Special Talents
By Shrinky Frod

Reviewed by Rinnaul

Oh hey, a Shrinky Frod story. I hadn’t realized they’d submitted more of their work. I’m going to go ahead and admit that I typed that “Recommended” up there first. I follow this person for a reason.

I’ve apparently read this story before, since there’s an upvote there, but I don’t remember the details.

So, everyone’s a teenager and the CMC have earned their cutie marks, but Diamond Tiara insists on continuing to be a bitch at them, until one of her remarks cuts close to home for Silver Spoon as well. I’ve seen a similar premise used to set up a SilverBelle fic before (possibly twice), but in this case Silvy is Di’s dedicated marefriend, and the rest of the story is Silvy looking to make up for a fight that was honestly Di’s fault to begin with.

A good chunk of the story actually has nothing to do with sex, instead being a look at Silver and Diamond’s cutie marks. In this story, Silver Spoon wasn’t just born into privilege—her family are silversmiths, and it’s just as dirty, difficult, and hazardous as any other craft that requires a forge. Thus the original conflict. Diamond mocked Applebloom (who’s now a carpenter) for having a “manual labor” talent, ignoring that Silver Spoon has one as well.

For her part, Diamond Tiara’s family design and sell jewelry, but don’t make it themselves. Di finds it endlessly frustrating that she’s stuck working the sales counter instead of applying her actual talent for design. Of course, she’s the worst sort of narcissistic teenager about it.

That’s part of what makes this so interesting. Throughout the story, even if it’s a romance, you always kind of want it to not work out, because Diamond Tiara just doesn’t deserve her.

At one point, I’d have been rooting for her to ditch Di and hook up with Sweetie, because SilverBelle is the most adorable ship name, but since then I’ve learned my lesson.

But in the end, Di takes her back and the two quickly turn to sex, because teenagers. The sex scene, while brief and rather straightforward, is very well-done. It also doesn’t feel tacked-on, instead carrying the sense of romance through the entire conclusion. In fact, unlike many cases where the author could have excluded the sex scene and had an equally-good Teen fic, here it adds to the story.

The whole story, we’ve been seeing Silvy and Di at their worst. Diamond being a self-absorbed bitch and Silver being a desperate hanger-on. With the intimacy, we get a look at how they are at their best. Maybe it’s just the afterglow, but the two of them drifting off in a hug is a wonderful contrast to the rest of the story.

My only wish is that we saw more, and that the description “she takes rough, ugly things and she makes them beautiful” had played out fully in the form of character growth for Diamond.

Not much I can think of, beyond kind of wanting to see further exploration of these interpretations of the characters. Clop, Romance, or Slice Of Life, take your pick. I will say, though, that the swearing used (“being bitches”) feels a bit out of place in Equestria, even in the more adult context.

Excellent character exploration, well-done sex, and no spelling/grammar mistakes that I noticed earns this a:

Recommended. Anyone who likes romance, shipping, or even just this particular duo should read this if they can tolerate a bit of ponysex. If the story had continued and shown Diamond’s character growth as I mentioned before, it might have earned Masterpiece.

Thanks!

Like many of my shorter fics, this one started life as a Sexty Minute Ponies prompt. That's part of why I went with cutting it where I did. I've alays liked this story though. As nasty as those two can be, I've figured there has to be something else there, even if it is slightly self-destructive.

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Oh hey, a Shrinky Frod story. I hadn’t realized they’d submitted more of their work. I’m going to go ahead and admit that I typed that “Recommended” up there first. I follow this person for a reason.

Ya, I like Shrinky Frod as well.

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Awwww.

Thank you. I have other projects in the works, less heartwarming, but I need to make the damned things happen.....