MLPFiM: The Stars of Darkness pt. 13

Luna's moon was rising higher into the sky, almost to its zenith by the time Morningstar made her way to her room and shut the door with a sigh.  She felt drained, physically and emotionally, from the long day with Rarity; she'd stayed at home with her the entire day, helping her where she could around the Boutique.  Rarity had seemed especially eager to use her as a ponyquin, and Morningstar had spent the majority of her day standing very, very still while Rarity pinned yard after yard of different fabrics around her; soon, no less than seven actual ponyquins had been decorated with potential new outfits that had their inspiration in what Rarity called "le Morning Mist physique."  The white unicorn sighed and shook her head; her magic sparked to life and pulled at the ribbon in her mane, which had kept it up and out of the way while Rarity worked.  She had tried to give it back to Rarity, but the other unicorn told her to keep it as a gift.  A quick yank and her sunrise-colored mane fell down around her neck and face in gentle waves; she gave it a quick shake to get it back out of her eyes as she settled the small piece of black ribbon onto her nightstand.  The pink aura of her magic switched from the ribbon to her brush and it levitated from the stand, gliding silently to her as she walked to the window and sat down.

The brush began to slowly work its way through her mane as she stared up at the stars, the light from the single candle in her room casting a gentle glow behind her.  It was a beautiful night tonight, and Morningstar could still hear the dull thumping of music from the party several blocks away.  She sighed contently; she was glad to see that ponies were out enjoying Luna's night.  Things had been very different a thousand years ago.  The nights had been a thing of fear and mystery, through no fault of the Princesses, especially for the earth ponies, who had no magic to give them protection or wings to lift them safely above their enemies.  She remembered being called "strange" and "unnatural" for loving the nights the way she did, and that was part of the reason she had been drawn to Princess Luna's cause.  Now, she simply would have been called a "party pony" and would have had hundreds of friends to be with after the sun went down.

She smiled slightly.  Oh, how things change in a thousand years.

It was still strange to think that it had been that long…  that one day they had allowed Dark Star to weave a spell over them as they drifted off to sleep, and that seemingly the next day was nigh on a thousand years in the future.  Her brush stroked from her ears to her chin, pulling at a stubborn knot near the bottom and drawing a slight wince from the unicorn.  The changes in the world had surprised them all at first, perhaps Dark Star most of all; they had all secretly believed that Celestia would drive her kingdom into the ground, and that they would emerge just before Nightmare Moon's release to find a world without order.  Or perhaps that's just what we hoped would happen.  Things would have been so much easier then… no fighting, no subterfuge… no nothing.

The unicorn let out a vexed sigh and sent her brush back to the vanity.  And since WHEN did you care about that? She asked herself.  When did you start to look for the easy way to do things?  Hmm?  She shook her head angrily and rose from the window to make her way back to the vanity and the mirror it held.  She looked into her own eyes, those deep, dark eyes; her horn glowed gently, and with a shimmer of fog, her amulet appeared around her neck.  The green gem glinted in the candlelight, and Morningstar stared at it, her eyes impassive.  Dark Star had seemed so certain of their victory when he'd made these… so completely sure of himself and Luna's cause that it had been easy to get swept away by his grandiose ideals and expertly chosen words.  Her gaze went back to her own eyes.  And what do you believe in now?

She didn't know what had prompted the feelings from earlier that day; the sudden desire to make Rarity feel better had struck her so quickly that she hadn't even realized it until she was eating the meal she'd made, and with such intensity that she hadn't even questioned it when she felt it, simply acted upon it.  The white unicorn shook her head slightly, still bemused by the chain of events.  I was under the impression that the amulet would keep my feelings in line, she thought.  But then, this kind of magic has never really been tested.  Again, she found herself wondering if it was simply the distance between Dark Star and his allies that made the difference.  Her brow furrowed.  But if that's true, then that would mean that our amulets are directly affected by his own, the amulet of Hate.  If her feelings of jealousy were fading now… what did that mean for the Elements of Destruction?

"No," she said softly, her eyes becoming firm.  Be that as it may, there were still a few things she believed, and the first of those was that she had made a promise to Dark Star and Princess Luna those thousand years ago, to see the Lunar Republic's victory through to the end.  She was still in the midst of an important mission, and she didn't have the luxury to start questioning her side's methods.  If her jealousy was slipping around Rarity… she would just have to visit the one unicorn in town she knew she was jealous of.

Morningstar turned from the vanity and walked to the door, using her magic to silence the hinges, allowing it to open and shut soundlessly.  She tip-hoofed down the hall, but it wasn't really necessary; she could hear Rarity's slow, steady breathing from the room at the end as she passed by, and if the exhausted look in the designer's eyes was anything to go by, she'd be dead to the world until first light.  Then down the stairs, through the front of the shop and out the door, making sure she wrapped the bell in a muting spell before exiting.

The white unicorn started off down the street, away from the dull roar of the party at the center of town towards the library that stood several blocks away, all the while not even realizing that before she had left her room, she had tied the black ribbon that Rarity had given her into a bow in her mane.

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

Twilight paced in main room of the library, far past the time when she would normally have turned off her lights and gone to bed.  She just couldn't seem to keep her hooves still long enough to relax, and after her talk with Rainbow Dash earlier she doubted anypony could blame her.  She cast her eyes to the door that led to her room, where Rainbow was currently sleeping soundly on the spare bed, placed at the foot of her own, and in spite of herself, Twilight felt a surge of panic and uncertainty.

She had fully intended to talk to Rainbow when she showed up at her door looking like she had, but by the time she'd gotten Dash to her room, her Pegasus friend had broken down crying again and, much to Twilight's shock, had sat for almost two hours in Twilight's comforting embrace; sometimes crying, sometimes just closing her eyes and appearing to fall asleep before opening them again and looking up at the librarian, as if to make sure she was still there.  Twilight had started to ask what was wrong, but the first time she'd tried, Dash had only broken down again; the second time, Rainbow Dash had sniffled and wiped a foreleg across her eyes.  "Please Twilight… don't make me talk about it right now," she'd asked.  "Please just… let me stay here with you for tonight..?  I promise that I'll tell you everything in the morning."  Twilight had agreed, of course… but the naturally curious and unnaturally smart unicorn simply could not, to coin the phrase, let sleeping ponies lie.  

Twilight shook her head again and resumed her pacing.  "Rainbow NEVER sleeps over," she muttered.  "I always assumed it was because she couldn't stand being out of the air even while she was sleeping.  If that's the case, then why is she here?  Her wings looked fine to me."  She sighed.  "I mean, I'm no doctor, but she didn't seem actually hurt."  But I didn't see her fly anywhere in here.  The realization hit Twilight between the eyes like a misguided muffin.  "Come to think of it… I haven't even seen her fly anywhere at all."  If there was one thing every one of her friends knew, it was how much Rainbow Dash loved to fly; in fact, there weren't many ponies in Ponyville, friends or not, who didn't know just how much Rainbow loved to fly.  The purple unicorn frowned deeply.  Even when Rainbow had been under Discord's influence, she hadn't given up flying.  In fact, as far as Twilight was concerned, nothing short of literally losing her wings could EVER force Rainbow out of the sky.  It was part of who she was, and a part of her that he friends dearly loved.

"What in the name of Celestia is going on…?" Twilight muttered, turning again as she paced.  There was just too much coincidence for this to actually be coincidence.  Without even thinking about it her horn lit up, and from her desk in the corner a piece of paper and a quill floated to her, wrapped in her purple magic.  The quill set against the paper and began to write a list as Twilight orated.  "One; we learn about Dark Star and his companions."  The quill scribbled rapidly as she spoke, and if it wasn't for Twilight's uncanny ability with magic, she would have realized exactly how difficult writing with magic without even looking at the paper was.  "Two: Whinnyapolis is attacked by a dragon, allowing a flood of new ponies into Ponyville."  She nodded.  "Three: half of the bearers of the Elements suddenly have new friends.  Four, all of these "new friends" appear to be having adverse affects on them."  The quill flicked sideways as Twilight made a sub-note on her list.  "Rarity has become particularly possessive of Morning Mist, for example.  Applejack has been very aggressive, and Rainbow Dash has been very…"  She glanced at the doorway again, then back to where the paper hovered.  "Uncharacteristically upset about something she won't speak on."

The quill jumped down a small space, and Twilight continued her pacing as it started to scribble once more.  "Possible conclusions..? One, that these ponies are not refugees, but some kind of clandestine unit sent to sabotage our friendship and, through that, the Elements of Harmony."  She shook her head slightly; even when saying that to herself in an empty room it sounded paranoid, but it had to go on the list.  "Two: that Dark Star may be influencing otherwise blameless ponies into doing his bidding."  Also slightly paranoid, but if he was as powerful as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna said he was, it wasn't out of the question.  "Or three, that these events may, in fact, be totally unrelated and completely coincidental."  But even as she said it, she knew that they couldn't be unrelated.  Too much had happened in the past four days for this to be coincidence.  "Which means… that it has to be one of the first two," she said softly.  The paper and quill, their purpose achieved, floated back to her desk and settled next to one another as the lavender unicorn continued her pacing.  "But if it was one of the first two, which one?  If it was a spell placed on other ponies by Dark Star, I could detect it easily enough."  She sighed.  "But using the spells to find it would undoubtedly alert Dark Star; he's no foal, he's probably set failsafe spells in place to either erase those memories or worse."

Twilight made a vexed noise in her throat and walked towards the window.  "UGH... I need some air."  Her magic sparked to life and the latch on it clicked aside, allowing a firm magical push to throw it wide open.

To Twilight's shock and confusion, the window stopped far short of its intended resting place with a loud thump and a muffled "Ow!" from the bushes outside.  Her heart leaped into her throat at the sound of rustling leaves; whoever was out there was trying to get away!

Now, normally, Twilight Sparkle would have galloped to the window, maybe cast a light spell and tried to see who the peeping pony was; but the events of the past four days, not to mention the stress and confusion of tonight in particular, had pushed her passed the boundaries she normally set for herself.  With a grimace of anger, her horn lit up, and from out the window she heard a squeak of indignation as a pony was lifted up from the bushes and in through her window.

"All right," she demanded.  "Who are you and what exactly are you doing in my bushes at this time of night?"  The pony was facing away from her, legs poised as if to make a run for it; she had a pristine white coat and a multicolored mane and tail.  With a frown, Twilight rotated the intruder around… and almost dropped her in surprise as her face revealed none other than the pony Rarity had adopted as her new best friend: Morning Mist.  And she did not look happy.

"I think you know who I am, Twilight Sparkle," she huffed.  "And I do not enjoy being pony-handled by another unicorn's magic, if you don't mind."

Twilight blinked… but her magic held firm, and her eyes narrowed.  "Actually, I do mind.  And I do not enjoy ponies sneaking around my library at night, so I won't be putting you down until you answer second question!"

Morning Mist stared at her, her eyes angry, but after a few more moments of being held aloft by Twilight's magic she sighed sharply.  "Fine.  I was up late because I couldn't sleep with that infernal party going on, so I took a walk.  I saw your light on in the window and decided that reading would help me sleep, so I came to check something out of your library."  She huffed again and would have looked away if Twilight's spell had allowed her to move at all.

Twilight arched an eyebrow.  "So, you wanted to check out a book?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"At this time of night?"

"All covered in my explanation."

"Through the bushes and the window?" Twilight asked, and Morning Mist blinked.

"Well… that wasn't the original plan, to be sure… but I had to check to see if anypony was actually awake, didn't I?  And- and I didn't want to knock and wake everypony up if the light had just been left on by mistake."  She nodded, as if that made it complete fact.  "And then I was rudely assaulted by your window frame, and here we are."  Twilight sighed inwardly, and hoped that Morning Mist seriously did not expect her to believe that excuse.  The white unicorn met Twilight's eyes again, and there was definite anger there this time.  "So I'll tell you again; release me from your magic."  The unspoken or else floated around the library so tangibly that Twilight swore she heard it hit something in the corner.

After another few moments, Twilight nodded, and the purple aura around the other unicorn winked out, dropping her the remaining foot to the floor where she landed precariously on one front and one back leg, teetered on the brink of falling over for a split-second, and then settled firmly back to all fours with a thankful exhale before giving Twilight an extremely irritated look.

"Was that really necessary?" she asked quietly.

Twilight watched her for a long moment, her lavender eyes meeting Morning Mist's blue.  There was something about the white unicorn's eyes, as if an unspoken challenge to the entire world lay there, asking to be taken up; a look that had been echoed in the eyes of another unicorn who had passed through here, not all that long ago.  The thought of the travelling magician named Trixie brought the heat of embarrassment to Twilight's cheeks; she'd often wondered what had happened to her, and wondered equally often if she herself could have handled the situation better.

Well, what about this time? A voice asked her from deep inside.  Twilight blinked in spite of herself and turned away from Morning Mist.  "Um… if you'd like a book, feel free to take a look around," she said.  "I was just… working on some things."  The small piece of paper on the desk lit up with a purple aura before rolling itself neatly.  What about this time, the voice persisted as Twilight stole a glanced at Morning Mist, who had turned and was now examining the shelves of books like she had all the time in Equestria.  She looked back to the rolled up list of her suspicions on her desk, then back at the white unicorn.

She'd never admit it to her friends, but she did feel like she could have done things differently with Trixie.  She felt like they ALL could have; perhaps instead of rising to Trixie's challenges and trying to beat her at what was clearly her game, the six friends could have… well, tried to befriend her.  Twilight had many, many books in her library, and had read most of them at least once, including a text on pony psychology that had started her thinking that maybe Trixie's behavior was actually a means of self-justification, a way of telling other ponies "You see?  THIS is why you should want to be my friend," instead of going about things the right way and just being herself.  That, of course, led into a whole other set of possible reasons and issues ranging from self-esteem issues to an Alicorn Complex, none of which made what Twilight believed any easier to swallow: that if she and her friends had simply gone to Trixie personally and talked to her, they might have made friends with her… and perhaps things could have gone much, much differently that day.

She flicked her tail and stole another glance at Morning Mist, only to find the other unicorn staring at her intently from only a few feet away.  Twilight gasped and whirled around, her heart leaping into her throat.

"W-what?" she asked hastily.  "Do you have a question?"  Morning Mist stared at her, those blue eyes drilling into her as she took a step closer.  Twilight blinked and unconsciously took a step back.  "Um… is e-everything OK, Morning Mist?  You look a little… disturbed."  The lavender unicorn gasped and face-hoofed.  "I mean, you look worried, or pensive, not disturbed, that's not what I meant."  The white unicorn stared at her intently and took another step forward, driving the flustered Twilight backwards another step, where her rump touched her desk.  Twilight gave a nervous laugh.  "But, um, yeah, you look worried… or angry… are you angry?"  The purple unicorn winced, and decided to just keep her eyes closed as Morning Mist leaned in close to her, so close she could feel the other pony's breath on her cheek…

"You don't trust me, do you," Morning Mist said softly.

"What…?"  Twilight's eyes snapped open, and she saw the uncertainty on Morning Mist's face.  The other unicorn turned suddenly and walked across the room, her eyes trying to find something other than Twilight to look at.  "Um…"  It was no small feat to render Twilight Sparkle speechless, but she had done it with one sentence.

"You don't," she repeated, tossing her mane to one side of her neck, the black ribbon tying it back allowing her to control it easily.  "If you did, you wouldn't have such a look of abject horror on your face at the thought of having me in your precious library."  Now she turned back towards Twilight, her eyes flashing, and when she spoke again her voice dripped venom.  "And why is that?  Hmm?  What makes you so much better than me, Twilight Sparkle?  Answer me that, librarian."  She spat the last word with such contempt that Twilight winced.

There it was again: the superior attitude, the name-calling, the jabs; it was like facing Trixie all over again.  She knew that she should feel angry, hurt, very possibly confused… but every time she looked at Morning Mist, the face of a powder blue unicorn with a platinum mane floated across her vision, and all those aggressive feelings melted away in a miasma of guilt.  Here she was, in a study of friendship for the Princess… being confronted again by a unicorn that by all accounts should be friendless… and left with a decision to be made.

With a sigh, Twilight forced herself to meet Morning Mist's gaze.  "Nothing," she said.  "There's nothing about me that makes me better than you, Morning Mist."  She took a deep breath, and the words flowed easier as she continued.  "Our talents don't solely make up who we are; I learned that not so long ago myself."  A smile curved her lips as she spoke.  "It isn't about how magical we are, or how strong, or how smart; it's about what we do with those aspects of ourselves, and about who we choose to be because of, or in spite of, them."  Now Twilight took a step towards Morning Mist, and the unicorn met her gaze unflinchingly as Twilight advanced.  "Not so very long ago, I met another unicorn much like you," she said, allowing her voice to fall into hushed tones.  "She was proud, arrogant, and completely rude to all of my friends and everypony that I care about."  She was close enough to Morning Mist to touch her, and yet the white unicorn didn't retreat a single step as Twilight faced her, their muzzles mere inches apart.  "And do you know what I wished that I'd done to that unicorn?" Twilight whispered harshly.  Morning Mist shook her head, her eyes defiant and ready for a fight.

Then Twilight smiled.  "I wish that I'd had the chance to talk to her, face-to-face… and make friends with her."

Now it was Morning Mist's turn to look completely confused; the fire went out of her eyes, and for the first time since this confrontation had started, she looked unprepared.  "You wish… what?"

"I wish I had taken the chance and asked her if she'd like to be friends," Twilight repeated.  She turned her eyes to the window, and her smile became sad.  "Her name was Trixie… the 'Great and Powerful Trixie' as she purported herself, and she was without a doubt the most self-absorbed, stuck up mare that I've ever met... but I wish more than anything in all of Equestria that I had just talked to her, got to know her, and maybe even become friends with her."  She turned her eyes back to Morning Mist.  "So I have to tell you the truth, Morning Mist; I don't trust you."

Morning Mist's eyes narrowed in victory… but Twilight held a hoof out to her.  "But I'd like to," she said quietly.  Her smile became soft and kind.  "Would you… like to be friends with me?"

The other unicorn stared at her in disbelief, as if she had just grown three more heads and a set of wings, but Twilight maintained her smile, and waggled the offered hoof slightly.  "It's OK, I won't bite," she said with a giggle.  "And I promise it won't be scary; once you've made your first friend, it becomes as easy as breathing."

There was silence between the two unicorns for a long time, Twilight holding her hoof out to Morning Mist, Morning Mist looking intently at Twilight… and finally, it was Morning Mist who broke the silence, her eyes wide and… confused.

"N-no… I don't think I… can," she said hoarsely.

Twilight put her hoof back to the floor and gave Morning Mist her most reassuring smile.  "Oh, come on… what harm could there be in making friends with Rarity's friends?  I mean, if you're going to spend time with her, and we want to spend time with her, too, well, why don't we all spend that time together?"

"Rarity?" Morning Mist said, so softly it might have been to herself.  "Rarity doesn't really want to be my friend…"

"She doesn't?" Twilight asked, now genuinely puzzled.  "Well, that doesn't make any sense; she gave you that lovely ribbon to put in your mane, didn't she?"  She gestured with her hoof at the delicate silk bow that hung near Morning Mist's left shoulder.

Morning Mist rolled her eyes.  "Ribbon in my mane indeed; there is no ribbon in my-," She raised a hoof and found the ribbon tied in her mane, and her eyes widened so much that Twilight swore they were going to pop out of her head.  The white unicorn stammered for a few seconds, her hoof touching the bow… and suddenly she turned towards the door.  "I have to go," she said abruptly.  "Thank you for your time."  She charged at the door of the library, and within seconds she was gone and the door was swinging gently shut.

Twilight blinked.  "Well… OK then…"  She sighed and felt her ears droop low.  "Good night, Morning Mist…" she whispered.  "I hope you change your mind."

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

It wasn't unusual for Wild Star to take flights during the night; in fact, it was his preferred time of the day, so to speak.  To watch the faded world glide by below him while countless stars swam above… it was something that he could rarely describe, and even when he tried he never felt like he quite did it justice.  "It's just something you have to try for yourself," is what he'd end up saying… and he stood by that.  As his wings flapped through the dark sky, his black mane blowing in the warm night air, he couldn't help but smile; a real, content, genuine smile as his equine body slipped through the summer night high above Ponyville.  Far below, he could see the lights of the party in the center of town starting to go out; apparently even the heartiest of ponies was beginning to feel the lateness of the hour.  I bet Falling Star's already back in the barn, he thought with a shake of his head.  After all, he hadn't really wanted to go to the party in the first place; Wild Star was sure he'd left at the earliest opportunity and was now tucked safely away in bed, safe from any of the scary ponies of Ponyville.

He snorted as he tilted his wings to begin his slow, circling descent towards the ground below.  When he'd first met Falling Star all those years ago, he'd meant to break him out of that stubborn shell of his, but Dark Star had changed all of that with his plan to support Luna.  Once Luna had used her magic to change their cutie marks and they had sworn an oath to her, Wild Star had found less and less time to spend with anypony else, even his fellow generals.  By the time she became Nightmare Moon and the final battle ensued, the generals had all become rather… angry with each other.  Each one blamed another for shortcomings in the Lunar Republic, and Wild Star would be the first to admit that if Celestia hadn't won the day, he didn't honestly know how long they could have all served together.  He shook his head slightly, not wanting to throw his weight around too much as he dropped from the sky.  Sometimes, I guess things happen for a reason.

Slowly, the ground gained definition in the full moon's light; trees rose up all around him, and soon he could make out the barn and farmhouse of Sweet Apple Acres.  He didn't know how many ponies were still out at the party in town, but the lights in the farmhouse were all dark, and the barn door was askew with nothing but darkness on the other side.  He flapped his wings rapidly as he came in for a landing, his hooves landing solidly on the ground a few dozen yards from the barn.  As with every time he came down out of the air, there was a bit of heaviness that settled around him; something about being on the ground just did not sit well with him, as if his very being screamed to be up in the air, doing something dangerous and ridiculous.  He grinned.  That was, after all, how I became one of the Wonderbolts.  It seemed like such a long time ago since he was able to fly just for the pleasure of it; to raise his wings to the heavens and prance his hooves across the sky itself, to feel his mane brush the fabric of the great beyond as he hurtled through the air, just like he used to.  Every Pegasus laid claim to a love of flying… but to Wild Star it had become more than that, was still more than that; it was part of his very heart and soul, a piece of whom he was.  He cantered forward as the momentum of his flight died off, tossing his mane and stretching his wings thoroughly before folding them against his lean body.  Even if I don't get to do this as often as I'd like, he thought with a smile, anything is better than being locked up in a coma for a thousand years.  Just the thought made him shudder; it had taken all three of his fellow generals to convince him to let Dark Star put him to sleep that day, and after he woke up a thousand years later, he'd sworn he would never let anypony do that to him again, no matter what.

With a shiver he turned towards the slightly open barn door, finally feeling ready for a good night's rest… but as he approached it, a small sound caught his ears.  They twitched.  What was that..?  It had sounded like a small squeak, like a mouse… or maybe a possum?

No, there it is again…  This time it came a little louder; a small, wheezing squeak, followed by a muffled sniffle.  His ears twitched again, more forcefully this time, and he sighed quietly as his curiosity got the better of him.  Fine… we'll figure out what it is, he told them as he turned away from the door.  The sound seemed to be coming from the other side of the barn, on the side that hid the house from view; the side with the larger of the two gardens that the Apple family used to grow some of the vegetables for their own use.

The Pegasus stallion walked slowly to the corner of the barn, his ears perked for sounds of movement, but all he heard was some more soft squeaks and sniffles.  Finally, at the very edge of the barn, he caught a sound that threw everything into perspective; a small, barely audible sob.  He poked his head around the corner.

There, sitting in the garden all by herself was the little filly he'd met two days ago; Honeysuckle was her name, he remembered.  He could barely make her out amidst the cabbages and tomato plants, the only clue that she wasn't a vegetable being the color of her gently bobbing mane in the moonlight; even the soft tones of Luna's moon couldn't hide her vibrant pink and white coloration.  Wild Star felt his breath catch in his throat.  He had gone out of his way the past two days to make sure he hadn't come in to contact with her again; even going as far as skipping the delicious home-made meals the Apple family had generously prepared for them in favor of a cold daisy sandwich from Applejack's fridge just to keep himself out of Honeysuckle's sight.  Something about the way that filly looked at him…

From the garden, he heard her sob again, a little louder this time, and he swallowed forcefully as his heart began to ache.  She sounded completely miserable.  Unbidden, the memory of her calm green eyes surfaced; the way she had met his gaze evenly, without flinching away until she realized what she was doing, and even the way she had continued to look at him from behind her mother.  Wild Star felt a surge of sadness bordering on melancholy… and he suddenly knew that he could not stand to listen to that poor sobbing filly one moment more.

His hooves were moving before he'd even finished the thought, taking him quietly to the gate of the garden.  Instead of opening it, he flapped his wings gently and lifted over the fence, hovering over the plants until he spied an open spot next to the hunched figure of Honeysuckle.  He came in close and pulled his wings in quickly, dropping him to the ground directly next to her.

She didn't even seem to notice, so lost was she in her misery; both of her hooves were up in her eyes as she cried, her bottom lip quivering as she tried to contain her sobs.  Wild Star smiled at her, his brow furrowed.  What a silly filly... but she's a strong one, no doubt.  He had absolutely no doubts about that; she was out here in the garden, at night, trying to gain control of her emotions- a feat not easily doubled by even adult ponies, much less other young ones.

Finally, after watching her struggle for a few moments, Wild Star spoke.  "What's the matter, little one?" he asked, and even he was surprised at how gentle his voice sounded.

Honeysuckled jumped slightly and stopped making any sound at all; slowly she lowered her right hoof from her eye and looked at him.  "Oh… hi, Mr. Wing," she sniffled.  She coughed once and wiped her left foreleg across her eyes before looking back to him.  "I'm sorry… d-did I wake you up?  I was trying to be quiet…"

Wild Star shook his head slightly.  "No, you didn't wake me up.  But that raises a very good question, little filly; do you know what time it is?"  Honeysuckle shook her head, and he nodded.  "Well, it's very, very late at night, much later than you should be out here by yourself."  He tilted his head sideways.  "Does your mother know you're out here?"

The orange filly shook her head minutely.  "N-no… Momma's sleeping in our room at Mizz Applejack's house."  She sniffed in a half-hearted laugh.  "I mean, Applejack… she doesn't like being called 'Mizz Applejack'," she said matter-of-factly.

Wild Star nodded again.  "Ooh, I see.  Well, how about this, then; why are you out here so late, Honeysuckle?"  He could feel his heart ache as he asked, "And why were you crying?"

Honey turned her eyes from him to gaze up into the sky; the tens of millions of stars that he had danced among not half an hour ago now danced in her tear-filled eyes as she spoke softly.  "I… had a dream about… my Daddy."

"Oh?  Where is your Daddy?  Does he live somewhere else?" Wild Star asked, before he could stop himself.

The filly shook her head slightly, her eyes never leaving the stars.  "No.  When I was really, really little, he… got sick."  Fresh tears welled up in her eyes, and she swallowed.  "He got really, really sick an'… well, Momma told me that even the doctors in Whinnyapolis couldn't fix him up… so he went to live with the stars."  A single tear traced its way down her cheek, glinting silver in the moonlight.  "I really dun' remember a lot about him… just how he smiled, an' he smiled a lot… an' that he loved to grow things."  With her small hoof she reached out and gently touched the leaves of a nearby tomato plant.  "I remember we always had a garden out back of our house, even though Momma always said it wasn't "prac-tackle".  Daddy would just smile an' wink at me an' say, 'Growin' things don't have to be "prac-tackle"- they grow fine jus' bein' themselves'."  Her bottom lip started to quiver, and she sighed sharply, obviously trying to control it.  "But I know that after Daddy went away, Momma always kept a garden out back, an' I helped her make sure his favorite things always grew there."  She swiped a hoof across her eyes quickly, as if that would keep Wild Star from seeing it.  "He liked green peppers, an' tomatoes, the lil' cherry ones… sometimes I'd go out there at night an' sit in the garden an' talk to Daddy up in the stars.  I'd tell him about what I was doing at school, an' how Momma was doing."  Suddenly, a sob broke through, and her whole tiny body shuddered as she fought to control herself.  "An' now… my Daddy's garden is gone… all burned up in the fire."  She sniffed harshly.  "An' that's what my dream was about… I dreamed that my Daddy was lookin' for us from the stars, but our garden was gone, an' he didn't know where to find us… so I came out here."

Wild Star stared at the filly next to him, his mind completely shot.  He'd expected a nightmare, at most… but this…?  "I'm… sorry to hear that, Honeysuckle," he said, and he knew that he meant every word of it.  Suddenly, his eyes hardened slightly.  "Well… doesn't that make you angry?" he asked.

Honeysuckle looked up at him, the tears in her eyes trickling down her cheeks as she frowned.  "Doesn't what make me angry, Mr. Wing?"

"Well… that your Daddy's gone.  Doesn't it make you mad?"

She stared at him for a long moment, her tiny muzzle scrunched up pensively.  "No… I'm not mad," she said finally.  "It wasn't anypony's fault he got sick; Momma said that sometimes things like that just happen, an' there's no good or bad to it.  Besides, he's not really gone."  She smiled slightly and pointed to the sky.  "He's watchin' over us, always; least that's what Momma says."

Wild Star let out a vexed sigh.  He wasn't trying to make her mad, or feed his amulet like he had with Applejack: in fact, he'd left the amulet under his pillow in the barn before he'd taken off for his flight.  At this point, he just knew with the very fiber of his being that he could NOT stand to see this filly cry anymore, and anger had always kept HIS sadness away.  "Well, OK then, what about your garden?  Ponies burned that; aren't you mad at them for burning your Daddy's garden?  For keeping your Daddy from finding you?"

Honeysuckle's eyes hardened slightly, but after a moment she frowned and shook her head forcefully, tossing her mane around her face.  "Nope.  That doesn't make sense, either; bein' mad at those ponies wouldn't help build our house again, or plant Daddy's garden again."  She turned back to the stars, and Wild Star spied the tiniest hint of a smile on her face.  "Momma says that only hard work can do that.  An' besides…"  She turned to Wild Star, and her face split into a huge smile.  "I know my Daddy knows where I am."

Wild Star blinked at her, genuinely confused.  "What?  How do you know that?"

Suddenly, Honeysuckle scooted over to him and buried her tiny muzzle into his shoulder.  "Because I asked him to bring me a friend," she whispered.  "An' here you are."  She nuzzled against his shoulder and sighed.  He stared at her for a moment before extending a wing to wrap around her.  Honeysuckle giggled gently as his wing feathers tickled her face, but she stayed right where she was.  After a few moments, her breathing started to slow down, becoming deeper… but just when he thought she'd fallen asleep, she turned her big green eyes on him and whispered, "I hope my Daddy was as nice as you are, Mr. Wing…" before she closed her eyes again.

With those few, simple words, Honeysuckle broke something inside Wild Star; something that he'd thought immovable and forever set in his heart.  He found himself looking down at the small filly, wanting nothing more than to be everything she thought he was; every good, nice, wonderful thing Honeysuckle thought of him, he wanted to be.  He turned his wide eyes to the stars, his mouth agape.  If he thought trying to describe flying through the night sky was hard… this was impossible.  It was as if he were feeling the sun for the very first time, the warmth spreading through him like the first rays of sunlight onto a frozen landscape.  Whatever it was… he knew right then that he would never be the same.

From outside the garden came a small, polite cough, and Wild Star jerked his head around to see Thistledown standing just outside the gate, a small smile on her face, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears.  "I… came looking for Honey," she whispered.  "I knew she'd be in one of these gardens when I found her out of bed… but…"  She wiped a hoof across her eyes.  "Oh, I'm sorry… I couldn't help but overhear."  She sniffled and managed to keep a shaky smile on her face as she looked at Wild Star.  "Thank you for talking to her, Red Wing… life hasn't always been kind to Honeysuckle, but she's as strong as her father and twice as optimistic."  She opened the gate and made her way into the garden until she stood next to the Pegasus.  With the expert touch of a mother she gently took hold of Honey's mane in her teeth and lifted her off the ground onto her back, setting her down without even making Honeysuckle snort in her sleep.  Wild Star stared at the sleeping filly, and he heard Thistledown giggle.

"She seems quite taken with you," the purple mare said quietly.  "I have to admit, that's a rare thing.  She hasn't warmed up to any stallions since her father passed."  He turned and met her eyes; what he saw there was something he'd never expected to see- a chance.  "Far be it from me to keep Honey away from somepony she thinks so highly of," Thistledown said, her cheeks coloring slightly.  "Perhaps you would… like to join us for supper tomorrow?  I promised Applejack I'd cook something from my own recipes, and I know Honey would love to have you help."

The mention of Applejack sent Wild Star's mind reeling; what was he doing?!  He had a job to do, and here he was talking to random fillies and setting up dates with mares!  He stared at Thistledown for a long moment, the blatant refusal that he should have spit out immediately right on the tip of his tongue… But Honeysuckle had done something to him; something more powerful than any spell or amulet ever created by unicorn or otherwise.  He glanced up at the stars for a moment before turning back to Thistledown.  "I… think I'd like that," he said with a smile.

Thistledown colored a little more, but she nodded happily.  "Ok then… um, I'll see you in the kitchen at Applejack's house around 4..?  That's when we'll need to get started."

"I'll be there," he said, and he realized that he'd never meant anything more in his life.  The amethyst mare nodded to him again and walked past him carrying her sleeping passenger.  Wild Star watched her go until the door closed on Applejack's farmhouse, hiding her from sight.

He shuffled his hooves in the dirt for a long time, just standing in the garden staring up at the stars; finally, he realized that he wasn't about to get sleep anytime soon.  He flapped his wings, rising out of the garden and into the night sky once again, this time headed for the park in Ponyville that he'd been to that first night in town.  He needed a few minutes alone to clear his head, and it seemed like a nice place to do it.

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


The past few hours had undoubtedly been the absolute best hours of Falling Star's life.  Pinkie Pie had dragged him all over the party, showing him things in town; everything from the buildings, like town hall and Sugar Cube Corner, to things like the place where she fell down one time when Rainbow Dash had surprised her and the rock where she hid a cupcake once.  But no matter what she showed him, that silly, stubborn smile of his stayed in place the whole time.  He'd never felt so alive; his heart was constantly pounding in his ears, his breathing always fast, like he'd been flying a race for the past day and a half, only better.  He glanced around and noticed that most of the other ponies had gone home, and that the music was starting to be lowered in steps to encourage the rest to filter off… but he didn't think Pinkie Pie noticed at all.

The last thing Pinkie had decided to show him was the bowl containing her own personal blend of punch, something she had very proudly called her "Ponyville Packsa-Punch!"  Her friend Berry Punch, a mare with a light purple coat and a slightly darker mane had met her there, and had been very, very eager to try the new concoction.  Falling Star grinned over at Berry, who was sitting on the ground staring at one of the floating orbs of light left over from the unicorn spells earlier that night, her eyes slightly glazed and her mouth open just a crack.  Perhaps a little too eager, he thought.  It had been obvious to Falling Star that the punch contained a copious amount of alcohol and had said so, but Berry Punch had simply smiled at him and taken a long pull from her cup.  Falling Star still couldn't believe how much that mare could drink; she put most of the soldiers he'd served with to shame.  He himself had only had a glass or two, and the pleasant warmth of the drink still hummed in his blood, making the company of the huggy pink party pony all the more enjoyable.

Pinkie had imbibed her fair share of Packsa-Punch, and now he found himself sitting next to her on a bench near the now-empty punchbowl, her head on his shoulder as she dozed lightly.  He had his wing wrapped around her to keep her from falling over as she slipped in and out of sleep, and as much as he thought she should probably go home as opposed to sleeping in the street, he could not bring himself to break this moment.  In fact, he knew without question that he would sleep in the street with her rather than wake her up to take her home.  He laid his head against her cushy pink mane and inhaled deeply, relishing the scent of her.  In fact… that's not a horrible idea… he thought as he closed his eyes.

But no sooner did he start to fall asleep than the music went silent all together, and a very soft voice whispered near him, "Um, excuse me… but, um, if it's not too much trouble… would you mind letting go of Pinkie?"  Falling Star opened his eyes slowly and met the gaze of a very pretty, very bashful yellow Pegasus, who took a half-step back from him as he looked at her.  "That is, um… if it's OK with you…"

The dark blue pony stared at her for a second, and then he did something that he couldn't remember doing ever before; he felt a wave of mirth start deep in his chest, slowly but unstoppably rolling upwards until it overwhelmed him and he threw his head back… and laughed.

He laughed and laughed and laughed; something about the whole situation just struck him as so absurdly hilarious that he couldn't stop himself.  Here was a pony who was obviously one of Pinkie Pie's friends, asking him, a total stranger, if he would please let go of Pinkie, if he wanted to!  It was too much!  He laughed until tears started to form in his eyes, and he put his hoof to his side as he started to develop a stitch; suddenly he felt his throat quirk strangely, his eyes bugging as he inhaled unexpectedly and his laughter turned into the most horrible cough he'd ever experienced, sending him into a fit so explosive that Pinkie Pie woke up with a snort.  She blinked at him for a moment before collecting herself enough to start patting him firmly between the wings.

"Whoa Shootie, you OK there?" she asked, her sleepy eyes barely focused on him.  "Didja swallow a bug?"  Falling Star shook his head, not able to speak; finally, after almost a minute, the coughing subsided, and as he swallowed firmly Pinkie's hoof ceased patting and started to gently rub his back.  "Wowie," she said, grinning as she rubbed her eyes with her free hoof.  "I thought you might have swallowed a bug."  She let out a yawn and wavered in place as sleep tried to claim her again.  "I swallowed a bug once… while I was running with my mouth open… it was raining chocolate milk…"  Her eyelids fluttered, but the yellow pegasus' voice woke her back up.

"Um, Pinkie… I think we should probably get Berry Punch home… she doesn't look like she can make it by herself."  The Pegasus waved a hoof in front of Berry's eyes, but the purple mare didn't even as much as blink, content to stare off into space with a half-grin.  Then she poked Berry gently with her hoof, and Berry Punch wobbled; slowly one way, slowly back the other, slowly tilting her more and more one way and back until finally she flopped gently to the ground.  "And she really should get home."

Pinkie Pie seemed to snap back to reality with the realization that somepony needed her help.  "Oh, wow, you're right," she said, hopping down from the bench and walking over to where Berry sat; Falling Star realized that she was walking just fine, as though the Packsa-Punch didn't even exist.  She leaned down and looked straight into Berry Punch's eyes, examining her closely for a moment before nodding.  "Yyyyup, she needs help home."  She rolled her eyes and huffed.  "Sheesh Berry, I told you, three glasses at most!  How many did you have?"

Berry hiccupped in response.

Pinkie Pie looked at her friend, then back to Berry; she held up her two front hooves.  "How many hooves do you see, Berry?" she asked.

The purple mare seemed to see Pinkie for the first time, and she giggled.  "Pinkie… how're yew sssshtill shtanding when yew haff all yer hoowves in tha air??"

The pink pony nodded and returned to all fours.  "Yeeeah.  Fluttershy, we need to get Berry home!"  She stood up straight, looking very determined.  "Lift her up, Flutters!  Get her on my back!"

"Oh… o-okay, as long as you think she won't mind…"

"Psssh!  Mind?  I don't even think she's going to remember tonight…"  She grinned at Fluttershy slyly.  "So you know what that means, right?"

Fluttershy stopped trying to lift Berry off the ground and gave Pinkie a horrified look.  "Oh no, Pinkie Pie… tell me you're not going to… not again…"

"Hey, it's her fault for drinking too much.  Partying is the most awesome thing ever, but getting so schnockered that you can't hoof your way home is silly."  Pinkie rubbed her hooves together with glee and giggled.  "This time, I'm gonna glue her stuff to the ceiling, so when she wakes up, she thinks that she's on the ceiling!!"  The grin on her face and the mischievous look in her eyes made Falling Star suddenly get the impression that Pinkie Pie may have had all the sleep she was going to get for the night.

"But Pinkie…"  Fluttershy said quietly as her wings began to flap; even her wings were quiet.  "…didn't you drink too much?  Isn't that why you were-,"

Pinkie Pie waved a hoof.  "Me??  No way!  This filly knows her limits, yes sirree!"  Her blue eyes went back to Falling Star, and maybe it was a trick of the colored light orbs the unicorns had left up, but he could have sworn that she blushed.  "I just, er… wasn't ready to go home yet."  Fluttershy managed to lift Berry Punch off the ground, but only just; Falling Star stared at her as she seemed to put everything she had into lifting Berry onto Pinkie's back.  It wasn't that far, and something Falling Star could have done in half the time, with half the effort, but it didn't seem to surprise Pinkie much.  She just waited patiently for Fluttershy to get Berry positioned so she wouldn't fall off; the yellow Pegasus draped Berry's front half over onto Pinkie's right side and her bottom half onto Pinkie's left.  She shifted slightly to make sure her friend was secure.  "Thanks Fluttershy!" she said brightly.  "Just fly behind me and make sure Berry doesn't decide she likes the ground better than my back, okie dokie?"  Fluttershy nodded and stayed hovering behind her as the pink pony turned and started down the street.

Suddenly, she turned back, exclaimed, "Oh!  I almost forgot!" and with surprising speed came galloping back to where Falling Star sat, Berry Punch flopping limply on her back; the surprised Pegasus was amazed that the purple pony didn't take a nose-dive into the street.  She dug her hooves into the ground and slid to a halt, her muzzle coming to a stop barely an inch from his face.  Now it was easy to see that she was blushing, just enough to add a deeper, rose color to her already pink cheeks.  "Thanks for hanging out with me tonight, Shootie," she said quietly.  "I had a really nice time!  We'll have to hang out again."

And then she leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek before turning around and starting off down the street at a much more sedate pace.  Fluttershy cast a confused glance from her friend to Falling Star before following Pinkie off into the night.  "Did I mention that you are gonna help me glue her stuff to the ceiling?" Pinkie's excited voice floated back down the street, followed by a very small squeak of dismay from Fluttershy as the two ponies disappeared around a corner.

Falling Star stared after the two ponies; slowly, he raised his hoof up and touched the cheek where Pinkie had kissed him.  His mind seemed unable to cope with what had just happened, because all he could hear was a faint ringing in his ears and it felt like he was trying to think through a huge fluffy ball of cotton.  "I… I think I'd like that a lot," he said to no pony in particular… and he blinked.  His voice sounded… different.  Not scratchy or raspy at all… but soft, deep and firm.  His real voice, a voice that nopony had heard since before Luna's defeat.  In spite of himself, he laughed lightly again.  "I guess Rainbow Dash was right…" he mused.

He hopped down from the bench and stretched first his legs, then his wings.  Despite the late hour… he felt alive.  He didn't want to go back to Sweet Apple Acres; he didn't want to sleep.  He grinned in spite of himself; he didn't seem able to stop doing it, as a matter of fact- like his body was trying to make up for all the lost smiles of his life.  His wings lifted of their own accord and gave a single, enormous flap that catapulted him into the air, his heart soaring along with him.  He didn't know where he would go, but he knew that for him, the night was still young, and that a flight then a walk somewhere sounded like a great idea.