Ponyfic Roundup 307

Read it Later story count: 197 (+2)

I'm still wrestling with the poorly designed nature of New Blogger, but I hope I've at least got it to the point where individual posts can be reasonably easily read. I know the various links at the bottom are still an utter mess, but I'm really not sure how to change that without dramatically altering the entire look of the blog. I'll keep plugging on, but for now here are three ponyfics to consider:

Broken Roads by Not_A_Hat
Friendship is Optimal: Broken Bird by Eakin
Batch-22 by The Plebeian

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

Broken Roads by Not_A_Hat
Dinky Hooves and Silver Spoon
Adventure; 10k words; Jan 2015; Everyone

Dinky Doo and Silver Spoon travel through a shattered world.

Here's an entry from the More Most Dangerous Game (in short: take a horribly clichéd setup and do something interesting with it), this one based on the post-apocalyptic prompt. The world is almost entirely in chaos, but Dinky and Silver – along with a few others – maintain the Retreat, a little island of relative order and life. Lots and lots of world-building here, notably regarding earth pony abilities. A nicely written relationship (not the romantic kind) between the principals, too. Discord is featured, but not in the way that setup might make you imagine. So is another prominent non-pony character, though it's important to bear in mind the publication date with that one. You'll see. There's a tad too much exposition in places, surprising given that much remains unrevealed, but on the whole this is something to get your teeth into. ★★★★

Friendship is Optimal: Broken Bird by Eakin
OC, Pinkie and Other
Slice of Life/Human; 4k words; Jun–Sep 2014; Everyone

In one small Amish community, the appearance of an injured Pinkiebot will change everything for one little girl and her family

I reviewed Iceman's Friendship is Optimal way back in PR 80. A number of authors have written side stories, and indeed Eakin has created several. In this one, which I do think requires at least passing familiarity with the basic FiO concept, the protagonist is Charity, a young Amish girl. Her upbringing means she has almost no familiarity with computers – and that makes a difference in the FiO world. I enjoyed Charity's interactions with the Pinkiebot, and indeed the latter's alien yet recognisable responses. Charity's parents are rather unsympathetic characters, but they fill their purpose here. I'm uncertain whether I like the later-added very short second chapter; it adds a little context but perhaps takes away from the strong focus on the main story. A strongish three. ★★★

Batch-22 by The Plebeian
Pinkie Pie and Twilight
Comedy/Slice of Life; 5k words; Jan 2014; Everyone

Pinkie Pie receives an order for twenty-two batches of cupcakes. What follows is an entirely logical progression.

Yes, this is a semi-satire of Catch-22 – which is of course itself satire. Anyway, this is written in an old-fashioned (even by 2014 standards) way that those who like the simpler, domestic settings of the early days may well find agreeable. I was actually startled at one point to be reminded that Twilight was a princess now. There's a lot of alliteration, done for comic effect but of somewhat variable effectiveness. There's also a running joke, which unfortunately long outstays its welcome, keeping track of the mistakes Twi is making in her conversation with Pinkie. The final line is amusing, but overall this probably falls into "trying slightly too hard" territory. ★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: stories reviewed should include Soap Box's Symphonies Rock.