FimFiction Link - Short ID: 508803/windigos-are-ponies-too
Published: Dec '21
'Windigos are Ponies Too!' is a four thousand-word oneshot. Twilight's reign is so successful, that there is more love in the world than ever before and the Windigoes are dying from the lack of strife. One of them decides to make a desperate plea to the princess, in hopes of preserving her species.
The Windigoes are usually always depicted as "mindless" villains, so it is a nice change of pace to them not only characterized, but reformed. While I'm not a fan of the S8-S9 creaturequestria, I do like that Twilight can't just flick her horn and solve the problem, but has to ask for help from every single major power. It does nicely portray how fundamental of a change they are trying to achieve.
Ultimately I while I really like the "what" of this story, the "how" leaves a lot to be desired. Sadly this fic ends up being too much like a rushed version of a late-season episode. The entire story depends on massive deus-ex-machinas, like Twilight accidentally dispelling a magic that hid a scroll which holds exactly the information she needs or Clover stumbling upon a wounded Windigo (how does that even happen when their bodies are made up of clouds?) It just cheapens an otherwise sweet story. Also, things just whizz by so fast. The story implies that the Windigoes have a culture, with elders and whatnot, but before this could be elaborated on, the story already moves on to talk about something else. Considering their actual origins in this story's continuity, it would have been really interesting to hear about history from their perspective and how they coped with being forced into isolation and the role of evil.
My biggest issue, however, is that there is no real conflict to speak about. Both Cadence and Twilight immediately buy into the Windigo's plea and then Twilight basically strong arms and sweet talks the rest of the world powers to help her out and everyone does after putting up a paper-thin resistance. For example, the story could have easily been turned into a nice tragedy. The ponies try to turn the Windigoes to their side, but it doesn't work. As they argue between each other what they did wrong, it empowers the Windigoes, who fly away taunting them about their naivety. This way everyone still acts in-character, but there is conflict. Or, to keep the happy ending, the song once again doesn't work and the characters begin arguing. The Windigoes are worried that the sudden hate will send them into a feeding frenzy, but finally Rime convinces them to fight the urge and this triggers their reformation. This way they don't just stand around in the epilogue twiddling their thumbs while everyone else works hard to reform them.
Overall: 4/10 I'm a bit sad about this story, as it is one or two steps from being a really great oneshot. However, the plot convenience and the lack of notable conflict makes it hard to recommend this fic.