Read it Later story count: 89 (+3)
We seem to be having summer in these parts now. The forecast suggests it may even last as long as Friday. Naturally, therefore, I'm sitting at the PC typing up a set of ponyfic reviews! Four stories as usual, and this is the list today:
Author, Author! by Pascoite
The Hanging of Twilight Sparkle by The Pink Mugsy
That time Carrot Top fell into a rut by Hemlock conium
Secrets & Truths by Mistyshadowz
★: 1 | ★★: 2 | ★★★: 0 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.
Pinkie Pie, Celestia and Applejack
Drama/Sad; 7k words; Jul 2012; Teen
Although they're less common now, there used to be quite a number of fics playing on the notion that certain ponies (often, as here, Pinkie) could see out of the TV at us, the audience. This one is more thoughtful than most, though, in particular in its exploration of what it means to have your life literally written for you, and what happens to that life after the show itself is over. Pinkie's extended discussion with Celestia about this is the highlight of the fic, taking this beyond "we're make-believe characters!" and exploring some serious topics surrounding morality, free will and even causality. There's the odd line that doesn't seem quite as well constructed as more recent Pascoite writing would be, and there's one apparent (though I may be mistaken) passing reference to a notorious old Pinkiefic (by a different author) that I'd rather wasn't there, but they're very minor bumps. Chris felt some might find the story a smidge preachy occasionally, but that aspect didn't bother me. Pinkie is very much her early-series self and so different to how she actually is at the close of FiM – but this is still impressive use of a setup more often found in silly comedy but here asking some rather deep questions. Recommended. ★★★★Pinkie Pie discovers that breaking the fourth wall isn't all it's cracked up to be.
The Hanging of Twilight Sparkle by The Pink Mugsy
Twilight, Celestia, Luna and Mane Six
Dark/Sad/Tragedy/Alternate Universe; 24k words; Jan—Mar 2014; Teen
They used to love her. Her name was one of respect, one denoting a being whose very actions have saved the land multiple times. She once had a bright future before her. Now all that is before her is a crowd, crying for her death.
I don't read much grimdark fic, and when I do it's usually little one-shots. A 24k-word grimdark is a rare excursion for me, but I'd had this waiting in Moon+ Reader Pro for ages so I thought what the hay. Anyway, we follow Twilight, condemned to hang for mass murder – including that of a very high-profile character – the shattering of the Elements, and more. In the condemned cell before her (public!) execution, she's visited by Celestia and by other Manes. She's the POV character nearly the whole time (I didn't like a couple of hops into Celestia's head) and we get a lot of her thought processes, the most interesting parts of the story, especially when Twilight reaches back to scenes from her fillyhood. It's all very bleak, with only occasional sparks of hope that are quickly snuffed out. Three things drag it down for me: one, the author's refusal to provide a real motive for Twilight's crimes, something that feels more like a cop-out than a truly daring literary move; two, a frankly odd scene involving Rainbow Dash; and three, that I find it very hard to believe a land that could behave like this is Equestria, even allowing for that AU tag. Still worth a look if you like grimdark (this is a high two-star rating) although the tacked-on "alternate ending" (which it isn't, really) doesn't add much worthwhile. ★★
That time Carrot Top fell into a rut by Hemlock conium
Carrot Top and Berry Punch
Slice of Life; 5k words; Mar 2022; Everyone
Carrot Top finds herself stuck in a rut.
Fics in which one relatively minor event (here, "pony falls into a hole") is stretched to several thousand words are nothing new. This one sees Carrot Top do what it says on the tin. It's a big rut, too, several ponies deep apparently. The fic seems unsure how comedic it wants to be, though Berry Punch's drunkenness is played up once she arrives, which to be fair produces a couple of pretty funny interactions with Carrot. The story's biggest problem is its writing: it's possible the author may not be a native English speaker. For example, soil is referred to as "cold, callus and herded", which is nonsensical in English, while elsewhere we get "the cat's share" when you'd expect "the lion's share". There are also a number of major typos, a few of which make understanding close to impossible (what is "portinable" supposed to mean?) This makes it unenjoyable to read, sadly. A thorough edit could make this a considerably smoother read, but right now I can't recommend it. ★
Secrets & Truths by Mistyshadowz
Applejack and Rainbow Dash
Romance/Slice of Life; 2k words; Jun 2022; Teen (Sex)
A simple game of Snakes and Ladders brings out a small truth about Applejack she didn’t think she’d be admitting for a while.
Ah, you may think, this is one of those fics where AJ admits she's gay! Well, not quite. In this Applejack and Rainbow are already a couple, though the [Sex] tag doesn't refer to anything "on camera". The mundane backdrop of the board game is a good choice for the conversation, and I like Dash's acute sense of when AJ isn't quite with it. The reveal comes a bit too near the end and makes the final section seem rushed, and what is there is just a tad too preachy and encyclopedia-entry to really convince. Rainbow's reaction is cute, though, and I like the ending. A highish two that at this length is probably worth checking out, since it does do something slightly different with AJ. ★★
Next time, I hope that stories reviewed will include mushroompone's CheeriDash crackship Two-Player Game.
Secrets and Truths was only published 12 days ago. Is this the quickest a fic's ever popped up on Ponyfic Roundup from publication? In all the time I've been paying attention to such things, anyway. Which is only some of the time I've been following the blog, and even that's less than four years of the 8 you've been doing this. So, eh, probably not! But quickest in a while, if nothing else. Anyway, its rating is at that level where I may or may not give it a look. We'll see.
ReplyDeleteNot a strong crop this week, mind! The only other fic here I'd check out, Author, Author!, I've read some time ago (and perhaps undervalued, my rating wasn't the equivalent of a ★★★★). But sure, not every week can be a winner, can it?
Is this the quickest a fic's ever popped up on Ponyfic Roundup from publication?
DeleteI don't keep records, but it's probably pretty close. I'd be very unlikely to add a fic during the week before its publication -- one rare possible exception being if a planned fic got nuked and so I needed another in a hurry, though more usually I'd just review one fewer that week.
As for Author, Author!, when I first read it I felt it was on the three/four boundary, so I thought about it for a couple of days to see which side of the line it might fall. Although in sheer writing terms it's maybe not Pascoite's very best (because he's got better in the years since) I concluded that the ideas it presented were a sufficiently interesting take on an often hackneyed setup to be worthy of the higher mark.
"cold, callus and herded" is one of those phrases that hits that "well, this makes no sense" button hard enough that it flips around and starts convincing me it's some kind of deep genius <.< I mean, it's poetic if nothing else.
ReplyDeleteYes, this was very much a reaction piece, trying to do something different with the tired "Pinkie breaks the 4th wall" trope that's usually played for comedy. I can see how it comes across as preachy, and as you noted, it's a very old story. I didn't even notice until several days after reading last week's reviews that this story was on deck, so it was a nice surprise! I would have guessed a lower rating than 4 stars, so that was also a nice surprise. Thank you for your review and all the time that you put into reviewing.
ReplyDeleteI've got the second story's first chapter marked as read, but I don't have notes on it anywhere, so I don't know under what circumstances I would have read it. I don't even remember enough about it to state an opinion.
You're welcome. As I said to Mike, my initial feeling on the score was three/four boundary. I suspect the fact that I haven't read very many fics taking a similar path helped push it into the higher category. It therefore felt refreshingly different, even all these years on. I don't think it's in the class of your very best stories (The Art and Science of Letter Writing is the one that comes to mind) but I think it's a cut above most even in 2022. I won't say it's a high four-star rating, but I'd quite happily read it again looking for things I'd missed, and I certainly don't regret the four.
DeleteOf course, the next story of yours I read may be one that everyone thinks is great and give it a two! But that's reviewing, I suppose. Sometimes you just don't feel a fic the way other readers have.