//------------------------------// // Puss-a-loo in Boots // Story: Fairy Tales of Equestria // by VioletRose13 //------------------------------// Once upon a time in a kingdom not so far away from home, there lived a poor miller who had three sons. One day, the miller had passed away due to old age, leaving his most prized possessions to his three sons. The eldest son was given the mill, the second son was given the mule, and the youngest of the three, a young stallion who was called Shining Armor, was given his father's cat. She was a little orange kitten called Puss-a-loo and she was very clever as well mischievous. After his father's burial, Shining Armor decided to leave the farm and go out into the world to start a new life on his own. He took the kitten, Puss-a-loo, with him and to be honest, he was far less than pleased with his new pet; he thought that the cat would never help in get anywhere in life, but little did he know that he would be proved wrong. As they made their way down the path, Puss-a-loo tried to comfort her new owner by rubbing her face against his leg. "Please don't look so disappointed, master." Puss-a-loo said, touching the stallion’s shoulder with her paw. "I'll be sure to get you everything you’ll ever want, you’ll see." "You? How can you get me everything I want?" Shining Armor asked. “You’re just a cat.” "Master, trust me, please. True I am a cat, but I have a plan and it's a really good one too. Now, I’ll need a few things." “Like what?” “Like… a burlap sack, a scarf, and a pair of boots.” "Why? What do you need with those things for?" "It’s part of my plan. You seriously want to question it, master? Do you want me to explain it to you? Before you know it, I'll start rambling and you don’t want that, do you?" Letting out an annoyed sigh in response, Shining Armor reluctantly gave the cat his scarf and his old boots as well as a sack and before he knew it, the kitten had already run off into the forest. She laid the sack in the middle of the path with some carrots inside; she was using them as bait. Puss-a-loo then hid in the bushes as she waited for any little creature to come around and take the bait. It took a few minutes, but finally her patience was rewarded. Two rabbits unknowingly hopped into the opening of the sack to take a little nibble of the carrots. And she pounced onto the sack, causing it to close and capture the rabbits. With the sack of rabbits in tow, Puss-a-loo made her way to the castle to present her catch to the Queen, all according to plan. The Queen was reading a book to herself when the little kitten came to call. "Your Majesty, a cat is approaching and she wishes to speak with you." A clumsy messenger said as she barged into the throne room to tell her mistress the news. "A cat? Speak to me?" The Queen asked, confused. "Yes, and this cat wears boots, Your Grace." The messenger said. "Boots? Oh my. Then surely this must be a creature of substance. Bring this cat before me." The Queen ordered. And soon, Puss-a-loo appeared before the Queen with her sack. She bowed low before saying, "I am very humble to be in your presence, my Queen." "What is the meaning of this, young feline? Why have you requested an audience with me?" The mare asked. "Your Majesty, I've come on behalf of my master, the Marquis of Cantorbas. He has told me to present you with a gift." Puss-a-loo said as she gave the sack to the Queen. The Queen opened the sack to see the two rabbits squirming around inside. She let out a cry of surprise and looked back at the orange kitten with wide eyes. "Do you like it?" Puss-a-loo asked. "Oh, yes, I do. Thank you very much. Tell this Marquis of Cantorbas that I accept his gift and also tell him that I say thank you." The Queen said. "Of course, Your Majesty." Puss-a-loo said before she made her leave. Over the course of the next few days, Puss-a-loo had gone out into the wild, capturing animals of all kinds and presenting them to the Queen as gifts from the Marquis of Cantorbas. One day, there was a baby phoenix; another day, a Zap Apple tree sapling; and another day, a beautiful gemstone in the shape of a heart. And finally, it was time for Puss-a-loo to play out the next part of her plan. She asked the Queen and her daughter, the princess to come to the castle of the Marquis of Cantorbas for a holiday weekend. A few hours before the two royals could make it however, Puss-a-loo asked Shining Armor to take a bath in the river under the bridge the royal carriage would be going on. "Why are we doing this again?" Shining Armor asked. "It's part of my plan, master. The Queen and the Princess will be here any minute, so be ready." Puss-a-loo said, seeing the carriage in sight. "The Queen and the Princess?! Puss-a-loo, what did you do?!" Shining Armor demanded. Instead of answering her master’s question, Puss-a-loo ran away from the riverbank while crying out, "Help! Help me! Somepony, help!" That made the royal carriage stop in the middle of the path and the Queen looked out the window to see Puss-a-loo running towards her while screaming and shouting in a distressed manner. "Puss-a-loo? Are you alright? Whatever is the matter?" She asked. "Your Majesty, fair Princess. I have horrible news. My master, the Marquis of Cantorbas, was taking a swim in the river when he was robbed by a gang of thugs." Puss-a-loo cried. "Oh dear! We must help him! Come dear." The Queen said as she climbed out. "Yes, mother." The Princess said, following her mother outside. The orange kitten led the two ponies to the riverbank and she showed them Shining Armor, or the Marquis of Cantorbas as Puss-a-loo called him. "Ladies, my master, the Marquis of Cantorbas." She said. "How do you do?" The Queen asked politely. "Hello, Your Imperial Majesty. It's such an honor, i-i-i-it truly is." Shining Armor said. "It's… a pleasure to meet you, Marquis. I've been looking forward to meeting you for quite some time. My name is Cadance, by the way." The Princess said. "It's wonderful to meet you as well, Princess." The stallion said. "Your Majesty, my master's clothes and carriage have been stolen." Puss-a-loo lied. "Don't fret, Puss-a-loo. I shall have the tailors set arrangements at once. And your master shall ride with me and the Princess. It will be a pleasure to continue the journey together." The Queen said. "Won't you care to join us?" "Oh. I'm afraid not, Your Grace. I must prepare the Castle Cantorbas for your arrival." Puss-a-loo said. "Very well. Go on ahead. I suppose we’ll meet you there soon." Puss-a-loo then continued running down the path, while passing by many farmers. She told every one of them that when the Queen passes by and she asks who the land belongs to, they were to answer, 'It belongs to the Marquis of Cantorbas.' When the Queen came by in the carriage, she was told that the land belonged to Shining Armor. She was greatly impressed as well as her daughter, Cadance. Shining Armor couldn't help but wonder what that little cat could be up to. Meanwhile, Puss-a-loo had finally made it to the most difficult part of her plan; confronting and defeating a horrible Ogre. This ogre was the richest and most evil creature in the land and Puss-a-loo knew she had to get his castle. As the little kitten approached the castle, she couldn't help be feel even the tiniest bit nervous. What should she say? What should she do? When she came to the main door, it suddenly flew open and Puss-a-loo slowly walked inside. As she walked through the foyer, she heard a deep, booming voice say, "Who goes there?" Her voice wavering, the terrified cat called, "It is Puss-a-loo, a servant to the Marquis of Cantorbas. I'm looking for the owner of this manor." And just when Puss-a-loo thought it couldn't get any scarier, she was suddenly blinded by an immediate flash of bright white light. And when her vision was in focus, she looked up to see the owner of the manor. It was a draconequus wearing black rags and he looked down at the kitten at his feet. She had a look of terror in her eyes. "You're just a cat." He said. "I'm… looking for an ogre." Puss-a-loo said, trying her best not to scream in fright. "You're looking at him. What do you want?" "I've… heard rumors about you." "What rumors?" "Well… rumors of you and your great magical powers, of course. What kinds of powers do you have anyway?" "What kinds of powers do I have? Ha! I have so many you can’t even count them all! I can turn myself as well as other things invisible, I can shape shift, and I can even alter reality itself!" "Well, that’s sounds fine and dandy. But I'm actually more interested in your shape shifting ability. I heard that you can turn into very large creatures, like a lion perhaps?" "You mean like this?" In a flash, the Ogre transformed into a large, ferocious lion. Puss-a-loo screamed, jumped up, and clung onto one of the tapestry with her little claws. But before any harm could be done, the Ogre had turned back into himself. "Wow. That was… really impressive." Puss-a-loo said. “Why, thank you.” The Ogre said, bowing. “Hey, can you turn into anything else?” She asked. "You want more, eh? If you liked that, try this on for size." He said. That was when the Ogre transformed into a colossal elephant. Puss-a-loo let out another frightened cry as she hid under the carpet of the foyer. She peeked her head out to see that the Ogre was once again back to his original form. "Did you like that, my dear?" He asked. "Uh… yeah. I did." Puss-a-loo said as she crawled out from under the rug. Then, she came up with an idea. "Is that really the best you've got?" "And what is that supposed to mean?" The Ogre asked angrily. "Nothing, nothing at all; but I just thought of something. You can turn into big things, sure. Anyone with powers like yours can do stuff like that. But have you ever tried turning into something REALLY hard? Like a small animal; a little mouse for example? But don’t worry about it; it’s okay. I totally get it if you're too scared to do it." "Scared? ME?! That’s it, cat! You want to see a mouse; I'll show you a mouse!" And in a bright flash just like before, the Ogre suddenly disappeared and in his place was a tiny gray mouse. Puss-a-loo stared for a moment, then she smiled slyly. "Looks like you proved me wrong, Ogre." She said smugly. That was when Puss-a-loo crept towards the gray rodent, pounced onto him, and she gobbled him up. Soon enough, the Queen, Princess Cadance, and Shining Armor arrived at the castle where they were greeted by Puss-a-loo. “Welcome, everypony, to the marvelous castle of the Marquis of Cantorbas.” She announced before giving a bow. And soon enough, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were married, Puss-a-loo stayed in the castle as a hero and a personal guard, the Ogre was never seen in the kingdom again, and they all lived happily ever after.