The Stars of Darkness

by D4ftP0ny

Chapter 12

The next morning dawned bright and clear in Ponyville, and from the first moment that hooves hit the streets, there was only one thing on everypony’s lips: Pinkie Pie’s party. Word was that she would be throwing a huge party in honor of the Whinnyapolians, and that the whole town was invited- literally. In fact, when questioned about where the party would be held, the answer from Pinkie Pie was apparently “The town square, silly! Where else would be big enough to hold everypony?” This, of course, perked up everypony in town, and much to Twilight’s surprise, especially the ponies from Whinnyapolis, who unanimously told her that if there was one thing they hadn’t expected, it was a party, and that made it all the nicer for them. Somehow, the sun always shone brighter for everypony when they knew that there was something to look forward to at the end of the day... however, unbeknownst to Falling Star, his day was about to get very interesting, in a very unexpected way.

The morning sun gently crept into the barn and into the dark Pegasus’ eyes, causing him to wince and roll over, his large wings tucked carefully around him. The sumptuous sheets that had been provided for the beds here were without a doubt the nicest he’d ever slept on, and they were quickly making it difficult for him to get up; Dark Star didn’t believe in such amenities, so this was a new problem for the Pegasus. Although, I think I might be able to change his mind if I got him to sleep here for just one night… The ponies here hadn’t really been able to do much to change the barn from being… well, a barn, but Applejack and her brother Big Macintosh had done what they could to minimize any drafts from the windows and doors when they were closed, and the beds were very soft and inviting. The combined effect was that when Falling Star closed his eyes, it felt like he was sleeping in any other building with about a dozen other ponies. In fact, it reminded him strikingly of his service in the Royal Guard, a fact that simultaneously put him at ease and on edge. After all, his service hadn’t exactly ended on a happy note.

Suddenly, the sunbeam that was lighting his corner of the room went black, and he rolled over again, his blue eyes opening slowly. He sighed. “Good morning, Wild Star,” he said softly, so as to not be overheard by the other ponies sleeping nearby. Not all of them were early risers like Wild Star; three or four still snoozed away, but they were far enough away that he felt comfortable enough to use the gray Pegasus’ name openly. The red-eyed pony grinned at him.

“Good morning, sleepy-wings. Time to rise and shine,” he said cheerily, sounding like a mare trying to cajole her filly out of bed in the morning. “The sun is bright, and there’s a good deal of plotting to be done!” He laughed lightly and raised a hoof to poke at Falling Star. “If only the boss could see some of us, lounging around until all hours of the day. He’d have a fit.”

Falling Star grumbled and used his left wing to push the blankets off of him as he slid out of bed. “It isn’t ‘all hours of the day’ when the sun just came up, Wild Star,” he huffed, shaking his mane and feathers slightly before pulling his wings tight against himself. “I doubt even Dark Star could blame us for taking a few extra hours’ sleep when we could get it.”

The gray Pegasus opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off as, with a small flash and a soft pop, a rolled up piece of paper appeared between them, hovered for a moment, then dropped to the floor. Immediately, the two pegasi glanced around to make sure no other ponies had seen the message arrive, each turning his body to hide the message from casual eyes. When it was clear that the rest of the ponies in the barn were indeed still sleeping, Wild Star turned and unrolled the piece of paper with a hoof. Even without looking at it, Falling Star knew who it was from. Morningstar should learn to be more careful, he thought sourly. We easily could have been around other ponies. Now that was something that Dark Star would be angry about; such a careless act could have jeopardized the entire mission.

After one last glance around the barn, Wild Star lowered his head to read the message. “Wild Star, I know I shouldn’t have sent this message to you like this, but unfortunately I am unable to get away. Rarity has informed me that a party is being held today in the town square, and that she will not be attending. It is being held for the refugees, and despite our cover I will not be attending either, opting instead to remain close to my target and subvert her all the more. You will be taking this responsibility and gather intelligence on the town and, if possible, the other bearers of the Elements. They may not be our targets, but they are an essential part of the mission, none the less.” Wild Star looked up at Falling Star, one eye squinted in disbelief. “Are you hearing this, Falls? That stuck-up mare is giving orders to me!” He kicked at the message, sending it sliding over to Falling Star’s hooves. “I can’t believe her… trying to take command while Dark Star isn’t around.”

“She’s right, though,” Falling Star said simply. He too found himself a little irritated that Morningstar had taken such action and felt at liberty to give orders, but that didn’t stop him from seeing what needed to be done. Not to mention that he felt like he had just dodged a griffon’s talons…

“Right or not,” Wild Star growled through gritted teeth, “That unicorn had better watch her flank when we get back to Dark Star, because you can bet your wings I’m gonna-,”

“Red Wing? Red Wing, y’all in here?” A blonde mane under a cowboy hat poked through the main door of the barn, and Falling Star had just enough time to step onto the message and hide it before Applejack turned her eyes on them. “There ya are, Red Wing,” she said in a loud whisper. “I was, uh… wonderin’ if you wanted t’ come with me fer a bit. I’ve got some chores that need doin’, and… well, I could use some company, if’n you wouldn’t mind…” She lowered her eyes so the brim of her hat covered them, but Falling Star could sense something other than a request for physical help behind her words, and obviously Wild Star did, too.

“Yeah, sure Applejack,” he said with a smile. “Just give me a second, I’m trying to explain to this guy that we all decided on beds the first night, and he can’t switch without asking.” He gave Falling Star a very irritated look, and Falling Star tried his best to give him one right back, for the sake of the charade. Applejack looked to Falling Star for a moment before nodding.

“Well, dun wake up any other pony, an’ if’n y’all cain’t settle it with words, take it outside. I won’t have none of y’all breakin’ my barn.” She glanced at Wild Star again, and Falling Star was surprised by what he saw in her eyes; an unbelievable sort of… need. Not a love kind of need, certainly… but it was the kind of look that said, “You’re the only pony who understands what I’m going through right now”. Wild Star had her wrapped around his hoof. Then the earth pony was gone, and Falling Star felt his muscles relax.

“That was too close,” he said softly, unsure if Applejack was still lurking.

“Yeah,” Wild Star agreed, flexing his neck from side to side. “Listen, I’ll see what she needs, but chances are good that I won’t be going to that party tonight. From what Applejack said to Rainbow Dash yesterday, I doubt she’ll want to show her face in town today, so until further notice, the orders from Morningstar’s note have fallen to you.”

Falling Star felt his stomach drop into his hooves. “Y… you’re kidding,” he stammered.

“Nope; that’s what I was going to tell you before Applejack interrupted. You are the only one whose target is out of Ponyville, so you’re the only one free to roam around unattached.” He shrugged. “Besides, it’s just a party. Go for a while, gather some intel, and come back. Easy.” The gray Pegasus flexed his wings. “I’m sure you remember the other bearers. Just keep an eye out for them, try and see what kind of effect we’re having. Depending on how fractured the team is now, we may be able to move soon.” He gave Falling Star a grin and trotted for the door. “Try to loosen up a little,” he said loudly over his shoulder. He nudged the door open with his nose, and was gone.

“That’s easy for you to say,” Falling Star whispered. The icy touch of fear had started to well up in his belly, and in spite of his best efforts, panic began to set in. He did not like to be around a lot of other ponies, he never had, ever since he was a colt, and now he was being sent into a party. And not just any party, a party for the WHOLE TOWN. EVERYpony who lived in Ponyville, not to mention the Whinnyapolians, would be there. He felt his chest grow tight, and he struggled to take a deep breath. Calm down, Falling Star… just take it easy. He shook his head and took the few steps back to his bed; with expert movements he took the messenger pouch from where it hung on his headboard and dropped it on the floor. He placed one hoof in each loop then worked his nose under the strap; with some wiggling and a grunt or two, he worked it down his neck and up his legs until it rested securely along his shoulders. Immediately, the amulet of Fear soothed him; it didn’t remove the fear, but it made him feel that it wasn’t in control of him. And that made all the difference to Falling Star. He forced himself to take a deep, controlled breath, trying his best to slow his racing heart. I can do this, he told himself. With the amulet, I can do this.

With one last deep breath, he walked to the door and pushed his way out into the morning sun. The only way to master fear is to become it, he told himself, echoing the words that Dark Star had told him all those years ago. So far, they had served him well, and he hoped that they continued to do so.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“What’s up, Applejack? You look… well, you look terrible this morning.”

The orange earth pony gave Wild Star a sour look. “Well, you try sleepin’ all night when you screamed at one o’ your best friends an’ made her cry.” She hung her head, and he could see the tears forming in her eyes. “I feel right stupid fer sayin’ those things to Rainbow…”

Wild Star galloped up and stopped right in front of Applejack, making her stop short and raise her head. “Don’t feel bad, Applejack,” he said firmly. “Don’t you dare. She deserved every bit of what you gave her, and you can’t deny that one bit.” His red eyes blazed, and he could feel the amulet on his chest filling him with anger. “Did she or did she not do exactly what you said she did?”

Applejack blinked. “Well, y-yeah she did, but-,”

“And wasn’t what you told her the truth?” he pressed.

“Yeah, I suppose it was…”

“Then what do you have to feel badly about?” He could feel the amulet reaching out to her, caressing the corners of her mind. “You told her the truth; it’s not your fault she can’t handle it.”

Wild Star felt a surge of triumph as Applejack’s green eyes hardened slightly. “Y’know… I did tell her the truth.”

“And she ran away because..?”

“Because she knew that she done wrong, and she’s too ruttin’ stubborn to apologize, that’s why!” He could feel it now, coursing through her; the red-hot light of anger. The gray Pegasus could barely contain his laughter as Applejack stomped a hoof firmly against the ground. “That irresponsible blue filly just cain’t face the music!”

Wild Star nodded, fighting to make sure to keep his mind clear… and it wasn’t an easy task. His amulet felt Applejack’s anger and the surging heat force his blood into a boil; his mind was becoming clouded, and the last thing he needed to do was lose control right now, when Applejack was beginning to confide in him. He took a deep breath. “Well, we can’t control what Rainbow does. All we can do is steer clear of her.”

Applejack nodded, but her eyes widened suddenly. “But wait… Pinkie Pie’s party is t’night… an’ I promised ‘er that I’d come…”

The Pegasus sighed. “Well, if you really want to… but…” He shrugged and turned away, knowing exactly what would come next.

“…but what?” The uncertainty in Applejack’s voice was enough to pierce his anger and make him feel a twinge of guilt at what he was about to do.

He shrugged. “Well, a lot of ponies saw what happened in the market yesterday; they all heard what you said, and not all of them will understand the context.” He let the implications of the statement sink in. They might think that you’re the bad pony. “But again, if you want to go to Pinkie Pie’s party, by all means, go. Maybe nopony’ll make a big deal out of it… but I’d hate for a fight with some pony who doesn’t get it to ruin the party mood.”

Applejack stared off into space for a moment, and a myriad of emotions crossed her face; anger, outrage, hurt, fear, they all had a place in the procession, but finally a singular emotion settled on to her features: grudging acceptance. “Well, I suppose it might not be a great idea t’ go into town after that. Like you said, the last thing I wanna do is wreck Pinkie’s party, and my luck somepony who thinks they know what’s what’ll show up an’ try t’ tell me that I dun wrong.” She sighed and turned away from Wild Star, back towards the house and the shed with her tools, but not fast enough to keep the Pegasus from seeing the deep, horrible hurt in her eyes. “I wasn’t kiddin’ about the chores that need doin’. You gonna help me or not?” Her voice was terse and sulky, but Wild Star ignored it; it was all part of the process, after all.

“Of course.” Together, the two ponies walked towards the shed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As early as she’d sent the note, it took Morningstar almost until noon to actually talk to Rarity face to face; the white and purple unicorn had locked herself in her boudoir and absolutely refused to come out for the entire morning. Morningstar begged and pleaded with her, promising that she wasn’t going anywhere without her even when Rarity insisted otherwise. Finally, Morningstar had done exactly the thing that Rarity had done to get her out of her room; she went down to the kitchen, rifled through things, and began to cook lunch. Thankfully for Morningstar, Rarity kept all the ingredients she would need to make her own favorite dish; pasta and wild daisies in alfredo sauce. The daisies had been fresh-picked the day before and kept in water, so they still held the delicious springy texture that made them so perfect with the soft noodles. She of course made the noodles from scratch, using the flour from the pantry and some of the leftover eggs from the day before to make the wide, flat strips of dough.

Milk wasn’t something she’d been sure Rarity would have, but luckily there was a glass bottle in a small, insulated cupboard that served as an icebox, just enough to make the sauce. She knew that not everypony would have it, but she was glad that Rarity did; the lunch wouldn’t have been the same without the alfredo, and she had always been particularly proud of her sauce. Finally, after everything was almost done- the noodles were perfect, the daisies were washed and ready, and the sauce was just finishing reducing- she heard the door to Rarity’s room upstairs open and close, then the slow, steady clop of hooves down the hall and stairs. Finally, after a suitably dramatic time period, Rarity appeared; her hair still up in pins and curlers, a fluffy pink robe pulled tight around her. Morningstar glanced back at her, and was surprised to see that her eyes were red and puffy, indicating that she had, indeed, been crying. I thought for certain she was just pretending, Morningstar admitted to herself.

The purple-maned unicorn sniffled gently and gave Morningstar a shaky smile. “I… I’m sorry I didn’t come out earlier,” she said softly. “But I truly was not in any state to be around civilized ponies.” She entered the kitchen and seemed to perk up slightly. “By Celestia, it smells wonderful in here… what are you making?”

Morningstar smiled and turned back to her cooking. “It’s a recipe I learned back in Canterlot, and one of my personal favorites.” She stirred the sauce gently with a whisk. “I’m afraid I used what was left of your milk, however. I’ll make sure I replace it today.”

Rarity waved a hoof as she took a place at the table. “Oh, don’t fret over it, darling. It was left over from the pancakes yesterday morning. I don’t normally drink it, it’s only there to cook with, so you actually did me a favor.” She chuckled slightly and smiled again, but it didn’t remain on her face for long, quickly melting away into the look of general unhappiness that was about her today.

In a matter of a few more minutes, Morningstar had laid out lunch for herself and Rarity. The two unicorns chatted sporadically, but for the most part they ate in silence. Morningstar had to admit, this was probably her best attempt yet at this meal, and she was very pleased with it. The daisies were perfect despite being a day old, and the noodles had stayed together nicely. She found herself eyeing Rarity to gauge whether or not her fellow unicorn liked what she’d made, but the other white pony simply stared ahead, her mind obviously elsewhere as she ate. In spite of herself, Morningstar felt slightly hurt. She’d done all of this just to make Rarity a little happier, and-

She sat up straighter. Oh by Luna’s bright moon… what is going on..?! She quickly tried to rationalize what she’d just thought. No, no, of course that’s not what happened. I made lunch to lure her out of her room, to try and get her to talk about what’s wrong, and… NO! No, to try and subvert her some more, obviously! Her magical grip on her fork suddenly faded and she dropped it to the table, but she didn’t even notice, and for that matter, neither did Rarity. Morningstar felt a torrent of strange emotions rage through her, and she unconsciously reached up and touched her amulet. It was still there… but for some reason, she could not deny why she had made this lunch, the real, deep-down reason; she’d wanted to make Rarity feel better.

Morningstar stared at the table for a long moment before rising, her plate and utensils levitating off the table in a gentle pink aura and floating along after her to the sink. She couldn’t deny why she had done this… but she could still use it to her advantage. Rarity already plans on staying in today, so my mission can continue unhindered. She sighed with relief and began to run water in the sink, sliding the dishes into the running water absently, rinsing the leftover sauce and daisy petals from the plate as she did so. Suddenly, another plate and utensils slid into the water next to hers, these glowing a faint blue; she turned to find Rarity standing next to her, a small, genuine smile on her lips.

“Thank you, Morning Mist,” she said quietly. “After what I said yesterday to Rainbow Dash… it’s been hard for me to even want to get out of bed. I’ve been having such terrible thoughts about my friends that… oh, I feel dreadful even talking about it.” She reared up on her hind legs and threw her forelegs around Morningstar, hugging her tightly for a moment before dropping back to all four hooves. “So, thank you, darling. It was delicious, and I hope you’ll make it for me again.” Rarity favored her with one last smile before turning and heading towards the stairs. “I’ll be getting out of these curlers, but I still would rather not go out today… would you mind terribly helping me in my shop? I would love to have another pony of your poise to assist me with my designs.”

Before she could think of a proper answer, Morningstar found herself saying, “Of course, Rarity; anything for you.”

Rarity smiled again and disappeared from the kitchen, leaving Morningstar blinking and confused by her own feelings.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Twilight Sparkle found herself staring out of her library window at the town square that was just barely within her line of sight, where Pinkie Pie would be setting her party up. The sun was just barely above the horizon, painting the high, wispy clouds in the west a vivid orange and pink before a light blue sky; a very pretty sunset, if Twilight did say so herself… but the mere mention of a sunset made her roll her eyes good-naturedly. With a smile she glanced down at the invitation Pinkie had slid under her door the night before. It was written in what looked like crayon, and it indicated that Pinkie’s party would start as soon as the sun touched the horizon and would continue until… well, Pinkie’s invite listed “sunset - ???” as the timeframe, so Twilight assumed it was basically until even the late-night ponies wrapped everything up and staggered home. She giggled slightly at the prospect, even though she knew that she personally would not be doing so. She turned to Spike, who was sitting in a rocking chair, his blanket wrapped tightly around him.

“I’m sorry you aren’t feeling up to coming to the party, Spike,” Twilight said with a sympathetic look at the baby dragon. “I know how much you were looking forward to it.”

Spike sighed, and immediately regretted it as he started coughing. “I know…” His coughing went on for a minute, and Twilight was about to ask him if he was all right when the fit finally subsided. “I’m really bummed, Twilight… Pinkie told me that this would be a party that ponies would talk about for years… and I have to miss it because of some stupid ol’ dragonpox…”

Twilight walked over to her assistant and patted his head gently with her hoof. “Awwww… I know, big guy. But Fluttershy said you need all the rest you can get, remember?” She grinned at him. “And if your track record is anything to go by, you’d be falling asleep after about an hour there. You just don’t have that ol’ Spike stamina that you normally do; this dragonpox is really taking it out of you.” Spike nodded, and Twilight stroked his spines tenderly with her hoof. “Look, I promise that when I go out tonight, I’ll make sure I come back with something sweet and delicious for you, OK?” The tiny dragon nodded again, and Twilight smiled. “And, I’ll even see if I can get you something to commemorate the evening; that way, if anyone EVER questions the fact that you were, indeed, here in Ponyville at the party of the century, then you can…”

Spike nodded again, and Twilight realized with a giggle that he had fallen asleep. “Yup… right on schedule,” she said softly. Her horn lit up and she carried her little friend gently to his bed, which sat beside the empty fireplace. Spike claimed that even being next to it made him feel a little better, because it made him think of fires and being all warm and cuddly, and Twilight wasn’t about to deny a sick little dragon his choice of bedding area.

She had just tucked Spike in when there was a gentle, hesitant knock at her library door. Twilight cast a glance at the window; the sun had just touched the horizon, and she knew that in the town square, the party had to be getting started, which meant that there was only one friend who would be here at her door, much less knock so quietly. With a gentle smile she walked to the door and opened it.

“Fluttershy, what’s going on? Aren’t you going to the par…ty?” Her words died in her throat as she looked at the Pegasus on the other side of the door. Her wings were drooping, her mane unkempt, and her eyes were downcast as if she couldn’t stand to look at anything in the world anymore. On her back was a small bag, a bright, cyan blue bag that matched her coat perfectly, and when she finally raised her magenta eyes to meet Twilight’s, the defeat in them almost broke the unicorn’s heart.

“Rainbow Dash…?” she said quietly. “What… what’s going…?” Without thinking, Twilight stepped through the door and threw her front legs up around Dash’s neck, hugging her tight. “I’m here, Dashie,” she whispered to her friend, using Pinkie’s nickname for her. “I’m here.” She half-expected Rainbow Dash to push her away, maybe mutter something about Twilight being too touchy-feely… but to her surprise and horror, Rainbow Dash leaned into her hug and began to cry. She started softly, only the gentle bobbing of her wings indicating that anything was out of the ordinary, but in a matter of moments she was sobbing into Twilight’s mane with such heart-wrenching agony that Twilight felt herself start to tear up. This was more than she had seen yesterday in the market; this was so completely out of the ordinary for Rainbow that Twilight had to take a quick peek at her friend’s coat just to make sure that Discord hadn’t randomly gotten loose again. The rainbow-maned Pegasus cried and cried, and Twilight felt as if somepony was slowly wrenching her heart from her chest with magic. Suddenly, she felt Rainbow’s knees wobble, threatening to drop the Pegasus onto the ground. Twilight gasped and quickly returned to all four hooves. “Inside, you,” she commanded, wiping at her eyes with a foreleg. Rainbow Dash was in no state to argue, so she pulled her wings against her and walked through the door, tears streaming down her cheeks. Twilight glanced up at the sky outside and silently asked Celestia for help before closing the door behind her.

Rainbow Dash glanced around the library, obviously barely in control of her emotions, but when she saw Spike in the corner, she seemed to hesitate about walking any further into the building. Twilight hurried to her side and slid underneath her wing, supporting her friend to keep her on her hooves a little while longer. “C’mon, upstairs we go. We can talk in my room.” Dash nodded, and together the two ponies climbed the stairs as the sun set outside.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Roughly two hours later, the sun had officially set and as full dark had settled on Ponyville lamps had been lit, magic had sparked moving multicolored orbs of light to decorate the streets, and Pinkie Pie’s party kicked into high gear. Cakes and baked goods of all shapes, colors, sizes and assortments had been placed around the edge of the town square at the beginning of the night to make sure that everypony got some, with other food items placed on smaller tables inside the main ring of dessert tables. At first, when the sun was still up, everypony in town was here; fillies and colts dashing about, sampling whatever they could get their tiny muzzles on as they were either chided or encouraged by their parents. However, now that night was falling and the fillies and colts of the town were ushered off to bed by responsible parental ponies, the younger mares and stallions were quick to take over, bringing out the punchbowls filled with less-than-filly-friendly concoctions inside and quickly turning the fun, party music blaring through the square into loud, deep music that thumped bass so heavy it seemed to pierce clean through a pony’s core and making them feel the vibrations of the music. The unicorns in charge of the orbs of light brought them to the town square and changed them slightly so they pulsed in time with the music, and rumor had it that the party pony herself had brought out a special drink she called her “Ponyville Packsa-Punch”, and if the reactions of the ponies who dared to try it were anything to go by, it packed quite a punch indeed.

The lights pulsed and ponies, Whinnyapolians and Ponyvillians alike, danced away to the pulsing, hypnotic beat, and Falling Star had to give one thing to the party: it was doing its job. Everypony was laughing, dancing, eating and generally having what looked to be a wonderful time, and that of course meant that they were not thinking about their destroyed homes and town; the perfect distraction. The blue Pegasus threaded his way through the crowd, the general joy of them all washing over him like the water on a duck’s back, and with a similar chilling, discomforting effect. Falling Star would be the first to admit that crowds made him… uncomfortable; even a crowd as preoccupied with fun and music as this one was. He stepped past a pair of ponies who were jumping up and down as high as they could in time with the music, giggling wildly as they did so. He sighed and nudged a discarded, half-eaten cupcake out of his way as he made his way towards the edges of the crowd, his eyes peeled for any sign of the other bearers of the Elements.

As a group of mares passed him, they all gave him what he had long ago recognized as the “appraising stare”, and Falling Star felt himself shrink; he had always hated when they did that. Of his many fears, the fear of rejection was one of the most prominent in his mind, and that was what had kept him from trying to have a relationship of any kind. Thankfully, it only took the mares a second to judge him, giggle and move on to every other stallion at the party, but even after they had gone his fear stayed, chilling the corners of his mind and making his stomach feel like he was flying in a constant loop. It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted to get a fillyfriend… in fact, he’d more than wanted to. In flight school, all those hundreds and hundreds of years ago, he’d had a rather large crush on a Pegasus mare named Windcatcher, and had longed for her for almost a year. Even the pulse of the partying ponies around him couldn’t stop Falling Star’s memory from wandering back to her; he could still see her in perfect detail- her sleek figure dashing through the cloud rings on the obstacle course in Cloudsdale, her pink mane flying in the wind, her three white, swirling cutie marks standing out brightly against her blue coat. Her eyes, as blue as the highest sky, meeting his across the course; that was the day he knew he wanted to be her coltfriend, and had done what ever colt does when he loses his heart to a filly: his level best not to make a foal out of himself in front of her. But, as his friends had so many times demonstrated, she deserved better; they took every opportunity to embarrass him in front of Windcatcher, until every time she saw him, she’d laughed. Falling Star stopped walking, and felt his wings droop slightly at the memories that surfaced.

They were all outside, Shooting Star and his entire class of other pegasi. They were waiting for their instructor to show up and give them the day’s lesson, and Shooting Star just happened to be walking past a group of colts when a voice rang out. “Hey Shooter! Here comes yer fillyfriend!” The colt, a black pegasi named Tornado, grinned at him, and it was anything but friendly. “Hey, Windcatcher! Get a load of THIS!” Without any warning, Tornado bucked out with his back legs, knocking Shooting Star from his hooves as he walked by. Shooting Star tried to extend his wings for balance as he slid sideways across the clouds, but they were too big; he over-extended, and ended up toppling the other direction and landing flat on his face. Even with his ears full of fluffy clouds, he could hear everypony laughing at him… and worst of all, he could hear Windcatcher’s musical laugh joining them. He pulled his head out of the cloud, and looked to the pretty filly, who saw the look in his eyes and stopped laughing. “Oh, Shooter, um…”

But he didn’t care. He didn’t care that she STOPPED laughing; she had laughed, right along with the colts, who thought his misfortune was the most hilarious thing they’d ever seen. That was the last straw. He felt his heart break, and without wasting another moment he rose and galloped away, hoping that no one saw his tears…

That was the day he’d become a loner, the day he’d stopped caring about everything but the sky and everypony but his instructors and superiors. He didn’t make any friends from Flight School that he kept in contact with; he had barely spoken to any of them before he’d vanished a thousand years ago, and in all likelihood, they’d all forgotten him even before he had. Falling Star sighed, and despite being surrounded by hundreds of other ponies… he felt entirely alone. But that was something he’d grown accustomed to feeling. Even when he was with the other generals, he felt alone; he knew they only dealt with him because he was one of them, not because any of them actually chose his company. The only thing that had kept the four of them together at all was the Lunar Republic; if that was gone… he didn’t know what would happen.

He slowly made his way to the furthest tables away from the main crowd of dancing ponies, past the punchbowls filled with fruity drinks to where the cakes and cupcakes ruled. He made a cursory glance around the tables to ensure that none of Rainbow Dash’s friends were lurking before he reached out with a hoof and dragged a nearby cupcake closer; it had bright blue frosting over spongy yellow cake, topped with three of the ripest blueberries he’d ever set eyes on… but he just stared at it. Friends, he thought miserably. Around him, the party surged and flowed, with ponies coming and going from the table, but none even glanced over at the blue Pegasus with the cupcake. What must it be like… to have friends? He wondered idly, raising a hoof to poke at the blueberries on his baked good. Perhaps it was foalish of him to think about, but in his mind, he knew he’d never really had friends before. The ponies he’d known in Flight School could hardly be called friends; and the other generals… well, he had thought Wild Star was his friend, once upon a time… but once Nightmare Moon had changed their cutie marks and names, Wild Star’s one ambition seemed to be whatever Dark Star said it should be, and now Falling Star doubted if he’d ever been his friend, really. His heart ached… but then he felt it; the cold, creeping touch of fear up his spine.

Friends lead to conflict and heartache, a voice whispered in his mind. Friends lead to arguments and bitterness and regret. And eventually, having friends will make you the same thing that you are now: alone.

Alone.

That one word sent a shiver through his whole body, and he took a shaky breath. There was a reason he wielded the amulet of Fear: he felt it, constantly. Not the average, every-day kind of fear that anypony could feel when they saw a spider, or found themselves someplace high up, but a deep, ingrained fear. A fear that had rotted him from the inside out, and had thwarted his best efforts to change before Dark Star had found him and made that very handicap his strength. A fear rooted in the knowledge that no matter what he did, he would always be rejected, and always and forever be alone.

Alone.

To be alone, forever; that was Falling Star’s one, greatest fear, and the reason he hated to be in a crowd; amidst all the friendship and laughter and happiness, he felt the void in his heart laughing at him, telling him that he would never be a part of the fun… and that he would always be alone.

He stared at the cupcake before him, the pulsing lights around him changing the colors on it from blue to red to purple to yellow to orange and back to blue again to repeat the cycle. Finally, after a moment, he reached his hoof up and pushed the cupcake and its colorful, delicious looking frosting away.

Suddenly, off to his left there was a loud bang as a door burst open, sending a beam of light into the darkened street. Falling Star jerked around, raising his hoof to block the bright light… but he stopped mid-move, his eyes locked on the doorway despite the painful light… for framed in that very doorway stood the single most beautiful mare he had ever laid his eyes on. At first, she was merely a shadow, a black silhouette against the bright background of light; then the light went dark, and she was revealed in her amazing, pink glory.

She bounced out of the doorway, her curly, fluffy pink mane bouncing twice for every once that the rest of her did. Her tail, the same fluffy, cotton-candy pink as her mane, swished about eagerly as she quickly scanned the party, as if trying to figure out where the best place to bounce to next would be. As luck or fate or both would have it, she turned her eyes on him; their eyes met, blue to blue, and suddenly Falling Star was catapulted back a thousand and more years to Flight School, and the Pegasus filly he’d let slip out of his hooves. This pony wasn’t a Pegasus; she was an earth pony, whose coat was just shades lighter than her mane, and before he realized that he’d been staring, she smiled broadly and started towards him with frightening speed. Falling Star barely had time to close his mouth (which he hadn’t realized had been hanging open like a dead fish) before the beautiful pink pony was standing next to him, her eyes bright.

“HI!” she said loudly to be heard over the still-pounding music. “My name’s Pinkie Pie! Are you gonna eat that?!” Without waiting even a second for him to answer, Pinkie Pie lunged forward and devoured his cupcake with one large bite. She chomped away at it for a long moment, making noises that sounded suspiciously like omnomnom before she swallowed and sighed happily. “Woo! Those are some good cupcakes! Mrs. Cake really outdid herself this time!” She giggled, and then those captivating blue eyes were holding his gaze again. “So, I didn’t get your name! You do have a name, right? I mean, EVERYpony has to have a name…” her eyes widened slightly. “But what if you don’t have a name?! Ooooh… that would be so sad, I can’t even think about how sad that would be not to have a name! I love my name, and I’d hate to lose it.” Suddenly, her nose crinkled and her smooth brow furrowed, and Falling Star felt something deep in his heart shift; as if suddenly his heart decided that it was sick and tired his fears, and had taken matters into its own hooves. “Can you lose your name? I’ve lost a lot of things before, like cupcakes and pies and wagons and Gummy and I think I even lost Twilight once… but she found her way back, so everything was okie-dokie!” Her face lit up and she scooted closer to Falling Star, who found that he couldn’t even take a step backwards, so entranced was he with her. “Do you think that maybe if I lost my name, it would come back to me, like Twilight did?!” She stared at him, obviously waiting for a response… but the dark blue Pegasus could only move his mouth open and closed. No sound came out. Pinkie Pie arched an eyebrow at him. “Well?? Do you think it could?? Hey, can’t you talk?” Pinkie’s eyes widened again, and this time he was sure he saw some tears in the corners. “Oooh!!!! Maybe you can’t talk, and that’s why you’re being so quiet! And here I am asking you to answer me answer me answer me and maybe you aren’t because you can’t!” Pinkie Pie took another step towards him, and this time Falling Star managed to get out a single word.

“Yes…” he squeaked. He felt the amulet in his shoulder pouch grasp at his mind, and for just a moment the tendrils of fear threatened to send him back to silence… but then the pink pony giggled loudly, and the tendrils evaporated like morning dew before the sun.

“OH! You can talk! HOORAY!!” Pinkie Pie actually leaped into the air, but when she came back down she was confused again. “But do you mean YES you can’t talk, or YES my voice could come back to me if it wandered away? Because if it’s YES you can’t talk, well, I think you’ve got some explaining to do, buster!” She grinned and gave him a wink. “But don’t worry, I won’t tell anypony that you’re shy. No sirree, they won’t hear it from Pinkie Pie that… um…” Her brow furrowed again, and Falling Star felt his heart squeeze. She’s… adorable. “Come to think of it, you never told me your name, silly! How can I not tell ponies you’re shy if I don’t know your name? And I’m warning you, if you don’t tell me your name, I’ll just have to make one UP for yooooou!” she said in a sing-song voice before giving him another wink, but she had obviously realized he took a few moments to speak and actually stopped talking just long enough for Falling Star to respond.

“It’s… Shooting Star,” he said, not even able to take his eyes off of hers… not even long enough to realize that he’d given her the wrong name; his real name.

Pinkie Pie giggled loudly, and this time Falling Star felt something other than the clinging cold of fear in his heart; he felt something warm, something that crept through the dark recesses of his soul, bringing just a touch of sunshine to a world that had known only shadows for a millennium. “Shooting Star? That’s a nice name,” she said much more slowly, almost at a normal speaking rate. “Well, I told you my name’s Pinkie Pie, so I guess now that makes us friends!” Her eyebrows shot up. “Wait… if you don’t know who I am, and I don’t know who you are… that must mean that you’re from Whinnyapolis, right?” Falling Star nodded, and Pinkie giggled with glee. “Ooh, I LOVE making new friends! And since I’ve made it my duty as party-rific ambassador of Ponyville to hug each and every one of my new friends tonight, you get a hug!” And without any further warning whatsoever, Pinkie Pie reared up on her hind legs and threw herself at Falling Star, wrapping him up in a huge, pink bear hug.

Falling Star couldn’t even move as she squeezed him tight against her chest. She was soft, so soft she was almost plushy; he could hear her heart beating rapidly in her chest, and knew that his was doing at least that fast, probably faster. He inhaled deeply, and his pulse increased tenfold; she smelled like every wonderful, fun, exciting thing in the world, like cakes and adventures and caramel and things his brain couldn’t even begin to identify, and over all of that was the soft, sweet scent of cotton candy. She was warm and just a little bit sweaty, undoubtedly from leaping around in all directions… but as she pulled him close, he suddenly knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that this mare was indescribable, and he shouldn’t even bother wasting time trying to decide what it was she smelled like or hugged like. The feeling welling up in his chest, however, was different; it had a name, and although he had never felt it before, he knew what it was before he could even begin to deny it… which he couldn’t.

After a moment, Pinkie pulled away and dropped back to all four hooves, not seeming to notice that Falling Star looked like he’d just gone into cardiac arrest. “Hey,” she said excitedly, bouncing so fast on her hooves that she looked like she was simply vibrating in place. “D’you wanna come around with me? I’ve love to show you around the party! And I promised I’d meet Berry Punch and let her try my newest drink!” The pink party pony suddenly got very shy, and she blushed gently. “And… maybe you could try it, too? I’d like to know what you think, Shootie.”

Whether it was the invitation, the blush, or her adaptation of his name into an adorable nickname, Falling Star would never know; all he knew was suddenly, at that very moment, nothing, not Dark Star, not his mission, not even his own personal cover story mattered as much as accompanying this mare to the drinks table. With a smile that hadn’t been seen in over a thousand years, Falling Star nodded. “It would be my pleasure, Miss Pie.” Pinkie Pie returned his smile broadly before grabbing his wingtip in her teeth and dragging him along with her firmly… and even then, Falling Star couldn’t wipe the huge, ridiculous grin off of his face.

Comments

[Xaldon Ajide]

D'AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW shooting starx pinki pie ... hopefully anyway twi's got dash and everything's gonna turn out good in that area.
aj's in for a world of pain and rarity too. also all hells gonna break loose when twi gets pissed.. cue the dramatic music.
good show bro good show. cheers

[Xaldon Ajide]

hay D4ftP0ny i'll see if i can share this story with some others its pretty good. maby you should also try for EQD.

[D4ftP0ny]

492488
Well, thank you Xaldon, I'm really glad you like it that much; I know as I'm reading this again, I realize just how much I truly love this story, and you wanting to share it with others makes me smile! :D

And I've been told I should submit it to EqD, but... meh, I'm still on the fence about it. I just don't know. >.<

[Xaldon Ajide]

494984 as for EqD wait till your finished. or atleast mostly finished its a good story but you might find a few things you'll want to change before you finish it. other than that tis still a good story. as for the one i've done i dunno it pales in comparison to yours. anyway cheers

[WhenIwasjustafilly]

But what if Pinkie Pie and Falling and Rainbow are talking and Rainbow calls Falling Meteor and Pinkie calls him Shooting Star? Me suspicious.

[InarJollyhound]

"The only way to master fear is to become it" Once Pinkie helps Shooting star he should become.... BATSTALLION!!!.
(Inar prepares for oncoming storm ... sooon )