Author's Notes: Another chapter out blindingly fast, and I must say the response to last chapter has been overwhelming! With the tension and suspense ramping up, I seem to be leaving all of you anxious and nervous. But the end of the story is within sight, people. Current predictions suggest we're well into the final 10 chapters, but there's still a road to travel in order to get there!

Also, the last chapter has marked two big milestones! First, all the feedback you have all left me has finally come down to a total of over 500 reviews! This is beyond anything I ever imagined for this story, and has blown me away! You guys are all the greatest! On top of that the last chapter saw the story pass the 150,000 word mark. I actually did not expect the story to be this long when I started writing, and if this keeps up, it will turn into the longest story I have ever written. Period. A feat I am very proud of.

As always, thank you to everyone for reading, and let's keep this story going!

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Chapter 46

Broken

When Starfall reappeared, he immediately crashed back onto the ground, feeling smooth pavement beneath his belly as he lay there, face down, not really wanting to move. What point was there, any more? In twenty minutes, he would be dead...and that just was not enough to do anything he really wished he had done before his time had come.

After a moment, he decided he might as well at least see where he was, and looked up, glancing around with tired, resigned eyes. Sure enough, he was still in Canterlot, though now outside the castle. As he took in his surroundings, he dimly realised that he had been thrown onto the far side of the drawbridge the surrounded the castle, and lying on the pavement out in the deepest section of the Royal District. He could see that the castle was still sealed off, all doors, windows and balconies covered in glowing silver magic fields, small bubbles sprouting up here and there to keep ponies either out of, or locked in, the various courtyards and gardens the castle possessed.

The entire place was sealed and secured...and Starfall knew Cosmo would not be stupid enough to have forgotten to safeguard it against unicorns attempting to teleport through the barrier. There was no way back in, and even if there was, there was still no way to stop either Cosmo or Nightmare Moon.

"Starfall!" the familiar voice of Twilight Sparkle cut through his despair to reach his ears, but Starfall barely responded, even as the unicorn ran up to him, sporting a couple of bruises, but otherwise looking okay. "Starfall, are you okay? What happened in there?" she asked, clearly concerned, and a little desperate. She knew things were bad, but as her friends also crowded around, it was obvious that they had no idea they were all already dead, and were simply living on borrowed time, now.

"We've been trying to find a way back into the castle since Cosmo teleported us out, but he's got the place sealed up...not even Twilight can break through his magic," Rarity explained. "It's like he wants up to be here...that he wants us to see something, like that light show from before."

"Starfall, talk to us," Twilight pleaded once more, having noticed his silence so far. "What happened...what did they do to that comet just now?" she asked, making Starfall cringe. She really did not know...they were all so oblivious, and it was down to him to break the horrible, final truth to them.

"I..." he tried to say, his voice too choked up to vocalise anything coherent at the moment. How do you tell six close friends that you are all going to die within the next half an hour? When he finally did find his voice, his tone was hollow, empty...as if he was dead already. "It's over, Twilight. Nightmare Moon defeated Princess Celestia...struck her down. Then she and Cosmo, they...they called upon the heavens, turned the comet towards us. In about twenty minutes, Canterlot will be gone...along with all of us."

The tears came unbidden, Starfall coming to grips with the finality of the situation, the hopelessness of it all. His whole body shook with despair and the crushing sense of finality, knowing his death was upon him. Even Twilight and her friends seemed rather stunned, the ever-exuberant Pinkie Pie even going still as the finality of the situation struck her.

Nopony seemed to know what to say to Starfall in the next few moments, leaving him to just sit there, sobs starting to ripple through his shaking body. How? How could it come to this? How could a tragedy from so long ago continue to cause chaos and misery so many years on? The world seemed intent on taking everything away from him; a loving family, his livelihood...and now, just when things had started looking up, his new way of life, his new friends, and the mare he had fallen in love with were being taken from him...before fate would finally grant him some small mercy, and take his life to end it all.

Starfall finally decided that he had had enough, getting to his hooves...even just looking at his friends, knowing they were all going to die soon, was too much for him. Even standing, it was easy to read to total defeat in his whole body. He looked weak, his head hanging heavily, his suit still on, but frayed and ruffled, Starfall not bothering to fix up his appearance, or even take the suit off, as Twilight and her friends seemed to have done with their dresses sometime after being thrown out of the castle.

"Hey!" Starfall distantly heard Rainbow Dash's cry, but did not pay it any attention, even as he heard her chasing after him, the steady wing-beats telling him she was airborne. "Starfall, what are you doing? Where are you going?"

Even as her friends joined in, calling out to him as he wandered aimlessly away from the castle, though Starfall did not reply. He just wanted to be left alone...to find somewhere he could curl up and lament on his life in peace. He was done fighting, had enough of struggling, only to have fate spit in his face every single time. He just hoped he could find some form of peace before that comet arrived and destroyed him...and all of Canterlot.

"Umm...excuse me, mister...are you Starfall?"

The small, feminine voice, seeming to come from a young pony, leaving Starfall surprised. He did not know any foals, so how did this young one know him? He gave a heavy sigh, still not bothering to look up...he just was not in the mood to help anypony out right now. "Now's not a good time, miss," he muttered, his voice as hollow and empty as ever, not even stopping as he continued to wander on.

He barely got a few steps though, before the voice called up again, clearly following him. "Please, mister...if you really are Starfall, can I please just say something? It'll only take a moment, really."

Starfall could hear the stubbornness in the filly's voice, sighing and turning around. "Alright, what is it?" he groaned, looking up to spot the young pony, before freezing as his eyes found her.

The filly was a little older than he had expected, right on the very start of adolescence, it seemed, already going through her first growth spurt, if her slightly gangly appearance was anything to go by. What had made Starfall pause, however, was her appearance. The light blue coat, accentuated by a deeper blue mane and tail. And those light, purple eyes...he recognised those eyes, though last time he had seen them they had been full of mind-numbing fear and panic.

The filly smiled at Starfall, clearly seeing the recognition in his eyes. "You remember me, don't you, Starfall? I always wondered if you remembered..."

Starfall merely blinked, still too stunned to answer. The filly's looks and words meant she could only be the helpless, scared little Earth Pony filly that he had rushed back to save in Stratos Crossing four years ago. The four years seemed to have been kind to her, seeing her start the transition towards becoming a bright, beautiful young mare. But right now, Starfall could only wonder what she was doing here.

Before he could open his mouth to ask, though, the filly spoke up herself. "I never forgot that day, you know. I ran off after you saved me...I mean, I was scared, and just wanted to find my mum and dad...but I always remembered you, even if I never knew your name, and what happened to you after that. I always wondered if you remembered me...if you wondered what had become of me, as I had wondered about you."

Starfall swallowed, still trying to figure out what to say, even as the filly continued speaking. "My mum and dad made it out, and we managed to find a new place...they were so glad I had made it, and when I told them about you, they had always wanted to find you, so they could meet you and thank you for saving me." She paused for a moment, offering Starfall another smile. "And then I read about somepony learning about the stars under Princess Luna's guidance, and when I saw a picture, I finally knew who you were...Starfall. When I heard that you had been invited to the Coronation Ball thingy with Luna, I convinced my parents to take a short holiday here, hoping that I might get a chance to see you..." she trailed off softly.

The last part made a pang of heavy guilt go through Starfall. This filly had come to Canterlot, and to certain death, looking for him, just so she could say hello and thank him for a four year old event. A distant part of him was relieved to finally learn that she had reunited with her family, and that they had gotten on with their lives in the wake of the disaster...but it all seemed so meaningless now that she was here, facing certain death.

"Kid, I..." Starfall started, trying to figure out what to say, how to explain the situation to her without just scaring her senseless again.

"Archer," she cut over him. "My name's Archer."

Starfall nodded. "Listen Archer...I appreciate the thought and effort you've gone to, and I'm glad to hear you and your family got out okay, but you shouldn't have here. You should go back, find your family, and..."

Archer's ears seemed to droop, the heavy look that made her appear so much older than she actually making Starfall pause. "I know, Starfall...I saw the lights, the stars...the comet. I know what's happening," she said softly, the weight of it clearly affecting her. The fact that she was still so calm astounded Starfall...had the incident at Stratos Crossing gifted her with a maturity beyond her years?

Starfall sighed. "Then you know should go back to your mum and dad...spend some time with them...before it's too late," he encouraged softly. He wished he could do the same, but his family had cast him aside in the wake of the Stratos Crossing disaster...and with Luna corrupted and sealed inside the castle, he had nopony left to spend these last moments with. His head hung low, the young stallion having never felt so alone in his life as he did right then.

"I wanted to at least see you, Starfall. You save my life back then...I couldn't just ignore a chance to thank you for that," she said simply. "But...you seem so lost, so hurt. You were so brave last time you were in danger...you look like you've given up, now..."

Starfall sighed, all his grief and frustration coming out, although he had no idea why he was laying his soul bare to this filly he hardly knew. "I tried, kid...I was in the castle when it all started, but...it's just too much," he admitted, his voice full of anguish.

"What do you mean, Starfall?" Twilight's voice startled Starfall, making him groan as he saw her, and all her friends, trotting up, clearly having caught up to him.

He wanted to clam up, to just ignore them all and run off, find a quiet corner to cry himself out until the comet came, but instead, his emotional fragility caused him to burst like an overstressed dam. "Everything!" he finally screamed to the heavens, making the seven ponies around him cringe back. "A pony I once called my best friend has stormed Canterlot Castle, ruined what was going to be a great night, turned the pony I love into a twisted mare of darkness, and used her to defeat Princess Celestia and call down a comet that's going to destroy Canterlot, and kill everypony and everything I have ever cared about...all for revenge because his little sister was killed at Stratos Crossing, and he blames me and the Princesses for it! Thousands of ponies are going to die because I failed to act in time four years ago!"

Panting in the aftermath of his frustrated, anguished, guilt-ridden rant, Starfall could see that everypony around had been stunned into silence, clearly having not expected the outburst. Surprisingly, Rarity was the first to recover. "'The pony you love'?" she repeated. "Starfall, do you...?"

Starfall nodded, not even bothering to hide it, no blush forming any more. There was no point hiding it any more, not now...he was all-but dead as it was. He also spotted Twilight's confused look, and sighed. "I know, Twilight...I know I said I'd get over it after that incident. But I didn't...I hid it well, because I knew she wasn't interested, but...I admit. I've fallen in love with Princess Luna...and to see her...turned, like that..." the anguish filled his voice again, a few stifled sobs escaping him.

Rainbow Dash's response stunned Starfall with the level of snide venom it carried. "So you're just gonna give up, then? Run and wallow in self-pity while waiting for the comet to drop?" she demanded. "Yeah, that's real love and devotion right there, Starfall. What happened to the brave, gusty pegasus that I saw at our race?"

Starfall looked up at her. "Don't you get it, Rainbow?" he snapped back. "We can't get back into the castle, Cosmo sealed it! And even if we could, there's still no way of stopping the comet now! There's nothing that we can do!" he cried, collapsing onto the ground once again, now crying openly, not caring who was there to see him so broken, so defeated...he expected Rainbow Dash, along with all the others, to just leave him be now, Dash's earlier derisiveness making him believe his friends were about to about to abandon him for giving up.

So when Starfall felt a set of hooves wrapping under his forelegs and wings, helping lift him to his hooves, he was left a little surprised, blinking back his tears to see Applejack holding him up, giving him a small, half-smile. "Now ya listen here, Starfall...and ya listen good, okay?" she said, her voice gentle, but with a sharp edge that said she was not making a request, Starfall sniffling a little to get himself under control as Applejack let him go. "There is always something we can do, no matter how hopeless it seems, Starfall. As long as we're all still breathin', there's still hope," she said, placing a hoof on Starfall's shoulder.

Fluttershy, displaying a level of calmness that Starfall would never have attributed with her, also came up to Starfall. "Please, Starfall...Applejack never lies. I know it all seems hopeless, but we can't give up now...we can't let Cosmo and Nightmare Moon win." The timid pegasus added her own hoof to Applejack's, Starfall's gaze now jumping between the two of them.

Rarity also added her own piece, coming up beside Starfall to place a hoof gently on his right wing. "Just believe in us, Starfall...and believe in yourself. Sometimes all it takes is a little hope and courage, and the worst disasters suddenly become a little less insurmountable."

Pinkie Pie also sprang in, rubbing Starfall's back gently. "I know I can seem a little silly and dumb sometimes, but I know you're a really good pony, Starfall. If anypony can find a way to stop this, it's you," she added, her hoof leaving Starfall's back so she could wrap her hooves around his middle from the side in a awkward sort of bear hug.

Rainbow Dash also stepped forward, her hoof on his left wing now, all trace of her earlier venom gone, now smiling softly at him. "Nopony can do this alone, Starfall. Why else do you think we'd chase your sorry rump all this way?" she asked, giving him a small smirk, the collective effort of the five mares finally starting to lift Starfall's spirits a little.

Finally, the five ponies parted slightly, though still keeping a hoof on each shoulder and wing, Pinkie never letting up her hug, as Twilight finally came up in front of him. "Starfall...I know how bad it can feel. I've been there...that sense of hopelessness, that feeling of total inadequacy, when evil has claimed total victory, and you don't think there is anything more that can be done. But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that there is something evil can never understand...and never defeat: Friendship."

"It all seems so hopeless now...but it's not over yet. There is still time. All of us, Starfall...we are all your friends. And Luna...Starfall, I know Luna rejected you rather harshly, before...but I've seen the way you two have grown so close while in Ponyville. You're the best friend she's ever had, Starfall, and love is just as powerful against the darkness as friendship. If there is anypony here than can dispel the shadow of Nightmare Moon, and bring Princess Luna back to us, it is you, Starfall, I know it. Please, Starfall...believe in yourself...believe in us...believe in our friendship. We can still save Equestria. Now what do you say?" she asked, holding out her hoof, giving him the most encouraging smile she could muster.

As Starfall hesitated, looking glumly at all of them, Archer spoke up, making Twilight step aside a little so Starfall could see her. "Starfall...I've heard the rumours that somepony knew that Stratos Crossing was going to be hit before it happened, and warned the town in time to save almost everypony from certain death. I know that pony was you, Starfall, and I...I also believe you can save Canterlot tonight, Starfall. Please, I know it all seems so bad, now...I'm scared, too...but if anypony can save us, it's you. You saved my life...so I know you can do it. Surely you can believe, too?"

Starfall looked up, twisting his head so he could look at all the ponies around him, his breathing turning shaky with the emotion of the moment. All of them...including Archer...were standing by him, in his lowest, most broken moment, still supporting him and trying to keep him going, even when he himself had given up all hope.

It was like nothing he had ever experienced before...friends that stood my him, even in the darkest of moments, never letting him go, never giving up on him. Feeling his eyes watering, able to basically feel the friendship flowing all around him, Starfall met Twilight's eye, and gave her a small, determined smile, taking her hoof in his.

Twilight grinned back at him. "Now that's the Starfall we know!" she said happily, before pulling him into a hug, the rest of her friends joining in, leaving Starfall smothered by ponies all around him. But right now, he did not care...he had friends who truly cared about him. That was proving enough to give him the hope that maybe, just maybe, they could find a way to stop this disaster yet.

"Alright, enough of the sappy stuff!" Rainbow Dash finally said, pulling out of the group hug, everypony else following suit a little more reluctantly. "We're running out of time, and unless we can find a way back into the castle, Nightmare can just keep calling down that comet, even if we stop it."

Starfall, however, was bolstered by his new hope, scouring his memories...his lessons with Luna meant that he knew the castle a lot better than any other pegasus, and something in his memories was nagging him about this. Cosmo had never been inside the castle...and Starfall knew he would never have managed to get through the stringent security, meaning the unicorn must have come in via some kind of secret, unknown entrance...and entrance Starfall felt he should know about, for some reason.

As he thought back, his mind suddenly remembered a crucial detail from what had been a painful day. The rainy morning, when Princess Celestia had taken him to Canterlot Castle to confront Luna about the revelation of his crush the previous day. As they had approached the Royal District, he had noticed Cosmo loitering about in the rain, near where the wall of the Royal District met the side of the castle itself...

Starfall gasped, his eyes going wide, as some life finally seemed to flicker back into them. It was a long shot...a really long shot, but if he was right, then maybe, just maybe, there was still a chance to end this!