Drake's Reviews #2 · 7:12pm Oct 6th, 2015
Sunset Shimmer is my waifu, but I gotta admit, I have a crush on Rainbow Dash, too. She's got the right mix of awesome and adorable to be endearing. Anyway, reviews.
I've already read this fic, but it's disheartening to see it with so few views so I'm gonna give it some exposure. It's a multi-part fic with only two chapters so far, but you should give it a look and consider keeping an eye on it.
Basic premise - through means that are undisclosed so far, Sunset Shimmer has died and Twilight is in mourning, because they had become physical lovers in the human world. The mourning process gets very complicated though when Sunset Shimmer comes through the mirror. That is, the human Sunset Shimmer, badly wounded and having no idea what Equestria is or anything.
That's all we know so far, but there's a lot of questions to be answered and plot threads ready to be spun, so perhaps it catches your interest? Give it a look if it does.
D'aaaaw, isn't that cover art adorable? We start this story out with an off-putting but admittedly necessary infodump that this is the human Twilight we're following who has transferred to CHS (also this predates Friendship Games). We then have a much less necessary infodump on Sunset Shimmer who loves both Princess Twilight and Sci Twi but can't confront them with her feelings. I instantly raise an eyebrow at this because that raises some questions I don't think will be answered. We then get to the main body of the fic, which is sadly very bland. All the cheesy romantic awkwardness you want is there - held gazes, lingering hands, romanticized thoughts. And then Twi kisses Sunset because Cadance clued her in to Sunset's feelings and she reciprocates them.
There is a lot of fluff here, but that's all there is. The opening info dump is a third of the fic's word count (I checked) and exposits a lot of plot information that could have easily been worked into conversation. Having the human Twilight instead of Princess Twilight doesn't really matter one way or the other when you get right down to it.
Recommendation: I guess if you just want a lot of fluff, go ahead, but if you want good substance, it isn't here.
It's a tricky thing when a fanfic makes it plainly obvious what's gonna happen by the first page. I find this usually works for comedy fics - the readers know the joke that's coming and are reading to see it play out giggling as they do so. For dramatic stories, though, it cheapens the emotions because you know the story, you know the notes it's gonna hit, and it loses its impact. This story did not go the way I expected it - from the title and the fact it stars Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, I was expecting the "hold me on my deathbed" sort of fic.
Instead, a meteor is about to hit Equestria and it's the end of the world. The Mane Six have all gone home to be with their families, but Rainbow knows Scootaloo has no one and so comes to be with her on Equestria's last day. Rainbow doesn't want to freak the kid out and so keeps up a brave face while they go for a few last activities and Rainbow tries to make them enjoyable for her before the inevitable comes.
I know I'm a heel for saying it - meh. It's a very cliched premise and hits the expected notes. Didn't do much for me.
Recommendation: If you're a sucker for feels, this will getcha. If not, it probably won't.
By contrast to the previous fic, this one did something I've never seen before. I've read lots of Trixie fics, but never one that took this route with her. To say what route would, of course, spoil it. We follow Trixie performing her first magic show, and all goes well until disaster strikes. She runs from home and finds hope in the chance to go to Canterlot and enter the School For Gifted Unicorns, and invents the Trixie persona in the closing sentences of the fix.
To tell you the twist to this story and to Trixie's backstory and character would be a crime, so for once, I won't. However, it truly does cast Trixie in a very sympathetic and understanding light. Nothing is spelled out for us, but reading what happens, her lifestyle choices and the way she developed into the pony we see in Boast Busters make total sense. A very different take on everyone's favorite showmare that nonetheless works well. Though, what the twist to her story is may rub some people the wrong way, because there's a rather unpleasant word that can be used to describe she what goes through, and it's a very sensitive topic in today's culture. But if that doesn't scare you of, I think the fic will works fine.
Recommendation: As long as you aren't worried about political correctness, this story should prove quite a good read for Trixie fans.
The best thing you can do for this fic if you intend to read it is not read the story summary or look at the characters featured, because the author ruins a good twist in it.
After the events of Magic Duel, Trixie is training to try and outdo Twilight the legit way, but it isn't going well and she's becoming increasingly frustrated. Then she meets another being, and to say who would be to ruin that good twist. What follows is a character study in the vein of Hannibal Lecter psychoanalyzing someone who doesn't know who Lecter is, but we the readers do. It makes for an uncomfortable, intense atmosphere as we watch it play out, uncertain of what's going to happen.
The major failing of this fic, other than spoiling its own twist, is the ending, which is rather rushed and abrupt. But other than that it's well done. The first half with Trixie's practising does well to convey her emotional turmoil, and then comes that mystery character. Like I said, it's like watching Hannibal Lecter work his magic on someone who doesn't know who he is or what he does. It raises a real sense of dread and anticipation as Trixie is drawn into a web she doesn't even see, and we the readers desperately hope she smartens up before it's too late.
Recommendation: Suspenseful and foreboding with good use of its characters, only held back by a letdown of an ending.
We share waifus.... but replace Sunset with Gilda and you get me.
I kinda disagree. I find much more value in the journey than the destination. Once you've read enough, it's often fairly easy to guess the destination of any story. But the journey? Man, those are exciting just about every time.
Thanks for the review of First Act, I'm glad it was more to your liking
3448562 I agree to an extent. But there is still a difference for me. It's like reading a fairy tale for the first time versus watching a movie or television show's interpretation of a fairy tale you know well. It's still engaging if done well, but not in the same way.
I don't recall the title of it, but there's a story where Rainbow Dash takes in an injured bird she finds after a storm, and takes it to Fluttershy. The story's summary also makes note that Rainbow is going to learn an important lesson about life from this experience. From those two lines alone, you know what's happening to that bird. My mindset now shifts from "what's gonna happen" to "I know what's gonna happen; how does the author handle it?" In that sense, I guess it's the difference between interest in a story you haven't heard before, and interest in an author's specific take on a story you already know.