//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 Cold Shoulder // Story: A Prince's Journey // by Frosthowl //------------------------------// The prince was sitting in his room reading his compendium that he'd been given by Twilight while the own clock above him was persistently ticking. It’s been two months after what happened in the crystal empire and the young prince was still heartbroken over his friends betrayal. The book he held was boring him, as he gazed distantly at the pages his mind kept filling with derogatory thoughts about the treacherous filly, and her behavior the day after her betrayal... The majestic sun rose over the Crystal empire reflecting a bright beam of rainbow colors off the crystals. The young prince sighed as his magical powers diminished next to nothing and his mysterious strength vanished along with it. The doors opened and there stood a white pegasus clad in his plated armor."I'm ready to leave." Starfall stated. The pegasus just nodded letting him pass."We will eat a quick breakfast before departing." Starfall rolled his eyes, he knew that he would have to confront Skyla and Shining armor again."Let’s just get this over with." the prince sighed and tiredly walked to the guard, dreading the day ahead. The dinner table was single handedly the most awkward moment of the young prince life. While everyone was eating their breakfast, the prince was eating his dinner. Most ponies were uncomfortable with him eating certain pieces of chicken in front of them. Captain Vigile was sitting next to the Starfall, while Starfall was eating his weekly meat, Shining armor was glaring at him for what happened yesterday but Starfall threw a death stare back to make the fake prince mind his own business. Skyla was also staring at the prince but more out of sadness then loathing. Everyone in the room shared glances at each other. Like they had expected it was the most awkward breakfast they'd ever been a part of. Twilight tried to break the ice by trying to start off a conversation. "Sooo...Starfall, I'm curious about how your nocturnal habits work?" Everyone looked at Starfall. He was contemplating jumping out of the balcony from the attention he was getting. Starfall sighed before answering. "I have a inner clock that is telling me when to be awake and when to be asleep. And because my mother is the princess of the night I've been given certain..Advantages" All the ponies were lookíng at Starfall with genuine curiosity. “First I wouldn't be nocturnal if I couldn't see in the dark.-" "Wow,Thats so cool!" Rainbow dash yelled out a bit impressed by the prince's special talents. "How exactly does that work?" Starfall smiled up at his aunts interest in his abilities. "Well, My eyes first switch color..Like this." Starfall's eye color went from a beautiful sky blue into a predatory ember yellow. He instantly protected his eyes from the bright lighted room. "As you see, it comes with its own little weakness." Starfall switched his eyes back to his sky blue ones. "All darkness and shadows become...How should I say this, more see through and All lights become more intensified at the point of blinding me." Vigile gave the young boy a supporting smile. "Sounds like something the royal guards could use, Celestia knows how hard it is for us guards to stay awake all night while standing in pitch black corridors." The captain gave the young prince a friendly nudge. Starfall smiled up from the complement. "Lets see what other things can I do..?" He pondered to himself. "-My magic and physical strength is considerably more powerful, almost equal to my mother, but when the sun rises I lose it all until it sets." Twilight was fascinated by how Starfall's magic worked..She had never seen or heard anything like it before. "And your strength?" Twilight asked. "I don't know exactly..But I am able to lift my bed without any problems.." all his aunts were quiet as they heard that he shared strength very similar to Alexander and his father. As Captain Vigile and Prince Starfall made their way out of the castle they were stopped by a young feminine voice. "Wait, Starfall!" Starfall stopped when he knew exactly who it was. The prince turned around and saw Skyla with her glowing necklace. "What do You want?" He said with a very hostile tone towards the pink unicorn. Skyla was at the point of crying...Her necklace was glowing intensely. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have told your mom where you were. But if I didn't they wouldn't let you come back which would have meant I wouldn't see you again." Skyla couldn't hold back the tears that were dripping down on the ground. "The choice was either we were gonna stay close friends but wouldn't be able to see each other, or I would come here regularly and despise you everytime I see you..." Vigile saw the harsh confrontation between Skyla and Starfall and couldnt get involved at the price at being yelled out himself. "Losing a friends trust is the fastest way of losing a friend, and today you just lost your only one." Pinkie pie randomly stuck her head out of the wall. "Forev-" "Silence!" Starfall yelled at the randomly appearing mare which he knew was going to show her face the moment he finished his sentence. Pinkie's serious look disappeared into a sad frown. "Ever.." His aunt quietly said with a sad tone and went back inside the wall which she randomly came out of. "Lets go Captain, I'm done here." Starfall took one last glance on the glowing necklace with a diamond heart before turning his back on the crying filly. As the ponies and the human went inside the train, Starfall immediately headed towards the royal booth which had a king sized bed and decent amount of room, but as prince started taking off his cloths he was interrupted by his mother. "Starfall?" Luna entered the room as her son was taking off his cloths. "I don't want to talk to you right now." He said struggling to remove the leather belt on his chest. Luna was saddened but more infuriated by her sons disrespectful attitude. "Starfall, you don't speak to your mother that way!" "Right now I can't seem to care, As you can see I'm undressing. The only creature in Equestria that has to put on cloths on a daily bases and I don't even know why." "I did not raise you to act like this!" Luna started to lose her patience with her persistent son. Starfall stopped messing around with his shoulder belt and turned around to face his mother eye to eye. "Yes you did! You brought me up to believe in the virtues of Honor, Tradition, Legacy and Respect!" His mother was taken back by her son's outburst. "And right now I am furious because I don’t know the traditions of my father. I am also furious because I don’t know why I am even wearing these blasted armbands!" Starfall ripped off the armbands that were attached to his arms and threw them to the side. "I don’t even know why I am the only one in the entire kingdom that has to wear clothes everyday, but for as long as I can remember I've worn clothes." He let his words sink in for a moment before. "So you are wrong! You did raise me like this. And by not telling me who I am, you are spitting in my fathers name, And thats why I am so enraged with you!” Luna was sobbing heavily by this point, her mouth was half open by the scowl she got from her own child.. "Surely you don’t hate your own mother..Do you?" She looked at her son just barely managing to hold back crying in front of him. Starfall stopped undressing himself as his mother spoke.."No..I do not hate you..You are my mother...And you will be respected, but right now." Starfall walked over to his mother."Right now I need to be left alone." He wrapped his arms and wings around his mother's neck in a comforting hug."I still love you mother." He gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. "I need to rest now, I'm tired and I'm hurt." Luna returned the kiss on her son’s forehead. "I know sweetie, I know." Starfall broke the hug and continued to undress. Luna made her way out of the royal booth and when she opened the door All the ponies including Celestia were caught listening in to their conversation. "Lulu, we were just..- Luna didn't care and just went past the ponies that were listening in to their conversation and sat down on the cushy sofa as she looked outside on the snowy planes that they were passing which took her mind into a state of deep thought. "You sure you don’t want to come along to the hearth's warming eve play? Come on it's your birthday and you wouldn't let us throw you a party. I don’t want you to spend your birthday in a library without any friends to keep you company!" Twilight asked hoping Starfall would reconsider. Starfall didn't even flinch a single muscle in his body. "I don’t need or have any use for friends." The prince said reading a compendium of magical levitation. "I have power, strength, intellect and royal blood. I think I'll be fine." Twilight Shook her head. "You sound just like me when I was asked by princess Celestia to prepare the summer solstice. I said that I don’t need or have any time for friends or socializing. But destiny proved me wrong and if it wasn't for my friends we wouldn't be able to stop Nightmare Moon." The prince rolled his eyes. "Oh the horrors of a world where night is the majority of the day." Starfall said sarcastically. "Besides, I am equally powerful as Nightmare moon and A lot stronger, I wouldn't need your elements of harmony in the first place aunty Twilight." Twilight was stunned by Starfalls pessimism towards the magic of friendship. "The point of friendship isn't power, Its a harmonious experience that can fill you with joy and happiness. If you don’t find any friends you'll miss out on one of the greatest things in life." The prince sighed, This discussion had become dull to him. "You mean like when somepony is courted?" He said knowing that it would tick her off. Twilight gave a doglike growl from her nephew's comment. "You know Starfall if you keep acting like this, no pony will want to be around you." Twilight looked angrily at the young prince. Starfall smiled mischievously. "Prince Foolblood is by far the most unpleasant pony I've ever meet. But mares still find their way to his bedchambers." Starfall couldn't help but to laugh maniacally. Twilight just groaned and slammed the door as she left to town hall."I really shouldn't make jokes like that, but her reaction was worth it." "Done.." Starfall finished reading the compendium of Levitation and shut the book. The prince stood up from the comfortable sofa and made his way out of the house. As he opened the door, it was dark outside and the street lamps of ponyville were shining very beautifully. "My favorite time of the year." He said with a warm smile as he scanned the snowy town. During the winter it was truly when night ruled over the world. the stars and the moon glowing a lot brighter and the days were shorter which meant that Starfall could be at his prime a lot more than he could during the summer. As Starfall started to border the edge of ponyville and coming closer to Fluttershy's cottage to share a cup of warming Green leaf tea while spending time with his favorite aunt, it got darker and darker. The prince decided his amber eyes would be needed for the moment as his regular eyes were giving in to the dark winter night. "Much better!" He stated as the dark winter night seemed to disappear. As he arrived to Fluttershy's cottage he saw her putting up a new bird feeder for the birds that didn't fly to the south. "Aunty!" The prince yelled making the pegasus stiff her wings and falling down on the snow. Starfall immediately ran over to help her up. "Aunty, I'm so sorry for scaring you." He lifted up the huddled pegasus from the mound of snow. She removed her hooves from covering her face and smiled up at the sight of the prince. "Oh, Starfall, Its just you." She said relieved to see her nephew."I was just putting up new bird feeders for the winter birds that stayed." "I noticed." He said looking down on the several nets of bird food."Let me help you with those." The prince used his newfound improved Levitation abilities to lift all the bird sacks on the trees."There you go." The prince gave his aunt a warm smile. "Now lets get out of this awful cold weather!" As Fluttershy was preparing the pot of tea for her guest, Starfall was sitting on the couch waiting for her aunt. "There, it should be done in a minute." Fluttershy said coming back with a plate of sweets and putting them on the table. She sat down next to the prince but not before quickly grabbing a chocolate chip cookie. Starfall looked at the empty cottage.."I came here because I was wondering how you were dealing With Angel bunny's-" he didn't finish the sentence, trying to be as gentle and sensitive as possible he let her pick up on the question. Fluttershy teared up a bit. "I'm fine..He lived a long and happy life, I've accepted his passing away.." Fluttershy wiping away her tears. Starfall was a bit stunned that she was taking it really well this quickly after his death. "Are you sure? Anypony would understand if you were still mourning." Starfall empathized with his aunt. She responded with a slow nod. "Aunty.." Starfall wrapped his wings around the yellow pegasus. "Its okay Aunty...Its okay.." Fluttershy, despite her being so timid, she did her best to hold back the tears but she could fight it back anymore. Starfall heard Fluttershy's sniffling. The tea pot started to screech as the hot water pressure was alerting that the pot was ready now. Fluttershy broke off the hug as she heard the screeching coming from the kitchen. "Just a moment!" She flied back to the kitchen to attend to the hot water. Starfall leaned a bit from the couch and peaked in the kitchen. Fluttershy was wiping off the tears in her face with her hooves, She quickly went back into pouring the hot water on two cups and put them on a platter and brought them to the living room. "Oh how could I forget that today its your birthday!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "Why aren't you at home and celebrating it?" Starfall picked up the cup from the plate and started carefully taking a few sips. "Who said I wasn't celebrating it?" He smiled at his aunt. "I'm having a delightful time just by sitting on a comfortable couch and sharing a cup of tea with my favorite aunt." Fluttershy blushed at being called his Favorite aunt. "Oh you're just too kind." She nuzzled Starfall in the cheek. "how are you doing in your studies?" She asked as she took a sip off her tea. "I've been doing rather exceptionally well, I've recently finished reading the compendium of levitation and healing." Fluttershy beamed up with a proud smile. "You're going to help so many ponies with your healing abilities." Starfall felt uplifted by Fluttershy's compliment. "I'll be now of assistance to your critter friends and the ponies in the hospital. Imagine how much suffering I could relieve everyone." Fluttershy couldn't be more prouder of her nephew, unlike his father Starfall had a belief in the sanctity of life. Her smile diminished for a short second as she still felt guilty for when Anthony fought the timber wolves the first time the ponies met him..He mercilessly killed an entire pack of timber wolves and didn't feel a single ounce of guilt about it and she returned the favor by using the stare on him and shouting at him after saving her friends. It's still shocking to see that her little human nephew was the polar opposite of his bloodthirsty father. Though Starfall was aware he was eating the flesh of an animal, he still felt guilty every time he ate. But Fluttershy understands that you can't change nature so she wont judge him for who he is. There was a thought on Fluttershy's mind. "Starfall, could I ask you a question..umm if its okay with you." "Yes aunty?" "I was thinking about what happened two months ago in the crystal empire...And I was wondering if you were still mad at your mother and Skyla?" Starfall didn't respond right away, the wound that his mother and Skyla had torn open hadn't fully healed yet. "I...I don't know..I don't know If I can forgive Skyla or my mother." He looked down in sadness. "I..I don't want to talk about it..Please let us drop the subject." Fluttershy felt a bit guilty that she had brought up this sensitive subject and simply nodded. Starfall finished eating his cupcake and third cup of tea. "Thank you for the tea and cupcakes aunty Fluttershy, but I really need to be going now before Twilight comes back from the hearths warming eve play." He stood up from couch and started to Put on his boots. Fluttershy flew over to the door and gave her nephew a warm hug. "It's alright. Thank you for keeping me company Starfall." She gave the prince a quick nuzzle on the cheek. Starfall opened the little cottage door. "Good night aunty Fluttershy." The prince switched his eye color from sky blue to amber yellow again and left his aunt's cottage while waving goodbye as he passed the little fence separating her cottage from ponyville public property. As he was about to cross the small bridge connecting Ponyville to the outskirts. The young prince senses picked up a high pitched howling coming from the forest and A louder howl. But was quickly responded with a monstrous roar.."RAAWWRR!" Starfall was stunned by the roar that came from the Everlife forest. "What in Equestria was that.." Starfall had never heard a roar like that..It sounded like shattering glass mixed with a manticores roar...that sounded like no animal I've ever seen or heard...What was it..? The prince thought to himself as his curiosity was swallowing his common sense. "I have to find out!”