The Phantom of Canterlot

by Azure Drache

A Tale or The Truth

One hour after the feast

The baron, his wife and Twilight sat in the kaminzimmer, or fireplace-room by modern translation, in the southern wing of the castle Dragonbite.

Twilight, had at first, been confused by the idea of a room being dedicated to a fireplace that wasn’t a kitchen. Most of the Equestrian castles, including castle Dragonbite, had fireplaces all about, so it seemed silly to designate one room in particular to a fireplace, beyond that of the kitchen. Upon entering the room, however, the answer became welcomely clear.

It was a small, yet cosy, room with a few bookcases and tapestries along the stone walls, interrupted only by the occasional sconce and its dim lighting. A small decorative carpet covered a tiny space of the cobblestone flooring as they sat upon the finely crafted wooden chairs with modest cushioning. The lone sofa and ottoman remained aloof and unused, having been politely refused by Twilight. Only a tiny table stood between the three of them, an even smaller chessboard sitting upon its top compared to the glassware that sat next to it. The fire burned hot behind the mesh screen of the large fireplace, muting some of its flickering light, but not the loud cracks of the burning wood.

Strangely enough, the room wasn’t blazing with heat. It was warm, but not inhospitable to where one of the glass pane windows would need to be opened.

The wonder of delving into regional differences was short lived once they had returned to their previous conversation. What had begun as only a little surprise conversation during the banquet, had quickly led to a serious debate on the possible and not possible, then to a fierce argument between the princess, who lead logic and magic theory onto the field, and the baron, who defended his family history.

Once the baron had unveiled that Burning Snowflake should still be alive, Twilight immediately countered with several logical reasons as to why this was impossible. The baron assured her that the facts of his family history were the truth only to have Twilight disclaimed them as ‘improperly recorded mouth to mouth family-lore’. This had offended the honour of the baron and his reply of ‘that logic and analysis alone could not explain everything’ had been significantly sharper than he had intended. This, in turn, angered the rational thinking princess enough so, that any of her social awkwardness or stresses had vanished, to defend the empirical research she treasured to the last. In short, one word led to another, and it would have been even worse if the baroness had not intervened and made ​​the proposal to move the discussion to somewhere private after the banquet.

"There is no indication that Burning Snowflake was an alicorn," said Twilight from her chair at the right side of the fireplace, her voice filled with a trace of annoyance." If I read correctly she was a pegasus pony.”

"No one said she was an alicorn," replied Climber with clenched teeth from the other side. "I'm merely saying that she is still alive!"

"Then she would be over three hundred years old."

The baron exhaled slowly and said, ”she is even more than seven hundred years old."

"Why not one or two thousand if we are already at this point," replied Twilight snappily. "Apparently being immortal is no longer enough to be famous today. Next you will tell me that she can actually breathe fire like in the comic books. Why stop there for a pegasus pony, she might as well cast teleportation magic..."

"She can't teleport,” Climber said interrupting the princess. “Fire spitting and breathing, yes. Also, she can cast magic. But, again, no teleporting."

Twilight rolled her eyes and made a frustrated sigh. "I came here to solve this little mystery, not to hear nonsense about some heroine from a comic book. If you are not willing to take this matter seriously with me, Baron, I'm only wasting my time here," said Twilight as she began to stand up.

"Please, Your Highness," Pleasant Smell said, finally intervening in the matter, "calm down. My husband told you the truth as he knows it. The story of Burning Snowflake is closely linked to house Snowflake and is passed down from generation to generation. Climber’s intention is not to annoy you, Your Highness."

Twilight let herself sink back into her chair. The disbelief in her words was clear to hear. “So, if I am to understand you correctly, the adoptive mother of your ancestor was an immortal, magic enchanting, fire breathing pegasus pony." Upon seeing the baron’s sour face, Twilight remembered that even though she did not believe the tale, these ponies did. She began to wonder if she had, just perhaps, gone a little too far. “I don’t mean any disrespect, Baron. I am merely having a hard time believing as you do.”

The baron looked into Twilight’s eyes for a long moment and took a deep breath to calm himself. "Yes, Your Highness, we do," he said then immediately continued, "Forgive my anger Princess, this is about my family and therefore I take your disbelief very personally. I know that all this is hard to believe, but the story of Burning Snowflake has been told to me by my mother and she heard it from her father and so on. The records located in your possession are further proof of the truth behind it.”

"Wait a minute," Twilight thought for a moment then said, "You said your mother told you the story of Burning Snowflake? The whole story? How she became Compassion’s mother and how she came to live for seven centuries?”

"So it is, Your Highness," replied the Baron.

"And you can give me your word, that you and your family think this is the truth?" Twilight said, now with a spark of curiosity in her voice.

"Absolutely."

“Then I am all ears.” Twilight took a comfortable posture in the chair. With a air of confidence she said, "However, with my knowledge in history, I am sure I shall easily show you the errors therein."

"Then you know the official history of Equestria very well and trust in your knowledge, Your Highness?" replied Climber.

Twilight could not escape the feeling that there was something lurking in his voice. She leant forward and said, "I have carefully studied the history of our country and know it as good as I would know myself."

"Good, Your Highness, then you don't mind if I ask you a few questions about the official history first?” asked Climber.

"Not at all."

The baroness looked over at her husband with a raised eyebrow. She knew what he was about to do and asked with the way she looked at him, "Is this wise?"

He returned her gaze and in his facial expressions, "I'm not sure, but I think it might help to make her at least open to the idea of who and what Burning Snowflake is."

Pleasant Smell’s answer was letting herself fall back into the seat, a sign of quiet, if not agreement, but at least approval.

"You were involved in the events which concern the return of the Crystal Empire?" asked the baron to Twilight.

"Yes, I was."

"And you have knowledge of how the kingdom disappeared?"

"Also correct."

"May I ask you to reproduce them?"

"Of course, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna defeated the tyrant Sombra, then imprisoned him in the ice of the North. But not before he could impose a curse on the kingdom to cause it to disappear for a thousand years.”

"Excellent Your Highness. Now, the curse was exactly meant to last for one thousand years, according to the story, correct?

"Correct.”

"When you, as one of the Elements of Harmony, reconverted Nightmare Moon to become Princess Luna again, you, at some point I would presume, possibly heard or read of how Princess Celestia banished her sister and under what kind of conditions, correct?”

Twilight nodded silently.

"Then you surely know the exact words of the prophecy of how she returns?"

"‘On the longest day of the thousandth year the stars will help her escape and she will try to evoke the endless night’," replied Twilight without hesitation.

The baron grinned triumphantly. "This is the exact wording of the official history of Equestria, Your Highness?"

"Word for word."

"Well, well, Your Highness, one final question." He looked her straight in the eye when he asked it. "If Princess Luna has returned exactly on the longest day of the thousandth year of her exile, how could she help defeat Sombra, who has cursed the Crystal Empire to disappear for a thousand years, when we all know that the Crystal Empire reappeared two years,” he said, laying special emphasis on the word and pronounced it very slowly, "after her return?" He crossed his front legs, appraising her movements as he waited for the response.

Twilight tried several times to reply, but only an ‘uh’ emerged from her lips.

"What did you mean by ‘uh’, Your Highness?" asked the Baron politely, but with some smug satisfaction.

"I mean…I think…that is…" babbled Twilight.

"Just spit it out Princess,” he said as he leant forward with a smirk.” I am greedy to get involved in your great knowledge.”

The baroness’s glare caught his attention, speaking loud and clear her thoughts. "Don´t overdo it dear, she is a princess. Show a little more respect!"

The baron looked back to Twilight, who now seemed to be engaged in a dialogue with herself. "...cannot be...official story...Celestia would...Luna there...was there..." Her mane had managed to roughen up in the brief moment that Climber was distracted by his wife.

Climber ran his hoof over his muzzle. "Are you okay, Your Highness?" he asked.

"I’m fine," she answered with a tinge of hysteria in her voice. "Definitely an inaccuracy in the transcript, yes, exactly an inaccuracy." Then she drifted back a little bit, "Celestia was there, she dictated it...controlled...Luna...a mistake, only a mistake..."

Now it became a little creepy in the baron’s opinion. "Um," he cleared his throat, "Your Highness, I'm sure Princess Celestia can make all of this clear. You simply could ask her when..."

"Yes, ask Princess Celestia...a great idea!" Twilight interrupted. Her horn produced a violet aura. There was a short bang and then a bewildered Twilight appeared one meter above her chair and fell back into it.

"Please remember that magic in castle Dragonbite doesn’t work too good," stated Pleasant Smell. "Besides, I think my husband meant you should ask Princess Celestia when you are in Canterlot the next time."

Twilight shook her head briefly to shake off the confusion. The ungentle recoil after her failed teleport had at least one good side effect, her ​​thoughts were once again in order. She rubbed her forehead with her ​​hoof. "Ouch," she muttered then thought, "I wonder why this castle has such a high influence on magic?"

"Are you alright, Your Highness?" inquired Pleasant Smell.

"Everything is alright," Twilight answered with a defensive gesture. "This was more a surprise than painful."

"Want to have some ice?" the baron asked.

"No, that won’t be necessary," replied Twilight

"Are you sure?" asked the baron again.

"Yes Baron, I’m fine. Now, getting back to your question," said Twilight." I do not know if it would be possible for there to be an error in the archives, or while copying the text...it’s so improbable.”

With a nod Climber took her reply to note. He could cite more events, but in terms of Twilight's reaction distancing himself from such desires might be for the best. "So you might agree to concede that sometimes the historians are—at times—a bit inaccurate or even simply wrong?"

"I am at least prepared to let this possibility take a place in my mind. That does not mean that I simply accept what you will tell me as the truth, but I’ll consider the possibility that your version also might be the right one," she said, then added after a short pause, “As hard as it is to me.”

"That's all I ask for," replied the baron. "However...I'm not sure you really want to hear this story." He hesitated for a moment, his mind deep in thought about how he would tell the princess about such a sensitive matter.

Twilight watched as the baron leant more and more on his forehoof, as he fell deeper into thought. “Baron?” she asked after a while, trying to get his attention.

“Darling?” inquired the baroness as the baron recovered himself, clearing his throat.

With a smile to his wife stating he was alright, the baron then turned to Twilight. “My apologies Princess. I was merely attempting to find a way to convey something that you may find...distasteful.”

“Baron, I have seen many distasteful things as one of the Elements of Harmony. I think I can handle it,” said Twilight.

The baron nodded in agreement to the statement. "Princess, you must understand Burning Snowflake..." he sighed and tried again, "Burning Snowflake...is not only the good matchmaker from recent comics. She is," he paused, taking a moment for the right words to form,"...less good-natured.”

Twilight scrunched up her face and asked, "What do you mean by that?”

"Well, this comic thing includes the last few centuries. Burning Snowflake has lived much longer, she has really brought many couples together as described, but..." he threw a glance at his wife. The baroness put her hoof on his foreleg, which again was resting on the armchair rest.

"Tell her my dear," she said to him with a small smile of compassion.

Climber turned back to Twilight who now was waiting patiently to sedate her curiosity with his explanation. "In the four hundred years before, her philosophy was based more on 'do what needs to be done,' as on the principle of kindness, compassion and forgiveness. She has herself liable to protect Equestria, like you do today, fighting against the devil-ones. Only now you try to reform them. I have heard of Discord, Sunset Shimmer, and Starlight Glimmer, all of which were defeated by you and the other Elements of Harmony and converted to be good." His face assumed a serious expression, "Burning Snowflake usually takes into account other measures."

"You mean she has banished them or turned them into stone as Celestia and Starswirl the Bearded have done?" inquired Twilight.

"No—well—some of them yes. She also has passed some to the Royal Guard or directly to Celestia. But the ones which were too dangerous or were just at the wrong place at the wrong time...no, that's not it. Let's just say, when it was the safest option for Equestria in the long run and it couldn’t be avoided…she did not hesitate to...eliminate the villains."

"You mean," Twilight wavered between bewilderment and disbelief, "she had...killed them?”

"Yes, Your Highness, that's what I mean.”

After this revelation, the ponies remained quiet for some time with only the crackling of the fire keeping the silence at bay. Then suddenly, a gentle knock at the door of the kaminzimmer stirred them from their quiet reflections. When the door opened a young yellow earth-pony mare with a red mane entered into the room. In her mouth she held a small tray with glasses, a jug of apple juice and some small snacks on it. Carefully she bowed slightly as she moved closer and placed the tray on the small table which was positioned between the other three ponies and the fireplace. When the mare passed by Twilight, the princess saw that a small foal, perhaps, one or maybe one and a half years in age lay on her back, sleeping.

"The kitchen chef thought you might want to quench any renewed hunger or thirst, Your Lordship," said the mare.

"Thank you Pencake," replied the baron.

Pencake bowed and replied, "Always ready to serve your lordship. Some extra wishes?"

"No, that would be all Pencake, you can go,” said the Baron.

After another nod to Twilight and the baroness, Pencake left the room and closed the door behind her.

Before the uncomfortable silence came back, Pleasant Smell took the initiative and filled the glasses. With a polite nod she gave one to Twilight, who took it with her hooves, the next to her husband and finally one for herself. "Cheers," she said simply, followed by them all taking a polite sip.

"So you say the mother of Compassion," Twilight linked back to the conversation, "was, forgive me, is a murderess?"

Climber stood up from his chair and walked a few steps toward the fireplace and looked into the flames. "No, not a murderess," he answered her question, "but she killed when she thought it was necessary." He called back a detail of Burning Snowflake’s story to mind. "Or maybe, once she has murdered someone," he continued, "if you believe the version of my great grandfather." He started to explain, "The records only tell part of the story. What happens before, after, or in between some events is always handed down orally. In the course of time, certain important factors are no longer as accurate as they were once remembered. We know with certainty, they have taken place in history and what has happened generally, but small details have been lost so there are different versions of certain incidents. Do you follow me, Princess? " After a nod from mentioned pony he continued, "It is mostly just only unimportant details, like the coat colour of a pony, the exact day or night time, little things, not the major parts of history. However, there are a few major moments that we don’t know exactly how they went. In the version that my great grandfather told there is a point where Burning Snowflake has murdered someone. Like I said, we don't know these moments with any certainty, but the possibility exists.”

"I think I have made a decision," Twilight said after this information. "Tell me your version of the events surrounding the life of Burning Snowflake, Baron."

Climber returned to his chair and put himself back into it. "As you wish, Princess." Taking a moment, he said to himself more so, "Where do I start?"

"At the beginning, Baron, I want to hear the whole story," Twilight interrupted his thoughts.

Climber looked over at her, "Well Your Highness," he said and began to talk...

Comments

[Azure Drache]

7511754 First , thanks for your time and the review^^

So I already insert said line break , thanks for mark it for me.

About the family , your may be right , I expect some knowledge from the reader about history to understand it at the first read. If some more people have difficult to understand it after reading the following chapters I will try to change it.

[Azure Drache]

7525257

The listing of the times of day, when it doesn't play a major role, feels unnecessary. As an example, the Artemis Fowl series relies a lot on time stamps, but that's because it's written as if it were a military case file, leading to the time stamps being invaluable to the report. This doesn't feel like it needs them

Artemis Fowl was a great book series , in my story the time plays a important role in later chapters , when the story jumps between the centurys so I thought it is a good idea to accustom the reader with the Time-list.

Another thing that bugs me is Twilight's inner voice.

mhh , I re-readed it and yes it is a little bit to agressiv. Thanks for bringging this up.^^

The general lack of describtion for the surroundings should give the reader place for his own imagination and to avoid errors in later chapters too. If I describe the Castle for example , I may get some logic errors later when I let the action take place above it or in one of the many rooms. Maybe when the whole story is written down , I add more details.

[Azure Drache]

7532388 I asked you to read it , yes... but if you can´t take it serious then don´t comment! And this is a free for all ages side so your picture... not cool man. See you later at the party... / By the way , wrong story ...

[Smaug the Golden]

Been a while, huh? Sorry I took so long. Anyway, back to business.

She is even more than seven hundred years old."

This feels clunky. The even and the more say the exact the same thing. Consider 'She is more than seven hundred years old' or 'she is even older than seven hundred' or something to that ilk.

she urges Climber

You've got a tense change here, as well as a few other places.

"Are you violated your highness?"

This sounds incredibly creepy and you might want to change that.

Aside from grammar stuff addressed above, here are my thoughts on this chapter. As far as thing go, this didn't really tell us much. While it does explain who Burning Snowflake was, to a certain extent, I just feel like it's beating around the bush. You've revealed more secrets about her, and only answered a handful of the questions we had about her. I get that this is only the third chapter, but it feels a bit to vague for my liking so far. I dunno, just feels like you're opening more questions by the chapter, making it so that we're going to have to keep track of every single little thing Burning Snowflake has done, when before it was just a historical inconsistency.

Either way, I'll be ready for the next chapter.

[Azure Drache]

7622678
Hey thanks you made another review^^

To my Luck the gramma and stuff is just in work by someone so it should be correct when I edit the chapters the next time, after my editor is ready. The 'are you violated' thing was mentioned by others to and is marked for edit already, thanks for notice it too^^

So for making more questions, this is my intension. It is ment to be a mystery story with many questions for the reader to think of. Don´t worry, I will get sure the most will be answered at the end ;-) Anyway I am always curious which questions my readers have, so if you like to tell me yours i could see if I had them on mind in the folowing chapters and if not I can insert answers there.

The next chapter may take some time, my editors working on chapter 5 and 1 at the moment. And i still have to translate 6-8 so it is a bit messy who is working on which part and when it will be done But I am glad to have some people helping me at least^^

Again thanks for your review:-)