One night, not so long ago in the world of Equestria, a single star fell through the sky. Why it fell nopony knows, but all who saw it remembered the ancient legends regarding the falling of stars. Each of them wished upon it, a dear wish from the depths of their hearts that they had kept inside of themselves for as long as they had known. Some of these wishes have since come true, and others have not. Many have been forgotten, but I know of some, and these I shall tell you now.
In a tower in the grand city of Canterlot, capital of this glorious nation, a small lavender filly and her mentor watched the sky. "Look!" said Twilight Sparkle, reaching her hoof out to touch the glass. "A shooting star! Can I make a wish?"
"Of course, my dear Twilight," replied her mentor. "It is said that a wish on a falling star will most certainly come true." So Twilight eagerly searched her mind for things she wanted to wish for. She was just about to ask the heavens for all the knowledge in the world when something strange awoke inside her, a deeper thought that she'd never known. I wish... Twilight thought, Well, what I really want is to end my restlessness. I can't seem to find a place where I truly belong, not even with my mentor. Please, shooting star, please calm my turmoil.*
*One may wonder why such a young filly would use dialogue such as this. Well, Twilight Sparkle was no ordinary filly, and took pride in her frequent use of big, sophisticated words.
Princess Celestia, ruler of all Equestria, looked up as well. She too had a wish deep inside her, and though she knew that this star alone could not grant it, she wished anyway. Please, please, O heavens, she thought, bring Luna home safely.
After Twilight was done wishing, she looked up to her mentor. "Did you make a wish too?"
With a barely concealed smile, Princess Celestia looked back down at her student. "Why, yes, Twilight. I wished for a pair of thick, woolen socks. One can never have enough socks, after all." Twilight stared at her for a moment, confused, then shrugged and went back to stargazing.
On a small rock farm, in a nearly-forgotten corner of the world, a pink filly with impossibly fluffy hair saw the star fall from her bedroom window. She nearly squealed with joy, before she remembered that her parents and sisters were sleeping. Then, looking around as if to make sure no audience members were watching (or perhaps to remind them that she knew that they were), she whispered theatrically to the window pane, "Hey star! I really really really really want a real friend someday. I'm kind of lonely on this farm, you know, and I want somepony else to throw parties for. I'm leaving tomorrow, so if you could help me, that'd be really really good." She then smiled, bounced over to her bed, and fell promptly asleep.
Small and yellow, Fluttershy trembled in her bed of moss under a hollow tree. She saw a flare of light from outside, and tentatively poked her nose out to investigate. Upon noticing the star streaking across the sky, she crawled out completely and stood to watch it. Remembering the legends that her parents had told her when she still lived in Cloudsdale, she closed her eyes and made a brief prayer for security and safety before darting back into her tree and curling up again, terrified of the darkness around her.
"Well, I'll be! It's been a good fifty years since I saw the last shootin' star fall! Come out, y'all, and see this!" Granny Smith hollered out to the rest of her family, waking them up and sending them shuffling out of bed. Applejack, bleary-eyed, trundled out first to meet her grandmother. Blinking her eyes clear, she looked up in awe at the glittering streak of light. "Now, make a wish, young'un. It's tradition," Granny Smith said in an unusually soft voice. Applejack watched the star and wished for her family to stay safe, for she was nothing without them.
In Cloudsdale, another soul was awake and restless. Rainbow Dash, usually rough and brash, now looked at the sky and wondered what was underneath the exterior she always projected. Hollow and lonely, she whispered tentatively to the heavens, "If you can hear me, I... I just want to be accepted. Really accepted, like all the others. I don't want to be the underdog, but it's a lonely life being as amazing and awesome as I am. I want to be awesome, but I don't want to be lonely. So... If the stories are true, and- and you can grant wishes, that's what I want. Yeah." She sat down, a little disconcerted by her own revelation, and shook her head. She stayed only a little longer like that, then got up and walked back into her house.
The beautiful Carousel Boutique had been in Rarity's family for generations. It was a workplace, store, and home all in one. Tonight, its balconied upper floors served as the perfect place for the fashionista filly to watch the sky. She gazed at the glittering gem falling with a wistful eye, and thought of the stars above her-- the physical, and the metaphorical. She thought of every filly and colt already on their path to fame, and all of the mares and stallions who were shining now as brightly as that beautiful star. She sighed delicately, and made a small wish that someday, she would be their equal.
Back in Canterlot, a cream-colored filly briefly looked up from her ardent studies to catch a glimpse of the fleck of light that had briefly glittered in the corner of her eye. Moondancer paused for a moment, recalling the silly and pointless tales her parents had told her of wishing on fallen stars. She was about to turn back to her book when, on a whim, she looked back up at the sky and made a short, concise wish for courage.
Elsewhere, in Ponyville, a small, average-looking grey Pegasus watched what she could see of the star. You see, while one eye watched the sky, and could follow it quite well, the other eye stared down towards the ground. It's no surprise that soon, the mare wished dearly for straight eyes.
A young, professional-looking mare walked down a nearby street with a cello on her back. Seeing a glitter in the sky, Octavia stopped and looked, briefly wishing for more ponies to enjoy Classical music before continuing on her way. Her companion, Vinyl Scratch, also noticed the star and silently asked it to let her friend lighten up a bit and undo the restricting ties of uptight professionalism.
The gardens of Canterlot were a beautiful sight by moonlight. Every leaf, every flower, every stone, every statue shone with the unearthly glow of the full moon, and the mare within it. One statue in particular stood out, his mismatched parts and clownish position attracting the eyes of many who walked the gardens by day. Fortunately for him, the odd position in which he was frozen, with his head tilted back and his mouth wide open in a fanged laugh, provided the perfect opportunity to see the sky and the star that now streaked across it. He thought to himself, Huh, it's been a while since I've seen one of those fall. Well then, O Great Wish-Granting Powers, I'm sick and tired of sitting here in the same position forever. C'mon, let me out of here! I'll even say please. Please, set me free to do what I want! It's getting kind of lonely...
And so the old Draconequus reached into his heart like he never had before. Such a long time imprisoned gives one many opportunities to discover one's inner self, and for the first time in thousands of years, Discord breached the rough, cruel outer crust of his being and looked within-- only for a moment, as he found it somewhat painful to truly feel his deepest emotions. As soon as that moment passed, he returned to his stony, but comfortable, known personality.
Out in the Badlands, beyond the farthest reaches of the Equestrian realm, there lies another kingdom, one long forgotten. It is a kingdom of Changelings, strange and sometimes terrible creatures who feast on the love ponies have for one another. They are of a strange and mysterious nature, and nopony truly understands them, for they are of a material that no pony is made of, or has ever encountered before. But they have two noticeable things in common with Equestrians: even amongst Changelings, it is hard to be a ruler, for commanding such respect often accompanies being feared, and Changeling leaders are rarely truly loved. The other noticeable similarity between the two races is that now, their ruler also looked up at the sky and watched a single star fall. It may come as a surprise to some who know of the nature of the Changelings, and be rather obvious to others, but the Queen of the Changelings, Chrysalis, now wished to be loved.
Locked beneath the ice of the Arctic, in a barren wasteland, a shadowy spirit stirred. A glitter, a faint twinkling of moving light, made its way down through the tiny crystals and caught the eye of the dark King Sombra. He had committed a terrible crime in his past, and was now serving penance for it, forced against his will under the frozen earth. His sigh reverberated through the ice encasing him as he wished, desperately, to truly be in control of his own life.
Two more ponies of note in Canterlot saw the star that night. The Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and an aspiring guard, Shining Armor, looked up at the same moment from opposite sides of the city. Shining Armor, older brother of a filly whom Cadence foalsat, thought of her lovingly and wished, wished with all his heart that she would notice him. Cadence wished for world peace.
Above them all, in the heavens, one more soul looked upon the falling star. She was imprisoned in the moon for trying to kill her sister and take over Equestria, and her silhouette was engraved in craters on its face. Her heart ached as she watched it, and finally, after nearly a thousand years, she dared to wish once again.
Falling star beyond the sky,
Please now hear the words that I
Silently will pray to thee:
Please, oh, please, soon give to me
A dream that I have wished for years,
Watered it with my own tears.
I wish, I hope, I dream, I pray,
To find another chance today.
Author's Note
Celestia's comment about socks is inspired by J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Ch. 12, "The Mirror of Erised". Dumbledore jokingly tells Harry that when he looks into the mirror, he sees himself "holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."
