It Is Recommendsday, My Dudes #192 · 7:58pm Nov 20th, 2024
So I'm running behind this week. But it's for a good reason! No injuries - I was just out of town for four days. My brother-in-law (my wife's younger brother) was getting married, and of course we were gonna be there. It was a damn good time - not only was it a beautiful ceremony and the food at the reception was awesome, but it was also heartwarming to see the kid grow up. He's nine and a half years younger than my wife, so when I first met him he wasn't even in high school yet. Seeing him standing up there, thanking his friends and family for coming? Hearing just how damn much he loves her in his voice when he talked about his new wife? The smiles on the faces of both sets of parents? Absolutely priceless.
So I wanna read more wedding stuff. And I'm going to suggest you do, too.
Now there's a lot of options that fit a general wedding theme. But for a lead story, I think I'm going to go with Fear and Loving in Las Pegasus by MagnetBolt.
After Spoiled Rich divorced Filthy and took all his money, the Rich family has been desperate to make ends meet with - gasp! - no servants. So Filthy's come up with a banger of an idea: arrange a marriage between his darling daughter Diamond Tiara and the most powerful and well-off family in Ponyville: the Apples. Meanwhile in Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack is stressed as the family's finances are almost nothing following Granny's fourth hip replacement. So she makes a logical choice: marry off Apple Bloom to the richest family in Ponyville, the Riches. Surprisingly, neither of the girls is thrilled by this situation. And that's before they get stranded in the desert.
Normally when you get a wedding story, the couple's already deep in love. Not so much here, and that's a big part of what sets it apart: the pair start distinctly displeased with the whole situation, putting up with it only for the sake of their family. Their doomed journey to Las Pegasus takes the time to not just help them vent those frustrations but also build up an actual relationship. Not so much that things are smooth even by the end, but enough of one that their ad libbed vows before Princess Cadance (dressed as The King) make perfect sense and feel genuine. For a story that begins with an arranged marriage under false pretenses for money, it turns out pretty dang cute and sweet.
There's also the other half, which helps keep things fresh and moving. All throughout Diamond and Bloom's travels, we're given quick scenes of Applejack and Filthy Rich digging the hole deeper and trying to leverage the situation to their advantage. After all, their daughter/sister deserves the best possible wedding and since the other family is going to pay for it, why spare any expense? Why not spoil themselves while they wait? It's a hilarious comedy that plays along side the budding relationship as you watch the other two careen towards the obvious explosion.
The two halves are both important, too, for how it flows. The camera never dwells too long on any one scene, keeping everything moving at a bouncy, brisk pace. Gags are quick, character growth is given room to breathe before zipping to the next, and the whole story's got perfect pacing as it gives each moment just enough time so it has impact but doesn't have the opportunity to get old. (Really no surprise from MagnetBolt, of course.) All in all, an excellently balanced rom-com with top notch writing.
And keeping in the humorous vein, I'm going to swing next to An Unroyal Wedding by Shrink Laureate.
Lyra and Bon Bon are getting married. Finally. Everything is perfect. Then the Mayor tells them to speak their vows and Lyra begins: "I, Princess Lyra Heartstrings…" and everything derails.
So yeah. Not complicated. As to be expected from an entry in the 1000 Words contest, it's a quick, bite-sized piece rather than a sprawling epic. But that's good! The joke would get old fast, so a quick hit and run is just right for it.
I'll also say I liked that this started with Lyra being the one with name confusion. Given Bon Bon/Sweetie Drops' history, I appreciated that she wasn't the one that started the problem. (And her having a problem with names honestly makes it funnier.) Beyond that, it's the subtle things like Derpy trying to admit to a different name and Celestia having her 'talk about it IN PRIVATE'. And the reaction to Mayor Mare at the end is just a perfect little cherry on top.
Really though, it's just damn funny. 1000 Words has historically had some great comedy entries and this is one of the top ones. Simple, funny, fast.
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Ho hum. Another TCC56 Recommendsday, another fic I've read too long ago in my pre-rating days to comment on much at all. But I have been meaning to reread Fear and Loving in Las Pegasus – you certainly Mae it sound like it has a lot of content for 13K!
And while I generally don't read LyraBon fics, Shrink Laurette is a quality writer, might give that one a look.
I greatly enjoyed Fear and Loving in Las Pegasus. My only major critique, if I recall correctly, is that there's no indication of how (or even if) Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara found a way out of the financial hole their respective family members created for all involved. But if you can ignore that little oversight? Yeah, it's great.
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Indeed - an epilogue for that would have been nice but I'm hardly gonna complain about a story that's already damn good.