FimFiction Link - Short ID: 450793/the-previous-best-night-ever
Published: Oct '19
'The previous best night ever' is a five thousand and one hundred-word oneshot about Celestia's 5D chess machinations.
I've seen some complain in the comments that the story's grammar is very poor, but I personally haven't experienced this. I assume this is because the fic received some proofing between its release and the present. I was actually really fond of the descriptions in the story. They are detailed, but not too flowery, and elaborate, but unobtrusive. This is pretty important too, because the author tried to paint Celestia in a very majestic light and that would not have worked if the prose was forgettable. There were perhaps one or two sentences that I would have joined together or phrased a bit differently, but as a whole on a technical level I was very satisfied with the story.
In terms of plot, I'm also happy to report that I had a good time. I'm a fan of the schemer, long-con Celestia archetype and, despite the story's shortness, the author depicted the concept well and in more than one way. From making her be the actual Sun (with a physical avatar) to being able to see inside the ponies' souls, the reader gets the impression that Equestria should feel extremely lucky that she is this benevolent. But what makes this concept really click is that regardless of her being so, well, supernatural, she still feels like herself. She shows affection, plays pranks, feels the pain of losing Luna, and doesn't want to be seen as a god. I'm glad the story was able to marry these two sides of her.
I found it interesting that the story had some slight RGRE vibes. These small callouts felt a bit hamfisted and unfunny for me, but they're inconsequential enough, that I don't think it should affect whether you wish to read this story or not.
I admit Twilight's conception came as a complete surprise to me and I'm still not entirely sure what to think of it. Perhaps it's just the oddly detailed way the egg cell wiggling inside Celestia's womb was described, but it threw me off a little. I understand what the author was going for and in terms of plot and themes it makes sense, but it just came a bit too out of left field for me.
Overall: 7/10 Still, this fic was a delightful little read. Sure it doesn't feature action or any great characters arc, but as a oneshot it achieved its purpose well. Besides that one slightly questionable scene and some slightly weird >le mare superiority memeing, I've had a great time reading this story and can easily recommend it.