Ghost Mike's Ponyfic Review Monday Musings #64 · 5:00pm May 29th, 2023
Hey, remember when I once tried themed character weeks? Yeah, me neither: it had four attempts early on*, but they were more just fics matching the chosen theme then forming a statement. About time for a better revival, I say. How’s about a quintet of Cadance fics, all adding up to something to properly say about her?
* For the curious, they were a Rarity week, two G5 weeks for the launch of Tell Your Tale and Make Your Mark, and one all with readings by StraightToThePointStudio.
I have made no secret in the past, when the topic has come up, that Cadance in the show does rub me the wrong way for a few reasons. There is of course her toy insertion plug reason for existing, the first to be transparently so, not helped by the irrevocable change it made to alicorn lore and importance in the short term (solar-body-moving living gods… and a former babysitter? Kay.) But even on the personality level, she was very much designed for her plot role in “A Canterlot Wedding”, down to Britt McKillip being cast more for her ability to play/sing a nasty Chrysalis-as-Cadance. Thus, actual Cadance was designed to be nice, and not a whole lot more.
That doesn’t mean that more angles couldn’t have been found for her, but due to her being a minor character and not really getting a proper focus episode (every case is really more about someone else, from Twilight and Discord in “Three’s a Crowd” to Twilight/the other Princesses in most two parters, to Flurry Heart in most Season Six-on episodes, and so forth), this didn’t really pan out. She is mostly just the nice wife/sister-in-law/mother, that happens to be a princess. And while relative to nearly all future instances of designed-for-the-plot characters that became recurring players, she is fine, and I do like her fine, that’s about all she is. Fine. Not without her intelligent moments, and plenty sweet, but not much more. And it probably says a lot that the fact of her never getting a focus episode was never clamoured for by fans with anything near the ferocity that Celestia’s was.
But! This is Ponyfic, the place where we can expand on characters as we please, make right of what the show if we want, the works. So, this week I wanted to show five fics that either have Cadance in the limelight, or as a major supporting player, and are either about her without her being defined by her relation to another, or flesh her out substantially through what she does for the fic’s actual perspective character. Obviously, being introduced in April 2012 means there’s several thousand fics with her tagged in them, yet the fact of her canon role still being strongly defined by her relation to others means a hefty chunk of those are in supporting roles. So I did find many of the fics in my lists weren’t really eligible for this. But after a while, I settled on a satisfying eclectic mix. We’ve got a unique take on the timeframe of Cadance’s ascension, a snapshot of her time as a foalsitter and how she can help the young understand more as they age, a less happy-go-lucky side of her an Twilight’s relationship (which probably isn’t about her all that much, but I figured it counted enough), a Badass Princess fic (always got to have one!), and a fic that combines two of my favourite things: a character’s will to better themselves off unflattering comparisons to others opening up new avenues for them, and earth pony magic.
Between these five, we really get a glimpse of just some of the directions Cadance can be taken in. And, probably not a surprise, but due to me looking for really satisfying examples, the quality level is quite high today too. Revel and enjoy these solid depictions of the Princess of Love! And just squeaking in for May, the month of love, no less (February, ssh, there’s a good lass). 
This Week’s Spectral Stories:
The Rose of Florentina by Sledge115
Heart to Heart by Crosis
An Unepic Pony War In The Non-Distant Future by anowack
Cadance the Unbroken by Graymane Shadow
How to Farm Rocks (in three easy steps) by mushroompone
Weekly Word Count: 36,019 Words
The Rose of Florentina by Sledge115
Genre: Drama/Slice of Life
Celestia, Cadance
4,256 Words
February 2021
Nearly a millennium after the loss of Luna, it has finally happened: a pony has ascended to an alicorn. Finally, Celestia is no longer alone. She’s so excited, she cannot wait to speed across Equestria, to the distant village where a certain Mi Amore Cadenza, formerly a pegasus, is waiting, just as curious as Celestia is excited.
Is this only the 2nd fic of Sledge115’s I’ve reviewed? Not counting rating Princess Celestia Really Likes Hair Dyes and In Night's Garden in my pre-review days, it would seem so. And I’m publishing this review 11 months after the first one of a fic of theirs (this review was stockpiled for… a while). I’ll have to fix that, he’s a cracking author that many folks routinely sing the praises of. This is as good a place to start as any, not least for actually delving into the first meeting of Celestia and Cadance after the latter ascends. What we get is a piece high on emotion, partly stated directly, yet mostly implied through minimalism. The characters are rarely silent for too long, yet there’s always a lot being said without words, either to each other or to the reader, from the obvious to the subtle (and, I’m sure, callbacks to Spectrum, which this is technically in the same universe of, though I understand it’s fully independent outside of a distant family connection from Luna down to Cadance).
In fact, one could almost say it’s too minimalist. Or, at least, it leaves the reader wanting more, giving us Celestia’s excitement, fragments of her trip, a recap and the end of the two talking, and then just a few moments on the return journey and back at Canterlot. Obviously that’s because what we have here is pretty amazing, nailing a melancholy tone for Celestia for the usual reasons but also for Cadance, off the back of leaving her village but also how she ascended too (and fret not if you don’t know that from the Twilight Sparkle chapter book remembered solely for Cadance’s backstory, it’s all implied clearly enough to feel vivid regardless). And while I wouldn’t go as far as the atypical “where’s the next chapter?” complaint some might have, there is a bit of a fragmented-past-what-is-ideal feel, probably from the palindrome POV swap throughout, as much like rhyming poetry as it is.
I’m complaining, really. This fic nails just about every moment big and small, from fluster on Kbitz’s part, to Cadance having different levels of reactions and responses to everything, to even such minor moments as the characterisation of the leaders of Cadance’s town. And despite what I said earlier, all these moments do add up to a very satisfying hole, making for a fic that, while not a tear-jerker by any stretch, is in the perfect emotional space. It’s all enough to make me seriously consider bumping this up a rating, but regardless, even if you prefer your one-shots to be less of a teaser warm-up to a non-existent bigger whole, this is not one to miss.
Rating: Really Good
Heart to Heart by Crosis
Genre: Romance/Slice of Life (w/Sex)
Cadance, Spike, Celestia, Twilight, Shining Armor
8,288 Words
November 2012
Spike had to know the answer. He had to know it so much, he improvised an excuse for not attending a family gathering, all so Cadance would foalsit him alone. After all, not only is she very understanding, this is something she knows about. The question? “I want to know what love is.”
Even for a “Birds and the Bees” comedy (or at least a light, silly and upbeat tale), 38K+ views is a lot. Happily, this one justifies it. It’s a little lumpy in its construction, taking its time to get going, and also making it unclear except by implication how old Spike is (about a Kindergartener, maybe another year, as Twilight in a small role is also rather naive and innocent). And the notion of Celestia as Spike’s mom (and Cadance as his cousin) is present enough that it’s a rough one to get used to (course, this was years before #40 of the G4 comic or Sparkle’s Seven). Other than that, this is great, avoiding any icky territory primarily through fully encapsulating Spike as a little boy who is genuinely curious and straining to tell different kinds of love apart.
While normally taking its time getting to the major selling point would be a detriment, here Cadance working through different levels of platonic love is both nicely enlightening to Spike and a good calm before the storm for her, so it works too. Later, even when the fic is treading on familiar territory of a misunderstanding spiralling out of control (and earning the ire of a certain Princess), it mires it for maximum awkward comedy that works because of how hilariously a child’s mind took the advice that Cadance thought she had future-proofed against any fallouts. So we've got both extremes here, and they work and compliment each other, making the fic never feel like a lewd one mugging for laughs, and thus the comedy lands harder and works better. All brought together with warm character chemistry and an uncommon timeline framing (I think this fic would lose a lot if it took place after Spike’s introduction to Rarity).
If you’re normally rather adverse to these kinds of child-learning-about-sex comedies, this will be just what you need. And if you like them, this is one of the best.
Rating: Really Good
An Unepic Pony War In The Non-Distant Future by anowack
Genre: Comedy/Slice of Life
Twilight, Cadance, Celestia, Luna, Mane 6
10,030 Words
May 2013
On the cusp of Twilight becoming Equestria’s 4th Princess, Ponyville is playing host to the Summer Sun Celebration once again. That’s all fine. Decidedly less fine is that, in the aftermath of it, Celestia and Luna desire for themselves a vacation, and they want Twilight and Cadance to fulfil their duties in their absence. Very much not fine, once the pair have realised this isn’t a joke, is that the two have a disagreement on who should get celestial or lunar moving duties.
Not unlike anowack’s later The Princess of Books, this is a fic that, while playing some aspects that the show couldn’t quite, feels quite episode-like or at least evokes a similar experience. It’s not as good, somewhat because the subplots don’t feel as well-integrated with each other when not literally sharing page space and there is some nudging of the plot and characters to enable the fic’s story. The vaguely “Lesson Zero” echoes here and the Mane 5 assuming such of Twilight land rather softly, for instance. As does the balance between Twilight’s snarkier, more competitive side and her more collected princess personality, with the switch between the two feeling like they often come from two different fics. Moreso, new developments are often just tossed out without being all that organically built up, which makes Cadance’s competitive side especially come off a bit odd; there’s just some details or spark in the prose around these things.
Please understand I am speaking relatively, comparing this to a fic the author churned out barely half-a-year later. Without that to hold this to, there’s little about this that could be called actively disappointing; we have light comedy throughout that rarely drifts into out-and-out laughs but which always keeps the reader engaged; a nice clean pace that doesn’t rush but keeps things moving; a healthy mix of the expected-yet-still-engaging and the surprises, both in the plot and the comedy. And being written in the netherworld between Seasons Three and Four, we have oddities that add character, like Twilight’s tree home being a palace and the (perfectly logical) interpretation of each season of the show being a year with this Summer Sun Celebration being the 3rd since the premiere, rather then “Princess Twilight Sparkle”’s inane decision to make the events of the firee three seasons just one year and causing untold timelines headaches. Among others.
Not a comedic slice of life that’s going to wow you, then, but a pleasurable one that sticks the landing where it matters even if some aspects land a little softly. Well-suited to a bit of laid-back fun.
Rating: Pretty Good
Cadance the Unbroken by Graymane Shadow
Genre: Dark/Drama (w/mild Violence, Death, Gore)
Cadance
3,221 Words
January 2021Reread
Celestis is the Lightbringer. Luna is Mistress of the Night. Twilight Sparkle is the Master of Magic. And then there’s Cadance, the Princess of Love. The one ponies think they understand easiest. How much could there be to being Princess of Love, after all? And it is for that reason that such derisions as “weak” and “useless” have been thrown at Cadance for much of her life. The thing is, she doesn’t disagree. But she would add that they are what make her strong.
This fic was intended to be a one-off exploration of Cadance in a situation where she didn’t need saving, yet it was such a hit on the featured box for then-unknown author Graymane Shadow that it spurned follow-ups for Celestia, Twilight and Luna in similar situations of their weaknesses being tested against their will (though all are standalone enough). As a result, there are some ways in which this one can feel like a teaser or proof of concept for the others, both because it is shorter, at 3.2K to the 4.4-5K length, and because the first half of this is a sleight of hand of Cadance unsure what is going on as she confronts her failures. Meaning the actual “Badass Princess” angle that is the primary draw of this Four Princesses, Four Demons series is limited largely to the last thousand words.
The counterpoint is that this does explore unusual territory for Cadance. What is it like to feel not just love, but the absence of it, so easily? How would that make one who knows the other extreme of pure love think? How does that reflect on her and her failures? And in what way do they all blend together to keep her will indomitable? Not simple answers to such questions either, yet they come across that way due to not just the characterisation and narrative, but the delivery. Graymane uses evocative prose to sell everything here from the pervasive wrongness of the first half being more “something’s wrong, but I don’t know what” more than the failure case of “oh, this is outside forces generating this scenario”, right through to how Cadance both vanquishes the threat and what she says on herself while doing so.
Thus, even if it is a little slight and straightforward and more of a prologue to the later entries than anything, this is still a really enjoyable, worthwhile tale on its own right, and as compelling an argument as you’re likely to find on what can be done with Cadance in fanfiction while remaining true to her title and canon depiction. Helps that it knows which details to leave to the margins and implication, and which to focus on. So it’s never cut short in a distracting way. Not with the other three to also look at.
Rating: Pretty Good
How to Farm Rocks (in three easy steps) by mushroompone
Genre: Romance/Comedy/Slice of Life
Cadance, Limestone
10,224 Words
May 2021Reread
Hearing firsthoof of Twilight’s new relationship with Applejack and how it’s gotten her in touch with her previously-untapped earth pony magic has really got Cadance thinking about how she’s done virtually nothing with hers since ascending. Technically speaking, she’s not all that good at unicorn magic either, or even much of a flyer despite being born with wings, but she’s on ground zero here. So it is that she finds herself showing up at the rock farm belonging to Pinkie’s family, hoping to learn a bit about earth magic from the supposed masters of the art. She didn’t expect to get a grumpy-yet-accommodating mare who much preferred showing-by-doing, nor that she would find herself strangely motivated even more than prior to keep up with this tutelage.
This is certainly a strange influx of plot threads, but then again it was written for the 2021 Original Pairings. Truth be told, Limestone interacting with nearly anyone beyond her family is going to result in some variance to how they react and adapt to her nonchalant attitude and personality. In the right author’s hands, such details can be used to say a lot about both ponies, and that is the case here: it’s a telling fact that Limestone reacts not one whit to Cadance being a princess, yet hearing Cadance is here partly to one up a sister-in-law is all the incentive needed to take the princess under her wing. And on the other end, beyond the fire in the belly as the inciting incident, Cadance’s mix of rolling with Limestone’s metaphors for how the rock farming works as she doesn’t even realise why she’s feeling more compelled to work alongside Limestone shades quite a few different dynamics on her.
Cadence is the focal character, but it’s Limestone that hogs the best characterisation here. Even after mushroompone has sold us on why Limestone would take Cadance on like this, the growth from her standoffish nature to Cadance’s naivete to an genuinely-proud-in-her-own-way mentor is skillfully handled, and whether Limestone’s actions or words were harsh or soft, they always felt right. The peripheral players sell well too, even as small as their roles are: Shining in particular excels as his supporting self and seeing what Cadance can’t.
And of course, there’s earth pony magic. It’s not really the point of the story, just a metaphor itself, but the way rocks and minerals and such are felt and weaved through the earth lands solidly and keeps a nice bit of lore at the margins. Lore I lap up, as I love this stuff. Gotta own your biases, you know?
Honestly, there was so much I remembered fondly about this fic, from start through to resolution, that it pains me slightly to say it’s not as great as I remembered. The somewhat brittle dynamic with Twilight that kicks this off is a little hard to swallow (mostly from cutting from that to Cadance just showing up at the farm, it feels like a premise getting rushed through, like the fic had little time to be written or had to not be any longer), but that goes by quickly. The odder thing is the romance itself; much of the story plays out with the feelings being far more platonic respect then an actual attraction, such that when it becomes apparent it is romantic, it basically just happens as acknowledgment, and that’s it. It is integrated through the story and set up well, feeling like a natural resolution, yet at the same time, it feels undernourished, and that with a few changes, the relationship would be purely platonic and the fic wouldn’t feel marginally incomplete and undernourished on the landing. Though I understand this was conceived as a romance, then the rest of the story took over in the writing process, so a non-romantic version (which would have still been perfectly eligible for the Original Pairings contest, rules and all!) is only a hypothetical reality here.
Regardless, the characterisation and tone of the two lead ponies, the flow of much of the events here, the use of earth magic in an easily-approachable, non-exposition manner, all add up to a really solid result. An undernourished romance aspect dilutes the result somewhat, but only to the point of not being great – the rest of the strengths still makes this a delightful winner for fans of either or both characters. A Honourable Mention well deserved!
Rating: Really Good
Spooky Summary of Scores:
Excellent: 0
Really Good: 3
Pretty Good: 2
Decent: 0
Passable: 0
Weak: 0
Bad: 0
Poor Cadance. A literal product of the times. Even the Magic: The Gathering panel at the last Bronycon couldn't pin down what color type she should fall into. Still, all the better for fanfic writers to work with this blank canvas.
Of these stories, I read An Unepic Pony War In The Non-Distant Future and enjoyed it well enough. Yeah, the conflict is contrived, but it lead to many humous bits so I'm willing to let that slide.
The most interesting Cadance stories that I've found usually take place before the show begins, when she's in her foalsitter role. These typically involve Sunset Shimmer and how these two could interact. Anything after that and she's kinda... just there. Though I have read a few stories that try to dive deeper into how Cadance's powers could work and some are really creative. Some are downright scary, too.
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There were quite a few stories I was going to feature here about precisely that, which I couldn’t because they were ultimately more about Sunset than Cadance. But it’s a very interesting period of time for both characters (even my usual EqG indifference isn’t a factor here!). Right now I’m reading and adoring TCC56’s ongoing First Hoof Account, for instance.
Taken as a percentage of her appearances, aye, largely true. Only that when’s tagged in several thousand fics gives us a sizeable chunk of show-timeline stories with her that really do something dynamic. But she’s hardly the only character to suffer from this, and relative to other offenders, mild enough.
You don't say… If that sort of stuff interests you, you might want to consider reading Cadance the Unbroken that I highlighted above. There's a fair share of those elements towards the end of the fic.
The last story has Limestone Pie and is by mushroompone. Plus it focuses on the interaction of two characters we never see interacting with one another in canon or fanon. I don't need to read the review to be sold.
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But… because you quite like this space's ghost host, you read it anyway and were even more sold!
…Right?
Honestly, Cadance is one of the few MLP characters I just couldn't get a handle on. "Nice" is the most accurate term for her if you want to do a one-word description, and that's fine if you're pigeon-holing a real person, but absolutely awful if you're talking about a fictional character.* She's essentially Princess of Suburbia, and what does one do with that?
Even given the quality of the fics you've reviewed here, I didn't rate any of the ones I've read as more than a high three stars. (But I freely admit that, for me,
CadenceCadance** has to climb out of a hole to become an interesting character.)I'm a bit surprised that you didn't pick a Skywriter fic to review. His Cadance of Cloudsdale cycle is the best treatment of her*** that I've come across. If you're interested, I'd recommend Spa and Order, Gone So Long, Indiscretions, or How to Remove a Unicorn Tooth****, for light, quick reads, and The First Time You See Her for a longer one.
Oh, and damned near everything else by Skywriter as well.
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* Mostly. It was the Nice vs. Nasty dynamic that made A Canterlot Wedding work so well, and look which of those two became the more popular character.
** The fact that I have to retype her name every damned time, doesn't help to endear her to me.
*** i.e., making her complex, interesting, sympathetic, and entertaining.
**** More of an adorkable filly Twilight story, but Cadance's character is subtly and beautifully portrayed there.
It's fun to look back at that one and joke that it's either 'the one that started it all' or 'he peaked early and it was all downhill after that' (the answer is, of course, both).
About the time I hit Twilight's story I was already deep into thinking of the things I would have changed if I'd planned on making it a series. But, as noted on the story, it was just a bit of a response to people making fun of Lovebutt. My first two stories at the time had had about 60 views and a few upvotes each, so my hope was that this one might get about 10 votes, good or bad, and maybe 100 views. After all, I'd even put a picture on it, and posted it during the day when people might actually read it.
Yeah. The actual reaction was unexpected, to say the least.
Fortunately, the gray in my hair isn't just for show, and I can look back at this one with the perspective it needs. I think there's some strength to the simplicity and slight under-writing, value in the less-is-more approach. If anything, I have more regrets for not taking more time on the initial followups; while Celestia and Luna came out more or less fine, Twilight definitely got the short end of the stick. But, a teeny bit of 'horse fame' (which was a very new feeling) had me feeling the pressure to strike while the iron seemed hot.
I'd like to think I've learned since then, with the greater care more evident in Shining and Blueblood's turns at the tale.
As always, thanks for the kind words.
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Oh, but of course! Coast to coast.
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Not remotely surprising for you, buddy. Even apart from how I feel largely the same, yet can like nearly any time of character if they're done well, I know vividly by now how much you like competent characters who are active and take names (in your breakdown of the G5 cast on one of my posts last year where you ranked them out of the 3 factors that mattered to you most, you said of Sunny that other than being nice, there was nothing to her in the show).
For better or for worse, I have, in the past while, often used canon Cadance mentally as a benchmark when developing characters; if they ever feel like they're getting a bit bland, I compare then mathematically to Cadance, and if they're becoming too blandly nice, I refocus and find ways either to de-sand their edges, or accentuate their other personality traits to flaws even while they are nice in these situations. No expert on character crafting, but it's served me well so far.
Scanning over his library again, I admit I probably should have. Still gonna have scheduling/time casualties! But I do feel all the fics I picked today are strong ones. Regardless, I will bookmark reading one of his sometime soon.
Not compelled to not give a damn, pull a FoME and spell it the "correct" way of "Cadence"?
You both concurred on Ditzy Doo over Derpy the other week here, after all.
This is true, as evident from his fics that I have read. Not least one of my favourite EqG stories ever, Roaming, as noted in an aside last week. Takes a lot to do that!
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It's funny, you know; many authors break out from one particular fic just being a viral hit for a short while, to the extent it defines their reputation. I know I thought of you for a while as the "guys behind that quarter of fics of Equestria's princesses fighting demons embodying sins as their counters". But sometimes between when I last thought of those fics and now, it's faded away, and I no longer think of you primarily for those fics.
Besides which, I don't think there's anything to be ashamed of in rushing out the follow-ups to capitalise on the horse fame, especially off your fic traffic before this one. It brought you fans, you delighted many, you learnt a lot, and you've put that to use in future fics. Everyone's a winner!
Oh, there is for sure; I probably didn't clarify it well, but I think the fic is well crafted enough to avoid feeling too obviously cut short. And the fact of it being far less about the demon confrontation than the rest, which all jump right in with that, more or less, does set it apart too.
Oh? My memories of the others are foggy, not having looked at them since they were new, but I recall the Celestia one feeling the most off. But I'm not trusting myself there. Other sensation was a bit of formula fatigue by the end, of the particulars cadence (
) to the structure of how their bouts against these demons embodying sins of their soul against them, but that's all too vague to stand by on now. So I'll take the author's word for it!
The hilarious irony behind this is that, well, it's precisely because people were lamenting there weren't any follow-ups that I decided to write one - though of course, I consider Sogno di Volare a different story instead of abruptly adding further chapters to this story, and I'm strictly against labelling things as required reading
.
At any rate, thank you for the lovely thoughts
I'm glad it's warmed your heart, just as Cadenza warmed Celestia's.
Oops! I take it back. I did also read Cadance the Unbroken, and that was one of the stories I was thinking of when I was talking about her powers being scary.
In which mushroompone is found to have written a really good fic. Yet again.
Also, I'm particularly pleased you enjoyed Heart to Heart. That little subgenre of "birds and bees" fics is so easy to get wrong and cringy, but when it goes right it's brilliant. Crosis did the latter.
Seconding iisaw's recommendation of Skywriter's fics. How to Remove a Unicorn Tooth is one I remember: I thought it was a smidge below Skywriter's very best, with a tad too much wordy exposition (for me, egad) -- but the great world-building and characterisation meant it was still enough for a four-star rating in the end.
Ah, Cadence.~
Lucky for her that she arrived so early in the fandom that everything was uncritically devoured, and the foibles of her introduction were laughed off with gently-teasing jokes and comics: her being the princess of Product Placement, the vomited introduction of Twilight's own brother, the moral dubiousness of her power, and the silly coincidence of this powerful royal being Twilight's old baby sitter. Certainly, the transition was eased by the episodes themselves being strong, including a brilliant bait-and-switch with the advertising, a rocking new villain, and incredible music. But after that, she faded from the limelight without even endearing personality quirks to build from.
The addition of Flurry Heart didn't change this, even so many years later. Silver Quill did an interesting video comparing the perfect royal couple unfavorably to the other on-screen nuclear family (the Cakes), showing that the latter feels far more likeable and 'good role-models' as we see them work through stress and struggles. It got a little better towards the end as they dealt with realities of parenthood, but these remained the exception instead of the rule.
Of course, the comics did what they do (often excellently) and provided likeable depth, history, and personality to the pair - Cadence's exchanges with Tempest Shadow are particularly fun, none-the-less because they poke at her generic goodyness themselves. But comics are of course their own thing. As are fanfics, and naturally the fandom has taken this ill-used character and run with her around the world and back.
While not typically one of my own favorites, I have come to like some Cadence stories. Skywriter's "Cadence of Cloudsdale" series was a very fun look at her as a young princess, far more self-aware of the long Solar shadow she finds herself in than Twilight ever was. On the list above, How to Farm Rocks is one I remember specifically and fondly, scratching a fun itch of being both an uncommon pairing and wonderful exercising in worldbuilding. With double credit on both counts, because Limestone is a treat and explorations of earth pony magic will never fail to get my attention (in part from my regret it was never covered in the show).
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Lol, this prompted me to seek out said video. Good stuff as always from Silver Quill, especially off the now-jossed jokes.
Ah yes, the Tempest two-parter. By some accounts, the last truly great comic(s) in the main series (there were a few pleasantly good ones still to come – I'm quite fond of the one of Applejack trying to recreate her mother's pie recipe – but that was it for that bar and for multi-parters). In Summer 2018.
Me too!
You'll notice it was the only reread among this list. As you know I'm no romance advocate, but an Original Pairings entry that really produces unusual chemistry in terms of personality alone is likely to grab my eye, if done well. As this assuredly was.
Something we both continue to feel. It truly is an Achilles heel, grabbing us off of the tantalising possibilities, isn't it?
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Second only to a longing for a true Celestia episode, for me.
Cadance is a peculiar character, to say the least, but I kind of see her as one who not only embodies the virtue of family and general love, but passions as well. In the show's timeline she always comes off as somewhat bored and longing for something more.
It's like she was born in wrong time and would've felt herself better if there was some challenges around her, so she could've contrast her personality and test her character. I mean, something except babysitting pint-sized powerhorse
Also, I strongly disagree with fanon's reading that her powers can directly influence minds 😒
Yeah, as I recall, she settled a lover's quarrel there that one time, but here is the thing: people in such cases just need to get a bit of understanding of each other, not brainwashing. And that I believe, Princess of Love's magic can provide absolutely. Like, what about subtlety, people? Love is about a myriad of big and little things, opting to the most direct and banal explanation is kind of boring, no?
In short, she really has potential in my mind, even in her 'canon' incarnation. You just need to place her into a real conflict, and the character will simply write itself. Sorry for the rant
I think there was a comic about her anxiety about just being "the pink one" that was pretty good.
It's an afterthought in the fandom, but Cadence's most important role in the show (well, most unique, her most "important" role is being defeated a few times) is as a role model to Spike. Just because she's the least popular princess doesn't make her deficient really. Twilight in s4 was far more lacking in that capacity. She serves her role excellently just like Zecora.
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Between episodes like "Equestria Games" and "Princess Spike", plus the fact they would have a history off Cadance foal sitting for Twilight, this isn't even untrue. I notice it less because many characters have been role models to Spike, depending on the episode and who's available, and in the early seasons, it was often Applejack who took this role (there's plenty of meat to be made of the specifics of their relationship; unlike most other characters, she pretty consistently treats him as being somewhere between the CMCs and the Mane 6 in maturity and age and the like, and whenever Twilight or Rarity aren't around, he nearly-always defaults to being with her).
Ah, well, there's the thing. These characters are neat when they're around; they just got dumped due to changing plans (Zecora, given Fast wanted her as a semi-recurring mentor for Twilight) or their purpose having being served and the writers not knowing what to do with them beyond plot prop roles (Cadance in most of her appearances post-"A Canterlot Wedding"). Realities of a show with this many cooks, eh?
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Not to get into debating which season is the best, but if you actually look at how few writers return each season in the seconds half of the series, it's actually amazing that the shows' quality held up.
Like one of my favorite episodes is Horse Play, and the when I finally looked at the writer it was Kaita Mpambara, who only wrote that and two other great episodes in season 8 and 9? If you just ignore the 3 or 4 bad episodes per season it becomes very difficult to rank them at all.
Ooh, a blast from the (recent) past! And funny that you got around to a reread during the current May Pairings contest, since that was when it was initially written ^^
As usual, you're dead on - while the original contest announcement has been lost to the sands of time, there was a strict limit of 10k words. The original version was (just barely) under this limit, though I went back and added a bit of fluff once the judging wrapped up. While it still has its issues (literally WHY did I try to force a romance when it was perfect as a friendship!!), it does hold a special place in my heart: I adore Cadance, it got me to adore Limestone, and it forced my to wordlbuild my way to some sort of believable earth pony magic system. I've since used this system in two other fics: The Architect's Wings and Six Stages of Grief (my absolute pride and joy <3). I'm glad you enjoyed the elements of this fic I'm proudest of! In the end, that's really all I can ask.
I do hope to return to Cadance soon. I've been tinkering with a horror concept starring her, as I believe she's a potentially fascinating character, despite her lackluster treatment on the show. Hopefully that'll be up around October :)
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This made me do a double-take upon realising the fic is now two years old, because I can vividly remember reading it when it was new. Gee, thanks for making me feel less young, buddy.
But yeah, as you may recall from comments on Louder Yay when a fic of yours was reviewed there sometime back, prior to my Author Spotlight on you a month ago, that was my favourite fic of yours. And as much as The Head is "better", and Radiowaves sharing the same tier, this is my personal favourite of yours that I've read. Which probably says more about me than you or the fic! Hopefully you'll take it as good news all the same.
I think I remember reading this now… somewhere. It would fit with the fic, anyway.
Also, revisiting a contest entry for edits to improve it after the fact! Though in my case, I could have done them pre-deadline if they'd occurred to me, so that's on me.
I've heard good things about both of those, though neither is my genre jam, either for sci-fi (which I normally like as a genre, just rarely with pones) or for being a very glum sell. Still, I might try and not forget about the latter and give it a look in sometimes. Even though it may well reinforce the viewpoint that you do you best work when you get really dramatic, serious and (sometimes) dark.
It's every author's dream, that the parts they obsessed over, cared about the most and feel reached the best quality elicit a similar reaction in the readers. You don't need to tell me how great it feels, champ!
With The Head setting a precedent, you almost might get labels of being a horror guy assigned to you if you carry on like this…!
I hope you weren't taking my opening statement too badly; despite all I've said, I do still like the character and believe she's got lots of potential. But even though I am here to read and review Ponyfic, I still nearly-always look to the canon material and its quality entertainment value, as opposed to all those authors who can more easily treat it as just mineable material. Not too big a difference, but a notable one