Recommended Story Reviews #10 – The Wrong Fork, Who We Are, The 18th Brewmare of Bluey Napoleon, Scoots’ Company, Little Deceptions · 12:19am May 28th, 2016
It has been a long time since my last recommended stories post, but I figured that before a nice long three day weekend (at least, here in the states, where Memorial Day is on Monday), some folks might want some good stuff to read.
All of these are taken off my favorites stories list from before I started writing reviews, so all of them are very good stories. Some of you may have read some of these, but if you haven’t, you shouldn’t keep missing out.
Today’s stories:
The Wrong Fork by PoweredByTea
Who We Are by Kits
The 18th Brewmare of Bluey Napoleon by Horizon
Scoots’ Company by shortskirtsandexplosions
Little Deceptions by Taranth
The Wrong Fork
by PoweredByTea
Slice of Life
1,138 wordsDuring a lull in the conversation at an upper class charity dinner, Rarity takes a moment to contemplate some commonly held assumptions made of Princess Celestia. Specifically, her table manners.
Why I recommend it: A very short, simple story that still somehow says a lot, via the medium of table manners.
Review
It isn’t often that a story manages to say something interesting via the proper use of silverware, but this story manages to not only take table manners and make them interesting, but also manages to comment on both Rarity and Celestia as people via their use of a fork.
It is short, but it manages to be interesting despite its premise, and makes use of Celestia’s immortality in an interesting way.
This is very short, so there’s really no excuse not to read it, so long as you don’t mind a solid slice of life story.
Recommendation: Highly Recommended.
Who We Are
by Kits
Drama
18,828 wordsA letter from Celestia interrupts one of Pinkie's parties with disturbing news. Now friendships will be pushed to the limit as Twilight struggles to uncover which of her friends is not who, or even what, she appears to be.
Why I recommend it: It is one of the oldest good changeling stories.
Review
One of Twilight’s friends is a changeling. So says the letter from Princess Celestia.
But there’s just one problem – Princess Celestia doesn’t know which of Twilight’s friends is the changeling. So the burden falls on Twilight and her friends to find out which of their friends – which of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony – is secretly a changeling.
They have two days to find out. They’d better make them count.
This story is one of the prototypical “X is secretly a changeling” stories. Over the course of the story, we see things from Twilight’s point of view, from Pinkie Pie’s point of view, from Applejack’s point of view, and from the changeling’s point of view (who may secretly be Pinkie Pie or Applejack). The reader is challenged with figuring out, based on the clues in the story, who the changeling is.
Or are they? The more the story goes on, the more it becomes clear that, despite the hints about one pony or another being more suspect or being more firmly ruled out, by the end it is clear that the real purpose of the story is not figuring out who the changeling really is, asking the question whether or not it even matters if one of their friends is a changeling, a moral other changeling fics have made use of.
The story does a good job of moving from mystery to drama, working towards giving more hints as to the resolution of the mystery even as the emotional question of the changeling’s identity become increasingly front and center. The story does cop out a bit at the end in some ways, but having read Kits’ notes on why it ends the way that it does, I do understand the author’s purpose in doing so, even if I’m not sure if it really adds anything via the ambiguity.
This is overall a strong story; the voicing in it is good and the characters work pretty well. That isn’t to say it is perfect; this story does feel like it has a few bits which are longer than they need to be, beating the reader over the head with the theme a bit too hard at times, and probably is a couple thousand words more than it really needs to be.
The story also includes shipping in the form of Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash already being in a relationship, but this is used in the story as a plot point, namely giving Rainbow Dash a reason to not want to accept the idea that one of her friends is a changeling – because the most likely suspect is Pinkie Pie. While getting over the initial hump of two characters being in a relationship from the start (and being fairly snuggly about it) might be a challenge for some, there is some decent tension (and even a bit of humor) which comes out of it. It wouldn’t have been the choice that I made, as perhaps it could have been done in another way, but, let’s face it: Kits is a bit shameless in that regard. In any case, it isn’t too bothersome by the end of the story, and it does end up working with the plot.
I think that most folks who are interested in the premise – that one of Twilight’s friends is a changeling, but they don’t know which one it is – will probably like this story, even if it isn’t ultimately a mystery piece, but a dramatic one, with an emotional rather than mystery-type payoff.
Recommendation: Highly Recommended.
The 18th Brewmare of Bluey Napoleon
by Horizon
Comedy
8,908 wordsIn his influential analysis of the coup d'etat that would become known as the Rutting Revolution, Curly Marks wrote that history repeats itself — "the first time as tragedy, the second time as Prince Blueblood."
Marks actually used other words in place of the name, but this is a family-friendly publication.
Why I recommend it: It is one of the funniest things I’ve ever read.
Review
Prince Blueblood Napoleon Do is a terrible pony. He hits on mares, doesn’t take no for an answer, is not nearly as educated as he believes himself to be, has an ego so large it is surprising he can fit through the doors of the palace, and his poor Aunt Celestia is at her wit’s end with him.
After hitting on a brewmare at a pub (his 18th, if the title is to be believed), he is deeply shocked and/or offended by his treatment at the hooves of a commoner (who the crown has to pay damages to for Blueblood’s stupidity), and rants about mares to his good friend, Poncemercy. During said conversation, Blueblood learns that stallions do not have the right to vote, which is clearly why Equestria is such a mess and why nopony will sleep with him.
So, he goes on a crusade to give stallions the right to vote (so that they will vote to legalize the droit de seigneur, or something to that effect).
The promised hilarity does indeed ensue.
This story is absolutely chock full of puns. The title and story summary are taken from Karl Marx’s “The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte.” Prince Blueblood’s full name is both a Napoleon pun, a pun on Napoleon II (deux, or do), and a reference to Daring and Ditzy Do. The story itself contains numerous linguistic puns, some in the main text, and some hidden in consistently hilarious footnotes.
The writing style is whimsical, and the whole story flows along from one absurdity to another as Blueblood blunders his way through the story towards greatness and/or annoying his Auntie.
This is a really special story, and its summary, while a hilarious reference to Marx, doesn’t really do it justice, as evinced by the opening scene:
The shot that sparked the revolution was fired in a rank little tavern in a remote Canterlot alleyway:
"No, thank you," she said.[1]
Blueblood stared at the barmaid, for the first time lifting his eyes to her face. She didn't return the gaze; she was busily collecting mugs from a nearby table and sweeping peanut shells to the floor with a damp washcloth that managed to smell worse than the beer.
"Ex-cuse me?" he said.[3]
She hoisted two trays of glassware and wheeled toward the bar, frowning at him mid-pivot. "Have the drinks gotten to your ears? I said no."
Poncemercy let out a clipped snort of laughter and took another long draught of the bathwater that The Sergeant At Trotaloo sold as beer. "Hard cheese, old chap."
Blueblood set his half-full mug down and drew himself up to his full height. "Now see here, you … you smirksome little trollop. I'll make some allowances for your clearly inferior brain —"
"You do know 'smirksome' isn't a word, right?" she interrupted.
Blueblood narrowed his eyes. "Says who?"
The barmaid got briefly smirksome at that, and pointed at the dictionary on her shapely, toned flanks.[4]
Blueblood huffed. "Irregardless, you're letting your wilfullness override your common sense. The only logical response would have been to fall all over me in gratitude for deigning to find you attractive, seeing as how this is the closest to greatness your dirt-smeared hindquarters will ever get."
She stared across the bar at him as she stacked glasses in the sink, her frown returning. "Listen, prince. I did my best to show you the respect of your station, but logically, I should have thrown you out long before you started insulting me."
"Well! I never." Blueblood looked over to Poncemercy for support, and when the baron gave a properly disdainful glance at the sadly deluded commoner, Blueblood stood, bracing himself on the crooked wooden table. "If you're so eager to wallow in your misery, very well." He smirked self-assuredly. "I'll leave if you can give me one logical reason why I'm not the best stallion to ever walk into your life."
"Because you can't take no for an answer," she said immediately. "Also, you're unattractively drunk, apparently racist, clearly full of yourself, and you mangle Celestia's Equuish in a cringe-inducing manner only achievable by Academy dropouts with pretensions."
"I resemble that indignation, madam —"
"I'm not finished. You seem incapable of looking at me without staring at my hips — maybe that's why you completely ignored my marriage-band. You smell like you urinated on your leg before walking in here.[5] 'Hey, filly, let me give you a personal introduction to my little prince' is the single worst pickup line I've ever heard. And my first impression of you was when you sat down and asked for a mug of, I quote, 'your cheapest, vilest swill.'"
"Well, how else were we to get the proper earth pony experience?" Poncemercy muttered, with Blueblood nodding in support.
The barmaid's frown flattened out and tightened, and she straightened a hoof toward the door. "Let's upgrade that to definitely racist. You have 30 seconds before I call the Guard."
"Hang on!" Blueblood said, spreading his hooves in a placating gesture. It was far better than this insolent peasant deserved, but he was a generous stallion — he knew he was, and sometimes he had to act extra generous because Auntie inevitably misinterpreted his actions in the worst way possible whenever the rabble told jealous lies about him. "I see … clearly we've gotten off on the wrong hoof here." He turned on the old familial charm and smiled, the gleam of his teeth outshining the old and dirty magelights hanging on the walls. "My apologies, my dear, if there have been any … awkward misunderstandings."
She narrowed her eyes, her hoof still pointed at the door.
Blueblood swaggered up to the bar with lit horn, his drink floating behind. He took a large swig — had to project confidence, after all — and leaned in, deigning to rest his elbows on the bar and trying not to think too hard about what sort of messes the typical clientele had left. "I don't think my offer came across quite in the spirit it was intended," he said suavely. "I'm quite a generous pony, you see, but some ponies just don't understand subtlety. So how about this?" He tossed a few coins onto the bar. "There's our tab for the drinks, and —" he loudly clicked another bit down, and scraped it across the polished wood with his hoof — "I'll even double your gratuity if you accept my offer and I'm satisfied with, shall we say, services rendered."
The barmaid blinked several times. She stared down at the coin, opening and closing her mouth.
Blueblood smirked. He had her now. That was the thing about the lower classes; they only understood one language. It was round and shiny, and it was a language he spoke well."Well, then," he said, waggling his eyebrows seductively.[6] He glanced back to give a triumphant smile to Poncemercy, then reached for his new conquest —
*WHAM*
[1] Blueblood would later insist that the shot came from the muzzle of a breech-loader.[2]
[2] He was, however, incorrect. Like most ponies outside the Canterlot nobility, the barmaid hadn't loaded her breeches since she was a newborn foal.
[3] The return fire came from the muzzle of a smooth bore.
[4] The barmaid was a Canterlot University graduate student supporting her education with a night job. Connoisseurs of irony may appreciate the fact that her name was Synecdoche.
[5] Not actually true. He stood too close while Poncemercy was relieving himself in the alleyway.
[6] If you don't believe this is possible, then you've never watched Blueblood do it. [7]
[7] At which point you will know for a fact that it is impossible.
Recommendation: Highly Recommended and one of the fifteen stories you should read.
Scoots’ Company
by shortskirtsandexplosions
Sad, Slice of Life
4,776 wordsScootaloo spends an afternoon with Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
Why I recommend it: It is a strong emotional piece with a very understated premise.
Review
Scootaloo is living with the Apple Family now, but Applejack decided to give the filly a day off doing chores so they could go watch a professional wrestling match together. Rainbow Dash tags along.
This story seems like a very simple and fluffy slice of life fic on the surface.
But there’s something more lurking beneath the surface, something much more emotional, and as the story goes on, it percolates to the top; for all its pretentions at being a slice of life, ultimately, there is a fair bit of drama here.
There’s a reason for the sad tag here, but there’s also more than a little love and hope, too, as well as acceptance of moving in with her new big sister.
If you’re good with a story that has some emotional punch to it, this is well worth your time.
Recommendation: Highly Recommended.
Little Deceptions
by Taranth
Slice of Life, Crime
5,527 wordsBlank Slate is the greatest thief of his generation. He has robbed countless nigh-impossible marks, and his talents as a master of disguise are beyond par - truly, nopony knows who he is.
And now he's preparing the greatest heist in mortal memory: the treasure vaults of the Princesses themselves.
But you have to get up pretty early in the morning to get one past the pony who defines when ‘early in the morning’ is…
Why I recommend it: A fun heist story with a great ending.
Review
Blank Slate is the best thief in all of Canterlot. The nobles have been putting more and more spells on their belongings, and he somehow keeps evading them.
Too bad they’ve been trying to protect against a unicorn thief, not a cheeky pegasus who uses mundane means to disguise himself, along with a few tricks from a friend.
Tonight, though, Blank Slate is going to pull off the ultimate heist – stealing from Canterlot Palace itself, right out from under the nose of the Royal Guard.
Everything seems to be going perfectly… so why is the frame story that Blank Slate turned himself in and is telling this whole story to a guardspony, rather than being interrogated after being captured?
This is a really fun little piece. The “little deceptions” in the title has more than one meaning – Blank Slate’s little deceptions, his lies about what his name is, and a number of other little things which all add up to one big (and very enjoyable) story.
While the heist aspect of the story – and the various magical defenses he overcomes – are fun, the real joy of this story is the last few scenes, where Princess Celestia shows up and Blank Slate finally explains the full truth of the situation to the guards in the frame story. And the very end of the story is likely to make you bust out laughing.
This is a very fun piece, and is worthy of your time.
Recommendation: Highly Recommended.
Summary
The Wrong Fork by PoweredByTea
Highly Recommended
Who We Are by Kits
Highly Recommended
The 18th Brewmare of Bluey Napoleon by Horizon
Highly Recommended
Scoots’ Company by shortskirtsandexplosions
Highly Recommended
Little Deceptions by Taranth
Highly Recommended
I have to admit re-reading good stories is a pleasure sometimes, and I enjoyed doing so for this post.
I hope everyone has a good weekend, and that there was at least one story here that caught your eye.
Number of stories still listed as Read It Sooner: 131
Number of stories still listed as Read It Later: 461
Number of stories listed as Read It Eventually: 1930
Every time I saw "Little Deceptions" in the feature box, I kept getting a bit disappointed that it wasn't "Little Decepticons."
...
I have a sickness.
I am eternally jealous of Horizon's wit.
Which reminds me I ought to finish my authorized but probably inferior sequel to Little Deceptions.
3977642
With a user icon like yours, I can't imagine why.
3977673
I think everyone is jealous of Horizon's wit in that story, possibly including Horizon himself.
... Damn, I've already read these.
>tfw TD likes 50 whole stories
A group of some of my favorites. Nice to see them here.
Man, I really need to read PoweredByTea's stories, as theirs is the only one in this list I haven't read. The other ones are all fantastic, though (18th Brewmare, especially, is flat-out stellar), so thanks for reminding me that these stories exist and are great.
3978062
Every one of their stories is at least worth reading; Never So Far Away is one of the best pure slice of life stories on the site (I believe I actually featured it in my last set of recommended stories). The Wrong Fork and A Muddy Hole are both quite good.
3977927
According to my shelves, I have 257 stories that I would recommend, of which 112 would be highly recommended. I have 756 stories marked as being Worth Reading overall.
Of stories I've actually reviewed, according to my tracking sheet, I've handed out:
Highly Recommended: 64 (8.1%)
Recommended: 68 (8.6%)
Worth Reading: 252 (32.0%)
Not Recommended: 398 (50.6%)
Read It Later: 5 (0.6%)
That said, those numbers are skewed by my recommended story reviews posts, which, being stories which I favorited before I started doing reviews, are all recommended. Given that I spent roughly half of my time on this site doing reviews, and half of it before I did them, that would seem to indicate that I found more HRs early on, given that, of stories I've reviewed since I started doing reviews (so, excluding older stories I read before I started doing reviews, and then re-read and reviewed):
Highly Recommended: 26 (3.6%)
Recommended: 53 (7.4%)
Worth Reading: 238 (33.1%)
Not Recommended: 397 (55.2%)
Read It Later: 5 (0.7%)
Read Previously: 73 (9.3%)
As you can see, I haven't handed out very many HRs at all to stories I hadn't previously read.
The recommended numbers didn't really change much, though; it was mostly the top tier that lost out. I'm not sure if that's being flavored by me reading them earlier and thus them appearing fresher, or if that's actually because I ended up finding a lot of good writers and reading a lot of their good stuff early on, and I've been slow to tackle a lot of longer, more recent stories.
From these five, I had already read two, and another two were on my read it later. Huh.
3978355
Do you rate stories as "Read It Later"? What does that mean?
3978507
It means that the story is not complete enough for me to render an assessment of it. It is a rare rating because I don't read many incomplete stories/don't post reviews for many incomplete stories.
3979343
Alright, thanks.
Little Deceptions has my favorite version of Princess Celestia in it. The one everypony thinks is a master puppet/chess master and really is just kinda... not.
I wish Who We Are had those sequels...but the fic was so awesome as a standalone...
Also, I noticed "500 little murders" is on your ultra-faves list, but you seem not to be a fan of Estee. Wassup?
4004632
Estee's biggest problem is lack of focus.
Five Hundred Little Murders is entirely focused on Flitter, her cat, and Fluttershy.
Flitter has a very distinctive voice and personality.
The story has an excellent set of bookends.
The story has a strong central theme that it actually sticks to, without randomly going off far away froom it, and the various bits of other stuff that is in the story serves to fill out the character of Flitter and tell us what kind of pony she is, as well as tell us what kind of pony Fluttershy is and what she goes through.
Basically, it lacks some of the flaws of Estee's writing (lack of focus, digressions that don't go anywhere, weak voicing) and makes use of a number of its strengths (strong central theme, characterization leading to the OC feeling filled in and fleshed out, cynicism/hope).
Estee's good stories generally make Estee's writing style and general mentality work for them. The weak ones tend to have the problems overwhelm everything else, or even have the story lose sight of a central focus or theme, or lack one to begin with.
4004761
Makes sense. I never really noticed his flaws, or they never really bothered me. I just wish he'd FINISH those old fics...
One thing might be...I'm a speed-reader. So the 'little things' dont' really hit me. And, since I don't overly absorb sometimes, unless a character voice is really badly done, it doesn't hit me.