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6/29/2025, 4:50:01 PM
>>42310563
This was a pretty cool fic. It's a very pony, and it came off as an early season Dash-centric special-length episode, albeit more visceral and violent. The epilogue, however, made me feel bittersweet — no matter how hard it tries to downplay it, Dash being the one responsible for ponies getting hurt kinda sucks.
To rapid fire points: I liked the writing. That opening pace and vivid freedom of flight transitioning into more conventional prose, "Her head was filled with static, a sea of small jagged thoughts [...]", and the imagery of the rail tracks upon thunderclouds, nice. And although brief, the Manehatten and depot section was cosy; I imagined the heat of the bustling offices contrasted with the cold rain in the streets outside. An interesting thing is that Dash is always moving; only when she hits an obstacle — figuratively or literally — does she stop. In fact, I think for most of this she's either flying or on the train, rarely on the ground. It's a very pegasus, very Dash, airy energy. As for the characters, first and foremost, this is about Dash and her self discovery, so most other characters were understandably flat. There was some good Applejack appreciation and surprisingly quite a bit of Soarin and Spitfire (she didn't even reprimand Dash for going AWOL!). Dash still thinking about her friends when getting her uniform or the chaos of the train depot was a nice touch. The scene where Twilight sends a letter to the princess for help only to receive "not my problem" in response was brutal. I can't believe Spike died off screen.
As brought up last week, the importance of themes and interpretation. This fic isn't subtle at all about it: It's not will vs instinct, but rather will and instinct coexisting — being aware of and to understand oneself, leveraging both to be your best. The first scene showcases it excellently, and it's later spelled out bluntly by Soarin and once again by Dash's hamfisted-but-necessary recollection in the eye of the storm. It's reinforced throughout: Willpower to fight the urge to run away when apologising to the stationmaster, galloping through the dark tunnel, and pushing past her limits. Instincts saving her from spiraling out of control, saving Applejack, and always being there. And the Wonderbolt uniform acting as a tool to ease Dash into introspection, separating being a Bolt (will) and herself (instinct), and as she develops over the course of the story, her uniform is slowly torn piece by piece until she fully becomes Rainbow Dash the Wonderbolt in both body and soul. The storm could be considered the physical manifestation of her struggle pushing against her, so the real lesson to be learned here is that if you let Rainbow Dash into your heart, all your hate for Manhattan can be redirected to Philadelphia, because fuck 'em, I suppose.
This was a pretty cool fic. It's a very pony, and it came off as an early season Dash-centric special-length episode, albeit more visceral and violent. The epilogue, however, made me feel bittersweet — no matter how hard it tries to downplay it, Dash being the one responsible for ponies getting hurt kinda sucks.
To rapid fire points: I liked the writing. That opening pace and vivid freedom of flight transitioning into more conventional prose, "Her head was filled with static, a sea of small jagged thoughts [...]", and the imagery of the rail tracks upon thunderclouds, nice. And although brief, the Manehatten and depot section was cosy; I imagined the heat of the bustling offices contrasted with the cold rain in the streets outside. An interesting thing is that Dash is always moving; only when she hits an obstacle — figuratively or literally — does she stop. In fact, I think for most of this she's either flying or on the train, rarely on the ground. It's a very pegasus, very Dash, airy energy. As for the characters, first and foremost, this is about Dash and her self discovery, so most other characters were understandably flat. There was some good Applejack appreciation and surprisingly quite a bit of Soarin and Spitfire (she didn't even reprimand Dash for going AWOL!). Dash still thinking about her friends when getting her uniform or the chaos of the train depot was a nice touch. The scene where Twilight sends a letter to the princess for help only to receive "not my problem" in response was brutal. I can't believe Spike died off screen.
As brought up last week, the importance of themes and interpretation. This fic isn't subtle at all about it: It's not will vs instinct, but rather will and instinct coexisting — being aware of and to understand oneself, leveraging both to be your best. The first scene showcases it excellently, and it's later spelled out bluntly by Soarin and once again by Dash's hamfisted-but-necessary recollection in the eye of the storm. It's reinforced throughout: Willpower to fight the urge to run away when apologising to the stationmaster, galloping through the dark tunnel, and pushing past her limits. Instincts saving her from spiraling out of control, saving Applejack, and always being there. And the Wonderbolt uniform acting as a tool to ease Dash into introspection, separating being a Bolt (will) and herself (instinct), and as she develops over the course of the story, her uniform is slowly torn piece by piece until she fully becomes Rainbow Dash the Wonderbolt in both body and soul. The storm could be considered the physical manifestation of her struggle pushing against her, so the real lesson to be learned here is that if you let Rainbow Dash into your heart, all your hate for Manhattan can be redirected to Philadelphia, because fuck 'em, I suppose.
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