FimFiction Link - Short ID: 503753/sunny-isnt-feeling-sunny
Published: Sep '21
'Sunny isn't feeling sunny' is a three-thousand word oneshot that plays shortly after the G5 movie. Izzy visits Sunny, expecting to spend a day with her having fun, but she is not home. She is soon found sitting in front of her father's tombstone, where she expresses her sadness over how he can't see his dream come true. Izzy overhears the monologue and consoles Sunny, before the two are off to a day of fun. Izzy, however, is bothered by Sunny's grief and teams up with the rest of the M5 to throw an impromptu memorial for Argyle which makes Sunny really happy.
I am torn on this story. On one hand, I like the idea that the reunification of the tribes would cause Sunny to grieve for her father. It's also a nice way of giving a bit of emotional depth to characters that currently severely lack it. I also like the small details in the story, like the unicorns in the museum explicitly saying "earth pony" instead of just "pony" or that Argyle's tombstone has the M6's cutie marks on it.
On the other hand, I just felt awkward while reading the story. I suspect it's because we don't actually see much of Sunny's father in the movie, but the little speeches each of the M5 give feels... well, patronizing isn't the right word, but when you're forced to say nice things about someone you don't even know. I also question the morality of giving out your supposed best friend's secret to others and then leading said friend into a potentially very emotionally straining situation. In the story this is played in a very positive light and ends with Sunny making her peace with her father's passing, but to me it felt an overly idealized solution for a story that wants to deal with such a heavy subject. The author also felt necessary to include a completely out of place reference to their OC in the form of a machete - the character's signature weapon. Not only does this serve no apparent reason other than self-gratification, it also opens the unfortunate can of worms of why such weapons exist in the Equestria of G5.
Overall: 5/10 Not the worst story I've read, but it certainly won't be the one to sell me on the idea that G5 is great fic-material. Can't really recommend.