//------------------------------// // Prologue: Broken Star // Story: Darkened Skies // by BrokenStar54 //------------------------------// The skies were filled with clouds, dark with impending storms. Most ponies insist that everypony stays in when the weather threatens their very lives. But to me, It’s the thrill of close encounters with scorching streaks of lightning that gets me up in the mornings, that makes me want to live day to day, that makes me want to- “Wake up, kid,” buzzed a raspy voice in my right ear, “if you’re going to do this, then do it. I still don’t know how you talked me into this.” Soarin, our flight supervisor, is watching from a tower nearby. He’s got a few years under his wings but he is highly experienced, nopony ever doubts him. “Yeah, yeah, I’m about to go, just let me get a few things.” I step into the hangar and take pride of the object inside. An Fw-546 “Firehawk”, built by my own hooves, was sitting in the middle of the hanger, just recently tuned with a powerful engine and smoother controls; therefore it turns faster, flies faster, and responds with the slightest touch; In short, one heck of a ride. I open the canopy, and a series of buttons, dials, and knobs welcome me. I have no idea what they mean, but it doesn’t matter. I know everything that goes on inside and outside the plane. I climb up into the cockpit and get settled in the uncomfortable metal seat. I should really get it switched out. Once I get strapped in, I hear Soarin let loose a few well chosen words about how early it is. It isn’t my fault the storm appeared this early, there was no warning in the forecast. Even though we have the best equipment to pick up future storms, I didn’t worry about it; even the best of things fail. “Alright I’m ready,” I said, “take off the locks.” A slight hissing signaled the hydraulic claws, clamping down on the wheels, releasing the pressure, allowing me to idle out of the hangar. The wind was crashing against the glass cover, creating a loud screech. It was unbearable. Regular thunder storms aren’t usually this strong. “Careful out there, don’t want to scrape you off the ground again” “Hey,” I snapped, “that only happened because the ailerons were too tight.” “Excuses, excuses, we all saw what happened.” “Just tell me when I can go,” I said with a hint of frustration. “Go ahead, but I won’t stop you if you’re so eager to waste your life.” With a slight scraping sound, the main engines sputtered into life. “For Celestia’s sake, fix those engines,” groaned Soarin, “I’m tired of hearing those blades scrape against the metal.” “All in due time my friend.” I increased the throttle and made my way to a long stretch of metal, covering a massive area for even bigger craft than mine. Once on it, I put the engines at maximum power, eager to get into the air again. “Careful, you don’t want to stress the engines too much.” As I near the end of the runway, I gently pull back on the controls causing the nose of the plane to ease into the sky. I keep it up till the tail clears the ground, allowing me to pull up the landing gear and soar into the storm. As I get out further, I take a glance back behind the tail and see a massive shape, looming over me. A massive airship took form, with its huge thrusters keeping the flat, black, and grey base aloft and safe from the harmful armies down below. A series of letters and numbers on the aft section dubbed the ship Titan, a fitting name for how vast it is. A number of hangers and launch ports clutter the sides of the ship, somehow leaving enough room for windows for the crews’ quarters. However, none of these ports had light shining out. Nopony wants to alert scouts below to our presence. If that happened, we would be on the ground in less time it would take you to turn out the light. “Let’s make this quick, I want to get back to bed,” groaned a voice through the earpiece. I pulled back and climbed higher; as I reached the top of my climb, I let go of the controls, and plummeted towards earth, letting out a howl of thrill. I sped through clouds, lightning flashing around me. I regained control and pulled out of the cloud formation. Causing Soarin to make a few comments on how idiotic this is. “You should really find a safer hobby.” Insisted Soarin “And miss out on all this fun,” I exclaimed in mock shock, “how dare you challenge me by insulting my choice of enjoyment.” I turned the plane around and headed straight for the tower; increasing speed as I go. “Watch out!” Soarin apparently didn’t like my little stunt, but that wasn’t what he was worried about. A bright, yellow, forked bolt of energy missed my plane by mere inches. The sudden arrival caused me to react badly; I overturned and nearly went into the side of the Titan. Luckily, I recovered before I scraped a few coats of paint off the airship. “What was that,” I half-yelled into the mic, “I know for sure that wasn’t lightning.” “Because it came from the ground,” Soarin said with legitimate fear. If it came from the ground, then that can only mean… “Alert the whole ship, we need to gain altitude now!” Bursts of energy flashed around me, causing me to turn all over the place to avoid getting hit. I circle around to try and land on the runway, I line up, lower flaps and the landing gear, and get struck by a stray blast. The energy slices right through my left engine, wrecking the entire plane as I cant keep it straight anymore. I try my hardest to land as softly as I could, but I still went down too hard, making my gear fold up inside the plane. I spun out on the runway, luckily it stopped me from going over the edge. Dazed and stunned, I got out of the cockpit and made my way to the hangar, desperate to get into safety. I take a glance outside and see many streaks of bright energy, coming dangerously close to the floating platform. A stray bolt struck the side of the Titan, rocking the ship so much; it would definitely wake up anypony sleeping at this early hour. “Take cover!” As I hear the voice cry out; everything around me ceased to exist.