Ponyfic Roundup 81: Based on a Novel by a Man Named Lear

There are various new tags available on Fimfiction. Some authors are going back and changing their stories' tags as a result. I may or may not, but probably not. And if you think I'm going back through 400 reviews and changing them all to match, you're mad. :P Also, go and buy The Art of Equestria, assuming you haven't done so already. Full review coming at some point, but it's warmly recommended.

Another productive week for me in the ponyfic-reading stakes! Eight more stories under review this time out, with a pretty wide selection of genres and focus characters. I'm pleased to say that several of them turned out to be very enjoyable reads, too. I even managed to find an interesting fic from an author who is almost entirely unknown, something which is fairly rare but always satisfying. Stories reviewed:

It's Always Sunny in Fillydelphia by Bobcat
Language by Taialin
After Care by Ebon Mane
Shut Up by UnlicensedBrony

Of choosing and stones. by chil304
Racist Barn by Ponydora Prancypants
Filth by TheCheshireCat
The Big Butterfly Brouhaha by adcoon

Episode review: S5E22: "What About Discord?"

I can't help thinking of "Too Many Pinkie Pies" here...

I've been reading InquisitorM's long and interesting Fimfiction blog post on Fluttershy's psychological makeup, and I recommend you do the same. It reminds me that I've wanted to do my own post about how I see (and indeed write) Fluttershy for ages and ages now, but been too lazy to make it happen. I'll probably get it done eventually, but don't hold your breath.

All right, episode review time. This week's My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was written by Neal Dusedau, which did leave me a little apprehensive, since he was responsible for the teleplay of the pretty uninspired "Princess Spike". Still, plenty of writers have written a clunker and then a great episode, so let's see whether "What About Discord?" can live up to its promising title – and a brief preview clip that promised a lot of fun.

Film review: Friendship Games

Gee, I wonder who the final six contestants might be...?

It seems a while ago now – because it is! – but a few weeks back, I went with some of the other Worcester meet regulars to the Vue cinema in the city centre to watch Friendship Games. We'd all thought for a while that we weren't going to get a big-screen release, seeing as this third Equestria Games instalment was a direct-to-TV movie, but happily we were wrong. Kudos to Vue for reducing their usual (high) prices for this film, too. Attendance wasn't bad, a mix of bronies and familes. Anyway, on to the review! This is a short one, since otherwise I'm never going to get it done.

Fimfiction rules

There has, finally, been a Fimfiction site post about the recent changes to its rules. This should have happened immediately the changes were announced, but better late than never, I suppose. One bit of the rules that caught my eye (and I don't seem to be alone in that) was this:

Sharing access to unpublished stories or chapters is only allowed for the purpose of help with editing or other stages of the writing process.

In response to horizon's bringing this up, Xaquseg (one of the site admins) had this to say:

It's fine if the people in question are helping with the writing process, such as acting as additional prereaders, or commenting on an incomplete idea.

That's... interesting. It means, for example, that authors can't offer sight of their unpublished stories as Patreon rewards – unless, as ocalhoun appreciated, said supporters "act as additional prereaders".

Nudge nudge, know what I mean, say no more. :P

Ponyfic Roundup 80: Spotlight on Friendship is Optimal

Hmm, I think I'll start giving a little teaser each week about something I'll be reviewing the following week. See the end of this post for the first one! Anyway, it's been several months since I did a spotlight edition of PR, so let's do something about that now. Friendship is Optimal is just coming up to its third birthday, and I've known about it for most of that time, yet tended to shy away because of its unappealing (to me) tag combination and summary. Persuaded at last to give it a shot, it turned out to be worth the effort.

Friendship is Optimal by Iceman
Celestia [sort of] and OCs
Alternate Universe/Human; 39k words; Nov 2012; Teen

Hasbro just released the official My Little Pony MMO, with an A.I. Princess Celestia to run it.

That short description is unpromising, suggesting a story full of poor quality wish fulfilment. In fact, once you get past the "look how much I know about games" first chapter, it's mostly fascinating. More hard(ish) SF than actual ponyfic in some ways, Friendship is Optimal retains just enough plausibility and connection with our own world to be unnerving. "Celestia" herself is by far the most interesting character, with the humans generally a little less compelling, but it remains very readable throughout. ★★★★

More detailed discussion on this story can be found beyond the break, though be aware that this will contain significant spoilers.

Comic mini-review: Friends Forever #21: Spike and Zecora

Amy Mebberson's main cover is sneeze-inducing in itself!

I know, I know, this is horribly late! But happily, it's a comic that I quite enjoyed. Although you couldn't really claim that Ted Anderson and Agnes Garbowska had produced a classic here, it's still an enjoyable read. The plot, in which most of Ponyville goes down with an unpleasant illness, is fairly thin and mostly an excuse for throwing these two together, but it bounces along pleasantly. There are some fun touches – look carefully at Spike's genetics chart! Noteworthy is that Garbowska's style, which I'm not always a great fan of, seems to suit Spike in particular rather well. Reading this comic makes a nice way of spending a few minutes. ★★★

Episode review: S5E21: "Scare Master"

"Pinkie, when you said it was 'full of Fluttershy goodness'..."

With a title like that, there's only one pony that Natasha Levinger's episode could possibly focus on. Fluttershy eps have a bit of a mixed reputation, with some of them (eg "Hurricane Fluttershy") being brilliant but some (eg "Putting Your Hoof Down") being rather less so. On top of that, this is the episode that was released in error six weeks ago, so many people will have seen it long since. Thankfully, nothing seriously spoilery for intervening episodes happened – though it could have been very different! Let's see how this one went...