We’d just like to say a few words about today’s story.

A Little Chat
[Slice of Life] • 2,008 words

Sunset was enjoying her day, going through school as she was expected to do, when she’s suddenly called to the Principal’s office.

Confused, but with little choice in the matter, she answers, heading to Celestia’s office. There, she finds the Principal sitting, wanting to have a chat.

Sunset was not prepared for anything like this.

FROM THE CURATORS: “Stories about how various characters work things out after their respective redemptions are a staple of the fandom,” AugieDog said in our discussion, and one nice thing about Equestria Girls is that it lets authors explore redemption from a different angle than the pony side of the show.  “With Sunset and Starlight,” AugieDog continued, “I’ve always felt that Sunset is the more traditionally ‘heroic’ of the two … she’s more self-reflective, more critical of herself, more likely to stop and weigh her present actions against what she did in the past, and that quality gives her overall struggle toward the light a very different feeling from Starlight’s.”  That was one of the factors drawing Present Perfect to the story, as he said in his nomination: “I’ll never get tired of fics centered around her redemption, or the concept of self-forgiveness, and this hits all the right notes.”

One of those was deft handling of a reveal that worked with or without the benefit of surprise.  “The twist is likely the kind of thing an experienced reader will see coming, but it isn’t the point,” Present Perfect said.  “The effect that reveal has on Sunset is what makes this story.”  Soge agreed: “Predictable as it was, the execution of the reveal was great. It never leaned too heavily into it being this huge mystery, while not giving so many clues to give Sunset an idiot ball.”  As FanOfMostEverything noted, that made the story all the more satisfying: “That reaction at the end is more than earned.”

The story was rounded out by exemplary character work.  “I appreciate how it fleshes out Sunset’s background in a believable way that the show can’t really touch,” FanOfMostEverything said.  “It also presents the sheer quantity of baggage she has regarding the princess in heart-rending detail.”  And that offered plenty of food for thought, AugieDog said: “I also like how the story shifts the ground under Sunset’s rationale for remaining in the human world. Before this, she’s only stayed out of fear of returning to Equestria. After this, she needs to make a choice. That’s always a nice place to leave a character.”

Read on for our author interview, in which DungeonMiner discusses publisher hoops, spy keys, and winning overlords.
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