For Celestia and Luna, like many ponies, love is a strange feeling for them to have. Would it be possible for them to be with their own special someponies?
Disclaimer: This is my first story in a while, please be light on the comments.
This story is canceled, rewrite: TBD
Thanks to:
TheHuskyLord (Cover Art)
This story has a few problems that I feel the need to bring up. First is the pacing, which is often a difficult thing to manage with shortfics like this. This chapter is 1k words, and yet you spend half of that describing Celestia going grocery shopping, something which adds nothing to the narrative and which she probably wouldn't even be doing in the first place. If you had described Celestia making breakfast for Luna instead, taking the time to sprinkle in characterization, then that would have been a much more useful for the narrative.
Even after that sequence, you immediately jump into the main plot with contrived dialogue that feels like an expodump. I would have liked to see more characterization in the way the princesses talk and hear them speak more naturally. This might have also had the added effect of getting the reader more invested in the plot hook you drop towards the end, which isn't that compelling as it currently is.
11262913
Ok, I appreciate the criticism.
You brought this on yourself.
##### Chapter 1 #####
Yes, and? That is the question of the paragraph. How do these points connect together? We've all seen the show, we don't need a recap when it doesn't help to detail timeline/plot.
Had to look up if blemishes is the right word. I stand corrected. Carry on.
First of all, Celestia going grocery shopping. Starswirl the Beardless already touched upon this, but what? Why would the PRINCESS be GROCERY SHOPPING? Second, fellow regulars and nobles? Since when? Unless this is post-retirement, she's still a princess. Third, the entire story so far has felt stilted. The question returns: Yes, and? Some sentences serve to only be an annoyance, not weaved into the narrative but standing alone because they have to be stated. The worst part is that they can be reworked to fit into the narrative to show that illusive C H A R A C T E R I Z A T I O N.
*checked, watch the tense.
Here's the problem: It's boring. NOTHING has happened so far. Correction, nothing of SUBSTANCE has happened so far. Those last two sentences though... SHOW, DON'T TELL! This is a prime opportunity for it! And given *checks rating* BUCK ALL has happened, it would be an improvement!
AHHHHHHH! Come! ON! You could have shown this! Also, the entire conversation is a pointless waste. No struggle, intrigue, or... SUBSTANCE. Banter, please! Maybe Luna has had a weird night involving some degenerate pervert and it still weirded out by the dreaming of her dressed in lingerie spanking them while they call her 'mommy'! Maybe... Celestia's trip to the market actually has something happen. It could trigger deep thoughts, emotions, perhaps that's how this whole thing STARTS.
How about instead of Celestia going grocery shopping for the sake of it, she instead takes a simple stroll through the market while some of the help does all that. It lets her interact with the common pony, maybe she gets a stallion (or mare) who approaches to ask her out for Heart's and Hooves Day, and it's SOMETHING to happen. Then, when she gets back to the castle, instead of Twilight sending a letter, it's she who takes the initiative to ponder about the lack of love in her life. THEN the letter shows up from Twilight sounding even more desperate, for some comedic effect, as if she hit heat and needs a good hard rutting. AND THEN Luna shows up and Celestia asks her, and suggests they do something to remedy the situation.
##### Chapter 2 #####
"Sometimes Celestia also likes to speak of herself in the third person."
GASP FIRST, THEN THE REST!
And, you know, THE BUCKING LETTER! Her feelings were hardly touched upon in the previous chapter! If they were, then sure, maybe, but without the previous chapter exploring those emotions it hits the whole SHOW, DON'T TELL point again!
Is... Is this a joke?
This has to be a joke, right? SHOW! DON'T! TELL! It's not that hard!
...
Okay, this story... needs a lot of work. I'm pleasantly surprised to say there aren't many (at least not at a glance) issues on the spelling/grammar front. The issues are almost entirely structural, and that's what's killing it for me. It's not a loss of a story, but it's one that can be expanded upon and improved. Honestly, take Starswirl the Beardless' comment and dial it up, and you receive a good idea of what is missing in this story. It goes too fast and has too little going on to justify the length it does have. Every part needs to be taken and reworked. Dialogue and description. Take the D&D and implement it into every part WHERE IT FITS.
Dialogue should have some banter, there should be INTERNAL dialogue, they should speak like actual ponies and not robots looking for the most optimal way to get a point across. Description needs more fluff in the right places. The mare shopping for flowers, the irate mare at the strawberry stand complaining about the prices going up, a stallion giving a kiss to his lover's cheek to elicit some giggles. The packed, noisy streets, the smell of baking cakes from some distant bakery, the guards spooking those nearby into bowing to the princess or keeping their distance... Sorry, where was that going? I was thinking of those cakes. DISTRACTION! Not everything is Point A to Point B without inadvertently hitting Points C and D along the way. And sometimes, those tangents can connect later (like the strawberry point perhaps being something to be foreshadowed for later).
I'll be honest, it's not the worst thing I've ever read. You actually did well with spelling and grammar, which is already a massive point in your favor. But despite pulling out a lot of the weeds, the garden is still a mess. It needs some care to blossom into an impressive orchard. Move the layout around, expand it into that unused ground surrounding the garden, organize the flowers and trees to produce an aesthetic design, and generally remove all the dirt you have covering the beauty.
MERCY IS FOR THE WEAK
Don't go sending a DM to someone who's always raked over stories expect for them to go light.
Is there anyone continuing this story?
11705857
It's on hiatus because I'm struggling to find an editor
11707218
I understand