Ponyfic Roundup 535

Read it Later story count: 89 (-2)

Words read this week: 30,861

As I anticipated last week, the endless blue skies have... ended. The weather now isn't awful, but it's much more typical of England in April. That means plenty of cloud, some brisk winds, scattered showers and the like. Just the weather for sitting inside with a good ponyfic! Talking of which, here's what I've been reading recently:

The Same Scenario Repeated Three Times by Seer
Celestia's Prophet by Aegis Shield
Late Night Snack by GrangeDisplay
A Little Bittle of Sunshine by River Road
In His Image by daOtterGuy

★: 0 | ★★: 2 | ★★★: 0 | ★★★★: 3 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I enjoy an average amount scores two stars.

The Same Scenario Repeated Three Times by Seer
Twilight and Rarity
G4; Horror; 3k words; Nov 2020; Teen (Death)

Twilight has been studying so much recently, so Rarity comes over to try to shake her out of it. Then, the next day, Rarity comes over again.

This is a really unsettling story, which for this genre is a definite plus. On the surface, it's a simple time-loop fic of some kind, with repeated actions and dialogue. But then a little more becomes apparent, and then a little more still, and then... oh, it's not all spoonfed to you, but by the end it's pretty clear how justified that [Horror] tag is. In their admiring comment (spoilery), mushroompone uses the word "fractured" to describe Twilight's mind here. When you see the bigger picture, you'll see just how appropriate that is. That rare fic that is terrifying while remaining absolutely convincing as being canon Equestria. Very clever, very effective. A highish four and recommended even if you're not a huge horror fan. ★★★★

Celestia's Prophet by Aegis Shield
Celestia [and... well, read the review]
G4; Adventure/Human; 16k words; Mar 2015; Teen

Celestia visits a dangerous creature in the heart of Canterlot's dungeons, asking it to predict the future.

It's Lauren Faust. Look, if you've been in the fandom for more than ten minutes, that will be obvious almost immediately, so I don't consider it a spoiler. The author keeps that "mystery" going too long. If you discard anything with real people as characters, then you can also move on now. For those remaining: most of the story consists of Celestia's conversations with Lauren. In and of itself, the chats have some interest and there is the odd genuine emotional hit. A few nice bits about how the ponies are coping with Faust's presence, too. The biggest snag is that neither of the principals is characterised believably. I can accept Celestia being brutal in a greater cause if the story makes the case for that, but having prisoners savagely beaten for minor disturbances, or guards threatened with gelding if they don't sign NDAs? That's surely not canon Tia. Lauren doesn't come across like the real person, either, and swings wildly in how much she seems to care about the consequences of her creations. There are also some writing missteps, occasionally very uncomfortable ones – notably "virile" being used of a twelve-year-old Shining Armor, ugh. This fic has well over 30,000 views and a +2,991/-88 thumbscore, but I'm largely with Chris here. I would actually be interested to read a "Most Dangerous Game"-style fic with this basic setup, but Celestia's Prophet comes across more as an S1-era "Fausticorn" relic; I was amazed to find it was actually a 2015 fic. Just about two stars from me, though partly for being less of a car crash than many fics featuring Lauren Faust as a character. ★★
NB: Several commenters compare this with a fic called Machinations in the Dark, but that's incomplete and hasn't been updated since 2017, so I ain't reading it. :P

Late Night Snack by GrangeDisplay
Apple Bloom and Rainbow Dash
G4; Drama/Sad/Slice of Life; 1k words; Jul 2024; Everyone

Apple Bloom ventures to the kitchen to grab a late-night snack, but instead, she finds Rainbow Dash.

This was a Thousand Words Contest III entry. It's a pretty simple story, reminiscent of older fandom times, though that in itself is nothing to be ashamed of. I do like it when there's a rare team-up in a fic, and Rainbow trying to relate to Apple Bloom is rather nice, especially once we find why the filly isn't asleep in the first place. It's a pity there's a rather shoehorned bit of shipping (don't worry, not involving 'Bloom) in there as part of the plot, and the story is very overwritten in places. ("The eyes of family members eternally encaptured in photos", for example.) Still, as a thousand-worder it's adequate in conveying a mood, even if I did wish for a little more actual bonding between the ponies. A middling two. ★★

A Little Bittle of Sunshine by River Road
Alphabittle, Izzy and Other
G5; Slice of Life; 7k words; Nov 2021; Everyone

Before Izzy, there was another pony who did his best to make the town a little bit brighter.

Alphabittle backstory! And really nicely done it is, too. In seven thousand words we span the whole period from his early colthood right up to the events of A New Generation. There are so many gaps and uncertainties left by film canon, and River Road does an excellent job of filling in quite a few of them. Alpha is written very sympathetically here, and by the end you're absolutely certain he's one of the good guys. His interactions with a younger Izzy, although few, are also lovely reading. I laughed several times, despite this not being a comedy, but if you wanted one word to describe this fic? It would be "warm". Great stuff, enough so for a four I think. ★★★★

In His Image by daOtterGuy
Flash Magnus
G4 AU; Horror; 3k words; Oct 2023; Teen

Flash Magnus bargains for the Flame of Prometheus to save his people

The first in the author's "Corrupt Pillars Anthology" AU series, this is fascinating but not gentle, even allowing for its harsh setting. In this universe, the god Prometheus created pegasi, but was dissatisfied with what he had made. When he tried to "improve" them, the pegasi rebelled. Now, though, there is a terrible plague and the only cure seems to be the flame of Prometheus himself. What we see here is in some ways a well-worn story: how much would a hero sacrifice to save their people? But the way in which daOtterGuy tells it is not something I've ever seen before. Forging creatures from clay is not a brand new concept for "god" stories, but the thing here is that the author follows through on the implications of that. Which are... well, [Horror] is the genre tag for a reason. The ending has a terrible beauty to it. Not an easy read, but one worth the pain. ★★★★

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Next time, I'm going to have a themed edition! Plenty of us could do with some light relief at the moment, and so all next week's fics will bear the [Comedy] tag. To be precise:

Beating the Deadbeat by BikerPon3
Metagaming by Snowday_Pegasus
Starlight Saves Equestria With Custard by hawthornbunny
Lyra's Deepest Secret by Palm Palette
Regarding the Need for Sex Education by GaPJaxie