Ponyfic Roundup 524

Read it Later story count: 91 (-1)

Words read this week: 26,034

It's been quite a busy week for me, though sadly a lot of what I was doing was boring stuff that didn't contain one single pony. Not anywhere. Can you imagine? Fortunately, Ponyfic Roundup is here today to take the edge off that dreadful situation. As is so often the case, there are five stories on the roster this week. They are:

Twilight Sparkle & The Martyr of Zephyr Mountain by PatchworkPoltergeist
Party Loyalty by forbloodysummer
Periselene by Marshal Twilight
A Foalsitter's Inspiration by Protector of Light
The Symposium by Orbiting Kettle

★: 0 | ★★: 3 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 1
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I enjoy an average amount scores two stars.

Twilight Sparkle & The Martyr of Zephyr Mountain by PatchworkPoltergeist
Cozy Glow, Twilight, Gallus and OC
G4/G4 comics; Drama; 15k words; Nov 2023; Everyone

In an age of unrest and inter-tribal tension, Twilight Sparkle flies to Cloudsdale to talk down a faction of radical young Pegasi. It would be a lot easier if their leader hadn't been petrified for fifty years.

This story won the Imposing Sovereigns IV contest, and on a unanimous vote from the judges at that, so I was hoping for something special. I think I got it, too. The story is set just after Cozy (unlike Tirek and Chrysalis) has been released from stone, in an Equestria just beginning to slide down the slope to what we know G5 brought. It's a really excellent look at where an older Cozy and Twilight might be by this point, with enough political intrigue to satisfy any Tudor court. Twilight's experience clashes with her inherent desire to see friendship prevail everywhere and for everyone. Cozy's bitterness is given both cause and effect, and the use of truth talismans works far better than I'd imagined it would. The background noise of tribalism never quite goes away, with Gallus as a non-pony providing another perspective. This may not have the [G5] tag as it's still recognisably a G4 world, but it's a terrifyingly believable story of how equine society fell so low as to get us there. There are morals for our own times here, but the fic is superb in its own right. ★★★★★

Party Loyalty by forbloodysummer
Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rarity
G4; Comedy; 3k words; Jan 2022; Everyone

Continuing to throw regular parties during a national lockdown is bad. It’s considerably worse when you’re the prime minister.

This is a ponification of Boris Johnson's time as PM during Covid, and it's a pretty straightforward one. In all honesty, a bit too straightforward, as it reads more like a rant against the man than the comedy it's tagged as. I do like the idea of Pinkie not comprehending the notion that throwing parties could be bad, but much else feels like it was written mostly as a vent. The term "Wrexit" here, for example, isn't even explained, it's just an "I hate Brexit" analogue. (I'm no fan of it myself, but agreeing with the sentiment doesn't negate that criticism.) If you're not reasonably well acquainted with Partygate, the story won't make much sense. Being British I do get all the references, which does make it more fun, but the almost complete lack of nuance makes it a less engaging and amusing read, even to me as someone who is not A Boris Fan. It's competently enough written, but I really didn't laugh much and so I can't go beyond a moderate two. Probably very much a story of its time. ★★

Periselene by Marshal Twilight
Luna and Royal Guard
G4; Slice of Life; 5k words; Mar 2014; Mature (Sex)

Princess Luna has a steamy encounter with her personal guards.

Yes, this is a clopfic, but it's a considerably better written one than many. Although the setup – after a hard night's court, Luna wants her batpony guards to help her let off steam – is par for the course for this kind of fic, there's an entertaining if rather too compressed lead-up to the actual bedroom stuff. When that comes, it's nicely done and manages to feel fairly natural rather than clunky. It's a shame the batponies are barely differentiated from the usual three tribes in the sex scenes, though. Those who read a lot of clopfics might find this a bit conventional and predictable, but it does what it sets out to efficiently enough that it's a reasonably solid read. A highish two, I think. ★★

A Foalsitter's Inspiration by Protector of Light
Cadance and OC
G4; Slice of Life; 2k words; Jul 2012; Everyone

Cadance recounts her times with her own foalsitter.

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Cadance narrates the tale of how her foalhood snobbishness and superiority was challenged by her own foalsitter, Wind Melody, in the frequent absence of her own mother. Given the publication date, you can't fault the writer for imagining that Cadance had always been an alicorn princess, and I do quite like the way Twilight's gushing about Cady's foalsitting of her finds a mirror here. The story is pretty much devoid of any surprises, though, and the explanation of Wind's own special talent rather comes out of nowhere. A simple story from simpler times. ★★

The Symposium by Orbiting Kettle
Celestia and Shining Armor
G4; Comedy; 1k words; Mar 2015; Everyone

The leading equestrian intellectual elite meets once again to discuss the state of the cultural discourse, there may be blood.

Every ten years, Celestia invites the smartest ponies to discuss and debate matters of philosophy and culture. What Shining Armor actually sees happen is near-anarchy, with mobs (sometimes of the angry variety) ganging up on groups of other philosophical inclinations. My view on this fic is similar to Soge's: it's not likely to have you rolling around the floor in uncontrollable fits of laughter, but it's lightly comic, doesn't outstay its welcome and has Celestia being very much Celestia to tie it all together. I must shame-facedly admit that, despite having written a fic based on philosophy, I don't know enough about all the schools referenced here to quite grasp all the jokes. Still, I was amused. That's worth a solid three. ★★★

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I have a themed edition of PR in mind for the not too distant future, but I'll keep the theme under my hat for now. Next week, it'll be the usual mix of five shortfics:

My Little Red Dwarf by JimmyZD
And The Serpent Said Unto The Princess by UndomeTimwe
Under the Harvest Moon by Rangelost
Her Song by marmalado
Without Another Word by Jack of a Few Trades