//------------------------------// // Falling Stardust // Story: The Ash of Fallen Stars // by Wings of Black Glass //------------------------------// “Rarity? Are you here?” “Yes?” The white unicorn looks out from her back room. “May I help- Goodness!” The pins and scissors in her aura clatter on the floor when she spots the bandages around my chest and side. “What happened? Are you alright?” “I’m intact, mostly.” I look down at my own right forelimb, and the one bandage tied a little too tight. I don’t really need them anymore, but it prevents ponies from seeing my blank flank. “We had some trouble in the Crystal Empire.” For a moment she tries to fuss over my injuries, and I shift away. “I’m alright, really.” “You’re sure?” “My wounds are not the reason I’m here.” I sigh. “I’m afraid my coat was destroyed, and I’ve come to ask you for another replacement.” Her eyes twitch, and I can see a frown forming. “I’m sorry.” “The last one was a rush job anyway. It wasn’t really up to my usual standard of quality.” She huffs. “I’d be quite pleased to replace it.” “I’ll pay for this one, somehow.” “Nonsense.” She flips her hair as she shakes her head. “You’ve lost enough, I can take the loss of a little bit of fabric to help you get back on your feet.” “Wait.” I block her way before she can escape into the back room. “I’ve taken enough of your charity already. I insist I repay you in some fashion.” “Hmm…” She taps one hoof against her lips as she thinks. “I suppose… I could use some help around the shop.” “That would be acceptable.” I nod. “Twilight wants me to spend time helping everypony anyway. She thinks it’ll be healthy for me.” “She’s right, you know. I’ll even pay you for your time.” I’m about to protest before she continues. “It’s my turn to insist. I’ll expect you to genuinely work hard to earn that pay.” “Very well.” I could use the bits, at least until I can find some real employment. “Now, just stand over there, and we’ll get started.” She waves at the center of her workspace, where a mannequin is sliding out of the way in her aura. “I thought you already had my measurements?” “Oh, I do. I could use a model, and I don’t get nearly enough practice on stallion’s fashion.” “You want me to start right now?” “Why not?” Why not, indeed? It’s not like I had any plans. I shrug and take the indicated place. “Now, where was that vest…” Luna sighs contentedly, listening to the birdsong of happy avians in the garden and sipping her rose tea. For the first time in days, she can properly relax. Last night the princess of the night watched as Twilight fought the monster, without Luna’s aid, and won. Perhaps this means she can have that night off, at last. Or perhaps not, as there is always the chance Twilight may have a relapse. For the moment at least, she can push Twilight’s worries out of her mind. Something shifts in the branches above, and she glances up to see a now-familiar little swallow sitting there. It peeps a greeting when she spots it. “Hello again. You seem to enjoy my company.” She holds up a hoof, as she did on that first day, and the little swallow flits down to land on it without hesitation. “What are you up to today?” It hops a few times, excitedly chirping rapidly. “Slow down please, I can’t quite keep up.” She giggles as the bird on her hoof slows his chirps nearly to a stop. “Oh, you know what I meant.” The swallow ruffles his own feathers, taking a little pride in his joke, and then settles to a more reasonable pace. As he speaks, he hops from one side of her hoof to the other, really more like strutting and puffing out his tiny chest. She sips at her tea as he describes another swallow at length. Everything from their eyes to their down; at a surface level, it’s nothing exciting to hear, but it brings a slight smile to Luna regardless. “She sounds lovely.” At this, the swallow tilts his head and stops his tweeting, his expression confused. “Have you spoken with her?” The little head shakes negatively. Luna giggles again. “Maybe you should.” His head tilts the other way. “You told me before you felt alone. I suspect you will not feel that way for much longer if you do.” Luna blinks, and looks up at a patch of blank sky. Suddenly, the empty space around her feels a bit more profound. The swallow is fine company, but he’s no pony. Most of the time, Luna only has Celestia to talk with. Even then, most days her sister is busy ruling Equestria. Living her life in the dark, where few others tread, tends to leave one solitary. On good nights, it’s quiet and comforting and gentle. On bad nights… it’s cold and empty. Since her return from her lunar exile, she’s made precious few friends and fewer still who are readily available at a moment’s notice. Her silent musings are interrupted when the swallow lands on her nose, demanding her attention with irritated peeping. “Oh, I apologize. I lost myself for a moment.” She plucks the bird from her nose, too close to even focus her vision on, and drops him on the lowest of the branches above them. “You were saying?” He resumes his chirping, asking a question she hadn’t heard the first time. “Oh, I have my reasons for believing it.” She giggles softly one more time. “It’ll spoil the fun if I simply tell you.” The swallow ruffles his feathers again, giving the Alicorn an annoyed glare, or what passes for one from a bird. Then he flits off without another peep. “Good luck.” He’s moved beyond the hedges before she can even finish calling out, leaving her alone once more. As has become her ritual as of late, Luna slips through the palace halls after the sun has set. The click of her shoes on the stone is the only sound, echoing quietly. When she stands at her balcony, she hesitates before diving into the realm of dreams. Not particularly procrastinating tonight, but waiting for something. The intruder in her midnight skies. Each night since she first noticed them, they have appeared without fail. Never in quite the same place, or at the same time as the night before. Always resting on some wisp of cloud off in the distance, almost too far to be seen. That first night she left them alone, assuming they wanted the solitude. When they came back the next night, she did the same but allowed herself to wonder who they might be. A starstruck artistic soul out enjoying the night, or maybe an astronomer tracing the movements of the planets. Perhaps they are something even stranger, such as a Griffon visitor or a lone Hippogriff, possibly even a visitor from some other world. She has no confirmation of any guess or even any real idea of what they look like. From so far away, they were nothing more than a black speck against the moon. Seeing another pony out in the dark, it’s a comforting thing to see one who enjoys the night the way she does. It gives her a sense of camaraderie she cannot find elsewhere, even if she hasn’t shared a single conversation with them. “Where are you, stranger?” Tonight, they are late, and Luna paces on her balcony. She knows she should be performing her duty, but for a while longer, she waits. Her mind drifts, as the moon does. Maybe her previous assumptions were wrong… and they hate the night but were unable to sleep due to some unknown cause. Possibly they just needed a quiet place to think for a few nights or maybe moved away. For whatever reason, the moonlit sky is empty. If she had wanted to speak with the stranger, she seems to have missed her chance. She sighs, disappointed, at the mysterious visitor’s disappearance and at her own reluctance to have gone to meet them. The moon is well past its apex when she finally decides she can no longer wait any longer. She focuses her mind on the dreams of Equestria and lets the world fall away. The millions of tiny dream spheres has barely manifest in front of her before she pulls herself out of the sleeping world. “There you are.” In the instant before she had gone in, she had spotted motion against the moon. “Hello again.” The intruder in her sky, although late, has come again. The tiny black figure has once again set themselves on a cloud, far out from the Canterlot cliffside. She smiles, the cold night air just a little less chilly. For a few moments, she sits and watches them, allowing her thoughts to drift once more. Then her words to the sparrow come back to her. She can imagine who this intruder might be, for as many nights as they appear, but she’ll never know anything about them unless she works up the courage to go say hello in person. It wouldn’t be hard, just fly out and greet them. Why, then, does she resist so? Is it not that simple? The wind flows under her wings as she opens them, caressing her flight feathers in the sudden breeze. Her hooves leave the stone balcony below, and she swoops between the palace towers as her route takes her out over the cliff. It takes her some time to get close, climbing higher in a long spiral. She approaches slowly, not wanting to startle them with an unexpected appearance. Something flashes in front of the figure, silhouetting them momentarily. Not terribly bright, but in the dark the flash would be blinding that close to their face. Then it bursts again an instant later, brighter and more fierce. It’s no explosion, no thunderclap follows, but the afterimages still prevent her from seeing exactly what happened. A tiny sparkle of starlight flashes on something silver as it falls past her, she can’t tell what. Now something larger falls, black in the night, and nearly unseen. She blinks, but the figure on the cloud is gone. Without any hesitation, she dives. Below her, falling in an uncontrolled spin is her stranger. Something flaps in the wind around their body, and she can’t make out any details. She closes on the falling pony, grasping at what should be wings. Her hooves close on fabric. When she tries to pull the tumbling pony out of the fall, she finds the material slipping off their forelimbs, leaving her holding a black coat and nothing else. She dives again, reaching out this time with magic and slowing their fall to catch him. She slips her arms under the stranger’s shoulders and pulls up, swinging out over the forest below to bleed off some of the speed before rising again. She doesn’t feel any wings against her chest where they should be. The figure groans, disoriented. They start to shift and struggle as she climbs them back up towards the cloud. “Not the clouds, not the clouds!” It sounds like a stallion. “I’ve lost my spell!” “Spell?” Despite the effort to lift him, she glances down at the pony in her arms. No wings, and a horn on his head. It’s a Unicorn. “Ah, I see.” She halts her ascent and sets him down on the palace courtyard where it juts out over the cliff. “Are you alright?” “I’m intact.” He wobbles uncertainly but catches himself on the railing. She lands gently a few strides to his side. With her eyes readjusting to the night, and in the light of the moon, she can see him clearly for the first time. The dark purple unicorn has a black mane, shot through with a streak of neon-blue, it matches his tail. As he rubs at his head with his right forelimb, she holds out the coat she accidentally pulled off him during the rescue. “Your coat.” He blinks rapidly, facing out towards the sky. Then he snatches the coat from her outstretched arm with an aura that matches the streak of color in his mane and flings it over his back. For just an instant, she spots his blank flank before the coat conceals it. Luna blinks, mildly surprised that he doesn’t have a cutie-mark, and then draws her attention back to his face. “Thanks.” He mumbles it, still rubbing at his head. “Are you sure you are unhurt?” “It was just a minor backlash, I’ll be fine by morning.” He suddenly pats at his face, feeling for something missing. Then he lurches towards the edge, placing both hooves on the railing as he stares down at the ground far below. “Where is it, where is it?!” Panic seeps into his voice as his gaze sweeps across the landscape directly below them, neck craning out so he can see straight down. “Where is what?” Luna tilts her head slightly. “Did you see where it fell?” He hasn’t even looked at her yet. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see anything clearly.” “Rats.” He sighs deeply, rubbing again at his temple. “It’ll take me days to find it.” She ignores that he didn’t answer her earlier question, assuming he is still somewhat disoriented. “What were you even doing up there?” “I doubt you would understand if I tried to explain.” “Really? You doubt my ability?” “It’s not that, I just don’t think a Pegasus…” only now does he turn to face her, “…oh.” She smiles softly to herself, amused at his stunned expression. “Princess Luna.” He finally gathers himself enough to give her a bow, where he tilts his head just a bit and nods deeply with closed eyes, which are the same color as his magic aura. It’s not the ordinary bow she is used to receiving, but it still seems respectful. “I didn’t think it was you.” “I can tell.” Luna steps up beside him at the railing, he steps aside to keep her out of reach. “I am relieved you are not hurt.” “So am I.” His deadpan reaction causes her to giggle just a little. “Although you have not answered my question.” “I was…” He looks down at the distant ground again. She observes him carefully as he considers what to say. “Trying to fix a mistake.” She tries to look him in the eye to read his expression, but he refuses to meet her gaze. He snaps out of the momentary trance he had fallen into and bows again. “Thank you for saving me from the fall.” “You are lucky I was on my way up towards you when it happened.” He tips his head in confusion, frowning. “Had I been further away, I don’t think I would have caught you.” “Was I intruding where I shouldn’t have?” “Not at all. The night may be mine to safeguard, but I do not claim ownership of the sky. You are free to be where you wish.” “Then…” His head tips the other way. “Why were you…?” “I was curious.” Luna shrugs. “I have been watching you for over a week.” “Watching me?” His eyes narrow, suspicious of her. “Why?” “Aren’t you the interrogative one? I don’t mind. As I said, I was curious.” Luna casts one hoof out at the sky. “There are few who stay up this late into the night, and fewer still who sit upon a cloud where I can see them.” “Ah…” His voice drops to a near whisper, and he turns out towards the horizon, “not even here…” “You are new to Canterlot?” Her question seems to catch him off guard. “Yes… I arrived not long ago.” Luna blinks, having caught a tiny flash of hesitation in his voice. “I see you do not wish to discuss it. I will not insist. If you do not mind my asking, why are you out in the night?” His eyes twinge, just a tiny twitch. “I suppose I am stepping on a sensitive topic, I apologize.” “No, don’t. It’s my fault for not expecting something like this.” He sighs. “Back where I used to live, this is something I would do when I needed to think in peace.” “There is something calming about the evening sky on a clear night.” She holds her head high to let the breeze flow over her mane. “Sometimes, I do the same when I need to think. Out here, it’s just me, the wind, and the stars.” Her words bring him to look back at her, surprise writ clearly on his face. “Is something amiss?” “No… I… I just don’t know what to say.” “Your name, perhaps?” He makes to respond, but then his eyes defocus as if he were struck by a hammer. For an instant, he remains there, mouth half-open, just long enough for Luna to begin to be concerned about his health. At last, he shakes off his strange shock and whispers too quietly for her to really hear him. Something about an inquisitive princess? “I didn’t quite hear that, would you repeat it?” “No.” He shakes his head. “That was… something else.” Still, he hasn’t said his name, and she refuses to look away until he does. He hesitates for another moment. “Stardust. You can call me Stardust.” Slowly he turns from her, looking for the castle gates. “I apologize, Princess Luna, but I think I should go sleep this headache off.” Inwardly Luna’s hopes droop, but she maintains her neutral expression. “Very well.” He takes a few steps away before she continues. “Should I expect to see you in the night sky again tomorrow?” He halts mid-stride. Once again, Luna feels as though she has somehow stunned the poor stallion. “I suspect you will see me, from time to time, up in those midnight skies. Although, probably not tomorrow.” “Then, Stardust, I hope you rest well.” She gives him a shallow nod. He mumbles a quiet comment that she suspects she was not intended to hear. “So do I.”