Ponyfic Roundup 527

Read it Later story count: 91 (-1)

Words read this week: 17,002

A very low word count this time, partly on account of having only five days to read, note and write up, rather than the usual seven. Yeah, I know I ought to get a couple of weeks in advance exactly so I can ride over these bumps without too much issue, but I never seem to manage it. Nevertheless, I did get all through all five fics, and as a reminder they are:

Immortal Beginnings by Snake Staff
So Her Legacy Will Endure by PresentPerfect
Pink Geode by Faeforches
A meeting by IsaSpSp
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Midnight by Jade Ring

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

Immortal Beginnings by Snake Staff
Celestia
G4 AU; Dark/Sad/Slice of Life; 1k words; Oct 2014; Teen

Celestia tells of the origins of the alicorns.

This is a side story to Together Forever (PR 297), a fic I liked a lot – and given that the AU and its Celestia are seriously AU-y, you'll need to have read that first as background knowledge is assumed. Immortal Beginnings is a short piece in which Celestia tells us the origin story of the alicorns in her Equestria. It provides an interesting extra dimension to the question of why Together Forever's Tia is as she is. What it isn't is a great story in its own right. It lacks spark, really, and although it's still worth reading as lore for fans of the universe, there's not a lot here to make me go "wow!" All that considered, it gets a high two. ★★

So Her Legacy Will Endure by PresentPerfect
Other [Marigold Medley] and Twist
G4 EqG; Comedy/Drama; 8k words; Nov 2015; Everyone

Marigold Medley, Sour Sweet's younger sister, is super-excited for the Friendship Games. So why does it seem like she's the only one at Crystal Prep who is?

The protagonist here is usually known as Orange Sherbette in the fandom, but Present Perfect wasn't keen on that name so chose this one instead. The story is set in the run-up to the Friendship Game movie, but from the perspective of apparently the only girl at Crystal Prep (Mari) who's actually excited for the contest. I enjoyed the characterisation the author crafted for these students, even if a running joke about Twist's lisp got very mildly tedious by the end. At least it was one I hadn't seen used before. As PaulAsaran noted, Marigold is remarkably unaffected by the dimensional weirdness going on during the Games, but I can broadly accept that in a comedy drama. Everything else, though, is really enjoyable. Fun one-liners, a good sense of place, the CMC in an amusing supporting role. I was going to score this a high-end three, but as I thought about it I kept remembering more bits I'd liked. So I'm exercising my dictatorial power around here and shading it up to the fours. ★★★★

Pink Geode by Faeforches
Cloudy Quartz, Pinkie Pie, Maud Pie, Marble Pie and Limestone Pie
G4; Sad/Slice of Life; 5k words; Feb 2025; Everyone

In a small town, where ponies farm rocks, Cloudy Quartz tries to be the best mother she can to her four daughters. No matter what it takes.

At the time of signing off this PR for publication, this story is ten days old and already has a +194/-0 thumbscore. That's notable these days, especially for an author with under 150 followers. The thing is, it should probably have more, as it is wonderful. I've read quite a few stories about one or both of the Pie parents, but never one like this. The best word I can use for this Cloudy is "loving", because that love for her foals shines out all through the story. Forget everything you've absorbed about Ma Pie being hard or emotionless, Faeforches gives her the tenderness she must have without in any way making the rock farming background or what we know from the show feel artificial. Indeed, the local community is an integral part of what makes the fic so good. The choice of present tense gives the narration an immediacy that suits the intimacy of the story. Oh, and what a bonus the occasional yet significant mentions of Grandma Pie are, as are the little bits of background world-building. But at its heart, this is a story about what family means – and an outstanding one. ★★★★★

A meeting by IsaSpSp
Sunset Shimmer and Luna
G4; Slice of Life; 1k words; Dec 2023; Everyone

Sunset Shimmer finds an unexpected visitor at Twilight's castle

The author's only published story, and apparently their first published fanfic of any kind. It's a cut above a lot of first fics, too. Given the character tags it's no spoiler to say that the visitor is Luna, and I like the dialogue between them, which includes a nice parallel in her and Sunset's stories that I hadn't thought of before. Nothing mindblowing here, but it's a comfy read. There are a few places where inexperience does show through, such as repetition ("Princess Luna" appears thrice in 26 words) and the awkardly slangy "she shot her shot" – but it's a pleasant vignette, and I think there's enough promise here that I'm sad IsaSpSp hasn't posted more fics. Top-end two. ★★

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Midnight by Jade Ring
Sunset Shimmer
G4 EqG; Dark/Thriller; 2k words; Jan 2016; Teen

On a clear and cloudless night, a young girl starts for home somewhat later than usual...

This is one of those hard to rate stories, in that it's well written and holds the interest nicely enough, yet there are two caveats. One is that I suspect many readers will see where it's going right from the start. I certainly did, though that's partly because of another of Jade Ring's fics – deliberately not referenced here as it would be a total giveaway. The other caveat is how in character Sunset's actions are here, given as a non-[AU] story we can assume canon applies. That's quite a bit of "yes, but" so I will make a point of saying that the tension is excellently portrayed, the prose is carefully judged, and even if you see what's coming there's a heart-in-mouth feel for much of the story. I can't avoid the thought that much of this story might be more relatable for female readers (and not for happy reasons) but even as a guy the suspense was there. Taking everything together, I think a highish three is about where this sits for me. ★★★

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Another five-star story this week! The third in four Roundups, which is remarkable. Possibly unprecedented, but I'm much too tired to check. Anyway, a fairly light week on the word count front next time as well, although I'm currently deciding on a longer fic to feature in a Spotlight in the near future. Not yet decided exactly which one, but suffice it to say it won't be anything of  Fallout: Equestria - Project Horizons length! :P The usual quintet next week, as follows:

Pumpkin Talk by Heavy Mole
Try by Nailah
More Than Her Mane by Westphalian_Musketeer
Ever After Never Came by Thunderbug80
The Best and the Worst by Shrink Laureate