Well, the other review went over all right, so I guess it's safe to reveal what the backup was going to be. Once again, I am making an ass of myself and reviewing what is commonly considered one of the most popular stories in the fandom. And this was going to go over better than a Chatoyance story because...?
SYNOPSIS:
Twilight has found a mass teleportation spell, and plots to transport herself and her friends to Manehatten. Something goes wrong with the ritual, however, and the group find themselves transported not between towns, but between worlds. In particular, they are now stranded in a (mostly) gender-swapped realm where all six are stallions. Now they must find a way to escape without being found out, but that may be too late...
REVIEW:
I haven't read much of Conner Cogwork's stuff, although I do like Ah Ain't Got No Ack-Cent! quite a bit. Still, this is by far his most popular story, and has basically solidified the names and identities all of the Rule 63 versions of the Mane 6. It was even popular enough to receive countless pages of fanart and spinoffs, plus an official sequel that hasn't been updated in an eternity. But what of this story? Surely I absolute love it, right?
Well...eh....
The story actually starts quite solidly. The characters are presented fairly basically, but their core characterization is pretty good. The alternate Ponyville also seems to hold a lot of promise, and the way the two groups work off each other is a lot of fun. The high point for me was Rainbow Dash's investigation into Rainbow Blitz's house, although I could have done without the gay joke. Outside of some grammar issues and the occasional flat bit of writing, it kept me interested in checking each update.
But then I start noticing all the more troubling things about the story.
First, almost nothing is done with the parallel universe idea. History is exactly the same, only with the names and genders changed. While it's interesting for a short story, when extended as long as this one it starts to wear thin fast. I know it's not an AU, but even then, there could have been something done a little differently, especially since the story starts playing itself more and more seriously as things continue. Still, that's a nitpick compared to my next issue.
A little under halfway through, Rarity decides to seek out her male counterpart and romance him. I...have no words for this. I'm sorry, but I find selfcest to be the height of narcissism, which is something Rarity does not need more of. Granted, the story was written between the first two seasons, so the last impression Rarity made was trying to seduce a stallion she wanted only because of his title, but it still left a rotten taste in my mouth. Didn't help that she did this purely out of self-interest, not to help the rest of the group or out of sheer accident.
And then there's the matter of Twilight. Her entire role in the story is to screw up, get mad at everypony else, refuse to get help because having a male version of her running around makes her scared, and finally caves in only after everypony else chews her out. She's an utter load for the entire story, and the sheer discomfort the Rarity incident brings to the table is magnified between her and Dusk Shine. And the story ends with everypony in love with their alter-egos because...quantum.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
On a Cross and Arrow is not a terrible story, but it's also not all that good. It ultimately falls rather flat, and the only reason I stuck through as long as I ultimately did was because I was hooked on the early chapters and had to see how it ended. Still, it has some very good moments, and I can see why it has as many fans as it does.
Well, now that you all hate me...
Around the Bend will be up...
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