It Is Recommendsday, My Dudes #22 · 6:17pm Aug 18th, 2021

Romance is tough. I mean, that's obvious. There's a lot of pitfalls, blind grasps and wild hopes. It can be the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows. But the long and the short of it is...

Okay, so that was a terrible, clumsy lead-in. But the long of it this week is Pinning the Heart by Random_User. Rolling along for two and a half years now, this long form story follows a slow burn romance between Coco Pommel and Ponyville's other resident tailor, Royal Pin (sometimes named Pokey Pierce.)

And when I say slow, I stress slow. Currently at 270k words, the pair initially connect (unsurprisingly) via Rarity: he's her ostensible not-quite-rival in town (focusing on men's fashion as opposed to her women's) and she's one of Rarity's employees. When Coco is brought to town to watch the Boutique while Rarity is on vacation with Sweetie Belle, she offers/is volunteered to help Pin out part-time to take some weight off his business. The two do initially hit it off, but it takes them a good 50-60k words before they start to properly begin the romance dance. It's a slow acceleration, too, so be prepared on this one for a lot of shy looks and little smiles.

Part of what also helps really make this one stand out is the secondary characters. While there's appearances by the usual big names around Ponyville, most of the story circles around lesser Ponyvillians like Berry Punch, Derpy and their parcel of rambunctious foals. Other less used characters eventually loop in - there's an ancillary Saffron Masala romance subplot, for example - but the story overall does a good job at keeping most of the Mane 6 and company out of the spotlight. (The only one that really has a consistent role is Rarity, and even she's somewhat tertiary to the tale.)

If I read the room right, it's starting to come to a finale so this is a great time to start in on it.

TPinning the Heart

With Twilight holding court, more and more ponies come to visit Ponyville. Royal Pin, the only tailor in Ponyville, has too much business to handle by himself. When he hires help to ease the pressure, he finds a partner in business and love.

Random_User · 362k words · 69 5 · 1.7k views

The short of it, this time, is another Coco romance but with a very different flavor. Written by stillinbeta, this one catches the eye from title alone.

I Accidentally Joined a Harem and Now a Princess is Hitting On Me.

When Rarity gets overwhelmed by her workload - again - she asks Coco to help her out. Most of the work she can handle in Ponyville, but one task requires travel: going to the Crystal Empire and creating an entire line of uniforms for Princess Cadance's household staff.

Things go off the rails when Coco arrives before the letter informing Cadance of the change, and the easily flustered and exhausted from travel Coco accidentally blunders into a guard who has the wrong impression. So instead of taking up her role as royal seamstress, Coco finds herself having been inducted into Princess Cadance's harem.

What follows is comedic chaos as Coco engages in the time-honored tradition of digging herself deeper every time she opens her mouth - but at the same time sets up a sweet little romance within the harem.

While there is a fair share of risque moments, the story's still a solid T and nothing untoward happens on-screen. (Or even off-screen, now that I think about it.) Despite the title and the elevator pitch, I'm not sure 'sexy' could really be associated with it. It's too adorable and cute.

TI Accidentally Joined a Harem and Now a Princess is Hitting On Me