The Royal Canterlot Family

by CartoonNerd12

Angel of Music Part One

Author's Note:

CN12: This was written by KidatHeart5.
K5: This is set a few months after Crown of Winter.
I thought of the term “pseudo-cide” while I was co-writing Crown of Winter with my sister. It’s a portmanteau of “pseudo”, which means “not genuine”, and “cide” from…you get the picture. “Pseudo-cide” fits Snow Pea’s death/near-death incident to a T.
The songs featured in the chapter are “Angel of Music” from The Phantom of the Opera and parts of “Lavender’s Blue” from Cinderella (2015).

“Ready?” Snow Pea asked the eager crowd.

The ponies cheered, “Yeah!”

“All right!” Her horn glowed as she said, “Here we go!”

She directed her magic at the sky and countless snowflakes burst in the air. The crowd cheered and applauded when snow began to fall upon them.

Snow Pea announced, “The first Winter Festival on Marendelle has officially begun!”

As the crowd continued to shout for joy, Snow Pea made her way back inside the castle. Her cousins and sister then came up to her with smiles on their faces.

Little Button praised, “That was awesome, Snow Pea!”

Roller Blade jumped in excitement, “Snowflake city, baby!”

Skater cheered, “Woo-hoo! Let the festivities begin!”

Just then, the king and queen came up to them. Button Mash told his daughter, “Hey, Snow Pea. Your grandparents want to see you.”

Snowy nodded and walked to the suite where the former rulers were residing now. She knocked on the door and said, “Hello?”

Cinnamon Swirl’s cheerful voice beckoned from the other side, “Snow Pea! Come on in! Don’t be a stranger!”

Snow Pea opened the door and saw her elderly grandparents standing by the window.

They turned to face their granddaughter and Cinnamon Swirl chuckled, “You did it, Snow Pea! Started the Winter Festival with a big bang!”

Love Tap agreed, “And a big bang it was, dear.” She sighed happily as she looked out the window to see the falling snow, “For the first time in my life, I’m seeing snow fall down on this beautiful island.” She then added, “Well, besides when the Windigos took you, of course.”

Snow Pea chuckled, “Yes, Grandma. I know.”

The elderly mare turned to Snowy and said, “Your father was right to keep the prophecy from me. If I had known about it before you defeated the Windigos, I would’ve worried about you day and night.”

Cinnamon joked, “Yeah, into an early death.”

He chuckled as Love Tap glared at him. She continued more calmly to Snow Pea, “But after the incident, your father told me everything. Even though I berated him for keeping such secrets from me, I understood it was for the best and learned that you were a capable and strong pony like your parents before you.” She touched Snowy’s hoof and said, “I know for a fact that you will be one of Marendelle’s best queens when you take the throne.”

Snowy smiled, “Thanks, Grandma. With the prophecy now behind us, I’ll only worry about my royal duties from now on.”

---

After she left her grandparents’ suite, she passed by the portrait hall when…

“Lavender’s blue…Dilly, dilly… Lavender’s green…When I am king…Dilly, dilly…You shall be queen…”

The beautiful voice caught Snow Pea’s ears and she looked back, asking, “Who’s there?” She saw no one behind her or in front of her. Then, she heard it again.
The mysterious voice sang, “Who told you so…Dilly, dilly…Who told you so? T'was my own heart…Dilly, dilly…That told me so…”
This time, she heard the voice coming from the portrait hall. She investigated each portrait, her head turning the other direction every few seconds as she slowly walked by them.
Suddenly, she heard a voice whisper, “Snow Pea…”
Her head whipped to the direction where she heard the voice. Her eyes met the portrait of her great-grandparents, Lincoln Log and Bright Star. They held their heads up high and maintained a regal posture. However, Lincoln Log was smirking a little while his queen did not. Like the other portraits, the couple was holding hooves as a symbol of their love for each other. That tradition, Love Tap had explained, rooted from King Sea Foam, Bejeweled’s son.
Snow Pea gazed at the portrait of her great-grandparents when suddenly, the queen blinked and her mouth uttered, “Snow Pea…”
The princess gasped and drew back in surprise. When she blinked, Bright Star seemed to be no longer moving. Her face assumed the same expression she had before…whatever Snow Pea saw.
Before Snow Pea could ponder on this further, a voice called out, “Snowy!”
The crown princess turned to see her little sister and cousins coming up to her.
Skater asked, “Hey, are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Snow Pea nervously tittered, “Who, me? Heh-heh-heh. Nope. Not me.” When she saw that her cousins and sister were not convinced, she quickly said, “I gotta go.” She then trotted out of the portrait hall without another word.

---

That night, Snow Pea was quietly slumbering in her bed. In her dream, she was walking in her winter wonderland and taking in the pretty sights the shimmering snow offered. Those peaceful moments ended when she heard a familiar voice singing.
“Lavender’s blue…Dilly, dilly… Lavender’s green…When I am king…Dilly, dilly…You shall be queen…”
The echoing voice sent a shiver up Snow Pea’s spine and her heart quickened. She muttered in fright, “No…no…”
As if ignoring her quiet pleas, the voice continued singing, “Who told you so…Dilly, dilly…Who told you so? T'was my own heart…Dilly, dilly…That told me so…”
When she saw Bright Star right behind her, she yelped and jolted awake. It took her a while to calm down again, but when her head met the pillow, she found it hard to regain the peaceful state she had a half-hour before.
That afternoon, little fillies and colts were skating on the newly-frozen pond. The sky was overcast and clouds seemed to hang over with a tense air. The twins, Little Button, and Apple Butter were sitting on a bench watching the kids in content when Snow Pea walked up to them.
LB said with delight, “Snow Pea! Glad you could make it.”
Snowy nodded, “Yep. I think that nap really helped me get my energy back.”
Skater consoled, “Sorry you didn’t have a restful night.”
Roller Blade asked, “Yeah, what happened? Ponies around town are saying that there was an unexpected snowfall last night. Must’ve been at the same time as your nightmare.”
Snow Pea sighed, “Or because of my nightmare.”
Apple Butter said, “Well, hopefully, it was a one-time thing.”
Snow Pea thought to herself as she looked out towards the frozen pond, Is it? The sight of ponies skating across the ice calmed her greatly until –
“Snow Pea…”
Oh, no. She heard it again. The same voice that called out to her ever since Snow Pea kicked off the Winter Festival with Marendelle’s first winter snowfall. The uneasy unicorn looked all around for the specter of her great-grandmother. She didn’t seem to notice that a light snow began falling. Her heart dropped when she saw Bright Star skating with the other ponies.
On impulse, Snow Pea pointed her hoof and cried, “There she is!”
In confusion, her sister and cousins tried to scan the pond to see who she meant. LB only shrugged, “Who’s ‘she’?”
When Snow Pea realized her mistake, she felt embarrassment replace her fear and she nervously tittered, “Oh, um…The little filly skating gracefully, of course!”
Just then, she heard the voice again.
“Snow Pea…”
She quickly turned to her left and saw Bright Star in the village. Her heart quickened with fright and her nerves were shaking within her. The amount of falling snow and its intensity increased as if the weather was an extension of her emotions.
Roller Blade asked in concern, “Hey, Snow? Are you okay?”
She faced him and answered his question with fear underling her tone, “Huh? Oh, yes, yes. I’ll be fine. I just –“
Before she could finish her sentence, she turned to see Bright Star right in front of her! The intense gaze of the queen’s blue eyes caused Snow Pea to scream. The shock of that moment also caused her to faint on the accumulating snow. The weather intensified the second the crown princess hit the ground.
Little Button and the cousins rushed to Snow Pea’s side, shouting, “Snow Pea?! Snow Pea! Snowy, wake up! Snow Pea, come on!”

---

When Snow Pea opened her eyes, everything was blurry and a muffled voice said, “I think she’s coming to!”
Her eyesight then cleared and she found herself in her bed with her worried parents and the royal physician standing over her.
Snowy groaned, “What…what happened?”
Sweetie Belle explained, “Lil told us that you screamed and then fainted.”
At that moment, Snow Pea’s memory came back to her. She remembered seeing the ghost of Queen Bright Star as if she was right there in person. When she grew cold with fear, the blizzard outside her window strengthened. The adults seemed to notice that while Snow Pea was lost in her trance.
Button Mash asked in concern, “Snowy, are you afraid of something?”
Snow Pea knew she couldn’t lie to her parents the same way she lied to her sister and cousins; but would they believe her if she told them about seeing Bright Star’s ghost?
Solemnly, she answered, “Yes, I am. But I need to be alone for a few minutes before I can say anything. I’m just…too stressed out at the moment.”
Sweetie Belle nodded, “We understand.”
Snow Pea sighed in relief when the adults left the room. She had a few minutes to herself, so –
“Snow Pea…Snow Pea…I’m here with you…”
There it was again. That singing. That ethereal voice that cut through Snow Pea’s soul and resulted in a blinding blizzard that was blowing throughout Marendelle.
Just then, Snow Pea heard her sister sing, “Snow Pea…Snow Pea…”
Bright Star’s voice sang in a whispery way, “Snow Pea…”
Little Button, Skater, and Apple Butter entered the room just mere moments after Snow Pea heard her great-grandmother sing again. LB sang in concern as she sat at the edge of her sister’s bed, “What in the world have you been hiding? Everything was perfect…Sis, we promised we’d keep no secrets…Why are you so afraid?”
Snow Pea was hesitant to tell them, but she requested, “Will you promise to believe me if I tell you?”
Skater said, “Why do I not like the sound of that?”
LB said to Snowy, “I promise to believe in you.”
Snow Pea gave a small smile before she took a deep breath and sang, “Father once spoke of Queen Bright Star…Somehow, I’d dream she’d appear…Now as I sing, I can sense her…and I know she’s here…Here in this room…she calls me softly…somewhere inside hiding…Somehow I know…she’s always with me…She, the unseen pony…”
Skater sang, “Snow Pea, you must have been dreaming…Something like this can’t be true…”
Apple Butter then sang, “Snow Pea, you’re talking in riddles…and it’s not like you…”
Snow Pea sang, “Angel of Music…queen of the past...please tell me your story…”
Little Button sang, “Who is this angel?”
All four of the girls sang, “This Angel of Music, hide no longer…Secret and strange angel…”
When Snow Pea glanced towards the mirror on her vanity, she saw Bright Star smiling at her. Snow Pea, feeling frightened instead of comforted, sang, “She’s with me even now…”
Apple Butter felt her hooves and sang, “Your hooves are cold…”
“All around me…”
Skater sang, “Snow Pea, it is all right…”
“It frightens me…”
Lil sang to comfort her, “Don’t be frightened…”
When Snowy had calmed down considerably, the blowing snow became less intense. However, it was still a blizzard out there.
Apple Butter asked, “Snow Pea, why didn’t you tell us sooner about this?”
Snow Pea shamefully admitted, “I didn’t want everypony to worry about me again. I thought that after the prophecy, my life could finally be normal, but now there’s this. Why? Why is this happening now?”
Skater put her hoof to her chin and contemplated, “Let’s see. Marendelle’s never had anything like ghosts before. Maybe that’s why we couldn’t see Bright Star.”
Lil asked, “But why would Snow Pea see ghosts just now?”
Apple Butter said, “Yeah. It’s not like anything weird happened recently. Oh, wait. There was that run-in with the Windigos, and that alternate timeline, and of course Snow Pea erasing herself from the face of the earth.”
This sparked something in Snowy’s head. She told them, “Wait. I think I know what it is. I read this book where a colt began seeing ghosts after nearly dying.”
Skater pointed out, “Well, you nearly died permanently from your pseudo-cide – or whatever Cotton calls it. So that could be it.”
Snow Pea said, “Now the question is what does Bright Star want with me?”
Lil shrugged, “Well, maybe you could just ask her.”
“I can’t do that here. Everypony else will think I’m crazy. In the book I read, the hero went to the cemetery because that’s where ghosts were most likely to appear.”
Apple Butter asked, “Do you think that’s where you’ll find Bright Star?”
Skater added, “And if you do, talk to her?”
Snow Pea nodded, “It’s my only chance to be completely alone. That way, nopony will think I’m going crazy.”
Lil touched her sister’s hoof and said, “I wish you the best of luck then, sis. If Great-Grandma Bright Star does turn out to be friendly, tell her I said ‘hi’.”
Snow Pea and the other girls chuckled at that.

Comments

[LunaJack]

Lavender's Blue also appeared in the Disney movie "So Dear to My Heart". It was sung by Burl Ives. I never saw the movie but I heard it on a Disney compilation album.

[Godslittleprincess]

Okay, no one's made the obvious joke yet. Guess I'm going to have to do it.
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