//------------------------------// // 1 - The Phantom of Canterlot // Story: One hoof at a time // by SkarinOfAtmora //------------------------------// The throne room was silent. Guards stared at the scene before them, some even dropping their spears from the initial shock. The gathered nobles who somehow got word of this urgent summon couldn't believe their greedy eyes. Princess Luna sat wide-eyed, her mind trying to make sense of what was happening but it simply could not do it. Celestia's mouth was partly opened, a slight frown on her features. It takes a lot, and I mean a lot to leave the solar princess speechless. Fancy Pants felt a little embarrassed at the scene he caused but it simply had to be done. He looked to his new friend who was clearly uncomfortable with the entire situation, his head hung very low to the red carpet, wings sagging on his sides in a useless fashion. Had his friend stood tall and proud as Fancy Pants knew he could, he would be as tall as Celestia herself, if not taller, and only a few inches taller than Luna. Taking a deep breath, Fancy Pants took one step forward and, once again, addressed the diarchs of Equestria. "Princess Celestia. Princess Luna. " he said with a curt bow that the two alicorns barely registered "I believe it would be best if I explained how I found my friend here. You see, it was late at night when I heard noises coming from my backyard... " For about two weeks now, the city of Canterlot has been terrorized by what has been dubbed The Phantom of Canterlot. The reason I say terrorized is because so far nopony has been hurt, injured or scared to death was because, well... Nopony has actually seen him. Strange noises became the norm on Canterlot nights and everytime somepony thought The Phantom was around, it turned out it was a stray cat or racoon. But the citizens knew better. Something was out there in the dark, lurking, waiting, going through the dumpsters and drinking out of their fountains. One stallion swore he saw it three nights ago drinking from the fountain on the main square. He said it was large and deffinitely had a horn too. But since it was an especially foggy night and the square was barely lit, the stallion was soon dissuaded by his neighbors and The Phantom became speculatiin once again. Fancy Pants and his wife Fleur barely concerned themselves with the issue. Princess Luna personally lead a squad of her Night Guard to scour the streets and find this Phantom but when the search yielded no fruits, The Phantom was downgraded to a simple rumor being spread around by the chatty townsponies. But on this night, everything is about to change as a nice dinner was interrupted by strange noises coming from the backyard. "Honey, could it be The Phantom? " Fleur asked with a worried look. "Nonsense, my dear." Fancy chuckled and adjusted his monocle "Princess Luna made sure that nothing was lurking the streets at night and I believe-" WHAM "OW! Son of a-" both Fancy's and Fleur's eyes turned to pinpricks as their head slowly turned towards the door that lead to the backyard. One of Fleur's ears perked up hen she heard rummaging sounds. "It's The Phantom! It's going through our trash just like everypony said it does!" Fleur pointed a hoof towards the door before dashing to her husbands side "We must inform the guards! " "C-calm down, Fleur. I am sure it's just a racoon. " Fancy nuzzled his wife's cheek but the mare pulled back. "Racoon's don't talk! " she waved her hooves frantically. "Maybe he's a talking racoon? " Fancy said with a sheepish smile to which his wife responded with a deadpan look. "Go. " she pointed her right forehoof towards the door and Fancy sighed in defeat. "Alright. I shall go out and face this Phantom like a stallion. " he puffed out his chest and trotted towards the door "And by doing so I shall also put to rest this Phantom nonsense. " a bluish glow engulfed the doorknob and Fancy soon found himself in the dark backyard of his house. He peered into the darkness, listening for any sound that may come his way. CRUNCH There was something there with him. And it was eating. Fancy swallowed the lump in his throat and bravely took a step forward. "T-t-to who-o-over is out there, I m-must inform you I have had guard training. " he said shakily and took another step "Hello? Can you hear me? " CRUNCH "Dem's some good apples. " Fancy rolled his eyes. Not only was the creature ignoring him, it was eating while doing it. Feeling a little queazy when Fancy realized it was eating out of his dumpster, the unicorn used his horn to create a light to see better. "I'm talking to... You... Creature... " as the light began to reveal more and more, Fancy's jaw was slowly opening in shock. The Phantom was large and the first thing Fancy saw was a pair of gray hind-legs with black hooves and a straw blonde tail, though both were covered in dirt and trash. There was no sign of a Cutie Mark which was strange given that the stallion appeared to be an adult. Fancy thought it was an unusually big earth pony but then he saw wings, lazily hanging from the stallions body, his front legs holding on to the edge of the dumpster. And then came the detail that almost caused Fancy to faint. While the stallion was going through his dumpster, Fancy could see long mane that matched the tail in color, but the true shock came when he saw a horn on the Phantom's head. Fancy stood frozen on the spot, his eyes locked on the large stallion going through his trash. He stood there for about a minute when the stallion turned his head to look at him. The stallion's muzzle had a fading black front and his blue eyes looked tired and weary. There was a red bandanna wrapped around his neck that was also covered in dirt. "Did I wake you? Sorry, didn't meant to do that. " the stallion pushed back and to Fancy's surprise almost fell over, as if his legs weren't listening to him. His wings were hanging limply from his body and his legs were wobbling beneath him. The stallion's head was hung low as well, even lower than Fancy's who stood straight "Alright, go ahead, gawk at the abomination. " the stallion said and blew away the mane that got into his eyes "Stupid hair... " Fancy shook his head before blinking at the stallion. "A-abomination? " he asked flabergasted. "Freak of nature? Mutant? Take your pick. " the stallion slowly turned and began walking away, his steps very uncertain. "W-what are you talking about? " Fancy folllowed him, not that it was hard at the pace he was going. "Or you could scream. That's what the first one did-WHOA! " the stallion tripped over himself but Fancy managed to stop his fall by using his magic "Thanks, but, I should really be going. " the stallion nodded before trying to make his escape. "Are you alright? Do your legs hurt? " Fancy was once again by his side in case he tripped again. "My legs are fine, just, I don't kno-forgot, yes, forgot how to use them? " he answered with an awkward smile. "Forgot how-, did you hit your head? " "Oh yeah. Smashed right into a tree made of crystal. " he nodded "But that was weeks ago. Look, sorry for waking you and everything, but I really gotta' go before someone finds me. " "Someone? Don't you mean somepony? "Fancy asked with a confused look and the stallion shrugged shortly "And what is this abomination talk? " "Look at me! I'm huge, have both wings and a horn! " the stallion turned harshly but lost his balance in the process. Luckily Fancy stopped his fall once again "Thanks. Stupid legs... " he muttered before continuing "I mean, from what I saw there are normal ponies, unicorn's and pegasi and I look like a mix of all three! And everytime someone saw me they either screamed, stared, ran like the wind or, my personal favorite, fainted. So before you drag me off to some cell or I dunno', a lab, at least be a sport and give me a head start cuz' this-" he looked at his unsteady legs "-is embarrassing. " Fancy stared at the stallion with wide eyes before a sympathetic looked took over. "My dear colt... You don't even know what you are. " "I'm sure you're about to tell me. " the stallion rolled his eyes. "You are an alicorn. " Fancy couldn't believe he said that but everything about the stallion pointed to that one conclusion. "Huh. I honestly thought it'd be a more... Disturbing name for my condition. " "C-condition? What you are is not a condition! " Fancy reeled back in shock "You are an alicorn! You combine the best pony-kind has to offer! Strength of earth ponies, wings of pegasi and magic of unicorns! How could you not know that? " "Hit my head, remember? " "Oh, right. " Fancy chuckled awkwardly before speaking again "Listen, I can't possibly in good conscience let you continue living like this. " "I've been doing just fine. " "Absolutely not! " Fancy stomped his hoof and the stallion flinched "I insist you come inside, have a proper dinner and for Celestia's sake please have a bath! " "Celestia? Who's that? Like your god or something? " the stallion asked tilting his head and Fancy face-hoofed. "You really don't know who Celestia is? " the stallion shook his head "She's the ruler of Equestria, alongside her sister Luna? " "Nada." Fancy sighed deeply before nudging the stallion towards his house. "Just out of curiosity, why don't you use your magic? " "I don't know how. " the stallion replied simply and Fancy's heart sank a little. This stallion really needed help. "Then, what is your name? " he saw the stallion flinch a little "You don't remember that either? " "Uhhh... No? " he replied sheepishly and Fancy simply nodded. "I see. Well, don't you worry, I'm sure the princessess will be able to help you. " Fancy patted his shoulder with a hoof and the stallion lost his balance again "Sorry! " "Fancy? Is everything alright? " he saw his wife slowly opening the door "You've been out here a long... Time... And... " her expression matched the one her husband had upon seeing the alicorn in his backyard. "Honey, we will be having a guest. Would you be so kind and give him a proper dinner while I write an urgent letter to the princessess? " Fleur didn't move from her spot and contunued to stare at the alicorn her husband brought to the door " And please close your mouth, darling, lest a bird flies inside. As Fancy said, Fleur made dinner for their new guest and as a safety prcaution the alicorn suggested they fill their large bathtub, not trusting himself to use a shower without flooding the house. Fancy was kind enough to dry him and his bandana with a simple spell before they showed him to the guest room. It didn't take long for the alicorn to fall asleep as it was the first real bed he's slept in after a long time. Come morning, Fancy and his alicorn friend made their way towards the castle to see if the princessess could shed some light on the situation. "Everyone's staring. " the alicorn said to Fancy, his entire posture hunched and head once again as low as it could go, like he wanted to appear as small as possible. "Well, you are an alicorn. " Fancy stated as he observed ponies whispering, pointing and some even fainting " And a male one at that. " "So? " the alicorn asked with a raised brow. "So? My friend, there has never been a male alicorn. Ever. " Fancy stated with grave importance. "So I am a freak of nature. " "What? Dear Celestia no! You are... " he waved his hoof around, trying to find the right word "Unique. " "Unique. Right. " the alicorn rolled his eyes before they widened in horror "Oh fuck... " Fancy didn't understand what he meant, though he assumed it was a curse word, but one look forward told him all he needed to know. "Stairs. " Fancy sighed, contemplating wether or not he should just levitate the alicorn to the top. "My mortal enemy. " the alicorn took a tenative step and put a hoof on the first step "This will hurt me a lot more than it will-WHOA!" a sudden case of vertigo caught him as he was lifted off the ground. "And after that, we come to the here and now. " Fancy motioned to the male alicorn that made himself comfortable by sitting on his haunches "It would appear he suffered head trauma recently since he can't fly, can't use his magic and doesn't even remember his own name. " "Umm, actually... " all eyes turned to the sitting alicorn who finally held his head high "I think I've got something... " "Oh? Well, by all means then. " Fancy smiled widely and patted the alicorn on the shoulder "I would like to know the name of my new friend. " and for the first time since Fancy met him, the alicorn was genuinely smiling. "My name is... Orion. Yes, Orion Pax! And... I come from the far land of Terra! He he! Heh... Orion Pax? Seriously? Why didn't I just say Optimus Prime? And Terra? Stupid! Stupid!" luckily, nopony heard his little rant and if Fancy's smile could wrap around his head it would have. "It's nice to meet you, Orion. " the unicorn then turned towards the two flabbergasted princessess "Dear atendees of the Court! May I present to you the fabled Phantom of Canterlot, the first male alicorn to ever walk Equestria and my personal friend, Sir Orion Pax from the far away land of Terra! " his grand introduction received no response as everypony was still trying to wrap their heads around the fact a male alicorn was among them. A long and awkward silence followed before Celestia, finally, managed to speak again. "Huh... "