Ponyfic Roundup 34

Here we go again! I'm sticking to the usual format this week, except that I'm covering six stories as I had slightly more free time to read than I sometimes do. This wasn't a bad week at all: there are no poor fics here, several which are very much worth reading, and one story in particular that I feel is absolutely outstanding. Let's go, then!

Pick of the fics

Tired by Ebon Mane
Pinkie Pie and Mane Six
Sad/Slice of Life; 7K words; Sep 2012; Teen
An old story that I only picked up when it was added to Twilight's Library recently: Soge was unimpressed, but I wasn't. Set half a century hence, Pinkie visits each of her old friends, working hard to bring cheer. Beautifully done and very moving, with one of the best "serious Pinkie" portrayals I've seen. I saw a twist coming, but it still worked, while a single line in Rainbow's house floored me. This only scores as "low" as 9 because it's not quite as satisfying in its last couple of scenes. Nevertheless, an essential read. 9/10

Other stories

Dulcet by shortskirtsandexplosions
Big Mac, Rarity and Cheerilee
Romance/Slice of Life; 8K words; Feb 2014; Everyone
I'm seeing a pattern with SS&E's fics: I usually quite like them, but find too many little irritations to really love them. The same applies in this spin-off from "Filli Vanilli" in which Big Mac, who narrates in a mildly irritating voice ("thang" – argh), is asked out for a meal by fellow Ponytone Rarity. It's a nice idea and the interaction between the characters is interesting, but it could have done with a little polishing. Would Mac ever use a word like "whom"? The epilogue seems a little unnecessary, too. 7/10

I Quit! by General Spritz
Coco Pommel, Suri Polomare and Others
Slice of Life; 4K words; Mar 2014; Everyone
The story of what happened during "Rarity Takes Manehattan" when Coco finally had the courage to quit working for Suri. And there's the problem: we pretty much already know the major plot point. (Oh yeah, please stop using "plot" in that sense. It's only done once here, but... gah.) There are also way too many full stops before quotes where there should be commas. All that said, it's automatically a good thing to be able to experience Suri's downfall once again. The best thing here is probably Prim Hemline's characterisation, which is great. 6.5/10

Immortal Dreams by TadStone
Scootaloo, Luna and Rainbow Dash
Sad/Dark; 6K words; May 2014; Teen
Scootaloo hovers between life and death in hospital. This was a rather frustrating fic: I really liked the first half, in which Luna visits Scoots in her dreams. It's nothing all that new, but the language used (adverb overload and all) really spoke to me. Luna does suffer from the dreaded SingleTear-itis, but that's a minor problem. A greater one is the second part, which just isn't anywhere near as good: the reason behind Scootaloo's problems didn't convince me and the resolution was much too easy. 8.5 for the first half, 5.5 for the second half, so 7/10 overall.

Life is Precious by BronyDad
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy
Sad/Slice of Life; 6K words; Sep 2014; Everyone
Rainbow takes an injured bird to Fluttershy and learns a lesson about life. This made Equestria Daily, and at first I was wondering why: it was solid, but not amazing and quite tell-y. I don't mind this, but EqD reputedly does, or at least did. There's the odd redundant line and a very few typos and odd word choices. However, in its last third this story becomes something rather special, especially where Fluttershy is concerned. This part of the fic is memorable and highly satisfying. Life is Precious is worth sticking with; it starts off good – but ends up excellent. 7.5/10

Subtleties of Lust! by BronyWriter
Fluttershy, Big Mac and CMC
Romance; 2K words; May 2014; Teen (Sex)
A rather startling FlutterMac shipfic. Well, sort of, but to say more would give the game away. That's actually my beef with this: I think its main part would work hilariously well as a parody of a certain type of fanfic (or even as that rarest of things, a clever trollfic), to the extent that I actually felt a little disappointed when the camera pulled back to reveal that BronyWriter didn't simply intend this to stand alone as that. Still, I got plenty of laughs from this up to that point, so it still scores fairly well. 7.5/10