//------------------------------// // Ch 28: Disguises // Story: Out of the Darkness // by SergeantShenanigans //------------------------------// When Star woke up he found himself in a white room, he was lying in a bed with a blanket pulled up to his neck, he also noted that he did not have his cloak on for some reason. Upon further inspection around the room he saw that there was a single window to his left, it had turquoise curtains. "Where am I and why am I here?" he thought to himself After a few more moments he heard some crying and a few sets of hooves moving towards the door on the far end of the room. When it opened he saw Celestia, Twilight, Luna and a doctor walk in. When they saw him awake he was immediately embraced by the three ponies "Wait, what happened?" he asked "We were leaving the castle after you gave us the gifts and you suddenly fell unconscious, we waited a few minutes but you didn't get up so we brought you here, when we scanned your brain there was no response, the doctor told us that you were in a coma that you wouldn't likely wake up from" Twilight explained with a sniffle "How long was I out?" he asked "About two days" she answered "You all shouldn't have worried this much, I was just having an extended flashback-type experience, I usually black out when I have flashbacks anyway. Though this was different, it wasn't as much a flashback, I actually felt like I was there, as if I was reliving the experiences first hand" he explained "What did you remember?" Celestia asked "I lived through the time when I started to be Starswirl's apprentice to the point where we saw in the memory we all saw, but it skipped around a lot, mostly only showing big events or memories" he answered "What caused this?" Luna asked "He was slowly and gradually regaining his memories, but because of my interference I think that the memories had a sort of back up, kind of like when a dam is built in front of a river, and when it was taken away, the memories all came flooding back, though I don't know why it took this long to affect him" Celestia guessed Star got up from the bed "So where are the others?" he asked "Only three ponies are allowed to visit at one time" The doctor answered "I guess that makes sense, now, I have to ask, where is my cloak?" Star inquired "I will fetch it for you" the doctor said leaving the room This left Star alone with Twilight, Celestia, and Luna who were all inspecting the scars across his body. Suddenly Celestia's expression turned to one of concern and sadness "What's wrong?" he asked Her face immediately changed to one of reassurance "Nothing" she said giving him an empty smile The doctor then entered the room and gave Star his cloak "May I have a word with you?" he asked "Sure" Star agreed The doctor pulled him to the side and out of hearing range of the other three ponies "I would like to know what happened to your body, I have never seen such extensive damage done to a body that has survived, you are literally a medical marvel, what happened to you?" Star thought about this for a moment "I honestly don't know, but if I find out, then I might tell you about it" With that Star left with the other three ponies and were greeted by his other 6 friends in a waiting room just outside, he was immediately given a warm embrace by each of his other friends much like he was by his mother, aunt and Twilight "We thought we weren't ever gonna see you again" Pinkie said with a sniffle "Really girls, it isn't that big of a deal, it's the exact same thing that was happening when I was having the flashbacks, though this was a lot longer than last time" he reassured them "This WAS a lot longer than usual, why was this one different?" Rarity asked Celestia explained her theory which received a few nods of understanding, she also explained how he had literally relived his memories that he had remembered. Upon hearing this both Fluttershy and Pinkie gasped "But doesn't that mean-" Pinkie started but was stopped by Celestia who put a hoof in her mouth "We will have to wait and see, we will discuss it when and if it ever happens, preferably not" she said hopefully "Wait, what?" Star asked with a questioning look, which was followed by the other ponies in the room giving them a questioning look also "Nothing you need to concern yourselves with" Celestia said in reassurance With that they all left the hospital and made their way back to the castle. Although it had only been a flashback that had made him pass out, his friends refused to leave until they confirmed that he was going to be alright. With that it was agreed by everypony but Star that they all would be staying in the castle for another week to keep an eye on him and his health. No matter how much he protested about this saying that they all had responsibilities of their own and that if they stayed here they would be shunning them. They, however, had taken care of all of that already though, Applejack was having Caramel help around the farm while she was gone, Pinkie could take a few days off, the Cakes only really needed her around when they weren't going to be at the shop for longer than a day, Fluttershy was having Derpy take care of the animals, Rainbow was high up on the weather team and didn't particularly have to be there unless there was going to be a major storm or something of the sort, Rarity was a self-made pony so she didn't need to do anything besides take care of Opal, who would be staying at Fluttershy's along with the other ponies pets besides Winona and Twilight was going to have Lyra watch the library while she was gone. On the first day they didn't really do anything, most of the time was spent with everypony around him watching his every move just in case, it was very awkward when he had to use the restroom, especially when Pinkie kept asking "Are you okay in there? Are you done? Do you need any help?" although they were innocent questions it was still awkward for him. After the first day he wasn't watched as closely as before, though they all still tried to keep a semi-close eye on him. Near the end of the day he was trying to find his way to the kitchen to fetch himself a glass of water. Of course he could always ask one of the many servant ponies if they would get him one, but he wanted to get one for himself. Obviously he got lost, not knowing the castle very well and it being so large helped with that. Just as he was starting to give up he passed a room that he heard voices coming out of, he would have dismissed it if he hadn't heard his name mentioned. He put his head against the door and listened in, he could make out the voice of Luna, though who she was speaking to was a mystery "I think that it would be a good idea, both for his self-esteem and so you both can be seen together in public without ponies seeing it as a scandal of some sort" He then heard a voice he recognized as Celestia's respond "I guess you are right, I do not wish to have to hide to act like a mother to him" "Then we can tell him tomorrow" Luna agreed "Or now, I would wait, but I am curious" Star said entering the room The room looked like any generic bedroom in the castle, but most of everything was decorated with a bright sun on it. "Or now, now works" Luna agreed Celestia sighed "How long were you listening?" she asked "When Luna said that it would be a good idea, but I don't know what "it" is" he answered "Luna suggested that it might be a good idea to show you to the public and officially announce you to Equestria" she explained "I don't really know how to feel about that, but I will agree to it, on two conditions, firstly, I would like a way to change my appearance so ponies cannot tell my current condition, this leads into my second condition, I would like to stay as Midnight Star in Ponyville, I have seen the way ponies act around you and nopony will treat me equally besides my friends if they know that I am royalty. That and I don't like attention or large groups of ponies, I would attract a lot of it if everypony knew who I was at all times" he listed "Alright, but if you get those conditions then I get mine, firstly, I will see about your appearance, but short of illusionary magic, we cannot do much, we will be able to salvage your horn, seeing as it has happened to unicorns before we found a solution to that, but it can only be regrown, and we can only speed up the process, luckily you were preserved in your current state, you aren't very old physically and it will grow back with ease. The scars can be hidden by illusionary magic, but as for your wings, I am not sure that we will be able to regrow them, I am sorry. Secondly, I will publicly address you by your proper name, not just Star, you will be known as Starlight Sky. Thirdly and lastly, I reserve the right to call you embarrassing mother-type nicknames at all times, such as "Sweetie" or "Starry" or "Honey", I will probably only use them in large groups or crowds for full effect" she countered "Why?" he asked incredulously A large grin grew on her face "Because it will amuse me" she said rubbing her hooves together playfully "Deal, now that this is done with, I am going to continue my exploration of the castle until I find the kitchen" he said walking back towards the door "The kitchen was right by your room; when you left did you take a right or a left?" Luna asked "….. A right" he said reluctantly "The kitchen was on the door to your left right as you leave your room….." she explained with a smile that now matched her sisters "Time to explore until I find my way back then" he said with a shrug "Why don't you just have a guard pony lead you there?" Celestia suggested "Nooooooooooooo" Star said defiantly while running out of the room towards the way he came Sure enough when he got back to his room there was another door to its left with a small circular window at the top. When he walked in he saw the immense kitchen, it looked like at least 40 ponies at the least worked there. After getting his water he went off to bed. The next morning he opened his eyes and all he saw was red and orange, when he moved colors flew away from his eyes , allowing him to get a better look. He saw that what had been resting on his head was a phoenix, and it looked like it was just going into its second out of six stages of life. The first was its prime of youth, it was graceful and amazing, in the second stage, it wasn't quite as bright with all of its colors, in the third stage it lost almost all color in a lot of its feathers, then in the fourth and fifth stages it lost all of its feathers and died, then the sixth stage was rebirth, thus beginning the cycle again. He admired the phoenix for a moment before a thought came to his mind "Wait, how do I know that?" Star pondered the thought for a few minutes until the phoenix in question got impatient and slightly nudged its beak at him "What do you want?" he asked The phoenix was holding a scroll in its talons; he took the note and started to read it Dear Star, I have sent Philomena to give you this scroll in the early morning, it is about 8 when you should receive this letter, as for what we spoke about last night, the only day that I think would be appropriate for it would be tomorrow, during the end of winter celebration, this event is held because we don't have an official Hearth's Warming day or eve celebration, short of the play. I will be busy today with preparation for tomorrow, but you have quite a bit of stuff you need to take care of. Firstly, Zecora is sending a potion that she said will help regrow your horn, she also, to my relief, said it will probably only take till tomorrow to grow back, it is amazing what kind of concoctions she can make with those plants she finds. Secondly, you must meet Twilight in the library, she is going to attempt some illusionary magic to make it appear that you have wings and no more scars, of course these wings will not function, but they will appear as though they do. Lastly, you need to get used to not wearing your cloak at all times, I have informed the guards and servants of who you are, they were skeptical but they understand, so don't worry about being kicked out of the castle for no reason. I will see you when I return this evening, until then, good luck and I hope we get to spend some more time together. Your loving mother, Celestia P.S. The phoenix is Philomena, as I stated in the beginning of this letter, you probably don't remember her though, when you last saw her she was but a hatchling. After reading over the scroll he smiled, he would probably get to spend time with his mother, AND he was going to get his horn back, today was already off to a great start for him. Getting out of his bed he took off his cloak as he had been instructed "I feel naked without it. Wait….. ponies are always naked, so I guess it doesn't matter" Before he left his room something caught his eye in the mirror on the wall, upon closer inspection he saw that he had a cutie mark, surprisingly enough, it was of a sun, it looked similar to Celestia's, but it was colored differently, it was a blue that looked the hue of the night sky, it was also full of what looked to be stars "How appropriate, I am the son of Celestia and Starswirl, my Cutiemark is a sun with stars in it" he thought ironically With that, he left his room to find Twilight, it didn't take that long though, she was in the place he was most likely to find her in, the library. When he finally arrived there she was reading a book that he couldn't see the title to "Hey Twilight" he greeted She looked up from her book momentarily, upon seeing him her expression flickered from concentrated to something else for a moment, he couldn't tell what it was because it was gone to fast to identify, she then stuck her head back into her book, hiding her face "Hey Star, I guess the princess sent you here about that illusion spell?" she asked "Actually yes" he confirmed "Great, now let's get started" she said closing her book With that one line being uttered she immediately started to attempt making him appear unscathed. Though, as most science goes, 99% trial and error, after about 4 hours of trying to change his appearance she had managed to hide a few of his scars, but she did not practice illusionary magic very often, so she was having some trouble in the category. But along with the good of hiding a few of his scars came a price, she turned him various different colors and made his scars on more than one occasion appear to be on fire. After those 4 hours they finally stopped and decided to take a break and get some lunch. When they got to the dining hall they were joined by their other friends and Princess Luna, but not Celestia "My sister will unfortunately not be joining us, she is busy planning for the celebration" she explained With that they ate a very quiet meal, not out of awkwardness of anything, but because nopony had anything to say. After they all finished eating Twilight and Star got back to the library and started to work once again on trying to change his appearance to be unscathed. Luckily for them Twilight finally figured out how to hide his scars with no side effects, but then they were presented with the problem of trying to make him some fake wings that would look relatively realistic, she had only once made fake wings for somepony, and those had been butterfly wings, she had never tried to make actual realistic pegasus wings before. That is what the rest of his day consisted of, both him and Twilight trying to find a way to give him some realistic wings for the next day, but they failed. Finally after a few more hours of trying Luna came in carrying with her magic, a small vial that was the color of the sky "I come bearing the gift of horn regrowth!" she said happily before giving it to Star He took it gratefully but looked at it reluctantly "Now or never I suppose" He then drank the vial of sky blue liquid expecting it to taste disgusting, but on the contrary it tasted like blueberries "Well, now we wait until tomorrow" he said "Well I guess that I will see you tomorrow then" Luna said walking back the way she came "Wait, could you help us with something first?" Twilight asked "It depends on what I will be helping with" Luna said curiously "We are having problems trying to make the illusion of Star having wings; maybe you could give it a try?" Twilight asked hopefully "Hmmm….. I haven't really tried very much illusionary magic since I have been back, but I will give it a try, let me see that spell tome- err I mean book" Luna said gesturing to the book being levitated just to the side of Twilight With that in mind the rest of the day was filled with both Twilight and Luna attempting to give him realistic looking wings. After a while they started to get an actual wing to take shape, but it didn't usually turn out very well. Usually one of them would just look disfigured or damaged, other times it would look like some other type of creatures wings, and even once, he was given a very large pair of bat wings, to which Star loudly proclaimed "I am Batcolt!" This caused the other two ponies to laugh very loudly and very hard. After their laughter died down Twilight asked where he had heard of Batcolt, to which Star simply replied that he read it in one of the books in the library. Besides this slight distraction, they kept at trying to give him realistic wings until finally, after about a thousand tries, they got him a pair of realistic alicorn wings, they were larger than an average pegasus's wings, but not quite as large as Celestia's, which made them fit him perfectly. "Now for the last touch" Twilight said with her horn glowing Star anticipated feeling something else on him change, but nothing happened "What did you change?" he asked "Your eye color, now they are a very bright silver, instead of the slight green invading it" she explained With all of that taken care of the rest of Star's day consisted of him just walking around the castle doing nothing of interest, Celestia never showed up that evening so he would not see her until the next day. The next morning he woke up feeling very nervous, today was the day that he was presented to Equestria as Prince Starlight Sky, or he would probably just be called "The Prince" or "Prince Starlight" or even "Prince Sky" When he walked into the dining room all of the ponies in the room had their eyes on him and most of them had their jaws open in surprise "I see that your horn grew back in nicely" Celestia commented He took a nearby glass and looked at his reflection, even when it was being distorted it looked as if it had never been broken "Thanks" he said happily Upon sitting down he noticed that the other mares besides Celestia, Luna and Twilight, were still gaping at him "What? Is there something on my face?" he asked "Ya, a horn!" Pinkie said in surprise "Didn't Celestia tell you all? I am going to officially be announced as prince at the end of winter celebration, but I still wanted to be known as Midnight Star in Ponyville, so I can keep up an alternate personality and not have to deal with ponies treating me differently. So I asked if we could change my appearance for that and now, this is what Prince Starlight looks like, though I still have the scars and I still don't have wings, I do, however, have a horn now" he explained "Those wings are fake?" Rainbow said incredulously "Yes, we spent a lot of time perfecting them, and I think that they turned out great" Luna said triumphantly "Me too" Star agreed After that they all sat down to eat, for some reason he kept finding one of his friends or the other staring at him for a moment, but if he looked over at them they would turn their heads away immediately, so he dismissed it. After their breakfast everypony had their own reasons to dash off, mostly to get ready for the celebration. This just left Star alone to wander the castle again. He started down a hallway at random and just kept walking around, he had no destination in mind and turned at a whim. After a few hours of wandering the castle he learned two things, firstly, never take cake from strange ponies that come out of dark rooms, he didn't eat the cake after the room disappeared, though he had no idea why the pony had given him cake. Secondly the castle is too big to try and play hide and seek in, it took an entire search team to finally find Pinkie. Just as he decided to find a book to read in the library a scroll appeared in front of him, picking it up he read Dear Star, The guests will be arriving shortly, I will introduce you when everypony gets here, so until then you will be free to wear your cloak and hide your appearance, enjoy the celebration. Your loving mother, Celestia He simply shrugged and found his way back to his room. After retrieving his cloak he put it on and found his way to the ballroom where it would be held. When he walked in there were a lot of ponies that had already arrived, while a few of them gave him passing glances almost nopony paid him any attention, which he appreciated. He decided to find his way to the snack table and just stay there; he didn't have anything else to do. When he got there he poured himself some punch from a bowl, he was about to drink it when he heard somepony calling his name, turning around he saw Pinkie calling his name from across the ball room. He shrugged and made his way towards her, while he was weaving through the crowds of ponies he accidentally bumped into somepony and spilled his punch on them "Sorry" he apologized "What is wrong with you? I have half a mind to- oh, it's you" the pony who he recognized as Blueblood said in disgust "Hey Blueblood, how's working at the hotel?" he asked cheerfully This caused a few ponies within hearing range to laugh "Don't you dare speak of that! I am Prince Blueblood and I don't have to take such acts or words of arrogance from some common pony! You mark my words, you have just made me as an enemy, and having royalty as an enemy is not a good thing!" he said in rage "Okay" he said simply, which caused Blueblood to get an even more furious look on his face before Star turned away and made his way over to his friend. When he got there he was greeted by Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity "Hey girls" he greeted "So, how do you feel, prince?" Rarity asked playfully "Proud, I just made my first royal enemy, I accidentally spilled some punch on Blueblood, he didn't seem to happy" he said in a cheerful tone This caused Pinkie to burst out laughing, while Fluttershy let out a small squeak of a laugh and Rarity had her hoof over her mouth trying to stop herself from laughing. Before they could continue their conversation, it was interrupted by Celestia "Quiet down my little ponies, I have an announcement to make" After hearing her they all immediately shut up "This celebration is being held for two reasons, the first you all know is to celebrate the end of winter, but the second is for something much less known, I have recently found a long lost family member of mine, he has been gone for over a thousand years, even longer than Luna was" Before she could continue everypony started to speak to each other in curious whispers "Settle down my little ponies, I am going to tell you all who he is" Once the crowd finally died down she continued "The pony I am going to introduce is actually my son-" Again Celestia was interrupted by excited and hushed whispers from the crowd "Please quiet down" Immediately everypony shut up again and listened intently. She turned to Star from where he was in the crowd "Come introduce yourself son" she said with an encouraging smile With that in mind, he made his way up to Celestia at the front of the crowds of ponies.