FimFiction Link - Short ID: 260317/twilight-sparkle-of-the-royal-guard-the-rising
Published: Apr '15 — Jan '16
Almost everything I've said in the review of the first part of the TwiGuard trilogy (see >>39593575) still applies here. Rather than repeat the same list of strengths and weaknesses, I'll mention the two major differences:
The fic is, for a lack of a better word, more coherent with itself. Arcs and individual events lead into one another seamlessly, and there's always something interesting going on, and at least one more interesting thing that's just behind the corner. But it's not all action-heavy adventure, either; some parts of the fic focus on more SoL-like story elements, and they are really, really good, too.
Naturally, the romance part of the story changed. Twilight and Cadance are now in a serious relationship so their interpersonal dynamic looks a lot different (or at least that's true when Cadance is in the story -- she doesn't play an active role in the first half of the fic). Expect a lot more T-rated [Sex], too. Nothing explicitly sexual happens on-page and it's mostly for lewd jokes, but there's A LOT of innuendos.
I probably should also mention that it's been over seven years since TwiGuard: The Rising was fully published and part 3 of the TwiGuard trilogy hasn't been written yet. The ending of this fic wraps up the story nicely, but there are some rather obvious plot hooks setting up part 3. In other words, it's a complete story and it doesn't end on any cliffhangers, but you'll still be disappointed that some of the questions weren't answered. The author still uses fimfic, so maybe there's still a chance.
But all in all, it's an exceptional fic. TwiGuard 2 does pretty much everything TwiGuard 1 did, but a bit better. Definitely well worth a read. 9/10