Reviews of Sad Sunset Stories—My Best Friend by Holy · 5:29pm Feb 14th, 2019
by rohinar
SadSunny is a unique thing, so far as story concepts go. Stuff like Orphan Scootaloo or Psycho Murderer Pinkie Pie will periodically blaze through FimFic like a plague, using newer fans as fresh kindling to spread edgyyyy stuff like rivers of literary excrement, until the survivors build an immunity and the fad smolders. Then a while later, the whole thing repeats. Cupcakes knockoffs are really just the cholera of PoniFics, and they'll do similar things to your gastrointestinal tract.
Sunset is different, and sad stories about her have had their own little thriving niche on FimFic for years. I think a big part of that is because of all the canon characters we know of, she's had by far the most difficult life. On screen and on page, we've seen her at her lowest, and those portrayals of despair resonate with an unfortunately large number of people. The best of these stories aren't just sad or grim for the sake of it—they have something to say, and use Sunset as a medium to explore depression, suicide, forgiveness and hope. Or the author just throws her off a building and everyone cries about it for a fic and a half.
by Honnim
Point is, Sunny connects with people in a way that most other characters can't. As a result, stories about her have a lot of creative avenues to explore depressing themes, such as following Sunset's traumatized stream of consciousness or deep dives into her psyche from outside and within.
Today's story does something I've not seen another story do well. I should preface by saying that if you haven't read the story, you really should do so before continuing, as there will be a spoiler of the reveal at the end, though I'll do my best to tag what I can. So get to reading.
Y'all good? I'm good, don't look at me like that. I'm waiting on you, ya turkey.
In her darkest moment, Sunset isn't alone. She has a friend. That friend's name is Misery, and Sunset sees her more and more. The true nature of Sunset's friend is cleverly hinted at by the first thing she says. So often people mistake depression and depths of despair for sad. But the truth is, while sadness is blue, depression is grey. And the author makes that distinction immediately and effectively with just a single line of dialogue. The nature of this story is to say more with less, and the euphemisms for depression and suicide are not lost on anyone who has wanted to "go away" before.
It's an exceedingly creative way to personify the tricksy nature of depression, likening it to an abusive partner doing everything they can to isolate you.
If you stay in the dark long enough, you're not going to turn the lights on ever again. They'll hurt your eyes. Better to stay here, in the blackness, with someone who's always there for you. Why would you go outside again? No one's reached out to you. They haven't seen you in days, but they haven't called. They don't care. Stay away from them. Stay away from everything.
Misery is the worst kind of comforting. She knows what Sunset is afraid of, and is willing and able to exploit that fear to keep Sunset all to herself. The story goes through the standard motions of Suicidal Sunset—regret, isolation, fear, despair, and a failed attempt. The difference is, My Best Friend shows the other side of that cycle. Sunset finds friendship, slowly feels better, and isn't as trapped by Misery anymore. But she's not safe. She'll never be safe. Misery is always around, and Sunset knows she'll see her again one day.
The awful reality of depression is that it never gets better. You just get better at dealing with it. And this story does a fantastic job of showcasing Sunset's experience in a truly unique and captivating way. It trades the extreme impact moments of higher intensity fics for a consistent and powerful sense of bleak despair that permeates every sentence. If you want something that'll make you think, more than it'll make you cry, this story is perfect for you.
Once again, thanks for reading my insomnia-induced mess of a review. If you know of a good SadSunny story and want me to look at it, there's comments n' stuff. Figure it out. If you want to read my previous review of another SadSunny fic, here's a link.
Sad Sunny Saves Souls,
~Scampy
Wow, you didn't do my suggestion from last time. This is rigged and unfair!
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This is no excuse! Rigged and unfair!
Hello!
Uh yeah, this is definitely a great story by Holy and he/she (sorry I’m not stocking the profile for the answer) and I’ve kinda noticed that their stories mostly focus on more realistic attributes and have human characters. So yeah.
But also I feel like this is basically a Greta Van Fleet to Lead Zepplin time for sadshimmer writers to replace old ones that seemed to end or dissapear, such as Nhyll (please come back).
Anyway that’s my opinion, not that it matters I’m just rambling for unknown reasons.
Thank you for doing this review thus bringing this story to my attention. It was a great read and a great review.
You mentioning that sadness is blue and depression is gray made me think of AlicornAcention's "Blue."
Also this is the reason why Sunset, Fluttershy and Luna are my 1, 2 and 3.