Read it Later story count: 91 (nc)
Words read this week: 5,000
Rinse Cycle by HearthsEve
The Middlemare's Market by hawthornbunny
Dollhouse by pneu
Butterfly Stains by Kintsugi Sunset
The Development of a Lexicon of Epithets for a Diarchal Equestria by gloamish
★: 0 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 2 | ★★★★: 2 | ★★★★★: 1
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I enjoy an average amount scores two stars.
Rinse Cycle by HearthsEve
Snips and Snails
G4; Romance/Dark/Drama; 1k words; Jul 2025; Teen (Death)
In a small house far from help, two friends work through one more chore, one more secret, one more chance they might not take.
This author (or at least account; I don't know) has been active on Fimfiction since 2013, yet this is their only published story. And it's disturbing stuff. Snips and Snails are a bit older and in some kind of relationship, that much is clear. And in a bag they have... well, spoilers, but that [Dark] tag is there for a reason. There's a lot of work done here with implication and suggestion, which only works if the characterisation is good – as it is. This is one of those annoying fics you just can't say too much about, but let's leave it at: if the idea of these characters having a nice, happy, carefree life is your aim, leave this one alone. You'll be missing out on something special, though. ★★★★
NB: The author published an expanded version of this fic as a blog post.
The Middlemare's Market by hawthornbunny
Hitch
G5; Slice of Life; 1k words; Jul 2025; Teen
In the wildlands between the three pony settlements, there's a marketplace where the law doesn't go. At least, not officially.
Usual disclaimer: Hawthorn is a good friend, and I was happy we got to catch up at UK PonyCon. As for his fic, it's based on an idea I like a lot: that in the pre-Unity G5 world, there remained some interaction between the tribes, even if guarded, disguised and distinctly... unofficial. Hitch narrates in first person, and this lets a few flashes of his humour illuminate the otherwise strained, nervous feel of a place where – at least in theory – nopony knows who anypony else is. hawthornbunny even finds time for a small but lovely piece of worldbuilding that links Sunny to the story. This is great stuff. ★★★★
Dollhouse by pneu
Twilight
G4; Random; 1k words; Jul 2025; Everyone
Twilight Sparkle gets lost walking around the 𝕮𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖑𝖊 of Friendship at night.
And yes, "Castle" in the shortdesc is supposed to look like that. This is the Experimental winner, and like many such it relies on formatting to the extent that you need a full-sized screen; this isn't a phone fic. What we have here is a labyrinth of text, and I mean that literally. Spike has disappeared, so Twilight sets off through the maze to look for him – and so do we. It's very clever and reaches an ending that isn't in itself original but is reached in a very original way. I can't say I adore these Experimental fics that make themselves hard to read with weird formatting, but this one does it for a purpose, and that limits my irritation. Top-end three. ★★★
Butterfly Stains by Kintsugi Sunset
Fluttershy
G4 EqG; Dark/Horror; 1k words; Jul 2025; Teen (Suicide/Self Harm)
Something happened to Fluttershy. The stains are there to prove it.
My God this is devastating. And what's worst about it is that it is a story that is utterly, utterly human. You read that shortdesc (the longdesc is identical) and you fear you may know what's going on, but you read on to see, because you just can't help yourself. You feel compromised and dirty, you want to look away, to give Fluttershy dignity from you, at least—but you can't. And then you realise just how Fluttershy she is being in what she does. Not says, as there's no dialogue here, but there doesn't need to be. Look at her interactions with Rarity. Like so many of the most impressive horror fics, this one packs a lot into suggestion and implication. That makes it frightening beyond belief. I don't want this to get five stars because I don't want to have read about this Fluttershy. But honestly, I don't have any choice. This is one of the great thousand-worders. ★★★★★
The Development of a Lexicon of Epithets for a Diarchal Equestria by gloamish
Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Raven Inkwell
G4; Comedy/Slice of Life; 1k words; Jul 2025; Teen (Profanity)
Princess Luna missed many things in her time away. Perhaps least important among them was the formation of a lexicon of epiphets inspired by her sister, Celestia. She's about to learn how a bureaucracy prioritizes.
Not often we get Raven in a fic! But this is great fun. You know how people "swear" in Equestria mostly by saying things like "By Celestia!"? Well, here we have an entire Princess Meeting trying to come up with new swearwords. It sounds like it should be a disastrous "look, aren't I edgy?" setup for a fic, but in the event it's really funny, despite many of the jokes being the off-colour kind I'm not usually fond of. The sheer bureaucracy of it all is somewhat reminiscent of GhostOfHeraclitus's civil service stories, and that's a high compliment. The tiered levels of swears are almost but not quite what you'd expect, but the highlight is the interplay between the alicorns. (Cadance is here but not Twilight, which either places it in time or suggests Twi is embarrassed by the whole thing.) The very end didn't quite have the punch I was hoping for, but the rest is easily good enough for a top-end three. ★★★
I shall be going through five more Thousand Words Contest IV medallists next week, but this time they'll be ones I've picked out as looking interesting, not merely once that won a particular placing. Pascoite's story I accidentally listed last week, so I feel it only fair to consider it – and he has a good track record with me anyway, so I'm not complaining! The other four were picked freely. They are:
Bittersweet Memories by Shaslan
Always Has Been by Bandy
No Bones About It by Pascoite
Dinner and a Show by TheDriderPony
Aurora by Flashgen
oh shoot, five stars? :O that one's goin' in the barrel!
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