A/N: It occurred to me one day that the protagonists of "Smile PreCure!" and "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" lined up pretty well with one another. Add in the fact that "Smile PreCure!" emphasizes friendship and you have magic! I couldn't resist.
Disclaimer: "Smile PreCure!" is property of Toei Animation, TV Asahi, etc.
"My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" is property of Hasbro, DHX Media, etc.
Chapter 1: Bookcase Shuffle
It was too early in the morning for this kind of ruckus, but it was probably a more common occurrence than some would like – running at full speed because one was late for school. Hoshizora Miyuki had landed herself in just such a scenario, all because she had stayed up too late last night reading – which might have been admirable if she had been reading her schoolbooks instead of fairy tales. Sure she had already read them several times before, but she loved those stories and couldn't help cracking the spine on a few of her favourites. Her indulgence had cost her sleep, and now she was in danger of being late for class. She hitched her sleeve with a jerk of her arm and checked her wristwatch.
"Ahhh! I'm not going to make it!"
A small white head with two coils of yellow hair for ears popped out from the zipper of Miyuki's school bag. Candy was the one who had introduced Miyuki and her friends to the powers of the Pretty Cure, and now the fairy was pointing her in another direction. "Miyuki, look kuru!"
Miyuki ran past a bookstore, skidded, and backpedaled. The shelves! The day Miyuki had gained the powers of the legendary Pretty Cure, she had fallen through bookshelves and transported herself to the Mysterious Library where all the world's fairy tales were gathered – and right now she could use some instant teleportation.
She rushed into the store, paused to greet the employee at the counter, and briskly made her way to the back of the shop and stopped in front of a random shelf. Miyuki concentrated, thinking of the school library, and reached out – pushing books to the right, left, and then parting them apart in the middle. Pink light emanated from the back of the bookcase, engulfing Miyuki and pulling her in along with the light.
A petite wizened figure jumped from around the corner, having witnessed the whole event.
- Nanairogaoka Middle School -
The shelves in the school library shone with pink light and Miyuki leapt out of its depths. She checked her wristwatch and cheered, "Made it!" before remembering where she was and clapping her hands over her mouth. Luckily there didn't seem to be anyone else in the library; but when Miyuki approached the exit she spotted a yellow-haired girl at the reference desk. Her face brightened and she greeted her friend. "Yayoi-chan!"
The girl turned around and a smile touched her bewildered expression. "Miyuki-chan!"
"Taking out some books?" Miyuki asked once she had reached her.
Yayoi shook her head. "No, I'm returning one I borrowed as reference."
"Oh, for your manga?" Miyuki's eye sparkled with superfluous anticipation. She knew Yayoi drew as a hobby but had yet to see her make any comic pages.
Yayoi waved a hand in a disputing gesture. "No, nothing that fancy – just background reference for an illustration."
Despite her answer Miyuki continued to grin. "Hmm… well, if you ever do make a manga I'd like to see it!"
Candy poked her head out from Miyuki's bag and said, "Candy wants to see it too kuru!"
"Ah, thank you for saying so…" While Yayoi had already created her own character, Miracle Peace, she wasn't yet confident enough to consider writing a story about her.
The warning bell chimed and the girls hurried to their classroom. Their friends were already there, hanging around at the back where Miyuki's seat was located.
Ahead of her seat sat Akane, the first girl Miyuki had scouted to join her efforts in becoming a Pretty Cure. "Oh, Miyuki! Yayoi! We were discussing plans for the summer."
Nao was leaning against the wall as she told them, "We've already decided we should attend a summer festival together."
"A festival kuru?" Candy's ears perked up. "Candy wants to go too kuru!"
"Of course you'll be coming with us, Candy," Akane cheerfully assured the fairy.
Sitting at Miyuki's desk with a pen in hand was Reika. "We made a schedule to determine when we would have free time during the summer break." She held out a sheet of paper where she had drawn a table; some of its spaces were already filled with club activity meets.
"Wow…" Yayoi looked over the proposed schedule. "When will we go to the festival?"
"We were thinking of sometime in August," Nao answered.
"Oh!" Miyuki piped up. "I'm going to visit my grandmother in the mountains in August. I can ask her if it's okay for all of us to visit."
"Really?" Akane exclaimed.
"That sounds like it would make for an interesting trip." Reika glanced over the schedule to see where it might fit.
Yayoi clapped her hands together in excitement. "I've never been to the mountains before."
The final morning bell rang, but before they returned to their seats they agreed to continue their summer plans discussion during lunch period. Candy settled into Miyuki's bag, thinking about all the fun they were to have once summer vacation began.
- Hoshizora Residence -
Miyuki had called her grandmother and received the okay for her friends to join her on her visit. She was excited. School was out for a little over a month and she was ready for some relaxing fun with her friends.
They were planning to meet today in the Mysterious Library to finalize their plans. Miyuki finished packing her handbag and Candy leapt onto her shoulder.
"Ready to go, Candy?" Miyuki asked with a smile.
Candy raised an arm in the air and replied, "Yes, kuru!"
"Okay!" Miyuki stepped up to her bookshelf and placed a hand on her books. She shifted them to the right, the left, and finally to both sides. The radiated pink light again, but unnoticed by either Miyuki or Candy, so did a book on her shelf glow purple. "Alright, here we go!"
The light swallowed them into the shelves, taking them anywhere but the Mysterious Library.
- Earlier -
Dark clouds circled Bad End Kingdom, which was cloaked in perpetual night. Upon a hill in the kingdom was a dwelling where three fairy tale villains resided – Wolfrun the wolf, Majorina the witch, and Akaoni the ogre. They worked with Joker, gathering Bad Energy in order to revive Emperor Pierrot.
Majorina, as the resident witch, often developed magical inventions which she used to make trouble for the Pretty Cure. This morning she had discovered a new way she could possibly rid the Pretty Cure from this world when she followed Miyuki – Cure Happy – into a bookstore. The Pretty Cures had the ability to travel between places through bookshelves. If Majorina could find a way to redirect their path to another world and keep them there, their Bad End plan would be free to flourish without obstacle.
In her laboratory, Majorina stirred a final ingredient into her steaming cauldron. While she was at the bookstore she had asked an employee what book most people had in their homes. Beside her at the cauldron was the book, ready to be dipped into the bubbling potion.
"Majorina, what are you cooking oni?" Akaoni walked in, scratching his grumbling stomach.
"I'm not cooking food, it's a potion dewasa," she irritably screeched. "And how many times have I told you not to come in here when I'm working dewasa?"
The brew was ready, and with forceps Majorina picked up the book and placed it in the cauldron.
"Another invention, huh?" Wolfrun pocked his head into the room, having smelt the pungent odor of a spell in the air.
"This will cast the Pretty Cure into another world where they won't be able to bother us dewasa," Majorina said as she held the book in the cauldron. "I've tuned the potion to where the Pretty Cure live; so when they try to use their bookshelves to move, they'll be taken to that world instead dewasa." She lifted the book out of the cauldron, remnants of the concoction dripping off its edge. It eerily glowed pink and purple.
Within the residences of Hoshizora Miyuki, Hino Akane, Kise Yayoi, Midorikawa Nao, and Aoki Reika, the same book pulsed with the spell, spreading its influence over the bookcase where it rested. Now all that was left to do was wait.
- ? -
The room Miyuki stumbled into was a library, but not the one she had been expecting. While the Mysterious Library was designed with an appearance of the outdoors, this library was plainly indoors – and while there were several levels to this library, it was no where close to as vast the Mysterious Library's collection.
"Huh?" Miyuki blinked and looked around the room. "Where are we?" She gazed out the massive ceiling-to-floor window on one side of the room and her jaw dropped. Beyond the glass panes were towers with spires. She ran and pressed her hands to the window. "Amazing! It's like a scene from a fairytale! But, where in the world could this be?"
Candy pat her on the shoulder. "Miyuki, what about our summer vacation kuru?"
Miyuki pushed herself away from the outside scenery. "Oh! That's right!" As much as Miyuki wished she could stay a bit longer to learn about this place, she was supposed to be meeting her friends. Miyuki picked a set of shelves and moved a few books to the right – but no pink light followed to signify which books to move next. Perplexed, she tried again with a different set of books but had the same result. "What? It's not working. Candy, what's going on?"
"I don't know… it should work kuru." Candy gave moving the books a try but still nothing happened. "It won't let us go anywhere kuru!"
"Ehhh?" Miyuki panicked. "Why? How are we supposed to get home?"
Candy's face drooped. "I don't know kuru…"
They were both at a loss. Miyuki took a breath, trying not to fret and thinking over what be the most logical step to take.
"Okay." She planted her hands on her hips. "We should find out where we are first and see if there's anyone who can help us."
That said, the two made their way out of the room, finding a staircase that spiraled downward. Miyuki took careful steps down the stairs, one had on the railing as she thought about who they might look to for help. What kind of people would live in a place filled with towers that invoked the medieval? She imagined the townspeople who often populated her fairytale stories, bustling in the town square and going to market.
Outside there was no one immediate the pair could see, so they continued walking, following the paved pathway leading from the tower. It was a bright sunny day, and Miyuki marveled at the colorful towers they passed.
"Miyuki, over there kuru!" Candy pointed ahead and the girl followed her direction.
The trail they were on was nearing an intersection, and crossing their path were what appeared to be two ponies. Upon further inspection however, Miyuki found there was something unusual about their appearance – upon each of their foreheads was pointed horn.
Miyuki gasped in surprise. "Are those… unicorns?" Her surprise quickly turned to elation. Before her eyes was a pair of mythical creatures she had only read about in books. Without a second thought she sprinted toward the creatures, Candy hanging on to her vest as she ran.
The unicorns heard her coming and froze at the junction, alarmed by the girl rushing toward them.
She stopped short of the crossroad and admiringly gazed at the animals. "Wow… they really are unicorns!"
The unicorns glanced at one another, and then one of them said, "Um, yes?"
Miyuki gaped at the unicorn who had just spoken. "You… you can talk! With your mouth!"
"Uh, yeah? How else are we supposed to talk?" the other unicorn asked.
"I thought maybe you would use telepathy." In the books Miyuki had read involving unicorns, telepathy was the usual method they used to communicate.
"Telepathy?" The first unicorn nearly laughed. "We're magic, not psychic."
Miyuki clasped her hands and her eyes lit up. "So you are unicorns!"
"You've said that already."
"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you?"
"Oh, uh, my name's Miyuki. I'm a human, and this –," she gestured toward Candy, "– is Candy. She's a fairy from Märchenland."
"Hello, kuru!" Candy waved at the unicorns.
Matching looks of confusion appeared on the unicorns' faces. They said that they had never heard of a human or Märchenland, and that Candy didn't look like any fairy they were familiar with. Candy took mild offense at their last remark. It was that moment that made Miyuki realize they were in another world, and was told she was in Canterlot; a city which was part of the land of Equestria. She explained they were transported here through a bookshelf and could not return home. The unicorns were a bit skeptical, but supposed almost anything was possible when magic was involved.
"Do you know anyone who could help us get home?" Miyuki hopefully asked. She didn't know if there was a difference in how quickly time passed between their worlds, but in any case Miyuki didn't want to worry her friends with their absence.
The unicorns took a moment to consider a proper response.
"I imagine travel between worlds would require high level magic."
The other unicorn agreed. "In this case your best bet would be to see Princess Celestia."
"A princess?" Miyuki's eyes widened at the title. Her fairy tale dreams seemed to be coming true.
The unicorns nodded and pointed them in the direction of the castle.
Miyuki thanked them for their help and with Candy in tow, began their trek to the castle. It wasn't difficult to know what direction they should be taking. The castle overlooked all of the city, and all Miyuki had to do was glance up to ensure they were on track. She noticed, as they passed thorough the city, that all of the residents were unicorns. It was amazing to see unicorns living in a way people would, visiting shops and carrying conversations in the street. The unicorns seemed to be as interested in Miyuki as she was in them, as they often glanced at the strange pair passing by.
'I guess this is the first time they've seen a human and a fairy.'
They eventually reached the castle gate where two royal unicorn guards with spears stood to attention on either side. Miyuki approached the gateway and immediately the guards each blocked the path with their weapon.
"Who goes there?" the guard on the left demanded.
"U-Um, Miyuki and Candy." Miyuki nervously pointed at herself and the fairy on her shoulder.
"What business do you have at the castle?" asked the guard to the right.
For the second time Miyuki explained their situation. After hearing her out, girl and fairy were instructed to wait while one of the guards went in to relay the message. Fifteen minutes later he returned and said he would escort them into the castle.
As they followed the guard through the corridors, Miyuki couldn't stop her eyes from wandering, taking in the magnificence of the castle interior. It was everything she imagined as castle would be, with its high ceilings, ornate decoration, and shiny floor. They passed through a tall doorway and stepped into what was evidently the throne room.
The walls were adorned with alternating clear and stained glass windows. The latter window panes each depicted a story of which only a few knew the narrative. The long carpet that led to the throne at the far end of the chamber felt plush under Miyuki's sneakers; and when she saw the unicorn standing before the throne she felt as though she was walking on air.
Princess Celestia was a unicorn taller than any she had seen so far, with a tiara settled amidst a mane of flowing rainbow hair which matched her glittering tail. A golden band hung around her neck and her hooves were gilded, catching the light as she turned to face them. Miyuki felt her mouth open as she noticed that not only did the princess have a horn, but substantial wings which presently were folded against her white coat.
The princess thanked the guard for bringing them to her, after which he nodded and left the room.
"Welcome." The elegant royal greeted her visitors with a warm smile. "I am Princess Celestia."
"N-Nice to meet you!" Miyuki hastily bowed, jostling Candy as she did so, and introduced themselves to the princess.
"I understand you arrived here from another land. It's incredible that you have the ability to traverse realms."
"It's the power of the Precure kuru!" Candy proudly stated.
"Precure?" Celestia echoed. "Is that the name of the magic you use?"
"Ah, yes. I guess you could say that. Along with my friends we use the power of the Precure to defend our home." Miyuki was sure that if Yayoi were here she would be saying that they were superheroes. "We have to get back to them."
"So your friends have this power as well…" Celestia glanced up at stained glass. Her eyes lingered on one window in particular, where six ponies gathered to bring her younger sister back to her. "Traveling between realms is not unheard of, but it is difficult. It requires very strong and particular magic."
Hanging on to optimism, Miyuki said, "But it's not impossible." She hoped that was what the princess was saying.
"You already have the magic within you to do so. What you need is to gather more of that magic to assist you in reopening the portal to your land."
It sounded like Princess Celestia meant for Miyuki to strengthen her Pretty Cure powers – but how was she to do so by herself? She had Candy by her side, but it was when they were together as a group of six with their friends that they were strongest.
Celestia seemed to read her mind and was able to give her a solution. "I believe I know somepony who can help you. She is my brightest student when it comes to magic – her name is Twilight Sparkle."
A/N: I think I altered the appearance of the throne room to have those windows. I'm not really sure where they're supposed to be located but this seemed simplest for the story.
If you're wondering what book Majorina used, I didn't really have one in mind; hence why I didn't specify the book. Although a dictionary seems plausible? In any case, I got the common book idea from the first episode of BBC's "Sherlock."