(Possibly) Failing College Has Never Been So Fun! (New Trope Page) · 11:44pm Feb 4th, 2014
At certain times of your life, you're going to have to make tough choices. To order the burger or the ceasar salad. To stay home or go out with friends. To take leave behind Kaidan or to leave behind Ashley. Now, I'm here to tell you the time I had the choice of making sure I didn't flunk out of college or instead reading pony fanfiction and chose the better option.
That's right, I read the best pony fanfiction I could find. So what if I was 3000 words behind on an essay due in 7 hours?
Flash and Twilight sitting in a- Wait, no! Come back!
What Hath Joined Together by Babs_Seed_27 is perhaps one of the most interesting ship fics I've sent my eyes over. While the idea that Equestria is ordered in a caste system with Celestia ensuring it remains as such may be offputting, I can tell you as a person who hates seeing Equestria as a caste system and seeing Celestia as an antagonist that the story more than compensates for it. The caste system provides an interesting conflict to drive the plot, as it makes the shipping more than a cutesy indulgence and the satisfying eventuality where Flash and Twilight will make a stand against the society holds your interest. Finally, while Celestia may be her philosophical opposite from her canon portrayal, she still suffers along with those she allows to be oppressed and hints of a tragic history that caused her to solemnly embrace this system, making her an interesting character in her own right. Apart from the setting, the characterization and interactions, the perfect balance of showing and telling, and the concise plot development elevate it the story to a true masterpiece.
If you're still not convinced, my 10 followers and whomever is unlucky enough to find my page through chance, at least look at the the lovingly crafted TV Tropes page I wrote when I should have been not failing college. At the very least it'd make me smile as I pack my bags up to head to a life of mediocrity and service in Walmart.
And please, even if you don't like shipping Flash Sentry and Twilight Sparkle, just give it a shot. It's worth it, and could open your eyes to the light. The FlashLight, I mean.
I'm not allergic to FlashLight but that whole "caste" premise always puts me off. It seems distractingly foreign to the Ponies I'm familiar with. How noticeable is it in practice?
1797283
In practice, it's works how people who advocate it think it works. Other stories play up the discrimination by making abuse against their lessers common practice or making everyone who believes in it a total jackass, but not here. The caste system is the socail norm, more of an environmental obstacle; the only seen issues are when people try to circumvent it. Twilight is even still best friends with the rest of the Mane 6.
In that way, it makes a meaningful drama by not demonizing those who uphold it: Celestia still acts warmly and polite and morally good, it's just the morals say that miscegenation will ultimately bring suffering to her ponies (she won't allow that, cruel to be kind), and Captain Ironhoof would be the kind of guy to yell at his subordinates whether or not his race was accepted as superior. It's an aspect of the environment, it makes the romance more satisfying as there's more obstacles to overcome, and there's definitely a light at the end of the tunnel.
And if you need more incentive, Princess Candybutt is a major character about to be introduced and uses her powers to spread love regardless of a society that tells her no. Best princess being best princess. So there's that.