Ponyfic Roundup 207: It does mean changing the bulb

Title explanation: Red Dwarf line

Read it Later story count: 327 (-4)

Hey everyone, look how many stories I have for you this week! That's right: five! Yay! And I'm even going to begin with the fic I trailed last week. (You do read those footnote sections, don't you? Of course you do.) Oh, and the final review this time is my 999th on Ponyfic Roundup. Just saying.

Six Months in July by Fiddlebottoms
Sleeping Habits by Redric Carrun
Banned by Summer Dancer
Bad Decisions Make Better Stories by Sporktacles
Mrs. Robinson's Stand by WishyWish

★: 0 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 3 | ★★★★: 2 | ★★★★★: 0

Six Months in July by Fiddlebottoms
Other [Pie Family]
Dark/Slice of Life; 3k words; Sep 2012; Teen

Inkie and Blinkie murder their father. A story about mistakes and loyalty in a small town.

Okay, a fic by an author not known for avoiding the murkier things in Equestrian life, and it's inspired by a song I've never heard of. Yay. The story itself is interesting for being really telly but making that a feature rather than a bug. Given the fic's age, there's no Maud, but Pinkie is present to a limited extent. Although this is a darkfic, Pinkie did make me laugh with her mention of an "Estrus Vigil Party". Yes, I did just write that, and to my immense surprise the term related to an interesting and non-cloppy piece of world-building. I don't like the song lyrics scattered through the fic (something that wouldn't be allowed now anyway) as if, like me, you don't know the song it significantly weakens the impact of the story's ending. My bigger problem is that it just doesn't feel Pony. That won't necessarily bother everyone, and you can add a star if you're in that group, but it does matter to me. ★★★

Sleeping Habits by Redric Carrun
Rainbow Dash
Slice of Life; 9k words; Jul 2017; Everyone

Rainbow Dash naps a lot. Every day, several times a day, she can be found sleeping on clouds, or in trees, or even, very rarely, in her own bed at her house. And she always seems to have so much free time. Does she ever do any work?

This story is set before S1, which is interesting in itself. It's also an RCL inductee, and deservedly so in my book. It's a look at Rainbow's day job as captain of the weather team and is one of those stories that makes the everyday interesting. There's some nice world-building, and the Everfree Forest is gratifyingly different, as it should be. The dialogue is really excellent, starting with some snappy exchanges in a bar and going on to some fantastic stuff with Dash and Raindrops. I did originally wonder whether Rainbow's character might be a little too mature for pre-S1, but in the specific setting of a job she's highly competent at, I think it works. Actually, the characterisation in general was satisfyingly great. I'm not sure I really buy the idea of "every pegasus" being from Cloudsdale, but that's not a major quibble. A strong four and most definitely worth your time; recommended. ★★★★

Banned by Summer Dancer
Twilight, Spike and Mane Six
Comedy/Slice of Life; 9k words; Apr 2015; Teen

Princess Twilight is banned from all dance clubs...Indefinitely.

Rather against her will, Twi is dragged by the rest of the Mane Six to a club. This sets up some funny lines ("Do you have chamomile tea by any chance?") but then the Princess is banned because her dancing gave other patrons the impression she was having a seizure. Characterisation is generally fun, and one Twilight line to Rainbow (who spends a lot of the story smashed) is perfect, though I'm not sure I can believe Pinkie would straight-up use a fake ID. A few small irritations with the writing, such as a bit of LUS and a shoe-horned song lyric. It's a shame the ending isn't zingier, but I enjoyed the ride enough that this nudges into three-star territory. ★★★

Bad Decisions Make Better Stories by Sporktacles
Sunset Shimmer, Celestia, Twilight and Cadance
Comedy/Random; 3k words; Nov 2016; Teen (Sex/Narcotics)

It turns out that Sunset Shimmer's final letters to Princess Celestia before her exile were not filled with resentment or remorse. There might have been a lot more frantic running away involved. But it was definitely not Sunset's fault. At all.

Told through an exchange of letters, this story tells us why Sunset really went through the portal to CHS-World. It gets increasingly stupid as it goes along, but it's funny stupid (and deliberately so) and that makes all the difference. Celestia's interventions get better and the final scene is truly hilarious. The tagged Sex isn't explicit, but there's a lot of innuendo and suchlike. It's irritating that the letters do the "crossed-out reconsidered thoughts" thing a couple of times, but more seriously the ending is very underwhelming and a bit of a let-down after the stuff that immediately precedes it. That pulls the fic's rating down from a four to a top-end three, but don't let that put you off if you like ludicrously escalating comedy. There are sequels, too! ★★★

Mrs. Robinson's Stand by WishyWish
Cheerilee, Tempest Shadow, Sweetie Belle and Other
Adventure/Drama/Thriller; 8k words; Oct 2017; Teen

Tempest Shadow, commander of the northern armies and mistress of her own name, has subdued the capital of the world's largest nation without a single casualty on either side. One obstacle remains. This is a tale of the pillar that would not fall.

Ever wanted a story in which Cheerilee is a full-on hero? This is it. Set during the events of the movie, after Tempest has subdued Canterlot, this is an increasingly intense tale of one schoolteacher's determination to protect her students at all costs. She, and to a lesser extent Sweetie Belle, will have you punching the air, but with your heart in your mouth as you do so. Be aware that Cheerilee suffers quite badly for her heroism, and while there's not much actual blood-and-guts (hence no [Gore] tag) there are things here that I found hard to read. There's no doubt how grim the Equestrians' position is. Tempest is well characterised and allowed some depth, and even the much-maligned Grubber adds to the story. I suppose this is technically [AU] given that Sweetie is captured in movie canon, and I don't especially like the title (it's a reference to The Graduate but isn't really relevant to the story) but it would be very churlish to complain. Every Cheerilee fan should read this fic immediately. Actually, I'd recommend it to anyone. ★★★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: my thousandth review! No, you're not getting any clues. This way I can make it seem exciting, even though it probably won't be! :D