This story is a sequel to The Science of Choice
While preparing to host a party, Twilight Sparkle learns that she's a much better friend—and girlfriend—than she ever gave herself credit for.
Part of the Montage Cinematic Universe.
Chapters (3)
- Member Since 15th Sep, 2011
- offline last seen Oct 4th, 2021
Bookish Delight
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Bookish Delight
Joined 15th Sep, 2011 ·
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Oh hey, you found something to do with Gloriosa after all.
Er...
Precise hug quantities and times unclear.
Loving it so far :)
Twilight bantering with her twinner is completely adorable :)
All of my daaawww. This was a lovely read.
The story was decent. I loved Twilight, Sunset and Gloriosa's reflection on past selves and how they've become the people they are today.
Absolutely astounding Bookish. Best part? Twilight's banter with her other self.
The hints of Sunset/Twilight in the previous story were its biggest flaw to me, as I felt it came out of nowhere and undermined the premise. But it at least left things open ended enough for readers to draw their own conclusions. I feel that making a sequel that erases the ambiguity and embraces the forced-in Sunset/Twilight ship just retroactively hurts the original story.
I declare that the two Twilights shall now be know as "The Nerd Twins."
Nice
Well, someone has a bit of an ego. Let's see how this story plays out.
Does he know there's more that's out there? Another him he hasn't met?
Even that rather crass one about Native American names? That's some dedication.
Anyways, this was a sweet one. I can never get enough SciSet, it seems.
Gloriosa doesn't have crimson skin, she has pink skin.
just like jello.
Special friendship bond? More like crazy hot passion time.
Like always, a very pleasant reading. I love how you portray these two, and their interactions. It just feels so right
Nice Gloriosa moment, wonderful Purplesmart Twin nerd-outs, and some sweet and sultry Sunlight to top it all off. Thank you for what's just about a perfect EqG slice of life, Bookish.
Wait until their daily weekend makeouts.
The SunLight! It....hnnng!
Perfect, Bookish. Loved it.
Just asking, but why would the human counterparts call it Marezart instead of Mozart? Just curious.
I think I had heard it a few times now here and there, but what to they think is supposed to happen after a while?
oh no, they aren't already together are they? It is always more interessting to me if I also get to see how they meet, instead of getting told they are together now and then just the rest of the story.
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https://www.fimfiction.net/story/399247/best-friends-forever
TwiMaud?
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Finally, someone caught it.
I can always count on you.
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I chuckled.
Also, Daring Do movie, Crystal Rainbooms? What dod I miss!?
Hnnnng
Awesome! So happy to see a sequel. Your depiction of these two and their developing friendship/more-than-friendship is one of my favorites. Can’t wait to see more.
I love it! Sooooo much!
Is it wrong that I can think of someone using this to justify Sunset going back to her old outfit for some of the shorts? Or even going for a variation on her old outfit in the current shorts and Forgotten Friendship?
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Not really, seeing as I had the same thing in mind writing this in the first place. :3
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Ah. Well, glad to know I'm not the only one who can come up with fanwank justifications for things the animation throws at us.
A beautiful story filled with fun, laughs, a little bit of tears, and of course, the wonderful relationship that is SciSet.
Now that's just not fair. You cant just state that nonchalantly, you've gotta give us details! I wanna see how that went down!
This whole story is beautiful. I really love the ending.
I’m pretty much just squeeing incoherently. Double Twi, “Bad girl Sunny,” just... everything. Too busy with squees to be more coherent.
Nice to see a sequel. Though I was slightly disappointed it didn’t cover them actually getting together. Still a good read though.
OK, bear with me on this, because it's going to seem maybe a bit off-topic at first, but I promise it's relevant. I think one of my favorite pieces of writing about Batman comes from Chris Sims, wherein he speaks to why the beauty of Robin is that he is the proof that Batman works. That he shows the better influence Batman's existence has on the world, because he is a person who makes himself better by virtue of having Batman in his life. And that's the beauty of this story, too. It's this wonderfully heartfelt examination of all the Good Twilight, both Twilights, have done for the people they meet, not necessarily by actively working towards it, but by being a good person, and a good friend.
I appreciate how well you use structure to dramatize that concept, too. I've always found your structural concepts in these stories to be really clever, and this one is an especially nice example for its simplicity and efficiency. The succession of people who give us their perspectives on Twilight, the way we escalate from Gloriosa (someone Twilight knows and respects, and who knows and respects her, but is not necessarilycloseto her, strictly speaking) to the other Twilight (someone who can understand and relate to Twilight very intimately) to Sunset (someone who is deeply,deeplyin love with Twilight, and whose outsider's perspective allows her to understand her in ways even she, and her other self, might not), isimmenselysatisfying in and of itself. This is especially true because each one almost feels like a distinct story unto itself, each with its own clear arc that begins, develops, and concludes, even as theyalsoall work together to make and reinforce a larger point; it's almost like a smaller, less-emotionally-intense (but no less earnestly felt) version of what you were doing over in "Being Juniper Montage", which means it makes for an exceptionally enjoyable, compelling read.
The Gloriosa chapter in particular catches my attention. Unless I've missed something (and given my CATCH-UPPENING, it IS possible), it's your first time writing her, and man oh man is it a delight. For one thing, I appreciate how well she plays with Twilight, both in general and in specific her relationship with Timber (which itself receives the same firm-but-understanding treatment here as it did in "Science of Choice"; I really do respect that, even as the story invites us to see the relationship as one that had to end more or less the way it did, it still allows us to have some degree of sympathy and understanding for Timber*); there's an edge to it, as befits the nature of their relationship, but there's a sincerity to it as well, and I deeply appreciate that Gloriosa specifically speaks to the nightmares that still linger from her time as an Evil Magic User which she shares with Twi and Sunset (and Juniper, come to think of it...you think Wallflower has 'em too? Yeesh...they should start a club....); it's one of quite a few details you use here to flesh Gloriosa's character out perfectly (I'm also fond of the choice to imply her own Romantic history too), and it makes her admittedly-brief section of the story feel weighted and meaningful and enjoyable.
But that's kind of the strength of the whole story, the way each specific relationship and conversation ultimately speaks to an aspect of who Twilight is and how she affects the world around her. For Gloriosa, it's being someone Twilight actively saved; for the other Twilight (and oh yes, I do so love how you do with the prose here the same thing you did with "A Matter of Principal" in terms of differentiating the two Twis in text form), it's because they are reflections of each other. Not even identical, either (and again a point in conmon with "Matter of Principal" that plays equally well here is the way you show how similaranddifferent these two are from each other, and in a way it almost works evenbetterbecause their more analytical minds are able torecognizethat fact about each other in a way the Lunas couldn't necessarily have done), but by looking at one they can gain a better understanding of the other even so. I find this especially compelling because of how their conversation winds up affirming both of them, too; the line you draw between being The Princess of Friendshipandjust plain A Good Friend bonds the two togetherveryclearly and compellingly for me, not only poking at Princess Twilight's own lingering insecurities about the weight of that title (while also showcasing the very real wisdom that comes with it, and I love how you frame that fact both sincerelyandplayfully) but also keying in on the fact that, while the Big Actions Princess Twilight took may have set Sunset on the right path, it's the smaller, intimate actions Sci-Twi has done (without ever viewing it as her Duty to do so, nor having any other motive than being there for a person she cares about) that have helped her to not juststayon that better path but toflourishthere. It creates this really full view ofbothTwilights, but also specifically emphasizes the very particular meaning and goodness intrinsic to the ways in which Sci-Twi has learned to trust herself and open herself up to others.
And then you flip that script for the final phase to show us how others have learned the value of opening up toher. The Sunset chapter isgreat,and I think in its way it's maybe my favorite overall chapter of the story; as ever, you make it justso much funto read about how very much in love these two are, and the playful, saucy, sincere nature of that love is simply delightful to watch in all its multitudes. Indeed, having Sunset deliberately choose to revisit her checkered past to show for Twilight captures so many of the levels the story's been operating on the whole time in crystal clear form, and further places it within a remarkably intimate context. This isn't just a game Sunset's playing, after all; as ever so nicely highlighted by the previous chapter (another strength of the structure, by the way: youreally nail the inter-chapter transitions here), this is Sunset sharing a part of herself that Twilight has never really seen before. Using Sunset's own empathic abilities to bring it into sharp relief is just the perfect, most wonderful way to bring it all together, too. I admit I'm maybe not 100% sure I bought the transition into the steamier side of the scene, though I suspect that's more a failure of my imagination than your writing, as the way you smooth the conversation in that direction feels pretty believable, not only for a pair of teenagers in a relatively-fresh andveryactive relationship, but indeed for these two specific characters as they've been written up to this point. And for that matter, even as my doubts stem from a sense of disconnect between the dirty talk and the sincere talk it comes from, youdoplace an emphasis on how this is as much about learning to play with this potentially-scary concept that Sunset's been so ashamed of and thus diminish its power to hurt her as anything else. Regardless, though, it feels like the right ending for this story, and yet another in the impressively long list of wonderful Sunlight scenes you've built up over the years.
And the thing that brings it all together, the element that keeps coming up more and more to the surface with each chapter, is the idea that just by virtue of being able to open herself up to the world, Twilight has improved it. Not by being a hero or a scientist, but by being aperson. By reaching out to Gloriosa, by reminding Princess Twilight what a good friend can really mean to others, bybeingthat friend for Sunset. The interaction of all those lives with Twilight's own is the real unifying spine of the story, and, especially because your prose is as eversowell attuned to the character whose perspective you're putting us in (you capture the delicately-balanced push-pull of Twilight's thinkingsowell; you canreallyfeel those subtle gradations of what instinct she wishes to follow at any given moment, what mood is most at the surface of her mind, just by reading the narration), you allow us to really feel what that means for her and for them. It winds up being this wonderful warm celebration of the good that Twilight has accomplished, the good that has enriched her life and the lives of those connected to her, and that isexactlythe kind of story I always feel like Pony 'fic could use more of.
*not that i ameverespecially inclined to sympathize with him, but you get my point, i trust l3
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(Man, I usually love Sims's articles, but I hope he got a few e-slaps for kicking Steph fans while they're (perpetually) down.
)
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Yeah, he's got some Wonder Woman opinions I'm not super-into either. But hey, nobody's perfect, right? XD
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Tee hee. =P
Oof. I remember my first (and only) breakup. I was a wreck for a while, but I needed to end it. She was...toxic.
Interesting reflection on the break up experience. Sounds like hell, but at the same time, one wonders if I missed something by not experiencing it.
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(Months late I know) For myself, I blame an ancient culture derived from the Rohirrim with a deep seated love of puns. It's their version of greek and roman impact.