//------------------------------// // Dragonbite Castle // Story: The Phantom of Canterlot // by Azure Drache //------------------------------// Today Baron Climber Snowflake and his family sat at the long table in the great hall of his castle in the Neighagra Falls Plains, as he studied the morning post. “Petition, petition, building application…” he mumbled as he rifled through the letters. “A card from Saddle Arabia.” He took the card out of the stack and hoofed it to his wife. “It’s probably from your cousin, Explorer.” His wife took it with a smile and began reading immediately. Meanwhile, the baron redirected his attention back to the stack of letters. Because of this, he did not notice that a valet had entered the room and stopped in front of him right away. Only when the valet cleared his throat did the baron take notice of him. “My Lord,” said the valet, presenting an envelope to the baron, “a letter for you has just arrived.” The baron raised an eyebrow. “I just received the morning post. Why wasn’t this one included?” The valet bowed and said, “This letter comes from Princess Twilight. It was not sent by regular post, but rather brought here directly by courier.” At the mention of the word ‘princess’, all other conversations at the table stopped. Even the baroness looked up from her card. “A letter from Princess Twilight?” she asked, surprised. Climber Snowflake took the letter and inspected the lavender sealed envelope. “Mmmh. What would the princess need from us?” he wondered aloud. “Open it, Darling. Then we shall all know,” his wife said. The baron turned the envelope in his hooves before breaking the seal and pulling out the letter. He focused on reading the message written in Twilight’s neat cursive. “So, what’s it say, Climber?” his wife asked curiously, looking at him from her seat to his immediate left at the table. Climber scratched his muzzle with a hoof and leant back in his chair. “She’s coming for a visit,” he stated, deep in thought. His wife dropped the card onto the table and stared at him. “The princess is coming here? What an honour! Let me see!” she cried excitedly and extended her hoof. The baron gave her the letter. While his wife read the letter, Climber reached for a small bell on the table in front of him and rung it. After a moment, his butler entered the hall, bowing in front of him. “You rang, Sir?” “Yes, Trustworthy. We expect a visit overmorrow*. I wish for our best guest room to be prepared.” “Of course, Sir.” “And tell the cook to prepare a feast for lunch that day.” “Very well, Sir. Anything else, Sir?” Climber thought for a moment and then added. “Make sure that all status symbols of this house are taken care of properly. Flags, banners, and so on. The portraits in the ancestral hall need a good dusting.” “As you wish, Sir.” Once again, Trustworthy bowed. “If I may be so bold to ask, who is it you expect? I may be able to make individual arrangements for our guest.” Climber nodded. “Princess Twilight Sparkle is going to visit us.” The name took Trustworthy by surprise. He gave his master a dumbfounded look, before regaining his composure and cleared his throat. “Very well, Sir. I will arrange everything.” With another bow, he turned around and left the room. While the baron spoke to his butler, his wife had finished reading the letter. She had waited patiently for her husband’s attention then said, “A princess here at our castle! I need to tell my friends!” as she then began to clap her hooves together in excitement. Her husband listened to her plans with a calm smile. “This should prove to be interesting…” he thought, mentally still concerning himself with the coming visit. 2 Days later – Morning. Dragonbite Castle was filled with busy workers, as the staff hurried along the hallways and corridors. In the great hall, the last preparations for the upcoming banquet were made. The kitchen helpers set the large table at the room’s eastern side with silver cutlery, crystal goblets and finely marbled china. The tables were decorated with impressive candle holders, surrounded by napkins folded into the shapes of small dragons. All across the table cloth, in the colours of the family crest of red, black, and silver, small glass snowflakes were placed. In the middle of the great hall, a large round table had been placed, which was already bulging with all kinds of delicacies. In the centre of the table, a multi-layered blue cake stood towering, which the cook was just now finishing with a bit of icing. Not even the walls had been spared, as expensive tapestry shared the space alongside portraits and banners of House Snowflake. Not only had the inside of the castle been prepared, even the courtyard had been taken care off. The gravel path from the castle gate to the actual entry had been tilled, the hedges and shrubberies had been cut back, and a lot of small details had been corrected, the kind that made the difference between ‘acceptable’ and ‘really impressive’. Multiple pegasi had been paid to clear the sky, who were doing great work, that the castle and its surroundings were flooded with bright daylight. Indeed, the Snowflake family was doing their best to properly greet their visitor and to maybe even impress a little. But even though everything was working more or less perfectly, said family was still on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Anxiously, the baroness hurried from room to room to check on the preparations, give a few last commands, and ensure a spontaneous change here and there. The baron on the other hoof, tried calming his nerves by looking down at the anthill of workers from the battlements of one of the castle’s towers. On normal days, he would come up here a lot and relax for a few minutes, taking a break from the hard work of heading a barony every day. Of course, in recent years, it had been a lot easier, since a lot more responsibilities had been transferred from the nobles to the princesses, now that there were three of them sharing the work, rather than only Princess Celestia doing it all on her own. Still, the baron enjoyed the moments of peace up here, looking over his land. Today, however, the familiar calm feeling just wouldn’t come. He sighed and made his way down the many steps of the tower. Same Day – Close to Lunchtime Climber was anxiously pawing the white carpet with his right front hoof. A quick glance at the clock tower revealed that it was not yet twelve o’clock, just as the previous seven times. The baron stood at the top of a few stairs, his wife and children on his right, all in their best clothes. They were framed by their servants, properly ordered by rank. His gaze wandered back to the castle gate. Above it, a green mare was on watch, trumpet in her left hoof, her right covering her eyes from the sun, looking out for Princess Twilight. Obviously, Climber’s anxiety did not go unnoticed by his wife. Despite being much more nervous than him only a few hours ago, she was now radiating with a noble calmness. “She will be here soon, Climber.” Her voice was soothing to him, quiet and familiar. “Everything is prepared, we are ready to greet her more than adequately.” Climber looked from the watch-mare to his wife. Although he was able to keep a straight face, the corners of his mouth wandered a tiny bit north. “I know, it’s just…” She carefully brought her left hoof up to his shoulder. In many other high-born families, this would have been against etiquette, and reason for one rude comment or the other, but Climber liked this a lot about his wife. She had always been able to ignore the rules of etiquette in order to show her love and support. He took her hoof in his, kissed it and turned back towards the entrance. “Thank you,” was all he said, much more relaxed than just a second ago. The minute hand of the clock tower had almost reached the twelfth hour, when the group of ponies atop the castle walls began to move. The green mare slightly lifted her head over the railing. She saw a small dot appearing on the horizon in the distance, quickly getting closer, even though its trajectory was not the straightest. She reached for her little telescope and looked through it, before putting her trumpet to her mouth. The fanfare was heard far across the plains, and after a few moments, multiple small trumpets joined in to welcome the princess to the Eastern Neighagra Falls Plains. As Twilight Sparkle crossed over the castle wall and landed in the courtyard of Dragonbite Castle, she was confused for a moment by the sheer amount of ponies gathered there. Despite having been a princess for a while now, she had not yet gotten accustomed to the amount of prestige she had gained. Seeing almost every inhabitant of a castle come together because of her, and bowing in front of her, was making her a bit uneasy. Hesitating, she began waving at the assembled crowd while she touched down. A quick, almost electric, shock shot through her hooves as they came in contact with the ground. “Ouch!” she cried, startled and a little bit confused. Before she could properly focus her attention on the strange phenomenon, the two ponies at the top of the stairs started slowly coming towards her, while the rest of the crowd kept a humble stance. “Welcome to Dragonbite Castle, Your Highness,” Climber announced, as his voice carried his words to everyone present in the courtyard. “My name is Climber Snowflake. Your presence deeply honours my family and me,” he continued, once again bowing as he stopped in front of her. “Ummmm…thank you, Baron Snowflake,” Twilight replied, still slightly uneasy. “I’m glad you could accommodate me on such a short notice.” The baron raised his head again to look into Twilight’s eyes. “The House of Snowflake is at your service anytime, Your Highness.” Climber stepped aside and pointed at his wife. “May I introduce you to my wife?” he asked. “Lady Pleasant Smell.” Said lady came forward and also bowed. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, it is an honour and a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Welcome to Dragonbite Castle,” she said, humbly. “Thank you, Baroness. It is quite nice to make your acquaintance as well,” Twilight replied. “And if I may,” said the baroness, “these are our children, Cave Light and Distant Shine.” A light green filly, barely a mare, approached Twilight then bowed, followed by a much younger grey colt. Twilight smiled politely as the suddenness of formality, that had been thrust upon her, slowly overwhelmed her. “Please, Your Highness,” the baron took over the conversation again. “Let me introduce you to the rest of the castle’s inhabitants and then take you to the great hall. A feast honouring your visit is expecting us.” He made an inviting gesture towards the main building. Although Twilight attempted to force herself to relax a bit from the earnest greeting, she couldn’t help but throw a few nervous glances to the crowd as she slowly made her way to the servants waiting on the stairs. Paying attention to etiquette, the baron first introduced his servants according to their rank, such as his treasurer, Fang, or his leader of the guard, Watching Eye, and onward until the their names became a blur to Twilight. Finally, he brought the princess to her special spot in the great hall, on the baron’s right. Once Twilight had sat, one after the other, everypony else took their seats allowing the feast to begin. All eyes were locked on the princess, much to her dismay, as the first course was served. “What are they waiting for?” she wondered. “Why don't they start eating?” She looked around in confusion. Everypony was paying attention to her and not a single one had taken up their cutlery. “This is strange. The book on table manners stipulated that everyone should start to eat as soon as everyone has gotten their meal.” “Your Highness,” the baroness, who had recognised the problem, whispered at Twilight. The princess looked towards her. “You have to begin eating, everypony is waiting for you.” The baroness whispered charitably and meaningfully glanced at the assembled ponies. “Me?” Twilight replied sceptically. “Isn't it up to everyone to start eating?” Pleasant Smell shook her head slightly, “In Canterlot maybe Your Highness. In castle Dragonbite, however, the one with the highest rank starts the meal.” Twilight blushed a bit, “I wasn't aware of that, sorry.” She tried lifting one of the many forks next to her plate in her magic. Much to her surprise, her horn only lit up briefly and the purple aura began to flicker. “Huh?” she began, but was interrupted by the sound of a falling fork. Startled, Twilight looked at the utensil and tried to understand what happened. Again, she tried lifting it with her magic, but again it escaped her grasp after a short moment. “What in Tartarus is going on!?” she thought. With a much stronger surge of magic than usual, she tried grabbing the fork again, successfully this time. But it felt like it weighed multiple pounds. Confused, she stared at the utensil and wondered what this all meant. “Apologies, Princess. We should have warned you. Magic works differently at Dragonbite Castle,” the baroness told her. Confusion turned into curiosity as Twilight heard this. After all, she was an expert in all things magic, and if this was a regular phenomenon at Dragonbite Castle, she should be able to figure it out. “You mean this is normal?” she asked after a moment of thought. “Indeed it is,” the baron said, joining the conversation. “For centuries, unicorns have had trouble casting magic at Dragonbite Castle. That is why there are few among my staff.” “You see, the effect does not lessen over time, and I have been told you cannot get used to it either. This keeps many from working for us, and the few that do only stay a couple of months before leaving again,” the baroness explained. Hearing this, Twilight was impressed. “It really affects any unicorn? How far does the effect reach? Does it also affect other magic users? What about enchanted artifacts or other objects?” Twilight wasn't able to hold back her curiosity once it was aroused. The questions came out like gunfire. “Your Highness, calm down,” the baron said under the assault of Twilight’s questions. He made a calming gesture. “There are two unicorns among my servants who should be able to help you with your questions. My family consists of earth ponies, as such, we are not as educated in terms of magic.” Twilight paused with her questions. “Oh. Of course.” After a short pause, she added, “I would like to talk to these two unicorns.” “Naturally, Your Highness. I will call them to you right after the feast,” the baron said. This allowed Twilight to calm her curiosity enough that she could turn her attention back to her food. After contemplating it for a moment, she picked the fork up with a hoof and began to eat. As the first course came to an end and there was a short pause before the second one, the baron turned to his guest. “Your Highness, you mentioned in your letter that you are interested in our family history?” he asked, curiously. “Oh yes, that is correct. During my studies of Equestria’s noble houses, your family caught my attention. What I read has gotten me very curious.” Climber smiled charitably. “Is that so? What exactly has caused your curiosity?” Twilight, still thinking about the strange phenomenon, considered her approach carefully. “What does the name ‘Burning Snowflake’ tell you, Baron?” He froze for a moment, before putting his goblet back on the table without taking a sip. For a second, he looked Twilight in the eyes, and she could see the cogs turning in his skull. At this point, she also realised how quiet everything was all of a sudden. The busy chatter all around her had stopped, and even the servants busy with replacing the plates stayed where they were for a moment. “Yes, something strange is going on,” Twilight thought. The baron cleared his throat causing the servants to go back to work. “I do know the name,” the baron finally answered. “May I ask where you have learnt it?” “In some filly’s tale books and comics,” Twilight replied, a metaphorical halo appearing above her head. “Oh,” said the baron, hiding his relief behind a thick layer of self-control. Twilight, however, was not fooled. As if she just remembered, she added, “And she is put down as adoptive mother of your patriarch in a book from the Canterlot Royal Library, which happens to be in my possession.” For a moment, the baron looked like a foal caught with his hoof in the cookie jar. He sighed. “That is what I feared,” he admitted. “She had always ensured that this part of the story would not be forgotten.” “Who do you mean ‘she ensured it’?” Twilight said, confused by the statement, yet continued on with her questions. “And which part of what story?” The baron began to say, “I do not think that—” but was interrupted when Pleasant Smell put her hoof on his leg and looked him into his eyes, shaking her head. There was a quick exchange of opinions as their gazes met. Sometimes words aren’t needed to lead a discussion and like so often in these situations, the stallion lost. Again, Climber sighed before turning back to the princess. “Burning Snowflake—Princess,” he answered her question with considerable delay. “She had always ensured that it would never be forgotten that she is the adoptive mother of Compassion Snowflake.” “You mean ‘was’, don’t you?” Twilight asked. “Is,” Climber answered firmly. “My ancestor is dead, no doubt, but Burning Snowflake… Burning Snowflake is still among us.” *Translator’s Note: Overmorrow is indeed a word, meaning the day after tomorrow. The translator is of the opinion it should be used more often, as it is shorter and more elegant than the more common form.