Author's Notes: Whew! This chapter is my longest so far for this story (just over 4,000 words, not including these notes)! It just kept going, and I couldn't find an appropriate point to cut it off, so enjoy this large slice of plot development, but don't expect such long chapters too much. And may I add that this is one chapter you readers should really pay attention to. It looks like pointless filler, that there's a LOT going on. Now, onto reviews from last chapter:

"VirusChris": Thanks for the long and kind review, and keep an eye out through this chapter...some of your requests have been answered!

"Kurtispj5": That comet will be appearing sporadically for the rest of the fic. The start of this chapter should help explain why.

"Phaedrolous": Interesting point there...rekindling old friendships, and remembering the fact that friendship can sometimes blossom into something more, would be great Friendship Reports for the Mane 6, wouldn't they? Maybe I can work that into the story somehow...

"Roarin Thunder": Thanks for the praise on Luna's portrayal. I really try to understand how and why she behaves certain ways in what little screen time she gets in the show, and expand on that in my fic. Even though she's really only been in one episode, that episode gives writers a surprisingly deep character to work with, if you know how to look for the subtleties within characters. I'm just glad I haven't messed her up.

"xtremesmw": Your tip for self-checking is a really good one. Unfortunately, I don't have reliable access to a printer, and would rather not waste the paper. This latest chapter would have taken up 6 pages all on it's own! And don't worry, I don't stress about updates. Basically, I update this story as I finish writing and checking each chapter.

Once again, thank you to everyone else who reviewed, and all those who have put this story on their Favourites and/or Alerts list. The amount of attention and love you are showering this fic with is blowing my mind!

But I've waffled on enough, so I'll let you go and read my longest chapter yet! Have fun!

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Chapter 21

New Cuts, Old Wounds

Starfall once more found himself shrugging his midnight cloak high over his shoulders, keeping the cowl up over his face as he made his way through the streets of Canterlot, trying to avoid drawing attention to himself. The incident a month ago regarding his crush on Princess Luna had now stopped the public rumours about him, and the nature of his lessons with the Princess. If anything, the rumours had only intensified the longer he studied under the young alicorn, though word had not yet spread about the way he was teaching Luna about modern society. The Princess of the Night was obviously being very careful about which ponies she allowed to know that small detail.

But while the rumours were not going away, the Canterlot public seemed to be running out of things to say about him and the mysterious Princess. It also helped that, with his cloak on, Starfall's distinctive monochrome mane and vivid blue eyes were out of sight, allowing him to wander the streets with some sense of anonymity. He caught the occasional bit of gossip about him and Luna, but it was mostly the same, tired old stories he had been hearing for weeks. Most of Canterlot seemed to have grown bored with his situation, and were moving on to newer, juicier bits of gossip they could find.

The shift in public focus away from him left Starfall relieved...he had enough to deal with without the added strain of the public spotlight on him all the time. It had been a couple of days since he had sighted the comet in the sky, and his studies of the night sky had shifted to focus exclusively on that, Luna wanting to take this opportunity to study the rare phenomenon. It was an opportunity Starfall had grabbed with both hooves, his dedication to his studies reaching an all-time high as he soaked up all the information he could about not just this comet, but comets in general.

And it seemed that their studies were uncovering things even the Princess of the Night had never known before. Starfall's sensitivity to cosmic magic had told him that there was some kind of magical potential in the comet, but as a pegasus, there was little he could do to investigate further. When he had mentioned this to Princess Luna just last night, she had investigated this herself, though seemed rather sceptical...the magic within the stars was a phenomenon the Princess had worked with Celestia to create in case of dire emergencies...neither of them had ever done anything similar to any comets they had ever seen in their extended lives.

But the Princess' personal investigation had not only proved Starfall correct, but left his observations seeming almost humiliatingly basic. Not only was there magic potential within the comet...but said magic potential was far stronger than even Starfall had predicted. His observation that the magic had seemed unstable was also proven, the Princess of the Night left with a nasty headache from the magical backlash of simply trying to observe the comet's power using her own magic.

Despite this, both Starfall and Luna had realised that they had stumbled across a big discovery. If this comet was a gigantic, cosmic magical power source, then there was a significant chance the other comets were as well. The Princess of the Night had left Starfall's jaw on the floor with her insistence that this could be a ground-breaking discovery in astronomy, a discovery that Starfall was primarily responsible for.

The fact that Princess Luna had let him know of just how important his chance observation could be, and how it could turn him into an figure of importance within astronomy circles, was a big sign of how far their relationship had come already since they had discovered the comet. While they were not exactly friends once again, the hostility between them had mostly vanished. The Princess of the Night did give Starfall the occasional bitter criticism or snide remark, but Starfall could tell her heart was not truly in it, and that she was only doing it because she was still a little angry about the whole crush incident. For Starfall, he was just happy she was talking to him again. If she was talking, he could talk back, and conversation between the two of them was only going to help their friendship recover all the more.

Since Starfall's crush on the Princess had yet to truly die, the yellow pegasus had begun to worry that reigniting their friendship might see his desire for a closer relationship start to take over and drive him to distraction. Fortunately, though, it had yet to show itself so far, which left the young pony relieved. The last thing he needed, or wanted, was to end up taking their relationship full circle, after he had promised both of the royal siblings that Luna's blatant rejection meant the matter was over and finished with for good.

Starfall was briefly pulled from his thoughts as he vaguely registered passing a somewhat familiar face as he trotted down the street. Looking up over his shoulder, he caught the mare looking back over her own shoulder at him, surprised to see the faded purple eyes and long charcoal mane of Octavia looking back at him, a case over her back that clearly contained a small string instrument of some kind.

For a brief moment, both ponies just looked at each other, still growing more distant as neither stopped. But then Octavia gave Starfall a brief nod of greeting, clearly recognising him. Starfall was stunned for a brief second at such a high-society figure remembering him, even if she was not terribly prominent, before nodding back and continuing on his way. He had not seen Octavia since the incident with Cosmo and the strange, cheery pegasus in the mall, and the fact that she had still recognised him left Starfall walking with his head held just a little bit higher.

But Starfall's sense of pride did not last long. Being early morning, his mood was rapidly brought back down by last night's nightmare. The same nightmare he'd had a month ago on the night Luna had learned of his crush was recurring every few days...and growing more and more frequent as time passed. But the nightmare was still incredibly vague, Just a mass of blurred shapes and distorted noises, thought that manic cackle was always there, and always tugging at Starfall's mind, like he was meant to recognise the voice that cackle belonged to somehow.

He was also getting the sense that this could be more than just a regular old dream...that there was something somehow important about it. But he was quick to shrug that notion off early each morning after the nightmare. It was a blurred, jumbled mess...aside from the cackle, there was nothing about the nightmare he could clearly make out. As such, there was nothing important to be gathered from it. Even so, the simple fact that the dream was revisiting him every third night now was starting to worry him. This dream was growing alarmingly frequent, and refusing to go away.

But, as always, Starfall could discern no rhyme or reason to any meaning to the nightmare, and so shoved it to the back of his mind, realising he was almost where he wanted to go. Up ahead was a small manedresser, a place Starfall usually visited with a hint of trepidation, since he preferred his mane long and rather messy. But as Luna had commented a couple of days ago, his mane was well beyond long, and rather than messy, it was a tangled bird's nest. He was overdue for this, and figure he might as well get it over and done with sooner rather than later.

As he approached the manedresser's...a place Twilight had recommended in her latest letter to him, after he had remarked about his mane in one of his own to her...he saw a figure who was just leaving. The young unicorn mare had a rather brilliant azure blue coat, and pale, almost pure white mane and tail, which looked almost immaculately neat after the manecut she likely got. What made Starfall notice her, though, was her cloak. It was a faded, worn purple, clearly well-used, and had silver and gold stars scattered all across it, dull from age. A pale gem of some sort acted as a brooch, holding the neck of the cloak secure, but even that looked scratched and worn.

Starfall could see the rather heavy way the mare carried herself, and that, along with the poor state of the cloak, told Starfall that she had once been some kind of show-pony who had suffered a rather nasty fall from grace. Before he could say or do anything, though, the unicorn looked up, spotting him. She just looked back at him, her violet eyes locking with Starfall's, before giving him an unpleasant glare and stalking off, clearly not looking for any form of sympathy right now.

Starfall winced at the way she reacted to his staring, before sighing as she disappeared, but pushing the minor incident aside and heading into the manedresser's. There was nothing he could do there, especially if the unicorn did not want any help. And he had no idea what had caused her fall from grace, or if she had even a show-pony at all. The cloak could be a family heirloom or something, and the impression he got of her being angry at the world could just be the result of a bad morning. In any case, Princess Luna's glares made this mare's seem almost friendly in nature, so Starfall was not as intimidated by it as he once might have been.

As he entered the manedresser's however, Starfall ran into something while he was looking over his shoulder, stumbling back and rubbing his head where he'd struck the other pony. "Oh, sorry!" he apologised automatically, even as he turned to see who he'd run into. "I didn't see..."

"You again?" Cosmo's voice rang out, just as Starfall's gaze found the black unicorn, making his ears flatten instinctively as he backed away a couple more steps from his former friend. Of all the places he had to meet his old friend, it had to be here.

Before Starfall could do anything more, a silver glow encased the cowl of his cloak, before Cosmo's magic wrenched the hood down, revealing his face properly, Cosmo nodding lightly in confirmation, obviously making sure he was really Starfall...and going about it in a rather rude and confronting way.

"Well, I can see why you're here, then," he sneering, giving Starfall's excessively long mane a derisive look, before turning his gaze back to Starfall's face. "Although I must admit, I'm surprised you're still here in Canterlot," he added with the barest hint of a smirk.

Starfall raised an eyebrow at the unicorn, slightly confused. "What do you mean by that?" he asked. Princess Luna had refused to allow the incident regarding his crush on her to spread beyond the Royal District. There was no way that Cosmo could possibly know about that, right?

Cosmo just shrugged. "Exactly what I said. If half the rumours going around are true, I would have thought you'd have packed up and left Canterlot weeks ago. After all, that's what you did back in Stratos Crossing, isn't it?" he demanded, venom lacing his tone. "You left, too cowardly to face the mess you had caused...the suffering you had created!"

Starfall looked at Cosmo like the unicorn had just struck him across the face, before ducking his head. "I...I tried, Cosmo," he tried to explain feebly. "What more could I have done?" He really prayed Cosmo would move on from this topic immediately...it was already painful enough, and every second the subject remained out in the open just rubbed more salt into an already agonising wound in Starfall's past.

Cosmo just snorted at Starfall's soft response. "You say that every time, Starfall. It's always the same, lame excuses," he snapped harshly. "You keep trying to convince me, and yourself, that you did everything you could, that you were the hero of the day." Starfall opened his mouth to protest the last part, but Cosmo cut over him before he could even get the first syllable out. "But you are no hero, Starfall...you are the villain, along with those you currently hold so dear to you."

Starfall blinked, looking back up at Cosmo in puzzlement at his last sentence. Neither of them had seen each other for years, since Starfall had left Stratos Crossing, the small town both of them had grown up in. So what did Cosmo know about who he was close to, and who he wasn't? In Starfall's mind, it made no sense, but he had no time to try and puzzle it out, as Cosmo did not seem to be quite done yet.

"But you know what...it doesn't matter all that much, any more," he said, his tone sounding almost distant, like he was thinking of something either deep in the past, in shrouded in the future...possibly even a little of both. "You, and all the others who are to blame for that disaster, will see justice. One day soon, karma will come back to get you."

Before Starfall could respond, or even make sense of that last promise, almost a threat, Cosmo shouldered roughly passed Starfall and trotted off down the street, leaving a thoroughly bewildered pegasus behind. It almost sounded like Cosmo was sure something would happen to those who were to blame for what happened all those years ago...to ponies like Starfall.

Starfall's shoulders sagged, his head lowering as he gave a heavy sigh. Stratos Crossing...the place had so many memories for him, but mostly, all thinking about that small hybrid town...a mix of a normal, earth-bound town, and a cloud town in one, allowing Pegusi, Earth Ponies, and Unicorns to intermingle like never before...all it did in the end was remind Starfall of the way his life had gone so horribly wrong, and the event that had been the catalyst for that.

"You okay, Starfall?" The voice made Starfall jump, snapping him out of his thoughts as he whirled around, his mind only registering the familiarity of the low, but still somehow feminine voice as he spotted the grey pegasus the voice had come from.

"Derpy Hooves?" he asked, remembering her from the mall, and the tentative friendship they had formed them, ironically by Starfall defending her from Cosmo. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Getting a manecut, same as you!" Derpy replied cheerfully, though her mood seemed to falter slightly when she saw Starfall's own downcast look. "That black unicorn, the one you stood up to for me...he was a friend of yours once, right?" she asked, making Starfall look at her in shock. For all the impressions he got of her being incredibly clumsy and slow on the update, she seemed to have a surprising level of perceptiveness.

Eventually, though, Starfall just nodded. "Yeah...though he's not any more," he said, his silence after that statement making it clear he was not about to elaborate on the details of their falling out any further. Cosmo had already brought the subject up enough already.

Derpy just nodded, nearly knocking over a flower pot on the manedresser's outside windowsill with her mane in the process. "With the way he threatened you and Princess Luna just now, it's probably good you're not friends any more. I wouldn't want friends like that."

Starfall's amazed stare just grew even more prominent now, though it was accompanied by a look of confusion. "He didn't threaten Princess Luna, though," he replied. "What makes you think that?"

Derpy looked at him like he was deliberately playing dumb, although she also looked a little sheepish as well. "I overheard most of that conversation, Starfall. He called you a villain, along with all those dear to you, and promised that karma would get you all. It was obvious he was talking about Princess Luna when he said that. Half of Equestria knows she's teaching you about the stars now, and most of them believe the two of you must be friends in some way."

Starfall could only stared at Derpy in amazement. "I...never thought of it that way," he admitted, astounded by her lateral thinking. It still made no sense, after all, Princess Luna had nothing to do with the disaster at Stratos Crossing. But at the same time, Derpy had a point. Even if it made no sense, Princess Luna could be the only pony Cosmo was referring to what he was mentioned the ponies he held dear to him.

But Derpy, it seemed, wasn't done surprising him. "Do you think he'd try and hurt you and Princess Luna over what he thinks happened?" she asked Starfall, who gave her an odd look. "I mean, he sounded like he was threatening you at the end, there...do you think he'd do anything?"

"I...don't know," Starfall said, having corrected himself before he tried to defend Cosmo. As much as he thought his old friend would not be capable of doing such a thing, he just did not know any more. "I mean, back when we were friends, I would have said no. But...he's changed so much now, become a different unicorn. I doubt he'd do anything to Princess Luna. But me...it's difficult to say..." He turned back to Derpy after a moment. "But then, there's not much I can do about it. If he wants to try something, all I can do is keep my eyes open and be alert for him to try anything."

Derpy nodded. "Perhaps..." she said thoughtfully, wandering into the manedresser as she did, knocking over a chair in the waiting area in the process, Starfall picking it back up as he followed her in. It seemed Derpy was a pony of contrasts. She was clumsy, and could be very slow on the uptake of some of the simplest things, but her ability to think outside the box and see the subtleties in a situation was nearly unmatched.

Before Starfall could think much more on the odd series of contrasts that made up his friend, Derpy spoke again. "You know, if Cosmo is planning something, you could stop him...or at least delay him, really easily," she said, making Starfall look over.

"How?" he asked, genuinely curious. Not only was he curious about Derpy's plan, but also about just how much she knew about him. He never talked about his time studying with Princess Luna, but Derpy seemed to know an awful lot just by watching him in this brief conversation.

Derpy just smiled at him. "You and Princess Luna are studying astronomy, right?" she asked, getting a nod from the yellow pegasus. "Well, I sometimes stargaze when my vision works properly," she explained, pointing towards her crossed eyes. "It doesn't happen often, but sometimes I can see normally. And when I have, I've noticed that all the lights of Canterlot during the night block a lot of stars from being seen. Out in Ponyville, not only could you both get away from Cosmo for a bit, and mess up whatever plans he might have, but you could also have an easier time studying the stars." She gave him a bright smile, obviously hoping he liked her idea.

"Well...I don't know, Derpy," Starfall replied slowly, not really sure about it. It sounded like a good idea in theory, but the actual act of it was an entirely different matter. "I don't think Princess Luna really tends to leave Canterlot much."

"Exactly!" Derpy cried. "She's been stuck in Canterlot for so long! She needs to get out and see the world. And she's been to Ponyville before. Most of the ponies there know her a bit, and won't get all scared of her." She paused for a moment, before adding on what was obviously an attempt to sweeten the deal. "Besides, I live in Ponyville, and Twilight Sparkle's been asking about you. She really wants you to visit, so you can meet all her friends and catch up!"

The blonde pegasus was prancing about in her excitement, Starfall hurrying to stop the various things she was knocking from falling over and breaking, finding Derpy was completely oblivious to all the potential accidents. Perhaps she was actually a really intelligent pony, whose condition included problems with her eyes and her sense of touch, meaning she struggled to notice when she was messing things up.

But as Starfall gently guided Derpy to a chair and sat her down so that she could not mess anything else up, he thought about her suggestion. "Well...I guess it would be nice to see Twilight again, and I did promise her I'd visit in Ponyville when I could," he reasoned out, Derpy nodding excitedly with him. "But there are things we have to stay in Canterlot for, Derpy. The astronomy I'm learning involves using some expensive and large equipment...stuff we can't move to Ponyville."

Derpy's ears drooped at that. "Oh..." she said softly, making Starfall feel more than a little guilty. Sighing, he decided to give her a bit of middle ground.

"Look," he said softly, making Derpy look back up. "I can't promise anything, but I can ask Princess Luna about it next time I see her. See if I can convince her that some time out away from the city lights is what he need. I won't..."

Starfall's words were cut off mid-sentence as Derpy wrapped her forelegs around him in a hug. "Thanks, Starfall!" she cried, her sudden affection making Starfall look around the manedresser's a little self-consciously, though nopony seemed to be paying either of them much attention at the moment. "All you can do is try! I really hope she says yes, though! You'll love Ponyville, I'm sure of it!"

At that moment, one of the manedressers in the store finished with their customer, calling over the next one, Derpy heading over after a nod from Starfall. As she settled herself into the chair, another manedresser called Starfall over, the pegasus stallion nodding and heading over. He glanced back at Derpy he heard her response to the manedresser's question of what she'd like done.

"The usual, please!" she chirped happily, before glancing at the manedresser as he raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh, sorry, sir...forgot I wasn't at my usual place," she apologised sheepishly, before properly answering his question, Starfall forced to tune out as he settled himself into his own chair, the unicorn mare tending to him nearly dropping her scissors when she saw him.

"Oh, my! You're long overdue for a visit, aren't you, sir?" she exclaimed, Starfall getting a sheepish look of his own as he shrugged. "Now, what can I do for you, hmm? Perhaps a short look like that black unicorn who was here earlier got? I think you ran into him on the way out?"

Starfall grimaced at the mention of Cosmo. "No, thank you," he answered politely. "I prefer my mane and tail longer. Just get my mane back above my shoulders, and my tail off the back to about the knees, okay?"

The mare nodded, though seemed to disagree with his style choice. "If you're sure. If you don't mind me saying, I think the short look would suit you," she added, clearly trying to convince him to cut his mane shorter.

Starfall shook his head. "No thanks, I prefer it long," he repeated, the manedresser shrugging and setting to work, leaving Starfall to think about everything that had just happened. Was Derpy right? Could Cosmo's veiled threat really mean he wanted to hurt him over what happened? And would going to Ponyville really stop him from whatever it was he likely had planned to help karma along?

In the end, not wanting to focus on Cosmo, and the disaster that had left the unicorn bitterly seeking vengeance, Starfall focused on Ponyville. A trip away from Canterlot would be nice...and Starfall figured the Princess of the Night could probably use the opportunity to get out of the city for a bit. All Starfall could do was try and plan out how to convince her, and hope that she saw it the same way he did; as an opportunity, rather than a hindrance to their studies.