It Is Recommendsday, My Dudes #156 · 6:43pm March 13th
And so we come to the end of year three with this blog. Not a bad milestone for a project I more or less started on a whim because I wanted to gush about cool stories.
So let's end this one with some real bangers, eh?
And saying that, I'm going to return to one of my top authors and one I've cited in the past as being one of the underappreciated gems of FIMFiction: Dave Bryant. In a previous blog I gave a blanket recommendation to the entire Twin Canterlots setting, but this time I'll pick out a specific story: Virga. (Before I go deeper on that front, I will note that Virga is the climax of the Twin Canterlots story and you should really read the other parts first. At the very least, Lectern's, Diplomatic Overtures, Foreign Nationals, and Amphorae give critical context.)
It's nearly graduation time at CHS, and things are pretty hectic in the lives of the Rainbooms. But things get extra hectic. Sunset Shimmer puts in a call to her contact in the US government and diplomatic attache between the US and Equestria, Cookie Pusher, to alert him to a major development: Canterlot is burning. An unknown army is laying siege to the city and things are getting chaotic. With the assistance of Rose Brass - retired US Army Captain turned social worker assigned to the Dazzlings - they do what's needed to prevent a possible Storm King invasion of Canterlot High by disabling the mirror portal. Of course, now they're trapped on the other side in the middle of a war.
So y'all know I strongly lean towards standalones and shorts in this blog series. I think there's been… four? stories total out of three hundred and thirty so far that have required prior reading. Having one with a significant amount of stuff before it is highly unusual here. But I think Virga earns it: it's the climax point of one of my favorite series on the site.
But let's move beyond that to the core of it: one of the big selling points of the Twin Canterlots is that it's a relatively grounded take on an interaction between the USA and Equestria. Diplomacy and trade negotiations are the order of the day rather than HOORAH SEND IN THE MARINES USA USA USA. Of course, this story's how that turns into treating war: painfully. It's an actually good take on a HiE story, with three humans (well, two and a half) trapped in Equestria as everything goes to hell. They spend more time as refugees than heroes, trying to make their way north to the Crystal Empire to find what government's even left so they can provide a report.
Not that there aren't hero moments. Rose's command in Stand is damn exciting and the finale confrontation in Leap are both great, but the one that really stands out to me is the airship battle in Discipline. Sunset's wonderfully raw there as she loses her cool, how Galea responds, and how Rose handles it afterwards - it's typically top notch work from Dave.
There's lots of other highlights, too. From big moments (like the arrival at Tall Tale or the epilogues) to small (all the enriching side scenes in the author's notes) but the one that really stands out? The third section of Downhill. I won't spoil because while it's a small moment, it hit me like a goddamn brick. It's just… most other authors, it'd be trite. Dave Bryant, though? He pulls it off.
And swinging around to the other side of the same conflict, let's look at Captain_Hairball and Battle of Canterlot: I Want to Break Free.
The Storm Invasion has happened, and Blueblood slept through it. Now he's awoken to the sound of screaming and finds the unthinkable has happened: every pony above him in the hierarchy is dead, incapacitated, or fled to find hippogriffs. He is the sole surviving royal in Canterlot. And that, Raven Inkwell notes, means defense of the city is his. Blueblood is… less than eager.
I do love a good Blueblood. He's at his strongest when an author manages to nail the right mix of 'absolute jerkwad' and 'good if flawed' - I've mentioned some stories that pull it off before, and this is another one on the list. This Blueblood is a coward and a fop and a jackass, but he also steps up (eventually) when it comes down to it even if it's in his own asinine way. It helps that, as Raven puts it, he's very self-aware for a narcissist. It lets him get some really great lines in as everything goes to hell.
That way with words and tone is part of what Hairball really makes shine, too. Things like describing a fight as 'a rough tangle of bodies like a bathhouse orgy' or describing hitting a griffon as 'he fell off the side of the ship like a bird hitting a glass window'. That wonderfully glib Blueblood voice runs throughout the story and it makes it a fun, bouncy read despite how serious the actual action is.
As for the story proper, it's a good (if somewhat bloodier than normal) take on what happened to the rest of the cast while Twilight and friends were off pretending to be fish. The last chapter's zoom-out puts this into perspective and lets you see the wider picture of Canterlot dealing with the fallout of the Storm King's shock attack. This, I think, is part of why the author laments in the comments about how the contest it was part of limited things to only 15k words. I can absolutely see this being twice or triple the size with ease - there's so much potential! But I think what we did get is still pretty damn good and a ton of fun.
New or catching up? Try Recommendsday: The Index for your story needs!
Dave is indeed a hidden gem of the site. Good to see him highlighted.
Eeeeeeeee! Second feature!
And you pinpointed the exact three chapters I specifically wrote to feature each character’s pivotal event.
Of all the themes I might have figured for your three-year anniversary, "other character dealing with the aftermath of the Canterlot Invasion while the Mane 7 have gone to Mt. Aris" wasn't it. But it's on brand for you to surprise, I suppose!
Personally, while you featuring stories that require prior reading is rather rare, I'd pretty sure it's happened more than just four times. But it's small either way, so no biggie on underestimating.
Can't say I'll read either of these – gun-style violence in the latter and heavy former reading of an EqG-heavy series in the former (also, I tend to be a little suspicious of any author who's work is almost all in a mostly-all-required-reading verse, though he did keep at writing it for many years, even if it hasn't been touched for over two now) – but they do sound really good for their (limited?) audience, and that's all that matters.