Ponyfic Roundup 411

Read it Later story count: 92 (+3) 

A typo I made (not here) the other day sent me careering off down a track of silliness. "Spice at Your Service" was the error. I don't actually care much if at all about Dune, but given that spice is (so I'm told) a bit thing in that world, maybe there's something to be done crossover-wise with that setup. Anyway, with UK PonyCon rapidly approaching, I somehow still found the time to review my usual four fics for Ponyfic Roundup. This week, I have:

The Circle and the Cross by Chris
Dusk's Travels by Bluecatcinema
What If Twilight Sparkle Died? by Eclipsesun
Confusing in Nature by UltimatePinkiePie

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

Make Your Mark hits Netflix today, and how I'll cover it here

It's been a long wait since the first one in May, but at last "Chapter 2" (as the first batch of eight episodes is being called) is available to watch on Netflix. I have to be honest and say that this modern way of doing things just doesn't feel as hyped-up and exciting as the 2010s FiM approach of releasing one episode a week. Okay, part of that is that so far G5 itself hasn't wowed me enough, but not all of it. Still, it's 2022 now and Netflix is how we're getting MYM, so we'd better get used to it.

As for coverage here? Well, I'm not someone who enjoys binge-watching, so I won't be burning through all eight episodes in a row. Yes, I'll inevitably get spoiled, but that's my problem. Also, with UK PonyCon now only 11 days away (10 if you count the day I travel up) I'm just not going to have a lot of spare time until that's over. As such, don't expect much in the way of G5 reviews here until mid-October. I might get the time to write about the first one, but I might not. We'll have to see.

But after that? Right now, yes, I do intend to write episode reviews for Make Your Mark. They're unlikely to be as long or detailed as the reviews I did (originally, not the rewatches) for G4 content, but they'll be more than just a couple of lines. I think there'll be enough to talk about, and you can rest assured that unless the new batch is dire, it won't just be a bunch of whinging. I do like to look for the good in Pony content, even when I do nitpick about the less impressive parts.

My Little Repeats 124: "Newbie Dash"

"And it's lucky for you they cut your impression of me, Newbie..."

S6E07: "Newbie Dash"

7 May 2016

My original rating: ★★★★
IMDb score: 6.1

The one with Rainbow's locker drawing of her friends

Thoughts: If I was surprised to find I'd originally awarded "No Second Prances" a four, I was amazed to discover I'd done the same for this episode. Granted, I've never had the "argh, take it away" reaction many fans do to "Newbie Dash", and indeed I quite like Dashie's cringy impressions of the other Manes – but was it really worthy of that high a rating? Answer: no. While I still don't think Dave Rapp's debut is a terrible ep, and indeed there's a reasonable amount to like about it (the callbacks, Scootaloo's reaction, some very nicely animated flying sequences, the ending) you can easily argue that it's a disappointment given it's the culmination of a seasons-long arc for Rainbow Dash. That said, I don't agree with those who thought she was bullied here. She went as far as endangering her team-mates, which Spitfire didn't tolerate when Lightning Dust did it and rightly didn't now either. "Rainbow Crash" becoming a badge of honour at the end is nice, too. On the downside, Pinkie is annoying much more than she is appealing, the cotton candy joke isn't very funny, the only really likeable other Wonderbolt is Soarin and it's all a bit uneven with the middle act in particular falling short. So while I still won't be as harsh as some are, I don't think it's as special as it should have been, the pre-credits sequence aside, and as such I'm knocking it down from a low four to a top-end two. That's maybe a tad harsh, but I can't quite justify a three. I don't think I got my rating right in 2016.

Choice quote: Rainbow: "Goodbye Rainbow Dash, hello Captain Awesome!"

New rating: ★★

Next time, it'll be "A Hearth's Warming Tail", which I utterly adored six years ago. I suspect I'm just going to wallow in it again. But we'll see!

Well, this isn't ideal for UK PonyCon travel...

At almost the last possible moment it could have been announced, there will be a (nearly) nationwide rail strike on Saturday 8th October. This, of course, is the Saturday of UK PonyCon weekend. It's not good news at all in that sense. Louder Yay really isn't the place to go into the political aspects of the long-running rail dispute, but it certainly is the place to talk about practicalities affecting Pony events.

It's likely that very few trains will run on that Saturday. Whether there'll be any service at all to and from Nottingham remains to be seen, but similar past strikes have seen a skeleton service on a minority of lines only, with not a lot moving anywhere after early evening. In other words, if you're commuting into UKPC on Saturday, I'm afraid you're likely to have to find a way to do it other than by train.

I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of East Midlands bus and coach services [For shame, Logan! —Ed.] and so I can't give specifics here of what alternatives there may be. National Express may be of some use, as may Megabus. Of course some attendees will be coming by car, in which case the rail strike won't affect them directly except perhaps to make some roads a bit busier on Saturday.

As far as my own weekend is concerned, fortunately I'm travelling out to Nottingham on Friday, when there should be a normal rail service. Frankly, if I'd been planning to do what I did last year and go up first thing on Saturday, I might well now be looking at not being able to attend at all. Any strike date will affect someone, of course. But from a selfish MLP perspective, it's a big blow that it's this date.

If there are any major developments, I'll try to keep people here posted. But the main takeaway right now is pretty simple: if you were planning on travelling to UK PonyCon by train on Saturday 8th, you may need to make substantial changes to those plans. I hope you can find an alternative that works for you.

UK PonyCon music lineup published

Official UKPC tweet here. As I type, the actual running order hasn't yet been made available, which is going to be an issue for some given the possibility of clashes (*cough* Pub Quiz *cough*) but the actual list of artists has. There are five this year, as follows:

• BassPon3
• Blackened Blue
• General Mumble
  
• Koa
• PrinceWhateverer

Two of these musicians have played UKPC before, BassPon3 and the near-omnipresent PrinceWhateverer, so we already know that they can do their thing on a Nottingham stage. General Mumble hasn't performed at this con before, but he's been a fixture for years: I saw him at BUCK 2014, and he wasn't new to the horse music game even then. Since he's married to Koa, it's maybe not surprising that the latter is on the list, but this is nevertheless probably the announcement that's created the biggest stir. Koa is after all a very popular artist. Finally, Blackened Blue, who shades into territory that's a little heavy for my liking but is undoubtedly very good.

From a general point of view, this looks like a great line-up for a Saturday night party. From a personal perspective it's (probably with the exception of Koa, depending on what we get from her) a bit louder and heavier than my own preferences. But hay, we got EileMonty in 2018 and Re:Make in 2019, so I can't be too fussy! Anyway, we now all wait to see what the running order will be, for that is when we can start to agonise properly over any schedule clashes... :P

Ponyfic Roundup 410

Read it Later story count: 89 (-3) 

It's been a strange week or so here in the Living Museum of Ceremonial Weirdness, or the UK as we sometimes like to nickname it. However, things are getting back to normal now and that means I need another form of escapism. Fortunately, ponyfic does the job admirably well. As is the norm nowadays, there are four stories under the microscope today. They are:

A Hint of Key Lime by Metool Bard
Heart to Heart by Crosis
Morsel of Truth by Pen Stroke
The Reality I Choose by The Hat Man

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

UK PonyCon schedule released!

Go right here for the official site's schedule page. To start with just the "Saturday – Mane Event Rooms" timetable is visible. Click the little pictures under the schedule to see the "Saturday  Additional Rooms" chart and the equivalents for Sunday. They're a little fiddly, but they work.

I've so far only had a chance to have a brief skim down the schedules, so please take this as more of an "instant reaction" post than anything resembling more detailed thoughts. What I will say, though, is that you look at this schedule and think, "Yep, this is UKPC". I mean that as a compliment!

This is the first UK PonyCon to have show guests, so I'm pleased to see three signing sessions for the VIPs. As is only reasonable, Gold and Silver ticket holders will get faster access to these, so it's important that us Bronze and Standard plebs get a fair chance as well. I think this setup should do that.

Acknowledging that scheduling is a really tough job and that no possible timetable is going to satisfy absolutely everyone, I think the committee have done very well for the most part. Inevitably there's a place or two where there are potentially annoying clashes, but I doubt that can be avoided.

It's great to see the return of the Saturday night concert! As I type this we still don't know who any of the musicians are going to be, which I'll confess surprises me a little. I checked back, and in 2019 all artists were known quite a lot earlier. Hopefully details are just being finalised and will be published soon.

I'm not keen on the timing of the evening Pub Quiz (always a highlight). Extending it to 90 minutes is fine, but 11pm is a really late finish. Too late, I think. Up until 2019 it generally finished at 10pm, which I would much have preferred this time too. Anyone attending this and not staying over the road is going to have a very late night and possible transport difficulties.

That's my one real whinge. There are plenty of nicer things, though! Not least the fact that we're finally going to get one of those VA script readings that American con-goers are forever going on about. With a Q&A afterwards, though at only an hour for both combined that's likely to be relatively brief.

Lots of old favourites return. Pinch the Parcel has been a UKPC staple since about 1487, and Rainbow Dash Attack is nearly as venerable! Dr Pony is back to talk about the Gothic, there's bingo, you can paint a blind bag – and of course there's singing! Karaoke and also I'm delighted to see, the pre-opening ceremony singalong. Yay!

So, it's all falling into place nicely. Only three weeks to go now until I'm off to my eighth UK PonyCon. Not an academy record, but not bad! I shall of course bore everyone here to tears with my convention reports when all is said and done, so do make sure you have an escape plan. :D