dark The story of War Prince Void

[Warrior Dark Void 43]

(Warning: it does get gory in certain parts)

PROLOGUE

 

All I can hear is wind whistling loudly as I am jostled about in a small cage-like sphere. The wind begins to die down, as if the sphere began to slow down. With a soft thud, I come to a stop. I look about the sphere, wide-eyed. It's too small for me to turn around, so I sit still and wait. About ten minutes later, a crack appears in the top of my small 'prison' as I had begun to call it. I look up and get an idea. I shuffle around a little before sticking my hoof against the crack and pushing hard. I hear a loud snapping sound and the area I was pushing on shatters. I break the area around the small hole and eventually make my way out. As soon as I set hoof outside the 'prison' I tumbled a good 3 feet downwards. I hit the ground hard and just lay there, collecting myself before working up the courage to stand. I look around hesitantly, I was in a crater of some sort, but past that was a dense forest stretching as far as my small eyes could see. So, seeing no reasonable path to take, I sit down. I remain sitting amongst the tall plants and trees for a long time, more minutes than I wanted to count. After a while, I hear hooves padding softly against soft dirt approaching me, but I was unaware, I was completely still, still as the ground around me as I looked up at a work of art in the sky. Pinpricks of light littered a black canvas, and the most beautiful of all, a glowing crescent that seemed to shine just for me. I remain looking at the sky in awe even as I hear and see out of the corner of my eye a mare sit next to me.

"It is beautiful isn't it?" She asks me. Her voice is soft and warm, I suddenly feel secure, as if her presence erected a stronghold around us.

"Come, it's cold out here. Let's get you inside." I feel her tail brush my back and I shakily stand up. She presses her flank to mine to give me support as we make our way through the forest by the light of the moon.

 

CHAPTER ONE: A LOVING HOME

 

I sit at the fireplace snuggled in a fluffy blanket, just taking in the warmth of the fire. I smile ear to ear as she sits next to me, holding two cups of hot chocolate in her mouth. I take one from her using my magic and sip it with a giggle. She smiles at me, her blue-green eyes shining. She rests a wing over me and I push up against her flank.

"Why don't you use your magic mommy?" I say, looking at her dark blue horn. She seems a little caught off guard by me calling her 'mommy' but she still smiles, if not even more now.

"Well, I would, but I am a little tired right now." I look at the moon shape on her flank and say

"When will I get my cutie mark?"

"When your time comes, it will appear."

She smiles again and I rest my head against her side. Before long I am asleep.

 

I awake to the sound of sizzling. I sniff the air and smile, the smell of oats cooking always made me happy.

"How's my little Unicorn Prince doing?" She calls to me.

"Mommy, you know i'm not a prince, I'm not an Alicorn like you!" She chuckles and says:

"Well, who says you have to be an Alicorn?"

"Yeah, I guess so." I say walking into the kitchen where she was cooking some oats on a flat board.

"Mmm. Smells good!" I say to her when I see her sparkling light blue hoof covers in a group sitting by the door. I laugh and gallop over to them.

"Hey mom! Look at me!" She turns around and laughs as I come stumbling into the kitchen, her hoof covers knocking against each other.

"Take those off" she says playfully.

"Do the thing with your eyes first!" I squeak.

"Ok..." She closes her eyes, when she opens them, her pupils are slits and her eyes have glowing green trails rising from her irises. I laugh and slide out of the hoof covers.

"Now go put them back where you got them." She says, returning her eyes to normal. I turn and slide them back to their place near the door.

 

I sit on top of the hill, looking at the sun slowly fall towards the horizon. I look back towards the house and see her come out of the doorway. I smile and jump up. She sees me and gallops over.

"You ready?" She asks me with a playful smile. I nod my head. She closes her eyes and her horn starts to glow with dark blue magic. I look closely at the horizon opposite of the sun. I see a small silver ball start to rise and a hold back a squeal of excitement. She lets out a breath and opens her eyes, turning to me.

"It's been a year since you crashed here, I hope you enjoyed our little anniversary outing here." I nod slowly, transfixed by the moon.

"Luna!" A voice calls from behind us. We both turn, looking to see who it is.

"Celestia, what an unexpected surprise!" My mom replies, standing up to face the white Alicorn that landed behind us.

"It's Discord, we need to deal with him again." My mom turns back to me and says

"Go home and go to sleep, I will be home before sunrise." I nod and race back to the house. I reach the doorway and look back. I watch them converse a little before taking off, the only words I hear being

"I hope you can keep that promise."

 

CHAPTER TWO: DISCORD

 

I awake to the sound of sizzling and popping.

'We must be having some popcorn for breakfast!' I though with a smile as I open the door to my room. I'm instantly greeted by an insane amount of heat and a flying snake-like creature that had many different animals' parts all over it.

"What did you do?!" I shout at it through the rising flames of what used to be my house. It turns to me and cocks his head back.

"Ooo, what do we have here? Did dear Luna actually hook up with a stallion?" Suddenly he's in front of me, looking at me closely.

"Nooo, the colors aren't right. So, you're adopted I presume?" I lunge forward, trying to poke him with my stubby horn. He teleports back before I can reach him.

"Oh you're a feisty one!" I glare at him as he hovers over the ashes of my home.

"Come down here and look me in the eyes!" I shout at him. He appears inches from my face and says

"Ok what now?" I close my eyes an focus. When I open them, the world I see has a black haze over it. The creature almost flips over backwards. I shout again and throw a ball of energy at it. It easily teleports away with a cackle.

"Oh good try-" he's cut off by a sudden blast of energy searing his face. He screams in pain.

"You! You did NOT just do that!"

"Did I?" I ask with a snarl. He glares at me again and points his finger.

"You. To space. Have a slow and painful death there." I suddenly find myself floating among the stars. My lungs cry for air and my body feels like it's about to explode. I panic and try to teleport. ANYWHERE is better than here! The stars disappear. Everything disappears. I find myself still floating in space, yet I can breath and my body feels fine. I look around. Where am I? If only I was home again with mommy! Suddenly, I can see my house again, a mere pile of ashes. The snakelike creature still inspecting it, incinerating any small pieces of house he missed.

"STOP!" I scream, but he doesn't even flinch. I scream again and again until I my throat burns. I wish I could see mommy! She could help! An orb appears from nowhere and floats down to eye level with me. In it is a picture of a statue. A statue shaped like Luna, my mother. Any remaining hope drains from me and pull my hooves close, pushing myself into a tight ball. No. No! This couldn't be right! She promised she would be home! I started to cry even though I knew it would solve nothing. I felt something in me snap. That creature. Discord. He did this, for that, he will pay! When I find him, he will rue the day he was created! I imagined an army of Discords approaching me and they appeared in the strange world I was in. I feel my rage boil up inside me as I charge.

 

CHAPTER THREE: RETURN

 

For the first time ever I could see part of my mane. It had grown long during my time in the 'Void' as I called it. I looked at it, it was a pale orange-red with a light gray color beneath that. My mane was spiked, perhaps from the training, or maybe it started like that. Nevertheless, today was the day. I flick my head to the left and back, trying to move my mane out of my eyes. Today was the day I would escape. I focus hard on a point in the Void. I feel my horn start to heat up. It was working! I focus harder, and my horn starts to burn. I pull my head back, then push it down. I look back up and see a slit. I had done it! I stick my horn into the slit and push to the left, widening the cut in time and space. I smile for the first time in far too long. I leap forward through the gateway and onto the ground right next to the statue of my mother. My hooves touch ground for the first time in years. I can't even stand. I just crumple to the ground and rest, leaning against my mother. Just being near her is a feeling that gives me overwhelming joy. I stagger to my feet, leaning against my mother, much like when we first met in the fields, I close my eyes and stand there, leaning against the cold stone, and smile. I nuzzle her one last time before turning and galloping into the town called 'Ponyville'.

 

Everything seems normal. I gallop through the streets, looking about at all the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies trotting about with a blank look on their faces. I trot up to one and put a hoof on his shoulder.

"Excuse me sir." He doesn't even stop, he just continues walking as if nothing happened. I try again on a few more ponies before seeing one in particular, a gray unicorn who seemed to be trying to act like them, sitting at a table in front of a shop. I trot up to him and say

"Hello? Are you any different?" His eyes widen and he looks at me closely.

"Follow me." He whispers. He turns around and walks in between two of the shops. I follow close behind him, still confused about what happened to all the other ponies.

"Why aren't you like the rest of ponies?" He turns around and looks at me in the eyes.

"Well, I was in my far away mansion when Discord cast the spell." The name Discord instantly triggered a flood of rage but I caught it and put it in check.

"Your... Mansion?" I say through clenched breaths. He sighs through his lips, making a motorboat sound.

"Well, it's not as fancy as it sounds. You'll see."

 

We reach the foot of a tall hill. He turns to me and says

"Welcome to my mansion!" As if on cue, a loose plank falls from the roof of the building and clatters loudly as it hits others on the way down. He cringes.

"Yeaahh, sorta run down..."

"Well, no pony will think to look for anypony here."

"Yeah, I guess that's true. Anyways, let's go meet the others." I raise an eyebrow as he starts towards the building. We reach the doorway an he knocks twice in quick succession before opening the door. A tall Alicorn stallion greets us with a nod. I nod back slowly.

"Is he royalty?" I ask the unicorn I had met earlier.

"No, he tells us he was a guardian for something. That's it. Anyways, what's your name?"

"My name?..." I was not given a name, Luna had always referred to me as 'her Unicorn Prince' or 'her gift from the sky' or something else. "My name... It's Void."

"Huh. Okay I guess, mines Ninton."

"What's the guardian's name?"

"He doesn't tell us, so we call him Bigfoot."

"So how did you two get here?" I ask. He huffs then turns to me.

"Well, we have a few more that are out and about gathering resources and rescuing others like us."

"So, you were here when he cast the spell, what about Bigfoot? Where was he?"

"Again, he doesn't say much about himself. But I assume he was visiting from somewhere and got here after the spell was cast."

"So, the spell only affects Ponyville?"

"Well, yeah, here and Canterlot I guess."

"What exactly does the spell do?"

"It puts everyone into a realm of their worst fears and they have to live there as long as the spell lasts. It also keeps them acting like they are fine in the real world to fool any onlookers."

"Where's Discord?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to destroy him." Ninton laughed a little at this before he saw that I was being serious.

"But, no one's on that level of magic, even the princesses couldn't do it."

"He made his first mistake when he thought he could kill me. The second was sending me to a training ground."

"What?" I relay my story to him, making sure to leave everything out about Princess Luna I could. I had a feeling that may not help the situation.

"Oh wow. I guess you might actually be the one to tear him from the throne." I nod.

"Now, where is he?"

"He should be in Canterlot castle, he's probably moved the princesses there too."

"Alright, see you soon then."

"Wait! You're not seriously about to leave?"

"Of course I am! The longer I wait, the stronger he gets."

"Alright then, if you see any ponies out there who weren't hit by the spell, tell them where we are."

I nod and gallop back to the entrance where I'm stopped by Bigfoot.

"Here," He hands me a red gem. "I was told a warrior would come here to challenge the throne. This gem holds an unmeasurable amount of power. Use it wisely." I stare at him for a second before taking the gem.

"Thank you." I gallop through the doorway and out into the open.

 

CHAPTER FOUR: A WAR INSIDE

 

Canterlot was the most magnificent town I had ever seen. Tall silver buildings rose high into the clouds at every turn. Sadly, the situation with the ponies was far too similar to Ponyville. The castle was very hard to miss; a dark purple spire rising in the center of the huge city. It seemed that near the spire, light was being repelled, creating a black haze. I gallop towards it, making sure to not run over anypony. I reach the foot of the spire, where tall black gates stand. I push them open. They were unlocked, I guess he wasn't expecting to be fought anyways. The gates opened directly to the throne room, and Discord sat up upon my entry.

"Who goes there?" He calls out in a mock accent.

"Your nightmare." I call back.

"Excuuuuuse me?" He says, appearing right in front of my face. His bright yellow eyes looking me over. Suddenly he staggers back.

"No! It can't be you! You died in space!"

"Space is MY realm. You cannot defeat me with it."

"But, but, that's not possible!"

"Is it?!" I snarl. "Now, you can release the princesses and go away peacefully, or I can slowly tear you limb from limb until you look like an exterminator's trash bin!"

"Oooo I like that! I'll have to use it sometime. But... No."

"Say your prayers you..."

"Now now. Let's not say anything we will regret!" Suddenly I'm above him.

"I REGRET NOTHING!" And hit him with a blast of energy so intense that the very air sizzles and falls through the ground in molten drops.

"You're weak!" I yell, standing over him as he lies on the ground, screaming in pain. "You didn't take all the chances you had to survive!" A red haze flooded my vision. "Now I keep my promise!" I plunge my horn into his arm and cackle horribly as I slowly start to tear it from his body. His screams fill the room an I laugh louder.

"Who... Are you?!" He says through coughs of blood.

"I am WAR PRINCE DARK VOID" I yell, and with a twist, completely severing his arm. He screams in pain and clutches where it used to be with his free hand.

"STOP!" A voice calls from behind me. I turn to see who it is. A dark blue Alicorn is galloping towards me but I take no heed. I turn back to my prey, whose eyes are becoming glassy.

"Please! Stop!" A voice begins to cry. I look back at the dark blue Alicorn who has begun to cry. Blue green eyes full of pain. Her face... I suddenly feel weak and stumble. I hit the ground and lay there, laughing quietly, my eyes wide. She walks over to me and lies down next to me, speaking softly as she begins to wipe a red substance from my face with a white towel. A white Alicorn walks in and slowly puts Discord back together using her magic. Names slowly begin to come back. I look at the Alicorn who is caring for me.

"Loo... Nah" she looks at me with wide eyes and the realization hits her. "Mo.. Ther?" She nods slowly and begins to cry again. This time, I put my head on her shoulder, and she puts hers on mine. We lie like that for a few minutes, with nothing but the screams of pain from Discord rising up into the still of the night.

 

CHAPTER FIVE: CONTROL

 

I look about the void. I shut my eyes, but everything remains the same. Just black nothingness. The painful memories of my fight against Discord rise again in my mind. I shudder and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to erase the images. This was my punishment. Celestia had banished me to the void after the horrible things I had done to Discord. But I deserved it. A year's sentence. It wasn't long compared to when Discord had banished me. I could escape at any time if I so desired, but I needed time. Time to learn to control my anger. I feel something move around my neck. I look down at the gem and a flood of rage hits me. Fat lot of good this stupid thing did! I tear it from the necklace I had attached it to and throw it. Suddenly I feel calm and completely in control. What? How did that happen? I grab the gem again with my magic and re-attached it to the necklace. I feel angry and very on-edge. I remove it from the necklace and examine it. The gem, the one Bigfoot had given me, somehow amplified my negative emotions like anger and sadness. But why would..? Bigfoot was very reclusive and wouldn't talk about himself, I suddenly feel a realization. I clip the gem back on. It boosted my strength exponentially, that much I knew.

'I just have to learn to control the anger it brings.' I think to myself. When the banishment ended. I would approach Bigfoot and end this.

 

It's been eleven months. My banishment is almost over. I swallow hard as I put the necklace on. This time! This time I would control it. I imagine the scene from which Discord burnt down my home and turned my mother to stone. Rage begins to pump through my veins.

'No! No. I am calm. I can do this!' I focus hard on calming down but the rage pumps faster. I unclip the necklace and calm myself.

'I just can't control it!'

 

The last day. This is my final chance to gain control. Daily practice leads up to this. I look deep into the gem as it floats in front of me.

'The power in this gem shall submit to me!' I clip it on and face the anger straight on. It hits me hard, yet... I don't get mad. I definitely feel extraordinarily angry at Discord, yet I know his punishment was fast worse than mine. This makes me laugh. A full laugh, not that of a power-crazed maniac. Suddenly, I feel something hit my flank and I turn to look.

"When your time comes, it will appear." Her words echoed through my mind. As a dark blue horn slices through the void. I smile and approach it. I help open the rift and step through it, necklace and all.

"Welcome home!" Luna says, tears of joy racing down her cheeks. I walk to her and we stand together, I nuzzle her and she stops crying.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that." She nods, sniffing.

"I understand. I wouldn't have been much better if he had turned you to stone instead of me." I smile and for the first time, realize my mane is nearing the ground.

"Well, first order of business, I need a trim." She looks at me, confused for a second before bursting into laughter. I laugh along with her and I turn to Celestia who is standing a few feet back.

"I'm sorry for what I have done princess." I kneel down on one hoof.

"You may rise. I should be thanking you. You stopped Discord and saved me as well as Luna." I smile. "And yet..." She starts again with a grave look on her face. "The battle is not yet over. There is still evil afoot." I frown at her with a cocked head.

"What are you... Wait. I know exactly who it is." They look at me expectantly. "The Guardian who gave me this." I say holding up the gem. Both princesses stumble back.

"Don't worry, I learned to control it. This gem is also the reason I..." Luna nodded.

"Go on."

"Well, anyways. He gave it to me when I went to attack Discord. He must have wanted him out of the way for something." Celestia nodded.

"But how did you manage to gain control of the Alicorn Gem? You're not an Alicorn, and even then, both me and Luna together can't." Luna gasped.

"Look!" She says, motioning with her horn. I turn and look at my flank. An image like that of a swirling black hole engulfing stars had appeared.

"Your cutie mark is..." Celestia started. I held up a hoof to stop her.

"I know." She gulps. She drops to one knee without warning. Luna soon follows.

"War prince, what is your course of action for dealing with this?" I suddenly am at a loss for words.

"Please, rise. We don't need to do this, I am lesser than you, I don't need to be bowed to."

"No, we are equals now. I dub you War Prince Void." I feel winded and unsure of how to respond. I look at Luna and she smiles widely at me.

"Thank you." I manage to sputter out. "As for dealing with the evil at hand, I will handle it." They nod and stand. Suddenly, Luna gasps.

"Your.. Your horn!" I frown and create a mirror with my magic. I look up at my horn and I feel the color drain from my face. My horn is somehow now spiked back, like it was melted partly and solidified in a gust of wind. I swallow.

"My first battle scar." I say weakly. "Anyways, about that haircut?" Luna smiles at me.

"Of course, I know the very best place to get you one!"

 

I trot out of the saloon with Luna at my side. I stood slightly taller than her, but she didn't seem to mind. I had any part of my mane that hung into my vision removed, so now it was is a shape like a part of a buzz saw blade running down my neck.

"It looks good on you" Luna says to me. I smile.

"Thanks, your mane doesn't even grow does it? I never see it any longer than it is now."

"I actually trim it myself on a daily basis." I nod an we start to trot back to the castle. Luna starts sharing her memories of when she first met me, and fun times she had that I didn't remember.

'I just wish every day could be like this...' The thought drifted through my mind, even though I knew it couldn't be.

 

CHAPTER SIX: THE MECHS

 

I stand over a shallow pan. I shake it back and forth over the burner and listen to the sound of the oats sizzling and the moisture in them boiling. The sound brought back so many memories, one of which was very unpleasant. I shake off the thought as I see Luna enter through the doorway. She seems surprised to see me at the stove cooking.

"I thought it was the least I could do. Turns out Void magic is good for cooking." She laughs at this and walks over.

"It smells good."

"Thanks." She presses up against my side. "I'm so lucky to have a mother like you." She smiles and puts her head under mine, which is a stretch for her. Most ponies only get so tall, all averaging out at almost exactly the same height. Most Alicorns get a little less than double the standard height, and Luna was sort of in between. Even though I was only a unicorn, I had grown to Alicorn height, which baffled both Celestia and Luna. Suddenly the door burst open and a small gray unicorn enters.

"Ninton! What is it?"

"Bigfoot..." He gasps "Returned... Mechanized..."

"Calm down friend. Take a seat." Ninton shakes his head vigorously and points at the door.

"He's... Here!" I look at Luna and we both turn to the window. In the street stands a tall Alicorn, laughing loudly.

"Come out Void! I know you're here!"

"I'm here! And it's WAR PRINCE Void to you!" I say stepping out of the doorway.

"Oh so you created a title for yourself did you?"

"It was given to me because I saved Canterlot and Ponyville! Your attempts failed!"

"I wasn't planning to have you corrupted.. No. I very well knew what would happen, and I predicted RIGHT!"

"Then what were you to gain from me discovering my true power?"

"Ooh all in good time. But I haven't even scratched your surface with that gem. Nooo. But you will never live to see the day that you truly escape your boundaries." He snarls and 7 ponies emerge from various buildings. 2 unicorns, 2 pegasi, 2 earth ponies, and one more that seemed... Incomplete. The seventh one had several wires and gears exposed, as well as an entire leg completely stripped of any coverings. The pony wasn't even a pony, it was a robot!

"What did you do?!"

"I sped up the evolution of an entire race!"

"How is creating A robot speeding up the growth of a species?"

"Oh no. Not A robot, SEVEN robots!" As if on cue, the other six ponies drop low, and blades shift out of their legs and body, transforming them from ponies to weapons. The seventh one seems to hesitate, but nevertheless follows. This was the point Luna came out of the house. She stands next to me and staggers back when she catches sight of the robots.

"Oh princess Luna, how nice of you to join us! Meet the Mechs!" Bigfoot sneers.

"You call them mechs?" Luna asked him.

"Well yes I do! These are the Hyperion Mechs, but it's just easier to call them Mechs. This is Twilight, Rare, Dash, Flutter, Pink, and Apple." He says as he gestures to the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies respectively.

"This is a new level of madness, naming monstrosities like this!" Luna whispers to me.

"Yes, but he only named the first six. What about the seventh?"

"Now, my children" Luna tensed at this "ATTACK!" All seven of the Mechs suddenly leap at us, I react quickly, creating a magic sphere around us as Luna prepares. The shield drops and both Luna and I gallop at them. When we stop, the Mechs quickly surround us. Luna and I stand back to back facing them.

"Ready?" I ask her quietly.

"Yes." We both sweep in a wide horizontal arc in front of us, creating a dark purple slash mark that seemed to just float there.

"Well?!" Bigfoot yells at the Mechs. "Get them!" As they charge, the slashes open vertically, showing the portals. The mechs don't even slow, they just keep charging and race through them. All but one. The seventh one. It seemed to catch the drift of out tactic even before we showed the portals.

"What did you do to them?!" Bigfoot yells at us.

"We... Re-located them."

"What? Where too?"

"Somewhere far out of your reach."

"No no no!" This time he leaps at us. I don't even move as he gets closer and closer. The portal opens again and takes him too.

"Did you think he could get any dumber?" I ask Luna. All I get is panting for a response. I turn and look at her. She's just barely standing, but standing nonetheless.

"The magic... Took a lot out of me." She manages to get out between heavy breaths. I nod.

"I'm sorry, I guess it's more my range of expertise." She nods with a shallow laugh. "Let's get you inside. I make some delicious roasted oats."

 

Later that night...

 

I sit on a thin barrier between the waking world and the realm of sleep. It feels like I'm in both, because I can hear, feel, and smell the world of my dreams, while I can see the real world. The sensation is driving me through boundaries never meant to be crossed. My vision flashes, and my room gains a strange outline. I barely manage to move my head, some outlines move while others don't. My head begins to hurt and I turn to the clock. Two hands remain ghostly still, while the third clicks slowly. A flash through my vision and everything goes back to normal. I sit on my bed gasping for several minutes before I realize my dream feelings have left as well.

 

I sit on a hill, staring up at the stars. I feel at rest, like the open sky was an anchor point for my existence. No matter where I was, I could look up to the same wonderful moon or sun. I remain still, just feeling the wind through my mane, and watching the moon inch ever so slowly towards the horizon. A sound like metal scraping metal jolts me from this state of peace. I jump to my hooves and whip around to face what created the sound. Padding slowly up the hill was a Mech. I lower slightly, into a ready stance. It sees this and stops, standing completely still. It slowly lowers it's head to the ground, working it's way into a crude bow. I cock my head and stare at it.

"You may rise?" I say hesitantly. I climbs back to a standing position and lifts a hoof in my direction. The thought hits me that it may not be able to communicate, being incomplete, it may not have received a voice feature.

"Me?" I ask, assuming it was trying to tell me something. It's head creaks slowly up, then down. It bows again.

"Royalty?" I stays in the position. "Leader?" It rises with a nod. "You want me to lead you?" It nods again. Then it stretches it's wings, the metal plates scraping against themselves. It flaps them a few times and flies away. I watch it fly until I can't even make out a speck.

'What was that about?' I think to myself as the sun begins to peek over the mountain tops in the distance. I walk back to the house, eyes down as I think. I stop cold. I'm standing in a shadow, the shadow of something massive. I turn and slowly look up to the sky. The city in the clouds, Cloudsdale, was moving in front of the sun. Not only that, but clouds of smoke were rising from it. I needed to get up there, but it was far to high up to teleport, I'd have to be able to fly up there, but I didn't have wings, I was just a unicorn! I was to big to be carried up there on my own, I couldn't get up there! Something was happening up there and I needed to help! I wasn't a prince for nothing! Every pony in royalty was an Alicorn. It was time to get my wings.

 

CHAPTER SEVEN: SOARING

 

I stood at the entrance to a dark cave. The sound of metal being struck echoed loudly from some deep corner, a place I had to get to. I put my hoof down and listen to the soft click. I inhale deeply and start trotting. As I walk, I look around at several sharp rock points hanging down from the roof, and similar spires poking up from the ground. Each one looks like it was a sharp blade. I make sure not to step on any small ones as the clanking gets louder and louder. Suddenly the cave opens up, into a wide cavern. I look around as the clanking dies.

"Who are you?" A raspy voice asks. I look down at the earth pony. He's coated in dust, and his mane looks like bunch of metal blades laid on top of each other.

"I am War Prince Void." I respond to him, looking him straight in the eye. He huffs loudly.

"What do you want?"

"I need you to make me wings. Strong metal wings that could carry me up to Cloudsdale." He turns and look at me, an eyebrow raised.

"Really? You want to be an Alicorn that badly?"

"It's not that I want to be an Alicorn, it's that I need to be able to reach certain places that require wings. Cloudsdale is under attack as of now, and I need to get there quickly."

"Huh. Alright."

"Thank you." I say, sitting down. I close my eyes and listen to the sounds, metal hitting metal, the crackle of fires, but mostly, to the very faint sound of crickets chirping outside the cave. The night gave me so much peace, and I wanted as much of that as possible. I sigh and smile.

 

Almost an hour later, I hear hoof steps approaching me. I open my eyes and see the blacksmith walking towards me, dragging a large sack with him.

"Alright, I need you to lie down while I attach these." I nod and lie down. He opens the sack and reveals two wings. They look amazing, each 'feather' a metal blade. I could tell these would be useful for more than just flying. I feel something click onto my back and an extension of feeling. I gain control of the wings almost instantly. I fan them out wide and retract them a few times. The smith looks at me, smiling at his work.

"How can I repay you?" I ask him.

"Save Cloudsdale. I have family there. My parents and my sister are up there." I nod and gallop quickly to the entrance of the cave. I reach the point where I had entered and crouched low. With a jump, I become airborne. My wings spread wide, I soar towards the smoking city.

 

I hover over the city, looking at the burning buildings. I hear metal grating against metal and the seventh mech flies up to me. He nods at me and we dive. I hit the ground in the city square and stop. I saw Bigfoot and the Mechs standing over some pony. I start to trot towards Bigfoot and the Mechs freeze. The squirming pony races of, screaming all the way. Bigfoot sees me and smiles.

"Aah. You got your wings. Congratulations." He laughs.

"What's so funny about it?"

"All in due time."

"How did you escape the void?"

"Oh it's quite easy with the correct technology."

"Well, aside from that, would you like to try a new realm?"

"Of course!"

"How about THE AFTERLIFE" I say as I jump at him. A purple unicorn Mech jumps in front of me and throws me sideways. I stumble but work my way back to my feet.

"Seven on one? I like these odds!" I fire a blast of energy, catching the unicorn and an orange earth pony as well. They fly back and collapse against a wall, sparks popping out of cracks in their armour. I turn to face the remaining four. The remaining unicorn fires a blast at me, while the two pegasi and the one remaining earth pony charge. The light blue pegasi reaches me first, and gets a horn into the chest. I throw him off at the earth pony who easily dodges. I jump up, over the earth pony, and land on top of the cream colored pegasus. I jump again, throwing the pegasus into the ground, and onto the pink earth pony. The last one standing is the white unicorn. We just stare at each other for a few minutes before we simultaneously fire beams of pure energy. They scrape by each other, and we both are blasted back by the other's attack. Except that only I stand up again. I look at Bigfoot as he stands over the body of one of the earth ponies.

"So... Bigfoot. Anything else?" He turns to me with a straight face.

"Actually, yes." Suddenly, each of the ponies disappears and re-appears where they had used to be, but fully repaired. Then they just disappear again.

"Where did they go?" I ask him, prepared to fight the Mechs again.

"Far into the future. Out of your reach, where they will cause the destruction of the planet. And there's nothing you can do to change that!"

"Actually, I can. Who has an immortal mother? Who can move through space and time with the swipe of a horn? Huh?" Bigfoot's pupils shrink. "Guess who forgot to READ UP?!" I say as the seventh Mech drops on top of Bigfoot. The Mech's arms lock around Bigfoot's throat.

"You will never again do your horrible experiments on these innocent ponies!" I shout at him right before the Mech gives a single tight squeeze.

 

The seventh mech sits on a platform, several wires plugged into him. I stand next to Luna as the Mech is scanned for any useful data about where the other Mechs went.

"Once again, you defeated Bigfoot. But, I wonder how he managed to push those ponies through time? Maybe it was just a bluff."

"Maybe... And yet, if you ever see those ponies in the future, signal to me."

"What?"

"You're immortal. If they appear again, you'll be alive to see it, so send me a signal of some sort."

"How?"

"Just slash the Void, I will sense it and make my way from what ever time I was currently in."

"How does that work?"

"Uuh, timey wimey stuff. Just say yes."

"Yes."

"Ok thanks."

"What?"

"I just got your signal from several thousand years into the future!"

"WHAT?!"

"Well, every timeline lays side by side, we sit next to the timelines of a fraction of a second ahead and behind of right now, I just got your message from a timeline further down the line. When you said yes, you confirmed that you would send the message, so in a timeline that is several thousand years into the future, you kept your promise."

"I don't follow."

"Never mind. Anyways, would you like to go get some food?"

"But don't you have to go stop the Mechs again?"

"Yes and no. I do have to stop them in a future timeline, but in others, I already missed my chance. What I can do, is when I'm ready, is go to the timeline in which you're just about to send the signal. When I save that timeline, the ones ahead of it will delete themselves and re-write according to the one I just changed." Luna just stared at me. "I'm good, I can stay here as long as I want." I turn to the pony who was decoding what was inside the Mech's mind.

"Take good care of Highlander!" He nods and shoos at us with his hoofs.

"You're naming them now too?" Luna asks me.

"Well, I'm naming a friend, not a creepy experiment."

"How'd you get Highlander anyways?"

"Well, it what he would've been named by Bigfoot if I hadn't stopped him from completing it."

"But, you didn't stop him from completing him, he just appeared at our doorstep incomplete."

"Timey wimey stuff. I did, but in the future. Anyways, his name is in the programming."

"How would you know?"

"Timey wimey stuff." She huffs through a laugh and slams into my side playfully.

Edited July 25, 2014 by Warrior Dark Void