Chapters Inside the Walls of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters
The inside of the castle was something that not many normal ponies would see within their lifetime. While the outside made it look more along the lines of drab, just the walkway after the gate held many of plants and statues. The Princess of Day and Night found themselves slowly leading the rather peculiar creature, known as Cheshire, forward. The air was still as they sought to take the estrange being back to the Royal Dining Room. Not a single word was spoken between the three and the only sound in the night air was the occasional clinking of armor as the occasional guard pony bowed to them. Slowly they found their way through the Royal Gardens, which led towards the main doors of the castle, Cheshire's attention being turned towards the various plants that they wandered past. Many of the strange plants that grew in these gardens weren't entirely native to the Everfree which sought to control nature on it's own. The most peculiar sight, though, was of a pair of guards slowly painting, what appeared to be, white roses. Slowly their brushes touched each individual white rose to turn them black.
"Hmm... Peculiar I really must say. Why not plant a black rose bush instead? It certainly would save time in the long run." Cheshire mumbled, one of his hooves absentmindedly rubbing at his muzzle as he trudged along in the middle of the two princesses. His mumbling, having caught the ears of Celestia, caused her to merely smile softly as she watched Cheshire think about it from the corner of her vision. "Though, obviously a motion towards Princess Luna, it's strange to place black roses in the garden, as they do usually mean black magic." Cheshire mumbled, the grin on his muzzle only seemed to pull wider as they slowly came to a set of stairs which led up to the doors to the Main Hall.
Of course, waiting on the stairs was none other than the familiar, General Spearhead.
"Princesses! I see that thou hath detained the wicked beast!" General Spearhead announced, bowing to the two princesses who merely nodded their heads in response to his bow. Cheshire, on the other hand, only seemed to stare forward with those two large yellow disks for eyes and a wide grin. The announcement from General Spearhead only seemed to radiate outwards and the soft sound of stamping hooves in the garden could be heard, a meager applause to the act of capturing Cheshire. The applause was also followed by the soft plunk of paint in the background, followed by a scream.
"AHHHH, MINE EYES!"
"Yes, we hath captured the beast which terrorized our little ponies." Luna said, taking a rather softer approach to speaking towards the General who had cringed away from her, mostly expecting her Royal Canterlot Voice.
"Yes, do tell the rest of the guard not to worry if they spot this creature. We hath things to discuss with it. There might be times where it might wander." Celestia said, her eyes closing as she nodded her head, this action causing General Spearhead to bow to the both of them once more.
"By your word, Princess." Spearhead said, the large earth pony rose, only to about face before single-handedly push the massive doors open and bowing to the princesses once more. Slowly the trio made their way up the stairway before wandering through the doorway. The sight that met the three of them would have made any treasure collector absolutely break down and cry on the spot. Drab was one way to describe the castle from the outside, but the inside was almost like a literal gold mine. To some, this was truly the sight that heaven was believed to be. Expertly cut stone, various armor, tapestry which would make most rich pony appear poor, hand made and stained glass. The sight alone would have brought a tear to anyponies eye had they viewed such a sight for the first time. Too bad Cheshire wasn't just anypony.
"A very interesting castle, princesses. A little bit too fancy for my tastes, though." He said, his multiple-hued purple tail only seemed to slowly flow in the air behind him in a most uncharacteristic way, for ponies.
"Nothing is too fancy for the princesses of Equestria!" Luna said, her cyan gaze turning towards Cheshire, only to once again be looking at thin air. Quickly her eyes began to dart around before they slowly trailed up towards the two tapestries which hung from the ceiling. One pictured the sun, giving life to the lands, beneath the rays of light many a pony were playing. The other depicted the moon, giving relief to the tired lands, beneath the rays of darkness many a pony were resting for the next day. Atop the moon tapestry a purple feline came into existence with that, all too familiar, grin.
"I know, dear princess of the night. I am merely, as they say, pulling on your leg." Cheshire said, the grin only seemed to grow wider as he rolled onto his tail and began to pull on one of his legs as if to get his point across. His tail slowly rose him before planting him onto his stomach. Slowly his head rolled onto his forearms as he seemed to dance his head back and forth and hum to himself. "Hmm... Hmm... Hmm... From on high, the sister shall cry, her fall from grace shall will bring about change. Banished afar, the sister shall wait, for the perfect chance to reciprocate." Cheshire sung, his voice was soft as he continued to slowly hum to himself, bobbing his head up and down to an imaginary beat. Both sisters merely glanced to one another before giving a deep sigh, for to them he was merely singing nonsense.
"Come with us, dear Cheshire. We hath much to discuss." Celestia said, waving her hoof to the feline, said action merely caused the cat to grin wider, should such a thing be possible, and disappear from the tapestry. Before long, Celestia heard a soft squeak radiate from her left side. Her eyes quickly darted to her sister, only to be met with the sight of Cheshire standing upon her back and two of his paws covering her eyes.
"Guess who I might be, fair lady. Should you be right, I shall give you sight." Cheshire said, his scratchy voice rang out which only seemed to cause Luna's muzzle to scrunch up and a growl to come from deep within her chest.
"Stop thine foolish games, Cheshire." Luna said, obviously not pleased by the games that this Cheshire Cat seemed to love playing with her. It especially didn't help that she could hear Celestia giggling at her misfortune.
"Oh me, oh my, here I thought that the challenge would be a little harder. Maybe next time I will be able to fool you a little better." Cheshire said, slowly rising from her back as he slowly soared forward through the air before landing in front of the two princesses. His tail seemed to flick in every which direction as he slowly lowered himself to a laying position on the ground. "One should not worry their little heads. I'm merely trying to lighten the mood. I would think that, maybe, you both were taking me to my execution with how silent you both have been." He said, merely twirling his right paw in the air before he once again returned to a standing position and wandered in between the mares. "Such a thing I do fear, but if it is not, shall we continue?" He said, twisting a comment into a question as he peered up to the two princesses who glanced to one another. With that, they gave a little nod to the feline and once again led him up two flights of steps.
"You needn't worry about your head. We don't execute those who hath not commit a dire crime." Celestia said, being straight forward with Cheshire as herself and Luna led him down the hall to their Royal Dining Room.Both princesses were well enough surprised when they reached the Royal Dining Room without any interruption from Cheshire. Luna couldn't help but glance at the feline to make sure that he was still with them, with how quiet he had been. There he was, slowly pattering along between them, his head bouncing still to an imaginary beat as they sought to reach the Dining Room. Once they finally reached the Dining Room, Luna slowly pushed the door open to reveal an empty table being tended to by maids. The trio slowly entered as the maids bowed to the arrival of their princesses, while casting nervous glances at the feline which followed. The princesses gave them a nod and slowly the maids left the room to the three, while the chef returned to obtain the princesses orders.
"What about the... Feline?" The chef asked, his eyes darting back and forth between the princesses who merely glanced to one another before shrugging.
"If you are wondering about me, then don't fret. I don't eat much outside of what I find in the forest." Cheshire said, his large grin and yellow eyes seemed to burrow into the chef who visibly twitched at the sight before quickly bowing and leaving the three.
"Please, do have a seat, Cheshire." Celestia said, closing her eyes as both she and her sister slowly lowered themselves onto their respective floor pillows.
"Don't mind if I do, princess." Cheshire merely said, disappearing from sight to which Celestia glanced about the room before glancing to a snickering Luna from across her.
"What is so funny, dear sister?" Celestia asked, the snickering slowly evolving to giggling as Luna's hoof rose and pointed to Celestia's head. Slowly her gaze turned to look past her own ethereal mane, only to be met with the sight of Cheshire laying upon her head with her own crown upon his head.
"That is not what we meant, Cheshire." Celestia said, scrunching her own muzzle, much how Luna had earlier, which only caused a soft hum to come from the cat resting upon her head. Slowly the cat hovered from her head and landed to her side, from there he slowly rose himself onto his tail and seemed to rest upon it much like a chair. He seemed content with himself, at least until an alabaster hoof flew out in front of him which caused him to look towards Celestia. "My crown, if you may." Celestia said, a slight frown on her face, her action and command causing the cat to look upon it's head. The grin seemed to slowly lessen in size as he slowly pulled the crown from his head and rested it upon her hoof.
"I certainly don't know how your crown ended upon my head. You really should watch where you place it. I could have wandered off with it upon my head, on accident." He said, closing his two large eyes and nodding his head as he crossed his arms in front of his body.
"Yes... Well... Shall we discuss what we hath came to conclusion?" Celestia asked, earning a very faint nod from the feline which only caused her eyes to brighten as she nodded her own head once. "We have came to the conclusion that we would like thou to serve under us-"
"Sister thou cannot be serious! " Luna bellowed, shaking the room with the might of her voice as it seemed she was rather irritated with such an idea. "We shan't allow such a being into our castle! He could be dangerous! " Luna screamed, both of her hooves smashing into the table with a loud bang.
"Dear sister, where he shalt be considered higher in rank than the guard and archmages, I feel such an idea shalt be for the greater good. He hath magic neither of us knew existed." Celestia said, hinting towards his ability to completely disappear, taking any trace of existence with him until he once again appeared. There had been a reason why Celestia and Luna always had trouble finding him when he disappeared. Where one could sense the magic an invisible or teleporting unicorn, Cheshire seemed to cease to exist until he once again appeared. Such a power would truly prove invaluable to the crown if they were able to have him serve it.
"Sister you think of the now! What if this is his ploy?! What if he is an assassin! " Luna returned, once again slamming her hooves into the table in front of her, casting a nasty glance towards Cheshire in the process. Cheshire on the other hand seemed to be ignoring the two for the most part, seeking refuge in what ever he was doing as he bounced up and down on his tail. "An agent of Discord he could be! He could kill us and release that Demon of Chaos! "
"Discord?" Cheshire said, looking up at the two who merely turned both of their own gazes in his direction, one seeing possible enlightenment, the other thinking she might be correct. "Both he and I could never really see eye to eye." Cheshire said, rising up on his tail, he placed a paw across his mouth as he gave a whisper to the two. "He was a little mad." He whispered, his grin growing in size as he threw his hands outwards. "Though you could say we all are a little mad!" He said, his teeth opening holes into his mouth as a small wacky song played from his mouth until he promptly hit himself on his head to stop himself.
"Fine, we shalt give him one chance. If we feel thee might be evil. We shalt warn our sister and be rid of you in an instant." Luna said, sighing as she heard the soft clapping of Celestia's hooves in the background, obviously happy that she got Luna to agree to her harebrained scheme.
"So what do you say, Cheshire? Shalt you join and serve the crown?" Celestia asked, obviously giddy at the idea of having such a strange and possibly powerful creature working for her.
"Hmm... The offer is tempting... So long as I have food and board I shall gladly serve you both." Cheshire said, his eyes looked between the two of them before he reached his paw out towards Celestia. Celestia herself quickly pushed her hoof forward, taking hold of Cheshire's paw and shaking it before turning to Luna.
Luna seemed not to happy since she had been the main focus of the mischief that Cheshire had caused the two of them earlier. Reluctantly, she reached forward across the table, her hoof being met by the paw and slowly they shook paw and hoof.
This was the start of a new and professional relationship.
Author's Note
Well, here is chapter two for anyone who is still willing to follow along with this strange story. I decided that it would be best to put this chapter together and put it up for view now, since the likely hood of me being on a computer for the next few days is slim. I do certainly hope that you enjoy this chapter and hopefully look forward to more in the near future. The next two chapters will still be along the lines of the past before it beings to cut and divide the main plot of My Little Pony. Like always, please leave some comments on if you enjoy or despise this story for every little comment does help me in the long run whether it be criticism or just comments on how much you enjoy the story so far. Thank you for taking the time to read The Silent Guardian and hope you stick around for what might turn into quite the ride!
From On High the Sister Shall Cry
One Year Later
A single year, to the eyes of the young, it perceived to have a length of time equivalent to one's entire lifetime and more. To the adult, a single year passes much like the hour hand of the watch. To an elder, it is almost like the second hands are slowly ticking away until the last moment, in which the fire of life deep within them, fades. To the immortal, it passes seemingly in the blink of an eye.
The year for which Cheshire had been employed to the crown seemed to be rather uneventful for the most part, except for the few times that evil arcane beings attempted to rise up and overthrow the princesses. Each time some new evil being seemed to spring to existence, Cheshire always seemed to be waiting at either one of the princesses doors with a sly little tune based around the new being which sought to destroy life as they knew it. As such, the princesses both became rather accustom to laying about with paperwork until Cheshire would warn them of some sort of tragedy.
Yet recently, the purple striped feline had been silent.
It left both Celestia and Luna on edge. For neither of the Princesses knew if his silence was merely a blessing or a curse in disguise. What few times they had recently seen him from Star swirl the Bearded's study, he would merely wave to the princesses before commenting on the weather. It was completely unnerving to the two.
Finally they had trapped the purple rat in a corner.
Both princesses strode into the Royal Dining Room as twilight slowly began to engulf the sky and signal that the change from day to night was fast approaching. As they entered the dining room, they spotted their rather peculiar target resting upon one of the four chairs which was pulled to the table. The feline sat upon it's chair, both large yellow eyes seemingly dancing around while he seemed to jump into the air from the chair.
"From on high, the sister shall cry, her fall from grace shall bring about change." Cheshire spoke, his voice taking a sing-song style grace as he slowly extended his paw towards one of the few pieces of toast in front of him. His head seemed to roll upon his shoulders as his opposite paw slowly began to apply a rather hefty helping of butter to the top of the toast. Slowly he began to take bites from the toast until not a crumb remained upon his face, his tail slowly flicking at the air behind him. His, now empty, paw rose into the air as it began to count an invisible beat within the air, his grin slowly pulling further up his face.
"Banished afar, the sister shall wait, for the perfect chance to reciprocate!" Cheshire said, both paws now slowly keeping that imaginary beat as he continued to bounce about upon his chair.
"Cheshire, we needeth speak with you." Celestia said, turning her gaze to her sister for only a moment as they both exchanged rather worried glances. Yet, as she spoke to the feline, he seemed to ignore her as he continued to bounce about, his eyes closed to the world as his paws continued to count out a beat that he slowly began to whistle to.
Had their curiosity in what his recent silence was about not heavy in the air, both princesses would have taken part in his antics as they slowly had bonded over the course of the year with one another. Though, Luna was still rather reluctant to look Cheshire in the eyes.
"Dear Cheshire, please-" Celestia said, raising a hoof towards Cheshire as she went to merely nudge the joyful cat to grab his attention, before a rather loud high-pitched whistle rang out. Both Celestia and Luna's ears quickly shot down to their heads as they sought to block out the brief whistle, quickly closing their eyes in the process. Then, like that, the whistle ended.
"I must say, dear princesses. It certainly is rude to just allow a door to remain opened after entering a new room." Cheshire's voice rang out, both princesses turning their eyes towards the door, to which Cheshire lazily floated in the air next to. Their eyes quickly shot back to the chair, now being empty, before turning their eyes back towards Cheshire who closed the door to the royal dining room with a push.
"How dare thou call us rude!" Luna shouted, casting a rather angry glare towards the feline as her eyes slowly trailed him while he slowly crossed the Dining Room by swimming in the air.
"Luna, there be no reason to shout. He has a point." Celestia said, once again pointing a following hoof towards the feline which seemed to softly chuckled as he slowly backpedaled through thin air.
"Dear Princesses, you both have no reason to quarrel. I am only, once again, pulling your leg." Cheshire said, his paw slowly grasping on of his arms as he began to pull on it softly, said action only earning a deeper scowl from Luna.
"Y-Yes... Thou be pulling our leg." Luna said, closing her eyes as she quickly turned her head away from Cheshire who only seemed to grin harder at the apparent blush.
"We merely had a question, Cheshire. You come to us and sing when trouble is on the door step. At one point you were singing to us on a weekly basis. Yet, you sing no more. Is there no trouble?" Celestia asked, one of her eyebrows rising as she allowed her pointing hoof to slowly lower to the floor.
"Trouble? Depends on what you might consider trouble, hmm? Why, only moments ago I was having trouble with the butter jar." Cheshire said, pointing towards the jar of butter on the table from which he had taken the butter to coat his toast. "While two weeks ago I was having quite the bit of trouble keeping that Hydra from attacking the castle before you both could cast it back to the forest."
"We most obviously mean the bad kind of trouble." Luna said, deadpanning at the feline who compared a rather mundane problem to a 'life on the line' problem.
"Hmm, I shall warn you both the next time I have trouble with the butter then." Cheshire said, his grin pulling wider still as he rested his head upon his arms.
His response was met with the sound of a hoof meeting a face before slowly slipping down the face and meeting the floor once more. Who it was need not be mentioned, as it was obvious which one had performed the action, by the rather large hoof shaped red mark on her face.
"Cheshire, you need not warn us anytime you have trouble with the butter jar. We merely need a warning when something evil happens. We merely wish to know if now is a good time to relax before something happens." Celestia said, a visible form of concern on her face as she looked at Cheshire with concern.
"Yes, I shall warn you both the next time the chef refuses to make me scrambled eggs. That diabolical food prep refuses to take my order unless it involves grass, hay or wheat." Cheshire said, a visible look of dismay on his face before it quickly reverted to his normal appearance. Then with that he placed his paw upon the table, the slight nick in the side of the leg quickly snapping which in turn caused the jar of butter to be flung from the table. Before long it met Luna, the jar smacking her right in the flank which only caused her to yelp in surprise before she began to frown quite harder than before.
Slowly Cheshire floated over to Luna, his eyes plastered upon the butter stain on her coat which looked very familiar but he just couldn't put his paw on it. Then, just like that, he snapped his paw and turned towards Luna with the largest grin on his face possible. "Why Princess Celestia, you certainly look different. Have you done something with your hair?" Cheshire said, a loud and rather ferocious growl following behind his question as Luna quickly stomped off, leaving the two within the dining room.
An Hour Later in Luna's Room
There was a strange relaxed sense of ambiance that seemed to permeate through the various objects which infested Luna's bedroom. After the incident with the butter, Luna had quickly returned to her room to removed the additive from her body before it had the chance to dry. The guards, which guarded her door, had nearly jumped out of their collective furs when they saw the deranged princess stomping in their direction. They nearly pissed themselves on the spot, the look that she was giving had screamed bloody murder. Yet, they were met with the command to leave her for the night for she wished to rest in her room after a bath. They didn't quite get the chance to ask why she smelt so much like butter.
Luna's dark form slowly strode in front of her large mirror. The towel which floated in the air, by force of magic, slowly lowered to her head and began to wipe down her mane. The scowl on her face depicted her current feelings in the most fantastical of ways. One could almost imagine the sparks that would be flying from her head at this point if they stared long enough.
"That accursed Cheshire Cat. How dareth he do such a thing to we." Luna said, a quick whip of the head sending the towel flying across the room and into the wall with a damp 'thud'. Her head whipped the other direction, the action causing her ethereal mane to spread out around her form.
"And sister... How dareth she allow that, thing, within the walls so easily. It's almost as if-" Luna's words slowly died, a rather wicked glint appearing in her eye as the form upon the mirror seemed to slowly shift into an armored and more menacing version of her form. Slowly her head lowered as her lips pulled back into a nasty snarl, the form only matching her movements as it revealed rather sharp teeth.
"My, my, here I thought that Princess Luna's room would be much more lively." A voice called out, Luna's ears quickly darting up as the image upon the mirror quickly disappeared while she quickly whirled around towards the voice. Her eyes were met with the familiar form of a purple feline which rested upon her bed, his head resting upon his arm which was propped up against the bed.
"YOU! " Luna yelled, pointing her hoof towards the feline who only seemed to grin wider at her exclamation.
"Who?" Cheshire asked, his eyes quickly peering over his shoulder as if expecting to see some one behind him at this point. When his eyes met nothing, his paw which rested lazily upon his stomach pointed at his form while he turned his head and peered at Luna once more. "Me?"
"YES, YOU! Luna bellowed, obviously not enjoying his tomfoolery at this point as the cat only seemed to peer deep into her being.
"You?" Cheshire asked, pointing towards Luna who only seemed to shake in anger at the games that the cat was playing with her.
"YES ME! No, wait, I mean, YOU! " Luna yelled, her anger clouding her ability to reason with where this conversation was going between the two.
Her yelling only got a rather soft shrug of the shoulders from Cheshire who once again returned to lazing upon the bed. "Who?"
Luna was about to lose her calm at this point, a hoof stamping the ground as she snarled at the feline who seemed to treat this as if it was a game. Though, Luna couldn't help but feel that she was playing a game right now and Cheshire was at the wheel, guiding it where it was going. "You, you fool! Did sister send you?" Luna asked, allowing her yells to calm before she alerted the guard to what was occurring in her room.
"My dear, Luna. You know your sister all too well. Though sadly she didn't send me." Cheshire said, his tail pressing upon the bed, throwing him into the air to which he slowly lazed across the room until he was between her and the door.
"You lie! It is obvious that she has sent you. Does she plan to use you to get rid of me? That is it, isn't it!?" Luna said, her voice rising a whole octave as she looked at the feline with madness in her eyes. The only thing that the mad, cyan eyes seemed to meet was madness incarnate.
"Luna, Luna, Luna, you give your sister to much credit. I figured I could stop something bad before it happened but you make it hard." Cheshire said, slowly swirling his paw in the air in front of him as his eyelids slowly drooped down. It was obvious that he was taking this new form of madness that she was showing in stride.
"Don't talk to me like an equal, slave. You are merely a pawn in Celestia's plan to take the throne. She wishes us gone so she may rule the sun and the moon. We shan't allow her to win. We shall be the only ruler of Equestria and our little ponies shall learn to love the night. " Luna said, the madness in her eyes seemed to swirl as she seemed set on the possibility of Celestia trying to be rid of her.
"You suffer from a case of broken heart and madness. It usually happens to those who I fool with." Cheshire said, his yellow eyes stared at Luna for a while before he shook his head and sat upon his tail. "He was so much more respectable before he lost himself to madness, mischief and destruction. Don't go down the same path, Luna. Don't lose your head."
"Lose my head? Thou have a point..." Luna said, her hoof slowly rising to her muzzle as a soft glow began to coat her horn.
The soft sound of a blade cutting through air seemed to radiate through the air followed by the slamming open of Luna's bedroom doors.
There was a soft splat, a grinning and madness infested face slapping against the wall, completely devoid of a body below the lack of a neck. Slowly the head began to slide down the wall, blood slowly trailing behind it before it landed on the ground with a soft thud. Slowly, the princess of the night exited her room and walked up to the still grinning head of Cheshire. Her face took the form of a grimace at the form.
"So strange... Even in death thou grin. We hate thy grin." Luna said, turning around as she quickly bucked at the head, knocking every single tooth from the mouth which slowly began to droop till it closed. "Thou eyes as well. Always judging us in the end." Luna said, turning back to the head, her front hooves lifted into the air before coming down upon the yellow disks which continued to look to her. There was a soft pop as her hooves entered the sockets, popping the eyes while meeting bone at the end of the sockets. Her hooves slowly lifted from the sockets as she slowly laughed at the now destroyed head in front of her. "A fool thy were for thinking thou could stop us!" Luna said, laughing herself into a fit as she slowly made her way towards the throne room, leaving the desecrated head behind.
She would take the throne by force, blood on her hooves or not.
Author's Note
Well... That certainly escalated quickly. It seems that Cheshire might be onto something a lot more than he is letting on. Things might be explained a little more clearly later on, assuming of course he actually makes it out of decapitation alive.
I do hope that those who are following this story are enjoying it so far. I am trying to keep Cheshire a little in character with his more cartoony rendition but I know for sure there will be points where he will deviate from this idea. As always, to those who are new to this story, I certainly hope you enjoy the tale and stick around for the rest of the ride.
I'll try to not screw everything up too quickly.
Above the Castle
"Luna! You must stop this foolishness at once!" Celestia called out, her graceful form lingering in the night skies that blanketed the whole of Equestria. "This is not who you are!"
"Luna is no more, Celestia! I am, NIGHTMARE MOON!" Nightmare Moon bellowed, the once pure princess slowly rose to the air in front of Celestia, her once graceful form tainted by the very madness that she allowed to take hold of her mind. Her teeth, sharp enough to slice through the toughest of stone. Her regalia, fine tuned for the simple art of combat. Her eyes, now depicting the very tainted madness which seized Luna's very soul.
"I am rid of your pitiful assassin! Now all that stands in my way, IS YOU!" Nightmare Moon yelled, her horn glowing a sickening teal color as she released a powerful beam of light towards Celestia.
Celestia could only look on in horror at the beam as she took in just how dire the situation was. The once proud castle, for which they established their diarchy, was now in ruins. The very light of the sun, which sought to give life to the world, was being stripped from it. The situation was dire indeed and was only made worse when they beam of light collided with her form. She could only scream as her form contorted, nerve endings firing as every muscle twitched and screamed out in agony. The loud bellowing of laughter filling the air as Celestia twisted and contorted in the air. Then, just like that, she was falling.
Celestia didn't know how long it took for her to meet the floor of the throne room. She constantly came to only to once again leave consciousness. It wasn't until the fourth attempt to rise from the agony, which permeated through every nerve in her body, was she finally capable of standing on her four hooves once more. Slowly she allowed her senses to once again return to her before she took her stoic posture once again.
"Oh, dear sister, I am sorry but you have given me no choice but to use these." Celestia said, her horn radiating with yellow light as the floor behind her slowly began to open at her command. Slowly a strange device rose from the floor, pedestals rotated as five different colored gems were revealed to the light of day. Celestia took flight as she beckoned to the stones with her magic, to which all five rose to her as a sixth gem, more magnificent than the others, slowly rose from the stone sphere which topped the device. They surrounded the princess before they began to quickly revolve around her, casting a rainbow of light around her form as she once again took to flight to fight her sister one last time.
The laughing came to an end as Nightmare Moon took her place directly in front of Celestia. Not a ripple of fear coursed through this mare as she watched the Elements of Harmony rotate around her sister. She would win this fight in the end, she was sure of it. She began to gather her power for one last blast, silver light bending around her hooves as her horn was coated in that sickeningly teal aura once more. Celestia could only look on with tears in her eyes as Nightmare Moon released her beam. Celestia matched in step, bowing her head as the gems hovered in front of her, light bending through each gem before being focused into the star burst styled gem in front of her. Her own beam was released towards Nightmare Moon, meeting the opposite beam only moments before it had stuck Celestia. Her powers, combined with the Elements of Harmony, quickly overpowered the wicked magic of Nightmare Moon where it quickly enveloped her form.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Was all Nightmare Moon could scream as her form was quickly engulfed in the light and sent flying backwards within the beam. The beam traveled, reaching into the heavens where it met the moon and quickly dissolved into nothingness. Slowly the shadowy form of a mare appeared upon the moon and Celestia couldn't help but turn away.
"I am sorry, dear sister." Celestia said, her voice cracking as she slowly returned to the inside of the throne room. The soft sound of stone meeting stone rang out as the magic surrounding the elements disappeared. Each, once brilliant, gem was now nothing more than circular spheres which shocked Celestia for only a brief moment before she returned each one to their pedestals. Celestia couldn't help but weep for her sister, one so pure having been corrupted by her own greed and madness. It was only then did Luna's words echo in her head.
"Assassin... She couldn't have meant." Celestia said, her eyes going wide as she turned them towards the tower which had once been Luna's room. Her hooves sprung into action, each one providing friction as she quickly took flight through the castle. What guards remained quickly moved away from her path as she climbed the stairs to the top of Luna's tower. The sight with which she met, it still haunted her even to this day.
"Cheshire, No..." Celestia said, her hooves slowly carrying her to the broken form of what had once been a close friend and worthy servant. Cheshire's once beaming eyes were both squished from within the eye sockets. His once twisted grin, knocked from his face as evident by the teeth which were scattered upon the ground. Celestia found her eyes once again tearing up as she took a seat in front of Cheshire's head. Her eyes cast a quick glance within the room behind her, the headless body laid still and for a second Celestia believed that any moment it would rise. Her heart was broken when it continued to lay there.
"Now, now, dear Cheshire. Wake up." Celestia said, her once calm attitude breaking as she slowly levitated the body over to the wall, applying a new fresh layer of blood to the wall. "You shouldn't sleep on duty." Celestia said, her voice cracking once more as she slowly levitated the head up onto the shoulders of the body. Her magic engulfed the head and the various teeth on the floor as she rose his lips and slowly began to reinsert each individual tooth into Cheshire's head. "It's most unbecoming of a feline like yourself to do so." Celestia said, her hoof slowly reaching out as she nudged the body which rested against the wall.
Slowly the corpse fell apart, the head rolling from the shoulders where it smashed into the ground and each tooth was once again knocked freely from the mouth. Celestia's muzzle quivered as she quickly began to wipe at the tears which began to flood her eyes. Where a day ago, she had found herself in the company of Cheshire and Luna, both were now gone.
"I lost my sister to her sanity! I lost Cheshire to my sister! It can't be! Please wake up, Cheshire!" Celestia called out, her sobs began to fill the hallway as she allowed her body to release every bit of stress that it had accumulated through the fight with Luna and the discovery of Cheshire's body. She cried so hard that she hadn't even noticed the slight twitch which ran up the right paw of the corpse in front of her.
Slowly the body began to move, it's right paw reaching out, followed by the left. They grasped at the air before slowly taking hold of the fur which encompassed the head which laid upon the floor. It quickly threw the head into the air, it spun before quickly meeting the body with a soft click. Said click alerted Celestia, her tears dying as she saw the rather macabre show which was happening before her. The body slowly began to rise, each bone creaking against each other as blood slowly began to pour from both empty eye sockets. The lips on the head slowly pulled back into a grin as it seemed to stare directly at Celestia. Celestia, herself, was so terrified by the display that she found herself incapable of running. The tongue within the mouth slowly began to move alongside the lips.
"Cerestria, I am not as gone as you dink." The form mumbled, one paw slowly rising to the nose on the head which it quickly plugged followed by a loud sneeze. In that simple action, the once empty mouth was once more filled to the brim with tooth after tooth after tooth. Once that was done, both paws quickly grabbed furiously at it's tail, pulling it in between it's hind legs as it seemed to pull with all it's might. Then suddenly, 'pop'! Two large yellow eyes seemed to spring from the bloody darkness which coated both eye sockets. Two black dots began to spin around the yellow spheres before stopping on Celestia which only made Cheshire's grin widen. "Miss me, Princess?" He asked, bowing to Celestia with a spin of the right paw before he was quickly snatch up into the arms of Celestia.
"Cheshire! I thought I had lost you!" Celestia called out, her voice a mixture of tiredness, sadness and joy all mixed into one concoction.
"Now, now, Celestia, do you think I wouldn't claw my way back from death? I am absolutely appalled that you would believe that I would perish so easily to your sister." Cheshire said, his eyes drooping as his grin followed in suit with his eyes. "Though, she did pack quite the wallop." Cheshire said, his eyes rolling in his head as he reached up to Celestia's face and lightly bopped her on the muzzle.
Celestia quickly shook her head after the paw had met her muzzle, her mane quickly spreading out in the air around her before she cast a small glare at Cheshire, the glare only lasting for a brief moment before a saddening appearance overtook her features. "Cheshire, Luna is gone. I had to banish her to the moon for she allowed evil into her heart." Celestia said, her mane visibly sagging as Cheshire crawled his way from her grasp. He moved up her body, climbing her neck before resting himself atop her head. His head slowly drooped down in front of her vision as his grin grew wider and wider.
"I know, she was the one to kill me. Luckily I am made of much tougher material than many would believe." He said, his head rolling on his shoulders as he leaped from Celestia's head and landed upon his tail. "I noticed she was upset so I attempted to cheer her up. She was long gone by the time I got to her room." Cheshire said, crossing his legs and his arms in front of his body as he slowly bobbed on his tail.
"Wait, you knew she was upset?! Why didn't you tell me?!" Celestia asked, her eyes wide with surprise and a sense of anger that the feline hadn't came to her when he had realized Luna was upset.
"Hmm, I didn't?" Cheshire asked, one of his paws rubbed his chin before he just fell upon a shrug of his shoulders and looked towards Celestia. "I think I will return to Star Swirl the Bearded's study. I think it is best that you rest, Celestia. You might go a little mad without any." Cheshire said, his form slowly began to fade leaving his eyes, grin and the spiral of purple around his body before they faded as well.
Celestia could only look on as Cheshire left her, a tear slowly running down her face before she turned towards the room which had once belonged to Luna. A faint aura took hold of the handle of the open door before slowly closing it till the lock engaged.
In Star Swirl the Bearded's Study
"Curiouser and curiouser. Who would have thought that Luna would fall from grace." Star Swirl muttered, his hoof slowly stroking his beard as he returned to the book which he was currently working on. The hoof which once stroked his beard took hold of the quill, dipping it within the ink before returning to writing.
Star Swirl the Bearded had witnessed every moment of the fight within the skies of the Castle from the safety of the window in his study. It was interesting to see the power of the Elements of Harmony, for last time he had witnessed their power, it was used upon Discord and turned him to stone. This time around, the blast had sent Princess Luna on a one way ticket to the moon, where she apparently had been banished. He lost himself in thought as he continued to write in his new book, 'Predictions and Prophecies'.
"Star Swirl the Beaded, I do hope you enjoyed the fight and the execution." A voice purred out causing Star Swirl to jump slightly before looking over towards his bed where the purple feline laid.
"Cheshire, my friend, I certainly did witness the fight." Star Swirl said, nodding his head before turning back towards the book in front of him.
"Hmm, hmm, it seems like you never have time for conversations anymore." Cheshire said, his form slowly turning into smoke which quickly formed around Star Swirl's neck. "Ever since I began living in your study, you don't talk to many people anymore." Cheshire said, a paw slowly reaching out towards the book which caused Star Swirl to quickly bat it away before glaring at the feline.
"You know I don't have much time, Cheshire. I fear that my days will come to an end soon, so I must complete at least one more book." Star Swirl said, batting the feline out of the air before he turned towards Cheshire with a rather firm glare on his face.
"My, my, you shouldn't allow your fear of death to blind you from the truth. Fear is truly the gateway to madness!" Cheshire said, his large yellow eyes and big grin only seemed to widen as Star Swirl let out a small huff with his nose. "Luna experienced that first hand."
"Cheshire, I have this book and one spell that I need to complete before my legacy for the newer generation will be secured. I know some day that unicorns shall become more powerful with their magic. I wish to help them in anyway I can before and after I pass." Star Swirl said, stomping a hoof which caused the many bells on his hat to jingle as eyes, filled with madness, stared down the feline who couldn't help but chuckle.
"I know, Star Swirl the Bearded. You wish to help the newer generation so let me lend you a hand." Cheshire said, slowly he rose into the air before floating towards the window which framed the moon in the sky. "The longest day, on the thousandth year, the stars will aid her in her escape and she WILL bring about night time eternal." Cheshire said, floating through the window as he began to laugh, his form slowly disappearing into smoke before leaving Star Swirl to his own devices.
"I swear that feline is truly madness incarnate." Star Swirl said, his eyes looking towards the mare shaped figure on the moon which he knew was Luna. He hummed softly to himself as he turned back to the book, his hoof taking hold of the quill once more as he began work on the next chapter.
"The Mare in the Moon."
Author's Note
Well, here is chapter four of the indefinite number of chapters that this story shall have. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, which, yes, does feel a little rushed in my opinion but I needed to stop myself from droning on and on.
If you are new to this story, I certainly hope you are enjoying it so far and plan to stick around for subsequent chapters.
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Her Fall From Grace Shall Bring About Change
Time seemed to slowly slip forward after the fall and banishment of Luna had transpired. Ponies came into being, they lived life without a single worry in the world before passing on their history to the younger generation. Olden history slipped deep within the covers of the dusty tombs which explained life before the new advancements of technology. New magic came into being before hastily being brushed beneath the rug by the passage of time. Through this all, Celestia remained, ruling the ponies who looked to her for guidance.
To this day, Celestia couldn't help but weep for her fallen sister.
Cheshire had long since gone silent, stories of this enigmatic creature disappearing along with the knowledge of the once crowned Princess of the Night. Now, history only spoke of Celestia who would valiantly defend her ponies, slaying any foe who dared threaten the whole of Equestria. Many tales of her campaigns, hushed whispers of times she would defeat the invading Griffons, Dragons and other creatures without leaving her encampment. Some believed that there was a secret guard designed for infiltration and neutralizing of targets from behind the line. High ranking individuals of the Solar Guard would say otherwise.
Cheshire's shadow seemed to swallow up the entirety of Equestia. A blanket which provided warmth and prosperity in times of great need. At times, his hushed word would continue to coarse through Celestia's ear as she allowed the feline to run rampant among her enemies.
"Time brings change and those who choose to embrace it will obtain solace. A purple light will unite the world with Harmony and with that light, knowledge. Salvation comes to those who allow Harmony to enshroud them."
His voice was always cold, that grin always adorn on his face as he would speak to Celestia through the night. His words always hinting towards a better life, towards a goal that Celestia must obtain. To Celestia, that was the salvation of Luna and she would do anything to obtain this.
"The light's strength will be vast. No other light will ever be able to hold a candle to it. The light will solve the problems of the world every time. Don't turn a blind eye to the light, allow it to encompass you and show you what truly must be done."
Celestia would have Luna back in her arms through any means...
One Thousand Years Later
"Spike! Spiiiiiiiiike? Spike?" A rather obnoxious voice rang out, a violet unicorn promptly ran through the doors, knocking an unsuspecting to the floor. The room which she entered seemed to house countless bits of knowledge and history. This location also happened to be her living quarters.
Her violet eyes looked upon the one she had been calling for, a baby dragon with purple scales and green eyes, which she had just assaulted rather violently with the doors.
"There you are. Quick, find me that old copy of Predictions and Prophecies. What's that for?" Twilight asked, looking at the object, which Spike had been holding, the once pristine gift having been impaled upon the spike of his tail.
"Well, it was a gift for Moondancer, but..." Spike began, his sentence ending as what looked like the tattered remains of a teddy bear fell from the destroyed gift. He had almost began the rest of his sentence before he was interrupted by Twilight Sparkle.
"Oh Spike, you know we don't have time for that sort of thing." Twilight said, turning her attention to the stack of books in front of her, which she began to carelessly knock to the ground.
"But we're on a break!" Spike exclaimed, his voice full of want for the attendance the birthday party for Moondancer, the gift which he had gotten her being discarded upon the ground as Spike turned and ran towards one of the tall bookshelves before climbing the ladder to the top.
"No, no, no... no, no, no!" Twilight said, her horn alight with magic as she pulled book after book from the shelf in front of her, the books merely hanging in the air around her as she released a groan of frustration. "Spike!"
"It's over here!" Was her only response, her assistant standing upon a ladder while waving the book for which she looked for in his hand. Magic eclipsed the book, pulling the poor dragon from the ladder which sent him plummeting to the ground with a soft whack as she brought the book to her side.
"Ah! Elements, Elements, E, E, E... Aha! Elements of Harmony, see: Mare in the Moon?" Twilight said, looking at the book which had been the object of her fascination, her magic turning page after page while the drake went about replacing the books, which she carelessly left on the floor, back onto their shelves.
"Mare in the Moon? But that's just an old ponies' tale." Spike said, offering his two cents to the mare below as he climbed the ladder higher and higher to replace the books on their shelf once more.
"Mare, mare... aha! The Mare in the Moon, myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria, defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal!" Twilight read, her eyes quickly skimming over the page before she gasped and turned her head to look towards her assistant. "Spike! Do you know what this means?" Twilight asked, her eyes falling upon the drake who looked ready to fall from a ladder once more as he attempted to place another book onto the shelf.
"No-- whoa!" He yelped, fate having it out once more for their poor drake as he found himself plummeting towards the floor once more, only to land upon Twilight's back.
"Take a note please, to the Princess." Twilight said, handing Spike a scroll and a quill as she allowed him to slide from her back using her tail. Spike opened the scroll, taking a quill into his other hand as he quickly began to scribble down every word that she said. "My dearest teacher, my continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that we are on the precipice of disaster!"
"Hold on. Preci... preci..." Spike said, struggling with the word as he looked towards Twilight for any sort of answer or some sort of replacement for the rather hard to spell word.
"Threshold." Twilight merely stated, turning her eyes towards her assistant once more who only seemed to struggle with that word as well before looking to her once more. "Uh, brink?" Twilight said, merely getting a, rather blank, stare from the drake who didn't even attempt to spell out the word.
"Ugh, that something really bad is about to happen! For you see, the mythical Mare in the Moon is in fact Nightmare Moon, and she's about to return to Equestria, and bring with her eternal night! Something must be done to make sure this terrible prophecy does not come true. I await your quick response. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight said, slowly walking past the strange, large hourglass that rested within her personal quarters. Upon the hourglass the image of the frightful Nightmare Moon appeared accompanied by a large grin and pair of eyes. The image was ignored entirely as it seemed to fade almost instantly from the glass.
"Also, send it now." Twilight said, turning her eyes to her assistant who groaned with a 'now' which Twilight merely nodded her head in response to his groaned question. "Of course! The day after tomorrow is the thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration! It's imperative that the Princess is told right away!" Twilight stated, merely getting a fumbling of the word imperative from the drake behind her to which she grunted in frustration. "Important!"
Spike jumped, quickly rolling the scroll and producing a green flame which enveloped the scroll. It quickly dissolved in the flame as it was whisked away to Celestia.
They waited for only a brief moment before a loud belch came from Spike, his mouth opening wide as he expelled a scroll into his hands and began to open it.
"See? I knew she would want to take immediate action." Twilight said, a smug look on her face as Spike began to read over the scroll. Well, what does it say!?"
"My dearest, most faithful student Twilight. You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely but you simply must stop reading those dusty old books!" Spike said, this simple sentence causing Twilight to gasp. To think that her mentor would simply shrug off her findings. "My dear Twilight, there is more to a young pony's life than studying, so I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location: Ponyville. And, I have an even more essential task for you to complete: make some friends!" Spike said, looking to Twilight who only looked back to him with a rather aghast look on her face as two pegasi from the Solar Guard entered the room. "Oh, ps: Take this quill along with you. I have enchanted it to never break or lose it's point. Keep me informed on the preparations and any friends that you might make!" Spike said, producing a quill from scroll, the quill itself having various shades of violet in the feather.
Twilight and Spike merely followed the guards out to the carriage which awaited her outside of her board of stay. She could only sigh as she believed that much more pressing matters were on hand.
"Look on the bright side, Twilight. The Princess arranged for you to stay in a library. Doesn't that make you happy?" Spike asked, slipping the quill behind her left ear as he looked to Twilight with concern on his face.
"Yes, yes it does. You know why? Because I'm right! I'll check on the preparations as fast as I can, then get to the library to find some proof of Nightmare Moon's return."
Author's Note
So yes, most of this chapter was pulled from the beginning of the first episode of My Little Pony with very minor changes made to it. There will probably be a few chapters along the way of this story that might be like this but it will jump back towards Cheshire's side next chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this very brief filler chapter and are ready to read subsequent chapters for events to come.
A Stressful Day You Could Say
Ponyville
To say that Twilight's first day in Ponyville had been stressful would have certainly been considered an understatement of the century. From the very moment that she had touched down in this backwoods town, it was as if only strange things would occur one after another.
The very first contact that she had even attempted to make with Ponyville had been a slightly more heavy set earth pony with rather eye-paining pink for her color scheme along with sky blue eyes. The introduction had been rather simple, after being spurred on by Spike, but had only received a rather surprised gasp before she darted away.
The second contact had been with the family that was in charge of banquet preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, located on Sweet Apple Acres. She had found the figure head of the family, an orange earth pony mare with blonde mane and tail accompanied by green eyes. This one had introduced herself as Applejack, the accent which she spoke with could be considered as thick as molasses with a heavy southern drawl. Like any southern type family, theirs was considerably large with each one following the same concept of having apples related to it. The oldest of the family being introduced as Granny Smith, while the youngest was Applebloom. After being pressured into eating the various foods presented, Twilight had left Sweet Apple Acres with a stomach distended with various apple treats.
The third contact was with a pegasus who had been charged with the clearing of clouds for the celebration, the sky still being filled to the brim with small little white cotton clouds. This introduction was the most physical of them, the mare having crashed into Twilight and sending them both into a puddle of mud. This one seemed a little more tomboyish in nature, along with a slightly more egotistical nature tacked onto her. Her name was Rainbow Dash, her name sake coming from the rainbow spectrum of a mane and tail which was adorn upon her cyan body. Her eyes shone with a moderate cerise color within the sunlight which pierced through the slight overcast. Offering to help poor Twilight, she proceeded to practically place a downpour directly on top of her to clean off the mud and then create a small tornado to dry her off. This left Twilight with quite the curly mess of a mane, which brought laughter to both Rainbow Dash and Spike. A little bit disgruntled, Twilight had challenged Rainbow Dash when she mentioned that the Wonderbolts wouldn't allow such a lazy mare into their fold. In a whole ten seconds, the prismatic mare had cleared all the clouds from the sky before 'dashing' away to practice.
The fourth contact, Rarity. This mare was every letter of the word prissy. Her mane, alongside her tail, was a brilliant indigo color which matched rather spectacularly with her light gray coat and dark blue eyes. She had been put in charge of decorations, decorating the town hall of Ponyville from the bottom to the top with ribbons and various other things. Spike had fallen head over heels in love with this mare, who had quickly tossed preparations to the side to assist the destroyed coiffure belonging to Twilight Sparkle. What had seemed to be a simple mane job turned into an entire wardrobe job in mere moments and Rarity had been distracted, Twilight had quickly fled from the scene.
The final contact had been the preparation of music for the Summer Sun Celebration. They quickly stumbled upon the maestro who was to be in charge of the music. This particular mare was a pegasus, her mane along with her tail was a pale rose set upon a soft gold coat matching well with her moderate cyan eyes. The introduction had been a little strange since the mare seemed a little, shy. Twilight wasn't able to get a name from the mare, every time she went to introduce herself, her name would slowly lose pitch to nothingness. Eventually she turned into just a small squeaking mess, hiding behind her mane until Twilight moved to leave the mare. It was in the moment that she noticed Spike, which she was suddenly became one of the most talkative mares ever, having headbutted Twilight out of the way just to get to the baby dragon. This mare had followed the pair from the small clearing all the way back to the library while speaking to Spike as he rode upon Twilight's back. She was finally able to shake the mare by dropping Spike to the floor from his back, exclaiming how he needed rest since he was still a baby.
She had been on the final home stretch, now she was within the library and was ready to work on her plan to convince Celestia that things were going to turn south. It seemed perfect, until a certain pink mare ruined her plans completely.
Pinkie Pie is her name and partying is her game. You'd think that Fluttershy, when she had noticed Spike, was talkative but this crazy mare talked at about one hundred words a minute. Just hearing her talk was enough to cause anyone's brain to lose focus and Twilight was doing just that while pouring herself a drink. Too bad the drink that she had poured herself had been a particularly nasty bit of hot sauce. She had quickly retired to the upper floors of the library while the rest of Ponyville remained downstairs to party the night away.
- - -
A mild groan radiated out from the bedroom, Twilight slowly making her way up the steps from the lower platform of the room to the upper levels where her bed laid. Next to the bed was a night stand which is where she, gently, placed the quill which had rested behind her ear for the entire day.
"I swear to Celestia, this entire town is crazy!" Twilight exclaimed, jumping onto the bed as the rhythmic sounds of bass seemed to thump through the floor. At this, Twilight quickly grabbed the pillow at the head of the bed and quickly slapped it over her head before drifting off to slumber.
"My sentiments exactly," A soft voice spoke, the quill upon the night stand seemed to slowly extend, the various shades of purple seemingly expanding into the shape of what appeared to be a tail. It slowly swayed to and fro as two yellow eyes seemed to drop into existence and the air itself seemed to separate to reveal two rows of pearly white teeth which turned upwards into a grin.
"And I wouldn't have it any other way." It finished, the teeth slowly parting into a soft chuckle as the tail slowly swung over the form, revealing a rather rotund feline with various shades of purple spiraling along it's body. His paws slowly pressed down against the night stand before he pushed off, floating into the air as he slowly circled the ceiling of the bedroom. His paws slowly made swimming motions as he slowly pushed himself along through the air.
"Shan't be much longer before she returns and what a show she shall have for you tonight..." Cheshire spoke, his eyes drifting to mare who rested below. He allowed himself to chuckle softly as he slowly swam towards the window, his form slowly turning into a vapor which leaked through the slight gaps between the wood and window. Once he was outside he materialized himself once more, his eyes resting upon the sight of the moon within the sky. His paw slowly rose as he made a slight pinching motion around the moon, the four bright stars which once surrounded the moon seemed to slowly begin drawing inwards towards the celestial body.
"Nope, shan't be much longer..."
Author's Note
Another short chapter to quickly skim over the first day which Twilight arrives at Ponyville. The next chapter will return to the standard 2k words or will be a little bit longer to make up for the two short chapters here. Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter and will stick around for the rest!
How This Friendship Came to Be
Prior to Princess Luna's Banishment
Twilight slowly fell upon the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, along with the surrounding villages and forests which inhabited the Everfree Forest. Faint lights could be seen from the various huts in the multiple villages as many a ponies slowly found themselves within the realms of slumber. One would think that tonight would be a rather peaceful night for the citizens of Equestria. That was until a rather loud yell could be heard radiating from the castle.
"Princesses! Princesses!"
The cascading sound of hooves could be heard from every corner of the castle as a guard pony quickly ran through the halls at speeds that would put most pegasi to shame. The hooves sped along, as if the very doors to Tartarus had been opened and the foul creatures from the realm were preying upon the peaceful realm of Equestria. The hooves came to a skidding halt in front of the doors which led to the royal dining room. With two strong, earth pony, hooves the doors to the dining room were thrown open with a resounding bang as the golden armored figure called to the two goddesses.
"Princesses! Horrible news!"
His eyes were met with the scene of the two rulers of the small nation of Equestria, both of which were currently in the motion of eating their food. For the pristine white coated mare, she was about to take a rather size-able chunk of cake from what would have been her desert. The very fork, which hovered in the air in front of her open mouth, quickly dropped to the plate in front of her along side the slice of cake that it had carried. The mysterious black coated mare turned her gaze to the guard, her mouth open as if she had been discussing something with the mare which sat across from her before the guard had rudely burst through the doors. The guards pony seemed to quiver slightly at their gaze as he had just realized that he had interrupted their dinner and breakfast.
"WELL, GENERAL SPEARHEAD, OUT WITH THINE NEWS. " The dark coated mare, known as Princess Luna, bellowed out in her Royal Canterlot voice. The very walls seemed to tremble from the strength behind her words while the white coated mare, known as Princess Celestia, slowly dabbed at her muzzle with one of the napkins upon the table.
"Y-Yes Princess... W-We hath re-re-receiveth word that the demon h-hath been spotted around th-thine castle walls." The guard pony sputtered, shaking in place as his ears slowly seemed to lower for he knew what was surely to come in response to his comment. Lately word had spread among the various villages that a demonic being has been seen traversing the landscapes. Many different descriptions on the being had been given to the guards which all returned back to the castle to be reviewed by the princesses. Many had accounted seeing a strange outline with teal colored stripes, while some mentioned the demon was merely nothing more than smoke. Yet one description on the demon had always been the same, those piercing yellow eyes with a wide white toothed grin which seemed to stretch from one point of the sky to the other. Though nothing harmful has happened in relation to this being, many still feared the possible implications that such a strange creature could bring. What if there was a possibility that it was looking for a hearty meal? What if it was looking to overthrow the crown? Every time they tried to catch the being, it would disappear as if it almost never existed. Tonight was an exception as many guards had located the strange glow of two yellow orbs dancing along the outside of the wall. This fact only seemed to intrigue the two princesses as they quickly stood from the floor pillows which they had been resting upon.
""SISTER, WE MUST INVESTIGATE BEFORE IT HATH A CHANCE TO ESCAPE! GENERAL SPEARHEAD, TELL THE GUARD TO REMAIN CALM AND LET US DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM! " Luna bellowed, the guard cringing once more at the volume. The two goddesses in front of him seemed to become enshrouded in white and black light before they disappeared from the room, leaving a rather confused and blinded guard. Then with two quick blinks of his eyes, he quickly did an about face and quickly ran from the room.
Outside the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters
Two yellow orbs slowly danced along the outside of the walls, which surrounded the castle, that had drawn the attention of this rather peculiar creature. Two small pin prick sized dots seemed to dance along the inside of the yellow orbs as a strange humming sound seemed to radiate from the two spheres which slowly rotated, floated up, floated down and floated all around. Every once in a while a dark outline would appear which would take on the form of pony before fading. Other times it took the form of various different creatures ranging from a feline to a manticore to even a cockatrice. Each time it would appear it would once again disappear only to leave the two yellow orbs behind. It's dance went unhindered for a while until finally it stopped as two bright lights appeared in front of it. In the wake of the light stood two regal looking ponies, both of which appeared to be in a rather upset mood, as they glared down the two sets of eyes which stopped to look at them.
"SO THOU FINALLY REVEAL THINE OWN SELF TO US! " Luna announced, pointing her black hoof towards the two eyes which only silently stared back towards the Princess. The two dots located within the two glowing orbs seemed to focus on her for a brief moment before glancing over towards the alabaster mare standing next to the dark one.
"Luna please try to contain thine Royal Canterlot voice. We shant wake the populous or we might have a situation on hoof." Celestia said, magenta eyes turning towards the cyan which only gazed back towards her as her comment seemed to cause a slight blush to come to Luna's cheeks.
"We are very much sorry, dear sister. We find it hard to control the voice at times." Luna said, her eyes gazing down towards the ground before they quickly went wide and quickly darted back to where the yellow orbs had once been floating. The pair of 'eyes' had decided to take the small window of opportunity to disappear, which only irked Luna.
"Sister, it hath disappeared!" Luna exclaimed.
"Mmm... I care to disagree wholeheartedly. I have not disappeared, but merely changed location." A soft voice rang out, both sets of pony eyes quickly darted half way up the wall and were met with the yellow orbs once more. Only this time a line seemed to slowly appear beneath the spheres which quickly pulled up into a grin and opened to quite the white pair of teeth. "I see that my presence has brought both of you out from inside your castle. I guess it would only be so long until the both of you would seek me out, what with the way your dear little ponies seem to react to my presence." The voice spoke, the grin only seemed to pull wider before both pairs of eyes and mouth once again disappeared.
A strange sensation ran over Luna, almost as if four paws seemed to slink around her form, which only caused her to shiver in response before looking to Celestia for help. Celestia on the other hand was only staring at Luna with wide eyes and mouth wide open.
"What is wrong, Sister?" Luna asked, shifting slightly on spot while Celestia merely pointed up towards Luna's head, which caused the Moon Princess to gaze up past her ethereal mane only to be met with an empty head which caused Luna's own mouth to drop. "WHERE HATH OUR CROWN GONE! "
"Oh me, oh my, where could your crown have gone?" The voice responded, two eyes once again opened along side the twisted grin, which only helped paint a portrait beneath the black crown adorn with a crescent moon on it's head. Slowly a feline styled head slowly came into being beneath the crown, a large styled head painted in purple which bordered around the yellow eyes and white teeth. Upon it's head rested Luna's crown which had a pair of ears poking from atop it. "You really shou-"
The feline was quickly cut off when a streak of dark blue darted at it, this in turn caused the feline to once again disappear and resulted in the princess crashing head first into the castle wall which cracked under the force of her collision. The Lunar Princess found herself on the ground, mind reeling with stars slowly revolving around her head while Celestia merely looking on in shock.
"GIVE US OUR CROWN BACK YOU CRETIN! " Luna roared, rising to her hooves once more as she quickly shook the stars from her eyes, quickly lowered into a fighting stance and took on the appearance of a bull ready to charge. Celestia, herself, felt a slight weight on her back which only caused her to turn her head, only to see the deranged being resting upon her back.
A tail slowly flowed, banded in various shades of purple, along side a plump body with four stumpy legs which ended in paws. The creature merely looked up towards Celestia with that deranged grin before turning it's eyes towards the princess which had violently attacked the wall. "I'm truly sorry, but I have no possible idea what you mean." It spoke, the grin only pulling wider as it seemed to disappear in a cascading rainbow of colors which caused Celestia to raise an eyebrow. Her head turned towards her sister which the sight only caused her eyes to widen in horror as her sister barreled into her. Both princesses were sent flying, sprawled out onto the ground in a tangled mess of hooves.
"Luna, thou really must control thine anger in these situations." Celestia said, wheezing softly as she slowly untangled her hooves from her sister and slowly rose back up. Luna followed in suit, before she felt a soft weight once again return to her head which caused both of her eyes to peer up. She almost squee'd in delight when she saw that her crown had once again returned to her. Her eyes, in turn, quickly darted around before meeting a pair of yellow orbs which once again gave way to a purple creature but this time it gave way to a rather peculiar looking pony. An earth pony in form with cascading shades of purple which adorned it's entire body.
"I hadn't realized that your crown was on my head, dear princess." It spoke, it's eyes looked up towards Luna, as it bowed down to both princesses with that strange grin that seemed to split it's head in half. It was a creepy sight for both of the princesses as such a grin wouldn't be possible for any pony to do. The sight itself was a strange an un-pony like appearance that caused both of the princesses to visually grimace, which only seemed to make the grin grow wider, if such a thing was possible.
Luna's horn began to glow slightly as she felt now was the time that she could finally destroy the thing that dared wear her crown before an alabaster hoof quickly darted out in front of her. Slowly the glow died from her horn as she turned her gaze towards her sister who slowly shook her head in response. She allowed her frustration with the strange creature to die before turning her cyan gaze back towards the, nearly eye assaulting, appearance bowing in front of her.
"Who, or rather, what are you?" Celestia asked, her voice was soft as her hoof daintily returned to the grass beneath them as the strange pony in front of them slowly rose from it's bow. Both of the princesses eyed the being closely as they waited for it to disappear once again, but were surprised when it remained tangible.
"I am everything and nothing. Though I go by the name of Cheshire." He said, his tail slowly lowered to the ground as he slowly rose up on it which only caused both of the princesses to raise their eyebrows. "Some say I am an embodiment of madness, some would say I am the embodiment of mischief." He said, his grin seemed to slip slightly but it still remained plastered on his face as he slowly rocked back and forth upon his tail.
"More than likely both..." Luna muttered, a quick nudge to her side caused her to glance towards Celestia who was giving her a firm glare which only caused Luna to lower her head in defeat.
"What brings thou to our kingdom, Cheshire?" Celestia asked, her glare slowly faded to a soft and gentle stare as she continued to watch the strange being rock around on it's tail.
"Well you see, I can't help but traverse my home." He said, throwing his four hooves outwards as if gesturing towards the sparse amount of woods which encircled the castle before he tucked his hooves back into his body and continued to slowly sway to and fro. This small announcement caused both of the princesses's eyebrows to rise up before once again look towards one another in surprise. This was the first time they had ever heard of such a being moving about the Everfree. Where Luna cared little for Cheshire, a spark appeared in Celestia's mind as she came up with a rather interesting idea. Maybe this being could be a little useful to the crown.
"Would thou mind accompanying us into the castle. We wish to discuss something rather important with thou." Celestia said, out of the corner of her eyes she could make out the surprised look on Luna's face which only brought a smirk to Celestia's muzzle. That small motion caused Luna to shake her head while Celestia once again focused on Cheshire who was slowly stroking his own muzzle with his hoof as he seemed to think about it.
"Well, if it is rather important, I would like to hear what you both have to say." Cheshire said, slowly lowering himself to his four hooves as he wandered to the princesses, who surrounded him on both sides, as they slowly lead him through the gates into their castle.
'Just what do thou hath planned, sister.' Was all Luna could think, as the gates slowly closed behind them.
Author's Note
Well here is the first chapter to what will probably be a story that will try to reach up to around 20 chapters or more in length. The main character, Cheshire, will have the general appearance of the Cheshire Cat but will act in a slightly more mature fashion. This chapter and the next two will be primarily based around back story before once again meeting the canon timeline where slight changes where occur. Hope you enjoyed this first chapter and hope you stay along for the ride!
