In his life, Falling Star had done many things. He’d flown dangerous missions for the Princesses; he’d escaped ambushes by angry griffons, dodged irritated dragons and even faced other pegasi in duels to the death, something that had long since passed out of style in modern Equestria. He had been one of the fastest fliers in all of Equestria in his day, and had even been asked by the leader of the Wonderbolts, an organization that traced its roots back even before Falling Star’s time, to join their ranks. He had done many things, and most everything that only a Pegasus could do… but he had to admit that working as a weather-pony was not something he had ever done before. Rainbow Dash seemed to thoroughly enjoy her job, as much as she could enjoy work, at least, and Falling Star had to admit that as far as jobs went it was about as straight-forward as you could get. Don’t want clouds around? Kick them with your hooves until they vanished. Want clouds around? Don’t kick them, and then when they form give them a push to where you want them. As Rainbow Dash had explained it, she also was in charge of whatever weather the head weather-ponies in Cloudsdale decided needed to happen in Ponyville. If they needed a thunderstorm, it was part of Rainbow Dash’s job to fly out and gather up some storm clouds to make that happen. It seemed like an enjoyable job, and Falling Star was curious as to why he had never tried it himself.
“I work with a team, of course,” Rainbow was saying as they glided gently in towards Ponyville proper. “The weather-ponies never work alone, that’s too much work for any one pony- even one as awesome as me!” She chuckled as the two pegasi landed in the middle of the small town, in a park near a white stone fountain. The cyan blue Pegasus rustled her wing feathers and sighed happily. “But yeah, that’s pretty much it. They say kick, I kick. They say leave ‘em be, I take a nap!” She laughed, and somehow Falling Star knew that she would do exactly that, if left to her own devices.
Together the two blue pegasi started walking through town, heading towards the market and, so Rainbow claimed, a wonderful café that would be a great place for lunch. The sun was heading steadily towards its zenith, and predictably more ponies seemed to be heading out with the same idea, drawing the citizens of Ponyville inexorably together. Falling Star sighed quietly to himself as he walked with Rainbow Dash, doing his level best to ignore everypony else. He cast a glance at the bag secured to his left shoulder, where the Element of Fear sat safely out of sight. The bag was something of his own design; a small, aerodynamic pouch that not only strapped to his left leg, but that slung around his shoulders to loop around his right leg opposite the pouch itself. It held securely even at high flight speeds, and while it would not carry much it was the perfect size for important messages and documents… or an enchanted stone meant to drive fear into an otherwise fearless heart.
As the crowd got thicker, Rainbow Dash took back to the air, flitting above the heads of ponies with little effort; Falling Star reluctantly followed her, his larger-than-average wings making it slightly more difficult to maneuver in the closer quarters of the town. Several times he felt his wingtips brush the manes of ponies on the ground as he tried to keep pace with Rainbow Dash, but luckily he didn’t hit them squarely, and the most he received from the were looks of curiosity and annoyance. He sighed and followed Dash towards a café at the end of the street where she assured him they had the best daisy sandwiches in Ponyville.
“Waiter!” the cyan Pegasus called as she settled down at one of the outside tables. “Two daisy sandwiches and an order of hay-fries!” She waved a hoof at the mustached waiter, who arched an eyebrow at her. After a few awkward moments, Rainbow Dash sighed. “All right, already; two daisy sandwiches and an order of hay-fries, please.” The waiter, while still not looking very happy about having an order shouted to him, seemed mollified and nodded to her. Dash rubbed her hooves together in glee as Falling Star settled down across the table from her. “Oooh man, Meteor; they have the best food here. Wait ‘til you try the hay-fries! SO good.”
Falling Star glanced around the outdoor café, examining his surroundings thoroughly before turning back to Rainbow Dash, who arched an eyebrow at him. “Um… ‘kay… would you like a picture of the café before we go? You seem to like it an awful lot…” she snickered. Falling Star arched an eyebrow right back at her.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten at a restaurant,” he said simply. “Even a small one.”
“Even at a café? For pony’s sake, Meteor, where’d you go? Off to visit Luna on the moon? I take that back; they’ve probably even got cafés on the moon!” Falling Star shrugged and looked away, his blue eyes taking everything in as Dash muttered to herself about living under a rock. The café wasn’t crowded yet, and for that Falling Star was thankful; he would prefer to stay out of large crowds- that had always been his way. Even during the time before he’d met Dark Star and Princess Luna he had avoided large-scale social situations, mostly because of his abnormal wing size. Too many other pegasi he knew had liked to mess with him and get him to knock things over with his wings, so he’d decided to avoid socializing completely, preferring the company of the open sky to other ponies. That was why he was such a good flier; he’d spend so much time in the air as a colt that he’d developed a kind of talent for reading the wind, of knowing how to find the best wind currents and how far to ride them to get maximum speed out of his flight. His large wings had proven to be an asset in the sky, allowing him to not only propel himself faster than other ponies his size but to also stay aloft longer, catching thermals to remain airborne like a bird of prey; both useful assets as a messenger.
“So Meteor,” Rainbow Dash’s voice brought him out of the past and into the present. “You’ve got some pretty sweet moves up there. I haven’t seen flying like that since… well, since I saw the Wonderbolts! Where’d you learn to fly like that?”
Falling Star watched her closely for a moment, long enough to make Rainbow Dash squirm just slightly under his scrutiny before he spoke, his voice characteristically soft and harsh. “Where does the wind learn to blow? Or the seasons to change?” He shrugged, his wings rising and falling slightly. “It’s a part of who I am.”
Rainbow winced. “Do you always talk like that? I mean, it sounds like you need to cough something awful.” Falling Star just looked at her, his expression blank, until she fluttered her wings uncomfortably. “Ooookay, sorry I asked.”
Falling Star smirked ever so slightly. If Rainbow Dash was hoping for a conversation, she was going to be disappointed. Luckily they were saved from too much awkward silence by the arrival of the waiter, carrying a large tray on his back that held their three plates. He gave the two patrons a nod before settling the plates onto the table and hurrying away. Falling Star looked over at Dash, who had dug into her meal with gusto. He did likewise, using his hooves to pick up the thick daisy sandwich and bring it to his muzzle. He took a huge bite and sighed in contentment; the daisies were fresh, probably just picked this morning, and the bread was so fresh he could have sworn that it was still warm. The head of the daisies burst in his mouth, giving that slightly tangy, crisp sensation that made this one of his personal favorites. He leaned over and nudged a few of the hay-fries from their plate onto his, nibbling on them experimentally. They were crunchy and delicious, obviously fried in some kind of oil, possibly sunflower seed oil, if he was to guess by the taste. The Pegasus chewed slowly and thoughtfully; he’d never tried hay-fries before, and was quite pleased with them. Nice to know that Rainbow Dash has decent taste in food.
Suddenly, about halfway through his sandwich, his lunch companion settled her hooves down onto the table a little harder than she probably could have. “Alright,” she said with a harsh sigh. “Whaddya mean, ‘It’s part of who I am’? Obviously you had to learn SOME of what you do from SOMEwhere!”
Falling Star looked at her for a long moment, chewing his sandwich steadily before swallowing. “I mean,” he said quietly, “Did someone teach you how to do your Sonic Rainboom?”
Rainbow snorted through her hay-fries. “No! Of course not! Nopony can teach you that.”
“Then how do you know you can do it?”
“I just… feel it, I dunno…” Her eyes widened slightly as his words seemed to sink in. “Oooh, I think I gotcha… It just kinda happens, right?”
Falling Star nodded and went back to his sandwich, but he could feel Rainbow Dash’s eyes on him, and he knew he wouldn’t get far before-,
“So you were in the Royal Guard, right?”
This is going to be a long mission, he thought with a small sigh. He looked up at her again, and her eyes were eager and inquisitive. She really did want to have some conversation, and she wasn’t going to stop until he gave in. His eyes danced over her plate and saw, with regret, that she had already finished her meal, meaning he would have no breaks in which to finish his. With a slightly larger sigh he pushed his half-finished daisy sandwich to the side and turned his attention on Rainbow Dash, setting his hooves on the table before answering.
“Yes, I was.”
“And… what was it like? What did you do? Did you meet any really awesome fliers there?”
“There were a fair number, yes. And as for how it was… it was…” Scary, his brain answered. “…interesting,” he said aloud.
“Interesting? That’s IT? That’s all you’ve got??” Rainbow made a vexed noise in her throat. “Come ON, Meteor! Give me some details! I wanna know what you did! How you became such an awesome flier! What kind of missions you went on!” She sat forward, her magenta eyes full of curiosity and excitement. “Well??” she coaxed.
Falling Star closed his eyes as memories he’d tried to forget surfaced; flying in the pitch black of night, so high up you couldn’t see the land below and the air was thin; twisting and turning through steep-walled canyons with angry griffons in pursuit… His dark blue mane fell over his eyes as he lowered his head. He could feel the fear, rising in the pit of his stomach, sending prickles up his throat. The fear that had held him captive for so very long- the fear that had kept him from flying with the Wonderbolts when Wild Star had offered him a spot. The fear that had kept him alone all those years, even before the Revolution… the fear that had kept him alive during his missions, the very thing that made him good at his job, was also his prison. He could feel the Element of Fear in his pouch, pulsing with energy, feeding off his fear and sending ice-cold waves of emptiness through him: the very touch of fear itself. Slowly he opened his eyes and met Rainbow Dash’s gaze. “You really want to know what it was like?” he whispered.
Rainbow’s eagerness seemed to drain away at the look in his eyes, but she nodded anyway. “Yeah, I do!”
Falling Star glanced around the café; the other patrons were all seated far enough away for this to work, even though he hadn’t planned on doing this with so many other ponies around. He stood from his short seat and walked over to sit directly beside Rainbow Dash; the cyan mare blinked at him, but stayed where she was. He gave her a small smile, but it was devoid of any joy or friendliness; it was as cold as the fear that coursed through Falling Star’s heart. “Then close your eyes, Rainbow Dash. I want you to imagine something while I talk.”
Rainbow scoffed. “What?? C’mon, playing “pretend”? How’s that going to help explain-,”
“Do you want to know, or not?” he asked, his voice dangerously soft. “If you really don’t want to know, I understand… it’s OK to be afraid.”
Just as he predicted, when he brought up fear, Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest and her eyes became fierce. “Afraid? Meteor, I ain’t afraid of ANYthing! Lay it on me!” And with that she closed her eyes, a small, confident smile on her lips.
Falling Star’s smile widened, and became even colder, if that was possible. “All right, Rainbow Dash… try to imagine this…”
And then he closed his eyes. He felt the smooth gray stone in his pouch reach out and touch Rainbow Dash’s consciousness; he heard her gasp, and knew that it would feel like somepony had just drizzled cold water down her wings and back: the touch of fear. With that fear pulsing through his body, he steeled himself and dove into his memories, where all of his fear dwelt. Back to a night that would change his life forever. “I was flying late at night,” he began, “taking a message from Princess Celestia to the northern border, where we were still having trouble with griffons…”
The air was cold here; so cold that Shooting Star couldn’t feel his hooves. His eyes constantly scanned the horizon as his broad wings pumped slowly and evenly, sending him across the moonless night sky as silently as a wisp of cloud. His breath would fog in front of him, occasionally fogging up his flying goggles as he climbed higher into the freezing sky. This was one of the only ways to get around the griffon’s air patrols; you either had to fly under them or over them. All of the other Pegasus patrols opted for the low approach, using the terrain to cover them and make it easier to get to the northernmost Guard posts. However, they flew during the day; Shooting Star knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that if he tried to do that now, his wings would snag a stray stone and he’d be put into a wall, and then it’d be game over for him. Despite his cold-weather flight gear the wind seemed to slice him through to the bone, sending uncontrollable shivers through his body. “This is ridiculous,” he muttered to himself. “W-what kind of m-m-message could be so b-bucking important that it couldn’t w-w-wait ‘til morning?” He glanced up at the sky and found himself, not for the first time that night, wishing for a full moon; he understood that a new moon occurred once a month, but it just figured that it would-
Suddenly a screech rent the air right below him. He glanced down in surprise, and he could barely make out the silhouettes of three griffons rising up from the inky-black landscape to intercept him, their huge wings sending them up to him faster than he would have thought possible. His eyes widened, and a shiver went through his body that had nothing to do with the cold. He’d seen ponies come back from the front lines with griffon battle wounds; slashes that had severed wings, beak-bites that had gouged so deeply into necks that nothing could be done except to let them bleed out. His pulse began to race. A griffon was stronger than two ponies, and they didn’t need to carry weapons like ponies did; they came standard with being a griffon. And he was being chased by three!! If they got a hold of him, he was dead. Through his mind flashed all of the horrible things that the griffons would do to him; the goring, the slashing and biting and, eventually, the killing. He was going to die.
His breath came faster as he started to climb. He knew that his smaller size would make it easier for him to dive and evade them, but if he didn’t get enough altitude first they’d catch him for sure. He glanced back and saw them still rising to meet him, their voices echoing up into the cold sky.
“Hey pony! Give up and we promise to kill you faster than we normally would!”
“And we might even kill you BEFORE we dismember you!”
Fear drove into his heart like a needle of ice and spread through his body, sending his wings into overdrive; he climbed faster than he ever had before, not even noticing the air becoming colder and colder still. Soon, his breaths weren’t drawing in enough air; his breathing became ragged, and spots began to dance before his vision. I have to climb, he thought desperately. Then dive… But he couldn’t make himself turn around. His fear pushed him higher and higher, never letting him turn back. His breathing quickened, and he suddenly realized that he couldn’t breathe, at all; his chest moved, but he could feel the slow, inexorable fingers of suffocation wrapping around his neck. Panic set in, fueling his movements to go higher still. Sweat broke out on his head despite the cold, freezing to his coat and mane as soon as they formed. I’m dying, he thought. Behind him, the sounds of pursuit dwindled, the griffons pulling back as the air grew too thin, but he couldn’t hear; all he could hear was the pounding of his blood in his ears, the ringing of impending unconsciousness grabbing at the edges of his mind, and his own ragged, useless breathing as he struggled higher, higher, higher…
The stars slowly but surely faded out as his body ran out of air, and as his wings folded above him, his stomach churned with vertigo and fear, and his last conscious thought was, I wonder if it hurts to die… as he plunged towards the earth below.
Falling Star opened his eyes and exhaled loudly, expelling breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. Next to him, Rainbow Dash, her face pale, exhaled then took a shaky breath. “I came to a few hundred feet above ground,” Falling Star said, finally finding his voice again. “I barely had time to pull out of the dive and avoid serious injury, but it was a near thing.” He shivered. The amulet of Fear still had its tendrils wrapped around Rainbow Dash; he knew that everything he had just relived, every emotion, every drop of heart-wrenching fear he had experienced, Rainbow had just experienced, too. Sweat beaded on her brow, and her pupils were dilated wide, her breathing fast and shallow; fear was coursing through her, just as it was him. He closed his eyes and tried to center himself, but it took some effort before he felt in control of himself once more. He felt the amulet withdraw from Rainbow, and the mare’s shoulders and wings sagged as if she’d just flown across Equestria in one go. “And that,” he said softly, “Is what it was like in the Royal Guard.”
Rainbow’s mouth worked open and closed a few times without any sound coming out, and Falling Star spoke, his voice harsh and cold. “Fear, Rainbow Dash. Being in the Guard at that time was like living in a constant nightmare of fear.”
“Wh… I…” But Rainbow Dash didn’t seem able to comprehend what had just happened, let alone ask an intelligent question.
Falling Star rose to go back to his seat when a voice rang out across the café. “Rainbow Dash! There you are! We’ve been looking absolutely everywhere for you!” Weaving through the tables came two white unicorns; one had a slightly curled, well-kept purple mane, and the other was Morningstar. Falling Star met Morningstar’s eyes, and immediately understood what was going on; this was her target, and he had to be careful not to blow her cover, just as she would be careful not to blow his. The two unicorns approached the table, and Falling Star could see that the second mare looked anything but excited to see Rainbow Dash; in fact, she looked downright miserable. Only Morningstar seemed pleased, and she leaped forward in excitement towards Rainbow Dash.
“So you are the famous Rainbow Dash!” she exclaimed loudly. Rainbow Dash actually jumped out of her seat with a sharp Eeek!, her wings propelling her a few feet up into the air before she shook her head and seemed to come back to herself.
“Ugh! Don’t sneak up on me like that, will ya?!” she complained, slowly settling back down to the ground. “But… wait, did you say famous?” And just like that, it appeared that all of Rainbow’s fear was gone; her eyes regained their sparkle and she stood up straight once again… but Falling Star could still feel it, trickling through the amulet: she was still shaken up.
Morningstar nodded emphatically. “I did! Rarity here has told me all about your Sonic Rainboom, and how you are the only pony in Equestria who can do it!” Falling Star had to suppress a snicker; he had never heard Morningstar sound so sweet, or so cheerful. She was selling this act as hard as she could, and from the look on the faces of the two other ponies present, whatever she was doing was working. Rainbow looked fit to burst, while Rarity looked ready to rip Rainbow’s wings off. “And I told her that I simply had to come meet you in the flesh, as it were,” Morningstar finished. “And might I say that it is an absolute pleasure to meet you.” She held out her hoof to Rainbow Dash, and the cyan Pegasus reached out and shook it.
“Well! It’s always nice to meet a fan,” she said, her chest swelling with pride. “And I’m so glad you got to see the Rainboom earlier! I was afraid that only Meteor had seen it.” She gestured to Falling Star, who nodded. “I was racing him when it happened; there’s nothing I love more than racing!” Rainbow said.
Morningstar and Rarity both looked to Falling Star, who nodded to them. “Ladies,” he said.
“How do you do,” Rarity said half-heartedly, her azure eyes never leaving Morningstar.
“A pleasure, I’m sure,” Morningstar said, extending her hoof to Falling Star, which he shook. “Any friend of Rainbow Dash is certainly a friend of mine! That is, if I can call the great and wonderful Rainboom Dash my friend?” She giggled insipidly at her own joke, and Falling Star had to look away to roll his eyes. She really is selling this, he thought.
“Of course!” Rainbow assured her, obviously pleased by the nickname. “Hey, can I use that? RainBOOM Dash… it has a great ring to it!”
“Of course you may,” Morningstar said, taking a step towards her. Suddenly, Rarity was between them, a fierce light in her blue eyes that vanished so quickly Falling Star wasn’t sure he’d seen it.
“Well Morning Mist, don’t we have some… things to take care of today?” Rarity said, her voice slightly anxious. “I mean, I agreed to let you meet Rainbow, but… honestly, I still have things that need doing… and do you really want to hang out with-,” Suddenly she stopped, putting her hoof to her mouth in shock. Rainbow Dash blinked at her, and suddenly she was hovering in the air, her hooves crossed over her chest.
“Hang out with who, Rarity?” Her voice was no longer pleasant in any way. “Hang out with me?? Are you saying that she shouldn’t hang out with me?”
Rarity looked absolutely disgusted with herself; tears started to form in the corners of her eyes as she stammered, “W-well no, of course not Rainbow… I just… I meant to say…”
“Yeah, I think we all know what you meant to say, Rarity,” Rainbow snapped. “Y’know, ever since you went to Canterlot, you’ve been avoiding me. Did I really embarrass you that badly in front of your real friends??” Suddenly, Falling Star felt his amulet react; whatever had Rainbow worked up was getting a huge fear reaction out of her. She was angry, all right… but fear was driving it. “And now, what, you’ve got another prissy unicorn to hang out with instead of me?” Rainbow Dash landed and walked over towards him, her eyes full of hurt. “Well, y’know what? I don’t need you. I’ve got a new friend, too, so you can just buzz off, Rarity!” She shouted the last bit, drawing eyes from all over the café. Murmurs teased Falling Star’s ears, but he hardly noticed; his attention was only on the cyan Pegasus and the white unicorn. Both had tears in their eyes, but it was Rarity who broke first; she turned and started off down the street at just shy of a gallop. Morningstar turned and followed her quickly, but not before tossing Falling Star a look of victory, and the dark blue Pegasus had to hand it to his Lunar comrade; she had Rarity well in hoof.
He turned back to Rainbow Dash, who was hastily swiping at her eyes with a hoof. “Stupid unicorn,” she muttered. “Well, if she doesn’t need me, I don’t need her.” The amulet reacted again, and Falling Star smiled ever so slightly. So that’s what this is about, he thought. The fear reaction hadn’t made sense to him at first… but if there was one thing Falling Star prided himself on, it was being able to pinpoint a pony’s fears and make them a reality.
She’s afraid of losing her friends. She’s afraid of being replaced… And suddenly, it all made sense.
“You don’t want to be forgotten,” he said softly. Rainbow Dash blinked, and suddenly there were tears in her eyes again.
“W-what? Who said anything about being f-forgotten?” She swiped a hoof across her eyes again. “Forgotten… me? Who could ever forget Rain-BOOM Dash, huh??” She tried to brush it off with a carefree chuckle, but it came out sounding like a strangled cat. She cleared her throat, touching her hoof to her chest before trying again. This time it sounded like a chuckle, at least, but it was still completely false, and Falling Star knew it. That was her fear. With a shaky sigh, Rainbow Dash started towards the street. “C’mon, Meteor, let’s get outta here. I… we still have to keep those clouds away, after all!”
The two pegasi left the café and started down the street, towards the same park where they had landed earlier. The crowd had thinned just slightly as lunchtime came and went, so it was easier to walk. They were just approaching the park when another voice caught Rainbow Dash’s attention.
“Rainbow Dash… as I live ‘n’ breath.” This voice was much, much different from Rarity’s; it didn’t even pretend to be happy to see the cyan mare. Rainbow stiffened and turned to her left, glancing down one of the small side streets.
“Applejack,” she said with a small smile as she came face-to-face with an orange mare. “Hey, what’s up?” Rainbow ruffled her feathers uncomfortably, but it wasn’t because of Applejack’s tone of voice. It looked to Falling Star like every fiber in Rainbow Dash’s being was screaming at her to go and hug her friend; to take solace in her company and tell her all her worries and woes. However, Applejack didn’t look likely to enjoy that, and it quickly became obvious to Falling Star why; from behind the earth pony stepped Wild Star, his face a careful mask of indifference. Falling Star winced unconsciously. If Applejack was under the influence of Wild Star and the amulet of Anger… he wasn’t sure he wanted to see the end of this.
“What’s up, Rainbow Dash, is that I have told you about a hun’erd times not ta fly through mah orchard,” she said, her voice dangerous. “An’ what happened earlier today, huh?” Rainbow Dash looked absolutely horrified by her tone of voice; it sounded like she was speaking to a convicted criminal and not one of her best friends. Applejack didn’t even give her a chance to respond, pointing a hoof at the other mare accusingly. “I saw you an’ your feather-brained friend there,” she indicated Falling Star, who felt his wings bristle on principle, “come tearin’ through my trees, knockin’ apples down an’ makin’ more work for me an’ mine!” She took a step towards Rainbow, and Falling Star could see the anger in her green eyes; Rainbow Dash could see it too, and she took a hasty step back away from her orange friend.
“Whoa, Applejack… it-it was all an accident, honest… I didn’t think-,”
“NO! You didn’t think, didja?!” Applejack’s voice rose, and the ponies around them suddenly fell back in a large circle, giving the two mares a wide berth, dozens of eyes bright and trained on the scene. Applejack looked like she could chew up a dozen horseshoes and spit out a hundred nails as she continued speaking. “That’s yer problem, Rainbow! You dun’ think about how yer actions are gonna affect others! Yer like… yer just like a filly, you know that?! A useless filly that dun’ know how ta take care of herself!”
In spite of his mission, despite the fear that controlled his being and gave him the power he had… Falling Star felt his heart ache for Rainbow Dash at that moment. He watched her face fall, from the hope that a friend would support her in a time of confusion and pain to the realization that this friend was there only to yell and scream at her. Her wings drooped and she looked so absolutely hopeless, so completely inconsolable that for the barest fraction of a second, Falling Star wanted nothing more than to put his wing over her, pull her snug against him and tell her everything would be OK.
But that would mean opening himself to her, to shame, scrutiny, rejection… and the fear that had kept him prisoner for so long reared its head and locked him away again, and he left Rainbow Dash to her misery.
“Applejack…” Rainbow said, and now there was no mistaking the tears streaming down her cheeks. They seemed to take the orange earth pony by surprise; her eyes lost their brightness, and she suddenly looked unsure of herself. Rainbow Dash stared at her, and her mouth set into a grim line. “If that’s how you feel… well…” She was interrupted by a sob that seemed to surprise everyone, including herself; but once that sob was free, others followed, and Rainbow Dash, who had seemed so absolutely sure of herself and everything else when he’d first met her, turned and ran down the street, her wings held tight against her, her tears sparkling in the noon sunlight. With a glance at Wild Star, who gave his signature crazy lopsided grin, Falling Star took off after his target… not for the first or last time feeling like a completely horrible pony for what he was going to have to do. But that was the nature of his mission… and the paralyzing, complacent nature of fear.
What none of them saw- not Falling Star as he galloped away, not Applejack as she suddenly realized what she’d done, not Morningstar as she trailed Rarity along on an proverbial leash- was a pair of violet eyes watching from the shadows of the market that noontime; a pair of eyes that belong to a certain lavender unicorn, who felt her tender heart shatter at the way her friends were treating each other.