It's been a long time since Adagio Dazzle lost her powers but she never lost her drive. In a small town far away from Canterlot High, she and her onetime rival Trixie share an apartment and make a tough living together off odd jobs, street racing, and Trixie's magic act. She hasn't thought about the other Dazzlings for years, but one summer night, Aria Blaze turns up on their doorstep with shocking news.
Basically a product of my rampant Ameriphilia. A little piece about independence and self-discovery.
Chapters (1)
Not bad, specially Adaggio's detailed mindset. Maybe you should continue this.
I enjoyed reading this. Everything sort of fits together nicely through im confused as to why aria didn't bring up the number.
am i the only person who knows the painting?
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probably not—it's pretty famous. one of my favourite genre shows referenced it in an episode where the characters get together at their usual diner for plot reasons and all their pent-up feelings towards one another come out. the painting seems to be a recurring cultural signifier for noirish gloominess, gritty yet mundane personal conflicts, &c., hence why i used it.
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Anybody else?
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well, i'd imagine so. there's a pretty long list of pop culture references recorded just in its wikipedia article, from works as diverse as The Simpsons, Glengarry Glen Ross, CSI, a Tom Waits album, Hard Candy, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
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Tru
Awesome. Pretty sad - to me - but awesome. I loved Adagio and Sonata's relashionship, as well as Adagio and Aria's.
Have you ever considered submitting this story to Equestria Daily? You can find out how to do so here.
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I did indeed submit this to EqD, but I'm afraid to say that it was rejected. Thanks for your vote of confidence, though!
This was beautiful. The language here accentuated wonderfully the probably more difficult and certainly more mundane path Adagio took than Sunset Shimmer, whom I can't help but regard as an implicit (indeed absent) foil, but one still leading somewhere worthwhile. And its general groundedness let the flashier language—like the the paired list, the alliteration, faster faster faster—stand out the more.
The only point I disliked was swearing by Celestia; it's not that it was an Equestrian oath, but that I find it odd that they'd curse by the name of an enemy or adversary. Granted, I could be entirely off base here, especially if it's something they canonically did that I'm forgetting. Anyway, when that's the biggest negative...
I think this story is outstanding. I reviewed it here, and did a little analysis of it in a comment on that post. I also recommended it to Seattle's Angels & Paul Asaran.
There's a typo in it somewhere where a word or two is missing, but now I forgot where.
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Thanks! I'm a little surprised but very flattered, and you're spot on about my thinking on this story re: exploring the decisions made by the Dazzlings and their divergent personalities in the aftermath of their fall (the giveaway is in the title) vs. providing a plot resolution that to me would potentially undermine the story and characters. I put Adagio in this situation to invite reflection on the choices she'd already made.
Anyway, it's always great to see a story hit home—especially one that I didn't expect to get much attention— so I'll respond to your review in detail at a more forgiving hour.
That was rather amazing.
That was a fine read, I must say. I did not see the whole bearing of supposedly immortal and powerful creatures being demoted to human teenagers, but your story sure did a good job of highlighting that.
Although there wasn't really a character arc (although Adagio understanding that competition between humans is not necessarily tied to malevolence might count as a bit of growth), I empathized strongly with her. Might be because I'm prone to brooding about my own past, or because I know the pain of realizing you neglected someone after it is too late. The absence of a real resolution did not bother me, since it felt more like a snapshot of someone's life than a story, and there need not be a resolution for that kind of thing.
Beautiful. Bitter though
Having never watched Rainbow Rocks and bearing only a minimal knowledge of the characters I must say that you've painted a fine picture here — I had a clear idea of each of the Dazzlings by the end. The prose itself left a rather sombre, humbled, and, at times, bitter taste — not something I'd anticipated coming in, but was quite fitting for Adagio's portrayal.
It's intriguing how the Dazzlings' fall from grace can be seen as a parable to a myriad of similar scenarios that can unfold in real life; I must say that I can relate somewhat, though the process of adaptation is ongoing, and, perhaps unfortunately, my position at the moment is closer to that of Sonata. Needless to say, I've mentally interpolated a more optimistic ending.
Anyway, this is one engrossing piece of writing; I don't think I have anything negative to say other than that there were a small number of editing slips.
Really beautiful. I loved the obvious Springstreen feeling seeping through the whole of the piece. My only disappointment was that the second time the radio played there wasn't another reference like you did Badlands in the first one (thanks for getting that stuck in my head now). This is in my opinion the most aesthetically pleasing way to write a short story. There's no time for a character arc, it just gives the reader a portrait and an event that forces the character(s) to delve deeper into their emotions. I love the impartiality of the narrating, even though it's an over-the-shoulder of Dagi's perspective. Would love to read more of Springsteen's America from the EqG perspective, be it a continuation or a portrait of another familiar character's extremely American life. Would love hitting Thunder Road with Rarity or Working on the Highway with Applejack or doing the E Street Shuffle with Pinkie Pie or reliving the Glory Days with Rainbow Dash or trekking through Jungleland with Fluttershy or getting Lost in the Flood with Twilight or, shit, I just love the Americana that you and The Boss capture. There's just nothing quite like big V8s and wide open streets in a still-gleaming Rust Belt. Thanks man.
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Thanks for your comment! Glad to see another Springsteen enthusiast enjoy this. Also, while I didn't mention the last song on the radio, there is a reference to a line from Independence Day in Adagio's last piece of dialogue.
I make it a habit to read this story every season or so.
All of the drama in this fic felt absolutely natural, none of it felt forced or overdone.
Your writing turned these characters into real people, and that's the highest compliment I can give.
You can has review!