Ponyfic Roundup 338: Spotlight on Fluttershy's Bad "Hare" Day

Read it Later story count: 148 (+2)

It's been a little while since I've done a Spotlight review, but with the extra reading time thanks to my Easter break I've been able to rectify that. I do have several more longer fics I'd like to feature in due course – but it's fair to say that you probably shouldn't hold your breath, especially for those that get into properly long territory, which I define as starting around the 100k word mark. Anyway. here's today's story:

Fluttershy's Bad "Hare" Day by Pegasus Rescue Brigade
Fluttershy, Angel and Owlowiscious
Adventure/Comedy; 59k words; Apr–Jul 2012; Everyone

Fluttershy turns into a rabbit

This happens because of a simple misunderstanding, when Rainbow Dash mishears an instruction from Fluttershy. However, Dash is not important beyond kicking things off. Instead, we follow Fluttershy as she's taken under Angel's wing, er, ear and shown around the critter city that sits beneath Ponyville – as the two, with a certain wise owl's help, try to locate the antidote that will get Fluttershy back to being a pony. The Main Mare, as Angel insists on calling her, becomes ever more intrigued, though she can't help but wonder why other rabbits seem to defer to Angel, some even calling him capo. The adventure part of this story is a bigger deal than the comedy, but luckily it's got some nice twists. The Mane Six's pets are used to nice effect, not merely Owlowiscious but the others too; I particularly enjoyed how Opal and Tank were written. It's obvious from fairly early on what Angel is up to, and a twist near the end is pretty strongly telegraphed, but the journey to get there is generally quite enjoyable. Angel fans like me may have mixed feelings about his position in the critter world, but I can't deny it has a certain logic to it. ★★★

I'll go into a little more detail – with spoilers! – beyond the page break here.

So, Angel is a mafia boss? As I said above, I am more of an Angel fan than much of the fandom and so I did groan a little when I realised what was going on – but the idea is kept going strongly enough to work. Angel's language is a bit inconsistent, veering from the "Stick by me, kid, capice?" type to much more involved and complex speech that doesn't always sound like the same character. We never really find out how Angel made himself the top bun in the organisation, but I suppose that's not really important. It would have made a fun side story, though.

Fluttershy herself is fine. Considering this is a 2012 story, she's refreshingly free of her early-fandom tendency to run away and hide at every little setback. She still gets upset when things go wrong, though (and I like this too) more when others are hurt than on her own behalf. Jim's "death" is the most obvious example, and her fury when she realises the non-rabbit critters in the underground city are terrorised and starved into submission is quite satisfying. Her uncertainty about whether to finally forgive Angel is good, too.

It was nice how all of the ponies' pets got a role. Aside from Owlowiscious ("Owloysius" here, but that's common in older fics), Opal is somewhat in the just-reformed Discord role here: a reluctant hero who'd perhaps rather still be a villain. Tank's calmness and patience make him a fitting Director of the Haven, while Winona comes across – as she should – as largely another member of the Apple Family, just one who happens to be a dog. Gummy's philosophical, ruminative character is remarkable: it's startlingly similar to his "Slice of Life" turn – which this fic anticipates by three years. Even Peewee gets a part to play.

I'm not sure I entirely buy the explanation about inter-species communication: that large creatures (such as ponies and zebras) and smaller critters all speak the same language, but the critters do so too quietly for ponies to hear. It's quite an imaginative explanation, I'll give the author that – but it's definitely in the "you don't want to think about this too hard" category. Much the same goes for Carrot Top's rather odd, somewhat maniacal cameo. (Which involves Derpy. Putting those two together really is old-fandom stuff!)

So, do I buy the reformations at the end? Well... somewhat. This is Equestria, and it's canonical that villains and antagonists reform rather a lot. With Angel himself, I think it's reasonable given his personal attachment to Fluttershy. It's a bit more of a stretch with the other rabbits, even those close to Angel such as the Buttons (who could maybe have provided a little more comedy). Professor Snuggles not simply spilling Fluttershy's antidote as midnight approached seems oddly restrained in the circumstances, too.

Pegasus Rescue Brigade is probably best known, even now, for their very first story: Shipping and Handling, which I reviewed way back in PR 10. From memory, which may be faulty after seven years, I think I enjoyed Fluttershy's Bad "Hare" Day a little more. It's not startling in its inventiveness and the language itself is workmanlike rather than scintillating. However, apart from my few little complaints (there's also a little LUS near the start, though that fades) it's a pretty readable adventure.

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup, I'll be back to reviewing several shorter stories. These should include naturalbornderpy's changeling fic Anyone You Want Me To Be.