Read it Later story count: 122 (-3)
I've been incredibly tired this week for some reason, but a little bit of ponyfic rarely does any harm in clearing the clouds. No Flutterfics today I'm afraid (though there will be soon!) but there are the usual three stories. While I'm here, I do have a couple of plans for themed editions of PR, but they'll need me to have the time to read at least five fics to be fun, so I won't set a date. Anyway...
Track Switch - Frankfurt Calling by Celefin
Some days... by TheNorthernT
A Fact for Twilight by bookplayer
★: 1 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 2 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.
OCs
Slice of Life/Second Person/Human; 6k words; Oct 2018; Everyone
Railway stations are strange places to be stranded in late at night. Sometimes they even contain unicorns.
Do you like Admiral Biscuit's SoL fics? If so, you'll probably like this. Indeed, at least one place name is a direct nod to AB's stories. Track Switch has a similar tone and solid, well-researched feel to those, even though I've never travelled on German railways myself. It's also way up there in terms of second-person fics, admittedly not always that hard. "You" are stuck on the platform at Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof after Deutsche Bahn's service lets you down, but you meet and befriend a cleaning unicorn and get talking. She turns out to be quite the character. Yes, the Earth-Equestria portal is real, though not treated here as world-shaking news. Indeed, I really like the calm world-building in this fic, with lots of interesting details dropped in naturally. The odd reference I don't get but nothing serious. Oh, and for my fellow Brits, a "switch" is American English for what we call a set of points. Anyway, very solidly enjoyable which brings a top-end three; the RCL-inducted sequel has been added to my RiL list. ★★★
Some days... by TheNorthernT
Twilight
Dark/Anthro; 1k words; Jan 2015; Teen
Princess Twilight Sparkle tries her hand at writing, but her duties to the kingdom comes first.
The basic premise here, that Twilight is suffering writer's block but that what she goes through in her own life helps with that, is a decent one. Unfortunately the execution is lacking. Being "summoned" by Celestia seems inappropriate given that this is Princess Twilight, while the [Anthro] tag seems to be here only to allow a mildly leering scene about Twi's bedroom attire. Later on there's a really very unpleasant twist whose circumstances seem most unEquestrian. ★
A Fact for Twilight by bookplayer
Twilight and Applejack
Romance; 5k words; Sep 2012; Teen
When Applejack asks Twilight on a date, Twilight realizes something about AJ that she never noticed.
There's no build-up to AJ's question: that's pretty much the starting point as Twilight is the POV character and hadn't previously suspected. She reacts to the unexpected invitation by... well, being vintage (2012-model) Twilight, ie panicking a bit, calling for Spike and looking for books on dating. Like Applejack herself, this story is a straightforward one without too many quirks. The dialogue is solid and the ending is cute. I wasn't a huge fan of supporting character Rarity, who comes over a little mean-spirited, but possibly some will find that a bracing change to the "everyone loves everything" tone of a lot of fluffy shipfics. This is broadly speaking fluffy shipping, though, and the good characterisation makes you believe TwiJack can really work. Another high three. ★★★
Next time around, stories reviewed should include CoffeeMinion's Baby Limestone Rides to War. Because, really, how could I resist a title like that?
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