Right, here's an actual schedule!

Subject to anything coming up that I really can't push through, I am determined that I will finish my rewatch of Season 3 by the end of 2020. To increase the chances of my actually sticking to that, here's how I plan on posting each episode's review:

Sun 13/12: "Spike At Your Service"

Thu 17/12: "Keep Calm and Flutter On"

Sun 20/12: "Just for Sidekicks"

Thu 24/12: "Games Ponies Play"

Mon 28/12 "Magical Mystery Cure"

Thu 31/12: Thoughts on S3

A reasonably paced schedule, I think, and nearly a regular one at that! The exception is because I know from long experience that I tend to do almost nothing productive on Boxing Day (unless eating counts as productive). Given E13 is not one I want to rush, I've given myself an extra day to get that one done.

Ponyfic Roundup 323

Read it Later story count: 176 (nc) 

One of those weeks when there's not a lot for me to say up here. Hearth's Warming moves ever closer, and as ever I suddenly find that I'm running out of time to complete my shopping. (Obviously harder than usual this year as so much is dependent on Royal Mail et al.) I have three stories to cover this week, and here they are. Let's go.

Worshiping At The Altar Of Knowledge by TCC56
Crash Course by Kimono Rabies Pronger
Kill Your Heroes by pokefreak13

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

Getting back on the horse

Well, so to speak. I'm not sure these horses would be particularly happy about that! But I've been mildly unwell for a couple of days, and so I haven't really felt like doing anything much here. Ponyfic Roundup will be appearing as planned tomorrow, however, and I intend for my "Spike At Your Service" rewatch review to be up by the end of the week. :)

Ponyfic Roundup 322

Read it Later story count: 176 (-6) 

I'm going to follow my usual practice and have a week off Ponyfic Roundup at the end of the year. I intend to take advantage of that extra time to read a longer fic and give it a spotlight when PR returns in January. I know which story I'll be reading, but I'll keep you all in suspense for a little while longer. Now we turn to this week's three:

In Bloom by Pascoite
The Fault in Our Immortality by The Ravenclaw Queen
Winona the Immortal Dog by sunnypack

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

My Little Repeats 60: "Apple Family Reunion"

"Whaddayamean, ya never heard of batway surfin'?"

S3E08: "Apple Family Reunion"

Written by Cindy Morrow
22 Dec 2012

My original rating: 5/10 (=★★)
IMDb score: 7.1

The one with firelighter Spike

Thoughts: Surprise afternoon episode review! Back when I first reviewed this, I didn't think much of "Raise This Barn". My opinion of that song has improved quite a bit since, but what about the episode as a whole? Well, that has too. I still wouldn't put this in the same class as "Sleepless in Ponyville", but these days I find its down-home feel comforting in the way I do much of S1. Applejack also gets a proper letter to Celestia after her amusing get-out last season, and the moral she finds in the Reunion's events is one that I think has a lot of resonance for many of us in 2020 looking forward to seeing our family and friends again. There are some nice little touches – the fruit bats, baby Applejack, and of course the shooting stars representing AJ's absent parents – and Cindy Morrow gives the character interactions a warmth that I didn't quite grasp first time around. It's a real shame Babs never had a proper role again, as she had potential. Oddly, Braeburn doesn't get a speaking line, either. All in all, this goes into the "superior filler" category for me nowadays, and instead of the original two-star rating I gave it, I'm bumping it up to a solid three.

Choice quote: Applesauce: "A lady never reveals the age of her teeth."

New rating: ★★★

Next up is "Spike At Your Service", one of the worst received episodes of the first half of the show's run – but one I didn't actually mind too much at the time. Now? We shall see!

Desert Island Ponyfic

It's over to you today. Not permanently, I hasten to add! I do intend to do some work on this blog still. :P However, I have a medical appointment on Wednesday; it's a routine one, but it does mean Ponyfic Roundup will be on Friday again this week. So, in the meantime, here's a question for you:

If you were marooned on a desert island for one year without internet access, but you could take with you FOUR ponyfics, what would you choose?

You cannot choose stories you wrote or had a significant hand in bringing to completion. (I'll leave what counts as "significant" to your conscience.)

The stories you pick must also be currently and publicly available, so that readers can give them a shot if they like.

Other than that, no special rules. If you want to take four million-word unfinished behemoths, you can. If you want to take four perfectly crafted shortfics, you can. If you want to make all your fics crossovers with some weird anime I've never heard of, you can. Your move!

Sounds of 2013, nos. 6 to 4

It's getting very near the end, as the Beatles once sang. Only three more editions of "Sounds of 2013" remain, including this one. I'll be covering three songs today, two next time, and the track voted number one will get a post of its own. As usual, here are the criteria used to determine inclusion or otherwise:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the 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

The three songs included today are:

06: YourEnigma – My Roommate is a 'Bassist'
05: Ponky & Eccentrifuge – Bright Eyes (A Wonky Anthem)
04: EileMonty – I Am Octavia

As ever, if you want YouTube embeds and waffling from me, you'll find those after the page break. If not, I'm sure you've got more interesting things to do! But for those who do want them, read on.