Present Perfect vs. Fluttershy and the Fine Furry Friends Fair · 1:53am Aug 31st, 2015
Yeah, so I wanted to read a book written for little kids today, you got a problem with that? <.< Actually, what I got a problem with is I screwed up and didn’t post the rec journal first today. D: I’m a sham!
Anyway, here we are in official novel #7, starring Fluttershy and Angel. Not since the first novel, I think, have I felt so overwhelmed by the sense of “this is not for me”. The narrator has a really weird externality, like it’s someone telling us a story (heavy on the telling), and asides like “What a convincing little fellow he was!” really threw me. It’s not G. M. Berrow’s best outing (there are semicolon issues ;_;), to be sure. Here’s the plot:
Fluttershy and Angel run across the Flim-Flam Brothers, touting themselves as “Farnum and Failey” in one of the best referential jokes ever, running, of all things, a circus staffed with rabbits. I mean, that doesn’t even make half an iota of sense, but it sets the story up for, surprisingly, some Angel character development. Let that sink in.
Because after taking in the show, Angel gets excited and wants to join. Only the FlimFlams criticize him both for “looking plain” and for having no real talents. (Like, say Foo Foo and his field mice act, another great reference.) Angel sulks off, and Fluttershy sets about trying to find a way to cheer him up and convince him that he is, in fact, a special bunny.
Cue stumbling into Sweet Apple Acres to see Applejack and Winona practicing for a sheep herding contest. (I was so chuffed at AJ using real sheephering lingo! Also, they want to perform a move called “The Bleating Heart” GAME MASTER PLS) Angel decides he wants to do that.
...Well, no one ever said he was smart.
Over the course of practicing, it’s revealed that they’re having problems, not because Angel is a fucking rabbit trying to fucking herd fucking sheep, but because he’s a dick and doesn’t listen to Fluttershy’s commands. Cue some of the best “coming together as friends” montaging ever as the mane cast team up to help them out in some rather ingenious ways. (I am, however, very put out that we didn’t get to see Spitfire coaching them.)
After that, it’s just off to the fair, an amusing scene of them performing, and then… Well, of course they don’t win, AJ and Winona win! What did you expect? But the ending is awfully heartwarming and does a lot to redeem what was mostly just a fluffy and slightly dull book.
But you don’t care about that, right? You wanna know all the funny shit dropped into the sides!
-There’s a Flim Flam Brothers song. It’s great. Less great is the Ponytones song near the end.
-Braeburn has a dog named Albus who comes in last at every competition. I think he might be a puppy, I’m not sure.
-It’s implied that Lightning Dust is in contact with Rainbow Dash. Like, they might actually be friends.
-Rarity has fantasies about Twilight wearing a librarian outfit. I’m only slightly kidding.
-Everyone has an excuse for why they can’t compete in Fluttershy’s place, ranging from “already competing” to “I don’t wanna”. As for Twilight, she can’t cuz she’s a princess, and I found that hilarious.
-Sneezy the kitten is now the best of Fluttershy’s animals.
-TROTLAND AND BALES
Overall, it’s not great, probably not even a must-read unless you’re a completionist. I didn’t really get into it until about the two-thirds mark when Rainbow starts training them and all six of them come together. But Pinkie’s really great and like I said, the ending is heartwarming as all fuck, so it’s not bad.
3.5/5
Would Albus be a contrast to Dumbledore who won every competition?
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WINONA IS DUMBLEDORE
That actually sounds pretty good, I'll have to order a copy as a show of support.
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It's certainly far from the worst.
I was mildly disappointed in this one, but that was probably because a) the previous book (AJ) had been better and b) I have stupidly high requirements when it comes to Fluttershy. On the other hand, it referenced The Sheep-Pig (Babe, if you must) and I could never truly dislike a book that did that. Plus Angel. So your score's probably about where I'd put it.
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Yeah, AJ's was way better. But then, Rarity's was way worse. Even Twilight's is maybe a 3, and that's mostly because Cadence backstory. :B (Oddly, I read back through my reviews of the other novels, and I never rated the first two. Maybe I'll change that.)
3360232 I liked Rarity's. :P I haven't been back and read the early ones for ages, though, so maybe I'll give that a go at some point. As for the most recent two, I wasn't that impressed by Celestia's but really liked Discord's. Luna's next, I think, and that could go either way.
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Gahh, yayponies is really behind! D:
Shepherding? Oh carp, I may have to read this one.
...Okay. the side notes you made on this one made me seriously consider going back to the books.
I'm eagerly awaiting the Trixie book next year. I've got me fingers crossed that it will be worth the wait.
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I can't keep up with the releases, and I sure as heck can't keep up with the announcements. D: