Chapter I

~Message from the Stars~

Once upon a time, many centuries ago, there was an evil alicorn named Midnight Sparkle. Midnight was extremely powerful, but she did nothing but crave more. So, she created a crystal that sucked up all the magic in Equestria. The spells of unicorns, the flight of pegasi, the strength of earth ponies, all gone in only a few minutes. After gaining all this power, Midnight went on a cataclysmic rampage, destroying everything in her wake, hoping to put the ponies of Equestria in their place, and make them worship her. But the princess, Luster Dawn, wasn’t having any of it. Her magic wasn’t able to be taken by Midnight, so she was able to fight back against her. Eventually, she banished Midnight Sparkle to the night sky, where she became a constellation. The ponies never got their magic back, but they were ever so grateful that their magnificent leader was able to take down their tormentor, and life in Equestria has been peaceful ever since.

Fluffy Star’s big blue eyes stared at the page in wonderment. No matter how many times she’s heard this story, it never gets old. She didn’t know how to describe why. Interest? Nostalgia maybe? Whatever it was, the idea of a pony being banished into a constellation was fascinating to her. Possibly because of the telescope she looked into every night just to stare at the stars. Fluffy was very fond of these types of stories, even if they were just mythos. I mean, her, being a pegasus, being able to fly? Common ponies would never have that type of ability. Not to mention, the idea of being banished to the sky. How would that even be possible? But, that didn’t matter. What did matter was that everypony in her town was preparing for tomorrow, and she didn’t want to be left out! Fluffy quickly clipped on her satchel, and slipped her book inside one of the bags. Before stepping outside however, she checked her flank. Sighing with relief to see her bag covered it, she opened her door and started trotting through her hometown of Ponyville.

Tomorrow was going to be an important day. A day that comes over Equestria once every year. The eve of the Eclipse Festival is an exciting day, where ponies all over Ponyville come together and help put up decorations in preparation for the occasion. The Princess, Luster Dawn, would come to Ponyville, greet her loyal subjects, and form a solar eclipse in the sky, creating an absolutely beautiful sight. Unfortunately, the eclipse could only be seen from Ponyville. But, it would make Ponyville an extremely popular tourist attraction every five years. Ponies outside the area would travel miles just to tour the town and to capture this stunning moment in their memory. Of course, an occasion such as this would take setting up from the denizens of Ponyville. It was a good way to show how good the ponies are at working as a team. Princess Luster always preached about the values of friendship, after all.

Fluffy continued to walk through Ponyville, marveling at the decor that had already been put up. Everything looked great so far! Everypony is doing such a good job! But, how could she be surprised? The ponies here never miss when it comes to the festival. It really was one of their most important events for a reason, of course.

“Hey, Fluffy!” a voice called out, startling Fluffy. She turned to see a stallion perched on a ladder, struggling to put up a banner. The ladder was obviously very unstable, it looked like it could tip over any second, so it was no surprise when the stallion followed up with “You think you could gimme a hand here?

Fluffy smiled, trotting over to help the stallion. “Sure, I’d love too…um..” she hesitated, making sure her flank was still covered. “Don’t you think you should get another ladder?” she added as she grabbed onto the base of the ladder.

“Oh, no!” the stallion responded, patting the ladder like his own pet. “This baby’s sturdy as a rock. It’ll never-” Before he could finish his sentence, the ladder started losing balance as he leaned to the side. Fluffy desperately grabbed onto the ladder and straightened it out, making sure the stallion didn’t fall. Chuckling nervously, he descended the ladder. “Maybe it’d be better if you do it?”

Seeing how close the stallion was to falling, she hesitated, but regardless, took the banner in her teeth and began to ascend the ladder. Fluffy knew the stallion was stronger than her, so she figured it shouldn’t be too bad. The ladder wobbled a little, causing the pink pegasus to yelp, but the stallion took hold of the base, keeping it tightly in place. She looked down to the stallion, who gave her a knowing grin. She grinned back nervously, making sure to cover up her flank again. Fluffy continued up the ladder, finally making it to the post where the banner was meant to go. Carefully, making sure to not lean too much, hooked the banners string onto the post, keeping it in place. She sighed with relief as she started to descend, when suddenly, the ladder started to wobble. A lot. Fluffy hadn’t moved much, and the stallion’s grip was strong, but she suddenly found herself and the ladder tumbling to the ground.

“Oh my Dawn! Are you okay?!” the stallion asked with concern.

Fluffy sat up slowly, grabbing her head. “I think so..”

The two then started to hear giggling. Childish giggling.

“Hey!” the stallion exclaimed, pointing out two snickering foals hiding behind the wooden post. “What was that about? You can’t do that to somepony! She could’ve gotten hurt!”

The foals rolled their eyes. “Why do you care?” one of them sneered. “We’re younger than her, and we’ve already got our cutie marks!” they guffawed, pointing at Fluffy Star. She stared down at her empty flank, covering it up quickly.

“You kids get outta here!” the stallion snapped, ushering off the foals. He turned back to Fluffy who was looking down in shame. “Are you okay?” he asked, offering his hoof.

Immediately, Fluffy ran away from the stallion, fighting the urge to cry. Her purple mane got messed up in the wind, but she didn’t care. She had to get out of this place. Away from those foals. Away from the stallion. Away from everypony. She looked around, taking short glances at ponies who were staring at her in surprise and sympathy. They may have looked friendly, but she knew. She knew what they were really thinking. “What a freak! How could she not have a cutie mark at this age? Such a worthless blank flank!” This was the exact thing she was trying to get away from by moving here. But it followed her. It never stops. It won’t stop. It’ll follow her to the grave. Ponies will never stop looking at her as a stupid “blank flank.” That’s all she’ll ever be.

Fluffy Star jumped tearfully onto her bed, sobbing endlessly into her soft pillow, not even caring that she’d miss the opportunity to help more around Ponyville if she stayed in her bed. Maybe it was for the best. She just needed to let it out. She just wished that all this torment would just go away. She wished she never went to the doctor when she was younger, just to find out she would never be able to have a cutie mark thanks to her condition. She wishes she never even left this morning. She wished she could just fit in for once.

The moon rose over the horizon, signaling the start of the night. It was usually a great time for Fluffy, because she’d be able to observe space via her telescope, but tonight was different. She was absolutely miserable. It shouldn’t be this bad for her. It was just a bunch of foals not knowing better. Why is she so upset? She rolled over in bed to face the giant dome that she’d gaze out from with her signature telescope. It usually calmed her down to look at such a beautiful sky. But this time, it seemed to have lost its magic. She wasn’t feeling any better. As she stared into the endless black void, her eyes fell on a certain group of stars that glowed brightly, vaguely making out the shape of a six-pointed star. The same star that was associated with a certain fictional evil alicorn. She sat up, watching the constellation closely. It was cheesy, sure, but it felt like the constellation was… alive. Of course, that was impossible, even with that silly myth, it wasn’t real. But even so, she felt drawn to it. She stood up and walked over to her dome, her gaze locked on the constellation. She didn’t know what possessed her to do this, but she started talking to it.

“Midnight, I know you’re not real, nor can you hear me…but, why is it that you wanted more power?” Fluffy asked, not expecting an answer. “Did you feel…misunderstood? A want to finally be seen as a pony and not something to poke fun at? If so then… I just want you to know…you’re not alone. I may not have the same lust for power as you, but…” she paused to wipe away a tear. “I relate to you.” As she looked back at the constellation, she noticed something… strange. Were the stars in the constellation always that bright? They seemed to be emanating a pink glow. It’s never done that before. No stars are supposed to do that. She rubbed her eyes, expecting the effect to leave, but it remained. Fluffy shook her head, realizing her situation.

“Am I really talking to a bunch of stars right now? Gosh, I really need some sleep.” She headed back to her bed, brushing off the oddity. Today was a rough day. Surely she’ll feel better tomorrow after a good night’s rest.

Author's Note

Hello, and thank you for reading the first chapter of my story!! Let me know what you guys think. I would love to know your thoughts!