It Is Recommendsday, My Dudes #162 · 7:01pm April 24th
And now back to our regularly scheduled program and my attempt to clean out my rookies shelf. (I've only got a few, I'm determined to at least catch up to this month with them.)
Which brings me to the oldest story I've got on that stack: The Anchor by jphenix.
It is the evening of Twilight Sparkle's coronation and taking over of the throne. Now ex-Princess Celestia looks out on the party, her eyes wistfully set on one particular guest: one with an amber coat and a mane like fire. Luna is having none of the forlorn hesitations, however, and practically drags her sister over so student and teacher can talk. And after Luna drags Starlight Glimmer away - the two are forced to finally talk.
So I've mentioned in the past I'm a huge sucker for Sunset/Celestia reconciliation scenes. So it shouldn't be a surprise to anybody that this one tripped my interest. And it's a damn solid entry in that subgenre. The two have a great interplay - too often the reconciliation gets a bit angsty and wallows in self-blame. Here, Celestia does a great job of being Celestia still - she's the teacher, and has that right amount of inscrutable wisdom and metaphor from being a thousand years old (and a bit of a troll.)
And I really do love the lesson Celestia teaches. It fits: Sunset has what she always wanted before the mirror, she just doesn't have the right perspective to see it. The lesson's fairly subtle and simple - but she's also right, and her teaching Sunset one last time feels like a good way to close their story out just like she's closed out being the Princess.
Oh, and the framing metaphor? Love it. I had to think about it a little to really get it, but it's a damn good one for the two of them and their relationship.
And now I'm gonna do jphenix a disservice by matching it up with one of the subgenre's biggest titans: A Little Chat by DungeonMiner.
Sunset Shimmer's used to being called to the Principal's office. This time's a bit unusual because she isn't sure why - she didn't do anything wrong. But as it turns out, Celestia wants to set the record straight and talk out a few details of just why Sunset is in the human world and how she's surviving. Of course, it also isn't quite that easy…
So this is the highest liked story dedicated to the Celestia/Sunset reconciliation out there. There's a few that are higher where them talking is featured, but for those it's just part of a larger whole. And let's be clear: the vote tally's well earned. It's easily on my top 5 list for the subgenre and could easily be #1.
The problem is that I'm not sure I can talk about why. See, the primary reason why it works and is so good means that if I tell you why it's good, it'll ruin what happens. So I gotta dance around it a bit - but its worth it. The subtlety is what sells the whole scenario for me. Even leaving aside the way the ending brings it all together, what leads up to that is excellent. A reread after the end puts all of Celestia's questions into a sharper light - what she's asking without saying what she's asking. It fits Princess Planning. The whole thing really does. It feels like a proper Celestia approach to the problem, with the twists appropriate to who she is rather than a more standard angle.
I wish I could crow about the ending here. It's spot on and really brings the whole story together. Right from that smile that makes the story something special. Sunset's reaction in particular sells it, and Celestia's response is spot on. Just that right mix of apprehension, hope, and regret.
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A Little Chat was great :D
I enjoyed A Little Chat, but Principal Celestia is an easy sell for me.