Howl to the Future

Twilight Sparkle stood in a misty woodland. One much warmer, yet much darker than the one she was previously in. Scattered leaves strung across the ground illuminated by a ghostly moon above. The entire place felt like something out of primeval times... times long lost to everything but text books.

She immediately winced at that, a pain striking her head, a migraine that came out of nowhere, just like the figure in black.

When the pain subsided, she glanced about further.

Where am I? she thought.

"Good question."

Twilight turned about, her eyes widening. Yet they saw nothing.

She shivered slightly.

"Who's there?"

She then gave a groan.

"Ugh! Did Rainbow Dash spike my cider again?! If that's the case, why am I here? Unless this is just a dream, of course... but it's a pretty odd dream."

Her memories were a blur, though slowly coming back to her... she remembered tundra... Cadance falling... a figure in black...

Only a very distinctively female giggle came after. A shadow moved through the woods... circling her.

"Oh, how often I've heard that question. 'Who's there.' Though I usually never forget who asks it, because they never forget me... However, I'm not sure what 'cider' is, though."

"Are you sure that's not just your ego talking? Who are you?"

A hearty laugh came afterwards.

"You misunderstand me. But that's alright."

A beat. The figure continued to circle.

"So.... Twilight Sparkle, huh? Loving the name."

Twilight squinted her eyebrows.

"How do you-"

"I know a lot of things about you." Her voice lowered in tone, as if dramatically playing a menacing one. "Secrets that are mine alone to know..."

Twilight gave her a blank look. "Yeah. Uh huh. Name one!"

"You really want to go there? Alright... how about how you used to wet your bed every night before a big test?"

"I did not!" Twilight grunted.

The shadow in the woods cackled. "'Hey Twili, any waterfalls in your dreams last night'?"

Twilight's eyes widened.

"Gotcha."

Twilight quickly composed herself, a smirk slithering across her features.. "Please don't try to claim you're some sort of mind-reader. This is obviously just a dream or a hallucination. You are nothing but a string of neurons firing together to create a fictional being..."

The figure let out another giggle, this time closer.

"I'm not surprised you don't understand yet. Not that you're dumb or anything... no, I couldn't even lie about that."

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "If you really know me that well, you'll know that I'm a very curious mare..."

"Oh, we both know you're no ordinary mare," the voice chirped. "You've been granted a very special gift, just like my mother. Just like myself, in a manner of speaking."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Long life?"

"Not even that..." she whispered. "As you said yourself, you have the need for knowledge. Wisdom. Wisdom you now have beyond my wildest dreams. You know so much... yet have lived for such a short amount of time. It's fascinating, to be honest. Trading the pursuit of knowledge for the pursuit of happiness... few would chose to do so. All those stressful nights..."

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "They weren't that stressful. Reading brings me happiness."

"No, reading brings you a greater understanding. And sometimes... it's not always best to know about how many things in a certain forest can kill you... or how your own mind works to the detail. Yet... you began to realize this, but carried on, considering it your mission to impress Princess Celestia, and to better the world around you... the only thing that makes you truly happy. Besides, perhaps, your friends, of course. Yet... it brought you great sorrow, too, didn't it? Those two things combined together...."

Twilight growled at that. "I have no regrets."

There was a slight chuckle. "Are you sure? Like you said, those wings are a... 'package deal', after all."

Twilight opened her mouth to retort, but found it to be dry of words.

The voice gave another chuckle. "You are truly noble, Twilight Sparkle. Worthy to carry the title of 'Wisdom.' You no longer have to fear Draos, the unweaver... not for a long time. Another thing we have in common..."

Twilight took a deep breath. "... Thank you, I suppose. Now, will you please answer my question?"

The shadow gave a sigh. "Yes, you wonder where you are?"

She quickly nodded. "Yes! How did I get here, who are you, and what do you have to do with that... that thing I just saw, the one hiding under her cloak?!"

The figure chuckled. "By the moon, I love you! You know that?! Seriously!"

"What?!"

"So many questions... even now, you seek knowledge... and it's not just out of fear, but curiosity."

Twilight gave a shrug. "A bit of a dramatic way of saying it... but yes."

"You're so perfect for me! Unfortunately, not in the fun, kinky way, though... But believe me, I'm sure you'll understand in time why I have to do what I have to do.... and love it."

"And what is that?!"

Suddenly, the voice was given form.

She was same as the figure in black, though transparent and almost ghost-like, unlike Twilight herself. She held white fur longer than a pony's, and though she walked on four legs, those legs where much more slim, leading to a set of four, clawed paws. But her eyes... her eyes were the thing that transfixed Twilight the most. Orbs of purple, and giving a feint glow, illuminating the sharpened teeth she flashed whenever she spoke.

Twilight let loose a gasp. "You... you're just like her!"

She rolled her eyes. "Come on, I know you know what I am..."

Twilight grunted at this. "Yes, of course I know what you are! And now I'm pretty sure I am dreaming because of it your kind... are just legends. Yet... you seem so real. How is this possible?!"

The figure's cocky, playful expression immediately fell off her face.

"It's no nightmare, and yes... we did. All but one of us. One who has waited many moonrises for this day... the day when the moon would lose its sight... And that's the unfortunate part..."

Twilight took a slow step back, shivering. "W-Why is it unfortunate?"

The figure sighed. "Because, and to finally answer your question, we no longer have any physical forms... so to speak. We can't even exist as spirits. Just... remnants."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What happened... why did you choose to confine yourself to those crystals? That's where you rested, right?"

"That's too much to explain," she stated. "And there's too little time." She gave a solemn frown. "We can talk about it, I suppose... but I'm not sure if you'll want to in a moment or two."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"

"Let's just say... you were right about you being dreaming... in a way. And... I'm sorry, Twilight, but you're about to go through a few things I'll need to... accommodate myself."

"What are you talking about?!" Twilight yelped. "Are you trying to take over my mind?!"

The figure winced.

"Much more than that. Prepare yourself..."

"Ugh..."

Rainbow Dash slowly rose to her hooves, though the fact that every part of her body was aching didn't help. The world was a spinning blur, and seeing anything clearly was a problem.

She shook her head, bewildered at what had just happened, before glancing about. Unfortunately, what she was looking for was not there. The treks of her friends had been buried in a fresh layer of snow. To make matters worse, it was beyond dusk now, and the moon was her only light in the darkened tundra.

"Damn..." she muttered. "They could be anywhere..."

She continued to glance about, barely spotting a feint glow in the distance coming from what appeared to be a forest of pine trees.

Mph... she groaned. Well, this is just bucking great. I could spend years searching the North for them...

She then glanced back at the forest, pondering something.

I suppose I could check in there...

Before she could ready herself to move, however, her eyes caught movement in the distance. Five blackened figures were moving out of the woods... right towards her.

Or not!

"Hey!" she called, flying into the air with a beaming smile. "I'm over here! Come here you guys!"

Even from about fifty feet up, she could still barely make any details of them. They looked like five colored blurs... her friends...

Yet something seemed... off.

Every one of their eyes were glowing the color of their coat.

Wah?

She raised an eyebrow, shaking her head in disbelief.

Probably just my imagination, or the way the moon's reflecting off them.

At that, however, a new presence made itself known: one that was not her imagination.

"Tarak ri?"

She gasped, looking down. Out of nowhere stood the Figure in Black... her hood covered yet again.

"YOU!" Rainbow spat, soaring down towards her.

The last thing she saw was a blast of black energy... then the darkness hit her again.

"Tara rioletek?"

"Tria. Rainbow... Dash."

There was a laugh. A distinctively familiar laugh... yet strangely condescending.

"Taramak... Loyalty. Sia Truun daka mayo."

Rainbow could feel consciousness leaping back towards her... and a hint of anger, squelching the cold feeling on her belly coming from the snow.

Her eyes slowly opened, and the world was a blur once again. Six figures were standing around her. They were blackened by the quarter-moon behind them, but still held same strange illuminated eyes from earlier.

One quirked her head, the one with purple eyes. "She'all, tara blach. 'The Element of Loyalty.'"

This was followed by another of the orange figure's laugh. "Tara shova?"

"Bea serena... tara que..." a soft, soothing voice emanated from the one with yellow eyes.

A very familiar voice...

"F-Fluttershy?" Rainbow groaned.

The blur was beginning to fade, and now... she could see who was before her.

Her anger turned to rage.

"FLUTTERSHY!" she roared, her legs and wings failing her as she attempted to get to her hooves.

Standing before her were her five friends... but not as she knew them. All now held thick, fur coats. Their body's were slicker... more aerodynamic. Something Rainbow wished she had, though she wouldn't make the trade. Her friends were no longer ponies, innocent creatures of light, but predators of darkness she had only heard of in ghost stories. And most importantly:

They were without wings or horns.

The figure in black stood in the middle of them, and it was her who Rainbow focused her rage on.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO THEM!?" she hissed.

"... Gift."

Rainbow gave a sarcastic laugh. "Oh yeah, cute! A gift?! WHAT KIND OF GIFT IS THIS?!"

"Something no longer part of the world... until now," 'Twilight' suddenly said, narrowing her eyes. "And I'm afraid the time for talk is over. We were never ones to use our tongues much with ... other species."

Rainbow gasped at this.

"Y-You speak common?!"

And suddenly, she found herself forcefully flung into the air. A stream of energy had engulfed her, coming from the figure in black.

"HEY! GET YOUR WEIRDO MAGIC OFF ME!" Rainbow snarled, trying to shake with all her might, but finding herself completely immobile.

"..."

She turned to Twilight, a desperate look on her face. "T-Twilight... please don't do this! I don't know what happened to you, but I can help!"

"Enough talk from you," she hissed. "I never was that partial to her..."

"Ooooooh?" cooed 'Applejack.' "What about that one night after the Winter Blitz? You seemed very partial that night."

"What are you talking about!?" Rainbow Dash demanded. "What the hell is a Winter Blitz?!"

"It's a wolf holiday... or... at least I believe it's 'wolf' in your tongue, anyway," 'Twilight' stated. "Loosely translated from our word for it, meaning 'great hunter.'"

To Rainbow's chagrin, Twilight's tone was her usual one, though haughty in nature.

The proxy Twilight continued: "This is a strange language you have developed, though it much is strange in this new world, from what I see: the world that took us for granted."

Suddenly, it dawned on the feisty cyan mare. "You... you're not Twilight, are you? You're-you're wolves... legends... you just look like them, right?"

"Finally put two and two together, huh?" she smirked. "Though this is her body..."

"YOU STOLE HER BODY?!" Rainbow Dash roared, struggling once again.

"We all did, I'm sorry to say," 'Fluttershy' peeped.

Her look of disgust grew. "OH YOU SICK FREAKS! WHEN I GET OUT OF THIS STUPID BLACK CRAP YOU'VE GOT ME ON I'M SOOOOOO GOING TO KICK YOUR FURRY FLANKS!"

"And hurt your friends in the process?" 'Twilight' said, lifting an eyebrow. "Weird talk coming from the Element of Loyalty..."

"SHE CAN TAKE IT IF IT MEANS YOU LEAVING HER BE!"

"By the moon, her voice is hurting my ears," 'Rarity' spoke up, glancing at Twilight. "Could you be a dear and silence her for the rest of the trip?"

"Certainly," 'Twilight' smirked.

"TRIP?! WHAT TRIP?! WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME?! I'M DEFINITELY NOT DOWN FOR A SPECIES MAKEOVER! I'M HAPPY BEING A PEGASUS, THANK YOU!"

"Yes, and one of the fastest... honorable, really. However, you're the last piece of the puzzle..." Twilight replied, before narrowing her eyes. "We've been waiting for you. All of you. The link you have with the world... is beautiful, to say the least."

Rainbow opened her mouth to yell something more, half-expecting the spell to be performed before she could even get a word off... yet neither the spell or the words came: a new voice had entered the scene, snarling:

"Please... let her continue. The rest of you as well. I'm all ears."

Rainbow grinned. There, standing before the group of six wolves was Shining Armor. And for once, he had something to match the name. His entire body, save for the head, was covered with silver, shimmering metal. A more pissed off expression couldn't be on his face.

The group stood still for a second, looked at each other, and than burst into laughter.

"Tara mia?!"

"Se teal! Hahaha!"

"Moi dreashi!"

"Tehe! Tre Sia!"

Shining narrowed his eyes.

"You have three seconds to vacate those bodies... and two more to turn tail like Sin'Sal herself was chasing you."

The group hushed itself at that. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. Who's Sin'Sal?

"Hit a nerve?" Shining smirked.

"These bodies are ours," 'Twilight' growled. "Your kind has failed to keep the world in balance. We have returned for that purpose. Either join us for the sake of equilibrium or keep out of claw's reach!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but even if I did, I wouldn't care," Shining said. He then let loose a sigh, closing his eyes. "So... in that case... I'm sorry about this, Twili."

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Shining released a bright beam of purple into the sky.

A flare.

To the group's many growls and hisses, twenty flashes of purple light emanated around him, which once dimmed revealed a platoon of Crystal Empire Troopers. They were of all three pony races, the non-unicorns wielding spears, crossbows, and various other weapons.

Shining took a menacing step forward, glaring at the figure in black.

"I know you did this... and I'm willing to bet neutralizing you will undo it. Am I right?"

The five former Elements snarled at this, showing their bright, white fangs, before darting in front of the figure, who Rainbow now noticed was much taller than the rest.

"You want to hurt her, you'll have to hurt your sister, Shining Armor!" 'Twilight' snapped. "Ponies don't have the balls for that! They never had the balls for that!"

Shining chuckled, to which 'Twilight' raised an eyebrow at.

"What's so funny?"

Shining smirked. "You're right: we were never partial to hurting anyone, though this armor isn't just for show..."

He turned towards the unicorn group in his platoon.

"Lancer Squadron, prepare stunning spells. Everypony else: save your ammo for the figure in black."

"By your will, Prince of Light!"

"Don't you dare!" 'Twilight' hissed. "Harm her and your sister will never swim in light again! Your world will fester and die without our wisdom, and without the will to keep the wilderness in check!"

At that, the she took a step forward, pushing through her kin.

Shining did the same, aiming his horn at her while gritting his teeth.

"W-What are you doing?" squeaked 'Fluttershy' to the figure.

"Yeah! Come back here, we'll protect you!" 'Applejack' yelped.

It merely shook its head, before turning towards 'Twilight' and whispering:

"Teya val. Ma'kial soonay Koiandress."

'Twilight' shuttered, before giving a solemn nod.The figure then turned towards Shining and nodded towards him. Perhaps out respect... or perhaps to throw him off. Rainbow couldn't tell. All she knew was that one second the figure was there, than the next: poof, gone with a puff of black smoke.

Despite this, Rainbow's temper flared to life yet again, a vein pulsing in her forehead. Released from the figure's spell, she sped over to Shining's side, glaring daggers.

"Damnit... what in the world did she just say?!"

"I'm not sure," Shining grunted, before glaring at the five wolves before him. "But the rest of you! Do. Not. Move!"

Wincing for a second, his horn began to glow again.

"This spell will prevent teleportation, so don't even try it!"

However, the five were not moving. Instead, they seemed to be frozen in time.

Rainbow shivered. Her friends... her soul mates. She had seen them in danger many times, but this was different... she had seen them taken by darkness set upon by Discord, the madness of King Sombra's spells, but their minds were always their's to control: and their bodies. Even if they could be freed of their puppet masters, what were they now? Could it be fixed? She knew wolves were predators: aggressive, territorial predators who needed meat to survive, but... would that make them outcasts? Would society accept them? They would still be the same, right?

Then, after what seemed to be an hour in a second, Rainbow's tension was relieved by a single word:

"S-Shi-ning..."

He lowered his eyebrows, his eyes changing from fury to brotherly love instantly. "T-Twili... that you in there?"

"Yeah!" Rainbow cheered. "I knew you weren't gone, Twili! Fight her off! Whoever that bitch is inside you!"

Twilight was still frozen, save her head. She blinked in shock, gazing at her paws, before looking downward at her paws.

"W-What... am I?"

She was glancing at her paws, shivering slightly.

With that, her and her four other friends collapsed.