//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - Star // Story: The Universe // by SkyFlare //------------------------------// Star “You can talk?” I gasped, nearly falling off of Twi’s bed. The filly didn’t speak again, she only nodded. “So you don’t have a name, huh?” Twilight said to the filly quietly. “How about Star?” I asked, regaining my balance on the bed. “Star, why Star?” Twilight asked over the filly. “Her eyes. When I first saw her, those eyes caught and reflected some of the stars in the night sky. I’d been considering that as a name for a while now, but I wanted to see if she already had one first.” I explained. I looked down at the small filly who had no name as she contemplated my choice. “I like it.” she nodded looking at both me and Twi. “It’s settled, your name is Star, and you will be undercover as my sister.” I said, trying as hard as I could to make it sound like I was giving her some important spy mission, that the fate of Equestria rested in her hooves. Twilight laughed at my overacting as I physically played the part of the persona that I had undertaken. I couldn’t help but let out a giggle as soon as I was done. For the first time, Star laughed with us. “Hey, it’s only about noon.” Twi stated looking out the window. “Maybe you two can go out for a bit, take a look around. I still have a bit of work to do on something for the princesses, but I’ll meet up with you at Sugarcube Corner later. I’m thinking about four in the afternoon, give or take.” “Alright, I’ll take Star out to see some of the things that Pinkie showed me.” I said, smiling back at Twi as I carried Star down the stairs on my back. “I can walk.” Star yawned as we stepped out the door of the library. “Alright, just let me know if you get tired.” I said, still unable to decipher if her sleepiness was a bad thing or if it was just natural. Star walked beside me, sure I had to drop my pace down quite a bit for those tiny legs of hers, but it was worth it to make her happy. She happily embraced the sunlight after the first couple minutes of being blinded by it. Despite the way her eyes made her seem, her eyesight was amazing, she wasn’t blind that was for sure. Most ponies gave her a strange look, and then me for letting her walk on her own; they must have come to the blindness conclusion. On occasion Star would look up to me and ask “Why are they staring?” After hearing that, they would look away, realizing that she could see, how else could she have known that they were staring? “They are as fascinated by your eyes as I am.” I would always answer. After that we would keep walking, ignoring the majority of the awkward stares that were shot out way. At one point Star stopped outside of a store, staring into the windows, amazed at all of the fine clothing inside. I recognized the store to be the Carousel Boutique, which I remembered correctly was owned by Rainbow’s and Twi’s friend Rarity. Star gazed into the window for a few seconds longer before turning to look at me. “Can we go in? Please.” Star squeaked out the please, almost as if it had been rehearsed. “Sure, I don’t see why not.” I pushed the door open and heard the cheerful chime of the bell. “Amethyst, I told you that it be ready in a few hou-” Rarity cut herself off upon seeing Star and me at the door. “Sky darling, is that you? Where have you been? You just up and vanished, and Rainbow Dash would not fill me in on any of the details.” “Hello Rarity.” I replied, “This is my sister, Star. I had to go and… pick her up.” I finished after a short second of deliberation. “Hello there Star.” Rarity said happily, taking a second to analyze Star’s features. “I have the perfect dress for you.” With that, Rarity galloped into the back. One thought kept running through my mind, Oh Celestia, here it comes. When Rarity came back, she had measuring tape, fabrics, and a mannequin floating around her, held by her magic. On her nose, a pair of crescent shaped glasses with a fine red rim was perched. Rarity quickly went to work, measuring Star using the tape. As she measured, she, at a distance, began trimming fabrics and sewing them together. As she did this, she hummed a little tune. Once Rarity was content with her work, she showed me the final results on Star. To be honest, it looked better than what most of the Canterlot designers did. They were highly over rated, and once or twice I had even heard remarks from Princess Celestia that there was a better fashion designer in a small town. Now I knew who and where, Rarity in Ponyville. Star’s dress was a combination of black and light blue. This mixed well with her coat’s color while she was disguised, the black giving it the appearance of formality. The light blue added a sense of childlike playfulness. This dress would look nice at any kind of formal event, and even some that were less formal thanks to the light blue. “Darling, you look fabulous.” Rarity said, breaking her lady-like demeanor for a split second. Star looked down at the dress that she was wearing, and then her attention turned to me. She had a smile beaming on her face. “She seems to like it.” I laughed subtly. “Well, how about you take it, as a gift.” Rarity suggested. “Are you sure, you put so much effort into it?” I asked, looking up at Rarity. “I feel like I should do something for you.” “Don’t worry about a thing, darling. It seems like your sister enjoys it.” Rarity answered. Good, I thought, she believes that Star is my sister. “Alright, if you say so.” “Good.” Rarity said sharply. “Now, I can bag it for you so that it doesn’t get dirty while you’re out.” “That sounds good.” I answered. “How about you, Star?” Star nodded her head sharply before returning to admire her dress. It would prove to be a challenge to get Star to get her nose out of the bag that Rarity put the dress in. She almost refused to look away from it as we walked down the roads of Ponyville. It was like she expected it to grow legs and run away. She wouldn’t vocally answer me while she was looking at the dress, only use the nods and shakes that she had before. I couldn’t blame her, she’d only spoken four times so far, and each time she only said a few words. I looked over at the clock tower above Ponyville, and saw that we had spent nearly an hour at the boutique. We still had three hours until we were going to meet up with Twi at Sugarcube Corner. I ran through a mental list of all of the places that Pinkie had shown me, trying to think of one that Star would find enjoyable. I looked down at the filly, who was just starting to pull her nose out of the bag Rarity had given us. Then it hit me, the park, the perfect place for a filly her age to have fun. “Hey Star, would you like to go to the park? Maybe you can play on the swing for a little bit.” I put a little emphasis on swing. Star nodded, smiling up at me for a second before looking back down into the bag. “Alright, and once we meet up with Twi, you can show her your new dress.” those words made Star jump slightly off of the ground happily. Star and I wandered until we came across the park. It was there that I saw yet another familiar mare and a young filly. This filly looked to be slightly older than Star, and she wore a big red bow on her head. The mare was none other than Applejack. I couldn’t help but think that the names of all of Rainbow’s friends sounded familiar, but I could quite put my hoof on why. Their names kept flying around my head like the pieces of a puzzle that I just couldn’t solve. It would come to me sooner or later, they always did before. “Sky, is that you? How’re ya sugarcube?” Applejack asked. “Hey Applejack, I’m fine, how about you?” I asked back, for the sake of politeness. “I’m great, me and Apple Bloom here were just enjoyin’ the sunshine.” Applejack answered. The filly’s name was Apple Bloom, and it looked like she was Applejack’s younger sister. “That’s what Star and I were planning to do while we pass the time before meeting up with Twi.” “So I’m gonna guess that this filly here is Star. Is she your sister, or are ya just foal sittin’ for somepony?” Applejack answered as her sister approached the three of us. “She’s my sister.” I answered at the perfect speed to not draw suspicion. “I didn’t know ya had a sister.” Applejack said reaching her hoof out to Star. “Nice ta meet ya Star.” Star slowly put her hoof out to accept Applejack’s offer of a hoof shake. After a gently shake, Applejack pulled her hoof back. “Hey, I’m Apple Bloom.” the young filly with Applejack said. “Looks like you don’t have a cutie mark yet, do you want to join the cutie mark crusaders?” The filly now bore a large smile. I looked over to Applejack, and could only assume that my expression showed my confusion. “The Crusaders are a group of three fillies who are trying to find ways to earn their cutie marks.” Applejack explained. “I’ll consider it; I’m not sure how long we’ll be staying in Ponyville though.” I explained, once again, being completely truthful. “Aww.” Apple Bloom said, letting out a disappointed sigh. “Hey, don’t think of it like that though.” I said lifting Apple Bloom’s chin with my hoof. “You two can still play right now, we still have a bit of time to waste.” Apple Bloom perked at the mention of this and Star looked to me for confirmation that she could go with Apple Bloom wherever that would be. I gave a nod, “Just don’t run off too far, alright?” With that, the two fillies nodded back and galloped off toward another two fillies. I recognized one of the two, Scootaloo, but the other was a white unicorn. I could only assume that the two that Star and Apple Bloom were meeting up with were the other Crusaders. “So, Applejack, just how much trouble will they be getting into?” I asked, noticing the expression on her face as they left. “A bit, nothin’ too bad though.” Applejack answered, partially trying to convince herself by her tone. “Alright, so how have you been since I had to go?” I asked, setting up a pleasant conversation that would last until the fillies returned at about fifteen ‘til four. “Well, it’s about time that we go and see Twi. Tell them that you’ll see them later.” I told Star as they came into view. “I’ll see you later.” Star said to her friends, a little less shyly than she was before. “I’ll be seeing you Applejack; it was nice to talk to you again.” I said waving to Applejack and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Star and I began the short walk to meet up with Twilight at Sugarcube Corner. The streets were clearing up slightly; most ponies were at home preparing meals of their own. Luckily for us, we were meeting at a bakery, which mean food. A couple sandwiches were enough to stave off the starvation for me, but couldn’t sate two days’ worth of not eating. “Hey, how was your day you two?” Twilight asked as we walked into the bakery. “Star made a few friends, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Is there anything that I should know about that group, from an unbiased viewpoint? Applejack said they don’t get in much trouble, but I just want a second opinion.” I said as I took a seat next to Twi and lifted Star up in between us. “You can trust AJ; she doesn’t represent the Element of Honesty for nothing.” Twilight laughed. “Oh Celestia. You’re telling me that you’re the ones who use the Elements of Harmony?” I asked in astonishment, finally realizing where I’d heard their names, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had mentioned them before. “Yeah, I thought you knew. Didn’t Rainbow tell you?” Twi asked, caught off guard by my not-so-subtle reaction. “Well, no actually. I hadn’t seen her in years until the day before yesterday.” I explained. “There’s a lot that we didn’t know about each other.” “Oh, I’m sorry, let me tell you about it then.” Twilight began to explain the events of the Summer Sun Festival from two years ago from her own point of view. She told me about all of the tricks that they had overcome and how each of our friends showed the element that they represent. Any time that I had a question, she gladly answered it and made some allusion to a lesson on friendship that she had learned and told the princess about. “You’re names sounded familiar but I couldn’t quite put my hoof on where I’d heard them. Now it all makes sense.” I answered. “That’s really cool.” Star said, joining the conversation. She had been so enticed by Twilight’s story that she hadn’t even started on her food, and only started eating once Twilight had answered my last question. “You sound a little more energetic than before, that’s good.” Twilight said with a smile. “Hello there pony I don’t know!” Pinkie shouted popping out of nowhere. “Where did you come from?” I asked, stumbling back as the pink earth pony spoke. “The ceiling.” she answered, like it was an everyday thing. “What were you doing up there?” I asked, not satisfied with her explanation. “TWITCHY TAIL!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, lunging a good five feet away from me. Twilight jumped at the mention of the words, following Pinkie. A foal fell from the ceiling. It was a young unicorn foal that had fallen asleep. Pinkie caught him just before he impacted on the floor. “Ow, why’d you yell?” I asked, moving my hooves away from my ears. They had instinctively and unconsciously jumped to block out the scream. “Sorry, Pinkie Sense. Pumpkin Cake was walking on the ceiling using his magic and I was following him using these.” Pinkie directed my attention to the suction cups that were strapped to her feet. “When my tail twitches, that means something is about to fall.” “Huh?” I asked, completely lost. “Don’t try to think about it. I had to learn to accept it, there is no logical reasoning behind it, but it’s always right.” Twilight explained. “If you say so.” I responded. “Twilight, Sky, who is this?” Pinkie asked setting the foal in a crib that was located in the corner of the room while pointing at Star. “That’s Sky’s sister, Star.” Twilight stated. “Yeah.” I nodded in confirmation. “Time for another ‘Welcome to Ponyville Party!’” Pinkie shouted. “Actually Pinkie, Star is a little bit on the shy side. I don’t think that a big party would be the best idea for her.” Twilight stated, coming up with an argument as quickly as possible. “All the more reason to have a party. Nothing gets a shy filly to make friends like a party!” Pinkie smacked down Twilight’s attempt. “It’s alright, but Pinkie, please, don’t invite too many ponies. Maybe just the ones who were there for mine and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Star seemed to get along with them.” I explained, setting rules for the party. “Alright, I will have it ready in half an hour. Just stay here.” Pinkie hopped out the door happily. “Do you think she can control herself on the invites?” I asked looking over to Twilight, who was moving back to her chair. “Probably, the point of her parties is to make the pony hat she’s throwing it for is happy.” Twilight answered. For half an hour, we sat in Sugarcube Corner, talking. Twi still couldn’t come up with any good explanation on Star’s origins, which was the topic that was dominating the conversation. We would ask Star specific questions, like “Do you remember a light before falling?” but she would just shake her head. She was incapable of remembering anything before I found her. Soon we had to stop our brainstorming as the guests began to arrive. Rainbow was the first to fly in, and I do mean fly in. She nearly hit me as she launched through the doors. Scootaloo was following her closely. Applejack and Apple Bloom were next, coming in with Rarity and the unicorn filly that was with the Crusaders. Fluttershy arrived shortly after them, Pinkie Pie pushing her through the door. We enjoyed ourselves and Star socialized with the fillies her age. I had to explain to Rainbow a more elaborate excuse for her not knowing Star than I had for anypony else. I’d tell her when Twilight said it would be fine, but she seemed to know more about how to do this kind of thing than I did. I’ve never been good at keeping secrets. “So you’re telling me that you have a sister?” Rainbow said still astonished by it. “Yeah Dashie, that’s what I’ve been saying. She was born after I left, a couple years, obviously.” I explained. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” “I didn’t have much of a chance, I wasn’t here for long. Plus I didn’t even know where you lived before I went through the Canterlot archives.” “Too bad she can’t fly.” Rainbow laughed. “Yeah, too bad.” I muttered, thinking about the wings that were hidden by the enchantment. The rest of the evening was uneventful. Twilight offered to let me stay the night at the library; Rainbow didn’t put up any argument, so I accepted her offer. Twi and I needed some time to do research on anything that we could find. When we got to her library however, Spike had a scroll and a rock in his claws. “Twi, you’re home! Princess Celestia sent these, I haven’t looked at the letter yet, but it came with this weird rock.” Spike said as we entered the door. “A little quieter please Spike.” Twilight said, taking the scroll and rock into her magic. “Star is sleeping. I’ll be back down after I put her to bed.” I explained, directing his attention to the filly that was sleeping on my back. “Just put her on my bed, I have a feeling that this will be an all-nighter by the looks of this letter.” Twilight said as I walked slowly up the stairs. I approached Twi’s bed and set the small filly down, pulling off the bracelet that made her disguise. I pulled a blanket over her and smiled at her peaceful sleep. “So where should we get started?” I asked, reentering the first floor. “Princess Celestia sent me this; she said that her scholars weren’t able to figure out where it came from. She said it was found in the crater outside of Saddle Arabia.” Twilight explained. “Oh, that’s the rock that was in the center of the crater with Star.” I said taking a closer look at the black stone that seemed to capture the stars in the night sky. “It seemed like a good thing to pin the blame for the crater on until I could figure out what to do with Star.” “Well, the princesses sure seem to think that it’s important. The letter says that it might be the Universe from the old Mare’s Tale. You know the one about the origin of the world right?” Twilight asked looking between me and Spike. “I think that my parents read that one to me. The Universe created everything by taking parts of the emptiness that surrounded it, right?” “She, the Universe was said to be a she. I think that it’s the same concept as with boats though, calling inanimate objects ‘she’, something I never did understand. But it seems that the Princess thinks that this might be a piece of the Universe. She wants me to see if I can find anything out and if her theory is right, she wants me to find a safe place for it.” Twilight explained, the letter hovering in a purple aura in front of her face. “If she’s right about it being a piece of the Universe, who would be after it? Discord has been tamed, Chrysalis has fallen, and Sombra was obliterated; who’s left?” I asked, finding it hard to believe that there was anypony left who would be rising against the princesses’ rule. “I don’t know, but she seems worried. Spike, would you mind looking for anything related to that story? I’m going to look for anything to help Sky; something on amnesia might do the trick.” Twilight said, pulling out what looked like a dozen books with her magic. Twilight and I looked through the books and took note of anything that seemed like a logical way to restore at least some of Star’s memories. Twilight also mentioned a memory spell that she had learned and used on her friends a while back. We spent the majority of the night looking through the books. We only came to a stop as the moon was about to hit the horizon, ending the night. “Well, Princess Luna would be happy to know that we were up to see her night, even if our attention was divided.” I yawned, closing another book. “Sleeping through the day would be an interesting change.” Twilight laughed. “Too bad Spike won’t know what it feels like.” Spike had fallen to sleep a few hours before hoof, probably around midnight, if not one in the morning. Either way, in all of Ponyville, it was a safe bet that Twi and I were the only ones awake. “Good morning.” I heard a quiet whisper behind me. “Good morning, Star. You’re up early, but I wouldn’t imagine that you’d need to sleep all night considering your long naps during the day.” I laughed lightly, helping the filly down the last stair. “I think that I have just the spell for this occasion.” Twilight smiled as her horn began to glow. A single beam of purple shot into the air and split off into two before falling back down. One beam hit Twilight and the other hit me. “What was that?” I asked, feeling completely revitalized as if I had slept through the whole night. “Basically, it stimulates the body and mind in the same way eight hours of sleep would. It’s hard to cast, so I’m not going to attempt to use it again for a while, that and it gives one mean headache.” Twilight laughed, her voice showing the renewed energy that she felt. “Well, whether it can be used often or not, I need to get some of the unicorn guards back in Canterlot. If they can learn this kind of spell, exhaustion would not be much of a problem.” I laughed. “Well, I’m sure that my brother can help teach them if he ever gets time out from the Crystal Empire.” Twi commented, as she walked into the kitchen. “Until then, we should eat though, we’ve had a long night and Star is just a filly.” “Alright, that sounds like a plan. Do you want me to help?” “Only if you want to.” Twi answered, but just as I was about to follow her into the kitchen, I heard something outside and Twilight opened a window. Rainbow Dash flew through the open window, crashing into a bookshelf. Luckily for us, Twi had reinforced the bookshelf with her magic at the last second and slipped the enchanted bracelet over Star’s hoof. Rainbow lifted her head and looked around the room. “Rainbow, the new Daring Doo book comes out tomorrow.” Twilight stated with a tone of impatience. “It’s not about that!” Rainbow was gasping for breath. “The guards are here looking for Sky and this time it doesn’t seem like it’s to give her a mission. I told them that I didn’t know where you were though.” “In the name of Celestia.” I groaned. “I haven’t even done anything illegal yet!” “Keeping evidence in an open investigation.” Twilight suggested. “They don’t know about her, it isn’t illegal if they don’t know about the evidence’s existence. They can’t charge anypony for having a video of a crime happening if the pony doesn’t know they have the recording. Same concept applies here, she was found outside the crater, technically, the spot where she was lying down was above the rest of the area.” I explained, trying to defend my actions. “What are you two talking about?” Rainbow asked, intruding in my thoughts. “Star isn’t really my sister. I found her, she had no memories and Twi and I have been trying to help restore what she has lost. Also, she’s kind of an alicorn.” I said the last part in almost a whisper. “What?” Rainbow shouted out, making Star jump back behind me. “Now Dashie, relax it isn’t as bad as it seems, I’m doing my job. I’m protecting the innocent, but to do that, I had to do something a little bit on the shady side.” “Don’t Dashie me. I don’t even know what to think right now! Why would you keep this a secret?” “Twilight said that the less ponies that know, the better it was. I could keep you from being involved in whatever punishment I got.” Rainbow shook her head. “Please don’t be mad.” Star said quietly as she approached Rainbow. “Mad? I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed. I don’t care if I get in trouble for helping you.” Rainbow answered, turning back to face me. “But I do, it was too late to keep Twi from getting involved. She had already seen through the first disguise by the time that she recruited herself to help me. I was actually going to go to you first, but you weren’t home.” I continued defending my actions. “Well, now you’ve got more help than you did before.” Rainbow said as she calmed down. “Thanks.” I said quietly. “Can you keep an eye out for the guard; I’m going to help Twi with some cooking.” “Hey Twilight, why don’t you make an enchantment to disguise Sky too? She can handle the cooking on her own.” Rainbow suggested. “That’s a good idea, considering there is apparently a nationwide marehunt for her.” Twilight responded, “Are you going to be able to handle the cooking on your own, Sky? “When I was a filly, I was sure that my cutie mark would be something about cooking. Don’t worry, I can cook.” I laughed back before heading into the kitchen. I pulled out all of the ingredients and mixed them together into the pancake batter. I poured it out into the pans and began cooking. The only sounds that I could hear were the sounds of papers rustling in the next room over and the sound of the batter sizzling as it solidified. Soon I heard a third noise join in with the other two, knocking at the door. The kitchen door flew open without warning and a necklace clipped around my neck. Twilight stepped aside when the Royal Guards walked in. “Who is this?” asked the biggest of the three. “She’s a friend, her name is Tough Palate.” Twilight sputtered out. “Nice to meet you three stallions.” I said, putting on my ‘nothing is wrong’ face. “Alright, this place is all clear. Remember if you see Sky Flare, contact us.” said the shortest of the guards. “I’ll keep that in mind, thank you. We wouldn’t want to be harboring a fugitive pony or anything like that.” Twilight said, her nervousness showing. “Come on you three, I’ll help you out the door. Twilight, would you mind putting the pancakes onto the plates for everypony?” I said calmly. “Yeah.” Twilight jumped at the opportunity to not have to lie to the guards. I walked with the guards until they were out the door. After they were gone I turned to look at my reflection in the window. I was a brown unicorn with a mahogany mane. My cutie mark had been changed from a sword to a silver platter with a lid covering it. “Twilight, this disguise is amazing.” I said, reentering the room and claiming a plate. “They’re long gone now; I think we’re good to lose the disguises.” Rainbow said, landing next to me. “Yeah, Star, you can take yours off now too, if you want to that is.” I said, helping Star into the chair at the kitchen table. “Okay.” Star pulled off the bracelet as I lifted off my necklace. The black alicorn sat between Twilight and me, where she always did. Rainbow sat at the other end of the table and we began to fill her in, telling her about every development that we had made so far. About the Universe piece and what it might be capable of.