Blogboost and Princess Monster progress · 6:42pm Feb 11th, 2020
First, 2020 Clarion Applications close March 1 (Check Bad Horse's blog for details) Next, I made a post on gaming and politics on the Writers Group (seemed a bit quiet, hence the boost) And last, I'm making some progress on Letters From a Little Princess Monster, which I'm pasting a snippet below the break.
Letters From a Little Princess Monster
Tripartite - Part Three
Twilight Sparkle could not have been more afraid as Celestia and Luna’s magic surrounded them, then whisked them away to Canterlot. She had fought so hard to emerge from the Monster she had become, to become Twilight Sparkle again, that the idea of losing herself in the overwhelming power of her old magic was like clutching claws dragging her into destruction. It would have been far easier to pass the responsibility along to the two older alicorns, except for the finite specks of life they each carried within themselves.
So it was up to her. She would need to become… No. IF she needed to become the Monster once again, she would have to do it quickly, directly, and without hesitation. Only then could she maintain a path back to Twilight, a course of redemption guided by her friends.
The room they had appeared in was obviously a study of some sort, filled with bookshelves and broad tables, with a dark fireplace to one side just perfect to rest in front of during a chill winter and read. From the newness of the smaller chairs, Princess Luna had returned to her place within the sister’s comfortable niche, which gave Monster a brief lightening in the tension contracting her chest.
If Nightmare Moon can be cleansed and return to Celestia’s side, I can bear this. I can be the Monster they need, and still keep the Twilight I fought so hard to recover.
“Very well. Now what?” asked Princess Celestia, holding the overful bowl of ice cream to one side in her magic.
“Need a commander for your guards. Take me to the griffon’s mountain. Keep them from becoming monsters.”
Monster took a series of short breaths while Celestia called out, and a broad-shouldered pegasus in golden armor appeared at the study doorway.
“Yes, Your Highnesses,” he intoned, giving Monster a brief flicker of his eyes.
“Commander Ironclad,” began Celestia, “we have need of the Royal Guard. Assemble your troops at once for a flight into the Frozen North, to the—”
“No,” said Monster. She could feel a drifting thread of the future, much the same as Scootaloo’s fateful first flight. She walked over to the brawny guard and sniffed him, which he reacted to by making a brief troubled glance at Celestia, then taking a breath which was cut off when Monster lunged toward him and shouted, “Boo!”
“Wha?” The armored guard clattered backward, falling on the ground briefly and scrambling back onto his hooves, only to have Monster turn her back on him.
“No,” said Monster again, only this time to the alicorn sisters. “Need Fizzy.”
“Fizzy?” said the recovering commander.
“Tempest Shadow,” clarified Monster.
“The Storm King’s commander?” asked Celestia with wide eyes. “Where is she?”
* * *
“I’m bored.” Tempest Shadow glared fiercely at the obstinate stallion who had been placed in front of the Royal Couple’s doorway as if her glare alone could peel the dark Night Guard armor off and reveal the juicy center inside. She was used to a category of minion who could be cowed into submission, and her initial trepidation about being around so many Royal Guards had been tempered by her ability to unnerve them. Except for this one.
“Captain said you stay inside,” he rumbled in that deep voice that reminded her of chocolate.
“Captain Shining Armor isn’t here,” she said nearly nose-to-nose with the brawny batwinged pegasus. “The happy pregnant princess isn’t here either. I’m pretty sure the rest of your buddies are going to get together and give Old Thunderhead’s Number One a vigorous blanket party once word gets around the palace, so I need to get out of here. NOW!”
The rabbit punch was one of her favorites. Shifting to the left, she brought up her armor-clad right hoof in a short but brutal arc that would cave in the unprotected side of a pony’s head, or simply knock a helmeted guard unconscious.
It was a simple move that she had planned as the first in a series that took her from this suite of rooms to outside of Canterlot, since the guard was nearly her size, and nopony really looked at a guard who was headed somewhere. The plan had the added advantage of seeing what the hefty stallion looked like under the armor.
Unfortunately, the very first step in her plan failed.
The guard shifted at almost the same instant she moved, bringing one armor-clad forehoof up to block her blow almost casually in a spray of sparks and the flexing of hidden muscles. Other than that, he remained firmly in place without even cracking a smile.
“Whoa, big fellow.” Tempest took a step backward and regarded the hefty hunk with new respect, then shook her head. “Well, I guess I’m stuck in the room, then. Maybe I can order something from room service,” she added, turning around and swinging her tail at the guard’s face, then following it up with a solid double-hind buck that should have dropped him like a sack of potatoes instead of simply pushing him back a half-length when he used both armored forelegs to block, and his wings to remain upright.
“I changed my mind,” said Tempest with a slow run of her tongue around her lips. “This place is less boring than I thought.”
* * *
Laminia will not be happy.
Oh, Lumpy. You do attract the winners, don't you?
Fo shizzle my Fizzle.
Question, I forgot who sired Luna and Tia's foals? It's been a bit since I read the story. And I'm really looking forward to the the whole plan.
This is very interesting to read.
5201323 He seems to be attracted to females who hit him.
5201329 Celestia's foal (pegasus) is a result of the Wisp not wanting to go back to his home in the sun, and decided to turn into a developing pony foal instead, something that will drive the newspapers absolutely insane. Luna's twins are... complicated. They could be Big Mac's. They could be her secret Canterlot lover, Graphite. Or if Green Grass is exceptionally lucky/unlucky, the result of one night of passion after his wedding to Trixie. Probably not the last. The timing doesn't match up very well. Look, she was in prison for a long time, and has some pent-up hormone issues.
... Oh! Oh. Ooooooh. Some peoples 'bouta diiie. I can't wait! (Okay, I can wait, but still. Excited!) I'm curious to see how Tempest reacts to the mini-nuke that is Twilight Sparkle. Either way it's gonna be exciting and I really am eager to dig into more of this world. Plus, Twilight needs more hugs. Many more hugs. Hugs fix so many things.
It's been about 1.5 years since the last update. I don't even remember what was going on, or how they captured Tempest. Are you planning to include a 'Last time on Princess Monster', or should I go and read the most recent arcs again?
I want to see who would win - between Tempest's stoic stare vs Monster's puppy eyes.
5201440
It is absolutely worth it to read the last half dozen chapters again, starting from about... Chapter 73. I have done so several times myself, and never regretted it. I think I'll do so now, in fact.
5201490
Yep. It's still just as beautiful, and tearful, and joyous as ever.
It’s been a while. I’ll have to review a bit. Your story is one of the important ones though, we’ll worth the effort. We’ll be waiting.
I was very happy to read this today.
I enjoy your work immensely. Farmer Bruener updates always make me smile. Farrier was a wonderful slow burn. Equestria : 1940 was exhilarating.
But Monster is my favorite. Of all of the stories I follow on Fimfiction, I want Monster to have a happy ending most of all.
In Substitute Librarian, you talked about attempting to ‘write like Estee’. And you got the slice-of-life part down cold. But the raw, desperate, need that is Estee’s trademark... that emotion comes across more in Monster than in any of your other stories.
So your update today made me smile, because it promises more Monster chapters in the future. And hopefully more steps on Monster’s road to forgiving herself and becoming a whole pony.