Legendary Grows · 7:42pm Dec 2nd, 2020
I am taking a risk adding a story that isn't finished to my Legendary bookshelf but I never said Complete was a criteria, and I often believe the journey is more important than the destination, so here we go...
The Ties That Bind by TwistedPretzel
Where to start. So the title is in reference to a kink, that I don't share, but I do like romance stories with Trixie and Twilight Sparkle tagged so that's how I found it. The first thing it does right is a fair interpretation of the events in the show with both Trixie's first appearance and the Alicorn Amulet. What I mean by that is Trixie wasn't at fault the first time and the Alicorn Amulet incident was Trixie's overreaction to Ponyville's treatment of her.
The biggest reason it is joining my Legendary bookshelf is because the quality of the writing is insanely high. Some of the plot threads I don't love, but are realistic for the characters. As much as I would like Trixie and Twilight Sparkle to admit to being more than friends more quickly it is mostly a good thing that it's a slow burn. I also think that Twilight Sparkle's reaction to the sinister, true nature, of the Alicorn Amulet is a bit off but I can't explain exactly what I found wrong with it.
The story is more than just Trixie and Twilight Sparkle and their shared interest; it deals with emotional trauma in a way I find painfully realistic. So realistic, in fact, that I don't need the explanation for where a lot of Trixie's issues have come from. I've written my own version of it. If this story is ever completed, I'll go find what I wrote and see how close I got, but I'm willing to bet I have all the main points correct.
It also has some incredible side character moments. For just one example, I believe it has my favorite Silver Spoon sequence of scenes ever. If anyone is curious and doesn't want to read the whole thing it is in the chapter, "Lost and found; found and lost" although, the one chapter before that provides what is probably needed context.
Last point to make. It also has this interesting idea that ponies may not always like their cutie mark; that it can be more like a curse. Although, it isn't clear how much of this is the Alicorn Amulet's doing. Anyway, not something I recall seeing anywhere else and makes for very interesting reading. If you're willing to overcome the slow start, the fact that it's incomplete, and like (or don't mind) the sexual parts, this is highly recommended.
It took a while, over a year? For me to find another work I consider pristine quality. The craziest bit is this was last updated before I wrote that blog post so I could have read it by then if I had only found it earlier. I would have no faith in this story ever being completed but it's already come back from a long hiatus before, so...fingers crossed. 
That it took me over a year to find something, that already existed, and that is this good, gives me a lot of hope that there are more out there...so I'm back to reading. 
