Spangle: "Umm...this is a new guy, so be nice to him OK? Or don't...I'm sure he has thick enough skin being in the military, right? You know what? Forget I said anything. I'm going back to my corner now."
Author: Staeg Masque
In the prime of her life, Fluttershy is contacted by a stallion named Blanche, who comes to her as she sees a bunny she was tending to, Hector, off into the mysterious place Blanche introduces as The Ever. He tells her that she must now take on the mantle of Death in his stead, as the decision is already made and cannot be reversed. Fluttershy is forced to accept, and learns many lessons about the true nature of Kindness, in all its facets, what Death really represents, and whether being Death is truly a bad thing.The Cold Hand of Mercy
Why isn't this titled 'The Cold Hoof of Mercy?' Geez. Review after the break!
Well good evening, or whatever time it is in your part of the world fillies and gentle-colts, I'm Lt. Sage, and that is enough about me for now. On to the story.
For
starters, if you can't read this fic in one sitting (it's 36,304 words), I'd highly recommend waiting until you can. The tag 'Sad' really
hits home, and if you go about your day without wrapping up the
story, you'll most likely be lost in a world of 'How could this
happen to poor Fluttershy?' At several points I found myself getting
up from my computer to pace the room and think over what had just
happened to grasp it fully.
A
short background to the story: Fluttershy is met by Death (for most
intents and purposes the grim reaper) and told that he has picked her
to be his successor. Yes, there is a second choice, and that is just
to die. She accepts the former, and as of such, she will become
invisible to all creatures of Equestria except those who are about to
die. Death being a generous fellow, she gets to say goodbye to all
her friends, with the catch that she can't tell them where she is
going. The rest of the story follows Fluttershy as she comes to
terms with the job of being Death, with a little side of her friends
attempting to find out what happened to her. She spends the
following years keeping tabs on their lives as she grows into her
role as Death. Oh, and there are no large scythes involved, which
really is a plus. Really...Fluttershy is best as herself, not as
some dark reaper.
While
rather brief on scenery description, what was really good was how
emotionally vivid the trip through the mind of Fluttershy was. It
was like living in her mind for the story, every hope of hers was
yours, and even sorrow you felt she would share (yes I realize this
is sappy).
The
author does a fantastic job of portraying the rest of the mane six as
they would most likely act in the sudden and unexplained
disappearance of one of their number, to the point where I found
myself mentally cheering along with their successes and face-palming at
their failures. As the story wears on, the characters are forced to
cope with loss, each in their own way. While this rarely happens in
show, their personalities are revealed well in their time of sorrow.
They all bounce back in one form or another, in ways that I've
personally seen people deal with their grief. I'm partial to the
Applejack approach: work harder until the pain goes away. As is
inevitable, and perhaps a little predictable, each of her friends
gets to see Fluttershy once again...on their deathbeds.
While
such a progression is somewhat guessable, and the ending not too
difficult to see coming, I have to applaud the parallels the story
draws with itself, almost to a chilling extent. Some would call it
predictable, others a good literary technique, but it falls about
halfway between the two. If you're the kind of reader that tries to
get swept up in the story, it will sit real well with you. If you
like picking at a story as you go along, especially for being
predictable, the last three chapters might tweak you a little.
The
hardest part for me was that if I got offered that same chance, I'd
have a LOT of fun with it (yes I want a big scythe along with the title), which more than likely means I'm not
trying hard enough to enjoy the Fluttershy perspective.
The
ratings:
Originality:
4/5
Composition:
5/5
Characters:
5/5
Imagery:
3/5
Plot:
3/5
Overall:
4/5
A
little scrap to leave with you with before I go (not from the story,
but I figure it would happen at one point or another if this were
made into a novel):
“Uhm...excuse
me, I need to take your soul...erm...if that's ok with you that
is...”
