Move by The Lunar Samurai

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

Sounds of 2016, nos. 25 to 21

We really are reaching the rarefied heights of 2016's music scene now, aren't we? The Equestrian Trot 100 chart moves today into the top quarter. From here on in, these songs weren't just quite popular, they were really popular. Still, for the moment the usual inclusion criteria still apply:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

Today's list of songs (all five again!) follows.

25: Silva Hound ft. Eurobeat Brony – Come Alive
24: Magpiepony – I'll Keep Trying
23: Carbon Maestro ft. SweetPoffin & Wubcake – The Siren and the Seamare
22: Caleb Hyles – Lullaby for a Princess (cover)
21: Royal Canterlot Symphonic Metal Orchestra – Fall of an Empire

Has that list whetted your appetite? Let's hope so! Here we go, then...

My Little Repeats: Reflections on Season 8

Official FiM S8 trailer

The official Friendship is Magic season 8 trailer was, to be honest, not particularly fascinating. There was none of the experimentation of last season's "Fresh Princess of Friendship". Let's see how the season ranked overall. You can probably guess where S8 is going to place, but here's the list anyway:

1. Season 4: 3.42
2= Season 1: 3.38
2= Season 2: 3.38
4. Season 5: 3.27
5. Season 6: 3.23
6. Season 7: 2.96
7. Season 3: 2.92
8. Season 8: 2.65

I've said pretty much since this season first aired that it was comfortably my least favourite, and nothing seems to have changed that view. The main problem S8 had can be seen pretty starkly when you look at the star rating breakdown by episode, which you'll see beyond the page break.

Ponyfic Roundup 553

Read it Later story count: 89 (+1)

Words read this week: 12,029

Not a great deal to say up here, other than that it's raining as I type. A higher word count than last week, but not by all that much. So here we go:

Coming Home by The Cyan Recluse
Twilight's Revenge at Midnight by Shadow Light
This Is How A Unicorn Thinks by Casketbase77
If I Were Discord by n [sic]
The Castle's What?! by RB_

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

Sounds of 2016, nos. 30 to 26

Getting quite exciting now, isn't it? Remember, I don't know what's going to top this chart, so no spoilers please! I do however know what's in today's mix. As ever, here's the reminder of the inclusion criteria:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

Here's today's list of songs. All five today! :D

30: JoinedTheHerd – The Pony I Want To Be (remix)
29: Animated James – Brony Polka
28: BassBeastJD – The Magic Inside (instrumental cover)
27: Silva Hound ft. BlackGryph0n – Egomania
26: JoinedTheHerd – The Magic Inside (remix)

And now on to the bit that I imagine most readers look at first!

My Little Repeats 198: "School Raze, part 2"

"Let me be crystal clear: Real Pony Fanfic about me is not permitted in this school!"

S8E26: "School Raze, part 2"

13 Oct 2018

My original rating: ★★★★ (for both parts)

IMDb score: 8.3

The one with Mane Six marionettes

Thoughts: This final episode of Season 8 is certainly packed with stuff, and that's really its main problem: it's too packed with stuff. We have Cozy Glow, Neighsay's sudden change of heart, the CMC's semi-comedic diversion, Starlight stuck in that magical prison until she isn't, the Young Six saving the day, Celestia asking for trouble at the end, a lengthy diversion to Tartarus, Tirek playing his own part... it goes on and on. I actually did still enjoy most of it. The students in particular are great and almost deserve that graduation they don't get, though I'll never stop finding "Land of Hope and Glory" disorientating in a US-style school. Cozy's manipulation is interesting on and off, though as with so much else the knowledge that we never do get a backstory grates here too. Overall? Half as much stuff given twice as much time could have made this a classic. As it is, it's fun but not amazing. So as with part 1, down it goes from four to three stars.

Choice quote: Spike: "Um... there's seven of us."

New rating: ★★★

And at last it's the end of the penultimate season of Friendship is Magic! If your memory stretches back far enough, you'll recall that after each season I do a recap post. I'll be doing the same again this time around – including the all-important average score. (If you've worked that out for yourself already, please don't spoil me!) Then of course we'll be on the home straight.

Ponyfic Roundup 552

Read it Later story count: 89 (+1)

Words read this week: 9,038

A very low word count indeed this week, and that's likely to remain the case for a little while. I haven't lost motivation for these, but I have been absurdly pushed around by real life. What I'm hoping to do is to get my reading a full week ahead of publication, and if I can do that then there should be significantly fewer occasions when I have to delay Ponyfic Roundup. However, to get to that point I'll need some weeks with fewer words, so here we are.

Ciderfire by ambion
Dressed in Dappled Gold by CharmingMarething
Discord's Time Travel Trip. [sic] by Hotel Chicken
Dressed to Egress by AsiagoUnicorn
Balloon To The Moon by The Sleepless Beholder

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

Sounds of 2016, nos. 35 to 31

Into the top third of the Equestrian Trot 100's chart of Pony music for 2016 we go! (Okay, strictly it's roughly December 2015 to November 2016, but close enough.) While songs right at the top of the chart will be featured come what may, we're still low enough in the rankings for me to go by my usual inclusion rules:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

Here's the list of songs. As you'll see, there's one absent this week, which is a pity but unavoidable. The other four make a pretty good selection, though:

35: Sayonara Maxwell ft. MiatriSs – Magic Everywhere
34: Spectra – Luna's Future (remix)
33: PrinceWhateverer – Spectacular
32: Aurelleah – The Magic Inside (remix)
31: skipped

All right, enough with the yattering and on with the music!

My Little Repeats 197: "School Raze, part 1"

The interior layout of Tartarus leaves something to be desired...

S8E25: "School Raze, part 1"

13 Oct 2018

My original rating: ★★★★ (for both parts)

IMDb score: 8.2

The one with crosswords

Thoughts: I really liked this finale (as a whole) on first watch, but I said in my 2018 review that "I suspect that it might not age terribly well once a cooler, more critical eye is turned upon it". Well, that was partly right. The fact that we never got a proper explanation for Cozy Glow is a big problem, and it diminishes her otherwise fun evil monologuing. There are questions elsewhere, too: why is Tirek getting letters in Tartarus? Why this incredibly convenient skeleton key artefact thing? On the plus side, Sandbar is finally about to have his day in the sun – and it's already clear in this episode that his "change of heart" to Neighsay is a ruse. The students are a real unit by now. So, a mixed bag, really. I still enjoyed it, but it did indeed have more issues than it used to. Three stars feels about right – remember, I'm not rating part two until next time.

Choice quote: Sandbar: "Sorry, I ran out of apples."

New rating: ★★★

Next time, of course, is "School Raze, part 2" – the end of the journey as far as Season 8 is concerned. A little while after that, I shall do the usual post-season summary and see where S8 stands in my overall rankings.

Ponyfic Roundup 551

Read it Later story count: 88 (-1)

Words read this week: 33,900

Oh look, another 30 °C heatwave. We're really not used to this in the English Midlands, you know. It's also been really dry, and all the grass is yellowing. At least I can still read ponyfic, and that's just what I've been doing this week. Here at last is the slate:

In Droves, They See by Odd_Sarge
The 108th Page by Rightir_Russian_Mare
A Better Way To Be Dad by Jade Ring
Mourn The Wicked by SoundoftheWaves
Octavia's Last Night by Rune Soldier Dan

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

Sounds of 2016, nos. 40 to 36

Although I've had to delay Ponyfic Roundup, "Sounds of 2016" is less time-consuming and so I've been able to give you this, albeit also a day or so late. Inclusion rules:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

Last week I was able to feature all five songs – and happily, the same is true again this week! Huzzah! Here's the list:

40: JoinedTheHerd – Luna's Future (remix)
39: OhPonyBoy – Blob It
38: Aurelleah – Chromatica
37: Aviators – Chaos Theory
36: Notion – The Midnight in Me (remix)

All right, enough with the yattering and on with the music!

Yes, again :/

Another week, another delay to Ponyfic Roundup. A hospital appointment and a couple of other unexpected issues have meant I'm going to have to delay until Friday again. This is frustrating me as much as it is you, so apologies. 

My Little Repeats 196: "Father Knows Beast"

"Remember those pancakes? Well, I've gone a whole lot better!"

S8E24: "Father Knows Beast"

6 Oct 2018

My original rating: ★★★

IMDb score: 5.6

The one with stone-skimming Smolder

Thoughts: Here's something that may surprise you: the text-based reviewers largely liked this episode on release. A major exception was DrakeyC, who despised it. My view was once middling – yep, I gave this three stars in 2018 – but has since moved towards his. I still don't hate all of it. Smolder is good value, for one; and the song is vaguely okay, if a long way from amazing. But I've become much more negative on Sludge himself. I originally saw him as a bit of a "lovable rogue" character, but not now. He's a one-dimensional, tedious slob. Zephyr Breeze had considerably more about him, and that's saying something. The script is dull. The Mane Six ask all the right questions about Sludge's story – then just... stop asking. Spike is absurdly gullible, then he deeply hurts Twilight and doesn't seem to mind – nah, not having that. There's a deeply tedious adult joke that isn't even consistent within this episode. It's all just so bloody superficial for such a potentially emotionally rich subject. To borrow a phrase I use in ponyfic reviews, this is a top-end one.

Choice quote: Spike: "You know how I get when I'm in the embroidery zone."

New rating: ★

The next episode is "School Raze, part 1". The S8 finale is one of the more divisive, with reactions running the gamut from delighted to seriously unimpressed. I liked it at the time, but S8's rewatch experience has often had me lowering my ratings from 2018. This one might as well, but as ever we shall see.

Ponyfic Roundup 550

Read it Later story count: 89 (-1)

Words read this week: 29,656

I'm not sure whether PR 550 really counts as a proper milestone, but it's nice to reach it anyway. I keep having things sprung on me in that annoying game called Real Life at the moment, so it's probably more of a milestone for me to get this update out more or less on time...

Overlooked by Sciphy
The Rain, the Poison, and the Job by HapHazred
Does she know— by semillon
Project WNDR-BLT by Bright Keys
I Know You're There by 8_Bit

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

Sounds of 2016, nos. 45 to 41

It's time once more to head back into the mists of time, to see what was making waves in the MLP fandom's musical scene nearly a decade ago. As ever, here are the inclusion criteria:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

For the last two weeks running, I've had to skip one of the five tracks as it didn't meet the above criteria. This time, all five are there! The last one took a little bit of finding before I could be sure it complied with the rules, but comply it does. A remix-heavy week this time. Here we go:

45: Archie – Legacy
44: JoinedTheHerd – Friends are Always There for You (remix)
43: JoinedTheHerd – Pinkie's Present (remix)
42: µThunder – We'll Make Our Mark (remix)
41: Notion – Song of the Sirens II (remix)

That's the end of the intro, so let's have a look at the actual music. Or listen, really. While some of these tracks are associated with visuals such as animations or PMVs – and hasn't "For Kids" and having no YouTube comments ruined the PMV experience? :( –  here at least we're much more concerned with the actual music. Go!

Ponyfic Roundup 549

Read it Later story count: 90 (nc)

Words read this week: 25,278

Well, would you look at that? A Ponyfic Roundup actually going up on the correct day! Here's to hoping this will happen again next week – although I wouldn't advise holding your breath on that score. Here's today's slate of stories. And yes, there's one story I've had to rate "N/A" this week, for reasons I'll explain when I get there.

The Princess and the Reaper by DrakeyC
Rot by Mister E
My house, My say by Felfox
After Glow by TheDriderPony
No Need For Words by Whirring Gears

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

Sounds of 2016, nos. 50 to 46

We're into the top half of the chart, yay! The Equestrian Trot 100 for 2016 has already thrown up plenty of interest, so I'm looking forward – as I hope are you – to finding out what we'll get this week. Here's the usual reminder of my inclusion rules:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

I had to skip one track last week – and I'm sorry to have to say that I had to do the same this week. It's frustrating, but what can you do? Here are the four songs I am able to feature today:

50: PrinceWhateverer ft. Wubcake & NRGPony – So Long
49: The Wasteland Wailers – Broken Wing Recital
48: oodorato2 – トワイライト Sunshine Remix
47: PrinceWhateverer ft. Milkymomo – Frailty
46: skipped

I missed out on the waffle here last time, so I'm going to indulge myself a little bit more this week. I really do think the music scene for this fandom should be more appreciated outside it than it is. While plenty of fandoms have a few great songs created by fans, this fandom has well over a decade of them. That's quite remarkable. Anyway, let's continue...

My Little Repeats 195: "Sounds of Silence"

At this point, the Phantom's outfit parts to reveal... Pinkie Pie

S8E23: "Sounds of Silence"

29 Sep 2018

My original rating: ★★★★

IMDb score: 9.1

The one with sudoku

Thoughts: Kirin time! Now, to me kirin are a bit like Luna. (Stay with me on this.) I like them, but I don't share the utter adulation for them that half the fandom seems to. Fortunately, their big episode here – Gregory Bonsignore's only FiM writing credit – is a good one. The kirin/nirik¹ have an interesting concept and design. Applejack and Fluttershy make a good Map team, though Twilight's excitement about their being the first repeat Map team is never followed up. Autumn Blaze (voiced by Rachel Bloom) is a nice character and her song is plenty of fun. The moral is surprisingly solid for this late in the show's run. The crazy ticket office clerk is amusing. Downsides: Flutters insisting the kirin needed to be eternally silent isn't great. The plot is a tad predictable, and the story itself is actually not that packed with action. But I enjoyed the watch a lot. I think, as with "What Lies Beneath", it still just about scrapes a four. But no, I'm still not obsessed with kirin. Sorry!
¹ Fans often give the plural form as "nirik" too, but in the episode both that and "niriks" are used, more than once each. 

Choice quote: Twilight: "Sorry, Fluttershy – flanks don't lie." [Cringey, but funny with it.]

New rating:★★★★

The next episode is "Father Knows Beast" – and if I give that four stars, scraped or otherwise, you can probably safely assume that Logan has been quietly replaced by... dunno, really. But by something. From here, it's definitely a "get this one out of the way" episode. But I will give it a fair chance!

Ponyfic Roundup 548: Spotlight on The Witch of the Everfree

Read it Later story count: 90 (-2)

Words read this week: 56,028

Let's just ignore Muggins here having everything ready to go and not clicking the mouse button hard enough late on Wednesday night and not checking the next morning, shall we? Good. Time for another look at a longer ponyfic today! This is a tale that I'd never even heard of until recently, despite its nearly 40,000 views – but the author has a decent record and "alternative Sunset history" fics can often be interesting. This one has a notable difference from many, as I'll get to in a minute...

The Witch of the Everfree by MagnetBolt
Sunset Shimmer, Mane Six and Celestia
G4 AU; Slice of Life; 56k words; Mar 2015; Teen

My name is Sunset Shimmer. I am the strongest unicorn in all of Equestria, and my life is over. I'm in hiding and on the run, and I have no idea where to start putting things back together.

The difference I alluded to above? In this AU fic, which begins a short series, Sunset never went through the mirror. She's hiding from Celestia in Equestria itself. Along the way she interacts with the Mane Six, including a particularly interesting experience with Twilight. She meets Zecora in the Everfree Forest. And that's not the last of it. Sunset narrates herself, and so you do have to question narrative reliability – which is fine, considering just who is narrating. The chronology is grounded in the fact that the original sonic rainboom happens quite early in the story, meaning that the Mane Six are fillies just beginning to make their own way. But this is Sunset's tale – pony Sunset, remember – and her characterisation and development are satisfying pretty much all through. Even though it's an AU, you feel a clear link with the canon Equestria Girls character, but changed by her environment, which is as it should be. We even find out where that leather jacket comes from in this universe! There are some quibbles, such as Zecora's dialogue being a bit ropey sometimes, and the occasional meta can threaten to get in the way although it never quite does. I liked this a good deal, more than I thought I would to be honest, and it shades into the fours as a result. ★★★★

As usual, major spoilers lurk beyond this line!

UK PonyCon is (very nearly) completely sold out!

Yeah, I know Ponyfic Roundup still awaits, and it will be here tomorrow – but this news has taken precedence. UK PonyCon is very nearly completely sold out, a mere twelve days after tickets went on sale! As I write this on Thursday evening, All Weekend, Saturday and Sunday tickets are now sold. The only ones left on sale are purely for the music event on Friday night. If you want to be part of UKPC 2025, that really is now your only remaining option. At £15, the tickets aren't going to break the bank, either.

Why has the convention sold out in record-breaking time? I think it's a combination of several reasons. The largest is surely the significantly reduced capacity of this year's venue over the (unavailable) Nottingham one. The fact that tickets didn't go on sale until 12th July gave people time to save up, so more bought instantly than usual. A new venue adds a frisson of excitement. We're just starting to see G6 hints appearing. But mostly I think it's that reduced capacity. But even so, twelve days. Wow.