//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 - Sister 
// Story: The Universe 
// by SkyFlare 
//------------------------------//

Sister
I flew straight to Canterlot; it took most of the night.  The filly on my back didn’t stir, not once the whole trip.  Sleeping soundly on my back, the world around her nonexistent.  Celestia was just beginning to pull the sun into the sky, ending the short-lived, warm summer’s night, when I dropped off my saddlebags and a note at an unguarded post.  I knew all of the rotations that the guards went through, allowing me to leave them without being noticed.
The note said something along the lines of,
“Dear princesses,
I am going to take a continued leave of absence out near my hometown of Fillydelphia with my family.  I am sorry about having to tell you in this manner, but something very important, a private family matter has come up and I don’t have time to waste.
From,
Sky Flare”
I hated lying to them, even about unimportant things.  The letter as a whole was a lie, and I would have preferred so much to be able to tell them the truth.  I wasn’t like all of the ponies who sat there in fear of banishment at the slightest wrong doing, however.  I knew that there was only one time that Princess Celestia had ever banished anypony, and I knew, whether she knew I did or not, that it hurt her much more than it had hurt her sister.  During the time as a guard that I spent before Princess Luna’s return, I heard Celestia talking to the moon.  She would wish it a goodnight.    It had never made much sense to me, at least, not until Luna’s banishment had ended and Nightmare Moon had fallen.
I had great respect for both princesses, but that respect did not result in, or originate from, fear.  They were both kind and I knew that, once I was sure of everything about this filly, that they would forgive my secrecy in the end.  I wasn’t entirely sure why I didn’t want to bring the filly to them, it might have been fear that the scholars would want to learn about her, and not care as much for her safety as I did.
I began the short flight back to Ponyville, the opposite direction as Fillydelphia.  If guards were sent after me to help escort me, they would never catch up.  In fact, the more they tried, the farther away they would get.  I hated doing that to them, they weren’t bad, and all they would try to do is help, but I needed to solve the mystery of this filly by myself.  That’s the way it had been ever since my family moved out of Cloudsdale and into Fillydelphia.  I was never able to make any friends that were anywhere near as close as Dashie was.  I could always trust her to help me, no matter what.
Ponyville began to come into view; the small houses and hay thatched roofs were a welcomed sight.  The first place that I went was Rainbow’s house, but she wasn’t in, and the filly’s sleep was growing restless, as if she were having a nightmare.  I didn’t have any time to waste; I hastily began looking for a place that I could take a look at the filly, somewhere shaded and out of sight.  A willow tree, almost as if to answer my call, swayed in the wind.  It was slightly off of the beaten path and it was likely that nopony would bother us there.  We could wait it out until Rainbow got home from clearing the skies, or hanging out with her friends, whatever it was that she was up to.
I set the filly down in the shade gently, as to not disturb her sleep.  I looked down at her, slowly pulling off the helmet so that I could see her injuries.  She shifted slightly in her sleep, only a slight twist of her neck, moving her head off of a patch of dirt and onto the soft grass.  After that, she moved one of her hooves over top of her face.
“It’s alright.” I whispered softly, unsure if she could hear me or not.
I heard the sounds off hooves passing by outside, they all stayed at a distance though.  I ignored most of them, but soon I heard one set coming closer, the rustling of the grass growing louder and louder with each step they took.  Panicked, I hurriedly pushed the helmet back onto the Filly’s head.  She didn’t so much as react when I did this, readjusting only after the disguise was active again.
“I thought I heard somepony over here, but I wasn’t expecting it to be you.” A voice laughed.  It was familiar, but it wasn’t Rainbow.  That left five mares, the only others that I had spoken to two days ago.
“Oh, umm…” I paused, trying to peer through the leaves of the weeping willow.  “Hello.”  I was still unable to see any part of the mare that I was speaking to.
“What are you doing all the way out here?” the voice asked as the lavender unicorn that it belonged to revealed herself through the branches.
“Twilight Sparkle, right?” I was almost sure that that was her name, but I just wanted to be sure.  When she nodded I continued, “Just resting for a little while, I’m waiting for Rainbow to get back, she wasn’t home.”
“Oh, Rainbow is out right now.” Twilight stated echoing what I had said only seconds before, “Who is that with you?”
“Oh her… um she’s…” I paused, Oh Luna; I’m no good at lying if I can see the other pony’s face!  I thought.  “Well, she’s my sister.”
Twilight stood there staring at us, glancing between the filly and me.  It felt like an eternity, despite the fact that it was only about half a minute.  “Alright.” Twilight said, finally breaking the long silence.
“Do you know when Rainbow will be getting back?” I asked quickly, trying to end the conversation while still getting what I needed out of Twilight.
“I’m sorry but I don’t know when she’ll be back.  Fluttershy needed her help with something, something about catching a certain fast animal that was causing some trouble.” Twilight explained, going into more detail than I cared about.
“Okay.” I sighed.
I noticed that her purple eyes had drifted back to the filly that I had earlier claimed to be my sister.  She was analyzing her, taking notice of the numerous cuts and scrapes that I hadn’t covered.  Her eyes shifted between those visible wounds and those that were bandaged.  I swallowed hard, afraid that more questions would soon follow.
“What happened to her?” Twilight asked, proving my fears true.
“She fell down.” I wasn’t lying, she had fallen down.  I just didn’t want to say how far.
“What’s her name?”
Celestia help me!  “Her name is…” I hesitated, maybe too long.
“She isn’t your sister is she?” Twilight said sternly, glaring at me.
I grunted, stepping between the filly and Twilight.  “No.”
“Why did you lie to me?” Twilight asked, her glare not letting up in the slightest.
“I haven’t known you long enough.  I don’t know much about this filly, but I’m willing to protect her with my life.  I promised her that nothing would hurt her, and I will not be made a liar.” I said firmly, glaring back into the unicorn’s purple eyes.
“Other than the lie that you just told me?” Twilight broke the eye contact.
“That and a few others that I will be using to protect her.” I answered, still glaring.
“You can trust me.  I Pinkie Promise.” Twilight stated.  “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” as Twilight said this she went through motions that logically corresponded with the words that she recited.  Upon the final line, she touched her hoof to her eye.  “Ow.”
“What was that?” I asked, my glare turning to a gaze of confusion.
“It’s a Pinkie Pie Promise, and I really need to slow down the ‘cupcake in my eye’ part.  I always poke my eye.” Twilight answered, the last part seemed to be more directed at herself than it did me.
“Okay, I’ll trust you, but we need to work somewhere private.  I’ll fill you in when we are away from the other ponies.” I explained.
“Let’s head back to my library.” Twilight said, staying calm enough for both of us.
I lifted the filly off of the ground once again and began to follow Twilight back to the Golden Oaks Library.  She led me through some of Ponyville’s back roads, the ones that Pinkie hadn’t shown me.  Using those roads to get to the library kept us out of sight and prevented any other distractions from the filly’s care.
Once we were inside the library, Twilight took me up to her room and she had me set the filly on her bed.  She galloped off to get a first aid kit from the bathroom.  When she got back, I was removing the helmet from the filly’s head, which woke her up.
The filly looked around frantically.  She was in an unfamiliar place, full of strange things, and had a unicorn mare staring down at her in astonishment.
“You didn’t tell me that she was an alicorn!” Twilight shouted.
“Shh, you’re scaring her.” I whispered.  “I told you that I would fill you in.  If you could just start treating her, I’ll tell you about the whole thing.”
Twilight nodded, listening intently to my story.  She would ask questions at times if something confused her, and I would explain them as best as I could.  By the time I was done telling the story, Twilight had finished working with the bandages.
“How are you felling?” I asked, leaning my head down next to the black coated filly.
The filly didn’t respond with words or a shake of the head.  She simply looked up at me, the same pleading look in her eyes that she’d had before.  She just wanted the bandages to come off.
“Hey, listen.” I whispered, lifting the filly’s chin with my wing.  “I know that the bandages aren’t any fun, but you just need to keep in mind that they are only there to help you, and soon they can come off.”
“Yeah, there’s no point in being upset.  You’re an alicorn, you’re bound to recover faster than normal ponies, I’m sure that we can take those bandages away in no time.” Twilight said lightly, joining me beside the filly.
“Hey, Twilight, can I ask you a favor?” I asked looking over at the unicorn.  Celestia had claimed so many times that Twilight Sparkle is the most brilliantly talented unicorn that I have seen in ages.  Ever since Starswirl the Bearded passed on, there has been nopony capable of matching his abilities, until Twilight.
“Sure.” Twilight smiled as she turned to face me.  “Alright little one, don’t try to move too much, that will only make the cuts worse.” she said to the filly as she followed me out of the room.
“Alright, I know how good you’re supposed to be at magic.  Is there any chance that you can do some enchantment like what is on the guard armor?  I think that it would be best to keep a low profile, and an alicorn filly doesn’t really make for a low profile.” I explained, revealing my new plan.
“I can try; it might take a little while to find a spell though.  I’ll have Spike helping me, so it shouldn’t take too long.” Twilight answered.
“Thanks.” I said quietly.  “I’m going to stay with the filly, I’m sure that eventually I can get her to start talking.  As I said before, she claimed she didn’t have a name, but I think that might have had something to do with her inability, or lack of willingness, to talk.”
“Alright, good luck.” Twilight nodded as she turned her attention to the tall bookshelves that surrounded us.
I quickly ascended the spiral staircase of the library, using my wings so that I wouldn’t make as much noise.  I stepped into Twilight’s bedroom and looked at the bed.  The filly had once again curled up into a ball and gone to sleep.  I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, all she really seemed to do was sleep.
“Come to think of it, she hasn’t eaten since I found her.” I though aloud.  “Neither have I.”  I added when my stomach let out a loud roar.
I looked down at myself, trying to silence the aching hunger that had suddenly taken over my thoughts.  Attempting to put the thought of food behind me, I sat down beside the bed.  As I did this, the filly instinctively slid closer to me, pushing her little nose up against my neck.  I would have been lying if I said I wasn’t as tired as she was, but I had to stay up, for her.
I’m not sure how much time went by, most likely an hour though, if I had to guess, before Twilight stampeded up the stairs, carrying with her a large book and pink bracelet.
“Sky, I found a spell!” she gasped out.  She had clearly either over exerted herself in the casting of the spell, or she had tired herself out by running up the stairs, probably the former.  “I’m sorry it took so long.  I found it a little bit ago, but I was trying to make a couple of variations to it.”
“Like what?” I asked, lifting my head slightly.
“I wasn’t sure if you wanted her to look like a unicorn or a pegasus.  I tried to change it, but the spell wouldn’t work if I did it to hide the horn.” Twilight explained in one long breath.
“Alright, so she’ll look like a unicorn?  That’s fine, I mean, either way she’d be less noticeable.” I shrugged, unsure what the problem was.
“Alright, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay with the results.  All she has to do is put on this bracelet and it will change her appearance.” Twilight said, finally starting to regulate her breathing again.
“You do realize that hyperventilation isn’t good for you.” I joked, yawning shortly afterward.
“Yeah, well…” Twilight paused and let out a slight laugh, “just let me give her he bracelet and tell me what you think.”
Twilight slid the bracelet slightly past the filly’s front left hoof.  The filly’s physical appearance underwent a dramatic change.  With the helmet, her coat simply turned white and her horn became invisible, but with this there was more.  Her coat turned to a blue, only a few shades darker than mine, and her mane gained a blue tint to it as well, making it just lighter than Rainbow’s coat.  Her wings seemed to instantly fade from existence.  The only parts of her that stayed the same were her mane style and her eyes.
The filly opened her eyes once again, as if awakened by the change.  She looked at herself and jumped slightly.  It was clear that she didn’t recognized herself and that scared her, even if she couldn’t tell us that is did.  I placed my hoof slowly on her back, and when she felt it, she laid her head back down.  She knew then, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the body was hers.  I touched it, and she felt it.
“It’s alright.  Twilight did this so that we can hide you for now.  It will be easier to keep you safe this way, but promise me not to use your wings while you look like this.” it wasn’t like I’d ever seen her use her wings before, but she had only been awake for about twenty minutes total.  Two days, and that was all of the time that she had spent awake, it was like she was catching up on a lifetime of sleepless nights.
The filly nodded before jumping back up.  When she did, I heard the slightest grumbling noise come from her.  She touched a hoof to her stomach, unsure of what the noise was, or what it meant.  Twilight and I couldn’t help but laugh at her surprise, because to both of us, that sound was quite familiar.
“Looks like somepony is hungry, would you like something to eat?” Twilight said in a surprisingly mother-like voice.
The filly nodded, attempting to climb to her hooves.
“Spike!  I need you to make three quick sandwiches, it doesn’t matter what kind!” Twilight shouted, the last part was delayed, as if she was anticipating that the question of ‘What kind?’ would be asked.
“On it!” I heard the dragon’s voice shout from the ground floor of the library, two levels below us.
Twilight rummaged through a saddlebag that she had sitting in the corner, it was clear that she had used it recently.  There were stray leaves and branches on it, ones that from her clearly meticulous manner, she would have gotten rid of quickly.  Soon, Twilight lifted a small package out of her bag.  It was a little cupcake, which she then proceeded to move toward the filly.
“Is this okay with you?” she asked, looking over at me for permission to give the cupcake away.
“Sure.” I paused and adopted the tone to perfectly mimic the way my mother sounded to me as a filly.  “But no more getting snacks before dinner.”
Twilight let out another laugh as she gave the cupcake to the still nameless filly.
Soon Spike brought up a plate of sandwiches, more than enough.  Twilight had requested three, and he carried up six.
I would have never expected to become such good friends with Twilight in such a short time.  I never made friends this quickly; it even took me and Rainbow a week to really start talking back at Flight School.  I could only assume that we bonded so quickly because of the circumstances that we were under.  Either way, I don’t think that there was another pony in all of Equestria that I would have trusted more than her for this task.  I would have trusted Rainbow just as much, but she wouldn’t have been able to pull this off, not the disguise.
“By the way, just call me Twi, all of my friends do.” Twilight smiled at me.
“Alright Twi.” I paused for a moment, trying to think of how to say the thought that was stuck in my head.  “You know, I don’t have a name for this filly yet.  Do you have any suggestions, or maybe a way to find out if she already has one?”
“I don’t know.  She hasn’t said a word yet has she?” Twi asked, seeking confirmation.
“No, not that I’ve heard.” I answered, dropping my head.
“Well, let’s just wait until she talks.  If she already has one, she can tell us then.  I know that when I was using my first aid magic, there was nothing inhibiting her ability to speak.  I think that she will talk when she feels the time is right.” Twi’s answer was filled with so much confidence that I couldn’t very well argue with it.
“Alright let’s just leave it alone for now then.” I laughed.  “Until we have a name for you, you’ll just be ‘the filly.’” I joked toward the filly who was to be named later, sitting between Twilight and myself.
“I don’t have a name.” the filly whispered back.