Read it Later story count: 143 (-5)
Spring is trying fairly hard to spring here in England, but a nagging easterly wind (quite a chilly direction here at this time of year) is taking the edge off any warmth when the sun isn't out. As such, I'm still doing most of my ponyfic reading indoors rather than in the garden or park. Just thought you'd be fascinated to know that. Here are today's three to ponder over:
Anyone You Want Me To Be by naturalbornderpy
Cold Case by Bachiavellian
Uhhhhh... by Between Lines
★: 0 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 2 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.
Changelings and OC
Sad/Slice of Life; 5k words; Dec 2015; Everyone
A changeling sets up a secret shop inside of Ponyville. He can be anyone you want him to be. Just don't ask him to be himself.
This changeling has run away from Chrysalis's hive, hence his presence in the archetypal pony town. This fic is presumably set after the S2 finale, although like other things about the fic that isn't made entirely clear. (At least some of the vagueness is deliberate, as an end A/N acknowledges.) It's a nice little piece, making use of the changelings' distinctive character to good effect. It's told in first person, which lets us share in the way he seems sometimes to be trying to convince himself as well as his customers that this is a good life for him. ★★★
Cold Case by Bachiavellian
Pinkie Pie, Mane Six, Big Mac, Spike and Spa Ponies
Comedy/Mystery/Slice of Life; 3k words; Jan 2016; Everyone
Another first-person fic, but this time it's told very much in the style and language of a gumshoe thriller. Pinkie is apparently narrating out loud, given her friends' reactions to her insights. There are obvious similarities in the setup with "MMMystery on the Friendship Express", but Bachiavellian deftly avoids making this simply a retread of old ground. The humour is drily amusing throughout, and though the culprit is unsurprising it's a cute, silly and in-character Pinkie short. ★★★When a special birthday cake goes missing, it's up to Private Eye Pinkie Pie to figure out which of her friends is the culprit!
Uhhhhh... by Between Lines
Twilight, Shining Armor, Mane Six and Trixie
Comedy/Random; 2k words; Jun 2015; Teen
He maintains this is the case even in front of the Bearers. Including Twilight herself, who is understandably less than impressed. Eventually, Trixie is brought in (well, brings herself in) to compere a gameshow between Twilight and "Twilight" to determine who is the real, er, Twilight. This is a great setup and it does have flashes of wonderfully silly comedy. A rather off-colour brief scene involving Rainbow won't be to everyone's taste (and is clearly the reason for that [Teen] rating) but a bigger problem is that the writing really needs a polish. There are enough basic errors (eg incorrect capitalisation of speech tags) that they distract from the story, which though fun isn't quite strong enough to overcome that. The ending doesn't quite hit as hard as it should, either, despite a great reveal just before it. With those things fixed and depending on taste maybe the Rainbow scene toned down this would probably have been a three. Potential here yes, just not fully realised. ★★Shining Armor decides he is Twilight Sparkle.
Next time, stories reviewed should include Perfect Prime's Octavia story Equestria's Second Best Cellist.
Another great edition, thank you as always! That last one sounds particularly intriguing despite the low rating...!
ReplyDeleteIt's a pretty high two even with the issues I mentioned, so I wouldn't try to dissuade you from giving it a look. Just mildly frustrating that it could have been a really good story instead of (for me) just an okay one.
DeleteA "nagging easterly wind", he says.
ReplyDeleteWe have two inches of snow! :D
It snowed here last week. :P
Delete