Ponyfic Roundup 336

Read it Later story count: 145 (-3) 

It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights. Neither of which are much use on a text blog, so instead let me move on to the actual meat of the matter. I haven't had a lot of spare time recently, but I have at least got some ponyfic read. (And even a little written, believe it or not.) There are, as usual, three stories under the wobbly microscope today, and they are:

Motherly by Trick Question
As the smoke fades by RarityEQM
Linked by Wheels by JourneyCatMLP

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

Motherly by Trick Question
Chrysalis and Changelings
Dark/Drama/Sad; 3k words; Mar 2013; Teen (Violence, Death, Profanity)

Princess Chrysalis comes of age with the help of her mother's "love".

Trick Question's RCL entry was her submission for FanOfMostEverything's "Imposing Sovereigns" contest, under the category "Usurper Chrysalis". It's a fascinating and disturbing look at the twisted moral and emotional values of a changeling hive. The grub Chrysalis, after narrowly escaping death at the hands of her mother, gradually grows in a way that's rather impressive for such a short story. If anything, though, the existing Queen (Chrysalis's mother) is an even more compelling character and raises questions about what love really means in that setting. This is dark all right, as pre-reformation changeling fics tend to be – but it uses that darkness rather than simply showing it off, and it's all the better for that. Recommended. ★★★★

As the smoke fades by RarityEQM
Octavia and Vinyl Scratch
Slice of Life; 1k words; Aug 2015; Teen

Octavia waits up for Vinyl Scratch and contemplates while taking in a smoke.

At exactly 1,000 words I wasn't expecting much from this, but it's a bit better than just a writing exercise. This is a close-up, introspective piece narrated by Octavia herself. I'm not sure I can entirely buy her as a smoker despite the justification given in the fic, but the glimpses of her family background and her beginning in music are nice. I also like the version of Vinyl we see through her eyes, with just enough hints of the two's wider relationship to be satisfying. It's rare I give a minimum-word fic more than two stars, but – as long as you don't mind reading single scenes – this one deserves it. ★★★

Linked by Wheels by JourneyCatMLP
Scootaloo and Rumble
Romance; 1k words; Mar 2014; Everyone

Scootaloo and Rumble spend the day together.

Here's another story that's spot on 1,000 words. It's a foalhood crush fic, and I do rather like the way Rumble describes (to us) his admiration for Scootaloo's abilities and character. It's also nice how the qualities of the two of them complement each other, as seen by the end. However, this is a pretty standard minimum-word fic, with a very predictable progression and nothing much happening beyond that. Inevitably at this length of story, the time between adoration from afar and mutual love is unnaturally rapid, too. One for RumbleLoo fans, I think. ★★

---

Next time on Ponyfic Roundup, stories reviewed should include BlazzingInferno's S1-set romance Shell Game.