//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Blackstar // by Jet Kusanagi //------------------------------// “It's not the despair, Laura. I can stand the despair. It's the hope.” - Michael Frayn _ The air was cool and breezy on this summer evening. The tall, meadow-born grass barely stirred from the gentle kisses of the wind. The sunflowers were slowly beginning to close themselves up, protecting their vulnerable buds from the chill of the sunless night. The sparse trees that dotted the landscape stood resolute as the silent guardians of the creatures scampering underneath them. All of the tiny animals that roamed and played in the grasses during the day began moving back into their homes in the trees and underground to rest in preparation for tomorrow. The moon was high in the sky now, taking its place at the center. Unlike the sun, the moon gave off a soft, gentle light that allowed other celestial bodies farther away to grace the Earth with their beauty. Even the clouds had retreated to allow for this rare display. Millions of stars decorated the night sky, all eager to catch the attention of anyone that had a chance to look at them. They all twinkled one after the other, all trying to outdo each other. One even seemed to fall out of the sky, leaving behind it a bright trail of fiery brilliance. “Ooh!” a dark purple pegasus called out in surprise. “Make a wish!” The light blue unicorn lying next to him tilted her head towards him and raised a skeptical brow. “Do you actually believe in that junk?” The pegasus shrugged his shoulders. “I don't know to be honest. But what's the harm in a little wishing?” He gave her a glance. “Besides you're a unicorn. Shouldn't you believe in magic anyway?” The unicorn scoffed. “Magic is utilized through incantations and spells to make something specific happen,” she explained. “Wishes are simply the desires of someone. They contain no power and as such do not cause anything to happen.” The pegasus sat up from his grassy blanket and gave her a somewhat humorous look. “For someone who's supposed to spend her time uncovering the mysteries of the universe, you have very little sense of wonder.” She shrugged. “I try to keep myself grounded,” she admitted. She smirked. “Unlike you.” The pegasus tried to feign insult. “Well, I never! It's my job to stay as ungrounded as possible! How else would we get nights as beautiful as this?” He made a wide, sweeping gesture to indicate the cloudless sky. “It is pretty nice, I'll give you that,” the unicorn complemented. The pegasus plopped back down onto the grass. “Thanks.” A long silence followed. The two ponies just sat and stared at the diverse assortment of stars and planets adorning the black sky. The pegasus broke the silence. “Astra...” She perked her ears. “What is it, Allis?” “Do you know...why I brought you here?” he asked. “To try and get lucky?” she answered with a disapproving smile. “No no,” he dismissed. He slowly turned his head. “Although-” “No,” she answered quickly, deadpan. He sighed deeply. “Yeah yeah...but seriously, that wasn't it.” Astra could sense that something was bothering him. This wasn't his usual easygoing tone. She turned on her side so that she was facing him. “Oh, what is it then?” Allis rolled over and stood up. “This is one of the last places that Discord has yet to touch.” Astra groaned and stood up as well. Her face was creased with frustration. “I knew this would come up again.” She turned away “See you later.” “Wait!” Allis placed a hoof on her shoulder. “You can't keep turning your back on this forever!” Astra shrugged him off of her. “I'm not turning back on anything or anyone! Discord is in Equestria; he's their problem, not ours.” She continued to walk away. Allis flew in front of Astral, blocking her path. “Are you blind!?” he yelled in frustration. “Do you really think that the God of Chaos is content with causing destruction and misery on a single continent?” Astra rolled her eyes and tried to keep walking, but Allis moved to block her each time she tried. “We go through this stupid argument every time we go out together!” she complained. “Can't we just spend a normal evening with each other?” Allis lowered himself to the ground. “That's a luxury we don't have.” Astra closed her eyes and sighed. “Listen, Allis...I'm sorry about being so short with you. It's just...just...” She trailed off. “What is it?” Astra did not respond. She merely tilted her head and looked away. Allis smiled and lowered his back. “Come on.” Astra opened her eyes. “What are you--?” Allis chuckled. “Just come on!” Astra looked a little uneasy. She started running her hooves through her light pink mane over and over. “Are you sure? I mean, you shouldn't be able to fly with another pony on top of you. Your wings are designed to hold your weight only. It isn't-” He groaned and rolled his eyes. “Will you just get on and stay out of your own head for a second?” She took a deep breath and laid herself across Allis's back. He buckled a little under the sudden load. “Whoa,” he grunted. Astra glared down at him. Allis stood up straight and flexed his wings. “Uh, I meant 'let's go'!” He started running through the meadow. Faster and faster he ran until the flora and fauna around them began to blur. Astra tried to speak but she could barely form words with the wind rushing wildly around them. Tall stalks and fronds whipped across her face, forcing her to close her eyes. Tears streamed out of her eyes even though she had closed them. The speed was just too much for her to handle. “It's okay!” Allis yelled. “You can open your eyes now!” Astra shook her head and buried her face into Allis's mane. “I can't!” she mumbled. “Don't worry!” Allis called out. “You'll be fine!” Astra slowly lifted her face and opened her eyes. Instantly, she was greeted with a sight that she had never seen before. The world was blurring around her like it had been before, but it was different somehow. It was stinging her to have her eyes open or anything. It was as if the blur was...meant to be. The colors of the environment were all mixing together to form the most beautiful patterns and shapes. The greens of the grass, the browns of the trees, the yellows of the flowers and even the whites and blacks of the sky. They were all melding together in such a wondrous manner. “Here we go!” Allis announced. “Make sure to hang on tight!” Astra wondered what he was talking about. Then she looked ahead and realized what was going on. Straight ahead, she saw that there was nothing but the sky in front of them. The ground was leading up to a cliff. “No!” she screamed. Allis merely chuckled. “Whatever you do, don't let go!” He dove off of the edge of the cliff, the sounds of Astra's screams of protest blanketing the air around them. For a few seconds they seemed to hover in the air. Astra stopped screaming and looked around. Time slowed down to a crawl. Even the air stopped moving. Astra gasped. She tried to speak, but even her words were slowed. “Your wings...!” she yelled. They plummeted down the cliff's edge with Allis's wings still against his side.