FimFiction Link - Short ID: 519861/the-cats-in-the-walls
Published: Jul '22
'The Cats in the Walls' is a two thousand and three hundred-word oneshot. Sweetie Belle bravely faces off against an awful monster.
While I usually try to tackle the prose first and then speak of the narrative, I think with story it makes sense to do the opposite, because to be entirely honest, there is not that much to say about it. This doesn't mean the plot is bad, not at all, the fic is a sweet if simple story without any twists or great philosophical depths, but that's not what it set out to do in the first place and there is absolutely nothing wrong with being straight to the point. I do have to mention that though neither Rarity, nor Sweetie get that much dialogue, I still really like how the author characterized them.
Where this story truly shines, however, is its prose. If I had to use a single word, I'd say it's whimsical. The author effortlessly bounces between literary devices, which - coupled with the great variety of vocabulary - makes for a very playful text that's a joy to read. And the best thing is that there is nothing purple about the story. The fic never takes itself too seriously so the whole thing comes down as earnest, instead of pretentious. One could perhaps make the argument that since this story happens before S1, SB really shouldn't think using complex words like this, but while this might be true from a pedantic standpoint, if such thinking fits anyone it's her and, of course, Rarity.
Overall: 6/10 So, after all this praise why am I still giving it a 6/10? It's because the story itself isn't super memorable due to being very short and simply resolved. The author's skills are praiseworthy and I look forward to what else he might come up with, but I think said future stories need to be longer to truly allow this kind of prose to shine. Regardless, I highly recommend this story if you want a very pleasant and well-written, piecemeal fic.