Sweetie Sorted and Last Nightguard progress · 3:21am Aug 8th, 2022
I’ve made a bit of progress on things over the last few months, despite multiple distractions from the real world. (darnit) Starting tomorrow, I’m releasing two chapters out of the ongoing Sweetie Belle - Hogwarts Exchange Student, because if I only released the one chapter, I was fairly sure I’d be tracked down and flogged for cliffhangering. One of my distractions has been work on The Last Nightguard, which I’m up to Chapter 20 and starting to curve toward the grand explosive finale (which if I had to guess would be around 26 or so) Since you’re going to see Sweetie Belle tomorrow, I’m going to tease you a bit with a niblet out of Nightguard where Princess Luna is getting her first shots since being rescued from the moon, with Ebon Tide and the young Peanut Brittle for moral support. Enjoy!
The Last Nightguard
Shot and Chaser
“Thou shalt taste my wrath!”
Things at the doctor’s office this evening had been going so well, despite Ebon Tide’s discomfort. Until now.
“Traitor! Abandoning thy princess in our hour of need!”
Of course Eb had not anticipated ‘shots’ involving actual steel needles jammed into one's posterior. Out of a misguided attempt at privacy, the painfully serious doctor had taken Eb first into another room for his series of inoculations, all lined up in rows of tiny glass bottles with corresponding steel needles.
“Fiends! There will be blood! Blood, I tell you!”
It had been a success he could have lived without. Eb’s entire flank was one giant painful ache that throbbed with every heartbeat. He could not stand without his leg stiffening up, and there was no place in the doctor’s office for him to lie down with his punctured plot facing up.
“Vengeance will be mine!”
Eb slowly shook his head back and forth, then leaned up against Princess Luna in the waiting room. “I think Peanut Brittle is trying to imitate your behavior,” he whispered.
Luna did not move, and Eb could not tell if she was repressing fury at being mocked by a foal in the other room or merely locking her jaw to keep from laughing. After a few more incoherent screeches and vile vituperations from the doctor’s office, she released enough of her restraint to admit, “Verily, for such a small child, she has astounding lung capacity. Do you think—”
“No,” said Eb as quick as he could. “She doesn’t need a demonstration of the Royal Everfree Announcement Voice. None of us do, so please restrain yourself when it comes time for your shots.” Eb considered the howling screech flooding the waiting room and added, “Master Sergeant Tide has an astounding streak of pragmatism, scheduling his child’s vaccination ‘boosters’ at the same time as your shots. I shall have to be alert to keep ahead of the Guards of this era.”
The shouting from the other room eventually tapered off, mostly because when Peanut Brittle came limping back into the waiting room, she had the stub of a ‘lollipop’ sticking out of her mouth. Eb had placed his into a uniform jacket pocket for later examination, because he was uncomfortable enough without abusing his mouth with pure sugar and strange artificial flavors.
“He’s going to suffer,” muttered Peanut from around the candy. “I’ll get him back if it’s the last thing I do.”
“That is no way to speak of your chirurgeon—” started Luna only to be cut off by a sharp hiss.
“Not him!” protested Peanut. “My brother held me down while the doctor played pincushion with my patootie!”
Luna shook her head. “Vengeance against thy sibling is a poor path to take, young one. We would think you learned from our example.”
“I wasn’t going to send him to the moon! Just… eat all of his candied crickets on Hearths Warming or something.” Peanut settled down between Luna and Eb, wincing when her rump touched up against either of their sides. “Liar,” she added. “Foul deceit and odious somethings. He said I only needed one shot, and they just kept jabbing me, over and over.”
“We are quite positive you were only ‘jabbed’ as you say, the minimum number of times they needed in order to ensure your good health,” said Luna just as smooth as if she had been drinking butter. “Now if you will excuse us, your brother is at the office doorway, looking constipated.”
“He’s just afraid of you,” muttered Peanut, still settled in her silent youthful fury. “Mama told him a dozen times to be careful with your shots and not just jab you in the butt like they did me.” The young batpony promptly perked up. “Are you going to yell a lot?”
“No,” said Luna in her most discouraging tone of voice.
The lies we tell to children...
Luna: That's even more foolish. Even we dare not to pry on our sister's cake stash.
Oh, I see where this is going - we're supposed to be lulled into a false sense of security after the release of the first chapter (there's one more!!!), only to find out that the second chapter ends on even more of a cliffhanger, but by this time you've legged it to the horizon. I'm onto you!
(I'm totally going to be distracted after the first chapter)
Event == REAVE?
Theres that trigger word again. What seems to be the nature of the clerical emergancy?
Lollipop? So many Colours.
Very much looking forward to both.