It Is Recommendsday, My Dudes #133 · 7:00pm Oct 4th, 2023
It's Spooky Season! And it's only right I do something with the proper tone. So this week let's talk about vampires bat ponies! You know them, you love them, they're on the very edge of canon!
And let's have some fun to start with a favorite of mine: Princess Trixie of Transylmaneia by AlexTFish.
Twilight has a problem. That problem is Trixie. More specifically, Trixie who is now a batpony alicorn and claims to have recently become Princess of Transylmaneia. So Twilight sits the other 'Princess' down with a lie detector crystal to get the full story of what in Celestia's name is going on here. Oh, and there's the minor complication that the magical darkness that shelters the bat ponies of Transylmaneia is kind of expanding and threatening to take over all of Equestria. But, you know, eternal night and darkness is no reason for Trixie to not to tell a grand story about her rise to power...
Pretty much any story with Trixie is going to be fun. That she's a bat pony alicorn princess and may have caused the end of the world just... well, let's be honest that's entirely par for the course with her. And true to the pitch, this story doesn't disappoint. Every bit of Trixie's story is completely ridiculous, an obvious lie, and yet somehow mostly true at the same time.
The other characters get their times, too. Twilight is her wonderful self, trying to be polite and tolerant while wanting to grab all involved and shake them until common sense falls out. The now-deposed heir apparent, Eternal Requiem, is just the right kind of petty and angry, furious that Trixie exists and haughtily demanding this whole farce end. Trixie's companions on the ground - Tatterdrop, Drifting Melody, and of course eventually Starlight Glimmer - play their roles delightfully as they help Trixie do Trixie things.
There's comedy, there's politics, there's a bit of mystery that's primarily trying to figure out what the heck is actually going on behind all of the Trixie... yeah. This one's just top notch Trixie being a chaos gremlin and anybody who enjoys that is gonna have a blast here.
On the other side comes something much more serious and dramatic: With Sunset Comes the Night by astrolatryy.
The line of Inkwells have served Princess Celestia for dozens of generations, acting as her right hoof throughout history. And in the ancient days? Princess Luna had a similar pony: Sunset Shimmer. But she's less assistant and more enforcer, spymaster, and importantly confidante. As the days lead towards the tragedy of the Nightmare, Sunset remains by her lady's side. Come Hell, she stays.
Okay, so whoof this one's got some heft to it. First of all, I absolutely love how the story's worked. Despite being a bat pony (sort of), Sunset is still firmly Sunset and this story does an amazing job of showing not just who early Sunset is but why she is. The entire second chapter is taken up by a beautiful string of scenes that establish Sunset's identity and thoughts, as well as her inter-relations with both Princesses. It's just amazing work and some of my favorite pre-reform Sunset characterization.
The story also leverages that well to give extra depth to the conflict between the Sisters: Sunset and Luna bonding over the idea of being monsters is delightful, and they both support and worsen each other as they head down that dark road.
Of course, the climactic conflict is a blast as well: Luna's frustration and anger coming in waves as Celestia tries to both win and prevent a fight at the same time. It's one of the best examples of it I've seen written, and you can really feel the strain. Sunset's role in it also manages to feel appropriate and impactful without distracting from the greater conflict - which is not easy.
Perhaps the best part of it all is the tragedy involved: Sunset struggles and fights to become more than just a power-hungry monstrosity trapped in violence, only for her fate to bring her to becoming that anyway. I love the pathos inherent in it, and how there's so many moments where she (and Luna) could have turned away - but also how they couldn't.
New or catching up? Try Recommendsday: The Index for your story needs!
