Ponyfic Roundup 195: Chris edition

UK PonyCon will be 13/14 October. More on that in the next day or two.

I don't think I've ever done an edition of PR with all the stories reviewed being by the same author, but there's a first time for everything. In tribute to the contribution the recently-retired-from-OMPR Chris has made to the world of ponyfic, I'm looking at five of his works today. I was a little constrained in my choice as I've previously covered several of his 15 stories (and the minific anthology Bantam Tales isn't eligible anyway), but I managed to find five that looked interesting.

Read it Later story count: 344 (+3)

I know it looks a little bit silly to put "by Chris" on the end of every title line, but if I don't do that then I'm almost certain to mess up the formatting (more than I usually do) when I go back to my more usual mixed bag next week! Also, Chris seems to like starting his story titles with the word "The".

Letters from a Senior to a Junior Changeling by Chris
The Showmare's Tale by Chris
The Sweetest Water by Chris
The Fall of Discord by Chris
The Purloined Pony by Chris

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

Letters from a Senior to a Junior Changeling by Chris
OCs (Changelings)
Dark/Slice of Life; 9k words; Nov 2012; Everyone

A series of notes sent to a young changeling in the field by her superior.

As you might guess from the title, this piece is modelled in both style and form on CS Lewis's 1942 classic The Screwtape Letters. It's not necessary to have read that to enjoy this, but it will certainly give it more depth. That inspiration also explains the slightly old-fashioned and wordy feel of the prose. The fic itself, which of course involves traditional, pre-reformation changelings, is one of those where what actually happens is no great surprise, but the pleasure comes in seeing how it comes about. A couple of places where I suspect authorial opinion peeps through, but they're not intrusive. If you can't get on with the prose style, you might find the story hard going – but if you're familiar with and like Screwtape, you'll probably enjoy this lovely pastiche. ★★★★

The Showmare's Tale by Chris
Trixie
Slice of Life; 7k words; Feb 2012; Everyone

Trixie puts on a performance for her smallest audience yet

Originally written in autumn 2011, when "Boast Busters" was all we knew of Trixie, this story feels its age in ways both good and bad. It lets its story flow without rushing it along, without the flashy gimmicks a lot of writers seem to feel necessary nowadays, and I always like seeing salt as a treat for ponies. Trixie's audience of one, Sunny Days, is pleasant company and it's nice to see someone befriending old-school Trixie – but her character really is a bit... obvious. We've also seen so much more of Trixie since S1 that it's sometimes hard to reconcile the way I think of her now with the way she comes across here, especially in her style of speech. There are also a couple of places where she sounds like an authorial mouthpiece more than I'd like. On the plus side, Sunny Days' interjections feel more natural than many characters' do in similar situations. Blueblood, who comes into the story later, calling Celestia "ma'am" seems odd. This is an interesting tale, but its Trixie doesn't grab me in the way she might have done six years ago, and without that I found this slightly hard work. ★★

The Sweetest Water by Chris
OCs
Slice of Life; 2k words; Oct 2014; Everyone

Nothing is without a price, as many discover to their sorrow. Few are those who truly know themselves, and fewer still are those who know which prices are worth bearing—and which hide perils threatening that which they most treasure.

A fable of Equestria, though not one that's especially dependent on its setting, despite a relevant reference to a quality of Princess Celestia. It definitely reads like a fable, and has that near-repetition of similar situations that you get in fairytales (Goldilocks, for example). The explicit moral at the end may not be to everyone's taste, and in fandom terms it has the same sort of feel as a letter to Celestia, but again it suits the fable format. ★★★

The Fall of Discord by Chris
Celestia, Luna and Discord
Drama; 5k words; Feb 2012; Everyone

A translation of the ancient epic describing the battle in which Discord was locked in stone.

The idea here is that Twilight has rendered a classic alliterative epic poem into modern(ish) Equestrian, complete with line numbers and some post-poem footnotes. I can't help feeling that this is more impressive than enjoyable, unless you happen to be as big a fan of that kind of poetry as Chris clearly is. While I can and do admire the thing, and Discord's (older, harsher) character comes through remarkably well, it's for a niche audience that I don't think really includes me. It's reminiscent in some ways of Wyrmlysan (PR 73), but will be harder going for most. It also pushes the Everyone rating a bit at times. Very hard to rate: it's probably the most impressive thing of its kind I've seen, but I didn't really have fun with it; reading it felt like I was actually studying. Gets into the threes even so because, frankly, the sheer achievement deserves at least that. ★★★

The Purloined Pony by Chris
Carrot Top
Adventure; 33k words; Apr 2014 (but see below); Everyone

When a young foal goes missing, it's up to Carrot Top to step in and save the day. Based on the 1980's/90's Choose Your Own Adventure book series.

The above date is for Fimfiction publication; this was originally written in Apr–May 2011. It's a lovely homage to the Choose Your Own Adventure series of solo gamebooks, and in style and tone it's spot on, even incorporating certain mechanics I remember from the original books. That means it's second-person, but in this case that's the only sensible choice. You are Carrot Top (naturally) and your aim is to get back the kidnapped Applebloom (sic, I'm afraid). There are many ways through the story and multiple endings, some good, some bad and some arguable. Here in the UK, the harsher Fighting Fantasy series was much more popular in the 1980s; I still own some of the FF books. For that reason Chris's creation is not quite the massive nostalgia hit for me that it may be for many Americans, but I've played enough CYOA that I enjoyed this a good deal anyway. There is at least one reference to a now-almost-forgotten meme, but this was written in 2011. I'm not sure whether anyone else has written ponyfic in this format – Fimf rules don't appear to prohibit it – but even if they did, they'd be hard pressed to do better. This isn't great literature, but it is great fun. ★★★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: stories reviewed will include D G D Davidson's Love on the Reef. Really, this time.