Another day had dawned at the Light Kingdom. Summer had just started, but that didn’t prevent Star from wakening early. He liked to enjoy the day as much as he could, especially now that he had graduated from the academy.
That day was a very special one to Star, as it meant that now he could continue into more advanced studies and also help more his parents in keeping the peace in the Pony World and also the Enchanted Forest. Not only that, but he had received a student honor award for his high academic achievements, becoming part of the student honor board.
The young alicorn prince woke up, finding his pet tiberwolf Timber sleeping on his lap. Despite finding that cute and it was showing how much he loved his owner, Star still had to get up. Tapping his head slightly on his head, Star said:
“Timber, wake up, sleepyhead.”
Timber opened his eyes and yawned, licking then Star’s face.
“Okay, okay, I get it, you love me” the young prince said, while laughing. “Now let me get up. I need to get ready for the day.”
The timberwolf then got up and let Star got up as well. After washing himself, Star advanced towards his mirror, so he could comb his mane. After he did that, he made the mirror show him his friends, something he used to do at the beginning of each day (except when he was at the academy), so that he could remember all of his friendships and keep close to them. He saw Jonagold, who was his best friend, but he also saw Moonlight, who was his true love, but also Bramble, Gunter and Galena, who were his other friends. His sisters also appeared, followed by Heartbeat and also Kurama and his parents.
When Star was about to leave the mirror, something caught his attention. The image of the colt he had met during the party celebrating the release of Neverland appeared before him. Star found that very strange as that mirror only reflected his friends. How could it reflect that colt, if he only had met him once.
“How strange…” Star said. “How can this be?”
It is then that he remembered that Kurama did have warned him about the colt. How could he knew that something like what happened would actually happened.
“You know more than what you said you know” Star told to Kurama in their plane. “You know that colt, do you?”
“Just because you’re my jinchuriki and you’re free to use my energy, it doesn’t mean that I have to answer you all the questions you make” Kurama said, while laying down casually. “Remember that I’m not like your pet timberwolf.”
“And did I ever say that?” Star asked. “Come on, Kurama, you know that colt. Or else, why would you tell me to not approach him?”
But Kurama didn’t reply, keeping his sleep pretending. Star hated when he got that way. It was very annoying.
Being unable to get anything from Kurama, Star got out of his room, along with Timber, and went to the dining room, where his parents were already taking breakfast.
“Good morning, son” Blue said. “Sleep well?”
“Actually, yes” Star said, while sitting, while Timber went to eat some of logs he had on a bowl to him. “Now that school is over, I don’t have to worry about homework, exams and projects.”
“I hope you enjoy your vacations, sweetie” Twilight said, while drinking some coffee. “Believe me when I say that moments of tranquility tend to be short-lived.”
“Oh I know that” Star said, while serving himself of some cereal. “And I intend in enjoying myself. Today I’m going to the Light Museum.”
“That’s a very interesting way to spend your vacations” Blue commented, sarcastically.
“Come on, Blue, I don’t see any harm in going to the museum” Twilight replied. “I’m happy that Star likes to nurture his thirst for knowledge.”
“And also I haven’t seen the exhibition regarding the war, neither the Hall of Heroism nor the Hall of Villainy” Star said. “I’m curious about those.”
“You’ll like what was done there” Twilight said. “Despite the war was one the darkest moments of our history, it’s still part of it and we need to tell it to future generations.”
It was then that Twilight noticed her son thinking face, while he was eating. She knew something was bothering him, as she used to do the same face when something was bugging her.
“Is there something wrong, Star?” Twilight asked.
“It’s nothing special, really” he replied. “It’s just something weird appeared when I looked into my mirror, just now.”
“Weird how?” Twilight asked.
“Probably it’s nothing” Blue said. “After all, it was made by Heartbeat. And we all know she is as crazy as Pinkie Pie, if not crazier.”
“When I looked into it, the reflection of a colt appeared” Star told. “I’ve never met him… That is, until the party to celebrate Neverland. It’s strange, because I feel like I know him and yet I’ve never seen him in my life. And when I touched him… I was pushed away and my heart hurt.”
Hearing that, Twilight dropped her coffee cup that shattered on the floor and Blue almost chocked with a piece of toaster he was eating.
“What?” Star asked. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No, son, we’re…” Twilight started, trying to find what to say.
“We’re just worried” Blue said. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, I’m fine” he replied. “Thanks to Kurama’s energy, I recovered fast.”
Hearing that, Twilight and Blue became very relieved, what caused Star to become a little suspicious. After leaving the dining room with Timber, Star started to talk with his pet, saying:
“You know, Timber, I’m starting to feel like everyone is hiding something from me. First it was Kurama and now my parents. I just wanted to know what they are hiding and what does that colt has to do with it.”
In the dining room, after Star left, Twilight said to Blue, with a little panic in her voice:
“Blue, Star is starting to get suspicious. He’s going to find out.”
“Relax, Twily” Blue said. “Everything is fine.”
“Fine?” Twilight asked. “Star saw him. They got closed. If he got mad at us for hiding from him that he was a jinchuriki, then when he gets to know that… Seriously, what was he thinking about?”
“Twily, look at me” Blue told, making Twilight look at him. “Breath. Come on…”
Twilight did so and found herself getting calmer.
“What we need to do is going to Bright Shore and talk to him” Blue told.
“Yes, and you can be sure that he’ll get in so much trouble” Twilight said.
Blue made him a look that caused her to say:
“Okay, we’ll let him explain first and then we may get him in so much trouble.”
“Now that’s better” Blue said.
“Heartbeat” Twilight called.
And, in a flash, Heartbeat appeared.
“Yes, princess?” she asked.
“Can you tell Golden Paladin that Blue and I will go to Bright Shore and we want him to cover for us?” Twilight asked.
“Of course” the General of Affection replied. “I’ll tell him right away.”
After saying that, she got out using her swift nature.
The Bright Shore was located at the edge of southwestern part of the Light Kingdom, where it met the ocean. The light irradiated from the sand, combined with the transparency of the ocean, made that shore to be one of the most beautiful places of the Pony World. However, despite its beauty, the shore was avoided by many light ponies, as that place was known to be one of the vertices of an area where the ones who dared to adventure there just disappeared.
But there was one pony that lived there, in a beach house, and that pony was currently surfing. The young colt that had met Star was surfing on his white and orange surfboard. He really had a very good talent to surf and that made him very happy. When he was getting out of the ocean, while holding his surfboard with his magic, and heading towards the house so he could dry his coat and mane. But it’s then that he saw Twilight and Blue waiting for him. Seeing them, a smile appeared on the colt’s face and he called:
“Mom! Dad!”
He run towards them and hugged them who hugged him back.
“Hey there, son” Blue said.
“I thought you’d come tomorrow for my birthday.”
“We would, but…” Twilight said, while trading a look with Blue. “It came to our attention that you did something that you shouldn’t have done, Dusk.”
The colt realized what she meant and said:
“Oh, you know about that…”
“Sweetie, we’ve already talked about this” Twilight said. “You can’t come to the citadel, or else…”
“Or else I risk meeting Star and get too close to him” Dusk said. “Yeah, yeah, I know about it. You’ve told me that for all my life. But Star is my big brother and the twins are my little sisters. They don’t even know that I exist. They never heard the name Dusk Storm. I just… I just wanted to see them.”
“We understand, son, you have to understand that…” Blue said.
“Dad, please, I don’t need to hear another lecture” Dusk replied. “What’s done it’s done. It’s not like I can go back in time and prevent myself from going to the party.”
“We know that, but…” Twilight started. “Look, Dusk, we’re doing everything we can to solve this. We just need…”
“More time?” Dusk asked. “That’s what you have been saying my entire life. I’m about to make thirteen and I’m going to celebrate without my brother and sisters. You can’t possibly blame me for want to see them.”
And Dusk passed by them and headed inside the beach house. Twilight sighed and said:
“And now he’s mad at us. We can’t really blame him. We still didn’t find the cure.”
Blue placed his hoof over his wife’s shoulder and then turned her face towards his, telling her:
“But we will. You need to have hope, Twily. You’ll see. We’ll fix this mess and, once we do that, our family will be completed.”
Those words caused Twilight to smile and then hug Blue, saying then:
“I hope you’re right, Blue. I really do.”