Author's Notes: And here it is at long last! Chapter 34 is finally here! I am terribly sorry for the delay, but various things, mostly a dead inspiration, kept me from this fan fiction. And I am afraid the future is not much brighter. I intend on taking part in NaNoWriMo, a yearly writing contest held in November involving writing a 50,000 word novel in the 30 days of November. Since I have already started Magic in the Stars, any work on this project would not count, so I've had to come up with a new, original idea. As such, I will likely be focusing on that over November, meaning Magic will get little, if any attention starting November 1st. I'll do what I can to get something done, but I would expect Chapter 35 until December now, and I'm sorry for leaving you all waiting so long for this chapter!

The sheer number of reviews left behind during my unintentional hiatus has staggered me, as has been the amount of praise left in those reviews. Seriously, it's really touching to see the amount of support you are all offering, and I can't thank you all enough for it! For all those worried about the story being cancelled, rest assured I fully intend to see this all the way through to completion. I am hoping that Season 3 reignites my inspiration so that, come December, the chapters will once more start flowing at a much more regular pace. but as usual, no promises...even I don't know what my inspiration gets up to most of the time!

So without any further ado, here's the next part of Magic in the Stars! Enjoy!

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Chapter 34

Fun and Games

Despite how horrible Starfall's day had been at the time, not even he could deny the affect finally speaking about his past to Luna was having on the way he felt, and the way he carried himself. With the massive burden on his soul lifted, if not quite gone entirely...he doubted anything would totally ease the pain of remembering those he had not been able to save...his guilt and sorrow were no longer dragging him and his life down, and he felt happier in recent days than he had since the destruction of Stratos Crossing.

He knew that he would never forget the event, and that parts of it would likely continue to haunt him for a long time. But thanks to Luna's gestures and words of comfort, he was finally beginning to move on from it, to accept that he had done all that he could to save as many lives as possible, which was far more than society could have asked of him. A town had been destroyed, and dozens of ponies killed, but hundreds more would be dead if not for his desperate acts, and now had a second chance. Now that he could see the situation in that light, he could feel some small pride in what he had done, and continue with his life with a bit more optimism.

But it was not an overnight healing process, and Starfall was still feeling the effects of his emotional day. He had been rather jumpy and temperamental during the last couple of days, though as word of his tale spread from Luna to Twilight and his other friends, he did his best to keep his patience with them...they were only showing their care and worry for him, after all.

All of them, including Twilight's circle of friends, had been understanding of his troubles, and entirely supportive of his actions all those years ago. They all believed he did the right thing, and was in no way to blame for either the disaster, or the deaths of those ponies that had not escaped. Twilight had intended on writing to Princess Celestia to give her the details, but Starfall had pleaded with her to keep it quiet, at least until he was ready to talk about it himself. The studious unicorn eventually let him have it his way, but had argued the matter for some time before relenting to his wishes.

Starfall was glad she would at least respect his desire for privacy over the matter. No matter what everypony among his growing circle of friends said, he still believed he was no hero of saviour, and did not want to treated as such if word ever started to spread. Besides, there was no telling what his family, or Cosmo would say or do if he went public with the story of Stratos Crossing. He was happy enough having friends that had listened, understood, and supported him. They knew his deepest secret, and still thought he was a good stallion, which allowed him to start truly enjoying their friendship now, knowing he had no more secrets to keep from them.

Things between him and Luna had reached and odd sort of awkwardness, however. The Princess had displayed an usual amount of care and affection towards him, and displayed it rather openly, as well. At the time, neither of them had really thought about it; Starfall had desperately needed somepony to comfort him, and Luna had found something deep inside her that allowed her to be the shoulder for him to cry on.

Now, however, while their friendship was still as strong and close as ever, a sort of awkwardness had seeped into it, and neither Starfall nor the Princess seemed to know how to approach it. Starfall, however, knew what was causing the awkwardness on his side. Once he had gotten his emotions all drained out of his system, and Luna had left him to recover for the night, he realised how close he had been to her...she had actually held him in her hooves, and he had held her back, without any protest from either of them.

Starfall's crush had naturally tried to rear itself up again, leaving him wondering if perhaps it was possible the Princess might be starting to consider something beyond friendship with him. She had certainly shown a level of affection that day that he had never seen her display, either to him or to anypony else, even her older sister. But he beat it back down before it could become a problem. He had learned his lesson the hard way once already...Princess Luna was not interested in any sort of romance with him, and likely did not have her sights set on any stallion at all. So he had forced his growing infatuation with the Princess back down, as always, and put it out of his mind, certain that Luna was still not interested in him, and never would be interested in him in any romantic sense.

But that still left him puzzled over why she seemed to be behaving awkwardly in the wake of that day, as well. She seemed to have trouble meeting his gaze too much these days, their latest lessons having a slightly awkward strain to them as both of them sought to avoid the source of their awkwardness. In the end, Starfall had placed her awkwardness down to her unfamiliarity with showing affection, and as such being a little unsure how to proceed now that she had shown the depth of her friendship towards Starfall in a physical act. But since it was only a theory, Starfall really had no choice but the put it down as one of the unsolvable mysteries of his life, and simply let it go.

Besides, right now, the young stallion had to focus, because he was about to do something he was sure he was going to regret by the end of the day...even if Rainbow Dash had gotten a promise out of him. During his time in Ponyville, he had heard enough about Dash to know that she was easily Ponyville's fastest, most agile flier, and that a race against her was only ever going to end one way unless you had the speed and endurance of a Wonderbolt, neither of which Starfall was even close to possessing.

But during he his tour of Ponyville, he had promised her a race, and he was not about to back out of it now...even if it seemed like a pointless exercise in humiliation now. He just had to hope that he put up some kind of challenge to Rainbow Dash, even if his approximate wing power left him less than hopeful in any way. He was not a strong flier, and definitely not a fast flier, which left him at a huge disadvantage in a race, especially against an experienced, talented flier like Dash was.

But as he trotted out towards the town square, where Dash had asked him to meet her today for the race, he was glad she was at least being sympathetic to his recent troubles. He really was supposed to have kept his promise to her a few days ago, but once the daredevil mare had learned of what had happened that day his past had finally come to light, she had backed down, and given him a few more days to recover. Despite the brash, arrogant way she carried herself, she hid a soft, considerate pegasus underneath the hard shell, and Starfall was grateful she was willing to wait, even if she had mentioned that she would not accept any more excuses next time.

As the town square finally came into view, Starfall froze, not expecting the sight that greeted him. Not only had word spread that today was the day Rainbow Dash raced the new pegasus in town, but the event was obviously something the town was interested in, as it appeared at least half the town had turned up to watch, ponies of all types, colours and ages milling about the square, chatting amongst themselves and generally looking excited for the start of what Ponyville seemed to regard as an interesting event.'

Starfall's nerves increased ten-fold at this startling development. Having to race the fastest pegasus in Ponyville was bad enough...but to do so in front of a crowd? Starfall knew he very easily succumbed to stage fright, and was not afraid to admit it, either. This race just got a lot more problematic for him...and it had not even started, yet!

Before he could fully considered backing out, though, somepony within the crowd recognised, waving at him. "Starfall, over here!" Looking over, Starfall quickly spotted the lavender unicorn, Twilight, trying to get his attention. Sighing, knowing he could not really back out of it now, he trudged in her direction, trying to hide his reluctance as much as possible.

Twilight greeted him with a wide grin once he reached her side, giving him a friendly nudge. "So, you ready for the big race?" she asked, Starfall sighing nervously, but managing a nod...his lack of enthusiasm easy to spot for the studious unicorn. "Don't be so nervous, Starfall. It's just for fun, everypony here knows that," she added encouragingly, though Starfall wasn't feeling much relief from it.

Even if it was just fun and games, Starfall knew that more than a few ponies would be judging him based on his flying ability...especially pegusi. While their society had made great leaps and bounds in getting rid of many of their more archaic traditions and beliefs, flying was still an integral part of any pegusi's life. A pegasus who was a weak flier or, heaven forbid, could not fly at all, was often treated as second-class by some parts of their society, even though such elitism was generally frowned upon these days.

Even if it was unethical, it was still practised by some more traditionalist or old-fashioned pegusi, Starfall's family included, and Starfall knew there would be a few of them in the crowd today...especially if Star Hunter was watching. The yellow stallion doubted that last part, though. Star Hunter had made it explicitly clear that he wanted nothing to do with him, and so having the older pegasus turn up for this would be hypocritical, and completely out of character for his brother.

Twilight seemed to notice that her attempt to cheer him up had been less than successful, so tried again. "Hey, come on, Starfall, it'll be fun. The whole town's cheering for you, mostly," she said, wrapping a hoof around his shoulder and giving him a small shake. "Rainbow Dash has never been beaten by anypony, even when she's changed the rules in the challenger's favour, so everypony here wants to see her lose for a change," she added with a grin. "I mean, I'm her friend, and even I think her ego needs to be taken down a notch or two," she added, the last comment finally coaxing a small smile out of the nervous pegasus.

"That's the spirit!" Twilight cried, clapping him across the shoulder once more. "It doesn't matter who wins, as long as you do your best. Who knows, you might be better than even you think," she added, before looking over as the crowd's murmuring seemed to get louder off closer to the unofficial start line. "Come on, Starfall, I think Rainbow's finally here."

As Starfall followed Twilight towards the starting area, he let her words soak in, admitting that she did have a point. Big events like a race did have a way of pushing you to, and sometimes beyond, your perceived limits better than any wing power test or self-motivation could. He still thought he had absolutely zero chance of winning, but if he did a moderately good job, then he thought he could live with that without too much shame and humiliation. Considering how shameful he had felt of some previous actions until recently, he sheepishly admitted to himself that he was probably being a little bit precious now.

But as he reached the starting area, the gathered crowd parting as he approached to let him through, he paused, his nerves quickly returning in full force. Rainbow Dash had indeed arrived, and was certainly taking the attention the race was drawing in her stride, strutting around theatrically like this was the annual Iron Pony Championship final, and she was the running favourite.

It was obvious that she was completely at home in the spotlight, and supremely confident in her ability to win this little contest...a confidence Starfall personally thought was more than justified. He knew he himself had very little confidence in his own ability in this race. Dash's proud strutting was only making the certainly of defeat feel even more guaranteed in his mind

Beside him, Starfall could hear Twilight give an exasperated sigh, the way she shook her head indicating that excessive display of pride, confidence and theatrics by the rainbow pegasus was a common occurrence...probably too common, in Twilight's opinion. "Rainbow, come on, stop that," the unicorn scolded her friend, making Rainbow pause, staring at her incredulously. "This is supposed to be a friendly race, and you're making Starfall nervous," she added, making the pegasus stallion duck his head self-consciously, trying not to draw attention to himself as Twilight put him on the spotlight, practically feeling several sets of eyes swivel to look at him.

Out of his lowered sight-line, Starfall heard Rainbow Dash give a long-suffering sigh, clearly having heard this kind of reprimand before, before he heard her coming up to him. "Hey, come on, Starfall, it's all in good fun, right?" she asked, making him look up at her for a moment. "I'm just having a bit of fun, so don't be nervous. I'm sure you'll do fine! Besides, it's the first time I'll be racing somepony I've never seen fly, before. Just do your best and have fun!"

Starfall wasn't really feeling any better...if anything, he only felt even more nervous at their various attempts to calm him. He decided against admitting as much, though, just giving a small nod. "I know...I guess I just wasn't expecting the crowd, that's all," he said softly. "I thought this would just be a private thing..."

Rainbow Dash smirked at him. "Ah, don't worry about it...it just means most of Ponyville wants to see how you fly! Enjoy the spotlight shining on you...it's what I do!" the young mare obviously loved having the crowd here for this race, and while Starfall tried to see her side of things, he just could not do it.

He was always an introverted, private person, so having a large crowd gathered for this event, likely to watch him humiliate himself, was never going to help his nerves or fears one bit. Still, Rainbow Dash was making her way to the start line, obviously wanting to get started. At a small, encouraging nod from Twilight, Starfall sighed and reluctantly followed.

As he moved to the start line, he raised his eyes and looked around, scanning the crowd for familiar faces...or at least one face in particular. The vast majority of ponies he did not recognise, though he could tell almost all of them for locals from Ponyville. Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack were all standing near the start line, all smiling and cheering as Twilight trotted over to join them, though there was no sign of Pinkie Pie as of yet. Starfall managed a small smile when he saw Derpy Hooves hovering above the crowd nearby, the cross-eyed mare catching his gaze, giving him a cheery smile and wave, one he hesitantly returned.

But there was no sign of Princess Luna, the one face he really did want to see. He knew that she was likely either sleeping, or catching up on her royal responsibilities, but some part of him still wished she could have come to cheer him on, or at least provide encouragement.

"Fillies and gentlecolts!" the sudden, amplified voice made Starfall jump slightly, instantly turned his gaze upward, where the voice seemed to be coming from. There, up in the sky a short distance above the start line, was a small hot air balloon, with two figures inside it. The first, looking down on the crowd with her usual hyperactive, excited look, was Pinkie Pie...but she was not the one speaking.

The voice instead belonged to a small, purple and green figure holding a megaphone in his claws...the small, scaled creature could only be Twilight's baby dragon assistant, Spike, who continued his amplified call to the crowd. "Today sees the speedy pegasus Rainbow Dash once more defend her title of Ponyville's Fastest Pegasus!" At the mention of Rainbow Dash, the gathered crowd gave a loud, enthusiastic cheer...Twilight and her friends cheering particularly enthusiastically.

Once the crowd had calmed down enough for Spike to be heard once more, he continued on, clearly a very enthusiastic announcer. "Her latest challenger is a young stallion from Canterlot, Starfall!" Again, another cheer went up, though this one was much more scattered, more polite than excited. Derpy was the loudest, cheering without a care for the weird looks she was getting from others around her. Twilight also gave a fairly enthusiastic cheer, along with her friends...but it was still clear their stronger friendship with Rainbow Dash was winning out.

Once again, Spike continued once the crowd had quietened down a little. "Today's race is a simple flight, taking the two pegusi from Ponyville Town Square, out to the barn of Sweet Apple Acres, before swinging around to Fluttershy's Cottage on the fringes of the Everfree Forest, then back into town to finish right here! But Rainbow Dash has requested that, in the spirit of a close competition, that the rules be slightly altered from normal."

This development made Starfall pause, glancing over at Rainbow Dash, before looking back up at Spike. What had Dash done? He did not have to wait long to get the answer from the draconian announcer. "Rainbow Dash has allowed that, while she will fly two laps of the course, Starfall will only need to fly one!" This generated some curious murmurs and odd looks from the crowd...even Starfall was caught off-guard. Was this a display of supreme confidence on Dash's part? Or was she really just trying to give Starfall a fighting chance where he previously had none?

In the end, Starfall came to the conclusion that it was likely a bit of both, but did not dwell on it, focusing as Spike continued on once he felt the crowd had been given enough time to let this handicap sink in. "So there you have it! I hand the loudspeaker over to Pinkie Pie for the race commentary, and say good luck to both ponies!" With his little speech over, Spike handed the megaphone over to the hyperactive pink pony, Starfall stifling a grimace...if Pinkie Pie was going to provide running commentary, then things were bound to get interesting, even without any race drama.

The moment Pinkie had the megaphone in her hooves, her motor-mouth was off without any preamble. "Okie-Dokie-Lokie, Ponyville, let's get this show on the road...or clouds, in this case! Starfall, Rainbow Dash, are you ready!"

Rainbow gave a grin, winking in Pinkie's direction. "I was born ready, Pinkie!" she called back, stepping up to the start line, crouching low to the ground, spreading her wings, clearly eager to get started.

Starfall gave one last nervous swallow, before moving up to the line beside Dash, adopting a similar pose to her, flicking his wings a little as he tried to settle his nerves. "Ready," he finally said, with a lot less conviction than the mare beside him had shown.

Pinkie grinned, actually leaning over the side of the balloon basket, watching them closely. "On your marks..." she called, both pegusi leaning down even further, Starfall feeling like a coiled spring, ready to snap and pounce at any moment.

"Get set..." Out of the corner of his eye, Starfall saw Rainbow Dash lick her lips, her expression, while never losing the smirk, adopting a much more serious, focused edge to it...her game face was on.

"Ready..." Starfall nearly leapt off at that, having expected the customary 'go' instead. He blinked and looked up at Pinkie Pie once he recovered from his near false start, noticing several other ponies doing the same.

"Steady..." It seemed Pinkie was up to her usual hijinks, and had all-but forgotten the actually race in her usual nature of just doing something totally random...though the way she was continue to stare at him and Dash suggested otherwise. The intensity of the stare was also starting to make Starfall nervous...just what was she doing?

"Freddy..." Now that it was obvious Pinkie was just being silly, Rainbow Dash finally to lose patience, groaning under her breath. Out of the corner of his eye, Starfall noticed Twilight and her friends all cover their ears, but was too late to do the same, himself, Dash's sudden outburst nearly blowing his eardrums out.

"PINKIE PIE!" The frustrated shout by the rainbow pegasus seemed to bring Pinkie Pie back to earth...figuratively, at least. The pink pony blinked, before looking around, seeming to realise that she was holding the race up.

"Oh, um, right. Sorry!" she called, before seeming to trip over herself in an effort to get things back on track, and Dash once more took up her ready pose, Starfall doing the same. "Okay...ThreeTwoOneGO!" And with that sudden, hurried countdown, the race was under way.