Ponyfic Roundup 301

Read it Later story count: 206 (+3)

As you will see, Ponyfic Roundup is back to normal this week. That means firstly that there's no particular theme to this edition's selection, and secondly that I've gone back to being lazy and have only read three stories. Let's have a look at what they are:

Fugue State by horizon
It's hard to write by BeautifulHorse
The Price of Salt by RoMS

★: 0 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.

Fugue State by horizon
Lyra and Bon Bon
Romance; 7k words; Mar 2013; Everyone

When a barrage of musical numbers hits Ponyville, Lyra's fear of their mind-altering properties strains her relationship with Bon Bon to its breaking point.

A story I've been meaning to read almost since it came out. So only seven years late, then! horizon's tale is set in an Equestria where the songs really do make a difference to real life. And this fic is set during the S3 finale, so things are about to get intense. Set against this is Lyra and Bon Bon's relationship, complicated by the fact that Lyra does not like the way songs affect real life. Who can blame her, when they seem at times to cause actual injury? This is a strange but intriguing story, and Lyra being more serious than Bon Bon is an interesting reversal of the norm. Real emotion in their relationship and attempts to work things out, and as ever with horizon the writing is very good. This has a sequel, which ties in with the "Versebreakers" stories (by various authors) which take this premise and run with it. Perhaps not my favourite of horizon's fics, but he's so good at this ponyfic lark that it's still a highly satisfying read. ★★★★

It's hard to write by BeautifulHorse
Royal Guard, OC and Luna
Slice of Life; 1k words; Aug 2019; Everyone

Coral has decided to enter a writing competition. Should be easy, right?

Coral is off Guard duties through injury, so she's filling her time by writing. Or at least, attempting to do so. The author says (end A/N) that they wrote this when they had "no idea what to do", so this is definitely "write what you know" territory. I can sympathise! That does show a little sometimes, and it's a bit rough in places – quite a few small technical errors, while the word "time" is used four, er, times in two and a bit lines at the start. There's some nice stuff in here as well, though: "She paused in the middle of the big hall as though ideas could catch up if she waited for them" isn't the most succinct way of expressing that notion, but I really do like the notion itself. Coral herself seems a potentially interesting mare, even though there's too little space here to flesh her character out. ★★

The Price of Salt by RoMS
Discord and Cozy Glow
Sad; 3k words; Nov 2019; Teen

To survive the stone is to endure. As a god, Discord did. He knows Cozy won’t without him.

A post-stoning Cozy Glow story in which Discord is trying to help her? That premise has my attention already, and the first line doesn't hurt that any. It's hard to tell for a long time exactly where we are – in Cozy's mind, Discord's, both or neither? In a dream, a vision or what? I admire the way this story has an older, more thoughtful Discord that doesn't seem like another character altogether – though Cozy remains closer to her canon self. This is clearly significant and helps make the story thought-provoking. I rate it as (relatively) low as a high three for two reasons. One, the prose occasionally becomes so artful that it gets in the way of the story. ("...the alabaster sky. It granted no warmth, yet its cruel rays gnawed at the boat.") Two, and to me the more irritating, the ending is a let-down and doesn't feel like a proper conclusion. ★★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: stories reviewed should include The Cloptimist's Errors.