Howl to the Future

A dreamless sleep had overtaken Twilight, one that had lasted until this moment. She had no idea how long she was out, though she did notice a sudden change in temperature.

"Hey, Twilight... you up yet?"

"Mmmph..." she grumbled.

At that, however, she winced slightly. Something was wrong with her voice. It was its usual self, but more gruff... almost growl-like.

"Come on wolf-girl!"

At that, her eyes widened. And soon, it was all coming back to her. The forest, the figure in black, the being in her mind... though nothing beyond that. However, memories weren't the only thing coming into her vision:

Rainbow Dash and Spike were before her, both looking perplexed and relieved. They stood before a large, ornate bed, in a room she had slept in before: one of the Crystal Palace's guest rooms. Fancy and extravagant... and filled with crystal furniture.

"Ugh.... did you just call me wolf-girl?" Twilight groaned.

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash said, with a telling false, beaming smile.

Twilight shook her head, cringing. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Rainbow... this is not a good idea," Spike groaned.

"Er.... yeah..." Rainbow coughed.

Twilight took a deep breath. "What in the world happened? Is there something wrong with me? My voice sounds weird..."

"Really? I think it sounds pretty cool to be honest," Rainbow smiled.

Spike nodded in agreement. "Actually, yeah, it kind of does."

"Ugh! Will somepony please just tell me what's going on?!" Twilight grumbled.

With that, Spike and Rainbow Dash glanced at each other, their expressions stern.

"Mirror?" Spike asked.

"Definitely."

With that, Rainbow trotted over to a nearby nightstand, before retrieving a mirror for Twilight. She then approached the bed.

"I can just levitate it," Twilight sighed.

Rainbow Dash gulped. "Uhhh.... that could be a-"

"What the hay?! Why isn't my magic working!"

"Hoooo boy," Spike sighed.

With that, Twilight brought two paws up to her forehead, feeling around for a horn that was no longer there.

Her eyes widened. "MY HORN IS MISSING?!" She then gasped, glancing at the paws she had failed to notice. "Oh my... gosh. Why do I have paws?!"

Rainbow Dash winced again, smiling sheepishly, before finally holding up the mirror before her.

Twilight blinked, stunned. "This is... this is impossible. I must be dream-"

Spike pinched her.

"OUCH!"

"Sorry, knew that was coming," he chuckled.

"UGH, WHY ARE YOU TWO NOT TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY?!" Twilight roared, finally throwing the covers off her and getting on her feet.

"Woah!" Rainbow cried. "You might want to take it-"

Twilight's jaw nearly fell. "I feel so... light. Where are my hooves?!"

Suddenly, she darted in front of a mirror, nearly freezing in shock.

"Easy..." Rainbow sighed.

There was nearly a minute of awkward silence, before Twilight finally managed to stutter out:

"I'm... I'm a wolf?"

"Yeah..." Rainbow said. "But it's cool! Seriously. Even if Princess Celestia can't manage to fix this-"

Twilight twisted about, panic striking her face. "W-What?! You mean she's coming here?! To the Crystal Empire?!"

"She is," Rainbow nodded. "But uh... what's the big deal?"

Spike gave her a look. "You're sure you know her?"

"BIG DEAL?! I can't let her see me like this! She'll think I might have made a mistake with my magic! She'll never trust me as an alicorn again if that's the deal! Heck, maybe she won't even trust me as a unicor-"

"Deep breaths, Twilight," Spike said. "Remember what the princess told you."

Twilight shuttered, before doing just that.

"Look, nopony knows what happened to you and the others," Spike explained.

"T-The others are like this too?!"

"Er... yeah," Rainbow said.

"But- I don't think Princess Celestia is going to think it's you're fault. If anyone, it was that weird guy with the cloak."

Twilight's pupils dilated.

"It was a she," she said softly. "And she was just like me..."

Twilight was in the center of a tornado of snow

She struggled. She gasped.

The figure in black flung off her hood. Two white eyes were there to greet her, situated above a pointed snout.

"Either way it's no big deal," Spike shrugged. "Princess Celestia will know what to do."

Twilight nodded. "Yes... you're probably right..." She then gave him a suspicious look. "She did say she would be able to, right?"

Spike glanced away from her. "The letter we got said that we should uh... keep you comfortable, and that she'll be there soon."

"Ugh, why does she always have to be so... vague?!" Rainbow grunted.

"Uh huh..." Twilight narrowed her eyes. "What did the letter really say, Spike? What's missing?"

His right foot twitched ever so slightly: Twilight's cue that he was lying.

"Uh..."

Suddenly, he smiled brightly.

"Oh, and she said we should uh... keep you out of moon light! Yeah!"

"She wants me confined to the Crystal Palace, doesn't she?" Twilight groaned.

"Er... yeah," Rainbow said, scratching the back of her head. "It's uh... nothing serious. It's just that wolves have always been considered... you know... horror stories, and that goes double for the Crystal Ponies. Imagine if wolf-girls started to walk around town: even if they looked like you."

Twilight sighed. "I suppose that's a decent reason..." She then lifted an eyebrow. "Are the others awake, yet?"

Rainbow shook her head. "Still out. Sorry, Twi."

A rumble could then be heard coming from Twilight's direction. "Mph... I'm really hungry. Is there any food around here?"

"Er, yeah! Nearly forgot about him!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Who?

"Oh uh.. Shining... Shining brought a few apples over earlier. He was really worried about you... but I think he's dealing with something at the moment."

Twilight's eyes widened.

"Cadance!" she suddenly blurted out. "What happened to her? Is she alright?!"

Rainbow and Spike glanced at each other, before looking back at Twilight.

"She's... not feeling too well at the moment. She hasn't spoken a word since we brought her back... she just kind of... stares. Princess Celestia said she'd take a look at her."

"Then it's all my fault," Twilight said softly.

Rainbow Dash shot her a stunned expression. "How is it your fault?!"

"Because I was there! I had that crystal in my grasp! The one the wolf had... it must have been the source of what happened to Cadance!"

Spike shook his head. "Don't beat yourself up, Twilight, especially it was no more your fault than it was Shining's or Cadance herself."

"You make it sound so easy. 'Don't beat yourself up.' I'm sorry, but I just can't do that!"

Spike sighed slightly. "Look, Twilight. There's no reason to assume Princess Celestia won't know how to make her better. Just take it easy..."

"TAKE IT EASY?!" Twilight snapped. "The five of us were nearly mind-controlled, turned into wolves, and Cadance is in some weird coma! And you're telling me to take it easy?!"

Spike nodded with a sarcastic frown. "Yeah, pretty much."

"UGH!" Twilight groaned. "I need a damned apple... or maybe a tranquilizer dart..."

She winced in concentration, glancing at the basket of apples sitting on her nightstand, before nearly face-clawing herself.

"Oh, that's right, no magic..." she sighed.

She then grudgingly trotted over to them stand. Awkwardly, she reached her claws out and lifted one to her mouth, or snout as it was now. With two fanged teeth, she bit down.

She lowered her eyebrows.

"Why does this feel so weird?" she groaned.

"It's uh... your fangs," Spike noted.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Oh, great, I have fangs now, too?! Well, I hope wolves were omnivores then..."

With a bit of effort, she carved off a piece of the apple, before wincing in disgust.

"If I eat this, I'm sure I'm going to puke..." she winced.

"At least try it," Rainbow Dash said hopefully.

Twilight thought for a second, than nodded. "Alright... I'll try."

She swallowed hard... and waited. A minute of silent apprehension followed.

"So... all good?" Rainbow asked.

"No... all bad," she said in a disgusted tone, as her cheeks began to puff out green.

"Yeah... you're not looking too good," Spike noted.

Twilight groaned in pain, before making headway to the adjacent bedroom. "I'll uh... be right back."

Spike and Rainbow winced a second later.

"Alright, so you have to eat meat!" Rainbow said, smiling as she held a plate of imported elk meat up to a bed-bound Twilight. "It's no big deal. Lots of people eat meat. The griffins... the dragons - well, they like gems the most, but they can. I remember the first time I saw Gilda do it... it was kind of nasty, but I got used to it."

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "You're asking me to eat another animal."

"Hey, elk aren't exactly sentient..." Rainbow shrugged.

"Yes, but they do feel emotion. They live, breath, and die just like us. I've never been a fan of the griffin's habit of farming them. Imagine what the brother of this elk must have felt like when he was slaughtered? His mother?"

"Twilight..."

"No, I can't do it. I'll fast until Princess Celestia gets here. And there's no way the others would eat this, either. Fluttershy would resent anypony who did!"

"You mean anywolf, right?" Spike asked. "You are kind of-"

Rainbow elbowed him.

"Sorry, sorry!"

At that, Twilight took a deep breath, and then lifted herself out of bed again.

"But yes, Fluttershy would never-"

Suddenly, a distinct shriek could be heard echoing from somewhere else in the castle.

"Oh shoot!" Rainbow gasped, before darting towards the door. Before she exited, she turned towards Twilight. "I'll be back soon, Twilight. Take it easy, alright?"

With a few more flaps of her wings, she was gone.

Twilight then made her way to the door.

"Where are you going?" Spike asked.

"Where Rainbow is. I want to see what's wrong!"

Spike lifted a claw. "Uh... I'm not sure if you'd want to-"

Before he could finish, she was gone.

Spike groaned in annoyance. "Oh, son of a bitch."

He winced.

"Er... I mean... son of a..." He thought for a second, then shrugged. "Meh, screw it."

Twilight galloped down a red-carpetted, crystal laced corridor. The lack of the ability to teleport annoyed her, though she did notice a drastic increase in her galloping speed. And luckily, the corridors were completely vacant for the most part, save until she turned a corner towards the guest rooms.

"Hault!" A armored, crystal guard shouted, him and his partner blocking the way.

They quickly drew two shimmering swords, holding them in their teeth.

"What's the meaning of this?!" Twilight snapped. "Didn't Shining tell you I grew a little fur?"

"He did," the second guard grunted. "But we've received new orders from the Red Ranger. You are not to wander too far from your room."

"The Red Who?" Twilight said, lifting an eyebrow.

"The leader of the Empire's special operations."

Twilight let loose a sarcastic laugh. "This is ridiculous! Shining would never approve of that!"

The first guard narrowed his eyes. "He hasn't heard of it yet. He's... busy." He then took a menacing step forward, though Twilight held her ground. "You see, The Prince of Light is new to this world. We, however, are a thousand years behind the times. It's sad, but that gives us certain... advantages, in a way."

"Like what?!" Twilight snapped.

His partner snarled. "Because we know not to trust you, demon scum!"

"What did you just say?!"

The two guard's eyes widened. Twilight twirled about. Spike stood behind her, glaring at the guards.

"What are your names?" Spike grunted.

There was a moment of silence, before one of the guards shivered. "Uh... Private Sapphire."

He was quickly elbowed by the other. "Don't tell him your name, you idiot!"

"Too late," Spike smirked. "And unless you want your name spread about town by the Crystal Empire's number one dragon, I'd let my friend here pass. You do remember how she helped save your flanks, right? How badly do you want to keep your jobs?"

"Uh... yeah!" Sapphire quickly nodded. "Now that you mention it, I totally remember!"

"There's no indication that the real Twilight is still alive," the second snarled. "She's probably an impostor sent to infiltrate us... and then Equestria. You do at least care about them, don't you?"

"Yeah... totally doesn't sound like paranoia to me," Spike groaned, ignoring the comment. "Now, are you going to let us pass or not?"

At that, the first guard glanced at the other with a pleading expression on his face, nearly sweating bullets. The second sighed upon that.

"Fine, but if there's any indication she's a threat to the Empire-"

"Blah blah blah vague threat, blah blah blah stuff you won't carry out," Spike groaned, before signalling for Twilight to follow him. "Come on, Twilight. Wolf or not, you deserve to be with your friends."

Twilight gave him the first warm smile she could muster in days, before nuzzling him with her snout. "Thank you, Spike."

Spike merely smiled back, not even flinching. "Eh, I do what I can. Like saving an Empire, keeping you sane, and generally being awe-"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "You've been hanging around Rainbow for too long: come on!"

They darted passed the two guards, Twilight giving them a dirty look as she did, before arriving at the first of the guest rooms. A frantic voice could be heard from within.

"Nononono! I can't expected to be seen like this! What will ponies think?!"

"Oh come on, Fluttershy... it won't be so bad..."

"Never! NEVER!"

With that, Spike and Twilight nodded to each other before slowly entering her room. However, upon doing so, they immediately sweat-dropped.

"I'm sorry Rainbow, but this dress... I just can't wear it in public."

Standing before a mirror was a clearly wolf version of Fluttershy... in an overly sunny, girly dress.

"Ugh, sorry about this," Rainbow groaned, turning towards the newcomers. "I thought making her wear a dress would make her look a little less... imposing the stupid guards around here."

Twilight's jaw nearly dropped. "Wait... that's what that scream was about?"

"Oh no," Fluttershy said, smiling towards Twilight. "I uh... was a little startled about my new... image, but... it's alright, really."

Spike blinked, baffled. "So... you don't mind being a wolf?"

Fluttershy gave a chuckle. "Oh, of course not! What kind of hypocrite would I be to judge it? That would imply I was judging another creature as 'bad,' or 'frightening', when I try my hardest never to do that."

"B-But... b-but... wolves are feared on every corner of the continent!" Twilight gasped. "You don't care about that at all?!"

"Well... I do a little," Fluttershy squeaked. "But with my friends by my side... I won't worry too much about it. I just don't want my animal friends to be afraid of me, that's all. But they don't mind Barry the Bear..."

"Mmm... what about the eating meat part, though, Fluttershy?" Rainbow said skeptically.

Fluttershy winced. "That... I still don't know what to think about. But Princess Celestia will be here soon. I don't think I'll have to debate it much longer. I mean... I don't mind when other animals do it: they need to to survive. But me? I'm not sure..."

Rainbow gave a chuckle. "You are always full of surprises, you know that? And maybe being a wolf will help you with your assertiveness!"

Fluttershy shrugged. "I suppose, though I don't want to scare anypony." She then turned towards Twilight, smiling. "I'm being so selfish, though. How are you feeling, Twilight?"

Twilight gave a sarcastic chuckle. "Right now? Very confused. But... I'm glad you're alright. How are you feeling about not having wings, though?"

Fluttershy shrugged. "I was never good with them, anyway."

"Hah! Bullcrap!" Rainbow said, sticking her tongue out. "You were a master with them in a pinch."

Fluttershy blushed slightly. "Well... maybe I'll miss them a little. What about you, Twilight?"

She sighed. "I didn't have them for long. And I never liked flying, anyway... I prefer teleporting..." She winced slightly. "I hope I can somehow still do magic... but that... that white-eyed wolf was using a kind I've never seen. Who knows how long it could take to learn? If I can learn it at all..."

Fluttershy gave her a sympathetic look, before a knock suddenly came to the door.

"Come in!" she called.

She was met a slightly more gruff version of Applejack's voice. "Er, yeah... just don't be too shocked, Fluttershy."

"Yes, dearest. I assure you that we desire no harm."

"It's alright..." Fluttershy sighed.

"Okey doki lokey, we're comin' in then!" Pinkie called.

With that, a wolf version of Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack entered. Upon seeing Twilight and Fluttershy, they immediately gasped.

"You're furballs now, too?!" Applejack said.

At that, Twilight smiled awkardly."H-Heh, guess so."

The group stood still for a second, gazing at each other warily. Though Twilight knew of their status beforehand... seeing them in the flesh was a shock to say the least. On one, very guilty paw she was relieved they were in the same boat as her, though on the other... what were they feeling about it? Would they hate it?

It was Applejack who answered the question, though Twilight wondered, if for once, she wasn't being truthful.

"Well, life was starting to get boring, anyway."