Sounds of 2011: Nos. 10 to 7

It's time again for... this! Just four posts to go in this series if you count this one. As I've mentioned before, there will be a "Sounds of 2012" at some point, but it won't take quite so long. Also, Pony Music Library will be getting another inductee fairly soon, hopefully before S9 of Friendship is Magic begins. Okay, here are the next four songs from Everfree Radio's Top 100 chart for the first full year of FiM:

10: zahqo meets d.notive – Hand For Hoof

This is an unlisted video on d.notive's account, which gave me slight pause – but it is available and this is a specialist MLP blog, so I feel okay featuring it here. The unlisted status may be because this is based on "The Conversion Bureau", a sometimes controversial class of ponyfics involving human-to-pony transformation (and more; see the TVTropes page I linked to) that were very popular in the earlyish days of the fandom and which people still occasionally write. The song itself is a nice, fairly simple piece of electronica with some good lyrics wherein the two artists alternate lines. Worth a listen even if you don't care about the fics that inspired it, and there's a 320k MP3 download link in the video description.

9: WoodenToaster – She's a Pony [remix]

A remix of a General Mumble song, itself based on a track from Pirates of the Caribbean, WoodenToaster's version is a cross between pirate derring-do and Pinkie's "Grand Galloping Gala" song from way back in S1E03. It's more electronica – if there's one thing the Everfree Top 100s tend to do, it's to give that genre a little too much prominence – but it's a nice bit of swashbuckling silliness all the same. Not too long, either, at a mere 3:17. I'm afraid I can't find a download in HQ, though there may be one somewhere. I'm just a silly pony.

8: The Living Tombstone – Good ol' Days (feat. Mic the Microphone and Jackle App)

You know how recently I mentioned that there was a 2011 The Living Tombstone song I really liked? Well, this is it. Making use of the chorus from Jackle App's "Autumn" (which has previously featured in this series) this is a fantastically energetic number that might even get me up and dancing... if I ever danced. Which I don't. It's both happy and nostalgic, a difficult combination to pull off, and Mic's vocals avoid the problem of Tombstone's sometimes overbearing accent, something that badly affects some of his other old songs. You can grab a 320k MP3 from the video description.

7: RainbowCrash88 – Fighting is Magic - Twilight Sparkle Stage Theme

A fantastic early track from the guy now known as RC88, this is Twi's theme from the ill-fated Fighting is Magic. As I've said before, the artist went on to compose music for the replacement game, Them's Fighting Herds, but this one is pure Pony. It really captures Twilight's energy and ability, with some lovely glockenspiel-esque notes and nicely judged references to songs such as "At the Gala". This is great even if you have no interest in the game, though sadly the song listed as inspiration in the description is no longer available. For HQ versions, pay $1 on RC88's Bandcamp.

Next time, yet another song by The Living Tombstone. And two others.

S9 air date and second official trailer out

We have a second official trailer for the final season of Friendship is Magic, courtesy of Hasbro. This is if anything more spoilery than the first trailer so I very strongly advise you not to watch it if you don't want to know anything about the S9 premiere. Even if that's the case, though, you may want to come back to it in a month's time as it uses a brand new and (to me, anyway) very affecting piece of music.

( Text link )

One non-spoilery piece of news is that the show will resume on Saturday, 6th April. So we won't have to wait until Easter after all!

Beyond the page break, a few thoughts on the trailer. These will of course be full of spoilers.

How to get your story reviewed in Ponyfic Roundup

I'd like to begin by saying that this post isn't my fault: someone, who as I'm feeling in a good mood shall remain nameless, wanted me to make it. I resisted for quite a while, since it seemed so silly, but this someone probably wasn't going to stop asking until I actually did make said post. For those odd enough to want a PR review, then, a few pointers.

Read this blog
That's why I'm posting this here and not over on Fimfiction! The place I'm most likely to see your comment is in the comments (funny, that) of an actual PR post. Please don't comment in a totally unrelated post, as that won't help you get very far at all. That said, I'll happily accept requests and suggestions via my Fimfiction PMs if you'd rather make your case privately.

Submit complete stories only
This is a very nearly unbreakable rule: I do not enjoy reading stories until I know there's a conclusion waiting at the end. Your fic needs to be marked "Complete" for it to have a chance. I say "very nearly" because I did make an exception for Proof Reading Clopfics Sucks (PR 112) and Cheerilee's Thousand (PR 208) as their format made them pretty much self-contained as they stood.

Don't squick me... too much
I don't read much Mature-rated ponyfic, but I don't rule it out. I won't read foalcon under any circumstances. I can deal with some fetishes: I've reviewed stories covering BDSM and exhibitionism, for example. As far as gore goes, I've read Cupcakes and have zero interest in reading yet another terrible new version. I may accept even M-rated gore in the service of an actual story, though. Bear in mind that my favourite pony is Fluttershy, and that I think cruelty is the worst sin of them all.

Expect a wait
At the time of writing, my Read it Later list is north of 250 stories. I don't read in strict adding order, so if the fic you suggest really grabs my attention, it may not take long for me to get to it. Some stories still haven't been reviewed after two years on the list, though. I just don't have enough spare time to read 50 stories a week.

I like one-shots
This is connected with the previous point. If I can read one 70,000-word fic or ten 7,000-word fics, I'll usually choose the latter. Not always, as my occasional Spotlight editions demonstrate, but you're definitely more likely to be reviewed if you submit a short piece rather than a million-word epic. (Again: I am not going to read, much less review, Project Horizons.)

Know what you're getting into
If you're on Fimfiction, you'll probably already know that its reviewers are rather tougher than the ones you get on FanFiction.Net. While I'm far from being the toughest around, and won't insult you personally, I'm not going to hold back if I think a story has serious faults. Seriously: don't ask for honest thoughts if you can only deal with praise.

Give me feedback!
When my review of your story goes up, I would love to talk to you about it, especially if you want to pick up on anything I said. I leave the comments here open, including to anonymous users – though please at least sign a name if you go that route. As with stories themselves, your comments and criticism will help make my reviews more useful.

Ponyfic Roundup 240: Newcomers Edition

This week's PR is a special edition: every one of these stories was published by an author who began life on Fimfiction on or after 1 January 2017. They're a mixture of fics their authors asked me to review, fics I had recommended to me and fics I found myself that seemed interesting. I specified that stories should be complete and no more than 20,000 words long, but otherwise there were few restrictions. 

Read it Later story count: 268 (-2)

Since I expect to have a few people reading today who aren't regulars around here, I think I should underline that my ratings are based on how much I, personally, enjoyed a fic. A five doesn't mean everyone will love it, and a one doesn't mean everyone will hate it. Also, as ever, if you enjoy writing ponyfic then that's reason enough to do it – but I won't sugar-coat these reviews. Here are the six stories I've read for today:

Every Day is Sun-Day by Silent Whisper
Joy and Reflection by Halira
The Minds' Insanity by Silence_EXE
Muted Wubs by pabrony83
Terror of the Flutterbat by Discord The Narrator
A Week in the Winter Storm by Samuel-Neocros

★: 2 | ★★: 3 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.

Griffish Isles announces Lee Tockar as Guest of Honour

Those who know me will also know that up until now I've been a little disappointed with the dearth of information from the one-day Griffish Isles convention in Manchester, given that it's now barely two months away. Conventions aren't cheap, and nor are most Manchester hotels, so for most people cons need to be a bit more than "a big meet with games" to justify the outlay.

However, yesterday there was a proper, big-ticket announcement: Lee Tockar will be GI's Guest of Honour and will host a panel on the day. As I'm sure most people know, Tockar has had several voice roles in Friendship is Magic, most notably Steven Magnet, Snips and Gummy. This is definitely a coup for the con. It's going to be hard to match the immense popularity of Elley Ray's visit last year, but I hope they can do it!

And since someone's bound to ask: I really don't know if I'll go. If the con were in Birmingham, it'd be a near-certainty. But of course it isn't. I really wish Brum got as many Pony cons as Manchester – or any at all, actually! Manchester is just close enough for me to visit for the day, thus saving on hotel bills, but the train ticket is well over £40, so realistically with con entry, food and a little merch I'd be looking at a £100+ day out.

As such, doing GI and UK PonyCon in the autumn may not be something I can justify. Since I'm not staying overnight, I can make the decision very late on – unless tickets sell out, of course! Still, none of this takes away from the fact that Griffish Isles have now got something specific and eye-catching that they can point to and say, "This. This is something you'll get if you join us in May." And that has to be applauded. Well done, GI.

Spoiler policy for MLP:FiM S9

Here's how I'll be handling things on Louder Yay this year. This may be tweaked a bit as the year goes on, but I expect it to be roughly the same all season.

In brief, I'll do my best to avoid spoiling people on what's coming up – but I won't have a long spoiler blackout after Discovery Family has aired an episode. Once I've written up the episode review, I'll consider that episode fair game. This is consistent with what I've done in the past and is roughly what I do on Twitter, too. Since the reviews generally appear on Monday at 8am UK time, that will give people around 40 hours to catch up. Because of the way this blog works, a long spoiler blackout period is not practical.

I do reserve the right to make changes to this policy if it becomes unsustainable; I'm not really willing to avoid writing anything at all above the break! If we get another situation like with Twilicorn, which was pretty much an open secret months in advance, things may get awkward. On the other hand, if we get another lot of leaked material as with S8, discussion of that I will try to hide under cuts. I'll do my best to give everyone a heads-up if I need to change anything, at any rate.

Officially sanctioned previews such as trailers and synopses will be handled on a case-by-case basis. I don't personally consider those spoilers, but some people do and I'd like to respect that. The recent S9 trailer was embedded above the break, since its thumbnail revealed only its April start date – that's an example of the sort of non-plot-related information I will not consider spoilery. However, the content of the trailer was definitely spoilery, so I made sure to discuss that only after a page break and with a prominent warning.

The comments sections are not something I can realistically pre-moderate, so please bear that in mind if you read those. I do hope that commenters will be considerate, but I am not going to place any outright restrictions on them – except that I will delete comments with really blatant spoilers of the "Chrysalis is a changeling!" or "Twilight's tree gets blown up!" type. Blogger doesn't allow me to edit comments, so I can't just remove the offending word or phrase and leave the rest intact.

I hope that's clear. As ever, I'm open to suggestions and questions about all this.

Sounds of 2011: Nos. 14 to 11

If you haven't already done so, get yourself over to HAHcon – the Horses at Home Convention, a 100% online con that lets you experience the Pony convention experience without leaving home! Starting 2:45pm UK time and running on into the early hours of Sunday – schedule here.

Okay, back to Sounds of 2011. Thankfully, it's now pretty certain that I will be able to wrap this series up before Season 9 of the show gets under way next month! Off we go.

14: StormWolf – The Beginning of Order

This song was written by StormWolf (now JoshLohMusic) to match the theme "The End of Equestria", and is a Eurobeat-style number inspired by Discord; pre-reformation back then, of course. The lyrics aren't the best, and they sometimes feel rather squashed into their lines, but it's still a pretty catchy song. The artist wasn't really happy with it at the time, and remade it in 2012. That later version is noticeably more polished, but as usual the one embedded above is the 2011 original. There's a 320k MP3 download linked in the video description.

13: The Living Tombstone – Sister Hate feat. Mic The Microphone

Yet another early outing for The Living Tombstone here. As you can probably guess from the video thumbnail, this song was inspired by "Sisterhooves Social" in early S2. As with a number of early Tombstone songs, I'm not a massive fan; the guy's accent is strong and the lyrics often don't even try to rhyme. The melody and beat are fine enough, if stereotypical TLT, but I'm honestly a little surprised with how high up the charts this song landed, even in 2011. Again, there's a Mediafire download for a 320k MP3 in the video description.

12: Jackle App & Mic The Microphone – One Trick Pony

This one, which I should warn has explicit lyrics from the start, is on Jackle App's account, so that's where I'll link. I'm not entirely sure what this one is about, though it seems to have a message that creating what you enjoy is perfectly fine even if you're not (to use a term that I don't think existed in 2011) horse famous. I get the feeling it may have been made in response to some early-fandom drama I wasn't around to experience. Mic does the rapping verses, while Jackle App handles the distorted electronic chorus. There's a more popular 2012 Tombstone remix, but I'm afraid the Dropbox link for the original is dead.

11: Alex S. – Party with Pinkie

And we're back with the king of the early-series show remixes, Alex S. This fun track uses samples from seven of Pinkie's S1 solo songs, from "Giggle at the Ghostly" to "Singing Telegram". It sounds exactly like you'd imagine an Alex S. song would sound, though for once I actually feel this may be a little too short at 4 minutes 30 seconds. The creator made a later VIP version, which is both a bit longer and technically more accomplished, but quite a few people prefer the raw sound of the original. For a 320k MP3 download, hit the video description.

Next time, we move into the top ten! And guess what? We'll have an old Living Tombstone song that I actually really like. :P