Fic recs, February 22nd! · 12:10am February 23rd
No matter how you write dates, it's four 2's and a 4! Pretty auspicious. :)
Which for me means it was the first day in the last three or so I didn't spend the afternoon suffering severe nausea due to a new medication. x_x Life is hard, man.
Along with a bunch of reviews, I've also got a new reader today! That doesn't happen often!
H: 0 R: 4 C: 4 V: 0 N: 0
Residual Highs by Gusto Starstorm
Reading (part 1) by Scribbler, et. al.
Genre: EQG Drama
Last night, Sunset really screwed up. Today, she'll have to live with that.
I've read many, many stories about Sunset dealing with the aftermath of the Fall Formal. Granted, they are usually based a good bit more than 24 hours after it; that's just one way in which this story makes itself stand out. The title refers to the aftereffects of magic on not just Sunset, but the Humane Five as well, here represented by Rainbow Dash. (Not a spoiler, even Sunset realizes she should have put two and two together much sooner.) This leaves them in a state of wondering just how long the good feelings are going to last, and dreading coming down from that high. I've certainly never seen that topic approached before! And there's plenty more to love about this, from the author immediately remembering that Sunset is from Equestria to her living with Celestia and Luna, and the way Celestia decides her punishment should go, to the final scene, which I won't spoil save to say that it is a wholly unique way to, again, approach a common story subject, that in hindsight makes perfect sense. It's not all perfect, though. Sticklers may rankle at the head-hopping and large amounts of "the red-haired girl", while Rainbow Dash's argument in chapter 2 I felt was missing something. Seriously, when presented with "Do you know what it's like to be mind-controlled?" she comes back with, "Do you know what it's like to have wings?" These things are not the same, and I was really needing her to state outright that the traumatic part was having them taken away. Which, y'know, still not equivalent, but seeing that Equestrian magic had a lasting effect on the good guys as well as the bystanders is, again, wholly original, and the unspoken words are at least reinforced come chapter three. All in all, this is grade-A Sunset angst surrounded by a whole host of great ideas.
Recommended
Twilight Makes Coffee by Kodeake
Reading by Midnight29
Genre: Slice of Life
Twilight wakes in her new home in Ponyville.
What to say about this piece? It is not, thank goodness, just a coffee fic, but a meditation on what it's like to move into a new home in a new town, when you're someone who, like Twilight, suffers from various neuroses and anxieties and general poor self-esteem. It's rare to see a story taking place directly after the show's pilot that spends any amount of time talking about the logistics of moving a bed from Canterlot to Ponyville. And if I sound at all hesitant in praising this overall, it's simply because the ending felt quite abrupt and left me with very little to talk about besides. I mean, it almost comes off as a punchline: it has the delivery of one, save that this isn't a comedy and it's not inherently funny. I don't think that's a downside though, I was just a bit blindsided by it, is all. Really good work with Twilight is the takeaway here, and a few nice touches that authors don't tackle often.
Recommended for Twilight Fans
Regrets by Donnys Boy and Professor Piggy
Reading by Agent0Fluffy and Animelodie
Genre: Romance/Drama
A night out with her marefriend turns sour when Applejack sees Rarity flirting with other ponies.
I'm not sure I can fully articulate how much the word 'marefriend' gave me whiplash. Up until that sentence, I had assumed this was one of those "pony A likes pony B, but hasn't said anything and is now fuming because somepony else beat them to the punch situations". No no, I was in fact quite wrong, and best couple are already together! So why is Rarity flirting with Thunderlane? Well, by golly, that's sort of the thesis of this here fanfic and why am I writing like this. <_< I'm not sure if this is about 'love languages', solely because I've never gotten a solid definition for what that term means, but it is definitely about how important negotiating boundaries in a relationship is, while also providing a decent example of how to talk through a breach thereof after the fact. And I definitely have to agree with Applejack, except I also agree with Rarity, and that's what makes this work. They're such a terrible match, I love them so much.
Recommended
A Canterlot Invasion by Twinkletail
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Comedy
As if it weren't bad enough Fleur has to clean her own house, now somepony's intruded upon her domain!
It's funny, you see, because Fleur and Fancy Pants are rich and the idea of doing menial labor is simply beneath them! But home invasions are no joke. <_< Read this and you'll learn the dark truth. It happens every day, it's no laughing matter! Reader beware!
Recommended for Laughs
A Night to (Try to) Remember by zaptiftun
Reading (part 1) by Promissa Fidel
A new reader, and wow, this was really good! Her first reading, and she knocked it out of the park, basically no notes! It's just a shame she hasn't uploaded anything in… 11 years? c_c Geez, I guess this isn't exactly a 'new' reader, huh? But hey, on the list she goes!
Genre: Ponies Drinking
After a night of drunken revelry, Twilight and her friends can't exactly remember what happened.
It's 2024, I have very recently lived through my best friend nearly drinking himself to death, yet somehow I still enjoy comedies about drunk ponies doing drunk things. Especially when the author goes out of their way to have a fun new take on how each of them reacts to getting plastered. I mean, I've never seen Fluttershy as a talkative drunk before, that's hilarious! I will say the first two parts are much funnier than the third, but this is still an enjoyable little romp with a lot to like. :)
Recommended
A Report on the Declining Standards of Twilight's Fur by sunnypack
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Random Comedy
So, you're gonna read the description, you're gonna look at the character tags, you're gonna start reading the story, and you are going to wonder just what in the flying blue fuck is going on. It's so good that the pacing and comedic timing are on point, because taken at face value, this story is just bizarre. The whole time, I was wondering if I should be trying to figure out who the narrator was; I'm here to save you from that wonder. That is the point of the story, thus their tag is purposefully missing from it. That said, I did think there was a red herring, specifically the word 'uncomfortable', which will make sense when you see it but also likely give the game away, so I'll spoiler it. But other than that? Good weirdo comedy.
Recommended If You Like Random Comedies
Deepest, Darkest by TooShyShy
Reading by Scribbler and King Xanadu
Genre: Horror
Spike awakens in the dark.
I want to comment in depth on the opening of this story, not just because it's well written, but because it's something I've never seen done before. That, specifically, is a sense of self being used to provoke body horror. Spike wakes up, feeling confined and afloat, and quickly becomes aware of the fact that he's still a pufferfish, this taking place from the events of the movie. And not only is there that sense of claustrophobia, of bathyphobia, or of nyctophobia, but also just the stark, utter wrongness that Spike becomes aware of as he tries to figure out his surroundings. And figuring out his surroundings is the bulk of this story. Piecing it together before you hit the horrifying reveal was pretty rewarding, I'd say. And the result? Uh, it's really gross? I've never seen this scenario played out in detail from this POV though, that's for sure. It's definitely someone's fetish. This is creepy and weird and very tight. Good horror story.
Recommended
Chaos Magic by Dream Seeker
Reading by VisualPony
Genre: Random Comedy
Throughout history, the greatest pony mages have tried and failed to use chaos magic. So how does Discord do it?
This is a quick, silly piece of comedic world-building that probably doesn't make a ton of sense if you think about it for too long, but at least works on the surface. That said, the story really doesn't get past 'amusing' until Pinkie shows up, but that makes for a pretty funny final third. Not bad.
Recommended for Laughs
I was put-off by A Canterlot Invasion mostly because the joke is older than the universe. And maybe because my personal headcanon of Fleur got insulted, but surely that didn't bias me in any way, noooooo...
Residual Highs and Deepest, Darkest both look like my kind of thing though.
Glad you're feeling better and yay reviews!
5769551
I mean, I don't vibe with her portrayal either, but this is a predicament I can totally connect with, you get me? D:
5769613
Not really? I mean, I get the idea of not liking it, but I've never understood the idea of not dealing with the problem myself. It just felt stupidly over-the-top to me.
Maybe I should give it another go. I mean, it has been almost six years. Perhaps I'd like it better now.
2024-02-22. That's five 2s.
Gosh, some authors here I haven't read in yonks. TooShyShy, Twinkletail, zaptiftun, sunnypack... actually the only fic here I have read is the coffee one, since it won recognition in the Thousand Words Contest II. I liked it, and there was a great line about an alarm clock, but I found it a tad wordy, even for me.
5769647
shocking such a thing could exist in a thousand-word contest :O