Present Perfect vs. Heart of Gold, Feathers of Steel · 1:06pm May 20th, 2018
Given that I helped with the sequels to Nicknack's Heart of Gold, Feathers of Steel and also reviewed them, it amazes me I never got around to the original story. Like, I have to keep going back and checking my spreadsheet because I could swear the review's in there somewhere.
Heart of Gold, Feathers of Steel is a very important fic for me, because it's the story that made me stop hating Gilda. Yes, once upon a time, I couldn't stand her, and most "redemption" stories based around her character were just meant to evoke sympathy for the poor widdle sad gwiffon. :C I still hate that shit.
But does it hold up to today's standards for redemption? Let's find out, courtesy of Fimfiction Reads!
Heart of Gold starts us off with Gilda living in the Jägerwald, on her own, exiled from her people. We are treated to a solid three chapters' worth of griffonic world-building as the ins and outs of her species are laid bare before us. They're warlike, they have three tribes, they are very German, the race as a whole is dying out, and the coming-of-age quest which she has been given by her father — kill Rainbow Dash — is what's keeping her from returning to her home essentially forever, because she refuses to carry it out. We also find out a lot about her history: her abusive (even for her people's standards) father, why she ended up at a pegasus flight camp despite her father's resounding hatred for ponies, and what her friendship with Rainbow Dash means to her.
Also, her life sucks. Like, it really, really sucks. She's been living on her own for three years. The closest non-griffon settlement is a couple hours' flight away. It's not like she doesn't interact with people, but she's maybe going a little stir crazy regardless. She's definitely depressed.
And this setup could have been your usual for a pity-party Gilda fic. What sets Heart of Gold apart is that the reader is not asked to pity Gilda. Sympathize with her? Maybe a little. But it makes clear fairly early on that she is really not a nice person, through a scene set in the post office of Farrington, the aforementioned pony settlement, which is her only point of contact with Rainbow Dash three years on.
Pretty much every negative thing that happens to Gilda is the fault of either her father or herself. In fact, that precise realization is the climax of her character arc in this story. She inherently understands interpersonal relationships only through pain, thanks to her father, but the fact that she continues to devalue others, to act haughty and arrogant, and to spread that pain is her own choice. And that core message, of what is the wrong way to deal with trauma, is what makes this story.
That being said, oh boy is the middle of this really hard to read.
After the introduction and scene-setting, we're treated to another staple of early Gilda fiction: Griffon the Brush-Off from her point of view. I say it's hard to read not because it's bad — though there's definitely a case to be made for the tonal shifts from "actually occurred in the episode" to the various sections of darker actions and reflection on those events — but because you've seen the episode. You know what's going to happen. It's that tired and true adage of watching a train wreck: you can't look away.
Seeing the various reasons for why things went the way they did is no less painful, and may be this story's one tendency towards pitying Gilda. She's come to Ponyville to reconnect with Rainbow and tell her about the Verbannungsprüfung her father has placed her under, as well as her vow not to carry it out. With this weighing on her, it's no wonder the events of the day start to wear her down. She immediately takes a disliking to Pinkie Pie for pretty much no reason, a character trend justified by her earlier treatment of the mail clerk. (Who, I must add, becomes a great character in the sequels.) She doesn't even try to justify stealing the apple, which I really appreciated.
This culminates in her storming off out of the party, Dash catching up with her, and a climactic fight followed by that long-needed heart-to-heart. Gilda's good side comes out in her need to be friends with Rainbow Dash, how the prospect of messing that up and losing her really breaks Gilda inside. It's honestly very touching, and that's why this story accomplishes what many more failed to.
If I have sounded maybe a little stretched for justifications of my praise for this story, the fact is, when I think back to reading and enjoying this fic, what I'm really remember are its sequels, Summer Days and Evening Flames, which cover Gilda's time in the Farrington guard. They are truly exceptional works of character-building, which I have kinda-sorta reviewed already. The point is, they leave Heart of Gold as a story not so much about Gilda's redemption, but of breaking her down and putting her on that road, on the road to eventual reformation, even. And that's no small feat.
4/5
What Gilda redemption should look like.
Tomorrow, oh boy, it's Andrew Joshua Talon's Progress...
Yes. Also: wow. It has been a long time since I first saw and read this.
All three stories are well worth a read. How all the characters have to deal with the consequences of their actions is, I think, really well handled in these stories. I started Heart of Gold with just a bit of curiosity and by the time I finished it, I was happy to find that sequels existed. And I liked it because there were no redemption-rainbows or pity-parties or deus-ex-machina-esque anything overtly pointing the plot towards a happy ending (no spoilers – you all can figure out how it ends for yourself). I think it is the darkest series of stories that I have read that I am by far the happiest to have read . (I know; it's not *that* dark.)
Oh man, HoG:FoS! That brings back the memories hard! If I see Nick online I'll make sure to tell him his work is well remembered.
So what you're saying is... I should read this.
(Yay reviews!)
Whoa. I definitely want to read this. Normally I’d be scared off by those 100k sequels, but this sounds like it’s worth at least the 30k initial investment.
God, I love this one.
4865029
Oh yeah, it's way worth it. :)
Wow. That's good to know because I saw this long ago and assumed it was just another "poor widdle sad gwiffon" story, and... plague, avoidance, etc.
Would you recommend reading them out of order?
4865155
No, not at all. Everything that happens to Gilda, she eventually earns, and you need to know the whole story from start to finish.
4865219
Cool, thanks!