This story is a sequel to In Search of Sand and Signs
It took a lot of encouragement from his energetic marefriend, but Sandstone Shine has finally made the move to Equestria. Together with Sapphire, he's half of a strange pair in a familiar land. Might as well settle in with a day out. See what the city of Canterlot has to offer.
This fic is a gift to the artist Ahobo, whose sketchpad gave life to my Seapony OC. Now I happily reciprocate by bringing his OCs to the page. But of course I'm not the first; Sapphire and Sandstone's treasure-hunting origin occurs in the linked prequel fic. Reading it is only necessary to understand the epilogue.
Chapters (5)
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Begone, mobile game Bot Account.
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And yet a trace of the past remains
Write up to come.
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Looking forward to it. A crucial lore tidbit for this AU: Canterlot’s deadliest cult call themselves “Jade Eye.”
Just keep those two words in mind while reading.
You absolute goon, you had me on edge the whole time with your little culty comment. I've written about more than enough cults in my day, and I just finished playing Echo, a visual novel about a guy returning to his small town in Ohio with his childhood friends and meeting a dark, paranormal secret. I even cued up a Fallout Equestria playlist for somber atmosphere- I 100% expected something to ruin this little date. What I got instead was a rom-com. You tease me so.
That being said,
Biology, biology! I love biology. You praised me a long time back on my addressing of crystal pony nature, more specifically my questioning of how they could see with transparent color rods. Nearly a year later you do the same damn thing, and in a much longer, more comedic scene. A job well done!
This fic is entirely dialogue and anecdote based, so I can praise the smaller things like headcanons I like. Yeah, I'll incorporate that into my circle of headcanons.
Your reference pool is still a mystery to me. This is either Fullmetal Alchemist, or an obscure guitar song on youtube with <1000 views.
You yet again share your belief that a rug is Unsmashable. Sadly, I can confirm this is untrue.
I'm not ashamed to admit I misread this as describing a Clowncore griffon whose pelt and feathers are of multiple, Zillyhoo-esque, eyeball straining pastels.
I like to write my Equestria as an urban spoof of modern Earth. You write yours as a grounded, realistic fantasy. We both agree on one thing; it's never more interesting than when it's exploring the boiling pot of cultures and species across the gamut of folklore. Rarely does a single species go unloved by you, and you always find something interesting to add to the talk.
You'll note I haven't talked much about the main leads; obviously, they contribute to the point I just brought up, being a lanky Saddle Arabian and a shiny Crystal, respectively, but it's much harder for me to discuss a character dynamic I like when I'm not at the pedals. Their interactions were natural, and despite being one perspective nearly the whole way through, both of their problems and anxieties were relayed to us naturally, although Sapphire's were shown in light of hindsight. For introducing two brand new characters, rapport and quiet moments are the way to go about it.
It's fun enough to see a Crystal mare and a Saddle Arabian stallion be in love in a completely new place. That alone is an intriguing premise, but to have both Sandstone and Sapphire be in turmoil for much of the fic, even outside the encounter with the griffon... I don't read that many romances, so there are grains of salt to be had with how "easy" this might seem, but it's refreshing to see that conflict laid out there without stating the obvious (and you manage to mask much of Sapphire's tension in the first two chapters as simply being nervous about eating crystals[?] and vomit-inducing anecdotes).
The minor characters get a thumbs up due to how unique they are in their chosen setting. Fitting that the most jarring combo, a dragon waitress in a fancy diner, helps kick the story off, but a changeling tour guide in a museum getting all the attention (I should tell you that he now just reminds me of a Max Lucado excerpt about attention-hogging museum tour guides blocking the painting from view), and a griffon doing street tricks are all... off compared to how we usually see them in fan fiction, off in a good way. Of course, they're not alone. These characters as devices are again good launchpads to that tension, and it's enough tension built up that it's more than enough to fuel the second-to-last chapter when it's just the two of them...
The whole world shrinks to just the two of them, and the contrast between being in public for the first three chapters and being personal and private in that one was the deal-maker. To truly love, there must be vulnerabilities, yes, and while I'll bounce off here from str8aura that we only get to see Sapphire's tension in full light in hindsight, both of them do end up confessing to each other their fears... and only when they embrace opening up their own weaknesses to each other and yet still holding onto each other...
Without the context of the prequel, it's already a good character deep-dive. With it, it's even more. Even without knowing everything about the dark underworld that comes with their secret powers, maybe that makes their romance/love more precious. I don't know the full story of Vesperal, but in contrast to her broken yet determined loneliness of someone who's gone into the abyss, Sandstone and Sapphire being in the optimistic honeymoon of both their love and their greater context of this Lovecraftian other-world provides a foundation of hope.
It's a great fic, especially knowing the AU that it's set in. Thank you for it!