Ponyfic Roundup 327

Read it Later story count: 169 (-4) 

Here we go with the first normal PR of 2021. As is usually the case these days, there are three stories on the list. That's about all I have to say right now, so here's what we're doing this week:

Shame at the Checkout by gmen15
Opportunity by Bluegrass Brooke
Applejack Goes To Magic School For Some Reason by Jason The Human

★: 0 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 2 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.

Shame at the Checkout by gmen15
Rainbow Dash
Comedy/Random/Slice of Life; 4k words; Dec 2012; Everyone

Rainbow Dash wants to buy a Daring Do wallet, but is afraid of what others think of her.

Not exactly, subtle, this one! It's about as blatant a "buying toys as a brony" analogue as you'll see. Still, it's quite nicely observed, for example when Rainbow sandwiches the Daring Do items between two others she doesn't really want but which are from a more "socially acceptable" fandom. The story is let down slightly by what seems to me rather unprofessional behaviour from the shop staff, and by a final scene that feels tacked-on – this is one time when a letter to Celestia might have worked better. Not exactly complex, as stories go, but not nearly as cringeworthy as you'd think. Hmm, reminds me of something... I'm shading this into the threes, largely for being much better than I'd imagined a story on this premise would be. ★★★

Opportunity by Bluegrass Brooke
OC, Flim and Flam
Slice of Life; 3k words; May 2014; Everyone

There comes a moment in everypony's life when they find out what they are meant to do. For Flim and Flam, that moment stems from a most unexpected place.

This fic is set when the FlimFlams are still colts, albeit quite old enough to be plotting and scheming in a way that will serve them well (and the rest of equinity badly) later on. It's a slightly laboured cutie mark story, with the brothers acquiring their apple marks after having to do chores as a punishment and realising just how remarkable that fruit can be. There's a fairly snappy 1,500-word short here, but it's trapped in a 3,000-word body. ★★

Applejack Goes To Magic School For Some Reason by Jason The Human
Applejack and Twilight
Comedy/Random/Alternate Universe; 5k words; Sep 2014; Everyone

Applejack gets accepted to Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns. She doesn't learn anything.

The author of this fic is best known for Anthropology (PR 55), but I think I actually preferred this little bit of silliness. We never find out why AJ gets the acceptance letter, though we can assume an administrative cock-up. Her hat means her lack of horn isn't obvious to ponies who speak to her, such as a certain Twilight Sparkle. This is all immensely silly, with some seriously contrived situations, but it knows it's silly and that makes it endearing rather than annoying. The ending made me chuckle, too. My brain tells me I shouldn't like this so much, but on this occasion I'm going to tell my brain to shut up. This is plain dumb fun. ★★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup, stories reviewed should include Away by The Cloptimist.