It Is Recommendsday, My Dudes #69 · 6:55pm Jul 13th, 2022
As a warning to start: both stories this week are M-rated, folks, and neither is kidding. Not work safe ahead.
Now, with that out of the way! Continuing the theme of story connections you wouldn't expect, this week we have a messy one - 'stories where Shining Armor becomes a doctor for the express purpose of inflicting harm on others'.
Yeah, buckle in, it's gonna be those kinds of stories. Multiple red tags meant very strongly.
We lead with the more recent of the two: Under the Skin by SteamHare.
The story leads in with Flash Sentry picking up a stallion in a bar. Whom he drugs and brings back to Shining Armor. Who dissects the unfortunate stallion - a wanted criminal - for parts to give to the hospital for organ donations.
It's that kind of a story.
As it plays out, we hit the alt-u part of things: after the Storm King attacked Canterlot, Twilight fled as per the script. And when she was caught by Tempest Shadow, well - she was returned to her family in a box. Suffice it to say, something pretty critical broke in Shining. What followed (and continues to follow) is the brutal takedown of the Storm King, Shining's descent into brutality chasing after collaborators, and him turning his violence and necromantic dabblings into something that benefits the world in a skewed way. The fic description attributes Dexter as an inspiration and it shows.
But in spite of everything? This is a love story.
The cruelty is a representation and a reason for events, but the real story core is in the relationships around Shining Armor. The loss of his sister. How Cadance turned away from him as he dove willingly into darkness, taking her own path into sorrow. Spike standing by his brother's side as they both become monsters in their own way. The rift of the Sparkle parents, dealing with so much loss and pain in their family's lives. And Flash Sentry devoting his life to his Captain and stepping beyond that - trying to pull Shining free of what he's become.
This is not a kind story - it's got seven of the nine red tags (missing only Fetish and Non-Con) and earns every one of those. But there's a beating, bloody heart in here. It's a fight for a blackened soul, and it pulls no punches.
[Adult story embed hidden]
Second on today's docket is the return of Shakespearicles with Law-Abiding Equestrian.
Years after the show (though this was written well before S9), Shining Armor tracks down Chrysalis. There's an extremely brief scuffle before he subdues her - and she wakes up strapped to a cot. And then Shining goes into considerable detail about the virtues of patience, preparation, and never forgiving those who hurt your family.
There's no love story in this one - aside from Shining Armor's love of his family. While it, too, pulls some inspiration from elsewhere (not attributed, but there's certainly a connection to the similarly-themed movie Law Abiding Citizen) it doesn't have that same undercurrent of care. No, this story revels in the revenge. At the core, it's a pony take on the classic question of "Just how far would someone go?" and the answer is "Pretty damn far."
Shining, in this, comments several times on being half-assed in his life: being lackadaisical, taking the route planned for him, doing what he's supposed to do. And then how he got tipped over the edge to become way too serious about something. But that's not where this gets scary.
See, the Gore tag's there for a reason and he's mighty brutal with Chrysalis. But it's his dedication that gets under your skin as a reader. This isn't a whim or a burst of rage. This is Shining Armor - G4's himbo good guy, even by name - taking a calculated, premeditated, and very purposeful path down into darkness. I mean, the dude went to cosmetology school for a semester just to learn how to hurt Chrysalis a little more. It's a chilling story because of that - it's not about the gore, it's the thought behind the brutality that makes it a horror.
[Adult story embed hidden]
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mandatory funny number commentI've already read one of these, and the other is on my RIL. I guess we may have similar taste in horsewords. Nice.
5672231
I very purposely avoided picking romances or relationship fics of any sort today for just that reason.
Nice.
Thank you for the review!
Yes, I wrote it shortly after the season six finale, To Where and Back Again.
The scene at the end with Chrysalis escaping, (I get that is was for more of her in future episodes, which I'm grateful for) but it left a bad taste in my mouth. Especially after these two scenes:
images2.imgbox.com/0a/0c/2lcFxt5a_o.png
One had to wonder the process that went into kidnapping not only Shining Armor and Cadance, but Flurry as well.
Certainly it was on Shining's mind. He and Cadance both have a murder-face on.
images2.imgbox.com/8a/9f/TwQQRxCC_o.png
Come after him, and he can let it go.
Come after his wife, and he'll kill you.
Come after his daughter, and he'll make you wish killing you was all he did to you.
5672236
This does not negate that the funny number jokes will always apply. One of the stories you picked is still a romance one, albeit a romance/horror.
nice