A Star Pony Tale

by BlondeSky

Revelation

Author's Note:

So sorry about the late chapter! I'll be sure to have chapter 31 out tomorrow.

^_^ Enjoy, BlondeSky

Chapter 30

Revelation

Just as Kara had decreed it would be the event was an incredible amount of fun. While it started out a little slow as they tried to figure out what to do it soon kicked off. They kept themselves busy doing whatever they could which didn't allow very much time for chatting. The group did everything that they could for every second of the day so that they didn't waste a minute of the time. They were all quite tired from running around and playing games and whatever other nonsense that they had chosen to get up to when they finally crashed in Astro's room after having their dinner. It was the first time that they had taken the time to slow down and talk. Astro had memorized the time of the sunset and was counting down the minutes in her head.

The entirety of the trio was camping out on the floor. While Astro could have very well slept on the bed she opted not to and instead chose to sleep on the floor with her two friends. Laying next to her two tired out friends she felt very content with all that they'd done. "That was fun." she said finally breaking the silence.

"Heck yeah it was fun!" Kara agreed instantaneously as she grinned at her friend. She was still panting slightly from the events of the day.

"We really need to try and do this again some time." Spot commented.

"That'd be nice." Astro agreed even if she knew that would probably never happen.

"What time is it?" he asked curiously as he changed the subject.

"Just after 7:00pm." Astro answered promptly knowing that the time until the sunset was dwindling further and further.

"Cool." he answered thankful for the response.

"No problem." she replied with a smile.

"Yeah, anyways, what's with the sudden sleepover invite? Just curious." Kara queried.

"Oh, well I just sort of got the chance and jumped on it." Astro answered with a nonchalant shrug.

"Really?" Spot asked in confusion.

"Yeah. I was pretty excited when I found out and I didn't want to pass it up. I don't really know when another opportunity might come up though. I'm really glad that you two could be here at least." she replied honestly.

"Just like when we were younger." Kara reminded her.

"Yeah, I know." she replied.

"Good." Spot chimed in.

"Trust me, wouldn't have missed for the world." Kara promised her.

"Yeah, me neither." he agreed.

"Thanks, I appreciate it. I don't blame the others though. It was really short notice and since I haven't known them as long they don't… get it the way that you guys do." Astro told them.

"I told Diplo that he should really try to come, but I guess he just couldn't." he informed her.

"It was the same with Ink." she reassured him.

"It's whatever if you ask me. I mean we're here right." Kara responded with a shrug.

"Yeah, and I'm really grateful for that." she told them with sincerity. A content and companionable silence fell over the three of them for a minute as they simply enjoyed each other's presence.

In the end it was Spot who broke it saying, "Hey, you never got to show me your art stuff! Since we're already here, well, why not?"

"Oh, um, okay." she answered slightly nervously, "I mean, it is going to take a while, but I could try to show you something. If I were to just sketch it out first that wouldn't take as long."

"No! Do the whole thing! I mean who wants to sleep tonight anyways?" Kara said as she rolled her eyes. "I really want to see this!" she added as she smiled up at Astro.

"Well, okay then." she conceded as she went to go and get her stuff.

"Awesome!" she cried excitedly.

She grabbed her pencils and erasers as well as a piece of paper. She was slightly anxious due to the fact that she was going to have an audience and her work would most definitely run until long after the moon had risen. "So, uh, what do you want me to draw then?" she asked the two of them.

"Whatever you want to." Spot answered promptly.

"Yeah, surprise us!" Kara agreed excitedly.

"Okay, just give me a second to think." she told them as she tried to choose a scene to depict. Her thoughts wouldn't stop travelling towards the sudden glow that would fill the room once the sun had set. She channeled those thoughts onto the page as she started to sketch out her idea. Both of her friends sat behind her and looked on in curiosity at what had just started to form.

"What is it?" Kara questioned.

She considered telling them but in the end said, "You'll see."

Soon what had just been show and tell became something that she was excited to complete. The idea she had formed while pondering her dilemma was one that she very much enjoyed. As she drew her pencil across the page she wanted to see the finished result as well as her friends. They watched from behind as she worked quickly over the paper. For her however they weren't even there. She had practically forgotten their presence as she became rather invested in what she was working on. She forgot the time as well. She drew through the minutes completely oblivious to the oncoming sunset. One of her friends however did see the giant orb start to dip beyond the horizon.

"There!" she declared proudly as she drew in some of the last pieces of the sketch. She was rather happy with herself for her proficiency in finishing it as quickly as she had. Remembering her audience she turned to display the finished sketch to find that she only had the attention of one of them. Kara was gazing curiously at her finished sketch, but Spot was looking towards the window. In her confusion she followed his gaze to see what he was looking at. She found it just in time to watch the sun dip completely behind the horizon. Kara having noticed that her two friends' attention was somewhere else joined in the group looking towards the distant skyline.

Astro's eyes widened in fear as she took a step back from her two friends. She gulped silently as a soft white light began to fill the room. Her two friends noticed the new light and quickly traced the source back to her. She stood a few steps away from them with her coat glowing and tensed up from worry. Her anxiety continued to grow as both of her friends' eyes widened in shock. "You're… glowing?" Kara questioned in surprise.

"Um, yeah." she answered nervously.

"Do you always glow like that?" Spot inquired.

"At night anyways." she informed the both of them.

"Which is why you're never out after dark." he filled in. She nodded in confirmation.

"Both the sun and moon give off magical waves and my coat reacts to the magic given off by the moon. It makes my coat glow at night, but nopony is supposed to know. I couldn't stand lying to you guys about it so Sail managed to arrange this for me so I could show you guys." she explained nervously.

"Anyways, sorry I missed you finishing that. I just figured that if something was going to happen it would happen after the sun had gone down. Can I see it?" Spot inquired.

"Y-yeah, of course." she answered startled by the lack of response to her luminous state.

"Awesome!" he replied gratefully. She walked uncertainly back over to her drawing to show it to him.

"I actually got the idea from my nerves to be honest." she told them as she held it up to show them.

The pencil sketch she was displaying had yet to be colored and was purely black and white at that point. Still, she had shaded everything so the picture was fairly complete. It was a forest setting in the background and you could just see the moon in the sky. A blooming flower took center stage and was clearly the source of light in the scene. "I just couldn't stop thinking of what was going to happen tonight and, well, I made this." she continued.

"It looks really cool!" Kara commented excitedly.

"Yeah, I can see what you were getting at." Spot agreed as he looked it over.

"I think I might really want to finalize this." Astro told them as she looked it over herself, "You know, with a paint and canvass and stuff, but that's gonna take a lot longer than this so I'm probably going to save that for later."

"Show me when you're done." he stated simply as he looked at the sketch.

"I will." she promised, "And I can show all of them! Even if they won't quite get it as well."

Kara shrugged, "They'll see eventually right?"

"Yeah, I just don't know long it's going to be until eventually." she admitted with a sad sigh.

"We got your back. Anypony decides to get pushy and we'll make sure they back off." she promised. "Right?" she continued shooting a look at Spot.

"Yeah, of course. Still, what does 'making sure they back off' entail?" he inquired giving her a slightly worried look. Kara just shrugged in response. "Right." he replied sounding nervous. This elicited a slight laugh from the two fillies.

Kara yawned after the laughing had stopped and moved to curl up in her sleeping bag. "Anypony else tired?" she inquired as she looked over at her two companions.

"Yeah, a little bit." Spot agreed.

"Sure." Astro said even though she wasn't drowsy at all. She didn't want to keep the two of them up just because of her own lack of a need for sleep. The trio all curled up to go to bed side by side on the floor. Soon enough all of them had drifted off into a quiet and peaceful slumber.

When they awoke the next morning neither of them treated her like she was any different from them. The same way that they had shaken off their shock so easily when it happened they almost seemed as if they weren't anymore the wiser to her difference. While she had expected a much more dramatic reaction she couldn't have been more grateful for their lack of care about her apparent uniqueness. She couldn't help but find herself grinning constantly. No more secrets, no more having to lie, she told herself as she played with them for the remainder of their time together. Even when they had to leave she was still smiling as the door shut behind them.

"Is it safe to say that last night went well?" Sail asked after both of Astro's friends had gone.

"Yeah!" she replied enthusiastically, "They didn't even care. It was amazing! And now I don't have to lie about not being able to be at stuff because they know why!"

"I told you that you had nothing to worry about." she responded with a grin as she nuzzled the filly.

"I know. I even got an idea for a painting, but I don't really want to start anything until the mural's done. It's a lot of work, but I'm learning a lot from it." she told her.

"That's good. Just let me know if it's too much alright." she said with a hint of worry in her eyes.

"I will. I promise." she reassured her.

And so Astro's work with the Mural Committee continued through the weeks. She continued to have to work hard to balance her time between all of her commitments, but the atmosphere had a lighter feeling to it after that night. Just the fact that they knew seemed to sweeten the moments for her. The work didn't become any less difficult, but she recognized how that wasn't the way things worked. She found her happiness in the moments that she learned, and spent with those close to her. It was a while before the work was done for her. In the end she learned much from it and had grown closer to her friends as well.