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.

Ciderfire by ambion
Mane Six
G4; Romance/Slice of Life; 3k words; May 2017; Everyone

With a cozy campfire and starry sky, the heroes hangout. It's rather restful.

This story is very much in the "kick back and spend time with the ponies" mould that I tend to like – and I like it here. The Mane Six are lounging around, but Applejack and Rarity are lounging a little... closer to each other than the rest. Twilight notices, despite her slight intoxication, and quietly mentions it to the others – who react in nicely characterised yet understated ways. This fic is just comfy. A high three and a really good choice for a low-stakes tea-break read. ★★★

Dressed in Dappled Gold by CharmingMarething
Pinkie Pie and Rarity
G4; Slice of Life; 2k words; Aug 2025; Everyone

After Pinkie Pie helps Rarity with a huge favor, the unicorn promises that the two of them can spend a day doing whatever Pinkie wants. The activity Pinkie chooses isn't one Rarity might have expected.

A new author on me – and in fact a new author to Fimfiction (joined in April) although she's experienced in fanfic more generally. The first of their stories I've read is another of the "spend time with the ponies" tales like the last, although this one is lacking in romance despite the two-hoofer nature of the cast. Not in any way a criticism! It's a nice concept executed well (a couple of typos aside) and another one for readers looking for a quiet few minutes with our favourite magical equines. I particularly appreciate the non-hyper Pinkie we get here. Satisfying, and a lovely title too. Another highish three. ★★★

Discord's Time Travel Trip. [sic] by Hotel Chicken
Discord, Fluttershy and Mane Six
G4; Comedy/Random; 2k words; Oct 2021; Everyone

Discord, facing off against the Elements of Harmony in a final stand, thinks that pulling a future version of himself may give him the edge he needs to win… He was very wrong.

This author tends to end fic titles with full stops for, I dunno, reasons I guess. Anyway, Discord is of course one character where having past and future versions in the same fic is not remotely surprising. Naturally, the past Manes are disbelieving that they might ever be friends with Discord, and that's where a good bit of the fun comes from. It is a bit unsubtle at times – a Rainbow Factory reference felt clunky – and the ending is a bit predictable. Top-end two, as it was perfectly readable but didn't really make me giggle as I'd prefer from a [Comedy]/[Random] story. ★★

Dressed to Egress by AsiagoUnicorn
Rainbow Dash and Rarity
G4; Comedy/Slice of Life; 1k words; Oct 2016; Everyone

Rainbow Dash is not a fan of dresses. Rarity is very persuasive.

Rarity is pushing Rainbow to be her model for her latest designs. Rainbow is less than impressed, especially with an earth pony dress that cramps her wings. But then she sees... something else. This is a slight story, without much to it, but what is there is fairly amusing. This was the first fic from an author who only wrote a few, and I suspect with more practice and experience this might have been great fun. As it is, mildly smile-inducing but it doesn't quite make the next step. ★★

Balloon To The Moon by The Sleepless Beholder
Celestia and Wallflower Blush
G4; Slice of Life; 2k words; Jul 2021; Everyone

As Celestia sets the sun over the horizon, she witnesses something you don’t see every day: A green filly tied to a bunch of balloons.

And yes, the filly is Wallflower. This is set before S1, and it has to be because it opens with Celestia at sunset, feeling very melancholy about Luna, still at this time imprisoned in the Moon. She sees Wallflower ascending and asks her what's going on. The answer is simple, but also very sweet and nicely fitting for this time in Equestria. There are a few rough sections (getting a whole paragraph of Early Modern English right then having "Hast we" actually hurts) but they're minor irritations. As Ghost Mike notes, more of a picture of a children's story than an actual one – this isn't in the Lucky Dreams class – but the whimsicality of it all did largely win me over. ★★★

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Same again next week, with five really short stories on the slate. They will be:

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_