FIMFiction Review #5 · 7:05pm Jun 25th, 2016
Well it's been a while since I've done a review. But I'm back everypony! And my next one is something that a few of you may know. (Or not. Who knows. There's tons of stories on here). But again, here is my fifth story review!
Description
Ponies have spread to the stars thanks to advances in technology. In the advanced and luxurious Solar Explorer, Celestia travels to the first extra-solar colony world set up by her little ponies. Unfortunately, events elsewhere in the galaxy, unknown to them, have set in motion a cycle that has been repeated for countless eons… the reaping of sentient races. A Reaper dreadnought confronts the Solar Explorer, intent upon indoctrinating the leadership of the ponies and bringing them to heel. Said Reaper quickly learns exactly why Celestia has earned the title Unconquered.
Concept
As some people will come to know, Crossover stories are some of my favorite ideas. Even though the technique may not be exactly original, it’s still fun to see how certain things change when you introduce techni-colored ponies to different universes. This one was no exception. Mass Effect is one of my favorite games. Even though I haven’t played it personally, I enjoyed the idea of its universe and all that you can do in it.
Scion did a good job with how they represented both universes. I didn’t really feel there was a bad thing in the conceptualized idea, and thought it was splendid.
Plot
Thankfully this story’s plot is good too. It begins with Celestia venturing out forth to a new colony Equestria has set up in deep outerspace. She was the first one to go since Luna’s ship, Veil of the Night, took a little longer to complete rather than Celestia’s ship, Solar Explorer. As she is resting, sipping away at tea, the ship around her begins to rattle slightly.
We come across a AI program in a mix between both technology and magic (an interesting concept allaround), whose name is Epona. (I do apologize if there are any references I miss, for it has been a while since I’ve seen Mass Effect, besides the Jurassic Park one). Epona tries to convince Celestia that the Admiral of the ship has it all under control. Unfortunately, Celestia can tell that Epona’s lying.
Taking matters into her own hooves she goes to her door and has Epona open it. After getting the AI to cooperate since Epona was just following the Admiral’s orders, we finally get to meet the stallion. Admiral Water Hammer. And finally we find that Celestia’s ship is getting attacked. By her own ponies. And a Reaper who happens to have control over them.
So of course when it makes contact with their ship, after destroying a couple of her escorts as a greeting, Celestia tries to reason with said Reaper. Them being the almighty transcended robotic beings that they are, it tells her that her fate has already been sealed. What then takes place is Celestia laying down the law as she literally burns it alive with the power she gains from a nearby star. After scorching it with the energy twice, it finally dies and the conflict is over.
All in all, I have to say that for being a one-shot story, it did quite a good job. The pace of the story was good. The overall arch of the story flowed well and it made sense of what was happening. And the ending was pretty cool. I have to say, I like seeing Celestia showing an intergalactic being who’s boss. So yeah, I thought this story was pretty good.
Setting
The setting was also a nice change of pace. A futuristic Equestria that has spaceships! I’ve only ever read a couple of stories that had Equestria in a far future setting. Maybe it’s just me, but I thought it was nice that we at least got to see how far Equus has come in its technology.
Characters
The characters were also pretty good. Princess Celestia was regal as ever, but now with a kickass fight that lasted for only a couple of minutes. I like it too that Scion gave Celestia a strong presence. It’s nice to see her in a strong way, and not losing with every single fight. (Sorry canon. It’s not you. Well… canon, it is kind of you, I guess).
And although we only got to see Epona and Admira Water Hammer for a bit, I definitely felt their presence as well. This is the only nitpick I have, but I felt that Epona could’ve been used a lot more in this. Like when Celestia was fighting the Reaper. Epona’s reaction to it would’ve been cool, or even just her helping Celestia somehow might have given me more reason to love Epona. (Although that is just me).
Final Review & Score
Why no One Messes With Celestia may just be a story focused around on Celestia kicking some Reaper ass, but you know what? I enjoyed it. The futuristic setting was set well. The characters felt spot on. The pace was good for a one-shot story. The descriptions too were good and the lore of the story really gave depth to how far Equestria has come.
And the fight, however short, was also good. I hardly found any grammatical or structural errors. I’m only nitpicking about how Epona could’ve been used more, but even then that is a minor thing that hardly affects the story. So all in all, a good job indeed.
As for my score… hmm. This will probably sound like pandering, but Scion’s story has earned a lot of love. This story, I give it, is an 8/10. Honestly with only four thousand plus words to its name, you’d think it’d be lower. But so far it’s one of the best one-shots I’ve read. (And that’s saying something, since I can hardly write one-shot stories)! But all in all, it did a really good job, and Scion’s story definitely gets a recommendation from me.
