Romance Story Recommendation: To Perytonia by Cloudy Skies · 4:50am May 22nd, 2023
Hello! Welcome to the start of my romance recommendation series; a very sporadic one that will not appear in feed boxes very often, rest assured! I must confess that these posts are primarily for my own benefit; scandalous, I know. I want to improve my own writing skills, and making these reviews should hopefully serve to aid in that to some degree but I suppose we shall see.
*Very important to note: there's a spoilers’ section that I’ve covered up; the section that contains the bulk of my review. There’s a non-spoilers’ section above that if you’ve yet to read this story that gives my general impression of the story.*
With all that being said, the first story I recommend that I had just recently finished is:
To Perytonia by Cloudy Skies
Genre: Romance/Adventure
Short description by the author: Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity are tasked with establishing ties between Equestria and the strange people of Perytonia. Understanding and connecting with your own friends may yet be the bigger challenge.
Non-spoilers
This story does not lack in the department of niches, and I don’t mean this in any negative way. I’m just making mention of this because in order to be interested, you’d likely need to be a fan of FlutterDash, of stories taking place during or after a certain season (in this case, after season 2), and a grand adventure spanning over half a million words—or so you’d think. I’m here to argue you’d only need to be interested in one of those things in order to find yourself fully immersed in this world. I started out with only a half interest because of the cover art, with no particular interest in the pairing, a long story, or even an adventure! And yet, here I am writing a review for a fanfiction for the first time.
One of the first aspects—besides its Aspects—that grabbed me was its world-building, of which it is top-notch. I soon found myself absorbed by the Peryton and their ways, finding their communication to be most fascinating, albeit head-scratching at first; infusing storytelling with lessons learned. Now, as you journey, you'll likely find yourself confused by the strange new people, their words, and meaning, but fret not! The M3 (main 3—Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity in this case) are right there with you, and they too will be slowly unraveling the Peryton’s speech, mannerisms, and culture just as you are. Over time, you'll acclimate and become accustomed, falling right into their ways. Now, as for the relationship and romance department, it’s focused around Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, with there being plenty of cuddles to be had, with one Rarity caught in the crossfire, and I’m just going to leave it at that. Since this story takes place after season two, our friends don’t quite have their rough edges smoothed out, which, in a way, adds for some humorous moments… as well as a generous handful of ones that will lead you to bang your head into your desk. Despite my distaste for the author’s choice of showcasing these three being at their worst and then some along the journey, I still found myself enjoying myself, despite myself, the much-needed reprieves sprinkled throughout the story helping considerably. Overall, there's plenty of action, lots of new faces (most of whom I can't get enough of), tons of fumbles, heartwarming moments, and an amazing conclusion that ties just about everything up in a neat little bow with a cherry on top to boot.
Highly recommended. Now get out there and read!
Spoilers
Alright, spoilers time! You've been fairly warned; the spoilers are even covered up!
I suppose I should start with the good—of which there's a lot! As mentioned in the section above, the world-building is amazing and I mean it.
I found the way the Peryton communicated, primarily through storytelling and referencing stories, fascinating. At first, I found it challenging to grasp as I experienced this strange new world through our pony friends—so many unknowns, but that’s what made it exciting. The Aspects are brilliant, with them being individuals who may have taught, learned something valuable, or did something noteworthy, whether good, ambiguous, or a necessary evil; their lessons folding in with the Peryton and their constant weaving of new tales as they invoke the names of these Aspects. Now, obviously, our main group was very confused by this at first, but eventually they find their bearings, even learning an Aspect or two.
I must admit that, although I didn't immediately bond with the Peryton, I found the prospect of learning their ways exciting; a strange duality. However, it didn't take long for my fondness to grow, and what better place for that seed to be planted than in Orto? A city whose residents are not only accepting but also appreciative of foreigners—and that's an understatement! While this helped establish good relations between the Peryton and our pony group, ironically, the biggest conflicts arose within our own group rather than with the Peryton, but more on that later.
I loved how every city emphasized a different theme, and the Peryton there conducted themselves differently from another city, leading to further confusion for the group as they had to practically start over from scratch each time they reached a new destination. I'm torn between Vauhorn and Ephydoera—or, more accurately, the Grove—as being my favorite location. Vauhorn's Alluvium, where everyone shares their own stories to add to the Aspects through a form of consensus, is a neat idea. Fluttershy's story eventually being told later in the story was an incredible moment. I was frustrated by not seeing it unfold during the section it took place in but was taken aback by seeing it later, giving context and making what followed all the more impactful. I think it was handled beautifully. Then, for Ephydoera, there was the Sunwise Run; the foreshadowing here is perhaps my favorite of the story. Rainbow Dash being reluctant to push Fluttershy into joining her for a joust, Fluttershy not speaking her mind—a frustrating constant throughout most of the story—but ultimately culminating in a joust between one another, their interpersonal issues shedding off. It was the most satisfying part in the story for me.
Okay, now the interpersonal relationships; perhaps the most glaring persistent issue of the story. Not all of it was bad; in fact, there were a lot of extremely sweet and amazing moments between our gang and with the Peryton sprinkled throughout the entire duration, especially near the end. But in order to get to the great conclusion, there was a lot of trudging forward to do. Because the fic is primarily told through Rainbow Dash’s perspective, with the deviation being the written letters at the start of each chapter, I found myself perhaps the most frustrated by her out of the three when she’s at her worst because of seeing her inner thoughts; I wanted to scream whenever she doubted herself. Rainbow Dash is dense to the absolute extreme in this story, constantly doubting herself whenever she’s contemplating pushing Fluttershy to break out of her shell, believing that she's hurting her and that she won't be a good girlfriend by doing so. Now, yes, Rarity did get that idea into her head, or at least exacerbated it, but the fact that it takes a few hundred-thousand words for them to finally understand their issues and solve them, with the culmination of the joust between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, is conflicting for me. On one hand, it makes that part of the story all the more satisfying; on the other, it hurts the journey leading up to it. I don't personally like the route that had to be traveled in order to get to that point. I think it hurt the characterization of the characters, even if it does seem remedied by the end. Don’t misunderstand me; I believe that the main group is all perfectly in character throughout it all, especially knowing that the show dealt with absolute extremes with their characters at one point or another. It’s just that as a reader, it’s hard to get through the constant same mistakes they make for a long duration, whereas with the episodes, at least it passed by in a flash. Then there’s Fluttershy. Her not being able to speak her mind and tell her friend that she likes to be pushed forward, that she likes her friend being well... herself, pained me. She dropped subtle hints, which is most certainly not the best course of action given who she’s giving them to, but then again, I did find it sweet that she trusted her friend to be able to piece it together on her own; I’m conflicted there. However, that conflict goes back and forth for a majority of the trip, with a reprieve happening during their time spent in the Cauldron, which was much needed for the reader as it was for the group themselves. Rarity, of course, was not without her faults either, being obsessed with trying to introduce fashion to a people that don't understand it, with her becoming more and more frantic about it in each new city they get to. When she focuses on her dress in Vauhorn while Rainbow Dash is trying to talk to her, interrupting her constantly, keeping her from being able to initiate the talk that would have started unraveling the communication issues, I was left with a great sadness.
I know that's a lot of complaints, but I believe that the story was absolutely well done and is a masterclass in not only world-building but also in leaving me breathless during moments of tension (looking at you, prison break scene). I believe them working together during that part was beautifully done—from Luna’s hasty decision to help her friends with a solar eclipse, to Rainbow Dash pushing her friends to be their best, to Fluttershy breaking down the prison cell (perhaps symbolizing her breaking down her own shell), to Rarity finally being able to put the Peryton magic she’d learned to use.
Despite the clichés with the characters dancing around talking to one another, To Perytonia has so much going for it. One of my favorite aspects about this story is the ambiguity of romance and relationships, blurring the line in wonderful ways. One scene that blew me was when the main group made the trip through the cities once more, making a stop back at the Grove. Rainbow Dash waking up and comforting everyone, including the sleeping Peryton, was incredibly heartwarming and didn’t feel strange or out of place. What’s more, is that I didn’t even question it until after I had finished reading it and had to do a double take at my own initial reaction. I’m quite frankly flummoxed and impressed that the author was able to convey such a scene so naturally. I’m curious if that scene had taken place sooner, would I have had the same reaction or not? I can’t rightly say, but I will say that I gained a deeper appreciation and a new view on romance itself—a feat of strength that only a brilliant writer could convey.
A wonderful story all around and one I will never forget.
I will have to give this one a read! And surely keep an eye out for any future recommendations from you.
5730098
Oh, dear. Well, if you do start it, be prepared to set plenty of time aside, and don't forget the tissues. My own advice I regretted ignoring after the first time a tear—a happy one—trickled down.
Always nice to see someone having had such a time with this story, lol. And I say that with all seriousness, sounds like you got a lot out of it.
Also thought provoking to see people's thoughts and feelings on the frustration one can get with the story XD So tyvm for this write up! (Also lovely to still see people discovering the story)
5731618
I'm very happy I eventually got around to it. I believe I read through the first chapter not long after the story's initial release but I ended up putting it on hold until this year. The story deserves all the attention it gets and more! There was a lot to take in—the story is 500k+ words—sometimes it felt like its length (mostly during the frustrating parts lol), most of the time it blew by very quickly.
Thanks for coming 'round and taking time to look through my review!