//------------------------------// // chapter 9 the cat // Story: Tales Of The Gargoyle King // by discordjediknight //------------------------------// It was two days later. The prince decided to stay until they traveled to the ever-free forest. That way he could travel with them. Those two days were not very welcome. While Fluttershy did her job along with her brother, the prince would often walk around the castle grounds watching every move. As much as he was a pain to deal with, the true fright came from his top servant. Something just didn't seem right about him. He was sickly pale and had messy black hair and dark black eyes. Something about him scared Fluttershy. As he wandered down the halls, always at the prince's side. Fluttershy on numerous occasions saw the two whispering to one another, but could never make out what they were saying. Fluttershy entered the great dining hall alongside her brother the knight. She was bringing supper to the king and the unwanted guest. Her brother was called for a different reason. Once he had no idea about. The two entered and Fluttershy set the many plates she had across her arms down on the table. The queen gave a nod as she turned to her brother. "My queen." Zephyr said standing straight, taking a soldier position. "What is your request?" He asked. "Zephyr breeze the 2ed. Son of Zephyr Breeze, the finest knight my late husband trusted with his life. With my son in the mits of battle, you're the closest knight we have to present the king of the ever-free with our gift." Twilight stopped mid-eating and looked up. "What gift." "Says on the invitation that in good faith to the sorcerer king, watch kingdom intern will give one gift that represents our own kingdoms' wealth. In exchange, will get plenty of resources to help our kingdom through this winter. I've already decided to give him a gift basket full of our finest drinks and treats. I already had our chiefs fetch them…" she gestured to a gift basket that was sitting on a chair. "…and Zephyr will present them in the absence of your brother." "That is grand." Blue Blood said. "I plan to give him our finest warm coats as a gift. We are known mostly for our wool." He said, while pulling his wool cape over his shoulder to show it off. "Well, then that's settled." The crowd then went back to eating in silence as Zephyr took the basket and left the room. Fluttershy followed him and as soon as they were out of sight and sound of the main hall she jumped and gave her brother a hug. "Congratulations on the promotion." She cheered. "Yeah, I know big responsibility huh. from guarding a kitchen, to now being the one able to present such an extravagant gift to the sorcerer king." He then froze as he realized something. "Uh oh." " What?" she asked. "This means I have to go to the, the Ever free with the king." he studerd." On nightmare night of all things." Fluttershy smiled and rolled her eyes. "I'm sure the king won't be uh that bad. Besides, I'm going to remember." He looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, that makes me feel better. The most scardey cat person I know. Now I really feel safe." "Hay!" she shouted at him. But then she lowered her head. "No, no, you're right. I hate nightmare night. But...." she turned away from him. "I'm curious. If he's as powerful as everyone says. Why doesn't he just end the war? I'm hoping that if I go, ill learn the answer." She said, fiddling with her fingers. Her brother looked at her with a surprised expression. But softly smiled. "You know sometimes you're stronger than you think, sis." He said as he ruffled up her hair. She chuckled nervously but gave a cheerful grin. "Well, alright. Tomorrow we start our journey to his castle. Uh… what the hell am I gonna wear. I mean its nightmare night, I need some costumes." "Uh, why don't you just go as a knight? I mean, your armor is pretty scary to me." He looked at her and then at his armor. "Huh, if I paint it a bit. I think you're right. "He said and dashed down the hall leaving Fluttershy alone, a bit surprised, but she slowly smiled at his enthusiasm. "You did replace it, right?" She heard a voice say. She slowly peeked over the corner. She saw two long shadows. One was clearly the king, the other looked off to her. "Yes, yes, I did." Said the voice of the prince. "Fool. it's only a matter of time, then. Be sure to tell the others to have their guard up. With any luck, this will be done with, by the end of tomorrow night." A deep voice chuckled. The prince joined in the chuckle. And with any luck, well have all the resources' humanity will ever need. Fluttershy didn't like the tone of their voices, but shrugged it off. "I mean they're probably just talking about the party, right?" She thought to herself. The next morning, every one quickly grabbed their costumes and met at the main gate. Zephyr painted his armor gold. Only it was a lemon-yellow color and not gold. It kinda made him look ridiculous as he stood there with a basket. The queen wore a phoenix costume, her daughter twilight danced around in her Star Swirl the bearded costume. To many, surprise Blue Blood was a court jester, a clown, and most of his men wore either pirate or circus outfits. Alright, is everyone ready to set off? The queen said in a dull voice, keeping her eye on prince blue blood. He gave a nod with a sly grin, which did not ease the queen. After hearing about his plan to attack the king, queen sunset shimmer decided to not let any civilians go to this party. Only armed knights in costumes and a few necessary servants. "Wait," her daughter cried out. "My servant Fluttershy, she isn't here yet." "Oh uh. About that. I'm afraid I had extra chores for her to do, she won't be able to make it". sunset told her. "What. ugh, this is gonna be boring." Twilight complained. Just as she said that, Fluttershy could hear her friend from just inside the castle. She was scrubbing the floors, disappointed she wouldn't be able to attend. She looked over the long list of chores the queen left her. Clean the floors Clean the guest rooms from the prince's stay clean out the stables. The list went on and on, stretching to the floor. It was as if the queen wanted to keep her there. How strange, she thought to herself. It would take a full day's travel by horse to get to the castle, let alone by foot would take far longer. Even if she finished her chores, there was no way she'd be able to catch up with them. And after twilight gave her that nice dress and necklace, two. She sighed and dumped her mop back into a bucket of water. Before, she continued to mop the floors. She was also the only servant in the castle, anything that would be covered by other maids or servants were now on her list. "Well, I guess someone needed to do it while they left." She thought to herself as she sighed. She tended to the animals, mow the lawn. Brought new firewood in from outside to build warm fires in the fireplaces. Water the flower gardens of the castle and clean leaves and muck out of the pond and water fountain. All the while, she tried to smile and have a good day. But found it difficult. Her little animal friends realized something was wrong and tried to comfort her. She giggled at a squirrel that rubbed its head against her face. "Oh, thank you, Mr squirrel" she said and picked him up. Several small birds hovered all around her as she sat at the now-cleaned fountain. They chirped loudly in concern for her." No, no, I'm fine. I'm fine, I just... She sighed. She really couldn't understand the animals and for all, she knew they couldn't understand her. "You guys. You're the only ones I can really talk to, huh." she said as she pet the back of a black cat that walked over and rubbed against her legs. "Ok fine. So I may have wanted to go. You know. Just to see if the rumors and stories of the king are real. I mean, I know they say he's evil and terrifying but..." She rolled her head. "An immortal king with no way of dying. How does that even work?" The cat meowed as a few caravans flew down, landing on top of the fountain seemingly interested in the conversation. "Hmm. I always wonder what magic is like." She stood up. "And what I'd do if I had such gifts?" She turned to the squirrel who jumped on her shoulder. She giggled. "If I had such gifts I'd end the war, of course." The squirrel squeaked as if it understood. "No, I wouldn't want to kill anyone, but... She sighed, And began to sing a little tune that just happen to come to mind. I sense there's something in the wind That feels like tragedy's at hand And though I'd like to stop the fight Can't shake this feeling that I have The worst is just around the bend And does magic truly? Exist in this world. And if it does. Why not save us? It would be like a dream. If only it could be. "If ID went, I would have tried to convince him to stop the war with his magic. You'd think that could work, right?" She asked her animal friends who only tilted their heads, not understanding her words as far as she knew. She sighed and walked away, thinking of a song her father once sang to her. Hush now quiet now it's time hush now quiet now it's time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now quiet now it's time to go to bed. Drifting off to sleep leaves your troubled day behind you. Drifting off to sleep, let the sweetest dreams come find youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. I hope you'll find a peaceful dream, do not let a nightmare consume you. Magic comes from the mid, the heart and the light. Do not let the darkness claim you. "If only those words were true. If only magic could have saved you." She said softly, remembering her father and mother. It was near sundown, and she was tidying up Twilight's room. She decided to set her costume back in the prince's wardrobe. She looked over the sparkly dress and cloak that would have been her costume, stretching out the arm to see if it would fit her. She rolled her head and closed the wardrobe. She decided to walk over and open the door. The princess's room had one of the best sights in the entire kingdom. And it was her favorite room. Tho shed never tells twilight that. She gazed out. You could see to the left the sun setting and to the right, the moon rising ever so gently over the mountains. The daylight about to vanish into the night of the full moon. During most months the trees down below looked lush and green, but now they were like old wooden hands twisting and turning watch way stretching upwards. The only trees that had any green were the dark evergreens along the side of the ever-free forest that could be seen far, far in the distance. She looked out as a cold breeze came in from the window. She slightly shivered at it, but was mostly unfazed. As the final light of day was gone, she yawned. Tired of her work from today. She turned around and decided to finish fixing the princess bed. Another yawn came as she heard the small jingle of something in her pocket. She pulled out the pendant that twilight had given her. She remembered what her friend had told her. "Besides, I don't like that cloak, it's not my color. And the necklace you can keep. It was a gift from my brother, he got it from one of the exhibitions in the northern kingdom. Honestly, he brings back the most ridiculous things for gifts. Doesn't he know a good book is all I require?" She chuckled at the memory and decided to keep the gift. She rubbed her thumb over the crescent move carved into it. She decided to slip the necklace over her head. She looked at it carefully and yawned. She then notice there was something on the back of it. She rubbed the back, cleaning it off. It said something, but she couldn't quite make it out. With another yawn, she finally read the words. They seemed silly to her, but she did it anyway. Eurt emoc maerd (dream come true) Luna. Suddenly as she said the last words she felt all her strength evaporate out of her. She fell back onto the bed, exhausted beyond all belief. As if every ounce of energy she had was just drained out of her all at once. Her head felt extremely dizzy, her chest felt extremely warm. As if her heart was set ablaze. She fell out of consciousness. The light of the full moon peering through the window was the last thing she saw. While still, asleep, Fluttershy felt something shake her. "Come on." A voice said. She was given another shake. As she got up, she set a hand on her still-aching head. "ah, what?" She asked, fluttering her eyes until they were opened. When they were, she saw a dark bluish cat with white stripes that almost seemed like stripes. "Oh uh, hello there." She said, looking at the small creature. "Hello." The cat said softly back at her, making her jump in surprise. The small cat giggled at the sight. "No need to fear, dear child." The creature wished around her. She got a better look at it. It strangely sparkled. As if its stripes were made of the night sky. It shined like the moon, being the only source of light in the room. Everywhere else including outside was dark. "Curious." The cat said in a very regal voice. "Hmm. perhaps if I was in a different form." she said. Suddenly the cat transformed into that of a pale woman dressed in a nightly blue gown a starry night cloak and what looked to be a crown on top of her head. Fluttershy jumped back in fear. Making the woman chuckle. "Now, now, I didn't mean to scare you." "Your, your ah, Ah … what are you." Fluttershy asked. "Hmm, what am I? Hmm. kinda hard to answer. Hmm. im Luna. The spirit of night magic." Fluttershy squealed. "You, your, you're the moon goddess." This made Luna chuckle. "You mortals. Always calling us gods or goddesses. We're only part of nature, dear. I'm a bit of a moon fairy, actually. I tend to watch over those who slumber, trying to help those who have bad nightmares. However, someone once saw me once remove a disgusting tooth out from someone's bed, and now they think I'm a tooth fairy. How ridiculous is that?" She chuckled once more. "I just didn't want the human to get his head cut by his own old tooth. Heh." "Uh. yeah." Fluttershy said nervously and tried to chuckle along, tho she was clearly faking her laugh and not hiding her nervousness at all. "Um, what are you doing here… Uh, if I may ask? "She said, still cowing in the corner. Luna smiled softly. "You of course." "Me?" "Yes. you said a powerful spell. One to make a dream come true. Only you never finished it. You blacked out. I decided to check on you and see what wish you wanted to come true." "Oh uh. But I uh." "The necklace you have is a powerful relic I gave out years ago. With it, one wish can come true. But to do so you must think of your dream while making the wish, otherwise it only will be half complete. So finish the spell, young one. What is it that you dream of? What wishes from the deepest part of your heart could come true?" Fluttershys mind raced as she heard the calm voice of the mood goddess. She thought to herself. "I uh. I want the war to end. And not in a way where someone gets hurt and killed, either." She looked up at Luna. Luna's smile turned into a slight frown. She stared into the eyes of Fluttershy." Hmm, such kindness." She whipped. "What was that?" Fluttershy asked. Luna turned away from her." Humans..." She began. "... You think by making a wish, someone can just snap their fingers and make it true. But magic doesn't work like that. This is a powerful dream. And I can see that in your heart, this is what you want. But..." she spun back around to Fluttershy. "This type of wish. The magic can only come from you. It will take time. You must have the courage and the strength to succeed if you wish for this war to truly end. "What but?.." Luna reached into her sleeve and pulled out a wand. "Wha, wha, wait!" Fluttershy shouted. But Luna did not stop. She waved her wand making a blue glowing crescent moon shape. "To end this war, you must find out how it began and convince the one with the power to stop it to do so. " She taped the shape and the light swished around Fluttershy. Fluttershy was in awe of the magic that surround her. "Hmm, now you just need a costume." Luna tapped her chin in thought. "Oh, what should it be? Hmm. ahh, I know." She devilishly smiled. She brought the wand up in a flash Fluttershy's outfit turned into a black webbed dress her teeth grew sharp her ears slightly pointy her hair slightly ruffled up. She had a small red tiara in her heir, and the crescent moon jewel glowed red as it settled around her neck. A black mask covered most of her face. Except for her lips with deep red lipstick. When she pulled up her arms, the dress's sleeves resembled bat wings. Finally, a bracelet with a sand dial appeared on it. "Umm, what's this for? She asked. "This part of the plan is truly my doing. And it only tends to work at night. When the sand dial is at its last grain, you will be brought back here and the dress will disappear." "Oh, but what if I don't get a chance to meet the king?" "Worry not. This is only the begging of the spell. If you fail tonight, you will have another chance. If that is your choosing." Fluttershy tilted her head. Luna chuckled. "Like I said, only you have the power to make your dream of a peaceful world come true. But only if you choose to. If you choose left you'll never find a way, only the right path will help you." Fluttershy scratched her head at that, but decided not to question it any further. "Well, Mrs. Dracula now that you have your costume we got to get you over to the party". Luna smiled and with another wave of her wand, a large flash of pure white moonlight hit Fluttershy. She shielded her eyes from it as it got brighter and brighter, blinder her, and when she opened them aging she was standing in front of the tall castle of the sorcerer king.