Non Sequitur: The Campaign

Androgyny grabs Maddie's leg and begins to cry. "What's going on? I'm scared!"

Ghoul pauses for a moment, looking for if the griffin and Blackberry had come with them, before walking after Dandelion. A soft, worried whimpering can be heard from beneath his mask.

Luna did not know the griffon, so obviously he did not come with. Blackberry, she forgot to hold her breath, so she is lying unconscious on the floor.

When Ghoul walks through the door, he sees Dandelion helping up a shaken Celestia, and the throne room is in terrible condition.

Mad Nopony's motherly side just has her tell the bugcolt. "I don't know what's going on, but don't worry... I'll keep you safe for now."

Ghoul continues to move slowly towards Dandy and Celestia, looking around the wrecked throne room as he does.
This...
I don't...
Luna's...
It's...
???
 

Celestia looks up at Ghoul, and sighs. "I suppose that does make sense, what with everypony telling her to make her stars a grid. Well, with Luna-" She gulps, squeezing her eyes shut. "...I can no longer impose the law that brought you to us in the first place." Celestia sits back on the throne room floor, where she is. "I cannot even sit in my own throne, now, until at least a year has passed, thanks to a piece of legislature we signed so long ago... According to it, rule over Equestria for the next year goes to the closest blood relation of the two Princesses." She looks to Dandelion, and a small smile plays across her face. "If only it could be you. It would only be just. It would be you, if it were not for my past... endeavors, to put it one way." Celestia looks down at her hooves with a sigh. "I am able to sense my own blood, even the faintest drop, in so many ponies in Equestria. So many of them have almost nothing, yet I can still sense it, know it is there." She looks up at Ghoulish Guise, seriousness and sadness warring on her features. "When you first appeared before me, despite the strength of your connection, I almost could not sense it because of your chaos. When I finally noticed it, I refused to acknowledge it, thinking that nopony with my blood in their veins could possibly be so corrupted by chaos, especially not one with so much. It was not until my sister left with you that I remembered something she had said to me once. 'Do you know the difference between me and them, when we both can cause random effects? My Laughter, it may not be so different from their chaos, but the only thing that makes it different at all is the intent with which it is used. I use my Laughter to bring smiles and play pranks and have fun, but they use their chaos merely for the sake of chaos, not caring if they hurt anypony else. If we ever meet a pony imbued with this chaos who has an intent with it that is more than to merely spread it, than it is not chaos they wield, but their own pieces of the Element of Laughter.'" Celestia stands up and walks weakly over to Ghoul, and puts a hoof on his shoulder. "Only now do I understand this sentiment. You are not required to take this responsibility if you do not wish to, just know that if you say no, it could take months before congress is able to locate my next closest blood relative." She puts her hoof down and sighs again. "If only I had listened to Luna, and not married so often. Only then could rule go to who it truly should."

Ghoul blinks at Celestia from behind the mask, this flood of information overloading his already tried brain.
It's...I'm...her? No...think! Cmon!

"....what?" Ghoul shakes his head, throwing his mask to the floor and revealing a very confused and fearful face. "No...I...what? What?! I...what? What?! This doesn't...what?!"
Does explain your generation of fire. Somewhat.

Ghoul shakes his head again, and rubs his head with a forehoof. "Wait wait wait wait...what?! Let's...let's take this...one step at a time. Where...is Luna...?"

Ghoul stares at Celestia for a few moments, mouth agape. "...what."
Good job! You called it. Discord sent you to run with Luna until you made her crazy and she did this. Really nice work, doing your ancestors proud.

Ghoul shakes his head again, trying to clear his thoughts. "That's...crazy." Ghoul swallows nervously, before quickly adding "Sorry! I don't...it doesn't..." Ghoul frowns and looks toward his mask on the other side of the room. "Just...just before she brought us here, I had...I warned her about being around us...and the chaos. Is this...are you able to...handle that? The sun and moon?"

"......"
"......"
"Waht?"

'You... Have a nice theory White Queen... But I don't agree to it. It doesn't add up to me. Not one bit... Either there is a missing factor or factors that we don't know of. Or your totally lieing and are the one who is truely been warped by chaos in some way to have seen such oddness. With the rest of us not being real existing ponies, but instead a factor of your fictional dreamstate you are in..." Maddie retorts not liking this all one bit. This didn't make sense to her, not even joker's sense of "logic" did it sit well with her. "Then again there might be another possible option that I'm just not insane or sane enough to see. But I still say, either we're really nothing more then a big dream or there is an unknown party at play here."

Androcolt perks up. "A party? Did someone say party? I mean, uhm... parties are cool. I guess. Are we having a party?"

Celestia looks at Mad Nopony and blinks. "What?"

"Oh how to explain the two ideas in a way non-jokers could understand..." Mad Nopony goes into a bit of a thinker pose. "Ah! I mean that either there was something Evil that took her over taking advance of her state of mind (along with any mental openings our meetings did) or this is all but a dream, Ms White Queen. It's likely not the insane dream theory... But I do think my 'unknown evil' theory holds some merit."

"Oh, I see now. I too doubt that it was only the combination of you lot and her unstable mind, though I am not sure exactly what it is that has done this to her. I do not even know if there is a way to return her to normal." Celestia sighs and hangs her head. After a moment, she perks up, and even brightens a little. "Wait... I think I may have a clue to figuring this out. There is an old blind zebra who lives near a mountain due north of here who long ago prophesied that this would happen. She may be able to provide some information on what has caused this, or how it may be fixed."

"Okay well we'll check into that, and you take care of things here okay good," and quickly trots towards the nearest exit, freezing nervously mid-step if he's addressed before he gets out.

"I am sorry, Ghoulish Guise, but I am afraid that you cannot follow your friends. You must stay here to attend to your new royal duties." Celestia sighs and looks to Dandelion. "Now, what are you going to-" She blinks. "Wait. Ghoulish Guise, you can still go on this quest, if you wish. You can even have Dandelion rule in your place while you are away. You must write a royal decree for this to happen, but I can guide you through the process while your friends prepare for the trip. Do you wish to do this?"

"Wait what, huh, why?" Maddie's reaction to Celestia's words were.

Ghoul turns to face Celestia, but continues to back up slowly as he talks. "That...could be a thing to do. Or...and I'm just throwing this out there...I could just sort of..." before turning and attempting to flee rapidly.

 "I should have known all this would frighten you. Perhaps I should warn you that there is a group of ponies from Fillydelphia just outside that door before you go charging through it, running from your responsibilites?"

Ghoul turns to not go through that door, and instead starts circling the room for another door.

"Queenie you are mistaken... I'm not afraid more just confused with your statements about Ghoul..." Mad Nopony retorts.

Androcolt steps forward toward Celestia. "Princess, please don't make Ghoul leave us. He's our friend. Friendship is much more important than some silly law. We'd be lost without him."

"Yeah... I don't think that's going to happen Bugisie" Maddie comments. "But still would like to really understand what the buck Queenie here is trying to say. I mean normally I don't know much of what's going on... But even now I'm more without a clue then I'd like."