Wings Of Icarus

“So what are we doing?” I asked, glancing out at the white space we were traveling through.

“Well we have a mission that should be less exciting. We’re picking up some scientist to examine a strange system.” Spike said.

“Mmm you never know.” I chuckled.

“We’re almost there.” Bulk called down to us.

“Let’s get ready then.” I sighed as I stood up. “No matter how boring it is a mission’s a mission.”

The whiteness faded to the black space as normal, and a planet came into view. It looked uninhabited, mostly large forests and the such. The only noticeable sign of life was the small station orbiting the green planet.

“That’s where we’re heading?” I asked.

“Mmhm.” Spike nodded, heading to the airlock as Icarus grew slowly closer to the station. Our ship docked, several clamps holding our ship in place as the airlock attached to theirs. I entered the airlock and stood beside Spike. The door behind us shut as it pressurized. Moments later the second set of doors opened and we were greeted by a white hallway with several doors. The entire place seemed absolutely spotless.

“Oh this should be fun.” I chuckled. A speaker clicked on.

“You can head up to the observatory at any time.” A soft female voice rang.

“I guess that’s where we’re supposed to go.” I said as I pulled Spike along with me. When we entered what we assumed was the observatory, it was a large room that was well decorated, several terminals and devices lined up, along with a very large window looking out onto the planet below. “Where is everyone?” I asked looking back to Spike. “You did say we were escorting scientists and not a ship.”

“Incorrect.” The voice from earlier said. We turned and saw a purple unicorn in a white lab coat. She approached us and smiled, extending her hand. “I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

“Okay… I’m Sweetie Belle.” I said as I shook her hand.

“Spike.” Spike said, still looking around the clean ship.

“Well your information might have been slightly off.” Twilight said apologetically, returning to the window and looking at the planet.

“Okay. That’s not too bad then.” I shrugged.

“So what are we doing?” Spike asked, approaching the window with me.

“Observation and experimentation.” Twilight said.

“On the planet?” I asked.

“No no no.” Twilight shook her head.

“Okay then. On what?” I asked. Twilight’s horn lit up and the ship shook slightly as it started to turn, the planet slowly disappearing out of frame. The window stopped moving as the sun came into view. “On a star.” I said almost in disbelief.

“A star that doesn’t make sense.” Twilight said, turning to us with an almost excited smile.

“How doesn’t it make sense?” I asked.

“The heat shielding is off… So why aren’t we burning to a crisp right now?” Twilight asked, looking directly at the sun without any problems.

“That’s a great question… I don’t know.” I said.

“Now you see… If we were on the planet, it would be no different. Only one thing.” Twilight continued.

“What’s the one thing?” I asked.

“The reason it isn’t hurting our eyes or burning us is because there are no UV rays… But there are.” Twilight continued, her smile growing. I just stared at her. “You see, the computer has scanned the light that the star is emitting, and it is indeed sending out UV rays, but only to the vegetation and plants on the planet. It is strictly ignoring us.” Twilight said.

“How could a star being ignoring anything? It’s just superheated gases with a nuclear core.” I questioned.

“Not entirely. A star is like what you said, but as if millions and millions of nuclear explosions are going off all across it. It doesn’t discriminate where the light goes, or the harmful UV rays… But something is redirecting the harmful and possibly deadly parts of the light away from any life, except of course… The life that needs it.” Twilight said, pointing to a plant near the edge of the window.

“And what could do that?” I asked.

“I have absolutely no idea!” Twilight squealed happily.

“Mm this is going to be really fun…” I mumbled.

“Now… I didn’t just come to throw you into a sun.” Twilight started.

“Why would you say that?” I asked, simply staring at her. There was a long pause from Twilight.

“So the planet below…” Twilight continued.

“Okay.” I said. “Just go on.”

“I have been getting several strange readings. The light seems to be avoiding one spot in specific.” Twilight said as the station slowly turned back towards the planet.

“And what spot is that?” I asked. Twilight pointed to the white tip of the planet.

“The north pole.” Twilight said.

“That’s more then a little strange.” I said. “And you want to go down and see why.”

“Yes, which is why I requested the support of you two.” Twilight nodded.

“Okay.” I started. Spike wandered back to the entrance to the observatory.

“So we going or what?” Spike questioned.

“Just one moment.” Twilight said quickly, running out of the room and disappearing into another.

“Am I the only one who’s feeling like she knows more then she’s letting on?” I asked, looking to Spike.

“Nope.” Spike shrugged. “Not our job to know, it’s our job to help her.”

“Yeah. I know.” I sighed with a small nod. “Let’s do this then.”

Twilight returned wearing a large white fur coat that covered practically her whole body (except for her eyes, which were covered with a large pair of goggles). “Rphdy!” Twilight said. Spike stared at her for a minute before sighing and heading back onto his ship. Twilight and I followed him back onto Icarus as the airlock closed behind us. The ship detached and we entered one of the small transports within the cargo hold. Spike strapped himself into the pilot’s seat and glanced back to us.

“Get strapped in, we’re about to enter atmosphere.” Spike said, not wasting any time as he lifted off from the hanger. Twilight dropped all her bags and bolted to one of the seats. I went to one and quickly strapped myself down. The ship shook lightly as the darkness of space slowly faded to an almost green ocean as the sky surrounded us. I laid back against the chair and sighed. The turbulence slowed to a stop and Spike sighed.

“Ohhh… I’ve never been this far north. I didn’t know the skies were green here!” Twilight said, mesmerized by the sight out the windows. I still couldn’t see the ground as we were still above the clouds.

“Yes. It’s wonderful.” I said.

“We’re about to pass through the clouds, prepare to get a little wet. I know that’s no problem for Sweetie.” Spike joked. I silently glared at Spike.

“If you weren’t flying this ship…” I started.

“I was just…” Spike started, being cut off as the ship was rattled violently.

“What’s going on?” I questioned frantically.

“I don’t know… There’s something in the clouds.” Spike groaned, attempting to stabilize the ship.

“Is it possible there’s an ice build up in them?” I asked.

“Possibly. It is the coldest part of the planet.” Twilight nodded, seeming entranced by the blur of effects outside the window. The ship shook once more, this time even more than before.

“Well we aren’t going to get down safely if the ice rips our engines apart!” I stated.

“Ice wouldn’t do this.” Spike called back. Twilight’s expression changed to surprise, her eyes never leaving the window.

“Then what’s doing it?” I questioned. The ship’s power just shut down, leaving them in darkness except for the light from the windows. “That’s… not normal.” I started.

“We’re not moving.” Spike said.

“That’s not possible.” I stated. “Unless something’s holding us up.”

A low groan broke the gentle silence, sounding almost like a whale. Spike turned to me, his eyes wide with uncertainty.

“What the hell…” I mumbled, the same uncertainty entering me.

“Something is LIVING in the ice storms! Fascinating!” Twilight said, her face pressed against the window and her eyes scanning the storm clouds we were within.

“Yes. Something living in the storm that could kill us is fascinating.” I grumbled.

“Well we’re not going anywhere.” Spike sighed, unstrapping himself and moving to the seat beside me.

“Yep.” I sighed as I laid my head on his shoulder. “This is just the greatest day ever.”

Twilight was unloading her back, setting up equipment around the transport, giving a glance to the window occasionally.

“At least one of us is actually enjoying being trapped in a tin can.” I said, rolling my eyes. Spike tightened an arm around me and kissed my cheek. “Mm I was wrong.” I laughed quietly as I hugged him tightly.

“Fascinating…” Twilight continued, reading some sciency mumbo-jumbo off a scanner.

“Yes, yes you are.” Spike said softly, pressing his muzzle into my neck. I sighed quietly and nuzzled my own face into his neck.

“So are you.” I whispered, squeezing him a little more. Twilight ran to the ship entrance and seemed to be searching for something. “What are you looking for?” I asked as I looked over at her.

“The button that opens the ramp.” Twilight said.

“We’re thousands of feet up!” Spike shouted.

“There’s a damn storm just outside of the ship!” I added, “You are NOT opening the ramp, that’s pure suicide for all of us!”

Twilight’s eyes locked onto the control panel to the left of the ramp. “We didn’t accept to escort you just so we could die because you decided it was a SMART idea to open the ramp.” I stated as I glared at her. “And if you open that how the hell are you going to get any information back to your ship or anyone else if we all die?”

“We’re not going to die.” Twilight reassured, approaching the panel and pressing random buttons.

“Stop it.” Spike said quickly.

“You don’t even know what you’re doing!” I said. Spike yanked me to the cockpit and pressed a button, causing a door to lock us inside. We could see out the small glass pane at the top, watching Twilight. I glanced at Spike, “As much as I don’t want to be out there with her right now we DID accept the mission to make sure she remains safe.” I said a little reluctantly. There was a small grinding as the ramp lowered. The outside slowly looked at a raging blizzard amidst a sea of black clouds that were not only above us, but looking almost like a floor below the ramp.

“She’s… not actually going to leave the ship is she?” I asked a little hesitantly. “I mean… she’s a scientist… that means she’s not stupid enough to do that right?”

“I’m sure she doesn’t want to fall thousands of feet.” Spike nodded slowly.

“Yeah but she opened the entire ship up to a blizzard.” I said. “And she was pretty sure that was the best idea ever.”

Twilight sat down at the edge, slowly sticking a foot into the clouds.

“And she’s trying to commit suicide.” I grumbled. “We can’t let her do that.”

Spike opened the door and marched out towards her. The moment the door opened a large gust of icy wind hit us. I followed him out. I saw the tiniest of a smile on Twilight’s face before she lept out of the ship. I gasped, my magic about to spark to life… But she stopped, as if standing on something. “I knew it!” Twilight cheered, up to her waist in the clouds but still standing regardless.

“Oh my god.” I said. Spike just stared in disbelief at the sight. Twilight hopped up and down, as if testing the strength of what she was standing on. “What are you doing? What if it give way under you?” I questioned quickly.

“It’s holding this entire ship up, I’m sure it can manage me.” Twilight dismissed, starting to walk out into the foggy black storm. I glanced to Spike and motioned that we needed to follow her. Spike opened one of the lockers in the corner and pulled out two suits that looked designed for this kind of weather. I grabbed one from him and put it on before I shakily walked out onto the cloud. My feet stepped onto a rather firm, but still flexible surface. What the hell?

Spike hopped down beside me and quickly strode after Twilight. I followed right behind him and glanced around at the white abyss around us. “Well I gotta admit, I’m kinda curious now.” Spike said, seeming genuinely interested in why we were able to walk here.

“So am I.” I said. “But I’m still a little worried that we aren’t alone in here.”

The loud but somehow calming wail from earlier echoed through the skies.

“Yeah…” I mumbled. “We aren’t alone.”

Twilight had something in her hand, looking intently down at a device.

“What’s that?” I asked, taking the chance to take my mind off of the noise we had heard.

“Interesting…” Twilight said, gazing in awe up at the skies.

“We’re never going to get any answers out of you.” I sighed.

“It’s connected to all the equipment I set up in the ship, which records and does all the things I need.” Twilight said.

“That’s good.” I said. “So what did you find that was interesting other than EVERYTHING in this damn cloud.”

“I heard some strange noises over the scanners on the station, but I wanted to come down to be sure it wasn’t just my machinery. And It wasn’t! Something is alive and within the clouds!” Twilight said with more awe in her voice.

“That’s great, I love being bait.” Spike chuckled.

“Don’t we all.” I joked.

“Maybe if we find the source of this storm, we’ll find some answers.” Twilight suggested. Spike approached me and hoisted me over his shoulders, continuing to walk beside Twilight.

“Um thanks.” I said staring down at Spike. My legs dangled over the front, my heels just in front of his stomach. His hands held my feet, squeezing them as tenderly as he could through the boots I was wearing. I smiled and hugged the top of his head as best I could through the thick material of the parka he had on.

“Well this is certainly interesting.” Twilight said aloud.

“What is?” Spike asked.

“There seem to be vibrations from the ‘ground’ we are standing on. Just barely noticeable.” Twilight continued, her eyes focused on her device.

“My guess is we should follow them to the epicenter and whatever is making them will be there.” I said. It might just have been my imagination but… It looked like something moved off in the distance. “I think I just saw something.” I said quietly.

“Like what?” Spike asked, looking up at me.

“I… I don’t know.” I said, narrowing my eyes and looking into the blinding abyss. There was a small rumbling that made both Twilight and Spike stop. “I think it’s noticed us though.”

The blizzard grew quiet, and the snow stopped, allowing us to see a little more into the calming storm.

“Um…” I started.

“I don’t know.” Spike said. There was a light hissing sound from behind me. I couldn’t see due to the hood I was wearing, but whatever it was was growing closer.

“We should move. Now!” I said quickly.

“Wait!” Twilight started, turning to face us. She immediately seemed entranced by something behind us. “Oh my goodness.”

“What?” I asked. Twilight made a circular motion. Spike nodded slowly and turned around. I saw what looked like a… snake? It was small, about as thick as my finger, but it was completely white with no features to represent a mouth or anything, but it was very long and floated gently above the whitened clouds we were standing in.

“Wow.” I said quietly, my eyes widening a little out of curiosity. The snake slowly approached me, the same curiosity seeming to be in it as well. “Any idea what it is?” I asked shooting a glance towards Twilight.

“No idea, but it’s giving off some strange reading.” Twilight said, aiming her device at the creature. Spike took a step back. The snake moved back, copying Spike.

“Well it doesn’t seem too bad.” I said. Spike slowly walked towards it, and it mirrored, moving closer to us. The snake slithered through the air, pausing directly in front of me. “Hi.” I said uncertainly. The snake touched the end of my snout, sending a tingling static through it. “That tickles.” I giggled a little. The snake moved around my waist and coiled up my body slowly, making every inch it touched tingle (even through my clothes).

“You okay?” Spike asked cautiously.

“Yeah. It just tingles a little.” I nodded. Twilight approached it and poked it.

“Wow!” Twilight said excitedly. “It seems to be made out of some kind of… energy.”

The snake moved up to my hood and slid into my clothes, wrapping around me as if to stay warm. “I think it likes you.” Spike chuckled.

“I noticed.” I laughed.

“You wanna come with us little guy?” Twilight asked. The snake poked it’s head out my collar and stared at Twilight for a moment before nuzzling back inside.

“That’s a yes.” I smiled. Spike started walking again, continuing forward with Twilight. “So are we heading towards the source of the shaking?” I asked.

“Probably.” Twilight shrugged.

“Ookay then.” I shrugged. Twilight paused, glancing upward. Spike and I looked up and saw what looked like thousands of the white snakes drifting through the air. “That’s… a lot.” I mumbled in awe. Several brushed against me as they floated by, a couple wrapping around my arms and clinging to me and Spike, and Twilight. “They really like us.” I chuckled. The snakes tugged on us gently, pulling us towards the direction they were all flying. Twilight eagerly followed, but Spike still had some reluctance. “Come on they want to show us something.” I said egging him to move a little faster.

“What if they hurt you?” Spike questioned.

“They haven’t so far.” I said. Spike sighed and continued on. Twilight approached a wall of clouds, seeming almost too smooth to be natural. “Any idea what it is?” I asked. Twilight walked over and touched it, her hand going right through it.

“Whoa!” Twilight squealed as she was yanked through. Spike’s eyes widened and he looked up at me.

“After her!” I said quickly. Spike bolted forward and burst through the clouds. We were greeted by all the thousands of snakes flying in circles around something, and Twilight was directly in front of the white tornado. “Wow.” I said. The snake inside my coat slithered up out of my hood and into the rest. Twilight reached a hand out and touched the whirlwind, stepping in and disappearing as if they had simply become energy.

“You still wanna go after her?” Spike asked slowly.

“We have to keep her safe…” I started. Spike sighed and slowly walked towards the white vortex in front of us.

“Ready?” He asked, gripping my legs tightly.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I nodded. Spike took a deep breath and walked through. We were immediately surrounded in silence. We were no longer in the clouds, and I could see what we were actually standing on. Twilight was ahead the scaley black road that sent a chill down my spine. “What is this thing?” I asked uncertainly. The whale-like groan from earlier echoed through the silent air. Some sort of orb seemed to glow a dim blue towards the end of the path. Spike followed it with Twilight and stopped, seeing the two large orbs, seeming almost as large as me. “What the hell?” I asked.

“It seems the cornea is… Interesting.” Twilight said almost to herself.

“Cornea?” I questioned.

“Oh! Yes, sorry. It’s an eye. Or rather, they’re both eyes.” Twilight nodded.

“So… we’re on its’ nose or something?” I asked.

“It would seem so… Oh?” Twilight hummed, kneeling down next to the eye and looking at it intently.

“What?” I questioned.

“If I’m reading the movement and light reflections correctly… It’s staring at us.” Twilight smiled. Spike stared blankly at Twilight.

“Um…” I started. The orbs grew clearer, and amidst the blue I saw a white pupil appear, looking about the same as the snakes from earlier. “I think it’s been watching us.” I said.

“Ya think?” Spike stated. The eyes slowly shifted to me.

“Um… Hi.” I waved. A gentle glow appeared behind me. I turned and saw several of the white snakes from earlier come from the clouds that we had just left. “Twilight.” I said. Twilight turned and stared at the snakes.

“What do you want me to do?” Twilight questioned.

“I don’t know.” I said quickly. The snakes slowly started wrapping around every limb of my body.

“Um…” Spike stammered. My eyes widened as I was slowly lifted off Spike and into the air. Spike jumped up and grabbed my feet, hanging on tightly. “Sweetie!” He shouted fearfully.

“I don’t think they’re going to hurt me.” I said. Spike tightened his grip on me, not wanting to let go. “I have a feeling I’ll come back.” I said calmly, as I looked down at him. Spike’s face blanked as he started to grow closer to me, the snakes pulling him up as well. “Or we’re all going.” I laughed.

“I have so much to study!” Twilight called, floating up off a ways from us. Spike wrapped his arms around me and hugged me to him tightly. The warmth of not only him, but the soothing tingling of the snakes washed over me, canceling out the cold of the sky. The warm clothes we were wearing started to grow a bit too hot.

“Oh my god…” I started to pant as I began to sweat heavily.

“Magic stuff… do magic.” Spike suggested, breathing a little heavier. I nodded and my horn flashed, the extra layer of clothing instantly vanished. The snakes pulled us higher, the storm we were in growing further as we saw the full length of the clouds.

“Wow…” I said, awestruck by the sheer size of the creature we were just on. The miles of clouds stretched on as a sudden stillness filled the air. Glowing streaks spread across the clouds. “What’s that?” I asked. The cloud started to disperse and I could see countless numbers of the energy snakes flying alongside the large creature as it became fully visible. It had wings swayed back, as if to help turn, and a tail near the end looking like that of a shark’s. The movement of it was slow and sluggish, looking like one of the most majestic creatures I’ve ever laid my eyes on. “This is absolutely amazing.” I said giddily. Even Spike seemed to be immersed in the situation, but in all the chaos, even though he knew I was safe… He never let me go. I hugged him back and squeezed him tightly. Spike looked down at me, smiling lightly and bringing his lips close to mine. I smiled back and put my lips to his. Spike’s tongue surprised me as it forced it’s way into my mouth, coiling around my own. I sighed quietly and playfully ran my tongue as best I could against his. Spike’s arms ran across my back and tenderly caressed my skin under my shirt. I shivered at his touch and squeezed him closer. Spike’s tongue retracted, along with his mouth and stared almost lustfully into my eyes. The utter surprise was clear on my face. He leaned in and I could feel his breath on my neck as he seemed like he was about to whisper something.

“Sweetie.” He said softly.

“Yeah?” I asked hesitantly.

“The things I want to do to you…” He breathed, kissing my neck gently. “The things I’m GOING to do to you…”

“Hold on there.” I said quickly. A finger pressed itself to my lips.

“When you’re ready.” He reassured, nuzzling my cheek.

“Okay.” I smiled as I hugged him tightly again. His tongue licked at my neck, continuing to tease me gently.

“But until then… I can think of all the ways to make you scream.” He whispered, nipping at my ear.

“Spike… what’s gotten into you?” I asked, shivering slightly at his affection.

“Oh.” Twilight’s voice rang out. Both Spike and my attention shifted to Twilight, seeing she and several other snakes were staring at the two of us.

“I… I’m sorry. I don’t know why I…” Spike stammered quietly.

“Yeah… I can tell.” I nodded slowly.

“It’s these… things. They’re um… Yeah.” Spike said, glancing to the snakes.

“Mmhm. And they affected only you like that.” I nodded with a grin. The snakes seemed to tighten around us, pressing us closer together. I could immediately feel the large bulge in Spike’s pants press against my own crotch. “No.” I stated. The snakes slowly loosened their grip back to its’ original strength.

“Well I dunno… I kinda like it.” Spike said, pulling me back to his crotch and smirking. A snake passed by Spikes face, zapping him gently. He went cross eyed for a few moments before snapping out of it.

“That’s better.” I said. Spike chuckled, looking down at the sky snake thing…

“So what are we going to call it?” Spike asked.

“I think it wants to talk to us!” Twilight called.

“How would you guess that?” I called back. Spike and I were moved back down to the creature, but this time it was carrying us to to front, hovering us in front of it’s head. We all saw its mouth open slowly, exactly like a whale’s as we saw the black abyss of it’s interior. “Or… it could be trying to eat us.” I said slowly. We were slowly brought inside, its mouth staying open to illuminate the front for us as the snakes set us down gently. Twilight seemed fascinated (as always), running up to one of the sides.

“Strange… It has no teeth.” Twilight said, glancing around the toothless mouth.

“Yeah. I noticed.” I nodded. I saw a few of the many snakes die down to almost an ember before flickering away. “What are they doing?” I asked. Twilight looked down at the device, noticing it had disappeared. She went wide eyed, seeming about to panic before two snakes found it for her.

“Oh, thank you…” Twilight smiled, patting one of the snakes before looking down at her equipment. Her expression turned more to surprise and… pain.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“It’s gone… It died.” Twilight said, glancing up at us.

“Oh…” I mumbled.

“They’re its food.” Twilight said, glancing around at the snakes.

“They must give each other something if the snakes hang around it.” I said. Twilight had a light bulb moment as she seemed to understand.

“Oh… Oh oh.” Twilight repeated.

“What is it?” Spike asked.

“The snakes are energy that the sun gives off. The whale in a way is… Solar powered, like a plant.” Twilight said, her mouth wide open.

“Wait if the snakes are the energy the sun give off…” I started slowly.

“Then…” Spike continued, leaning in towards me.

“Doesn’t that mean they’re harmful to us?” I asked.

“Not necessarily. They are concentrated yes, but touching them would be like… Eh… You ever put your hand on a plasma globe?” Twilight asked.

“Yes.” I said. “And I know what it feels like. One’s been wrapped around me since we first saw them.”

“Well whatever it is seems to have it contained like one. You don’t get the deadly zap, just a feedback of the static.” Twilight continued.

“The sun doesn’t zap.” I stated.

“Hence the storms. It transfers the light into a form of energy it can use.” Twilight said with a widening smile.

“Electricity.” Spike finished.

“So, this is a large plant.” I said.

“Sort of yes.” Twilight nodded. “But something is killing its food… When I was in the station I saw the readings, which I now know was the creature and its food, but the electricity spikes I saw on my reports was dying off. But what…”

“Either something’s destroying the sun or it’s dying.” I said.

“So I guess I know what I’m going to be doing for the next few hours.” Spike chuckled.

“Wasn’t that already settled when our shuttle stopped working?” I joked.

“Whatever these snakes are, aren’t physically alive. This creature traps energy from the sun and stores it in these things. They’re almost like blood cells.” Twilight said, poking one of the snakes and smiling as it wrapped around her finger.

“What kind of blood cell?” I asked.

“Well judging by the numbers, I’d say they’re simply just red. But something the sun is doing is no longer providing energy for it to get it’s food… Ohh!” Twilight started.

“What?” I asked.

“The UV rays are only targeting the plants, but it must not read this creature as one…” Twilight said.

“So what do we do?” Spike asked. Twilight scratched her head and pondered.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged.

“Why don’t we you know… try to get it to another system?” I asked. “It seems like it wasn’t born here.”

“Well it does seem to survive only on this energy. I’m curious as to how it does this too… These things in fact ARE the creature. Or at least it makes them by choice. But why doesn’t it just… Hm.” Twilight mumbled.

“Maybe it can’t.” I said.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“Oh. We weren’t thinking the same thing.” I said.

“So why don’t we get back to the ship?” Spike suggested.

“How would we do that?” I asked, turning to him.

“Hey snake thingies.” Spike said aloud. The snakes slowed and turned to Spike. “We need our ship.”

The snakes coiled around us once more and lifted us up. Before I knew it, we were in front of the shuttle we came in on and they had released their grip on us.

“Okay…. But what makes you think our ship will work?” I asked. Spike ignored me and continued onto the ship. Twilight looked as confused as I did but followed him. I sighed and followed them both in.

“Okay creature thing!” Spike shouted. “You obviously want our help with something. You were scared, so you drained the power from our ship.” I stared at Spike for a few moments. Not ten seconds later, the power to the ship returned. I walked over to a seat and sat down in it.

“Alright that confirms my theory.” Spike said, scratching his head.

“What theory?” I asked. “That they understand us?”

“IT understands us, yes.” Spike nodded.

“Okay. Now what?” I asked. Twilight’s eyes seemed locked on her equipment she had set up in the ship.

“What is it?” Spike asked.

“It’s… I didn’t…” Twilight said, trailing off into a mumble.

“You didn’t what?” I asked curiously.

“I had been recording the pulses that this creature has been giving off and… When I look at it in full, it looks almost like… Morse.” Twilight said.

“What?” I asked.

“Morse code.” Twilight turned to me.

I grumbled. “Okay, what is it saying?” I questioned.

“I had been receiving the same pulse since before you arrived, but hadn’t considered… When we were in the station, it was giving an S.O.S., hoping someone would hear it.” Twilight said, seeming surprised.

“Well, now we can help it.” I said.

“There’s another message. This one is longer. It’ll take a little bit to translate.” Twilight said, looking up at Spike. He nodded and sat down, the ramp closing and the engines heating up. I sighed and leaned back in my chair. The soothing sound of the whale rang out as we flew up into orbit. Once the shuttle landed, we entered Icarus again and were greeted by Owlick. He smiled and waved to us. I waved back at him. Twilight rushed back to the airlock and onto the station, Spike calmly walking after her. I followed the two back to the lab and watched Twilight work on her terminal.

I sighed quietly and leaned against a wall. Twilight’s movement stopped, seeming to have her interest caught in something. “Did you find out what it was saying?” I asked.

“Yeah…” Twilight said in almost a mumble.

“So what is it saying?” I asked. Twilight looked almost as if she was about to cry. “What is it?” I asked a little hesitantly.

“It’s um… Well you want me to read it or…” She asked quietly.

“Go ahead.” I nodded slowly. Twilight just stared at the screen for a moment in silence before rushing out of the room. Spike blinked a few times before moving over to the computer and reading. I walked up behind Spike to read the message too.

‘I was born on this planet, watching peacefully as the creatures grew and flourished. There was peace and serenity, and I was happy. I met many travelers from worlds beyond, some tried to kill me, others just wanted to see me. But now it seems that my time is becoming thin, and it’s getting harder to hang on. The sun has stopped giving what I need to live, and I don’t know why. I could just leave the planet, find a new home… But I won’t. This is where I have lived my entire life, and this is the place I will stay. Like a mother to it’s child, I will never stop caring about it. It is the only home I have ever known, and I am glad I didn’t have to die alone. Thank you for staying with me, Unicorn White as Snow, Unicorn of Twilight, and Warm Dragon.’

Spike just stared silently at the screen, unknowing what to say. I could barely hold back tears. The groan from the whale echoed lightly through the speakers as a familiar white snake slithered from my shirt. I looked down at the snake and shakily hugged it. The snake slowly wrapped around me, giving the warm tingling from earlier again and nuzzling my body. I began to softly cry as I squeezed it tightly. Spike hugged me gently and stared out the window to the planet below. Twilight burst into the room and stared wide eyed at us. “I’m going to need to borrow your ship.” She stated.

“For what?” I asked quickly, staring up at her with tears still streaming down my face.

“So long as I’m still standing, I’m not going to let it die, now come on!” Twilight said, rushing back onto Icarus. I glanced to Spike before I rushed after Twilight. Spike and I entered Icarus and we followed Twilight to the cockpit.

“Detach from the station now!” Twilight stated. Bulk turned back to her from the pilot’s seat.

“Alright…” He said uncertainly. He pressed a few buttons and the ship was left adrift.

“What do you intend to do?” I asked. Twilight shoved Bulk out of the pilot’s seat and sat down. She analyzed the controls and started mumbling to herself as she took the steering wheel.

“Don’t break my ship.” Spike stated. Twilight engaged the thrusters, nearly knocking us all over as she turned the ship.

“What the hell! Give us all a little warning!” I said a little angrily. My heart sank as I realized where we were heading.

“We’re getting a little close to the sun.” Spike said nervously.

“Twilight what are you doing? Just because the UV rays won’t hurt us doesn’t mean we won’t die if we get to close!” I said.

“It doesn’t mean we will either.” Twilight continued.

“That still doesn’t mean we should go into it!” I retorted.

“My scans of the star are saying strange things, things that a star shouldn’t be giving off.” Twilight said.

“And??” Spike said in a slight panic.

“And that’s not a sun.” Twilight stated.

“Then what is it?” I questioned.

“That’s what we’re going to find out.” Twilight said bluntly, the sun growing ever closer and brighter. I covered my eyes to block out as much of the light as I could. Twilight however, was staring directly at it.

“What are you doing? It’s giving the same light that a star would give off?!? It’s dangerous to look right into it!” I said fearing her safety.

“It was safe to stare at from my station, it’s safe to stare at it now.” Twilight said. Spike gripped my hand and squeezed it.

“Well at least we’re together.” Spike said reassuringly. I nodded slowly and hugged him tightly, burying my face into his neck. The ship started to shake gently, increasing in intensity slowly.

“I’m just going to sit here.” Bulk shrugged, crawling over to one of the sides. The shaking grew more and more violent.

“I love you Sweetie.” Spike said softly.

“I love you too Spike…” I said quietly as I hugged him tighter. He slowly moved his head closer and touched his lips to mine, seeming to be the most tender and loving one he’s given yet. Spike held me tightly against him as if it were the last time he’d ever be able to touch me again. I closed my eyes and held in the kiss. By the time we came back to reality… The shaking had stopped. Spike and I looked out the front window, and the sun was very, very close, and practically taking up my entire vision. Something DID seem strange… It wasn’t acting like a sun would, there were no sun spots… It was smooth. Perfectly smooth. “Wh..at?” I muttered. It was also completely still, eerily still.

“That’s… not normal.” Spike said.

“No… no it’s not. It’s like something created it.” I said quietly.

“It’s a Dyson Sphere!” Twilight stated.

“A what?” I asked.

“A Dyson Sphere can be many things… But the thing it scientifically would be used for is power. It’s a sphere built around a sun that takes the power from it to use for… whatever you want really.” Twilight continued.

“And why would it be out here?” I asked.

“I have no idea. This technology shouldn’t even exist… So who made it?” Twilight asked herself.

“It’s causing the creature on the planet to die.” I stated. “We can’t let it stay here.”

“Gotcha.” Spike said, motioning Bulk out as he left Twilight and I alone in the cockpit. Twilight stared silently at the sphere.

“Twilight.” I said.

“Huh?” Twilight mumbled, turning to me.

“I have a strange feeling whoever built it knew what would happen to the creature on the planet.” I said.

“I doubt that. Whatever it is has been around for a long time. Something like this doesn’t just get built overnight.” Twilight said.

“What if it was meant to slowly kill the creature.” I said.

“It’s not as if it wants to fight. A species advanced enough to build this could just kill it if they wanted.” Twilight said bluntly.

I sighed. “Fine. Then why would they just abandon it here? There’s nothing else around for it to power.” I said.

“Unless…” Twilight started, staring silently at me as a chilling realization hit the two of us.

“We need to stop Spike and Bulk.” I said quickly. There was a shaking as the cannons attached to the wings fired at the sphere. I rushed out of the cockpit and ran towards one of the wings. “DON’T SHOOT IT!” I screamed. Spike turned to me with a hint of confusion on his face. Both our heads turned to the window and saw the enormous white sphere start to change color to a bright red. “Oh god.” I muttered fearfully. Several lines started to appear along the surface, creating strange symbols and shapes. “I don’t want to know what it’s doing…” I mumbled quietly.

“I don’t know if you can hear me, but you need to stop!” Twilight’s voice rang out on the radio, but it seemed as if it wasn’t directed at us.

“She’s… talking to the sphere?” I questioned, glancing to Spike. He stood up and tugged me along back to the cockpit.

“I know you probably have a reason to be here… whether it’s for observation, exploration, or just a need for power… But there’s something on that planet that you’re killing because of what you’re doing.” Twilight said into the radio. I silently watched Twilight unsure of what to do. The three of us were caught off guard by the sound of metal grinding against metal echoing in a pattern through the radio.

“What the hell?” I questioned.

“Can’t even begin to think of how to translate that.” Twilight said quietly. She cleared her throat and grabbed the microphone again. “I know you probably have some way of listening to the planet back there, so LISTEN!” She stated. There was a moment before the sound of the whale from earlier echoed through the ship, but it sounded much weaker, and pained. “Does that sound healthy to you? That’s what you’re doing to it.”

There was nothing but silence in return.

I remained quiet as I hoped for something to happen. The sphere slowly began to fade to a white once more.

“Maybe whatever they are don’t care…” I said quietly, hoping it wasn’t true. The lines on the sphere began to encompass the entirety of it, spreading quickly. “Should we… you know get back from it?” I asked quickly. Twilight bolted out from the pilot’s seat and Spike replaced her. The ship spun around and Spike glanced back at us.

“Hold on.” He said. Twilight and I grabbed onto something as the ship lurched forward, speeding away from the sun. Twilight jumped up and ran out of the cockpit and I quickly followed behind her. We headed to the back of the ship and looked at the sphere get further away. The cracks shone brightly as it seemed to… open?

“I think it won’t be safe to stare at for much longer.” I said.

“Heat shielding is on.” Spike’s voice rang over the speakers.

“Turn on the UV shields too!” I called loudly.

“Got it.” Spike said before the speaker clicked off. The Sphere released the sun, separating entirely from it.

“Wow.” I said in awe. The white sphere hovered away from the sun and started to change to a black color. “It was a ship.” I said quietly.

“But is there anything living on it? Or is it automated. It would explain why it’s here… It uses stars as batteries and to recharge.” Twilight suggested.

“I don’t think it’s automated… otherwise. Why would it have listened to us?” I questioned. The sphere could barely be seen as it blended in with the space around it. I saw its form stretch and shake, disappearing and fading away. “I wonder where it’s going now.” I said. Twilight turned and looked at the planet, smiling lightly.

“Maybe it’s going home.” Twilight said, turning back to me.

“I still wonder where that is.” I laughed quietly. “At least it’s not killing the creature down there anymore.”

“Well I can find that out later. I did launch a tracer awhile back.” Twilight said calmly, turning and walking back to the cockpit.

“If it’s that advanced I’m sure it would notice a tracer.” I said as I followed her. Twilight stopped and turned to me, shoving the device she was holding in her hand in my face. I grumbled and shoved it out of my face. “Don’t do that.”

“You see these numbers?” Twilight asked, pointing to the rapidly rising numbers on the screen.

“Yes. What do they mean.” I said, already knowing she’d answer that regardless of it being asked or not.

“That… is speed.” Twilight said. The number was going up a thousand at a time, and I could already tell that it was counting in lightyears.

“I don’t think we can reach where it’s going…” I said.

“We can’t lose it either.” Twilight smiled. “And… Well.” She started, her eyes wandering around the ship.

“Well what?” I asked.

“And you know… this is a nice ship, especially if you’re a scientist that likes to observe and study.” Twilight continued, returning to gaze to me.

“I’m not the captain.” I said. “But I wouldn’t mind.”

“What the hell!” Spike’s voice shouted out. A white snake darted through the hall and around Twilight.

“And it begins.” I chuckled.

“So which room is mine?” Twilight smiled widely.