Fanfiction Review: Happy Birthday, Fizzypop!

I know it's a day early, but my Monday might not be so good so...let's get this done now.

Time to dig into the fanfiction well once again. This time around, we're looking at not a request, but a story from all the way back in 2011. Why? Because we can. So let's look at ItsTheWhinyGuys' Happy Birthday, Fizzypop!

SYNOPSIS:

It's Fizzypop's first birthday since moving to her new home, and she's invited all five of her new friends to come and celebrate! She's got all her decorations up, games to play, gift bags for them all, and plenty of ice cream and fruit for root beer floats! Now they just need to get there, which should be any second now...

REVIEW:

I've mentioned elsewhere that there are exactly three pony fanfics that have made me cry in some capacity: “Family Matters,” “Background Pony” (for the wrong reasons), and this one. Despite the happy-go-lucky synopsis and premise, “Happy Birthday, Fizzypop!” very much earns its sad tag, although the reason why is hard to explain without delving into spoilers.

Fizzypop was based off of an early G4 recolor of Pinkie Pie, and ItsTheWhinyGuys takes this and runs with it. Fizzypop's backstory is basically an even harsher version of Pinkie's past from “The Cutie Mark Chronicles,” down to abusive parents and a draconian, joyless foalhood. That's ultimately why the party itself is so important; it's the first birthday party she's ever had, with the first friends she's ever had, and she ultimately pulls off Pinkie-leveled feats to ensure that this is the best celebration she'll ever have. (Hint: It ends in tears.)

The story itself is told by bouncing and forth between Fizzypop waiting for her party guests to arrive and how she met her new, instant friends and the adventures they had. And for a cast made entirely of OCs, they are actually pretty well realized and likeable right off the bat. This is a fairly short story as well, but it gives just enough detailing to Fizzypop's buddies that we can see how much this actually means to her. At the same time, though, none of them are incredibly deep, but that's actually worked into the plot. Again, though, spoilers.

So what makes this story so sad in particular? A lot of it has to do with how well the ending twist is foreshadowed. There's a very definite feeling of unease that permeates throughout Fizzypop's flashbacks, from how easily she makes new friends after never having any (even Twilight had to work harder than her) to just the kind of ponies that they are. And then you have Fizzypop's gradual breakdown as her friends get later and later, the food starts to go bad, and all culminating in the grandest of all meltdowns. And just to top it off, we have the cruel twist at the end. But unlike a lot of other works, this one is so perfectly set up that it makes total sense in retrospect.

The other thing of note is the ending. Initially, ItsTheWhinyGuys planned to end the story right after the reveal, and thus reaching soul-crushing levels of despair, while also writing up an optional epilogue that gives things a slightly happier conclusion. But in the end, he decided to make the epilogue the actual ending, thus giving things a bit of levity. There's also an alternate ending by Lurks-no-More that gives a different explanation for the story's events, and while it's technically well-written and heartwarming in the right ways, it also feels like it slams the “Happy Ending” switch a bit too hard and undermines the point of the story.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

“Happy Birthday, Fizzypop!” is a fairly simple, short, but very emotional story. It manages to make you feel for a group of OCs, a remarkable triumph given its short length, and even almost two years later it's still one of the very few fics that can really generate that kind of emotional response from me. Is it one of the best I've read? Not really. Will it do the same to everyone? Probably not. But it's still worth a read.