The Light of a New World

“You have the mark of the elders. Who are you young one?”

The wolf's voice was in my head and it sound deep and gruff. I was too shocked to speak, the thought of a wolf that can communicate with me telepathically was a bit too much to handle and eventually the wolf that spoke grew irritated.

“Speak, pony!” His voice sounded louder in my head and I winced. I snapped myself out of my thoughts and noted that the wolf wanted an answer. I was thinking clearly enough to think of way I could answer him. After a couple seconds I decided to go with amnesia.

“ Oh, s-sorry. I was j-just trying to think. I can't seem t-to remember my n-name.” I said with the ever present fear rolling off my tongue with ease as I kept my vision on the sharp teeth and claws.

How I was able to tell I do not know but, the wolf had a look of understanding on his face which made me believe he thought I was telling the truth.

“Where did you come from?” I noticed the irritation in his voice was all but gone and I could relax enough to stop stuttering.

“From over there in that clearing through those trees. I woke up there with no knowledge of how I got there.”

“I see. My name is Hollow Oak, I am the Alpha of the timber wolves.” - He gestured to his left (my right) - “This is my mate Maple Berry and – He gestured to his right (my left) – Spruce Sapling, my pup.” As he introduced himself and his family I could feel myself visibly relax and comfortable enough to ask a couple questions that have been on my mind since he began talking to me.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Hollow Oak, as well as your mate and your pup.” I gave a slight bow to ensure they could trust me. And as I raised myself I asked what was on my mind. “If I may ask Hollow Oak, why is it that you did not simply attack me earlier and still are not right now? Also how are we able to understand one another?”

Hollow Oak seemed to know this question was coming as he gave a large toothy smile and answered my question with ease.

“I was going to attack, however, I noticed that you hold the mark of the elders on your backside which stopped me from doing so. That same mark allows me to communicate with you the same way we timber wolves do, through telepathy.”

His answer confused me. One mark can do all that? I needed more information.

“What is the mark of the elders and why do I have it?”

“Follow me young pony.” Hollow Oak answered before he turned around and started to walk away. I was hesitant to follow but, something in my heart told me to and I did so.

We walked through the bushes that wolves had originally emerged from and walked for about 30 minutes, going through thorn bushes, low hanging branches and the occasional bee's nest. By the time we arrived at the cave where these timber wolves lived I had gathered myself a fair number of scratches, stings and bruises. As we entered Maple Berry ran ahead, no doubt to tell the others that I was on my way in. When we walked a little further in Hollow had stopped causing me to stop before I bumped into him. There in front of me looked to be about 20-30 timber wolves of various sizes. Hollow Oak stepped forward and addressed the crowd.

“My fellow timber wolves! The pony who bears the mark of the elders has returned!” To my surprise all of the timber wolves in the crowd cheered and my head was beginning to hurt from all the voices. Hollow Oak calmed the crowd down again and spoke with more authority. “He does not know who he is as of right now but, he has requested of us to help him find the nearest village. He will stay but, not for long. I do not wish for him to be pestered with the various questions you may have. There will be time for that when he settles down in the Base.” I didn't know what he meant by the Base, but I had a good feeling about it.

Hollow Oak gestured for me to follow him again and I did without hesitation. Deeper inside the cave was an amazing sight. The cavern was humongous with many dens on either side and even through the middle. The timber wolves had built themselves a village! 'Woah! This is incredible!' I thought to myself. Hollow must have seen the silent amazement on my face and did what I assumed was the wolf version of a chuckle.

“Amazing isn't it? We have managed to hide our village from the ponies for many years.”

“Yeah, it sure is.” Was all I managed to say.

Hollow Oak led to the centre of the village to a statue of a pony with the same tattoo on its flank that I had on mine. He stood staring at it for a moment before turning to me and giving me the explanation I asked for back at the stream.

“The mark of the elders, was given to a pony many, many years ago by the Elder Wolves. The pony who was given the mark understood the qualities of the wolf far better than any other pony who stepped into the Everfree Forest before him. He was of the age of maturity but, did not have the mark on his backside to prove it. Saddened by this, he ventured into the forest and was found by the Elder Wolves. Scared of the Elders as he was, he tried to talk to them, in much the same way you did to me.” I was amazed by this story. The pony in the story sounded so much like me as a human. “The Elder Wolves were surprised that they could understand this pony and they decided to talk to him. They asked him why he was wandering in their territory in the Everfree and he told them his story. He was saddened that he did not receive his mark upon reaching maturity, so he ventured into the forest to think. The pony explained that he was always different. He had the qualities that most ponies didn't have. He was loyal, caring of his loved ones, protective, and at times aggressive. The Elder Wolves were surprised that this young pony not only could understand us but, described himself as one of us as well. The Elder Wolves then invited the young pony into this village and show him the same statue that I am showing you. He asked the pony if he would care to have the mark on the statue as his mark of maturity. The pony accepted and from this day on once every generation a pony who understands the qualities of a wolf  gains the mark of the elders on their backside and gains the ability to not only communicate with us but, also be accepted into the pack as family. The pony who receives this mark is chosen to be the one who we go to when we must speak with the ponies. You are the first in over 1000 years to be chosen to bear the mark of the elders.” As Hollow finished his speech I was stunned, that was a great story and made me think of my life as a human and I could definitely relate to the pony in the story. I decided I had been silent long enough so I gave him my thanks for the explanation.

“Thank you Hollow Oak. That was quite the explanation. I feel that I am beginning to understand who I am now.”

“That is good to hear, pony. Come it is time you settled in to the Base.”

'Hmm, pony. So that's what I am, I guess I am kinda short to be a horse.' I thought and without another word Hollow Oak led me through his village back the way we came. It was when we were about halfway back to the entrance that I noticed a commotion up ahead. Four timber wolves were surrounding what looked like a female pup that was significantly smaller than the others. Feeling my anger rise I turned to Hollow Oak.

“Hollow Oak what is going on over there?” I gestured to the group of timber wolves to my right.

Hollow looked at the group for a moment and turned back to me as he said with pain evident on his face “That group must be terrorizing that pup for being the runt of the litter. In a pack the runt is considered merely another mouth to feed, which I find to be absurd. But, as the Alpha I must follow pack rules as well.” He then turned to me and must have seen the look on my face as he said “You may intervene if you must, but their may be consequences.”

That was all I needed as I trotted right up to them with a bold determination and a scowl on my face.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!” The four timber wolves stopped beating the smaller one and looked at me with irritated expressions.

“You stay out of this pony! You wouldn't want to get hurt!” Snarled a wolf with leaves going down his head and back looking like a crude mohawk whom I assumed was the leader of the four. Going back to what I heard about school yard bullies I remembered the fastest way to break up a band of bullies was to confront the leader who was essentially the biggest and the toughest. With that in mind I trotted right up to the one with the mohawk and looked him in the eyes with the same scowl on my face and a slight growl emanating from from my throat.

“Why don't you pick on someone more your size hmm? Or are you too afraid that you can't take on anything that isn't the size a pup?” I could tell he wasn't expecting an act of such aggression to come from a pony by the look of slight shock on his face.

The leader of the bullies stepped back and with no more than a growl readied himself in a position to attack. At the exact moment he leaped at me something in my mind clicked and I instantly knew that one of the most sensitive spots on a canine was the nose. As the wolf closed the distance I easily sidestepped him and swept his front paw from under him, grabbed his snout and forcefully slammed it into the ground. The reaction was immediate. I heard a slight crack and a yelp and the wolf was unconscious. I looked at the other three wolves with fury easily read on my face and they backed away then turned and ran with their tails between their legs. As I turned to the spot where the pup had been laying on the ground. I found she wasn't there and then I felt I slight pressure on my right foreleg. Looking down I noticed it was the pup clutching my leg in a fierce hug. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes.

“T-Thank you, pony.” She said with a small smile and a slight stutter from her crying.

I looked down and removed the look of aggression from my face and gave a smile of my own.

“You are welcome pup. Tell me what is your name?” I asked with the softest voice I could muster.

“R-Rose P-petal” She answered weakly.

Just as I was about to say something else Hollow Oak had joined me by my side and spoke before I could.

“Impressive, that was a great display of compassion and agility you have shown me. And it seems this runt has grown a bond of sorts with you. Congratulations she will now accompany us to the Base.” What he said both surprised and confused me as the three of us began to walk out of the cave and back into the forest. Unfortunately meaning more scratches and bruises for me.

“What do you mean bond? And why does she have to come with us?” I questioned trying not to sound rude.

“Wolf pups are very impressionable and will usually cling to any who show them their first sign of compassion and caring, just from that small act of courage you showed her that you are willing to protect her from harm. Thus she will not leave your side and is now your responsibility.” Hollow Oak answered quite bluntly.

I looked back at the pup following behind us and noticed she now held her head up with a toothy smile planted firmly in place. I had to smile at the sight.

“Thank you for explaining that to me Hollow Oak. I will do my best for her.” I stated and we continued walking through the forest that Hollow Oak called the Everfree, in silence.

We walked for a good 45 minutes when we came upon a hill. We climbed over it and as we stood on the top of the hill I noticed a small cottage with many homes for animals surrounding it. I looked to the left a ways and saw another slightly larger cottage almost directly inside the forest with trees on every side other than the front. There was a path that lead to an enormous apple orchard and veered off to what I assumed was the path to the village. When we stopped Hollow Oak turned to me again.

“Well, pony it was interesting to meet the new bearer of the mark, but this is where I leave you and your pup. I am sure you can make your way to the Base safely on your own. If you follow that path it will lead you to the village. Farewell.” He finished and before I could say anything he turned and bolted back into the Everfree.

I turned to Rose Petal and smiled. “Come on Rose, I am sure we are both very tired after today. Let's head inside.” She looked up at me and nodded.

We walked down the hill and past the cottage with the many animal homes and I wondered who lived there. 'Must be an animal caretaker, with that many animal homes' I thought to myself as I reached my own cottage. The place seemed like it had been abandoned for some time. The wood looked old and the door looked flimsy. Other than that the cottage looked pretty good. There were three windows at the front. I assumed one was on the main floor and the other two were bedrooms. As I stepped inside I made the mistake of not watching where I was walking and didn't notice the stairs that led to the basement as I stepped aside to allow Rose Petal inside. This resulted in me losing my footing and tumbling down the stairs reaching the bottom landing head first. The last thing I saw before I passed out, again, was the sight of Rose Petal bolting out the front door.