It Is Recommendsday, My Dudes #40 · 7:21pm Dec 22nd, 2021
Today's batch shares the common theme of LGBT relationships - delving a bit more deeply into the themes than the average fluffy Mane 6 ship.
Ironically, today's chosen lead story is a Mane 6 ship.
An End by Root Head is a humanized (not EQG, despite similarities) tale where, with their time in high school about to end, Fluttershy and Applejack's ships cross paths.
The opening chapter sees shy Fluttershy escape the loud, boisterous noise of school and her friends for a few quiet minutes in the woods. And finds Applejack there, sitting on a rock. In turn, the second chapter takes things from Applejack's perspective as she has a moment of "Well, crap. I'm gay for Fluttershy."
The story as a whole is wonderfully introspective - there's very little dialogue, but we get to look more inside the heads of the two central characters. And while the text is relatively short, it takes its time. The subject isn't rushed as it meanders through the important moments and focuses on the little touches. The author was initially concerned about the story's pacing, but I find it actually works quite well. It's a tale that doesn't feel the need to stampede towards the climax. It works well.
We veer more comedy next, with TheDeflator's somewhat deceivingly named Rainbow Dash Asks Zephyr Breeze Out on a Lunch Date.
Seeing that title and judging on it alone, you might think it's just another Zephyr piece of him leering at Dash. It's not. (Though, as the chapter title states, that does actually happen.) No, it's far more simple: Dash shows up at Fluttershy's and instead runs into Zephyr Breeze. They have the usual brief verbal fence before he casually tosses out: “Well, you know that fake crush I had on you?”
And from there, it veers off the expected track and into a much more honest talk between the two. (Which is not to say they don't still spar a bit - the characters are still true to themselves.)
I really enjoy this story partially because of that - it bridges the gap between Zeph and Dash without breaking who they are. It adds to them rather than takes away, which is something a lot of stories in this vein miss. Plus, well, both of them are also so damn hopeless it's adorable. That helps keep it light and cute despite the relatively heavy topics on their hearts.
And lastly, a writer who I'd pegged for this before making a splash: Past Tartarus and Back by Space_Kase.
So this one was slotted in here before the results from the M/M Shipping Contest came down - which named this fic at second place. It made me briefly rethink if I wanted to plug this story, but at the same time? Space_Kase is certainly new and with a relatively small fanbase, and this story is absolutely wonderful.
Set in the Crystal War timeline from Starlight and Twilight's jaunt around alternate dimensions, it focuses on the homefront and the operation of Sweet Apple Acres to feed the frontlines of the war. Big Mac and Applejack slog through their days, working themselves ragged to do their part in saving Equestria. So too is their occasional houseguest, Soarin: courier to the crown, Big Mac's coltfriend and too damn brave for his own good.
What really drives this story home is how understated so much of it is. A lot rides on implication as much as statement - the author does a great job of making the text feel like how it speaks. So much of it has that heavy weight on it of daily toil - pushing down from the push each day to go a bit further, a bit longer, to help a bit more to do their part in things. Of how even with the best of goals and causes, it wears someone down. And then there's bursts of dramatic moments - like the letter's arrival - that act like punctuation to the rest of the story's words.
It earned second for damn good reason, and stands well above a lot of pretty strong pieces by pretty well-known authors. Absolutely worth the read.
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