//------------------------------// // (Rarity the Storyteller) // Story: Friends and Fairy Tales // by CrackedInkWell //------------------------------// In truth, Rarity had a fantasy of being married to royalty one day. When she was once a filly when she didn’t have to do any schoolwork or wasn’t inspired to create a new combination for her collection of costumes, she would pretend that she was a princess being married to a handsome prince. However, her point of view on the fantasy changed when she met the reality of it at one Galloping Gala when she introduced herself to a Prince Blueblood. It was a wonder then, how on one night; she was in her cozy, familiar room ready to sleep – and the next she is married to an insane Sultan. By the looks of it, from the design of the palace to the colorful mosaics of exotic animals and birds and even the clothing, the white unicorn would have sworn that she was in Saddle Arabia. Yet, the creatures around her were anything but ponies. Wearing colorful robes, they were tall, walked only on their hind legs. In a way, they were like highly intelligent apes where they’ve learned how to groom themselves. For Rarity, the past twenty-four hours or so was indeed a strange on, especially having the memories of somepony named Scheherazade, the eldest daughter of the Vizier and certainly the bravest that convince the mare to go through the same plan that this other woman had meditated on. Now in the same bed with her new “husband,” and her “sister,” was laying on a couch at the hoof of the bed, Rarity was still awake for most of the night, hoping to Celestia that this insane plan would work. There were a few candles that were still lit in the colorful glass lanterns above, and the sweet incents have long burnt out, Rarity waited until just before dawn in order to save her life from the threat that the king next to her had in mind. She heard from the Vizier that ever since his last wife had betrayed him, he took upon himself to have a new girl to marry, only to have her executed the following morning. She looked out the window at the twilight sky over this new land as she felt that the Sultan turned in his bed once more. Rarity decided that she had waited long enough and woke Dunyazad, the sister to execute their plan. When she rose at the end of the bed, she said: “Allah upon thee, O my sister, recite to us some new story, delightsome and delectable, wherewith to while away the waking hours of our latter night.” “I would do so gladly,” Rarity said, turning to the Sultan, “That is, with the permission of his majesty would permit me to tell the both of you a story.” The king, being restless, rose up from the satin bed and leaned his back upon the pillow. “Tell on,” said the Sultan, “since I cannot fall asleep, give unto us a tale while I still let you live.” Rarity gulped, “Very well, tell me, O generous and auspicious king, have you ever heard of the story of a gryphon couple by the sea whose husband got greedy?” Scratching his head, the Sultan replied, “I do not believe so, what is so delightsome and delectable of a couple of gryphons?” “Well, I have heard that long ago by the sea, there was once a gryphon that lived in a nest that faced the open sea. The two gryphons had a hard life in which the husband was forced to conserve everything he had, including what few money they had. It was so hard, that their very nest was made out of uncomfortable sticks, branches and old hay that all rested upon an old, dead tree. “Now, in order to make their living, the couple was forced to fish from the sea and sell it to the village that laid inland. If they were lucky, they might have enough to buy a pot for cooking or some canvas to put over the nest when it rains. “One day, the wife was sitting on a rock with a fishing rod, hoping that she might pull in something big to sell at the market. She waited for hours in the hot, miserable sun with the cool water lapped at her lion paws. But then, suddenly she felt a pull. Excited, she reeled back on the string as quickly as she could before the fish got away. “Then, out from the water, came the biggest fish that she had ever seen. It was about as big as her and it thrashed furiously about in the water. But what amazed her, however, was that this fish started talking! ‘Wait! Please! Let me go! There’s been a big misunderstanding!’ “‘What’s this?’ said the wife, ‘You can talk? How could you do that?’ “‘Please ma’am!’ cried the fish, ‘I don’t want to be eaten! If you let me go, I promise that I will grant whatever wish you have!’ “This, as you could imagine, caught her attention, ‘Are you really telling the truth?’” “‘I am, I am! Now please, get this hook out of my mouth, it really hurts!’ “Filled with compassion, the wife undid the hook from the mouth, in which the fish expressed, ‘Oh thank you ever so much for spearing me! My name is Blue Tail of the Oceana Spirits, and I am in your debt! For now on, if you have a wish you would like to see to be fulfilled, just call out my name and I will come to you!’ “Stunned, the wife told the fish that she would think it over, and with one more expression of gratitude, the magical fish swam away. “The wife had returned to the nest, and told her husband about what had happened to her that day with the talking fish, when she got to the part where she told the fish that she would think about its offer, her husband said, ‘What do you mean you hesitated! If that fish was what it said it was, why didn’t you ask it for a better home then this? Surely you could have wished for a… I don’t know a cottage or something nice.” “She agreed, and the lady gryphon went out to the spot where she met the fish. The sky was clear and calm when she cried out, ‘Oh Blue Tail, if you can hear me, would you please come, I have a wish to make!’ And before she knew it, the talking fish poked its head out of the water. “‘Yes, what can I do for you?’ “‘My husband made a point, I was hoping if you could give us a much nicer house then the twiggy nest we’ve been living in. Perhaps one with a garden, and a pantry filled with food. You know something comfortable.’ “‘Go to your husband,’ the fish said, ‘You already have it!’ “Curious, she flew back as fast as she could, and to her amazement, the once uncomfortable nest of a home was now replaced with a cottage. ‘Wife dear, come and look at this!’ her husband said, ‘You just have to see what’s in here!’ Indeed, she found that the place had all the things she could ever hope for. A soft bed, a table with chairs, a pantry filled with good food, a garden with ripe vegetables, and a roof over their heads to protect them from the harshness of the sea. “While the wife went to bed happy that night, the husband was well awake thinking. This was incredibly lucky that his wife happen upon this magic fish that was able to deliver just as they needed. But he also wonders how far he could push this luck. ‘Darling, wake up,’ he said one morning, ‘why not you go back to see that fish again, and ask him… for a castle!’ “‘A castle?’ his wife asked perplexingly, ‘We’ve already got a cottage that’s comfortable. Besides, I thought only nobles get to live in castles.’ “‘Then ask the fish to make me one, and a castle too! Now go on ahead,’ and so, the wife went out to the same spot out at sea, in which she noticed that the sky was several clouds that day. “She called out, ‘Oh Blue Tail, if you can hear me, would you please come, I have a wish to make!’ And before she knew it, the talking fish poked its head out of the water. “‘Yes, what can I do for you?’ “‘Good morning sir, while I’m thankful for what you’ve done for me, I was wondering if it might be possible if you could not only make us nobles, but for us to live in a castle as well?’ “‘Go to your husband,’ said the fish, ‘You already have it.’ “And so, the wife flew back to her home, and found that the cottage was replaced by massive stone castle! Horns were sounded as she approached the structure where her husband came out, excited to show her around. Inside the castle, there were legions of guards and servants that were there to serve them at their every whim. The husband showed her the treasure room filled with gold, precious jewels and silks in a variety of colors. That night, they were feed a feast in which they had more food than they ever had in a month! So you could imagine that the wife went to bed satisfied. “However, the husband was not. Sure, life was now better than the cottage, but greed leaked into his soul that demanded more, bigger, grander things in life. So the next morning, he told his wife, ‘My dear, this castle is quite impressive, but… Let’s admit, it is rather dark in here at times, isn’t it? Why not you go back out to the sea again and ask the fish to make us Emperor and Empress where we could live in a palace?’ “‘But dear husband,’ said the wife, ‘wouldn’t that be asking too much to ask? After all, having ourselves royals and a place seems a little bit… excessive would you say?’ “‘Oh listen to yourself! You can ask favors of a magical fish for crying out loud! He said that he can grant you anything you want, now go get and ask for that palace!’ “She obeyed and flew out to sea, back on that marooned rock, only this time the clouds above had grown darker. Still, she called out, ‘Oh Blue Tail, if you can hear me, would you please come, I have a wish to make!’ And before she knew it, the talking fish poked its head out of the water. “‘Yes, what can I do for you?’ “‘Well, my husband and I were wondering if you could make us Emperor and Empress where we could live in a palace.’ “‘Go to your husband, you already have it.’ “Thanking the fish, she returned to find a palace made out of marble and gold, this one was even bigger than the castle! When she went in, she found that it was crowded of visitors, dignitaries, guards, servants, and nobles from all across the world paying their respects to her, and her husband in the throne room. There, on a bejeweled throne of solid gold, her husband was grinning happily at her. ‘Well dear, what do you think of this place? We have a privet orchard of oranges and lemons in the back, all to ourselves! Also, you should really take a look at the treasury!’ “Later that night, while the wife was sleeping, the new emperor when to bed, still unsatisfied, his greedy heart still demanded something even more impressive. “‘But what,’ he thought, ‘I have absolute power and all the riches to last me for several lifetimes, what more could I want that no one has?’ He pondered this question all night, and when the sun came up, glaring it’s rays into the royal chamber, the gryphon complained, ‘If only I could just tell the sun not to rise, then that would…’ he stopped. Shaking his wife awake he said, ‘Wake up, wake up, I have something for you to ask the fish!’ “‘What are you talking about?’ her wife rubbed her eyes, ‘What more do you want? You are emperor after all.’ “‘Ah, but that’s just it. There is one more thing that I want above all else, something that you could ask that friendly fish for. My dear wife, I want you to go out there, and ask him to make us Gods!’ “Her wife gave a horrified gasp, ‘But you can’t be serious! No one should hold that much power! Least of all us! The palace is fine! We rule the world now! Why would you want us to become Gods?’ “‘Because anyone could easily gain their fortunes and power, but I want the kind of power that no one could touch! One in which I could tell the sun, or the stars themselves to move at a wave of a claw! A power in which we could make it any season we want! Not to mention that we’ll never grow old and remain this way for all time! Now go, quickly ask this fish for this one last favor!’ “Reluctantly, the wife returned to the sea, now she found that there was a tempest roaring about as she made it to the rock. ‘Oh Blue Tail, if you can hear me, would you please come, I have a wish to make!’ And before she knew it, the talking fish poked its head out of the water. “‘Yes, what can I do for you?’ “‘My husband wants us to become gods and control everything!’ “‘Go to your husband, you will find what both of you deserve.’” By now, the sun has come up above the horizon and Rarity ceased her story right there and then. “Well?” the Sultan asked, “What happened next?” But the white unicorn didn’t answer, “Did the gryphons get their wish?” “Please forgive me,” she said, “But I’m so tired of talking, that I’m afraid that I can’t go on.” “What?” “For one, it’s morning.” “So?” “Well, for one, I really need my sleep. And second, it just wouldn’t have the right atmosphere if I told the rest of the story in the sunlight. Don’t you agree?” The Sultan, with anger in his eyes, rose out of bed, but before he could say anything, the door opened to the Vizier. “Your majesty,” he asked, “Shall I sent for thee the executioner?” For a tense moment, Rarity looked at the king in concern, hoping that this plan would work. “You,” he pointed at her, “will finish the story of the two gryphons, tomorrow night.” With a sigh, she slumped into the bed. At least the plan was working.