Read it Later story count: 91 (-1)
Words read this week: 47,674
All right, two days late I know, but at least I've recovered enough to actually write this review now! These things are always easier if I like the fic, since then I only have the problem of not letting the review run away from me. This is shaping up to be an exceptionally boring intro para, so let's move on...
Mothering, Someday by Impossible Numbers
Twilight Velvet and Derpy
G4; Drama/Slice of Life; 48k words; May 2020; Everyone
Mare's Day, a tribute to motherhood. Twilight Velvet is the ordinary
mother of an extraordinary family; Derpy is the opposite. They normally
wouldn't cross paths, but in a town where an outsider can become
Princess of Friendship, anything's possible.
Twilight Velvet is off to Ponyville to see her daughter, but she's nervous. She hasn't seen Twily since her coronation, and for reasons she's arranged to take flowers that her daughter will then give to her for Mare's Day. But before that, she encounters a certain wall-eyed grey mare, who she is desperate to avoid telling she's the princess's mother. The two talk and bond and feel their way and learn and don't learn and hint and infer and... well, and eventually they meet Derpy's daughters, who are very different indeed. From each other, and from their mum. This is a story all about insecurities, but despite that it's written in an assured way that isn't afraid to dwell on apparently small domesticities. My favourite thing here, though, is how Derpy is written: I hate the "Derpy is dim" approach, and IN absolutely does not fall into that trap. An excellent, if sometimes deliberately awkward, read about families and their rough edges. A very solid four. ★★★★
As you'd expect, spoilers lie in wait beyond this point!
