Starfall moved through the corridors like a shadow, passing by the guards without being detected. The corridors themselves were pitch black from the lack of lighting. But that was exactly what Starfall needed. Entering the dark corridors, the prince's eyes adjusted to the pitch black and his eyes changed from sky blue to a predatory yellow color that gave off a warm glow in the darkness.
Being in constant watch his entire life by several guards watching his every move back home, the prince had a lot of practice to sneak past the unsuspecting guards."If it wasn't for these blasted undeveloped wings, I would have been simply able to fly from my window..Oh well, guess that would take the fun of it" Starfall grinned mischievously. As much as he respects and loves his mother he felt imprisoned by the constant escorting of guards and rules that he had to follow.
"Now all I need to do is get-" As he mumbled to himself he ran into princess Skyla who was awake..
"Starfall?" The young filly gazed wide-eyed to see the young prince clinging to the shadow."What are you doing?"
Starfall used his magic to grab his friend into the darkness to let a guard pass by."Shh" he held her muzzle so she wouldn't be able to scream. After the guard had passed by he let go off her."Don't talk too loud."
"Why.- W-what are you doing?" Skyla asked again hoping to get an answer.
"I'm on my way to the local library, there should be something written about.-" The young prince hesitated before continuing."-my father... every time I ask my aunts or mother they just say that they will tell me when I'm old enough. Today when I saw the statue of my ancestor, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I need to know more about my father and ancestors. Promise me that you won’t tell my mother!"
“Hmm...” She said, purposely toying with the poor boy."Fine.I promise I won't tell your mom about you sneaking out, under one condition!"
"What is it?"
"I get to come along!"
The young prince sighed. He didn’t have a choice. "Alright then, Stick close to me and try not make much noise." Skyla squealed with contained excitement, sneaking out was something she had never done before because she couldn't get past the guards by the main staircase. She followed along her friend who was clinging to every corner he could find. If there was one thing the son of the night was good at, it was finding his beloved darkness.
"Hmm..two guards by the main staircase...we need some sort of distraction.." The prince looked down at the young filly who was wearing the Sky diamond necklace which he gave her a couple of hours ago."I could use your necklace to grab their attention."
Skyla grabbed hold of her necklace in fear for her precious gift which started to glow faintly."But it might break if you throw it." Skyla said saddened, she really did like her birthday gift.
"Don't worry. That diamond is harder than dragon bone, I promise it won't even get a scratch, you can ask it back from the guard later so you will have it returned to you." Skyla looked over the boy, ashamed of him for asking her such a thing. But she did want to get out. Reluctantly, she carefully took off the diamond attached to her necklace and gave it to Starfall. "Get ready!" Starfall threw the glowing diamond against the crystal wall up ahead making a large cracking noise against the crystal wall.
"Who goes there!?" The two guards rose up and slowly approached the location where Starfall threw the diamond. As the guards literally went past him by an inch, he quickly picked up the little filly so her hooves wouldn't make any sound. He carefully went down the stairs and was finally outside.
The cold breeze of the night rejuvenated him and the angelic glow of the moon shining down on him strengthened and empowered him."Starfall, could you please put me down?" Skyla said still in the arms of the young prince.
"Sorry!" Starfall sheepishly smile as he was enjoying the night too much."Let’s keep moving, the hard part is over." The duo made their way towards where Starfall would finally get his answers about his ancestor and where he comes from. Skyla was curious about his motivations, she did not understand why he wanted to find out about his ancestor so much.
"Starfall, why are you so obsessed with finding out about the crystal king?" Skyla asked as she was walking alongside the young human.
Starfall was a little taken back by the question."I don't have the privilege of having both my father and my mother. I don't even have the privilege to know who or what exactly I am..I'm clearly not a pony, neither was my father. The only thing I know about my race is that I am a human.” He grimaced as his voice dropped. “The only one of my kind.."
Skyla stopped walking, not expecting him to be so..lonely.. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.-" But her young friend had turned to the ground, his mind filled with the fantasy of others like himself.
"Do not pity me, Skyla. Who knows, my ignorance may be bliss." Starfall said, coldly staring at the path below him.
Skyla stayed silent for a moment, staring at the boy, trying to figure out why he had such a grim outlook. "Why would you say something like that?" Skyla asked the young human.
Starfall shrugged "If all my loved ones are keeping from me the arguably most important information about who I am and what I am, they most likely have their reasons. My mother and my aunts are no fools, they would most likely try to hide something from me if it wasn’t...Child friendly.."
Skyla stopped dead when she realized what the boy meant."You mean..He was a bad guy like Sombra?"
Starfall stopped as Skyla mentioned the fallen prince. He didn't consider the thought that his father might have been...A Disgrace. Above them, the biggest library in Equestria stood tall and proud, blocking out the moon. "We're about to find out" He responded ominously.
The Crystal Library was used the previous year in nightmare night. Around the library, lay four ponies with ghost sheets over themselves. The fillies were told to go on a ghost hunt and record the positions of the ghosts on their notepads. They all came back with seven-nine places. The royal pair were unaware of this story, but were frightened never the less upon entry.
They entered the crystal library, which was pitch black. Only the young prince’s eyes shone out in the looming darkness. Skyla was starting to get scared from the dark and badly lit library which looked completely deserted."Hello? Anypony there?" Skyla asked out loud which made the library echo in lifeless manner. Skyla was scared by the empty library. Skyla gulped before pulling her friends black pants to attract his attention "Eh, Starfall I guess nopony is home..Maybe we should go back to the castle." She said getting more and more nervous and frightened.
The prince rolled his eyes in annoyance from his friend’s laughable fear of the darkness. "I do not understand your need for fear towards the dark. You're just like any other of our subjects who shun the darkness and embrace the light.” In the quiet, Starfall could hear Skyla’s quickened breathing and shivering. “Get a hold of yourself, with the day gone, I have a measurable amount of power to defend you from any..Monsters" The prince said like he was giving up his pride to finish the sentence. "Do not worry Skyla, I'll be here to protect you." Starfall said forcing a fake smile to comfort his friends fears.
Skyla felt reassured from the young prince’s heroic little speech. "Okay Starfall." She beamed up.
"What are you two doing here!?" A loud granny like voice came up from behind us. Skyla jumped in in terror and ran out of the library before Starfall could stop her.
"For Celestia's sake!" Starfall groaned as his friend ran away. he turned around to see a medium old mare with glasses and a scroll as a cutie mark. "I presume you are the librarian?"
The librarian was shocked to see the crystal king in her humble library."Crystal king! Forgive me I didn't see you there." She kneeled down in both fear and respect.
"There is no need for such formalities. I am simply here because I am in need of your assistance." The prince lifted the kneeling librarian's hoof to get her to stand up properly. "Tell me librarian, what is your name?" Starfall asked with a fake smile to make her feel more comfortable.
"Agatha, your highness." The librarian was still a bit nervous around the crystal king."Em, beg your pardon your highness, but what can my humble library do for you?" Agatha asked with a friendly smile.
"I have come here to ask if you have any books on humans and any other information regarding my bloodline."
The librarian looked a bit disconcerted. "I'm sorry but there are no books about humans or your ancestor, King sombra burned all books that had to do with his father or humans." Starfalled groaned at the constant persistence off having his origins kept from him. Agatha could sense the prince annoyance. She knew that Starfall most likely never met his father and knows nothing about where he comes from and exactly what he is. She pitied him, deciding to do whatever she could to help the poor thing. "Forgive me Crystal king, though while I may not have the books themselves but I could tell you to my knowledge about humans and your ancestor in my own experience."
The prince looked back at the librarian with a joyful smile."Tell me!" He ordered her.
"Please have a seat and I'll explain everything I know about humans and your ancestor. but I warn you, this is not something a child should hear." The prince ignored the warning and sat down by the reception chair and eagerly waited for the librarian to tell him
The librarian cleared her throat before speaking. "Two thousand years ago, Equestria was under control by the draconequus Discord. He terrorized the ponies into disharmony and chaos. One day he summoned creatures from another world called humans. They were big bipedal creatures wielding swords and wearing thick armor. The humans willingly served under Discord and did every terrible thing he asked of them...The humans-” Agatha took a moment before continuing telling the story."-The humans...Slayed several hundreds of gryphons,ponies,cows,buffalos and drove the dragon population to a near extinction."
The prince gazed wide-eyed at the old mare, shocked to hear that his kind were bloodthirsty brutes. He didn't understand how someone could commit such atrocities. As much as the prince tried to compose himself he was a bit shocked over that his kind was responsible for such..Horrors. "But this is where your ancestor Alexander comes in. Working alongside the princesses Alexander turned his former warriors against Discord. And with their help, the princesses brought an end to Discord evil by turning him into stone and finally restore harmony and order to the land. " Starfall beamed, his kind had redeemed themselves."But not all stories have their happy endings. After a month. the humans were back on their aggressive campaign, killing any magical creature they could find." The prince’s frown returned, his kind once again proving themselves to be monstrosities. The librarian suddenly stopped talking and looked shocked as what was behind the prince.
"STARFALL!" A frustrated motherly voice yelled out. Before the prince could react a bright flash teleported the prince back to the castle.
Skyla ran out of the library as fast as she could. As she was outside one of the night guards who was passing by saw her. "Princess Skyla?" The guard looked completely confused as what the young filly was doing so far from the castle at this hour."What are you doing here?" The guard quickly went over to her.
The filly however just stood there quietly."Princess are you hurt? did something happen?" The guard asked wondering why she wasn't answering his previous question.
"No I'm fine." She said looking down in shame.
"I don’t know what you are doing out here this late but I'm taking you back to your mother."
"Skyla, What were you doing this late outside!?" Cadence gave her daughter the most disapproving of glares, of which Skyla fearfully turned away from."You know that you aren't allowed to go outside this late. Why would you scare me like that?" Skyla began to sniffle. Then came the tears. Cadence picked up on the filly's crying. She sighed heavily, then knelt down to hug her daughter. "I'm sorry I yelled at you Sweetie, but you need to understand that you scared me when I found out that you snuck out out in the middle of the night."
Skyla wiped her tears from her eyes."I'm sorry mom, I.-" Skyla stopped as she remembered that she had promised not to tattle on Starfall.
Just then Princess Luna came in the throne room. "What is the meaning of this commotion?" Luna asked looking at the three royal ponies.
"Flash sentry found Skyla randomly wandering through the streets at this late hour." Cadence said turning towards her aunt. But then she remember a question she had forgotten to ask. "What were you doing outside this late anyways?" Cadence asked turning her attention back on her daughter.
Before Skyla could speak, Captain Vigile came running to Luna with a shocked look. "Your highness, Starfall is gone!" Vigile said out of breath.
Luna widened her eyes in shock and fear. "Gone? What do you mean gone?" She asked the terrified guard.
"I came to see if he had woken up by now and when I opened the door I saw that his boots along with him are gone, Most likely. He has escaped again."
Luna groaned in annoyance from her sons constant rebellious attitude and Cadence looked at her daughter knowing she knew something about his disappearance."Skyla" Cadence said sternly."Do you know where Starfall is?" She asked full knowingly that her daughter was involved somehow.
"I...I.- I can’t say!" Skyla said to her mother."I promise I wouldn't tattle on him. Breaking a friends trust is the fastest way to lose a friend." Skyla said standing up to her mother.
"FOREVER!" Pinkie pie appeared out of plant next to the door. Cadence and Luna were a bit confused over the sudden weird encounter with Pinkie pie but quickly focused their attention back on Skyla.
"Skyla, If you don’t tell me where he is I won't bring him back to the Crystal empire again." Luna said harshly to the young filly. Skyla was tearing up from the choice she had been given, She promised Starfall that she wouldn't tell where he was. But if she wouldn't she would most likely wouldn't see him for a long time."Well, what is it going to be?" Luna asked sternly.
Skyla was beaten,"He....He is in the library.." Cadence hugged her daughter as she broke her promise. In a flash Luna disappeared knowing exactly where he was. Cadence spoke tenderly to her daughter; “There there, sweetie. You know it was the right thing to do...”
"-They could find.-" The librarian stopped as she saw Princess Luna standing behind her son.
"STARFALL!" Luna shouted angrily at her son before he could turn around to see who it was, Starfall was teleported out of the library.
The sudden bright light from the teleportation burned Starfalls nocturnal eyes. "AOW!" He covered his eyes from the bright room. As his eyes adjusted to the light and his eyes turned back to his beautiful blue eyes, he saw that he was standing in front of Vigile and Luna. "Mother?" He then realised he was back in the castle."Oh for bucks sake!" He yelled out in frustration.
"Starfall! Watch your language! You young man are in deep trouble."
"I was so close! I was so close to finally find out about humans and my ancestor.-"
"Enough Starfall!" Luna shouted, but to no avail.
"NO! I finally could have learned about where I come from and who I am and then you show up and steal it from me, what gives you the right to deny me finding out who I am!?" His sky blue eyes teared up from his disappointment in his mother to let him learn about his kind.
Luna was a bit stunned by her sons tantrum, he had never been this angry at her.But she was still his mother, and had to do everything she could to keep him safe. "I am your mother, I did this to-"
Starfall hit his back on the wall as he glided down on the ground. "WHY!? Why did you do this to me?" He tried to cover his tears with his sleeve. Luna was just shocked at how hard he is dealing with it. Obviously it meant alot to him, but it was such a burden for her to keep him from finding out about himself..But she had promised Crimson that she would keep knowledge about him and his kind from his son until he is old enough.
The prince stood up again, wiping his tears off his face and made his way out of the throne room.
"Starfall I’m.-" Before she could apologize Starfall had slipped into a darkened corner of the hall way. "Sorry..." Luna was heartbroken, tears were slithering out of her eyes. It was destroying him as much as it was destroying her to keep the knowledge about his father and species.
Dancing from one shadow to another the prince was Not in a good mood as he came to the room he was sleeping in, Shining Armor was standing outside his door."You!" Shining armor walked up to the young prince and grabbed him by his shirt, pushing him towards the wall. "If you ever come close to my daughter again I'll-"
Shining armor was suddenly grabbed by the his shoulder and was thrown against the same wall that he was pushing Starfall just a second ago. Starfall's eyes were switching colors from a yellow ember to crimson red..Cracking the crystal wall that Shining armor was pushed up against he was lifted up from the ground and his hooves were hovering in the air. Before he could speak or utter a word he was thrown to the side. "Get out of my way!". He spoke in a dark voice almost as menacing as his fathers. Shining armor was shocked by the young humans strength...
“Starfall?” a voice from the hall came in horror.
Starfall switched his blood red eyes to his predatory ember eyes to see who spoke. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he saw princess Cadence and princess Skyla.”Don't talk to me!” He said harshly to the princesses.
Skyla’s Sky diamond was glowing intently, she was crying. ”I'm so sorry I broke my promise.” She stepped closer hoping that Starfall would forgive her. Cadence watching everything from standing next to Shining armor who was observing something that was going to his favor.
Starfall didn't answer and just opened the door to his room and slammed it shut. As he closed the door he just glided down on the ground while trying to die down the horrible feeling of being betrayed and robbed. The prince covered his face with his hand as he asked himself.
“Why...”