In the beginning, there was only darkness. Here, in the time before stars and suns, shadows traced intricate flowing patterns of nothingness, stretching long and unhindered through the blind universe. Then, in a magnificent burst, light was born; it tore apart the shadows, conquering darkness' domain in a blazing wave of life with the shadow powerless to stop it.
But in the end, light could only hold so much ground at one time.
These opposing energies became like tidal forces, crashing together in a battle for dominance. Light chased the darkness with unstoppable
tenacity, always seeking to take more and more, while the shadows were content to flow back into the spaces light left behind. And from these warring energies, two beings were born from the deepest wells; a stallion and a mare, pulling themselves into existence from their respective birthrights. The shadowed stallion was a monstrous beast, massive and intimidating, but with the heart of a dreamer and the gentleness of a falling feather. He personified the Void, where everything was pure and calm, black and white, simplicity. The mare was white as a dove, with deep dark eyes and the fire of a thousand suns burning in her chest. Her name was Arethusa, and she represented dynamic change, vibrant life and the warmth of a star. She was vicious and determined compared to her rival; she pursued the stallion relentlessly, and in turn he always sought to outrun her smaller form.
As the two became more confident in their newly solidified forms, their territories expanded exponentially, reaching out farther and farther with no fear of the unknown. After all, they were the only beings that belonged here; it was lonely and cold, even as the universe expanded alongside them. That horrible feeling even unsettled Void, who himself was frigid to the touch and so quiet one could forget he was there. Despite their war, he found himself grateful that he had another being to share this endless space with, even if she sought to eradicate him. Something, at least, was better than nothing.
A millenia passed, and wherever they ran in the cosmos, things began to change. The universe rumbled with with the thundering of their hooves turning up the cosmic "soil", sending shockwaves into the farthest realms of the dark. Void always came first, just a few lengths ahead of the bright, fiery mare. In his wake the disrupted shadows swirled and took solid form, the gravity of his hoof prints and guiding brush of his tail forming planets, comets, and satellites; just lifeless rocks floating in the emptiness. Behind him came Arethusa, flames licking at her legs as she tried to catch him; from those sparks came stars and galaxies, filling the cosmos with light and many of the celestial bodies with life. Unbeknownst to them, in their intense rivalry to overwhelm the other, they filled their universe with beings to flourish under the light of stars, giving way to something much, much greater than themselves.
----
Fire lit her eyes, flowing through her veins; the darkness tried to consume her, but there was hunger in her flames.
There wasn't a time before the race between the two deities, that Arethusa could remember. It was if one day she simply woke up and the fire in her heart jumped from a spark to a roaring flame. She could remember blinking at the blackness around her, as the cold darkness nipped at her legs; and a deeply unsettling feeling grew in her chest. For awhile it was nothing but her and the flame in her heart, a small pestilent being that she grew fond of and the warmth of the fire led her to despise the emptiness around her.
It was then she saw him, a stallion as dark as the void around them, a mysterious and tenacious being. The light mare narrowed her eyes and snorted at him in aggressive curiosity. Arethusa had never encountered another and she was tentative of his existence; but the fire inside her rose in resent. Without warning the mare pinned her slight ears back and catapulted into a gallop in the direction of Void. The stallion snorted in surprise and sprang away from her, though she could've sworn she saw a glimmer in his eye before he tore away. The fire inside her made her want to fight him, though a small part of her brain wanted to understand him since he was the only other being.
The longer they ran the more Arethusa started to see around them, it was if the pounding of her hooves caused light to scatter across the darkness, bringing chaos to life among the stillness of the void. At times it felt as if though their journey had a greater meaning, as the pair watched things sprout into life around them; yet at the same time the fire inside Arethusa's heart pushed her after the stallion with malice. There were times when they would stop, exhausted and admire their work; they would never stop far apart and Arethusa felt more connected to the stallion than anything. The farther they traveled, the more she wanted to catch him and the more determined she became; each time they would start again she willed her legs to move faster.
At times her determination and the speed in which she would leap after Void would lead her to almost catch him, though with a whinny he would always prove faster than her. In those moments anger would burst from her smaller frame and fire would scatter across the darkness, and Arethusa could feel it eating away at the space around them. It infuriated her that she could never catch him, even in the moments in which she felt the fibers of his tail flicking her nose. It didn't take long for the mare to realize that they were sometimes running in places they had been before and she was chasing after the darkness because she longed for it's familiarity.----
But Void did admit, he was very much growing tired of these games.
Against all of his instincts and better judgement, he stopped running.
At first, Arethusa blew by him in a blaze of glory, pale form a blur against the inky sky of the cosmos. It was a screeching halt that followed an indignant squeal, and she turned back to look at him with the utmost confusion. Why had he stopped? She stood there for a moment, trying to figure him out when realization hit her; he must have wanted a battle! Suddenly the mare's ears pinned and she snorted, nostrils flaring as she charged at him full speed, stopping just short of slamming into the much larger stallion. But he still did not budge, just stared at her with calm, kind eyes. Again she was dumbfounded, and she slowly stood straight, searching his light eyes for any kind of emotion or hint of his thoughts.
There was a long silence that spanned between them, each wondering who would make the first move. Void watched Arethusa carefully, muscles tense, waiting for her to attack him. He did his best to relax, to give off an air of calm and confidence, and it seemed to be working. Arethusa's dark eyes reflected her curiosity, and he watched with baited breath as her fire slowly stilled from a roaring flame to a steady glow, gently flickering behind the darks of her eyes. It was mesmerizing, and he found himself wanting to rest in its warmth, rather than running from its light. He'd grown quite fond of the mare, he admitted; where there had once been fear, there was now familiarity, and he found himself craving her.
It was almost in slow motion that he slowly extended his head, taking her by surprise. She skittered softly, unsure what game he was playing now; he was so relaxed, so gentle, that she wasn't quite sure what to think anymore. She calmed ever so slightly, letting him come closer, her demeanor becoming more curious and her aggression fading. Suddenly their muzzles touched, just the gentlest of contact, and it was like the entire universe fell into place. In the blink of an eye they were bonded together by their energies; one was not meant to destroy the other, nor was one meant to rule the entirety of the universe. As one they looked around at the galaxies, stars, and life they'd created together, and it occurred to them that they were meant to relish in their symbiosis. Suddenly Void gave a small buck of joy, a move very outside of his character, and took off towards the nearest starcloud. It took her a moment, but Arethusa wasn't far behind the shadow stallion, braided tail whipping in their created wind.
This time, though, instead of a chase, they galloped side by side, retracing their hoofprints back to where it all started. After all, they had a millennia to explore and enjoy the worlds they had built.
