Ponyfic Roundup 543

Read it Later story count: 87 (-2)

Words read this week: 30,385

It's been dry and warm today, but in classic "English weather" style, there's plenty of rain – and perhaps thunder – on the cards for tomorrow. I may have to spend the evening sitting indoors reading ponyfic. I know, how dreadful! Anyway, it's Wednesday and so I'm back again with another edition of Ponyfic Roundup. Here's today's selection:

Hypothetically by _Undefined_
Javelin by McPoodle
Tacet by Jade_Turtl
Numbers by The 24th Pegasus
Twilight Sparkle Has a Type by errant

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

Hypothetically by _Undefined_
Twilight and Lyra
G4; Slice of Life; 2k words; May 2024; Everyone

A pony approaches with an unusual request.

Written for the Dialogue Only Contest, this fic sees Lyra come to Twilight Sparkle's court to make a request – about S.M.I.L.E (though the name isn't mentioned here) the secret agency set up by Celestia for which Sweetie "Bon-Bon" Drops works. Lyra is worried that a... hypothetical pony who told her wife about this agency would have to be banished for revealing secrets according to Celestia's decree, and she wonders whether Twilight could change that decree. All very Yes, Minister. Lyra's determination to help Bon-Bon is sweet, certainly, as in a way is Twilight's confused willingness to help. It's just a shame that there isn't really much of a payoff at the end. As such, a high-end two. ★★

Javelin by McPoodle
Vinyl Scratch and Mane Six
G4 Crossover; Comedy/Slice of Life; 12k words; Jul 2012; Everyone

Vinyl Scratch gets re-acquainted with the rather-odd ponies of Ponyville.

First up, don't worry too much about the [Crossover] tag; it's just a minor bit of Doctor Who in the first chapter, and you can easily just imagine it as Dr Whooves. Anyway, in this fic Vinyl – who has a different disability than the usual muteness – encounters the Mane Six way back in their early days, with Twilight still new to the group. The dynamic is quite interesting, and I wish there'd been more of that as against the parts involving the "Ancients" (a common old-fandom name for humans) and their CDs. Yes, CDs: part of the plot is about Twilight trying to re-create those. Another part is riffing on the difficulty of ponies undertaking certain human athletic disciplines – the javelin of the title being one. There's a running undercurrent of something awkward/bad having happened during a Mane Six adventure but not being explained to Vinyl. There are several inline links which make little sense if you're not an American sports fan of a certain age, at least not without doing some research. The humour is up and down, but I found it rather lumpy and disconnected; this is a story that shows its age rather more than does McPoodle's also-from-2012 The Perfect Little Village of Ponyville (PR 434). ★★

Tacet by Jade_Turtl
Octavia
G4; Slice of Life; 1k words; Apr 2025; Everyone

Silence. In a world that fears this silence, even a short song is a long time to listen.

The winner of Mockingbirb's contest for stories inspired by John Cage's 4'33". As Mockingbirb chose not to explain why this had won first place (a decision I'm not all that keen on) I thought I'd read it myself as it's so short. I think it will help if you have at least a basic familiarity with 4'33" beyond "it's that silent one", though deep expertise isn't necessary. It's Octavia POV, very introspective and close to her innermost feelings as the piece goes on. It's by necessity a quiet story, but it's far from devoid of meaning. The final chapter feels slightly less assured (Vinyl's "signature headphones" is an overused and clunky phrase) but overall this is a work that says quite a lot without noise. I think that's enough to shade a four. ★★★★

Numbers by The 24th Pegasus
Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolts and Blossomforth
G4; Drama; 12k words; Oct 2017; Teen

Fluttershy suddenly starts seeing timers over ponies' heads. So why does Rainbow Dash only have three hours left?

After narrowly escaping death in a serious accident, Fluttershy realises that every single pony she sees has a countdown timer above her head – and that this shows how long they have left to live. (Yep, the song is inspired by a Nickelback video.) A weighty burden indeed, but all the more so when her best friend appears to be hours from death. This isn't the only story with this general premise, but I don't remember seeing one before where Fluttershy is the pony with the curse, if such it can be called. The 24th Pegasus writes her very well, and the way she behaves throughout is convincing. Some nice world-building around the edges, such as why cloud houses appear to be vast mansions. I liked this one a lot. ★★★★

Twilight Sparkle Has a Type by errant
Twilight and Rarity
G4; Romance/Slice of Life; 3k words; Feb 2020; Teen

Twilight Sparkle - ascended alicorn princess and eligible bachelorette - wonders why she is still single.

"Bachelorette" is such an American word, isn't it? "Bachelorette party" and "hen night" are basically the same thing, but the Yanks take three times as long to say it. :P Anyway, that shortdesc gives you the setup: Twilight asks Rarity why nopony asks her out; Rarity has to call on her skills to respond without upsetting her friend – perhaps it's because as royalty many feel Twi is out of her league, but Rarity has also noticed a certain similarity about the ponies Twilight spends the most time with. It works pretty well and the characterisation with Rarity knowledgeable about love and Twilight, er, not is fitting. There's even a little character growth for Twi in here. I could do without a clunky near-"20% cooler" line, but in general this is a cute, engaging, gently amusing two-hoofer that I'm sorry never produced a sequel. A fairly high three, this. ★★★

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Next week, the five stories in my sights will be:

The Long Payoff by totallynotabrony
I Want to Dance with Somepony by ThunderChaserCreate
Zephyr Breeze Doesn't Know How To Flirt by alafoel
Pinkie Pie Swear by Annuska
Rainbow Shadow by RainbowShadow [sic]