Fic review #10 A Crown of Rhinestones · 4:03am Feb 7th, 2014
A slice-of-life story about Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara... I decided to take a look at this one a little while back, then I tossed it on my favourites list, where it sat for a while (the second chapter was kind of long, so I waited until I had time today to actually get around to reading it). And heck, am I glad that I decided to finish it.
This story is A Crown of Rhinestones by: TheDarkStarCzar
At first I was kind of annoyed since the CMC seemed to be played without too much to them. But then of course I start to realize, this isn't a story about the CMC, this is about DT and SS. And boy does this story deliver on that front.
I'll first say what I liked about the story. The initial conflict is quickly revealed and hooked me in almost immediately by making me wonder at what exactly was going on, and not because I was confused, but because I was intrigued and wanted to know. There's a promise that the context will be explained, and reading through slowly reveals it in a manner that is very much well-paced. The story itself kept pretty solidly with our knowledge of the canon characters and went on to expand on all of them (except maybe Sweetie Belle, but she's not really the focus of the story at all). Sure this story doesn't have the same tone from the show, it's a bit darker, but it does a really great job of expanding outward from the lens of the show (tonal shift) to reveal these darker bits. I mean after Flight to the Finish it's hard to think that all of Equestria could be very idyllic considering that ponies like DT and SS are around. This story gives reason to those to characters, who, when you think about it, really are out of place in a town like Ponyville unless there were a sort of seedy underbelly that's not really shown in the MLP canon.
Now I'll say what I loved. Quite simply, the way that the upper-class are written here is fantastic. Their position in this version of the universe is well-thought out. And the word choice that is used is entirely fitting with SS and DT and that adds so much to these two characters. This story really got me to care about the two bullies, because I wanted to figure out how they worked, and it had me wondering exactly how the conflict was going to resolve. So I suppose you could say that the worldbuilding in this fic was very complete. It gave these two plain antagonists depth and reason, both for their actions in the past, as well as their actions in this story, while also expanding on the lens of the show in a very much believable manner.
If you ever wanted to see what a good way to depict stuck-up noble characters and figure out reasons for why they would end up that way, use this story for a reference. The rhetoric is just great at adding to these two snobbish characters and it's done with such finesse in the first chapter, that--if you're anything like me--you're going to continue reading just for the sake of seeing how it'll turn out and to see more of how DT and SS interact with each other. Are the characters still jerks? Yeah, they really are. Perhaps even more so than in the show. But they have context to their actions, and that pulls this story far above many others in my mind. And whether or not they get what they deserve by the end very much a matter of personal opinion.
What I didn't like... Well there were a few punctuation errors, usually around the dialogue, and I felt Sweetie Belle and maybe Scootaloo could have been a little deeper as characters... Aside from that, I can't really complain.
So yeah, if you want to read a story that offers a great study of Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara as characters, this is a fic for you.
Highly Recommended,
~SilentBelle
One things bugged me, though: the ending seemed quick, abrupt and less satisfying than the build-up implied. It's like, Silver Spoon finally finishes her story, the CMC mull it over, and then everything's okay. I guess I felt a little let down, as the build-up (particularly the lengths Silver Spoon was going to) had me mentally preparing for all hell to break loose... and then it doesn't.
I agree 1000%. I was born into a moderately rich family (though we live in the south, so we're more like the Beverly Hillbillies than anything else), so it was cool to see the families of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon related in such a realistic way. Silver Spoon's especially. I could really feel for her and her situation, personally.
I also felt that the first chapter was easily the best, and overshadowed the remaining chapters in terms of dialogue, intensity, diction, and detail. Or maybe I was just expecting something different. I dunno.
But I agree with everything else you said. Definitely recommend it.
1805361 Yeah, there could have been a bit more tension for the ending of that conflict...
Maybe if we, as readers didn't get to see all the pieces that the CMC brought being put into play before the result was revealed, it might have worked better. Though I did like the CMC mulling over what to do, building up situations where there is really no 'right' answer is great. And I did genuinely like the situation the CMC had to deal with, even if the payoff was a little less powerful than I had expected to see. I think part of the problem is that the conflict is solved through the narrative lens of the crusaders, while the more greatly polished of the narrative lenses was by far Silver Spoon's. I inherently cared more about SS than the other characters, as it should be in this story, because she ends up donning the role of protagonist.
Which meant that the bit of story told that was told not from her perspective kind of undermined the impact of the events. The events had more weight when we as readers were discovering through SS, and not having her discover after us.
Still, I really enjoyed this story.
1805423 I see what you mean. In essence, SS kinda stole the show.