Read it Later story count: 397 (-7)
Today I have a mere three stories for you, but hopefully there'll be something in here that catches your eye. Today's fics are:
Wet Feathers by bookplayer
Minuette's Lesson by Airstream
My Even Tinier Ponies by Benman
★: 0 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 2 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0
Wet Feathers by bookplayer
Rainbow Dash and Applejack
Romance/Drama; 12k words; Mar 2013; Teen
Applejack knew that long distance relationships are hard, but Rainbow Dash's dream-come-true is turning into a nightmare for her. With the newest Wonderbolt on the cover of magazines and tabloids, AJ decides if love is enough to hold them togeth [sic]Not just any publication this time: Dash has been made the cover star of Flyers Illustrated's Wet Feathers Edition. Applejack is more than uneasy, and seeing Scootaloo buying the mag "for the articles" doesn't help her any. Given this came out after "Sleepless in Ponyville", I'm not entirely comfortable with Scoots' reactions to seeing RD's pictures, despite the filly being aged up to a teen here. AJ's rather tortured reaction and attempts to get Rainbow to understand via letters are very good, though. I definitely sympathised with Applejack more than Dash, but there is enough in RD's side of the argument to make things interesting. ★★★
Minuette's Lesson by Airstream
Rarity and Sweetie Belle
Alternate Universe/Slice of Life; 4k words; May 2013; Everyone
Alive, or a machine? Does it really matter?It's a Sweetie Bot fic, Jim, but not as we know it. This is not set in the Friendship is Witchcraft universe, but is instead set in an AU where Rarity herself constructed Sweetie, having discovered her (Rarity's) destiny as Element of Inspiration and constructor of crystal automatons. (No mention of Crystal Ponies, which is perhaps a missed opportunity.) The question of what makes a person/pony/machine alive is interestingly explored, and though the fic flags a bit late on and becomes rather wordy, it's a way of writing Sweetie Bot that I haven't seen anywhere else. ★★★
My Even Tinier Ponies by Benman
Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack
Comedy/Random; 2k words; Jun 2012; Everyone
Applejack is definitely not crazy.Applejack discovers that a tiny civilisation exists on one of her apples. The other ponies see her talking to her apple and make the appropriate – albeit wrong – deduction. There's not a lot to this other than some silly puns, and while I'm all for silly puns there aren't really enough even of those. There's a scene with Fluttershy and Angel at the end which I enjoyed to a certain extent, but I've never been someone who likes the "Angel is secretly an evil monster" thing. Also, someone tell me why calling a book The Interpretation of Drays is funny. I don't get it. So yeah, a light read for silly apple puns, but a little disappointing otherwise. ★★
Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: if I'm really lucky, I'll actually have time to have read something...
I think "Minuette's Lesson" actually had quite an influence on my own writing. When I was just getting into MLP fanfic, it was one of the first then-recently published stories I read, as opposed to browsing top-rated lists and review recommendations. I was really struck by how well I thought it presented a very different Equestria and how it kind of played with our expectations about the characters. The feeling of intrigue I got from it and other similar stories probably bled its way into a lot of my early writing. Fun to think about. :P
ReplyDeleteNow you mention that, I'd be fascinated to see a survey of which stories had similar effects on other writers. I wonder if anyone has?
DeleteMight be difficult logistically. I mean, I all but forgot "Minuette's Lesson" even existed before I saw your review.
DeleteTrue. After posting, I had a think on my own account and I'm not sure I could do it.
Delete