Ponyfic Roundup 311

Read it Later story count: 190 (nc)

This week has been a bit of a struggle at times, for reasons that have nothing to do with ponies or the fandom. I have managed to feel in the right frame of mind for enough time to get two stories read, so at least there is a (minimal) Ponyfic Roundup for you! Here's what I've got:

The Carnivore's Prayer by Cold in Gardez
Teacher, Instructor, Dash! by HapHazred

★: 0 | ★★: 0 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 1 | ★★★★★: 0
Note: I use a skewed rating system. A fic I find average scores two stars.

The Carnivore's Prayer by Cold in Gardez
OC [Griffons]
Dark/Tragedy; 10k words; Sep 2012; Teen (Gore)

It is their nature

Set long before FiM, this is the tale of Aquilas, a griffon from the frozen north where his kind live. He grows to adulthood and learns the ways of merciless, blood-soaked hunting. But he also wonders at the ancient, long disregarded bas-relief in the aerie's halls. Was there once more to griffonkind than killing? One day, another griffon finds and kills a pony, and Aquilas, curious, sets off south to find more. The harsh, cold environment of the aerie fits the tone of this story; it's quite a hard T given the amount of killing and blood, but that's how griffons are. We're a long way from the species we later saw more of in FiM itself, although there are some interesting parallels with Griffonstone. Apparently CiG wrote this while serving in Afghanistan, which may have helped give an extra edge of realness to the warlike tone. Aquilas is a character who always holds interest, and the ending is one you won't forget. Terrible and beautiful. ★★★★

Teacher, Instructor, Dash! by HapHazred
Rainbow Dash and OCs [and Spitfire]
Comedy/Slice of Life; 7k words; Jun 2019; Everyone

Rainbow is sent to fill in for an instructor at the Wonderbolts Academy... only for her to discover a plot to retire her from the team early! Probably...

A real mood whiplash after The Carnivore's Prayer, this story was written to feel like an episode, using these guidelines. It's a fun read, and generally manages to hit the right tone. It's amusing without being hysterical, Rainbow is quite well in character (though occasionally a tad less mature than she became in the show) and the OCs are reasonably entertaining as well. I could see something along these lines being a mid-season episode and reasonably well received. If you need something that's an antidote to all that gore and killing in CiG's story, this would fit the bill admirably. Solid three-star material that I enjoyed. ★★★

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Next time on Ponyfic Roundup: stories reviewed should include Prak's Killing Time.