I'm close to deciding against cons this year, even if they happen

In-person cons, that is – I'll certainly be attending the odd online one! But I look at things like TrotCon's recent announcement and it gets me thinking. They're now hoping for some kind of in-person shindig in December – but even then, at the very end of the year, the event is "likely to include a mask requirement when not socially distanced" and may have various other restrictions or requirements that wouldn't have applied pre-Covid.

Not that I have anything against masks or social distancing in general as necessary evils in these dark times... but I don't really want to go to a convention, specifically, if those things are needed. In fact, I'm not at all sure that social distancing is really compatible with conventions; it goes against so much of what the con experience is about, for me, at least. Cons are such a big undertaking for me at the best of times that I don't really find a "halfway house" very appealing.

I'm well aware that there are no guarantees for the future either. But then I think to myself: I've been to nine Pony conventions, which makes me much luckier than many fans. Here in England at least, it's now possible once again to have small in-person meets when the weather's good enough. (Groups are currently only allowed outdoors.) And we've learnt to get around some of the limitations of online chat and even use a few of them to our advantage.

So... for 2021, at least, I think it's quite likely that small, informally organised meets will be my focus. They're just less pressure all round, and their smallness means organising (and when necessary rescheduling) can be done much more nimbly and straightforwardly than it can for conventions. You don't need to plan (and save large sums) months in advance for something that may never happen.

I'm not saying there's no chance of my going to a larger in-person event this year. It is still just about possible if everything goes really well and stays that way, and so I don't want to completely close the door at this point. I am saying that the odds are fairly substantially against my attending anything bigger than meets. And you know what? Right now, I find myself surprisingly okay with that.

My Little Repeats 75: "Rainbow Falls"

When she returns to earth after this, Derpy's eyes are derped the other way around

S4E10: "Rainbow Falls"
Written by Corey Powell
18 Jan 2014

My original rating: 7.5/10 (=★★★)
IMDb score: 6.7

The one with in-flight nosebags

Thoughts: Rainbow Dash's key episode has the second lowest IMDb average of any S4 ep. Deserved? Maybe not. I mean, it's not great, especially with the unimpressive amount of lying and deception going on from (apparently) Equestria's finest. Soarin' revealing that nopony had been by the hospital to visit him really hurt. And these days, the "Derpy!" effect is lower than it was – those later to the fandom will have to take my word for it that it was a huge deal at the time. There's also plenty of Fluttershy, which is rarely bad. I quite like the design of Rainbow Falls itself, too. Best other thing about this episode? Very possibly Twilight, who sees through what Rainbow is doing and makes it very clear to her what she thinks. (Her "choosing not to choose" line is gold.) She's really nicely characterised here, and to be fair I also like cheerleader Pinkie. It's just a shame the Wonderbolts and Rainbow are so annoying. Bulk Biceps first gets a canon on-screen name here, but he's a character I find rather meh so, well, meh. Which would probably be an objective assessment for this episode, and with it would go a two-star rating. I'm not objective, though, so I really had to think about it. In the end, yes, it's only a two. But it's high in that band and if Derpy's return was still quite as big a deal then it might still have shaded a three. It's not the second worst episode in S4, not in my book.

Choice quote: Bulk Biceps: "P is for Rainbow Dash!"

New rating: ★★

Next up is "Three's a Crowd", an episode that in 2014 I didn't rave about as much as some of the fandom. I suspect it'll remain in the "quite like" category, but time will tell.

Ponyfic Roundup 338: Spotlight on Fluttershy's Bad "Hare" Day

Read it Later story count: 148 (+2)

It's been a little while since I've done a Spotlight review, but with the extra reading time thanks to my Easter break I've been able to rectify that. I do have several more longer fics I'd like to feature in due course – but it's fair to say that you probably shouldn't hold your breath, especially for those that get into properly long territory, which I define as starting around the 100k word mark. Anyway. here's today's story:

Fluttershy's Bad "Hare" Day by Pegasus Rescue Brigade
Fluttershy, Angel and Owlowiscious
Adventure/Comedy; 59k words; Apr–Jul 2012; Everyone

Fluttershy turns into a rabbit

This happens because of a simple misunderstanding, when Rainbow Dash mishears an instruction from Fluttershy. However, Dash is not important beyond kicking things off. Instead, we follow Fluttershy as she's taken under Angel's wing, er, ear and shown around the critter city that sits beneath Ponyville – as the two, with a certain wise owl's help, try to locate the antidote that will get Fluttershy back to being a pony. The Main Mare, as Angel insists on calling her, becomes ever more intrigued, though she can't help but wonder why other rabbits seem to defer to Angel, some even calling him capo. The adventure part of this story is a bigger deal than the comedy, but luckily it's got some nice twists. The Mane Six's pets are used to nice effect, not merely Owlowiscious but the others too; I particularly enjoyed how Opal and Tank were written. It's obvious from fairly early on what Angel is up to, and a twist near the end is pretty strongly telegraphed, but the journey to get there is generally quite enjoyable. Angel fans like me may have mixed feelings about his position in the critter world, but I can't deny it has a certain logic to it. ★★★

I'll go into a little more detail – with spoilers! – beyond the page break here.

My Little Repeats 74: "Pinkie Apple Pie"

"I'm tellin' you, Granny, avoidin' huge ships is somethin' I can do with my eyes clo—"

S4E09: "Pinkie Apple Pie"
Written by Natasha Levinger
11 Jan 2014

My original rating: 9/10 (=★★★★★)
IMDb score: 8.5

The one with wheel-duck

Thoughts: Another new writer debuts: Natasha Levinger. She wrote four episodes, but most people feel this is her best. I do too. Sure, it doesn't hurt that this ep has one of the all-time great songs, a fandom staple ever since. But what makes it is the character work. Earth ponies get all the screen time (barring a little Twilight at the start) and the Apple Family come across as, well, a real family, not an unbelievably idealised one. The moral at the end is absolutely spot on, too. Better yet, Pinkie is handled excellently, which makes so much difference. She's silly yet determined, ridiculous yet containing deep wisdom. She's Pinkie. (I also mentioned in my original review that her unhappy early fillyhood might have had a bearing on her excitement at potentially being an Apple.) Goldie Delicious – voiced by Peter New! – is a fun side character, and even Big Mac gets to say something other than "eeyup" and "eenope", albeit only briefly. There's ladles of humour, the vast majority of which works. I don't know how effective Apple Bloom's clear fandom nod with the cut-off "Apple-licious" routine is with newer fans, but I still giggle. Only one look inside the Scariest Cave in Equestria (briefly glimpsed in Pinkie's scrapbook) but it works that way. I eventually gave this a five in 2014, but I now don't think it's quite there, partly because of its slightly inconsistent pacing. I can justify a high four-star rating quite comfortably, however. This is great fun.

Choice quote: Pinkie: "Applejack – when you're family, you make the time."

New rating: ★★★★

Next up is "Rainbow Falls". Back in 2014, that ep was best known for Derpy's Return. But shorn of that fandom excitement, does it hold up in its own right? I have some doubts.

Still plodding through Pony Life

Actually I'm mildly enjoying it, in a this-isn't-very-important kind of way. But in truth I'm mostly watching it so that I can understand the reactions a friend has to the episodes. Even then, I'm going much more slowly than they are – and I mean much more slowly: I'm currently on S1E13! As it happens I do know what happens in S1E14 as I was spoiled on it long ago, but that doesn't matter to me; the episode title is a spoiler in itself. For now, I shall keep on plodding on. :)

My Little Repeats 73: "Rarity Takes Manehattan"

Phones are canon. I prefer to imagine this with the H absent

S4E08: "Rarity Takes Manehattan"
Written by Dave Polsky
4 Jan 2014

My original rating: 8.5/10 (=★★★★)
IMDb score: 8.3

The one with Hinny of the Hills

Thoughts: We move into 2014 with what is arguably Dave Polsky's best episode. I remain equivocal about the increasing prominence of "modern" Manehattan in FiM from this point on, but it works pretty well here. It's a good-looking episode, too. This is a good Rarity ep that gives her plenty of moments to shine but doesn't shy away from the slightly less attractive facets of her character, as seen most obviously in the "sweatshop" scene and her later rain-soaked remorse. The song is a very solid one, which I'd place just one notch below outright classic status. (Fun fact: the stallion with the orange scarf is voiced by Daniel Ingram.) Downsides? There's the odd bit of irritatingly dated "hey, funny meme", eg the Grumpy Cat cutie mark, but only the odd bit. Perhaps not the subtlest moral in the world. Prim Hemline also has the world's weirdest accent, albeit less annoying than Suri's, but I suppose as "mid-Atlantic-ish fashion designer" it's defensible. But there's a really big plus that outweighs all of that: we get Coco Pommel's debut. (Coco will never, ever be simply "Miss Pommel" to me!) This was the first "key" episode; Meghan McCarthy hinted at the time that the rainbow flash was important, but back then we didn't know why. Overall? This is actually better than I remember. I was expecting to bump it down to three stars – but no. It's keeping the four. Congratu-pony-lations, fillies.

Choice quote: Rarity: "Isn't friendship magic?"

New rating: ★★★★

Next up is "Pinkie Apple Pie". I remember having a bundle of fun with that one first time out. I hope I do again!

Ponyfic Roundup 337

Read it Later story count: 146 (+1) 

Here we are on Good Friday, which presumably ponies don't mark in any way. It would be rather strange if they did, at least outside the realms of some of the more unusual crossover fics that no doubt lurk out there in Fimficland. Three stories as per usual this time around, and here's the list:

Shell Game by BlazzingInferno
The Great and Deathless Trixie by Blarghalt
The Battle of Carousel Boutique by Greymane Shadow

★: 0 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 3 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.