Princess Celestia lit a small torch on the wall as she slowly made her way down the winding stairs to the innards of the Royal Archives. Water dripped tiredly from the ceiling.
Celestia soon reached the bottom of the stairs. She smiled softly as she reached a golden door. A hole was in the middle of the door, like a keyhole.
Celestia inserted her horn into the slot, firing it up with yellow magic. The tumblers inside the door turned and the giant slab of gold creaked open, its hinges rusted from age and little use.
Celestia ventured into the room, her muzzle splitting into a smile at the sight of what lay on top of a bejeweled pedestal.
She gingerly picked up the worn out book, smiling down at it as if it where a baby. She hugged the soft maroon covered book lightly to her chest, sighing as she breathed in its old book smell.
She slowly put the book in her saddle bags. The words on the cover flashed in the light of the torch outside the room. It read "The Tales of the Colts Grimm."
She stepped out of the room, closing the creaking door with a small huff. She then re-inserted her horn into the slot, lighting it up again. The door locked, the tumblers falling back into place.
Celestia couldn't help it any more and giggled in glee as she galloped up the steps, reaching the top in no time. She did not care if her subjects saw her like this at all. All she wanted was to curl up by a fire with this book and its memories and read the night away.
She cantered out of the Archives, knocking several guards over. They all gaped as their princess shouted in glee, turning the corner, her mane flying behind her.
Her crown was crooked on her head when she finally reached her room. She dived onto her bed, locking the door and lighting the fireplace with a spark from her horn. She then jumped off the bed, squealing as she quickly pulled the book out of her saddle bags. She wrapped a cyan blanket around herself as she snuggled in for a long read.
She slowly opened the book, a puff of dust flying into her face. She sneezed, blowing the first page of the book off.
Celestia gasped in horror as she quickly glued the page back in a flash.
Gingerly flipping the page, she landed on the first story. It was called "The Crystal Bride." She smiled as she summoned a cup of hot cocoa, plinking five marshmallows into it as she began to avidly read.
Long ago, many years before the time of the forming of Equestria, a special race of earth ponies lived by themselves in the far, frozen north. With their special gift, the crystal heart, the ponies could live in warmth and happiness in the frozen tundra.
It was time, one day, for the princess, Princess Amethyst, to find a husband. She was the most beautiful mare in the whole country. Every stallion wished to court her.
But Princess Amethyst wanted the best groom, a stallion that was fast, strong, and smart. So she developed a test.
She would wear a wedding veil in her mane until one stallion won the test. Inside the veil, a single crystal berry sat.
The courting stallion to get the berry out without her noticing and without smashing the berry would become her husband.
Stallions everywhere in the kingdom plotted. Barons gambled with each other of which of them would capture her heart as well as they berry, while farm colts everywhere lay, dreaming of her.
Every second a stallion would approach her. Sometimes they would come up behind her and try to seize it, and would either smash it against the veil or tug on the veil so hard her head was yanked backwards.
One time a colt distracted her by kissing her rapidly while his older brother tried to grab the berry.
It would have worked except the zit-faced colt popped the berry, making it fly into his eyes.
Amethyst just wanted to be alone after this special encounter.
Amethyst sighed as she made her way up the steps to her room. She sleepily nodded to her guard. She then spun around. The guard's hoof was an inch from the veil.
She sighed as she jumped onto her bed. She could not go to sleep because a stallion could sneak into her room and attempt to take the berry while she slept.
She soon grew so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open. But she still evaded all the stallions.
On the third day most of the non-married stallions in the kingdom had tried to steal the berry. It seemed that no pony would get the berry and her as their wife.
On the fourth day, a lowly troubadour approached her while she was out for a trot in the woods. Soon she was to tired to continue and collapsed on the forest floor, passed out.
The troubadour, instead of taking the berry and waking her, defended her, breaking his lute, which he had had since he was a foal. He killed the biggest timberwolf in the forest, making the other creatures of the night back away from the princess and run away into the deep depths of the woods..
When she awoke, she found what the troubadour had done for her, she fell in love with him. But she could not cancel the berry competition, for her father would not accept her marriage to a lowly musician.
One day a unicorn Duke trotted into the town after hearing of the contest.
When Princess Amethyst trotted by, he hid in some bushes and smiled evilly. She would be perfect for his collection of rare creatures and peoples, looking splendid hanging from a wall, glittering in the light.
He quickly used his magic to pull the berry out of the veil without the princess noticing. He cheered, and when she turned around to see her new husband, he quickly carried her off to his castle high up in the lands of the unicorns. She was never seen again, and the lowly troubadour sat in his shack for the rest of his life, thinking of what could have been.
Celestia put a bookmark on the page and curled up into a ball, taking a break before reading the next story. This particular story always reminded her of how Sombra had taken over the Crystal Empire; he married the princess, Princess Topaz, and at the wedding, which she and Luna had been present to, he had exploded into a monster and had then proceeded to rid himself of Princess Topaz and all the royal family. Princess Topaz's sister, Princess Ruby, also Cadence's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother, had escaped into the frozen tundra and bore a daughter, Princess Emerald.
Celestia began to remember more, but the book had fallen from her hooves as she had become deep in thought. It was open to the next story. Celestia smiled again as she curled up, the fire's heat beating against her coat as she began to read.
Celestia looked down at the title of the story. It was "The Deer and the Timberwolf." Not one of her favorites, but it was still a good story.
Celestia began to read the first word, but realized her mug of cocoa was empty. She refilled it, the warm smell of fresh coca hitting her nostrils as she plunked six marshmallows into it this time, smiling as she sighed into the steaming cocoa, beginning to read.
There once was a young fawn. Its mother was being chased by a pack of timberwolves. The mother doe had slung her young fawn across her back and was racing through the forest at top speed.
The doe could not go on for much longer, and dropped her fawn in a hidden grove of trees before sprinting away, leading the starving timberwolves away from her baby.
The baby shivered and became hungry, causing cries to echo through the forest. The baby screamed and shouted, its tears dampening the forest floor considerably.
A young unicorn mare was trotting through the woods, searching for herbs. When she heard the fawn's melancholy cries, she raced towards the sound as fast as she could.
The unicorn reached the small grove and found the fawn bleeding, tangled in a nest of thorns. It was crying, the tears streaking down its face, landing at the mare's hooves.
The mare softly picked up the fawn. She snuggled the baby to her chest. She found it was a boy when she rubbed his head. Tiny points of immature antlers met her touch.
She named him Grover after where she had found him, in a small grove.
She carried him back to her cottage at the edge of the woods, feeding him and rocking him to sleep. Meanwhile, something was going on in another part of the forest.
A young timberwolf was walking along a river with its mother. Suddenly a tree fell near them. His mother jumped in fear and fell into the river, becoming lost in the currents.
The pup howled in despair as he sat alone on the banks of the river.
A lonely Diamond Dog heard the pup's cries, and ran to his rescue. The Diamond Dog gave the pup a ruby to suck on while he carried him home. He named him Banks, after the place he had found him, the banks of a river.
As the two grew older, they began to venture out on their own. The timberwolf was drinking from a small crick when he heard noises coming from the meadow next to him. He decided to take a look.
A young buck, his horns only an inch long, frolicked around, chasing a butterfly. The young pup joined in. They did not know each other, but were just enjoying the moment.
When they finally stopped for a rest, they told each other about themselves. After a few more meetings, they declared one another best friends.
One day the pair was running through the woods to their favorite spot, a small pond, when they heard noises coming from nearby. They diverged from the path a moved towards the sound.
What they saw made Grover cover his mouth in horror and Banks crinkle his brow in confusion.
A pack of timberwolves was chasing a young doe, who was screaming for help. While Banks stayed in the shadows, Grover charged forward, slamming into the nearest beast.
Grover surprised the pack of timberwolves, giving the doe enough time to escape. Grover then sprinted away as fast as his tiny legs could carry him.
When Grover got back, he became angry with Banks and galloped home, leaving his friend in the bushes.
Two years later, Grover and Banks had stayed away from each other. Now, as they matured, the doe Grover had saved became a love interest of his. Soon he began courting her, and they fell madly in love.
Meanwhile, the Diamond Dog that had taken care of Banks decided it was time to give him back to his pack. So he sadly waved goodbye to his pup as Banks quickly ran off with his new pack.
One day, Grover was by the river with Juliet, the doe he had been courting for quite some time. They were snuggled against each other when barking noises could be heard.
Banks's pack was running through the woods, laughing in their own way. But when the alpha, who turned out to be Banks's father, smelled two deer, he led the pack in a stealth attack.
Grover's ears perked as the timberwolves fell into position. Suddenly the pack burst from the brush. Grover and Juliet galloped away, the pack in quick pursuit.
Suddenly Banks found himself at the front of the pack. He did not recognize the two deer, and tackled Juliet, bringing her down. Grover turned around to see his love pulled into the pack of hungry hounds, her eyes open wide. He then moved his eyes up to meet those of Banks, who had Juliet's blood around his maw.
Grover sped off, leaving a cloud of dust in Banks's face. Banks didn't eat a single bite that night.
One day, a month later, the pack was pursuing a hare along a river. Suddenly the hare kicked Banks's real father into the foamy waves where he disappeared for good.
When the pack captured the hare, a whole army of hundreds of hares, the dead hare's children, kicked and bruised them. Soon Banks was the only timberwolf not swept underneath the rough waves of the stream.
He ran as fast as his now long legs could carry him towards his old house where he had lived with the Diamond Dog. But the Diamond Dog had moved to some mines far, far away after giving Banks back to his pack.
The only other solution was Grover's house.
When he reached it, Grover was sweeping the porch while his foster mother slept quietly on a rocking chair.
Banks waved shyly. The hares were only a moment away.
When the hares reached the house, Grover had half a mind to leave Banks out there. But for some reason, against his will, he pulled Banks and his foster mother inside the cottage.
The hares thumped on the cottage all day until they finally gave up at midnight, tired and ragged as they hopped home.
Grover ignored Banks the whole time, his snout turned up in the air and facing away from Banks. Banks's ears drooped as he shuffled into a corner and began to weep.
"What is wrong, Banks?" Grover asked angrily after listening to the timberwolf cry for over an hour. "You get a slpinter in your paw?"
"M-my family is g-gone and y-you are still mad-d at me-e."
"But you killed the love of my life!" Grover said exasperatedly.
"She was no deer! I knew all along that she was a changeling, sucking off your love for her!"
"But how?" Grover asked.
"I saw her change forms one night after you had left. I was drinking from a pond when she came to the edge. I dived into a bush and watched her change into a black changeling."
"Wait, that means Juliet, the real Juliet, is still out there!?" Grover said, his heart swelling with hope.
"Yes. I believe she lives on the other side of the forest."
The next day, the two went to the other side of the forest. They found Juliet and brought her back to Grover's home. A year later, they married and built a small cottage by a lake in the heart of the forest. Banks and Grover then went their separate ways,Grover to his house by the lake to start a family, and Banks, who set off to find his foster father in the mines of the far north. They all then lived happily ever after.
Celestia rolled her eyes at this ending.Sometimes it was enjoyable, but it just felt to perfect, to right.
But then Celestia remembered an incident that had happened in her youth. She could not help but smile at the memory.
Once, Luna, as young alicorn, had been in search of love. One day in the woods she found what she believed to be a male alicorn.
Celestia had laughed out loud, knowing no such thing existed.
When he was brought to dinner, it did seem as though he were an alicorn. He was tall, had large brown wings, and his horn was graciously long. Luna was practically drooling over him.
But Celestia still had her doubts, and had summoned a wind storm and put the supposed alicorn in it. When he came out, he was a brown griffion, giant stilts he had been walking on laying next to him along with his fake wooden horn. The giffion then proceeded to throw the stilts at them so they could fly away without them hurting him.
Celestia sighed happily before taking a sip of the steaming mug of hot chocolate and flipping to the next story.
