Story Overview:

This Review may contain some spoilers. As always, I’d recommend reading the story first, then coming back to read this. You’ve been warned.

“Sunflowers at Noon” by I-A-M is a story that follows the notorious bandit Sunset Shimmer on her one-woman crusade to set things right in the West. In a way, she’s like a cowboy Robin Hood, playing the part of a criminal to strike against a corrupt business overlord.

Her opponent, in this case, is the Ponyville Deputy Wallflower Blush. But before the two can have their duel at high-noon, Sunset has to teach Wallflower how to shoot.

The story sells itself as a Romantic Comedy of sorts, showing the beginning of a relationship between Wallflower Blush and Sunset Shimmer, and I do take some issue with that, but there will be more detail on that later. For what it is, this story is exceptionally well done, and I won’t have more than nitpicks to say here and there. Either way, that should in no way detract from the exceptional core of the story that is their relationship.

Let’s get started.

Grammar/Spelling (10/10):

I’m happy to report that I found no spelling or grammar errors. There are some awkwardly phrased parts, but nothing actually wrong with that. With that, I’m able to give this piece full marks and a gold star. Unfortunately, I’m out of gold stars, so you’ll have to settle for a ten in this category. Now, on to the good parts . . .

Plot (8/10):

As stated in the introduction, this story follows Sunset Shimmer as she roams the countryside doling out Wild West justice to the corrupt officials that have allowed the townspeople to suffer. That crusade comes to a grinding halt when she arrives in Ponyville.

Her first obstacle? The sheriff. The local arm of the law in Berry Punch, who spends more time getting drunk and contributing to the crime rate, rather than stopping it. In this power vacuum, Wallflower Blush, the resident deputy, is considered the closest thing to the law in town.

Which brings Sunset to her second problem. Wallflower is a terrified young woman who has never actually fired a gun in her life. When the bandit finally tires of the deputy not showing up to their duels, she finally tracks down the poor girl. Rather than finish her job right then and there, Sunset decides that she needs to teach the poor deputy to shoot, so they can have a proper duel.

Much of the story takes place over these few weeks of training. With Sunset’s tutelage, Wallflower learns to shoot. Unfortunately, she also develops a bit of a crush on the red-haired bandit. Which makes their situation far worse as they two of them are going to have to kill one another before the story ends.

I won’t spoil the actual ending here, so that you have no choice but to go read the story, but needless to say, it’s rather heartwarming and evokes genuine emotion.

But here is where I have to start being a whiny critic.

I find two main problems with the story. The first of these is the short length. Because of this, neither character really gets a chance to explore their character to a great depth. While both characters are good in their own right, their relationship is set up over the course of a few paragraphs. Much of it happens off-screen during their weeks of training. Perhaps another chapter in between that goes in depth on that time skip would be able to fix this issue. This also comes into play at the end. The story seems to end rather abruptly with a duel that, for such a massive scene, is not given much time to play out.

The second issue I have is the Comedy tag on this story. Don’t get me wrong, there are comedic elements. But I feel that the strength in the story lies in the emotion of the two characters. Some levity is definitely appreciated given the rather grim plot, but sometimes it can get a little distracting. The prime example of this is some random pedestrian being shot by Wallflower during her training. The scene sort of breaks the atmosphere of the moment, which I think hurts the story more than that particular joke adds to it.

That said, these are just simple nitpicks. Neither of these harm the story enough to keep me from being interested in it.

Characterization (9.5/10):

That’s right. We’re getting into decimals. Let’s go through the two main characters one at a time.

Wallflower Blush (10 / 10):

First off, let’s look at Wallflower Blush. At great risk to myself, I have to admit that I don’t know much about Wallflower Blush. I have nothing against the character, there are just a few gaps that I have in my knowledge of the series, and she happens to be one. That said, I do get the gist of her character. The name Wallflower should be enough of an indicator of that. And I think she stays true to that name here. She’s portrayed as lacking confidence in her ability, which leads her to act rather cowardly sometimes. With Sunset’s training, though, she finally is able to show off her inner courage in a beautifully appropriate way towards the end.

Sunset Shimmer (9 / 10):

The second character is Sunset herself. In this story, she’s a badass bandit on the run from the law. I think that character type fits Sunset pretty well. And she plays the part well. I fully believe in this Sunset the way she’s written here. And that has nothing to do with being a bandit. The story makes clear that, while she does view herself as a criminal, she still has standards. She refuses to shoot the unarmed deputy because it’s “not the right way to do it.”

The only points she loses are slim because I’m not entirely sure if it is actually a problem, or if it just rubbed me the wrong way. Let me explain: All through the piece, the two characters are fully aware that this relationship has to end with one of them dying in the duel. The author makes it clear that both of these characters do feel for one another. Which is why I find it odd just how willing Sunset is to shoot her companion. Sure, the twist at the end sort of fixes this, but I found myself questioning the somewhat cold nature of her willingness to shoot a friend that really poses no threat. But again, that’s kind of the main point of the story, so it might just be me that has an issue with this.

Either way, both characters are still phenomenally written.

Total Score:

Grammar/Spelling: 10 / 10

Plot: 8 / 10

Characterization: 9.5 / 10

Final Score: 27.5 / 30 (9.2 /10)

<For archive purposes: 9.2/10>

Final Notes:

A well written story that manages to combine both comedy and romance in a brief, but nearly flawless story. I look forward to anything this author produces in the future and am seriously considering reading some of their other work . . .

Or finally figuring out this Wallflower Blush character . . .

Keep up the good work!

At great risk to myself, I have to admit that I don’t know much about Wallflower Blush.

Great risk indeed >:T

If you want to keep your soul, you'll read IAM's full SunFlower series (or else )