Ponyfic Roundup 178: Fisherman's Friend

Read it Later story count: 396 (nc)

I'm up to five fics today! It's been some time since that happened, and I wouldn't go assuming it's going to be the norm, but I'll take the chance while I can. As with last week's PR, all the stories under review are very short; I hope to get a little more time to read slightly longer fics in the near future. We have:

Grind by Cola_Bubble_Gum
I'm Not Small, I'm Aerodynamic! by PonyThunder
Somno Captis by Flint-Lock
Another Chance by Jay David
Chrysalis Visits Minion Mart by Dunsparce

★: 1 | ★★: 2 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 0


Grind by Cola_Bubble_Gum
Rainbow Dash
Slice of Life; 1k words; Dec 2014; Everyone

Rainbow Dash naps, but Rainbow Dash isn't lazy.

This falls into the subgenre of "Rainbow has quite complex inner thoughts about things she knows well", and given that I wrote More than Alive it attracted me for that reason. What we get is a highly detailed look at a short period of weather duty, and despite a couple of rough spots it doesn't read badly for something described as "[b]arely edited flash fiction". If you don't like this specific sub-genre you may struggle, but if like me you do, it's a nice little time-passer. ★★★

I'm Not Small, I'm Aerodynamic! by PonyThunder
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy
Comedy/Slice of Life; 2k words; Mar 2017; Everyone

After breaking her wing and being grounded for a couple days, Rainbow Dash gradually realizes that she's a lot smaller than she realized without always having a birds-eye view on the environment.

The title of this rather odd story comes from this artwork by Dilarus. I found it quite difficult to accept this much of a size difference, given that Rainbow isn't always in the air, but thinking of it as [AU] helped a bit. It's cutely written, albeit in need of a little proofreading, and it has a heart-warming ending. It just didn't quite do enough to get me past the underlying disconnect in my head. ★★

Somno Captis by Flint-Lock
Twilight
Dark/Horror; 2k words; Nov 2017; Mature (Gore)

Twilight can't sleep. She can't afford to...

She's locked in her lab trying desperately to find a way to stop the... Thing. We're told very little about it, which is good, and a bit with a magic mirror is nicely done. What really hit me, though, was a later scene away from the lab, which really did give me the heebie-jeebies. I don't read a lot of horror, so more experienced readers might have seen it all before. I hadn't, hence the rating. ★★★★

Another Chance by Jay David
Other [Pillars of Equestria]
Romance; 2k words; Oct 2017; Everyone

Flash Magnus speaks to Somnambula on a rather personal matter

This fic, set after the S7 finale, is the author previously known as Jay-The-Brony, and it feels similar to his previous stuff I've read: it's a straightforward, rather pedestrian tale with little in the way of surprises or diversions. It's clear almost from the start that a ship will be launched here, so it's strictly one for those for whom having said ship to read about at all will be novelty enough. I'm not one of those, so it didn't do anything much for me. ★

Chrysalis Visits Minion Mart by Dunsparce
Chrysalis
Comedy/Crossover/Random; 2k words; Oct 2013; Everyone

Chrysalis is short on Changelings, so she makes a trip to Minion Mart

Set a while after the S2 finale, this silly story sees the Changeling Queen become increasingly exasperated with the staff at the eponymous store. These include the likes of Bowser and "Kid Icarus Hades", so unless you have at least some familiarity with the relevant franchises you'll be lost. The story is rather scattergun and would have benefited from tightening up, but Chrysalis does get in a great line to Bowser about his appearance. ★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: the first themed edition for a while, as I look at a (small) bunch of fics starring Starlight Glimmer!