"Living Forever..." Review (spoilers)

Ten-Hut Bronies, I'm Lunar Nexus and welcome to another Fan Fic Friday/Thursday! Today we're looking at something I caught a look at early on in my reviewing career and figured that it deserves a look for the concept alone. This, is "Living Forever…".

Living Forever...

Now I know this isn't new but the featured section is running a bit dry. So let's get started. We open with Twilight looking at the old stain glass windows that marked her accomplishments in Equestria, specifically the defeat of Nightmare Moon. And if you're like me, you can already tell this is long after her friends have died, leaving her alone. I know the concept has been done to death but this was probably the first that actually got a feature out of it.

Anyways, Twilight sits there remembering all the highs and lows of her life and this, if thought of in a lesser way of being told, is almost heart breaking. But here, we feel it with Twilight, we don’t simply need to be told this is a somber moment, the words don't have to say what it is, it just as to tell you what's going on and let you feel from there. But I've got my artsy fedora on at the moment, let's keep going.

So Celestia comes in and we get our first lines of dialogue. And… it's oddly in character. Not having read anything from this author does make me wonder if that was the intent but it's calm, motherly and reassuring that she does have someone there to help guide her through this. She knows what Twilight's going through, she knows that it's been leading up this and she's been dreading the day that she'd have to tell the pony that's like a daughter to her that this was her new reality and hope that she can help her be the same. But in the back of her mind she knows that isn't true, because she knows the feelings just as well. *flicks fedora off head*

She gives the advice given to anyone that's lost a family member or close friend, and having given the same speech not too long ago… I feel myself, ME, tearing up a bit. "Twilight," She whispered, speaking the lavender alicorn's name as she opened her eyes and let them bore into the pony's form, "You must understand that what's important here is that you remember them." Celestia let a smile smile grow on her face, "And that they will live on forever in your memories."

Now that is a very good message. And to be honest, I dread that thought. I fear the day I have to take that advice I've given to so many people in my life. And how does Twilight react? Very angry. She literally points out the cliché and I do acknowledge that it wasn't the most original thing to be telling someone and believe it or not… I think her reaction is justified.

Yeah, odd I know. The guy that's gone out of his way before to say that characters were out of character, this is totally reasonable. Twilight actually says that she thinks that Celestia, her second mother, is teasing her about her friends being dead. This is the extreme that I've had some people say is off base but think about Twilight here. She's irrational when stressed and this is about as stressful as you can get.

But now we get to a very odd part… Twilight is still in denial that they're dead. Celestia says another cliché, this time sort of out of character, and we find that apparently they're only dead according to history via a type-o…. Okay, that just kills it. You build up what could be a very touching moment between them, Twilight snapping at her mentor, the mentor doing what she can but not doing enough and for f*k's sake an actually good message about death!

Ugh… You had so much going for you dude... I would've loved to read something like that because well…. sometimes we need to get a little down to feel the grace of the high points in life. But nope, just a type-o. AND WHAT REALLY GETS ME HOPPING!? Apparently it's part of Twilight's Alternate Universe Fan Fiction and nobody's dead… Wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwhat?

Okay… really? REALLY!? Again, you had SO much going for this. I was looking forward to reading something absolutly depressing that was lighter at the end with Twilight, though not over it, is better equipped to deal with it now. But nope, we get this crap!

*sigh* Anyways, with my pretentious-art hat burning nicely in the fire, we hear Celestia did the same thing. But to give some credit it does have a line from Rainbow Dash wondering, a lot like us, that the only way Twilight could be evil is if they were dead and she had to live without them. And I agree, she would. And that's the last of the thought that really should have gone into it. They all hug and laugh and that's it. And dear God am I disappointed.

Given, it's well written and I didn't really catch any inconsistencies other than the elephant in the room. HOW ARE THE OTHERS IMMORTAL NOW!? Do ponies just not die or something? What am I missing! The characters are mostly in line but again, it sets itself up for what could be something interesting then psyches us out of it almost instantly. I'm serious, this is a pain for me. If you like it, that's fine but… ugh… Am I the only one that wanted to see that? That would have been great. The set up was fantastic but the pay off was a pure let down.

Story: D+
Flow: C-
Characters: B-
World: C

Overall: C-
I'm Lunar Nexus, As You Were and Stay Brony My Friends.