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.

Overlooked by Sciphy
Thorax, Changelings and Spike
G4; Comedy/Slice of Life; 3k words; Oct 2016; Teen

Sporting a new body, Thorax finds he somehow overlooked something rather...important...about it.

And no, it's not that – this a T-rated fic, not an M-rated one. But as he chats away to Spike a little after his reformation and installation as changeling king, Thorax realises that not only does he have antlers for some reason, but also another problem. I won't give it away, but it has to do with Thorax's new existence. It's all quite nicely done, and props to Sciphy for not going the easy, obvious gross-out route. Worth noting that the [Slice of Life] is the dominant genre here, not the [Comedy]. Don't expect hilarity. ★★★

The Rain, the Poison, and the Job by HapHazred
Other [Wind Rider], Wonderbolts and Rainbow Dash
G4; Sad/Slice of Life; 989 words [sic]; Sep 2015; Teen

Not all crimes have a simple motivation, and not all culprits know what it was. And sometimes they just need to monologue about it for a while.

Here we have Wind Rider's perspective on the events that lead up to "Rarity Investigates!" It's always interesting to see somepony else's view of a canon happening we know well, although this one set off my internal alarms for its extreme brevity (it was cut down after publication) and for being released one day after the episode went out. That said, this internal monologue gives Wind Rider an identity as a pony broken by the Job (yes, capital J) of flying in the Wonderbolts. It's dark and cynical in tone, but that fits well with the episode's homage to film noir. Wind Rider's voice is spot on. And after you've read it, the author's Fimf comment in reply to PresentPerfect's own review is a must-read. ★★★★

Does she know— by semillon
Ocellus, Smolder and Young Six
G4; Romance/Slice of Life; 19k words; Apr 2020; Teen (Profanity)

Love is built up over time, and no one knows that more than Ocellus.

This setup with this author? Yes, you assume you're getting a Young Six shipfic – and so you are. But what a ride we're taken on to get to the denouement. Ocellus narrates in first person, and two things make this a very satisfying read. One, that semillon nails the voices and personalities of the students. Two, that Ocellus's distinctive nature is integral to the plot – notably her relationship with others' emotions. The intra-school relationships feel right, with the mixture of silliness, occasional gross-out moments (one in particular) and unexpected sensitivity that makes them feel like teenagers should. The ending is a little predictable, but that's probably unavoidable in this kind of story. Very much worth reading even if you're only neutral towards shipfics and/or the students. ★★★★

Project WNDR-BLT by Bright Keys
OC, Soarin' and Spitfire
G4; Dark/Adventure/Random; 3k words; Mar 2014; Teen

Lightning Blaze is a young pegasus fresh out of school. He has a promising future for college, but thinks he can put his skills to better use in the military and he and his two friends Soarin' and Spitfire are sent to the same project.

Sometimes a shortdesc tells you most of what you need to know, and so it is here. This is a story where almost every line starts with speech, so the quality of the dialogue is crucial. And here, it's... okay. You wouldn't call it super-smooth or beautiful, but it largely gets its point across. The sci-fi angle here is the most interesting, with the Wonderbolts being scientifically enhanced for secret purposes. Unfortunately the way it happens just doesn't feel like it fits in Equestria, even a sci-fi version thereof. There's a lot of talk but little real emotion and the pace is rushed. A lowish two only, sadly. ★★

I Know You're There by 8_Bit
Twilight
G4; Sci-Fi/Slice of Life; 3k words; May 2024; Everyone

Somehow, I've always known.

This story was an entry for last year's Dialogue Only Contest, and an intriguing one it is too. Here, Twilight is talking in first person to "you" – which makes a reader think she's addressing them directly. Well, there's a reason for that. The underlying concept isn't new at all in ponyfic, but I don't think I've seen it dealt with quite this way before. It's hard to say much without spoilers, but suffice it to say the issues I see with some of Twilight's reasoning can be seen as fitting her character (albeit maybe her older character better) and I was more moved than I would have expected by the end. Top-end three and well worth a look if you're interested in a new approach to an old, old trope. ★★★

---

And that's a wrap once again! No special theme next week, other than "Logan reads five ponyfics and reviews them", if that counts as a theme. Stories, two of which (the second and fourth) were left to the mercy of the RNG. The others were my choice:

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