The Universe

by SkyFlare

Chapter 4 - Second

Second

Twilight was putting together a bag for me, anything that she could think of that I would need while on the run. She had a checklist for it, surprisingly enough. If there was one thing that I learned about that mare, she was ready for anything. She had me a map that would guide me far enough away that the guard wouldn’t look for me there, the perfect hiding place, a cave in the wastelands. She packed some food that wouldn’t go bad and some water for us.

“That should be everything that you two should need.” Twilight said, a solemn tone dominating her voice.

“Why can’t I go with you, you’ll need all of the help that you can get?” Rainbow complained.

“Simple, you’d be more necessary here. The princesses know that you’re my friend, and if you mysteriously go missing and turn up traveling with a strange mare who doesn’t exist, then they will piece it together.” I explained as I lifted Star onto my back so that she would have time to wake up before having to walk for an unknown amount of time.

“I understand, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t like it.” Rainbow growled.

“Too bad.” I laughed as I turned to the door, “I’ll see you girls later.”

With that I walked out the door, disguised as Tough Palate. Star was on my back, she too had the appearance of a normal unicorn, if a unicorn could be normal. I honestly believed that the only normal ponies were earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns both had magical properties. Either way, we slowly walked through the town, drawing almost no attention to ourselves. We did, however, have a close call when Pinkie Pie almost spotted us. Luckily she was distracted by her ‘twitchy tail’ which was forewarning her about a flower pot that was about to fall from a third floor window. Nopony got hurt; she pushed the stallion who was standing where it would have landed aside.

Star looked back as we passed out of the Ponyville, City Limits. “Sky, why are they looking for you? Did you do something bad?”

“Wow, that’s the most you’ve said at one time so far. But kind of, they think that either I’m hiding something or I’m running away in the line of duty. Both of those are bad, but I’m trying to protect you, so it’s worth it.” I answered, feeling the filly jump off of my back.

“I don’t want you to get in trouble.” she whined.

“Well, too bad. I’m already in trouble, so there’s no point in worrying about it. Come on Star, we’ve got quite a bit of ground to make today. I want to get to the wastelands by tomorrow afternoon.” I waved the filly to come up beside me.

Star didn’t move. “Why are you doing all of this for me?”

I sighed loudly, “Too bad this horn doesn’t work, or else I’d lift you up with magic. Since I can’t do that, I have one option; lift you up with my wings.”

I scooped the filly up off of the ground and let her slide back down my wing, landing right back where she started. Just because they weren’t visible, didn’t mean that they weren’t there. Star was as aware of that fact as I was, she attempted to lift herself off of my back using her wings, but she wasn’t strong enough, her attempts at magic resulted in exhaustion as well.

“Just go to sleep, don’t strain yourself. It won’t help anypony, you can’t outrun me.” I shook my head as I told her this.

Star didn’t answer me verbally; instead she nuzzled her face into my mane and went to sleep. She was smart; she knew that I was going to take care of her no matter what.

After that, nothing eventful happened during the remainder of the day. We had our meals, using the position of the sun as a clock, as well as the growling of our stomachs. By nightfall, we had come across a small burrow in a forest. It was at a set of elevated roots. The tree that they supported was at least three yards above the ground.

I set my saddlebags down, pulling out something soft for Star to lie down on. While I was looking, I found something that was almost certainly left for Star by Twilight. A story book. It was a bunch of classic stories, ranging from “The Mare in the Moon” to things like “Cherry Punch’s Big Day.” I figured that since Star was still conscious, I might as well read her one.

“Hey, Star, would you like for me to read you a story?” I asked, setting a circular pillow under the cover of the tree.

“A story, about what?” she asked, lying down slowly.

“It’s called ‘Cherry Punch’s Big Day’ and it’s about a filly named Cherry Punch finding her cutie mark. I figure a little something lighthearted would be a welcomed change.” I explained, lying down next to Star.

“Alright.” Star answered, moving a little closer to me.

“Once upon a time, there was a filly named Cherry Punch. Her entire family worked on a rock farm, and she had spent her whole life working with them since she was old enough to work. She never felt right when she was working though, nopony in her family ever smiled, and there were no exceptions. One day, Cherry Punch, during the early morning hours, went outside to see the sunrise. She always enjoyed watching the sun rise into the sky, and it was the one time that she could smile and be happy.” My voice trailed off as I noticed a faint snoring sound beside me. “And I guess we’ll pick up here next time.” I giggled slightly, resting my head on an empty spot of Star’s pillow.

I woke up somewhat early the next morning, the sounds of the birds chirping worked like an alarm. I lifted my head from the pillow and stepped outside to see what time it was. The sun was in a decent position in the sky, meaning that it was later in the morning than I would have liked for it to be. I lifted Star up carefully as to not wake her and packed up all of the things that I had gotten out. Without a second thought, I set out again. This time, I was in a slight bit more of a rush than I had been the day before, I slept in.

About mid-day I heard something, a subtle sound, not loud enough to wake Star from her sleep, but enough to draw my attention. I decided to play it cool and act like I hadn’t heard anything. Whoever was following me, I didn’t want them to know that I knew they were there. I took some elaborate loops to try and lose them, but to no avail. They stayed close by, not letting me out of their sight. Eventually, I had decided that it had gone on long enough and set Star down to the side gently.

“For Celestia’s sake, stop messing around. You couldn’t be any louder.” I groaned loud enough so that my stalker would hear. “You can’t sneak up on a unicorn of my caliber that easily.”

“I would agree, if I didn’t know better.” a firm voice answered. It sounded like a stallion.

“What do you mean?” I growled.

“Come on, who do you think you’re kidding with that pitiful disguise, Sky Flare?” the voice mocked.

“Who are you?” my temper was beginning to grow strained.

“Now that isn’t important right now. What is important is that I can help you, if you help me that is.” the voice laughed.

“How?” I took a step closer to Star.

“I just need a drop of blood, willingly given.”

“Why?”

“Well you are quite the inquisitive one aren’t you? Well, let’s just say, somepony is in need of help and the only spell that can save her is an ancient magic that requires blood, not from the caster.”

“How do I know that I can trust you?” I glared in every possible direction that the voice could be coming from.

“How about I get you to a safe place from those scary old guards and then you can give me your blood?” the stallion offered.

“Fine, but only if it meets my standards.” I grimaced.

“Oh trust me, it will. Follow me.” said an earth pony stallion that stepped from the shadows.

His mane was a slicked down sleek black and his tail was cut short. His coat was a light shade of brown. His eyes were green and he had a cutie mark of a knife.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Just call me Blade.” he smiled. I had a hard time believing that this was the pony I had just spoken to though, his voice was much softer, and the sinister tone was gone entirely. His eyes were kind and deep.

“Alright Blade, where are we going?” I asked, lifting Star back up off of the ground.

“Some place close by. Just trust me, and no harm will come to anypony.” Blade answered. Normally, that would sound like a threat, but in this case, it sounded more like a promise. He seemed like he cared, like he wanted to make sure that I wasn’t afraid.

“Fine, but how are you going to cast a spell to help whoever it is that you’re looking out for? It’s not like you’re a unicorn.” I continued my subtle interrogation.

“A magic more ancient than that of a unicorn, the same type that would come of a zebra’s work.” he explained.

“Would you mind telling me who it is that you want to help?” I asked.

“I’m sorry, but she requested before her fall, that her name not be said.” Blade answered.

I felt a shaking on my back, Star had woken up. “Star, what’s wrong? You’re shaking, is something the matter?”

“No.” she answered weakly.

“It’s fine, don’t worry little one.” Blade said, slowing down slightly. “That little unicorn is pretty scared of something; you might want to keep an eye out.”

He doesn’t know that she’s an alicorn. “Yeah, thanks for the advice.”

“Well, here we are. I told you that it was close by.” Blade said leading me into a cave.

“So this is supposed to be safe?” I asked, following Blade closely.

“Yes, to be honest, out here, there is no place safer. If you were to go any deeper, you would reach the changeling capital of Decay.” Blade answered.

“About that blood?” I asked, trying to get the topic off of changelings for fear of scaring Star.

“Oh, yes, well…” Blade started, “just a prick from this knife, just one drop of blood is all I need.” Blade said as he pulled out an old broken knife that resembled his cutie mark. The knife matched up perfectly, except the one on his cutie mark was in perfect condition.

“Alright, Star look away for just a second.” I said, letting Star down from my back.

“But…” Star stuttered.

“Star, please.” I said looking down at her.

Star said nothing, just closed her eyes and looked down.

“I’m ready.” I said, redirecting my attention to Blade.

“This will sting a bit, but it should stop hurting as quickly as it started.” Blade said in an affirming tone.

He took the knife in his mouth and pricked my leg, allowing only a single drop of blood to drain onto the knife. He quickly pulled it away and wrapped my cut with a bandage. To be honest, it didn’t hurt at all, and his worry was simply overreacting.

“I’m sorry. Are you alright?” he asked, setting the knife down to the side and leaning in toward my leg.

“I’m fine; it didn’t hurt at all, really. Star, it’s okay to look now.” I replied.

“Well, everything will be taken care of soon. We just have to wait for my allies to return with the last of the supplies.” Blade stated. “Is there anything that you require while we wait?”

“Well, I could use something that I can start a fire with so that I can heat up some of our food. If you want some, I have some to spare.” I answered.

“Sky…” Star said quietly, nuzzling my front right leg.

“What’s wrong honey?” I asked, catching myself off guard. Did I just call her honey?

“Um, something feels wrong.”

“Do you feel sick?”

“No, I don’t feel sick, but I have a sick feeling.” she answered, sounding like a riddle.

“You mean that something feels wrong and you sense it?” Blade joined in, trying to decipher her thoughts.

“Yes, near the big city in Equestria.” Star continued.

“Something is wrong in Canterlot?” I asked, growing worried for the well-being of the princesses.

“Lieutenant, I sense somepony approaching. Teleporting via magic and using a scrying spell to track Sky Flare.” said a unicorn who walked into the room.

“Is it a guard?” Blade jolted back.

“No sir, it’s a unicorn mare.” the stallion answered, standing in the shadows so that only a silhouette was visible.

“Can you describe her to me?” I asked.

“Lavender and her cutie mark is-” the stallion began.

“Nopony move!” shouted a familiar voice. “Sky, it’s okay, I found you.”

“Twi, these ponies helped me.” I said, defending my newly found allies.

“Do you know about what’s going on out there yet?” Twilight asked, slackening her guard.

“Star is sensing something is wrong at Canterlot, but that’s all that we know.” I answered.

“Go outside and look up at the sky.” Twilight said solemnly.

I wasn’t sure here she was going with that, but I didn’t argue. I walked past Twi and Blade, stepping out into the sunlight. The sun was in its usual morning position, and there didn’t seem to be anything out of place, aside from the moon still being visible in the far corner of the sky.

“It’s the evening, about thirty minutes until seven.” Twilight said quietly as she stepped by my side.

“What?” I shouted. “What about the princesses, did something happen?”

“They were defeated; something came in the night and fought Luna. Before Celestia knew what had happened, she had already brought the sun up slightly. He went after her and got her before she knew what hit her. Shining Armor was in Canterlot on business…” Twilight broke off into frantic tears.

“Who did it?” I asked, trying to stay calm, trying but failing as I could feel my legs beginning to give way.

“He spoke in every city and town in Equestria, telling us the story. He’s huge…” Twilight said before breaking off again.

“Who?” I asked again, feeling sick to my stomach.

“Me.” said a calm, deep voice.

I turned around and looked up. There was a stallion, an alicorn stallion, floating above the cave. He had to have been a whole head taller than Princess Celestia. His coat was black and his mane and tail were the darkest shade of purple imaginable. The mane and tail were raggedy, but had the same flow that the princesses did. His eyes were a piercing yellow, there was no visible pupil only a yellow glow. His cutie mark was a black hole.

“Who are you?” Blade asked firmly.

“I’d advise that you watch that tone of yours when speaking to your king. I am the Void.” the alicorn answered.

“The Void?” I asked trying to figure out where I’d heard that name before.

“Yes, and I was seeking your friend here. Your dear fallen princesses seemed to think that she had the Universe.” Void answered.

“Too bad I led you on a wild pony chase. It’s long gone now.” Twilight tried to laugh through her tears of remorse.

Void simply sighed and faded from existence. As he left, I could hear a faint sound nearby. Sobbing. A quiet sobbing, but somepony was upset and I was sure that I knew who. I broke into a full gallop and charged into the cave to find Star curled up into a ball crying.

“Star…” I started, but stopped myself before asking the pointless question. I knew exactly what was wrong, what I didn’t know though, was how to help her.

She looked up at me, her eyes finally having gained some color, they were bloodshot. Her lit was quivering weakly as she tried to put on a strong face. She was attempting to be strong, to not show fear. Star was scared out of her mind, but was willing to try and get past it.

“Don’t worry; I have a plan on how to stop him.” Blade smirked, reentering the cave by Twilight.

“And what’s that?” I asked, snapping my head to face him fully.

“The one who I’m trying to help may very well be the only one strong enough to stop him.” Blade answered.

“And who’s that?” Twilight asked.

“He won’t say, but I trust him.” I answered for Blade.

“Thank you for your confidence.” Blade said gratefully.

I nuzzled up to Star, trying to comfort her. I felt her tears roll down between our faces. “It’s alright; everything will be okay, honey.” I said it again, honey.

Twilight and Blade both went deeper into the cave to give me and Star our space; I had to calm her down. Something was distracting me though, a thought in the back of my mind. Void, where have I heard that before? I couldn’t quite put my hoof on where, but I knew that it was familiar. Then I remembered something that Princess Celestia had once told me, if something doesn’t make sense, consult a Mare’s Tale.

I pulled the book that Twilight had slid into my saddlebags, moving as little as possible. I began to flip through the pages, skimming over them quickly for the word “void.” Soon I found it, and it was exactly where I was expecting to find it, in the story of the Universe.

It said that the Universe had pulled some of the Void away, and turned the nothingness that it consisted of, into all the sun and the moon, into the ground we walk on, and every star in the sky. The Void was the Universe’s companion, but it never spoke to her so she felt that it was shunning her. To give herself more suitable company, she created everything that we have today. The Void didn’t lose its grip though; it sought to destroy everything that was made from it. The Universe died from overexertion, leaving stones that embodied its power throughout the world.

“The Void from the story, it’s the only thing that makes since.” I muttered to myself.

“What?” Star asked between sobs.

“Nothing, just go to sleep. I know what we have to do; I know the best way to stop Void.” I explained.

“I can’t sleep.” she whispered.

“I know that you’re scared, but you can trust me, everything will be fine.”

“But…” I covered her mouth and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“But nothing, go to sleep.” I said softly.

Star stopped resisting and instead pushed her face closer to mine. She fell asleep quickly, covered by my wing, and in my embrace. I felt more attached to her than I did any other pony I’ve ever met, she was different.