Read it Later story count: 123 (+1)
It's a busy week in the world of Pony, isn't it? Hence this week's PR being out a day later than usual. I expect to be back to Wednesday next week. Anyway, not a lot else to say today, so let's get on to the stories under review.
Baby Limestone Rides to War by CoffeeMinion
Killing All the Right Ponies by ObabScribbler
Rain by DeiStar
★: 0 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 2 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.
Limestone Pie, Pets and Igneous
Random/Slice of Life; 2k words; Dec 2016; Everyone
With one brand-new baby sister and another on the way, young Limestone Pie is mad as Tartarus… and she's not going to take it anymore!
Described (accurately) by the author as a "cute and silly drabble", this is an amusing little piece. Limestone is not keen on the recent arrival of Maud, and even less keen on the approaching arrival of the as yet unknown Pinkie and Marble. So, naturally, she decides what she needs is a battle steed. There being none in the vicinity, she presses a nearby alligator into service, with the help of her trusty pacifier (dummy) and her own iron determination. Guess who the gator is, too. This does what it says on the tin, but it should be welcome for Limestone fans who aren't all that well served by ponyfic. ★★★
Killing All the Right Ponies by ObabScribbler
Braeburn, Applejack, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie
Romance/Drama/Tragedy; 15k words; Jun 2021; Teen
An Apple family member comes to Ponyville to make angry demands of Princess Twilight in the middle of a personal crisis.
This, however, is not a cute little drabble at all. It's the sad story of Braeburn and his boyfriend, Crescent. The latter suffers from PIV, which has very obvious parallels to exactly what you'd think – although there's some really interesting and imaginative background to explain how such a condition might work in Equestria. Braeburn tries to help his love and then... well, it's no mystery what happens, since this is a non-linear narrative, and that aspect works pretty well thanks to some solid writing. I really liked Applejack's characterisation here, which was perhaps the most satisfying aspect of all. Pinkie shows her serious side, too. I found the continuing existence of a particular relevant law a bit of a stretch, though, even with the in-story explanation – though I do bear in mind that "Trade Ya!" made a very different but similarly ridiculous rule canon. This is why Twilight is important: as a princess, surely she can do something about such laws? While this is a moving story, the parallels with our own world's HIV politics are so close that there's little tension as you rather know what's going to happen most of the way through. Spoiled Rich being hugely unpleasant wasn't exactly a surprise, either. I can't quite shake the feeling that the obvious personal importance of this fic's subject to its author (which comes through in the "References" section at the end) did perhaps get in the way of the actual story on occasion. It's still a worthwhile and touching read, though. (NB: there are three inline notes, but I couldn't get their links to work either on my phone or on PC.) ★★★
Rain by DeiStar
Trixie
Sad/Slice of Life; 1k words; Oct 2012; Everyone
Trixie wanders through a rainy forest, wondering if she did something useful with her life.
Note the publication date: this is pre-"Magic Duel" Trixie, so there isn't much background to go on beyond what we saw in "Boast Busters". The story's setup is simple: that she has lost her wagon and is trying to make her way back to Ponyville, though the exact reasons for this are left a little vague. The story is nicely written, more so than a lot of fics of that vintage, but it's all a bit "woe is Trixie" and doesn't really go anywhere. The ending is not really much of a surprise if you've read more than one or two similar early Trixie fics. Probably one for aficionados of this kind of story. ★★
Next time around, stories reviewed should include Flammenwerfer's sad, dark CMC fic The Flower Mare.
Another great instalment, these all sound really interesting, even the Trixie one you didn't care for. Thanks again :)
ReplyDeleteAs ever, you are very welcome. :) There's at least something worthwhile in all of them this week, I think. The one I trailed for next week intrigues me, too...
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