Ponyfic Roundup 168: The Beard that's Feared

Read it Later story count: 403 (-1)

A very small edition today, because I've been both very busy and very tired lately. Also distracted by Moeen Ali's heroics for England in the cricket. What a player he's become in the last couple of years; he should be among the first names on the Ashes team-sheet. Anyway, returning to ponyfic, here is this week's meagre selection of stories:

I Shall Please by FanOfMostEverything
The Temple by DeraNged CupCak3
The Music Is Where I'll Be by statoose

★: 1 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 0 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 0

I Shall Please by FanOfMostEverything
Other [Silver Shill], Flim & Flam and OC
Slice of Life; 3k words; Mar 2015; Everyone

Silver Shill, scion of second stringers, seeks something superior.

You don't see many fics about this guy, so it's nice that this one is a good read. Silver turns out to be a frustrated dreamer stifled by the expectations of a fading aristocratic family. After a disagreement with his mother, he's determined to beat his own path – and this takes him to the Flim Flam Brothers' marquee, where their Miracle Tonic routine isn't quite working out. So far, so readable if not terribly exciting, but where the story really shines is in Flim and Flam's dialogue. It's really good, some of the best I've read for the brothers, and I can absolutely see Silver's part in proceedings happening. That wonderful dialogue takes this into four-star territory – also, headcanon accepted! ★★★★

The Temple by DeraNged CupCak3
OCs and Twilight
Adventure/Dark; 3k words; Oct 2013; Everyone

Two young friends go exploring in the Everfree Forest and stumble upon a temple. Little do they know there is an evil creature, forged from darkness, that is trapped inside.

I'm always happy to see the Everfree Forest get a look-in, and I was interested to find out about this "evil creature, forged from darkness". Unfortunately the story is so predictable that there's very little to hold the attention for most of its length. The two friends don't really spark off each other, and the ending is weak and uninvolving. This was this author's only story, which is a shame as it wouldn't have needed that much tightening to make it more interesting. As things stand, though, it's just by-the-numbers scary temple stuff and can't be recommended. A high one, but a one nevertheless. ★

The Music Is Where I'll Be by statoose (PR review no. 850!)
Vinyl Scratch
Slice of Life; 2k words; Nov 2012; Everyone

Come find me.

This really is a slice of life: Vinyl herself narrates a few hours in her day, with some insight into her thinking as a DJ. Those parts are the most interesting bits of the fic, especially as they don't present her as the hedonist that much of the fandom does. Some of the rest is unfortunately pretty pedestrian, and there are a few distracting technical errors. I think this might go down better with Vinyl fans looking for something a little different (I'm pretty neutral about her). ★★

---

Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: I'll be reviewing more than three stories! Among these will be the only top-ten-rated story I have yet to read: The DM's Voyage's End.