Ponyfic Roundup 385

Read it Later story count: 92 (nc)

For a little while I thought that external factors (nothing too bad) would mean I'd have to delay this week's PR by a day. In the event, though, things have resolved themselves and so I'm here on a Wednesday as usual. Four more fics for your perusal today, and be prepared: precisely none of them this time are of the silly knockabout comedy variety. Anyway, here they are:

Schemering Sintel by N00813
All the Time in the World by Vis-a-Viscera
Tatters by Habanc
Below the Dream by Sumiye

★: 0 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 2 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.

Schemering Sintel by N00813
Twilight and Spike
Dark/Adventure/Drama/Sad/Tragedy; 30k words; Oct 2012–Apr 2013; Teen (Gore)

Many years ago, Spike was kidnapped. Now, Twilight has finally found him and his abductor.

In this grim RCL-inducted epic, Twilight is haunted by her failure to reach Spike before he was abducted by another dragon. Eventually she sets off to find him. She will do anything to save him. Anything. This story is largely told in alternating present-day and flashback passages, something which I found a bit irritating at first but eventually came to terms with. Twi's iron determination sees her bit by bit change from the pony she used to be, and her character changes are smoothly done so that it shocks but doesn't necessarily surprise when Pinkie's parting gift is used in ways the giver may not have imagined. At this point I'll note that the gore tag is warranted; this is a fairly hard Teen rating. As for what Twilight does when she finds Spike... I found that section pretty hard to read, though that's not a criticism of the writing, more that the relentless logic of it all leads Twilight, and us, to a distinctly less than fluffy conclusion. The world-building is very good, and even though it's entirely incompatible with more recent FiM canon it's still believable in the context of its time. Twilight's extreme power level, achieved with outside help (she's not an alicorn yet) feels a teensy bit convenient at times, but not so much so as to derail the story. It's interesting that the "ending" of this tale actually takes up about a third of the fic, but it was well enough crafted to keep me reading, and the very end was certainly worth the wait – if not quite what everypony might have wished. (Aside: "schemering" is Dutch for "twilight", while Sintel is a short film on which the fic is loosely based.) This is not for you if you want something bright and cheerful. But if you're up for something not only very S2 but also much darker than the show's take on ponies, this really is worth the time. ★★★★

All the Time in the World by Vis-a-Viscera
Starlight Glimmer
Drama; 3k words; Jul 2020; Everyone

Starlight stews over her exile from Our Town, and comes to a new opinion of the Elements who 'saved' it.

Something we haven't seen much at all since 2015: a story set during S5, after "The Cutie Map" but before Starlight's return in the season finale. Here, Glimmy is stuck in those caves and monologuing angrily to herself about how unfair everything is. Well, more so about how unfair her life is: there's serious bitterness here, not all of it entirely unrelated to the canon events of her earlier life. There's the odd slightly silly touch ("One symbol to rule them all") and a gentle but nicely judged passing mention of a non-Mane Six pony – but mostly this is Starlight narrating through gritted teeth. It gives extra oomph to her motivation in "The Cutie Re-Mark", and I suspect most people will nod along to at least one of her complaints – and then maybe stop to think about that. It's not exactly a relaxing read, but it is interesting. ★★★

Tatters by Habanc
Luna, Celestia and Twilight
Romance/Sad/Slice of Life; 5k words; Feb 2014; Teen

For Luna, nothing ever seems to go right. Except when it does, it's wrong.

This is a "depressed Luna" story, told in first person from her perspective. What sets it apart from most such fics is that here Luna actually seems to have depression. However hard she forces herself to work on matters of state, she can't truly believe that she is worthy of her position. She lashes out at her sister, and there's a strong implication that she finds it very hard to get out and about. This is leavened somewhat by Twilight's love for her (yes, in the TwiLuna sense – they're a couple here) and from the author with a few fun puns, though those are concentrated early on. (Football fans may appreciate "Trottingham Hotspur" and "Chelsneigh".) It doesn't quite work perfectly, largely because Celestia seems oddly characterised. She isn't shown as depressed, yet she comes across as quicker to anger with her sister than I find entirely believable. Still worth reading, but not without its flaws. ★★★

Below the Dream by Sumiye
Big Mac and Applejack
Sad/Slice of Life; 1k words; Jul 2015; Everyone

After the defeat of the Tantabus, Applejack decides to confront her brother about the very 'interesting' thoughts he had used.

Set (and written) in the wake of the events of "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?", this fic has a premise that could easily lead to extreme silliness: Applejack asking her brother about his Princess Big Mac appearance in the episode's shared dream. It turns out Mac wasn't just taking alicorn form for the fun of it. It's nice to see Big Mac's inner thoughts treated seriously, the extreme importance of family is relevant, and I like that such a thing comes out of a moment most of us grinned at. Unfortunately the fic only does it superficial service, and everything is wrapped up unsatisfyingly neatly come the end. One of those fics where there's a decently interesting idea in there, but where that idea is not quite brought to full flowering. ★★

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Next time, I hope that stories reviewed will include Tchernobog's TwiJack romantic comedy Minor Details! Thought I'd reward you lot with something a little lighter next week!