Ponyfic Roundup 528

Read it Later story count: 92 (+1)

Words read this week: 22,543

I don't really have anything of interest to say here, but when has that ever stopped me? I will note that we're now getting to the point in the year when if – if – the sun decides to come out, it can almost feel springlike. I even sat outside a pub with a drink the other day. For about ten minutes before I got too cold, but still. Anyway, back to the ponyfic. Five stories this week as usual, and here's the list:

Pumpkin Talk by Heavy Mole
Try by Nailah
More Than Her Mane by Westphalian_Musketeer
Ever After Never Came by Thunderbug80
The Best and the Worst by Shrink Laureate

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

Sounds of 2015, nos. 45 to 41

It's back to "Sounds of 2015" today, and things are really hotting up. Actually they're kind of doing so in real life as well, since as I type the sun is out and the sky is (mostly) blue, which makes a change after the endless weeks of grey drizzle we've endured in these parts up until recently. Never mind; it's time to blow any remaining clouds away! The usual reminder of my inclusion criteria first:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

For the past couple of weeks, I've had to skip at least one track. This time around, it's back to the full five, although I'm afraid I still couldn't find official HQ download links for most.

45: Sim Gretina – The Pony I Want to Be (remix)
44: TheIronPony & Michael Picher – Rio's Ballad
43: Foozogz – Faded
42: Scraton – Wireless
41: Lenich & Kirya – Love Me Cheerilee (cover)

And now we're done with that, come with me for embedded videos, a few facts and figures, and my trademark semi-pointless ramblings about each song.

My Little Repeats 179: "The Parent Map"

Early-series Twilight doing this at her library might have been fun

S8E08: "The Parent Map"

5 May 2018

My original rating: ★★★
IMDb score: 7.4

The one with chocolate perfume

Thoughts: This is a reasonable enough episode, with a reasonable plot leading to a reasonable moral. It doesn't do anything I hate, and it's nice to see Starlight and Sunburst teaming up, but by Celestia it's predictable in its overall direction. The "don't touch the books" bookshop is strange, all the more so as Firelight does handle them later with no comeback. You do wonder what Starlight's dad was doing while his daughter was off brainwashing ponies. I do like the tension between modernisation and preservation, but then I do live in an old town in Europe! As in 2018, I rather wish that had been the central conflict here. And where are our heroes' other parents? Even a line would have been nice. Some nice visuals and jokes, such as those gates, but even some of those get reused noticeably often. Not a terrible ep, but a bit flat compared with other family-based episodes like "Parental Glideance". All in all, a time-passer of an episode rather than anything more; just too predictable to be more than that. I think only a smidge above the purely run-of-the-mill, which means a top-end two-star rating now.

Choice quote: Stellar Flare: "Use your words, Sunburst."

New rating: ★★

Well now, let's see what's next on the list. And... "Non-Compete Clause". Oh. Well, it has to be done, doesn't it? I suppose. See you there!

Ponyfic Roundup 527

Read it Later story count: 91 (-1)

Words read this week: 17,002

A very low word count this time, partly on account of having only five days to read, note and write up, rather than the usual seven. Yeah, I know I ought to get a couple of weeks in advance exactly so I can ride over these bumps without too much issue, but I never seem to manage it. Nevertheless, I did get all through all five fics, and as a reminder they are:

Immortal Beginnings by Snake Staff
So Her Legacy Will Endure by PresentPerfect
Pink Geode by Faeforches
A meeting by IsaSpSp
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Midnight by Jade Ring

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

Sounds of 2015, nos. 50 to 46

A milestone passed today, as we enter the top half of the Equestrian Trot 100 chart of most voted-for fandom music tracks of 2015. Not all of them were originally released in 2015, but that's irrelevant. The point is that the people who voted still found them worth voting for in 2015. And now I've used the year three times in three sentences (four in four, if you count the title) I think it's time to move on! The usual reminder of my inclusion rules follows:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

Last week, I had to skip two of the five songs for non-compliance with those criteria. This week, I can improve a bit: I only need to skip one track today! I hope to get back to a full slate soon, but we'll have to wait and see on that score.

50: Scraton – Ponies
49: skipped
48: Notion – Stop the Bats (remix)
47: PrinceWhateverer ft. Rockin'Brony – Ace of my Heart
46: 4everfreebrony ft. Lil' Everfree – Otherwise

That's the introductory stuff over and done with, so it's time to continue to the section that has actual music in it...

Ponyfic Roundup 526

Read it Later story count: 92 (+3)

Words read this week: 32,686

It's been a hard week for me, but after the music post the other day, I'm feeling that I'm ready to get back into the routine of bloggishness. You'll be getting a "My Little Repeats" about the next S8 episode ("The Parent Map") before too much longer, but first it's Ponyfic Roundup time. Five stories as usual when there's no Spotlight fic to hog all the limelight for itself, and here they are:

Can't Choose Your Family by CyborgSamurai
The Heart Thief by Sharaloth
Button Squash (Or, Maud Doesn't Write About Rocks) by Rinnaul
Moonbug by Sledge115
Supper of Scootaloo Stew by Lucky Dreams

★: 0 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 3 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I enjoy an average amount scores two stars.

Sounds of 2015, nos. 55 to 51

Back to the usual run of things now. Because this post is a day later than usual, and to space things out a little, Ponyfic Roundup will be on Friday this week. Today, though, it's time for "Sounds of 2015", in which we complete our look at the bottom half of the Equestrian Trot 100 music chart for that year. As usual, here's my summary of the inclusion criteria:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

Well, it was always likely to happen sooner or later. After a run of full houses, this week I've come across not one but two songs that I can't find still up anywhere officially connected with their artist. As such, I'm afraid they will have to be skipped. Here's what you are getting this time, though:

55: &I ft. Giggly Maria – Dive
54: skipped
53: FritzyBeat hugs PhonyBrony ft. Chi-chi – Hush Now
52: µThunder – Make This Castle a Home (remix)
51: skipped

All right, next up comes the bit you're actually interested in, to wit the songs! Even if there are only three of them today, let's set off at once.

In memory of Entei-rah

You may wonder why I haven't posted anything here for nearly a week. The answer, I'm afraid, is a sad one. Entei-rah, a wonderful friend who I'd known for well over 20 years, succumbed to his cancer on Saturday, and I've been knocked sideways by the news. I'd known the destination was inevitable for some while now, I just hate so much that the end came so quickly. I'm going to miss him terribly, indeed I already do, but I'll always remember him as one of the absolute Good Guys.

Although furry was the place where Ent was most active, he was also a quiet but dedicated supporter of the MLP fandom. He was a regular presence with his wife at UK PonyCon each year, and he attended quite a few Worcester ponymeets – the last of these as recently as December. By that time we knew he was seriously ill and I suspect he found travelling down from Stockport tougher than he let on, but being Ent he was more concerned with making sure we all had a fun, light-hearted meet as usual.

Entei-rah and I first met way, way back in the Watership Down fandom in the very early 2000s, in the days when Yahoo Groups were still a thing. From there he moved into the furry fandom, and in the last decade he took more of an interest in Pony as well and supported that with the same energy and enthusiasm he put into all the many things he loved. As he said in his Twitter and then Bluesky profile, "Luna is best something something..."

Farewell, my friend.

Ponyfic Roundup 525

Read it Later story count: 89 (-2)

Words read this week: 23,459

Just think, it'll be spring next month. Since that's my favourite season (usually) I'm quite looking forward to it, although the English weather being what it is I expect plenty of false starts before we actually get something I could fairly call springlike. It'll certainly be quite some time before I'm able to sit outside to read ponyfic, but here's what I've read this week while firmly indoors:

My Little Red Dwarf by JimmyZD
And The Serpent Said Unto The Princess by UndomeTimwe
Under the Harvest Moon by Rangelost
Her Song by marmalado
Without Another Word by Jack of a Few Trades

★: 1 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 1
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I enjoy an average amount scores two stars.

Sounds of 2015, nos. 60 to 56

Here we are in February, then. Almost spring in these parts, at least in theory if usually a bit less so in practice. It doesn't seem all that long since I began on "Sounds of 2015", and yet here we are, rapidly closing in on halfway in the Equestrian Trot 100 music charts for that year. Before we go any further, here's the usual reminder of the rules. At leat one of the first three needs to happen to trigger inclusion; rule 4 is an additional one that's rarely used.

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the/an original artist.
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this.
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out.
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion. 

In terms of inclusion this time, it's another week when there's a full set! The days of 2011 and 2012, when I had to skip at least one track on many occasions, seem a long way away now. Having said that, they'll probably come back to bite me next time, but that's Future Logan's problem! The list today:

60: OhPonyBoy – Only Pony
59: oodorato2 – Halloween Rocks!
58: Aviators – Dragonheart
57: Aurelleah – Forever
56: 4everfreebrony ft. Chi-Chi & Relative Pitch – Chant of Mirth

The introductory formalities out of the way, we can now proceed to the meat of the post: the actual songs! Here goes...