Phantom of the Pale: Ice Prince Act I

The first few days were the hardest. Phantom Mane barely knew the Crystal Empire before the 1000 Year gap and now he had to try and understand it without his parents. He would have been lost if it weren’t for the librarian, Amethyst Maresbury. Today was the third day after his ordeal, this is where the story continues. *** Phantom Mane blinked his eyes open. Light streamed in through the window across his bed illuminating a swarm of dust particles as it inched it’s way up the covers towards his nose. In a few moments it would be in his eyes anyway so he lazily pushed the duvet aside and rolled out of the old, disused bed. The librarian, Amethyst, had put him up in a small storage room at the end of one of the rows of books. The room wasn’t particularly large and was filled with spare copies of books from the library but it did have a window at least. The librarian had found the bed in one of the lower storage rooms and Phantom had moved it up here the previous day. Phantom hadn’t wanted to stay but the librarian quickly convinced him of the folly of leaving right away to find his parents. They were up most of the night talking about what Phantom Mane had written in the letter he had been going to give her, so he was still very tired. The tired stallion moved groggily to the door and used his magic to open it, frowning as it frosted over. Glancing around at the bandages on his flank, he frowned with disdain. What had the Windigo done to him? As he walked down the rows of shelves he found himself in the magic section. This was purely coincidental but Phantom was glad, he had so much to catch up on. After making a mental note of where it was, he walked around to the front desk and knocked politely on Amethyst’s office door behind it. He was surprised when nopony answered, perhaps she was still asleep? Abruptly he heard a rustling coming from behind him and turned around to find Amethyst standing behind him balancing a pile of books on one hoof. “Well, look who finally decided to get up!” she said cheerily. “Do you normally sleep in this late?” “Well, you did keep me up half the night, to be fair,” Phantom Mane said sleepily. “Oh yes, well. Sorry about that, I… I just…” Amethyst responded, looking downcast. Phantom levitated the books to the floor from her hoof (quickly to avoid freezing them) and trotted over to give her a hug. “Thank you for taking me in. I still miss them but... “ he trailed off, turning his head to hide the tears. “Thanks to you, I have somepony to talk to.” She gave him a sad smile. “Come on, let’s go get some brunch,” she said. *** It was well and truly lunch time by the time they left the library. Amethyst took them to what must once have been a lovely cafe but since King Sombra’s rule had fallen into disrepair. Some ponies who may or may not have actually worked there were manning the till and had obviously done their best to clean everything up. Even so, there were still cobwebs in some of the corners and somepony had forgotten to finish sweeping up the dust under one of the tables. Most of what was on the menu was out of stock as well, except for a few supplies brought in with the Canterlot guards. That was okay, though. Phantom wouldn’t have known what to order anyway, having only grown up eating oats and grains. Amethyst, realising this, ordered Hay fries and cupcakes for both of them. While Phantom found the fries a little strange, he had never heard of hay being used for anything but bedding, he tried them anyway. The flavour wasn’t dissimilar to most of the grains he was used to eating, it was just the texture, it was quite… odd. It was pretty much what he imaged eating his bed would be like and he wasn’t quite sure if he liked it yet. Still, he finished them and moved onto the cupcake. The first thing he noticed was the flavour, it was so sweet. It made him completely forget about the texture for a moment and he almost gagged. Not wanting to be rude, he hid it as best as he could and made what he hoped were appreciative sounds. Amethyst seemed satisfied so he politely declined the rest of his cupcake and they left to see some more of the Crystal Empire. *** It still amazed Phantom how much brighter it was now. The storm that raged outside the Crystal Heart’s shield during King Sombra’s reign seemed to have dissipated, which was just as well since at the moment there was no shield and he wondered how he hadn’t noticed before. He had been about to turn to Amethyst and ask her about it when a Canterlot guard appeared ahead of them and bellowed, “Make Way! Make Way for the Princess!” Phantom’s heart ached. How he wished his parents could have been here to see this! With a heavy heart he moved to the side of the road and bowed low, along with everypony else. Though his eyes were focused downwards he heard an approaching carriage, which slowed to a stop somewhere further up the road. He heard a voice, he supposed it must be Celestia’s, call out in a gentle but authoritative tone: “Citizens of the Crystal Empire. I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, here on behalf of Princess Celestia and Luna of Canterlot.” Phantom Mane’s mind whirled. Okay, he thought, that’s a little odd but I suppose the other Princesses must still be coming. Then he heard another voice. It was not the Princess’s voice. It was a deep, commanding tone belonging to a stallion. His head snapped up and to the left, eyes wide and pupils dilated. To his horror, he saw a male unicorn sitting atop the chariot next to the Princess. “Sombra!” was all he managed to choke out before his vision went dark. *** Phantom’s eyes snapped open as he awoke to find himself drenched in sweat slumped on the side of the street. His breath was rapid and he was seeing stars. A Canterlot guard stood over him next to Amethyst, both of whom were looking very concerned. Everypony else had moved on, save a few who stood nearby whispering in excited tones. It was a few minutes before he could speak. “S-Sombra! H-He was here! With that Princess!” he gasped. Amethyst visibly recoiled at the mention of his name, while the guard just looked confused. Amethyst’s eyes were wide, “Are you sure?” she asked. She looked terrified at the thought. She might not remember much, but King Sombra had left a strong impression on everypony. The guard gave the petrified pony a funny look. “No, that was Shining Armour, the Princess’s husband,” he stated. Phantom was not even slightly convinced. “He matches everything I’ve ever been told. He’s come back for us!!” His breath sped up and he felt darkness creeping at the corners of his vision again. “Woah, woah, calm down. You’re gonna pass out again,” said the guard. Phantom did his best to slow his breathing. The darkness edged back. He tried to swallow but his mouth was dry. This was a nightmare. It had to be. The Princesses defeated Sombra… right? He forced himself to take deep breaths. “Y-Yeah, of course. How silly of me… S-Sombra is gone, r-right?” He was shaking so hard his teeth were chattering. “Shining Armour was Captain of the Royal Guard for years before he married the Princess. I even trained under him at one point. I’m sure if you met him…” the guard began, though he trailed off when he saw the young stallion’s ears flatten, eyes wide with terror, “Nevermind.” Amethyst, too was looking rather nervous. She seemed more convinced than Phantom Mane but there was still doubt in her eyes. “I think we better go,” said Amethyst, half-carrying Phantom as they stumbled off back towards the library. *** When they arrived back at the library Phantom was able to stand on his own again but was still visibly shaken, as was Amethyst. “It can’t be Him,” Amethyst was saying, “the Princesses defeated him!” “I want to believe that,” Phantom replied, “but how can we be sure? Nopony else can remember Him and I’ve never seen him. What if it is Him?!” Amethyst looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, this is a library. We must have a book about Him or something…” She shuddered at the thought. “Oh! I can’t even remember if I work here or not. How are we going to find anything in here?” They both sat in silence, thinking for a few moments. “There must be some logical order to the library. Things aren’t just put in here at random, are they? By my room is mostly magic books, for example!” exclaimed Phantom. “Everything must be grouped by topic! There must be a section for, hmm… I dunno, maybe Crystal Empire royalty? If that’s the case, we just need to find one book related to the topic and we’ll be able to find the rest!” Amethyst perked up at this, “Well, it’s worth a try, I suppose. I wonder how many books we have on Crystal Empire Royalty, I’ll have a look to see if we have a list somewhere while you get started!” With that she trotted off to her office. *** The search went on for hours. It was made slower because Phantom was doing his best to avoid using his magic and freezing the books. This meant he had to pick up each one with his mouth and try to flip through its pages with his hooves. How did Amethyst do this?! Finally, he found a book which seemed to be relevant. He made a mental note of where he got it from before setting off at a gallop for Amethyst’s office with it. “Amethyst! I think I’ve found something!” he said as he beat rapidly on the door with his hoof. The door flew open and Amethyst stumbled out, covered in paper. “For Celestia’s sake! Give me a heart attack, would ya?” she said as she shook papers out of her mane. “Sorry but take a look at this!” Phantom said as he thrust the book out, almost dropping it as he tried to balance it on one hoof. The librarian gave him a funny look staring up at his horn, then back at the book several times before taking it from him. “‘A Somber Hope.’ You know this is a story-book, right? For foals?” she said. “Oh,” replied Phantom Mane, looking downcast and having had no idea. It wasn’t one he’d had the pleasure of reading. Amethyst seemed to consider the book for a moment. “I suppose we might find something of use. We’ll just have to take it with a grain of salt. It is a work of fiction that was merely based on reality, after all.” A shadow passed over her face, “You know, I think I remember something! The King was never very fond of this particular story. Kept ordering it be destroyed, then changing His mind. I wonder if that means something?” She shook her head, “Don’t mind my rambling. It’s a side-effect of aging.” She opened the book to the first page and began to read: “There once lived a colt in the Crystal Empire who was a little different from the others. His name was Sombra. The other foals would tease him because of his dark gray coat and the way he would talk. All but one. She was a pretty little filly, she inspired courage in Sombra as much as her namesake, Hope. They faced the world together. One day they decided to go to the Crystal Faire to see their futures in the Crystal Heart. They saved up all their gems in preparation for going. The little foals couldn’t wait for the Faire, however, so they decided to go and see the Crystal Heart early where it rested at the base of the Castle. When they gazed into their reflections in the Crystal Heart, Hope saw herself becoming a beautiful Princess. Sombra on the other hand saw a shadow bearing his face and was afraid. Suddenly the ruler of the Empire at the time, a Princess named Amore, appeared behind them both. She told them the Crystal Heart reflects what is in your own heart but that a heart can change. Hope rejoiced but Sombra felt only despair. Sombra never told anypony what he saw, not even Hope or the Princess. Days passed and it was finally time for the Crystal Faire. It ought to have been a time for joy and celebration but Sombra was struck with a terrible illness. He was wracked with pain but Hope refused to leave his side. They were both saddened, Hope because she could not see the Crystal Faire, Sombra because he was the reason why. The illness stayed with Sombra until late that night, long after the festivities had ended. The illness repeated every year on the day of the Faire and so neither pony ever got to see it. But they were together. Though the years went on, the hardship drew them together. Just like they always had, they faced it together. There was something between them, something powerful that nopony could ever break: Friendship.” Phantom Mane and Amethyst looked at each other, tears in their eyes. “You know, it’s been so long since I read that… I had forgotten how it went,” Amethyst said, her voice breaking slightly. “After everything He’s done… is it wrong that I feel sorry for Him?” Phantom Mane asked, his voice quaking. He could immediately tell who it was based on, not least of all because His name had been used. Amethyst managed a small smile. “No, Phantom, that is true compassion.” *** By this point it was late afternoon, almost time for dinner. Amethyst took the book back to her study for safekeeping, then they both left the library to find someplace to eat. As they trotted down the street they ran into another Canterlot guard. Since they weren’t in any great hurry anyway, they stopped him to ask a few more questions about the Princess and Shining Armour, “So, this Princess, I know her name but who is she, exactly?” Phantom began. “That’s a pretty big question. You sure you don’t wanna be a little more specific?” asked the guard pony. “Well I guess what I’m trying to ask... and I don’t mean to be rude but... what right does Princess Cadence have to the throne of the Crystal Empire? I mean, I’ve never even heard of her before…” he replied swallowing hard. He had done his best to be tactful but he wasn’t sure how else to ask what he needed to and it hadn’t sounded great. If the guard found this offensive, thought, he didn’t show it. The guard replied, “Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is a distant relative of Princess Amore, former ruler of the Crystal Empire. As it happens, there is nopony more closely related so the Princess is next in line.” Phantom Mane looked relieved. King Sombra destroyed Princess Amore so he couldn’t imagine Him associating with anypony related to her, even as cover. He still had his doubts but they carried a little less weight than before. Phantom thanked the guard before he and Amethyst continued on towards the marketplace. *** They settled on a small, relatively tidy-looking restaurant near the edge of the square for dinner and Amethyst ordered them both burgers and hay-fries. Phantom was still unsure about the hay-fries so he attempted to pick up the burger with his hooves. Unfortunately, he grabbed it by the top bun and the remainder of it plopped back onto the plate. Luckily Amethyst didn’t seem to notice (or chose not to) so he quickly placed the top bun back and tried again. He carefully positioned his hooves on either side of the burger, applied gentle pressure, and slowly lifted them off the plate. His hooves were shaking from trying to keep the burger upright. Suddenly his right hoof dipped a little too far. He tried to correct this but overcompensated. His burger flew out of his hooves and disappeared under a table somewhere off to his left. Phantom’s eyes darted around but fortunately there were hardly any ponies in this particular restaurant and Amethyst had taken off her glasses to eat, so he hastily began munching his hay-fries. When they had both finished they stood up, Amethyst thanked the pony at the cashier and they both left before they discovered the mess Phantom had left behind. *** As they were leaving, a brilliant blue beam of magic shot up out of the Crystal Castle. It went up even higher than the highest spire before flattening out and spilling downwards, encapsulating the Empire in a magical dome. Everypony stopped what they were doing and stared in awe. “W-Was that the Crystal Heart?” exclaimed Phantom Mane. “It must be! It was first used well before my time and since then it’s power has only been replenished. How lucky we are to be able to witness it’s return!” replied Amethyst. Phantom felt a little better. There was no way King Sombra would have allowed the Crystal Heart to be returned. If he were the King, he would have gone on pretending the Crystal Heart was missing rather than giving it back. How he wished his parents had been here… He wiped away a few tears and Amethyst placed her hoof around his shoulders. They stood there for a long time, staring up at the dome in wonder.