Friday's Featured Fic: Luna's Story: Rise of the Lunar Stallions · 5:16am Mar 21st, 2015
Luna's Story: Rise of the Lunar Stallions
Author: Aegis Shield
Genre: Romantic Adventure
Word Count: 44k
Synopsis: Princess Luna falls comatose and is revived by the love-sick kiss of one of Celestia's guards. As a reward, she leads him to the ancient hidden barracks of her long forgotten guardian force. Their slowly blossoming romance gives birth to a breed of royal guard not seen in 1,000 years. The Lunar Stallions!
This story has no right to be as good as it is. I mean, read the synopsis! If that doesn't set off every warning bell that you have, then I don't know what will. But against all odds, agianst all expectations, it's good. It's really good.
The synopsis sounds more cliched than a Disney musical: one fine day, Princess Luna just drops like a sack of bricks into an enchanted sleep, from which no pony can figure out a way to break her from. Until a Royal Guard, named Aegis Shield (not joking), decided to plant one on her. Which ends up doing the trick. To reward this non-consensual act of sexual battery, Luna decides to make Aegis Shield a Lunar Stallion.
I seriously cannot believe how good this story is considering everything I just wrote. But it is.
A big part of this is that Aegis Shield (the author, not the character) clearly understands that his OC is the thing that people are going to be the least interested in, and he writes accordingly. Aegis Shield (the character, not the author) is the protagonist, but he's not so much the main character. It feels more like he's taking a tour through the world of Princess Luna, and this is where the story really shines through.
Luna is less a princess and more a goddess, whimsical and wild. She feels very different and set apart from the rest of Equestria and the shoe which we are all used to.
Everything from Aegis Shield's (character) savage transformation into a lunar stallion, to the history of Luna's enigmatic guards, to the depths of Luna's character will enrapture you far more than anything that that Aegis Shield (character) could possibly do or go through by himself. Whether by chance or design, Aegis Shield (character) acts much like Bella Swan did in the Twilight series, serving as a window through which the readers may experience and learn about the author’s world from the viewpoint of a layman.
In short, the world of Luna’s Story is an extremely interesting one.
Now let us get to the other thing that makes this story stand out: The Romance.
This is where most stories flub it up, mistaking wanton lust for an emotional connection, and intimacy for carnality. Tis not the case here. Aegis (character) is definitely infatuated with Luna at the start of the story and Luna returns the sentiment, but in the beginning chapters, it’s never presented as anything other than exactly what it is: really high sexual tension.
But as the story develops, and Aegis (character) and Luna spend more time together, genuine emotions begin to develop both between the characters themselves and the characters with the reader. Rise takes its time with this. It knows that it has an interesting world and doesn’t try to force things. Because of this, their romance feels much more authentic, and really bonds the characters to the reader.
This isn’t the longest story out there, clocking in at just over forty-thousand words, but in that time it manages to accomplish more than some stories I’ve seen do in twice that word count.
If you like shipping and you like Luna (which statistically speaking, is very likely on both counts.) then check this story out.
I'm on the ends of the bell curve for that.
2896567
You should totally read the Second Story in the trilogy.
2897096
Heh, already read that one. I pretty much guessed who the Lunar Champion was before even reading it. Hence, why I read it.