FimFiction Link - Short ID: 545242/sleep--wake--be-miserable
Published: Nov '23
SLEEP / WAKE / BE MISERABLE is a 9,2k word Horror/Sci-Fi. In the years since the Canterlot Invasion ended with half of Canterlot obliterated, Equestria is now a war-torn nation under the leadership of a tyrant.
A rare Cyberpunk fic. Though I'll admit it's very light on cyberpunk content, and even on cyberpunk aesthetic. Sure, you get Trixie as the unmutable leader of a somewhat technocratic government, and every second character has some sort of augmentation. And that underground computer full of living ponies.
But it never felt like it had the spirit of cyberpunk, you know? Just a layer of cyberpunk coating over it.
Anyway, the plot kicks in with Pharynx sneaking into Neo Canterlot, going over the many layers of security, so he can access the hidden secret that is kept sleeping deep in the mines. I think it's pretty good. It's engaging, and we constantly cut back to what the Great and Powerful Leader is up to so we can get a broader view of this Equestria.
It's an interesting world. And I like how the fic portrayed it. I don't feel I'm missing out by not reading a story about how regular Equestria turned into this one. I feel I get the full picture.
Also, the ending. It's a... bold choice to cut where it did, but I suppose the important character arcs had reached their conclusion. I like the epilogue, though. Even if calling four paragraphs that sound like a distant legend can be called an epilogue, but it's after three line breaks, so I say it counts.
S/W/BM may not be a truly cyberpunk tale, but it's certainly an entertaining one.