), I do love fussing over stats where anything of interest is concerned, Fimfic included. Happily, I’m not alone (because duh Ghost Mike's Ponyfic Review Monday Musings #71 · 5:00pm Jul 17th, 2023
Yowzers, I’ve had a busy week. If an exciting one – filling in lead duties on managing the dev workflow on my team’s project at work while the lead engineer is off was something I was very grateful for, naturally. But between various things popping up, and other fics I read recently being confined to future weeks of specific groupings, this is one of the shortest weeks for fics in wordcount in ages.
[Why yes, I was so parched coming up with a lead intro blurb that I elected to cut straight to the Ponyfic talk this week, why do you ask? What was I gonna do, talk about my opinion on the two animated flicks I recently saw, Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken and Elemental? 
Yeah, right – leading with discussion of two mediocre flicks would put a damper on us all, and I learnt from past mentions of films I saw that such recounts get a bit involved and rather away from me. 
]
However, quantity doesn’t equal quality, that is very true here. I didn’t notice until after the fact that three of the five fics here are Royal Canterlot Library featured works, but it certainly explains the very strong overall rating. And even the softer fics this week are strong ones too. This wasn’t by intent or as a counter to some recent weeks of prominently soft fics, just a coincidence of scheduling. But it’s a rather fortunate one, and all the more welcome in this worldwide heat wave. Hottest temperatures ever Among the hottest recorded in Europe in several decades, you know (thanks, Logan)! So cooling down with some classy Ponyfic is all the more important, I think.
This Week’s Spectral Stories:
Mare of Many Hats by Skywriter
Petunia and the Coelacanth by CoffeeMinion
Four Truths by Decaf
A War of Words - The Opening of the Guard by Georg
Time by Fallowsthorn
Weekly Word Count: 20,352 Words
Mare of Many Hats by Skywriter
Genre: Comedy/Random
Applejack, Rarity, Breezies
2,312 Words
October 2015Reread
Listened to via Scribbler's reading
In the aftermath of her Friendship Mission in Manehattan, while bunking down for the night, Applejack reflects on the loss of her dear hat. Rarity is there to give her comfort, which Applejack appreciates. But there’s still no getting around the fact that she’s lost one of the links to her departed father. Leaving behind only 67,985 others to remember him by.
You have to applaud this for not only existing to reconcile the then-freshly-crushed fandom theory of AJ’s hat being a heirloom from her dad, but not remotely bothering to hide both in the packaging and in the fic itself that it is a dumb crackfic. Even in the first third, before AJ casually drops that she’s got almost 68,000 more (because Skywriter is that kind of writer, and skilled enough to make that joke work in context), the tone is knowingly ridiculous, from the way it handwaves the possibility of Applejack and Rarity being into each other, to asides about how the lamps are lit, to an utterly ingenious bit about how Equestrian smoke detectors might work. Thus, the opening bit manages to have its melodramatic buildup cake and eat its not being wheel-spinning for the reader too, no small feat.
Once the reveal is dropped, and Applejack swivels to how she got all these hats, it gets even more madcap in its types of jokes, from Apples being recklessly dangerous to this aloof characterisation of Ma Apple, to the amount of pot shots takes at the show. And unlike other fics, it doesn’t settle with Rarity pointing out the contradiction of Applejack being so upset over it, keeping her sympathetic yet in a way that fits the fic’s daft tone. The goofy wackiness modulates tone and pacing really well (I’ve read many crackfics that peter out at shorter length than this) and so this just zips by pleasingly.
If you’re never game for crackfics period, this still probably won’t swing you, but in the hands of an author like Skywriter, this shows how, when the premise is thought out and the side details allowed to make it funny beyond the absurdity of the premise, they can be quite the fun time.
Rating: Pretty Good
Petunia and the Coelacanth[ by CoffeeMinion
Genre: Slice of Life
Petunia Paleo, Luna, Rainbow Dash, Filthy Rich
2,708 Words
December 2018Reread
When budding fossil nut Petunia Paleo hears that a fish species thought to be extinct millions of years ago has been found alive – a living fossil – she is determined to see it. Alas, it is way too far to afford to travel there, much less organise everything needed to make a visit. But there is a princess who specialises in dreams, and not just dreams in the sleeping world.
A short little fable like this is not the sort of fic one thinks of when they hear “Featured by the Royal Canterlot Library”. And to look at the ingredients and raw incident, it doesn’t seem too special: a few scenes of Petunia bouncing from party to party to gather interest until it hits a brick wall, then Luna arrives to show that the dream is not dead. And yet, it just clicks together, perhaps not exceptionally, but certainly quite strongly.
Conceived as a children’s story – CoffeeMinion wrote it for his daughter, after a fashion – what makes this work is that, despite being a fast-paced, bouncy thing, ever-committed to Petunia’s peppy nature, and wringing much of its humour from her perspective and the adults’ nonplussed or dismissive reactions to her ideals, it is fully committed to speaking positively of having dreams that matter at a young age. Certainly it could give a parent pause on dismissing a child’s dreams and wants so readily. And as the fic is clear to emphasise this is just for the dreams that stick and matter, neither does it seem like unhelpful make-believe.
Regardless of that thematic level, the moment-to-moment execution is likely what sticks out here. As a fairy tale/fable (it starts with “Once upon a time” and makes it work), it gets that the better ones squeeze in more adult reflections or ways of looking at things that, rather than flying over the target audience’s heads, will challenge children and make them think. Or just make adults laugh (as with the consequences as it pertains to this story of the Mane 6 having published the Friendship Journal) or be impressed (as with Luna helping with aspirational dreams in certain situations. All in a story with numerous short scenes bouncing between each other, that while not entirely up there (the rule of three applied for the middle has a soft second) excels without being showy.
Culminating in a burst of pure positivity that gives surprising layers to Petunia’s parents beyond atypically “dismissive of their kid’s dreams”, the combination of atmosphere and character leave this being rather satisfying. I don’t know that it’s quite RCL-quality still – it’s not the kind of one-shot that leaves you breathless and agape at the power of what you read – but in many ways, that’s its strength: doing a strong fable, charming yet never pretentious. You certainly can’t go wrong here. Plus, it corrects archeology to palaeontology – always a plus!
Rating: Pretty Good
Four Truths by Decaf
Genre: Drama (w/Death)
Celestia, Discord
5,022 Words
November 2020
Discord has caused untold turmoil throughout Equestria in the name of chaos, and Celestia has exhausted every method of stopping him. In a last ditch effort, she appeals to his personality by inviting him to play a game. This being the game of Four Truths, where whenever a player loses a round, they must tell a truth never before revealed to the other. With everything on the line, and finding out quickly that you cannot out-logic a being of chaos, Celestia finds her ideals tested.
If there is one word for this fic, it’s intriguing. Both in terms of the fic’s content, and also in the text itself, from Discord’s curiosity in the challenge prompting him to accept on down. Battles of wits can often lead to many interesting layers being peeled away for both characters, and that certainly applies here. Doubly so with this being one of philosophies too. We have Discord with some levels of danger to his whimsy befitting this earlier timeframe, and Celestia voluntarily in a position where she must admit her darkest traits. Combine the two, and despite Celestia being steadfast to never meet Discord at his level, you have great morally-grey hero-villain chemistry here.
The truths revealed as the game progresses alternate between the comfortably familiar and the reasonably surprising, making for delectable enough meat. But it’s towards the end, as both players go against their instincts with opposing results for doing so (plus the complications of a third line of thought from another character) that the fic really sings. If all one desires from fics like these is the concepts of philosophical debate of the human pony condition, presented with outcomes that are quite foreboding in their own way, you’re in for a treat.
The fic as a whole isn’t fully up to that level. There’s the expected but still disappointing array of minor logical errors as well as aspects that dilute the tension (once one cops where this is happening, the conclusion is foregone). More noticeable is that, for all that what is here is great, it foregrounds where the points are cut off rather distractingly. Discord’s backstory aspects don’t amount to much in terms of informing the plot or being enough to satisfy; on the other hand, perhaps because Celestia’s truths inevitably aren’t totally new (she’s a popular character, don’t’cha know), they’re not as impactful as they might have been. That, and some vague elements to her truths leave what’s at stake not concrete enough.
Those quibbles do add up to a fic that is more intriguing than impressive, but it’s the best kind of intriguing, and thus while not as solid as a reading experience, it’s one I’m rather glad to have read. If not top-tier among fics pitting Celestia and Discord’s ideals against each other, it’s a very solid contender.
Rating: Pretty Good
A War of Words - The Opening of the Guard by Georg
Genre: Comedy/Slice of Life
Luna, Celestia, OC, Shining Armor
3,675 Words
December 2012
They say history is written by the winners, but even that history must be compiled from factual notes and background. Thus it is that the process by which mares began to be part of the royal guard has been painstakingly compiled in primary source notes by the Royal Historian, both via usual means and also from disposed personal correspondence. This is the collection of said notes available for anypony with clearance to write on the subject. Mind that you return it when you are finished.
My lord, it has been a while since I had a fic where I laughed as much as this. Not to say it’s the funniest I’ve found in that time period, but getting an actual sound out of me requires the joke to be surprising or have impeccable timing, on top of being good. The manner in which Georg uses the epistolatory format really does just that, thanks to the construction of the fic. He keeps the notes concise and focused, feeling like they would be written without being so short that they draw attention to their length. More important is that the context of how the notes were found and the side details of who is writing to whom aren’t always present and rigid as a lesser writer might do, but are added or removed depending on the letter. This sounds like it would make the story very hard to follow, but careful balance means there’s virtually none of that doubling back you might expect. This doesn’t just make the story stronger – it even mines comedy from the delivery, with jokes and grandeur coming from the trash cans even before someone in the letters cops on to this.
But this is, of course, a comedy, and while the opening is a little softer off adjusting the reader into the story, it finds its groove quickly and never lets go – my progress bar was only about 20% across (for a 3.7K story) by the time my grin was staying between the gags. All the more impressive given the topic: there’s plenty of stories that fumble a gender equalisation of the royal guard, but by making the tone playful without being random – the conclusion of Luna and Celestia’s growing opposing stances is inevitable and old, yet still works wonders – it hits that sweet spot of eliminating all cynicism without being just a jokefest.
Of course, this story isn’t just its A-plot, moving around other aspects of modern society Luna is reacting to, the two royal guard leaders grappling both with her demand and other parts of the job, a knock-on effect that has some notes from a royal chef, and others. The cross-cutting perfectly builds momentum and escalation (it certainly makes many of the jokes funnier), and even a use of one non-notes scene serves its function without breaking the pace.
I realise I have not said much about the actual comedy itself, past the pacing and switching keeping it fresh and making it funnier; I think the trick comes from most of it falling into a few categories of structure (mostly either Luna reacting with outrage, somepony dealing with heightened absurdity with a straight face, or bringing back a story thread seemingly resolved for unexpected mileage) and thus being able to attend to differing punchlines. With enough jokes outside that formula to keep it moving. Sounds way too structurally foregrounded, and yet in the moment, it breathes like silk and never calls attention to itself.
It perhaps doesn’t finish on its best comedy, and it’s not all that elegant in concept or goal, but between the construction, pacing, I just had a really good time with this, and was thinking about it for several days after reading it. Which, let me tell you, isn’t a given even for stories I like this much. Not likely too many folks won’t have read this over a decade on, but if you haven’t, it’s an absolute pleasure that’ll brighten your day.
Rating: Excellent
Time by Fallowsthorn
Genre: Drama/Slice of Life
Sunset
6,635 Words
February 2019Reread
Everyone in Canterlot High saw Sunset get blasted by the Elements, and then her lying in a smouldering crater, tearful and completely apologetic for her actions, mere moments later. For Sunset, her change to reputance wasn’t that quick, nor that sudden. And in the very Elements themselves subjecting her to a talk within her own mind, it was anything but easy and painless.
On the one hand, this is an EqG story, and a Sunset story, and a fixfic, attempting to add a scene into a canon event that will patch over a character writing weak point in the official media, and one that has a clear structure of going through all the Mane 6 in sequence. On the one hand, this is considered something of a modern classic (okay, it’s over four years old, but you get what I mean). I’m happy to say the latter wins out, hands down. It helps that the fic isn’t dismissive of the canon material like many of its ilk are, but is instead working with canon to produce something helpful and great on its own terms. Honestly, I feel bad even calling it a fixfic.
This fic has many reasons why it’s so great (its Royal Canterlot Library nomination had something different cited by everyone), but the big one has to be how it handles Sunset’s character development. This is raw internal drama, with the Elements’ personifications of the Mane 6 using the fact that they know her thoughts to find different ways to grill her, and slowly. And as stubborn as Sunset is, and as much as she fights and opposes the truths they lay out about the virtues they represent, about her actions, and about her, it wears her down.
For a story that’s basically all dialogue and thoughts in a featureless void, this never lags, and the structure and process never feel apparent: despite knowing the outcome, Sunset’s transition still packs power and surprise as it moves from Element to Element, and only at the end do you really think about how much each one laid the groundwork for the next and planted specific thoughts with Sunset that left her more susceptible to hearing out the next even if she continues to deny it verbally (I mean that in the normal way, not a brainwashing way). It helps that the time spent with each member shortens with each story (narrative escalation, don’t’cha know), but the layering and flow of the dialogue and events here is exemplary. That there are plenty of biting and effective lines of dialogue from all parties helps too; it really sells the reasoning therein and makes the fic utterly convincing.
That we get convincing examinations of the meaning of each Element helps too, largely depper and different than the norm (Loyalty-Dash’s in particular might well surprise you, though Generosity-Rarity was the standout). It wrings out what each means in a practical way, and when it’s not directly stated in dialogue, it’s implied or present in another form. Helped immeasurably, of course, by the Elements being just slightly off in how they emulate the Mane 6’s mannerisms that give them an alien, foreboding quality.
Add in plenty of side bonuses – just implying what Luna might have gone through in the show’s pilot is the standout – and the impeccable structure, flow, flavour, and rawness to this merciless psychological therapy session is an insightful, powerful delight to read, despite its content (though the E rating is correct). I suspect the only reason such a phenomenal fic that’s been acclaimed by everyone reading hasn’t seen more than 5.6K views is because its author only wrote four others fics, all frivolous and most of which were disowned. Either way, I really hope this recommendation spreads the love further. Even to EqG-cold folks like myself, this is a must-read (plus, this may be an EqG story, but they’re all ponies here, Sunset included).
Rating: Excellent
Spooky Summary of Scores:
Excellent: 2
Really Good: 0
Pretty Good: 3
Decent: 0
Passable: 0
Weak: 0
Bad: 0
You flatter me. That's not a complaint, by the way.
Yes, I have problems writing literature, but not litter-ature.
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The phrasing of this comment leads me to believe that at least one other story in your nearly-100-stories-thick-Ponyfic-resumé also involves written sources gathered from rubbish bins.
I see also that you are one of those writers who tend to respond to glowing approval from reviewers with comedic side remarks over plain gratitude. Which is fine! Such authors just stick out to me quite a bit.
Oh, A War of Words! Now there's a classic bit of Grade-A comedy I've not read in an eternity!
four really awesome stories, and one I haven't read that sounds like it belongs in their company! :)
Not quite. It certainly hasn't happened yet¹ and it's not at all certain that it will. Some of the media have really been putting the cart before the horse this week, which isn't exactly new for certain outlets. My personal hunch is that the all-time record won't quite be broken, but if it's going to happen then Greece is probably the most likely area.
¹ The high this summer so far seems to be 44.8 °C in Almería, Spain last week. Hot certainly, but several degrees short of the European record, which is 48.0 °C in Greece in 1977 (or 48.8 °C if you accept a so-far-WMO-unaccredited report from Sicily in 2021).
Anyway, back to ponyfic! Two Excellents in the same blog, which is a rare and lovely thing. I've read one of them myself (A War of Words) waaaaay back in 2015 and greatly enjoyed it. You've also reminded me that there's a sequel, which I've had on my RiL list for an age. Maybe I'll bump that up a bit. Four Truths I've read much more recently and also found good but not without a few quibbles. The story in this week's batch that really stands out to me is Time. I'd never heard of it before now, I don't recognise the author's name, yet you (someone who, as you acknowledge, doesn't always much care for EqG) absolutely adored it. That one is going straight on the RiL list.
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Granted, the fact that three of these were RCL-featured stories was a giveaway for them being one you'd covered before. But I still have to wonder, with the 6K+ stories you've reviewed: how often, when you read do you have to check your bookshelf or spreadsheet to remind yourself if you've read/reviewed it yourself?
Thus far, I've been able to remember on the spot when looking at other blogs, but almost-400-reviews isn't quite the same, is it?
As for the one you haven't read, it is a strong Pretty Good, so I would say yes, it'll belong there too! Pity it doesn't have a handy reading to accelerate it getting a look in for one as busy as yourself, mate.
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Duly noted, and I've amended my statement as such. For what it's worth, while it is often stuffy and humid here in Ireland, it's not all that hot, least in Dublin. Nothing like my memories of roasting in 31°C in a car in traffic one July afternoon as a tween, anyway. But it is hard to miss the general warnings and gossip all over the news on the matter.
Not as rare as two ★★★★★ in one blog for you, I'd wager! Considering a low Excellent is only a high ★★★★ on your scale and all that. Would be curious to know the last time you did get a double header there.
This is actually the 4th time it's happened this year for me, though the previous instances all carry asterisks – one was the blog's 1 year anniversary where I selected some of my favourite stories as a personal treat (there were three Excellent there), and there was the year's opener covering some of my fav Jinglemas stories (or equivalents) which had two. So they had intentional selection bias. Leaving just the author spotlight on mushroompone with two in his amazing horror works Womb and The Head. That last one may be legitimate enough, but this week is nonetheless the first time it's happened purely by chance on a normal, random week.
Believe it or not, this isn't news: I observed your reaction in browsing through the comments of the story after the fact. Though me, I did some digging into the sequel and found it had a more mixed reception off some peculiar plot, storytelling and character choices in the tale of the four mares earning their place and mutual respect in the sausage fest royal guard. And the specifics of some of those choices, coupled with the length of it (a rather short novel, but still a novel, and I'd rather start with ones I'm bound to love there), made me decide to not pursue it.
I gather author Georg is still very nearly as proud of it as the original, though. And we are talking about a few steps down from a brilliant fic, which still leaves plenty of room to be enjoyable. So, you should stick with it!
Yeah, we're pretty much in direct agreement, both in the rating and a decent amount of the specifics. Ponyfic Roundup was where I found it, of course.
Oh Logan, ever the polite one, aren't you?
I do think, on a personal level, my enthusiasm here was raised a not-zero amount by the fact they are all ponies for the story. Whatever I cannot whip up more than marginal levels of personal, gut enthusiasm for the human setting (hey, I could be iisaw and do a blanket no to all but the absolute best ones
), I am more than willing to roll with the dramatic character potential in things like Sunset's journey, when done well. So a story that provides the latter without needing the former has a leg up for me.
You can see this in that, of the 20 EqG stories I've reviewed to date, 1/4 of them are completely in Equestria, just with characters who have crossed over and come back (or will cross over, Sunset backstory stories, you know). And a further three (among which I include this), fall into a limbo of being split between the human world and Equestria, making such dramatic use of the alternate world potential that the human world aspect barely bothers.
So, some little things help.
But with the right EqG story, one done really well and which could not be done otherwise, I remain open.
I think the only reason it might not get a ★★★★★ for you is if some of the views and ideals discussed within don't fully align for you, either in terms of agreeing with them or them being convincing. Otherwise, it may (may!) be the rare ★★★★★ shoe-in.
Ruby Gillman feels like a bit of a shame, being what looks like a passion project that isn't just the Nth iteration of X major franchise. I admit this is just from reading the plot, but it appears to carry the extraordinarily terrible message of "Your bigoted grandparents who hate a certain race are right."
As for Elemental, well, further proof that Pixar's usual is getting tired and old, and audiences are moving on. Can't wait for the same to happen for superhero movies.
At any rate, Skywriter is a treasure and Applejack even moreso. Having myself pre-episode written Applejack's hat as a precious heirloom (which she loses with poignant indifference as she works to save lives around her), this is delightful subversion which I'm not sure how I missed earlier. it shall be rectified.
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when it comes to just stories in general, I simply have to click the link and see if it's already on my reviewed shelf :) if by chance something leads me to a story I've read, but whose review is yet to be published, there's a good chance I'll recognize it as such (I don't leave a lot of stories marked read and voted on)
it's when I'm looking through audiobooks that I have to go to each video and find out where they put the damn story link, if they did, and it's annoying >:P
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…You know, considering I use this exact tactic when I don’t recognize the story, I probably shouldn’t have had to ask the question in the first place.
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Indeed, it’s for this reason I was rooting for it, even as it was clear from the film basically only being announced 4 months ago (both media reporters and I hadn’t heard about it before then!) and the scraps of marketing, that Universal was abandoning it to the wolves.
Whatever else can be said for it, there is passion and a soul to it, even if the end result doesn’t provide much of anything that sticks. If it has generic and flat writing pretty much the whole way, it is at least not over-laboured and coated in flop sweat from trying and failing to make a head of things like… well, like Elemental that I saw the same day.
That isn’t entirely incorrect, but it honestly isn’t really a thing in the experience of watching it, because unlike other recent examples of movies with inadvertent toxic messages (hello Raya!), this isn’t a message movie whatsoever, beyond the adolescent themes (seeing it the same day as Elemental, and its over-laboured and mangled immigrants metaphor setting and story, really made me appreciate that this didn’t have anything on race or species beyond the practical text of the situation). And while it has an inconsistent tone all throughout, it’s bubbly and upbeat and frothy in a manner that makes it not really the kind of film that you feel like picking apart there or in world-building, even if you could. A world of difference from all the recent post-Zootopia animated films, where the focus on those kinds of themes, and a “coherent” world, all but demands we focus on the way they inevitably mangle themselves up.
Speaking as having watched it, the film ultimately frames all three generations of kraken as having made mistakes in how to raise and inform their offspring, and balancing listening to your parents. That the mermaid ends up being just as bad as the grandma says is never really “the point”, and it’s not done in a manner that really prompts reading any kind of “bigotry is right” reading to it, for the characters or the audience. In the text of the film, the mermaid instigates every conflict of violence, so unless one wants to penalize the film simply for not being about why their race hates the krakens, or for having a villain that is just “bad” (if anything, in this day and age, we should welcome that), that reason he is kind of a stretch.
Amen to that, brother. While we still get massive hits like the last MCU Spider-Man movie, and the normal- big successful in GotG Vol. 3, more and more are underperforming or outright bombing, so… audiences are tiring to a degree, certainly.
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Fair nuff. We do live in a charged environment where any movie is analyzed for subtext. And I think that's fair, lest we fall back into rooting for the cowboys shooting the Indians whilst claiming in the next breath that it's just a harmless movie. But 'Actual Literal Evil' will always have its place in fiction.
Me, I'm just a history nerd pumped for Oppenheimer.
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Two five-star reviews in the same blog? That's happened... once. And that wasn't entirely by chance, as it was in Ponyfic Roundup 200, in which I chose stories that were especially highly rated. Otherwise, never, though there have been a few occasions when two successive Roundups have both had a five.