[REVIEW] Nightmare Moon and the Elements or Harmony would make a great name for a band

Years ago (before most of you were old enough to remember what a newspaper was) I first read Dave Barry humor column work. You can nowadays find his stuff online and in books (yes, even the ebooks thing) and his website. As a humor columnist, he was rather well known for having opinions on everything and poking fun at himself for his blatant (and lampshaded) ignorance on the subject. He was the everyman, who enjoyed beer and sitcoms and cars and computers and wasn't ashamed of it.

So imagine everyone's surprise when he wrote the comedy-suspense-thriller Big Trouble.

In Big Trouble, we're introduced to many separate characters, given smidgens of character development, and watched as these seemingly ordinary individuals go about what starts as an ordinary day and ends with mobsters, terror plots, and even a nuclear bomb. I call this kind of thing "spaghetti writing," because there's uncountable plots and subplots (the pasta) immersed in a rich, vibrant setting (the sauce) and usually mixed with some form of savory or vegetable topping for added variety (plot twists, surprise elements, etc.).

Random Elements: Coincidences can Happen by Stryke is one of the finest examples of spaghetti writing I've ever seen.

Given the clearly different styles of narrative between Random Elements and this entry, it's clear why they can't simply be jammed together into a single book, even though they very clearly tell, between the two of them, a single story. In fact, I'd say that RE was merely the author getting the basic ideas out of his head that laid the groundwork for what turned out to be, IMHO, their finest work yet.

If your'e tempted by that previous paragraph to simply skip Random Elements (see my review here) and jump straight into Coincidences can Happen, don't. You will miss out on several major story points that directly impact what happens in this entry of the fic.

Of course, there may be those who read this review and may be wondering if they should even bother with either. So on with the actual, you know, review portion...

There are a couple of points where the writing sags. Not much, but you can definitely notice the tension reducing to the point you just want the story to hurry up and get on with it. However, rather akin to a transcontinental race where the racers stop at various checkpoints before picking up the next leg of the race, you should view these as an opportunity to take a breather, 'cause the suspense aspects of this story would otherwise be like binge watching a whole season of Flashpoint without mealbreaks or sleep.

For something like this, I prefer not to go into too many spoilers, 'cause the step-by-step reveal is what counts, but I'll give you a bit of the setup:

In Random Elements, we're introduced to alternate-universe versions of the Mane 6, who each wind up representing a different Element of Harmony than they do in the show. Pinkie Pie representing Magic, and Twilight Sparkle representing Kindness, for example. Having retrieved the Elements, Pinkemana puts together a plan to infiltrate Canterlot Palace and attack Nightmare Moon directly, who's been ruling Equestria in perpetual night ever since the abortive Summer Sun celebration. (Seriously, go read Random Elements, it'll make more sense if you do)

When Chapter 1 ends with Queen Chrysalis having already infiltrated the Shadowbolts and trapping Captain Fluttershy, you know sh*t just got real.

Oh, and by the way, the whole "Cadance and midiclorians" thing from last review? Stryke has TOTALLY redeemed himself with this fic!