FimFiction Link - Short ID: 19508/scion-of-chaos
Published: Apr '12 — Jan '13
Two thirds of this story are consistently good, sometimes great. Unfortunately, the opening isn't a part of those two thirds. That makes it hard to recommend, and the writing -- though not terrible -- isn't good enough to make sloughing through the opening chapters blind an attractive endeavor.
If you decide that you can stomach a weaker opening to a story, Scion of Chaos will likely justify itself not much later. Yes, the plot is mostly your typical adventure journey, but as is often the case, you don't need to reinvent the wheel to end up with a fic that's pleasant to read. Sweetie and Discord's interactions are quite nice, same with the way they both slowly change over the course of the fic. Sweebles learning how to use her magic when confronted with various obstacles was also really fun to read.
The fic has that s2 comfyness to it, though you need to wait until Sweetie leaves Ponyville to experience it. Then it pivots again (much more smoothly this time) and the last two-three chapters deserve a special mention for the mood that they convey. They kinda hit harder than I expected from a fun little fic. And though the story's general formula is not unique, the ending certainly is.
A very important question that I ask myself after finishing any fic is "How will I remember this story in a year/years?". If the answer is "not at all", then the fic failed where it's most important. Scion of Chaos won't be one of those bland, failed fics, of that I'm reasonably sure. It's no Cartography of War, but as a medium length adventure with good characters and some memorable scenes, I can't bring myself to rate it lower than 7/10 despite the terribly unexciting beginning. It's really more of a 6.5 but I don't use partial grades.