Shadow War Correspondence: Adrift

I've been following Jordan179 for a while now, mostly to read his excellent world-building blog posts. In his posts, he often comments on how things work in "his" Equestria, the Equestria of the Shadow Wars universe; a universe which depicts the conflict between the ponies we know and love, and malevolent cosmic entites. Since I've been curious about it for so long, I decided to start reading the Shadow Wars 'verse, by order of publication... and since I'm reading them, why not comment as I go? This is a series of my posts on the subject; part-review, part-commentary, and part-whatever I feel like talking about at the time. Enjoy!

Adrift is a sequel to A Meeting by Moonlight, dealing with the immediate aftermath of that story.

Having returned to Canterlot after her meeting with Twilight Sparkle, Luna finds reflects upon her past and her previous incarnations... and finds herself in turmoil following her accidental revelation to Twilight about her previous life, and when reflecting on the world that Equestria has become.

If A Meeting by Moonlight is an overture hinting at the themes of the Shadow Wars, Adrift is the first story which starts to apply the mythology of the universe to modern Equestria, most obviously in establishing reincarnation as thing; while it was hinted at very seriously in Luna's breakdown and confusion of pronouns in Meeting -a point she herself reflects on here- Adrift conclusively states that all ponies (and not merely Cosmic-level entitities like Celestia, Luna and Discord) reincarnate in this universe.
That being said, whether one appreciates Twilight having been Clover the Clever in a past life is up for debate. While I appreciate it as a nod to the Heartswarming Eve play, and for establishing Twilight Sparkle as somepony special, it also raises the possible danger of everypony important in Equestrian lore having been the mane six. It's not a trap which Jordan has fallen into thus far... but the possibiltiy of it might be a turn-off for readers.

We get the first hint of the Shadows here through Celestia, though only briefly as one of the points of Twilights "advanced studies".

As with Meeting, Luna is the main voice here, though this time that's because the story comes from her point of view. It's a good choice for protagonist; it flows well from the previous story where, having heard what Luna said, she now get a glimpse into what, and how, she thinks. While there is still the passion we saw in Meeting (and in Luna Eclipsed and her use of the Canterlot Voice), there's also a great deal of sadness for the world that was, and alienation for the world that is. The latter has always been an important part of Luna's character and her appeal- his isolation from her subjects in the past and the present makes her a sympathetic and tragic character- but, following on the heels of Trinity (and the happy foalhood implied by Suns Atoms), the audience can also sympathize with her for what she has lost. Existing as she does as a link between the two era's gives her a unique perspective on what the world is like- and, if like me, you remain somewhat on the fence regarding the concept of the Age of Wonders, she does a good job of putting it's loss into an emotional perspective.

Centering the narrative on Luna also let's Celestia play the mentor role we're familiar with from the show. While I admit that I prefer Celestia as Best Princess, focusing on Luna is the superior choice; as Celestia points out, while she does feel somewhat uncomfortable sometimes with the strangeness of society, she has largely 'dealt' with it by now. And- while I get the feeling that Jordan refers Luna- he writes Celestia very well. Her dialogue and presence are genuinely comforting, while her 'harder' statements - such as having to 'toughen up' her ponies- sound the way I imagine a wartime Celestia to sound.
The only complaint I have for his Celestia comes when she begins talking about astrophyscial models- which is a single line, and threw me mainly because I still think of Equestria primarily as fantasy-based rather than science fiction/fantasy.

The two sister's are firmly differentiated from one another, which is good because the main conflict of the story comes from those differences. While Luna's first concern is Celestia's reaction when she discovers revealing Twilight's former identit as Dusk Shine, that is more of a decoy conflict at this point. While it establishes some interesting material to explore down the line- like the fact that Luna and Twilight both have feelings towards one another, but are also both straight- it's a conflict which is built up effectively (through Luna's constant thoughts, and the brief dimming of the sun when it's revealed) but ultimately dismissed for the moment by Celestia's approval. While it remains an issue- and Luna's conflicted feelings for Dusk Skyshine/Twilight Sparkle aren't resolved- the main conflict, the one which encapsulates the story, is the difference in opinion between Luna and Celestia with regards their Cosmic Oversouls.

Luna has an ambiguity about her Cosmic state; she doesn't refer o it as evil, but remarks that what she was before she was Moondreamer- and knew pony love- was different, and that she subsequently might have changed. She recalls the thrill and enthusiasm her Cosmic self had for destruction, connecting the desire to replicate it to Nightmare Moon... but also considers that Moondreamer enjoyed Destruction as well, in more benign and abstract ways. Given what we learn about Luna's history as the warrior princess- both here and in later stories- she graviates towards Destruction as well. It's clear that she doesn't regard the Cosmic Oversoul as an ultimately bad thing- and in fact envies her omnipotence and self-assuredness.

This is in contrast to Celestia, who quite bluntly says that she dislikes the Cosmic level, because of how cold and abstract they can be, and immediatly counters it with an expression of familial and pony warmth towards Luna. It's a powerful scene, and one which establishes Celestia as a powerful figure in this canon.

Adrift doesn't offer closure; it can't. Luna's feelings towards Twilight are unreolved and will have to be addressed at some point; while Luna may hope her Oversoul has changed we don't know if it truly has.
What it does offer, to Luna and the reader, is a momentary sense of security and optimism in the form of Celestia.
The ever-present danger of a LunaxTwilight fiction - the complicated relationship it would cause with Celestia and her disapproval- has been mitigated by Celestia encouraging the pairing; her citation that Moondreamer kissed Dusk at Sundreamers suggestion hints that history can repeat itself, that Luna and Twilight will form a relationship in the future. While Celestia points out the flaws of the Cosmic selves- "cold and inequine"- she tempers it with speculation that, in those forms, they do feel some emotions; again, suggesting that the future is not so bleak as it may appear to Luna. Most importantly of all, she provides emotional security in her closing speech about the future; a speech which should speak, not only to Luna, but to any reader who has ever felt emotionally distant from the world.