Newfound Families

Chapters

Exile
The Hatching
Confrontation and Exploration

Exile

The sun rose over the horizon, banishing the night and bringing forth a new day. Deep in the Everfree Forest, the first rays of dawn landed upon a pack of wolves and one in particular stood out from the rest. Slightly smaller than a timber wolf, he has a silver coat with the very tips of his hair midnight blue in color. Blue stripes run the length of his muzzle from his eyes to his nose. He slowly rose from his slumber and opened his amber-yellow eyes. This is Zeviathan, eldest son of the pack alpha Noctis.

Zeviathan watched as the rest of the pack awoke from their slumber. The pack consisted of individuals that ranged in age from young pups to mature adults. Zeviathan himself was on the cusp of adulthood and ready to prove himself to his father. But he still had his fears. He was nothing like the rest of the pack, never was, and they all knew it. He wasn't as inclined to violence as the others and never fought just for the sake of fighting. Whereas other wolves would spar in bouts of strength, Zeviathan secluded himself from it. Even the color of his coat distanced him from the pack. Silver fur was not common among wolves, especially not with the additional blue tips. He stood alone in a sea of brown, tan, gray, and even black.

As if this wasn't enough, Zeviathan's past was riddled with disappointment and failure. The times he had gone hunting often gone terribly wrong, whether he alerted the prey by snapping a twig or rustling the leaves of the nearby brush. Every time it ended the same way-with a failed hunt and a very disappointed father. But Zeviathan was determined to not let that happen today. He felt that today was going to a very important turning point in his life.

By this time, the rest of the pack was wide awake. The pups frolicked about, chasing each other in a never-ending cycle. Mothers kept watchful eyes on their children. Noctis was busy gathering up a group for today's hunt. Once assembled, there were seven wolves, including Zeviathan, prepared to leave. With a mighty howl, Noctis lead the group into the forest in search of prey.

The sun beat down on Zeviathan as he traversed the rugged landscape. He weaved in and out of the multitude of trees and vines that obscured both his vision and movement. He was hot and tired. Ahead of him, the rest of the hunting party were fairing slightly better. Yet they continued. For the past hour they had been following the trail left by a herd of deer. Their scent filled the air and acted like a compass, allowing the wolves to zero in on the deer. The trail led to a clearing a short distance away from the outskirts of the forest. It was a meadow full of flowers and butterflies. It could be described in one word: beautiful. At the center was the herd of deer, resting in the midday sun. This posed a problem to the hunters as there was no cover close enough to allow for them to sneak up undetected. So instead, the plan was to split up. Noctis and three of the group would drive the deer into the tree line where Zeviathan and the final two would be waiting in ambush.

Now Zeviathan was laying close to the ground concealed within the brush. He waited in anticipation, each and every fiber of his being yearning to take action. But he maintained control over himself, lest he make a mistake and compromise the entire hunt. So he continued to wait.

A sudden commotion caught his attention. His ears twitched in response. He carefully maneuvered to allow him to view what was occurring. The herd of deer was rushing straight toward the ambush area with vigor. Giving chase behind them were the rest of the wolves. The thundering of hooves echoed in his ears like the pounding of a drum. Second by second the herd drew closer. Zeviathan knew the time was nearing. The muscles in his legs tensed in preparation for a chase. He slowly emerged from his cover in order to get a better vantage. That's when his luck changed. He was so focused on the task ahead that he failed to notice the twig in his path. A single step and the twig broke with a loud SNAP! The deer, now startled by the sudden noise, changed direction. Without hesitation Zeviathan darted after them, determined to rectify his mistake.

He relentlessly pursued his quarry. His heart beat erratically and his paws ached from the constant pounding they were receiving. He was panting heavily and reaching the point of exhaustion. Fortunately he was nearing a straggler that was just within reach. With one final burst of speed he leapt. However, he misjudged the distance and ended up getting kicked in the head. He was sent flying back and impacted a tree. Zev collapsed in pain and sorrow. He had failed yet again.

He remained there recovering from the blow before slowly rising. Dazed, he stumbled back to the clearing. The others were waiting for him and they did not look happy. Noctis strode forward, his black fur ruffled and coated in dirt. His eyes radiated pure disappointment and, for the first time, great anger. His gaze burned deep into Zev's being. Noctis took one final step before issuing a long, low snarl. "Zeviathan, you have shown incompetence yet again. Your continued failure has left me with no choice. You are a hindrance to this family and must be dealt with accordingly. You, my son, are hereby banished from the pack."

Zeviathan's heart sank at his father's words. He never expected for this to happen and certainly not for it to be his father's doing. He knew the fate of those exiled from pack life; they never survived for very long, falling to starvation or other predators. "But father…."

Another snarl "My word is final. I had high hopes for you my son." Noctis turned with the others towards home. "Do not return."

Zeviathan followed regardless "Please father, reconsider. You don't….."

Noctis quickly turned and snapped at Zeviathan, the fury in his eyes at its peak. "Do not take another step forward. You are no longer allowed within my territory."

Still Zeviathan continued forward, hoping beyond hope that this could be fixed. "Father…."

Noctis jumped straight for Zeviathan, sending him to the ground. As Zeviathan struggled to his feet, Noctis rushed forward and bit his tail. He howled in agony and disbelief. Noctis proceed to yank his tail and send him flying yet again. Again and again Noctis attacked Zev,iathan biting him on the neck and legs. Zeviathan tried to fight back but his previous exhaustion and shock left him utterly helpless against his father. All he could do was defend himself as best as possible. By the end of the assault, Zeviathan was in bad condition. His front right paw was sprained and his tail hung limp, presumably broken. He had multiple bite marks all over his body and a nasty cut across his left eye. His coat was now half red from blood which was spilling rapidly from his wounds. Around him was a pool of blood.

Zeviathan collapsed from exhaustion. He just watched as his father approached him. He offered no resistance as Noctis grabbed his tail and dragged him to a nearby cliff and proceeded to toss him down the thirty foot incline.

Zeviathan impacted the cliff and rolled to the bottom. He could feel every rock and thorn that lodged into his side. He received a large gash across his stomach and opened up new injuries. By the time he reached the bottom, he was barely conscious. Still he stood up, or, as best he could. Looking behind him, he could see a trail of blood marking his slide down the cliff.

Despite his condition, he searched for any kind of help. A few minutes later and Zeviathan was fairing poorly. He was losing blood rapidly and near the point of no return. Each step was excruciatingly painful on his sprained paw despite the carefulness of his steps. A few steps later and he was at his end; he collapsed.
As he lay there, he recalled some of the nicer times of his life. One in particular brought a smile to his face. It was the last time he ever saw his sister Crystal.
…...
A much younger Zeviathan and another wolf, around two years younger, were happily playing in the very same clearing where Zeviathan was attacked by his father. It was bright and sunny and cheerful. Numerous butterflies of varying colors fluttered about.
Zeviathan was busy fleeing from the other wolf, his expression conveying happiness.
"Come on Crystal, you have to do better than that."

Crystal was slightly smaller than Zeviathan by a few inches and was more lean in her build. She had a snow-white coat and deep violet eyes. She ran after him, the same cheery mood her brother had mirrored on her face. "I'm trying big brother but your just so fast."

He held in a chuckle "You can do it Crystal, I know you can."

Crystal, encouraged by her brother's words, sped up and pounced on his back, sending them both crashing to the ground in a fit of giggles. "I did it, I did it!"

Zeviathan smiled at his younger sister before nuzzling her affectionately "I knew you could." He got down on his knees and motioned for Crystal to climb on his back "Climb up, there's something I want to show you."

After climbing aboard and making sure she had a secure grip, Crystal asked, "Where are we going big brother?"

He responded with a smile, "You'll see"

She responded with a humph and a simple, "fine."

Zeviathan carried his sister to part of the forest she had never seen. The grass was lush and green, the trees sturdy and tall. A small river ran by before falling over a ledge forming a miniature waterfall. By this time the sun was setting. The sky was now bathed in a palette of orange, yellow, and red. The sun was reflected in the water, distorted by ripples but still magnificent in appearance. Crystal was absolutely stunned by the beauty of this place. "This place is amazing," she expressed.

Zeviathan nodded his head agreement, "I know. I discovered this area only recently and decided to share it with you, the best sister I could ever hope for."

She smiled gratefully at her brother and embraced him. "Thank you, you're the best brother I could ever hope for."

"Thank you Crystal, I'll make sure always be there for you no matter what. I'll never let anything happen to you, ever. I promise."

"I know you will big brother. You're the greatest."

The two siblings sat side by side watching as the sun continued to descend.
…...
Zeviathan was in tears at the memory, both happy and sad. He couldn't remember a time he was happier then he was at that moment. But his sister….Crystal…she had gone missing. No one knew how or why just that she was gone. His only sister….gone. The worst part was that he had broken his promise to always look out for her. That guilt was more painful than any wound he had ever received. Now he lay here dying. He was suffering not only from the physical damage but also the mental strife that has built up over the years: his shortcomings and failures with the pack, his broken promise to his sister, and, more recently, his exile by his own father. A cold feeling ran all along his body now and he was slowly losing the fight to remain conscious. His eyesight began to fail and blackness slowly obscured his vision. As he slipped from the world his last thoughts were of all that had transpired in his life and how many he had failed. 'Father, Crystal…I'm sorry.' The last thing he saw was a yellow blur heading for him as he finally faded into unconsciousness.

The Hatching

Fluttershy was just walking through the forest, enjoying nature and playing with some cute critters, when she heard the high pitched whine. "Oh dear, that sounded like a critter got hurt! Oh I hope they're all right." she said to herself in barely audible voice as she galloped towards the distressed animal.

After a short time, Fluttershy found the critter who sounded in pain, but it was no critter. A medium sized wolf lay before her, unconscious, bloody, and gravely injured. Fluttershy hadn't seen many wolves before but she could tell this one was unique, mainly due to the blue in its fur and the stripes along it's snout. "Oh my goodness, what happened?" Fluttershy said, the motherly concern she had towards all animals rising to the fore.

Fluttershy could see some immediate injuries, a gash along the face, multiple bite marks, and several other things. She knew that if the wolf stayed here without help it would most surely succumb to its injuries. So, with great difficulty and a lot of rearranging, Fluttershy managed to get the silver colored wolf onto her back. She may not have been the strongest pony in Ponyville, but she was determined to help this poor creature.

Struggling all the way, Fluttershy eventually made it back to her cottage. She slowly made her way upstairs and into a spare room she kept, carefully laying the injured wolf down. Fluttershy was exhausted, she didn't normally carry wolves out of the forest and the exertion was taking effect. "Can't rest now, I have to bandage him up..." she said fighting back the urge to stop and rest.

She found her medical kit downstairs and set about patching up the wolf, stopping the bleeding, disinfecting the wounds, and stitching the gash along his face closed. "There we go, you're all patched up now Mr. Wolf!" Fluttershy said to her self happily.

Now that her job was done, Fluttershy took a closer look at her new house guest. She noticed first off that he wasn't too big, about the same size as herself, and the blue in his coat was striking. She eventually found herself once again looking at the striped muzzle.

She carefully lifted one of his eyelids to check for pupil change, but was slightly unnerved by the amber eye that stared back. Suddenly the pupil shrank to a pinpoint, the iris taking almost the entire eye and producing a frightened squeak from Fluttershy. Fluttershy immediately felt a sharp pain in her head followed by more in various places around her body as if she was being bitten, and then it was gone just as quickly.

Fluttershy let the now normal looking eye close and placed a blanket over the unconscious wolf before backing out of the room. She made her way downstairs and tried to calm her nerves. "It's okay Fluttershy, he's just a wolf, an unconscious wolf. He can't hurt you, he can't hurt you..." she said, her nerves still on edge.

"Fluttershy! Are you there?" yelled somepony from outside. "Eeep!" screeched Fluttershy as she jumped up and hugged a beam on the ceiling upside down. "Come... come in." said the yellow pegasus, too nervous to let go of the beam.
A familiar lavender unicorn opened the door and walked in looking around for her friend. "Fluttershy? Where are you?"

"Up... up here Twilight." whispered Fluttershy from her hiding place on the ceiling.

"There you are Fluttershy, but what are you doing up there?" asked Twilight as she used her magic to gently place her friend down on the ground.

"Sorry about that Twilight, I guess I'm just a little nervous. Did you need something?" Fluttershy asked apologetically.

"Yes, I was hoping you could explain why Rainbow Dash said she saw you with a wolf on your back!" exclaimed Twilight, worry for her friend evident in her voice.

"Oh... umm, you see, I... I was just walking in the woods when I heard a whine. It sounded like a critter was in pain so I went to look for it. When I did find the hurt animal, it wasn't a little critter like I thought, he was hurt really badly so I decided to bring him here so I could help him. That's all." answered Flutershy, leaving out the part when she looked at its eye.

Twilight just eyed her friend warily, still concerned. "Okay," sighed Twilight "so long as you have this under control. We don't need a wild wolf running around town."

"Well, actually... could you maybe lend me a hoof? I don't know a whole lot on wolves." Fluttershy said sheepishly.

Twilight just sighed, resigning herself to her fate. "Okay, where is it and I'll tell you what I can." she said in an exasperated tone.

Fluttershy just perked up at the news and smiled at her friend, "Oh, thank you Twilight! Follow me, he's upstairs." Fluttershy said as she led Twilight to the unconscious wolf's room. "He lost a bit of blood and had a lot of bite marks when I found him. I bandaged him up as well as I could, but I don't know what else to do besides let him rest." Fluttershy opened the door and a gasp escaped from her friend.

"I've... I've never read about any wolf like this before." Twilight said looking over the silver fur mixed with dark blue and the striped muzzle. "I don't even know if wolves are meant to have just silver-colored fur, let alone with all this blue."

"Well, is he at least all right?" Fluttershy asked with genuine concern.

Twilight, still slightly uncomfortable with the idea of her friend caring for a wolf, answered "Yes, he looks fine. But please Fluttershy, once he's healed, bring him back out into the woods."

"Don't worry Twilight, I'll make sure he gets back home just fine!" Fluttershy stated proudly, "Thanks again for all your help!"

"Just be careful Fluttershy, please?" asked Twilight as she walked out the door.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." She Pinkie Promised, performing the required movements as Twilight walked back into town.

It had been a couple of hours since Twilight had left, and Fluttershy was in the kitchen making some soup. Humming a little tune to herself, Fluttershy poured some of the finished broth into a bowl and went upstairs to the sleeping form of the wolf. She caught herself once again pondering the strangeness of the fur. Shaking the thought from her mind, Fluttershy set about trying to get the fresh soup down the wolf's throat, but to no avail.

"Come on Mr. Wolf, you need to eat to get better." she said, hoping her encouraging tone would somehow help. And much to her surprise and relief, it did. His eyes opened partially as a groaning whine escaped throat. He snapped up suddenly, whipping his head back and forth before resting his amber eyes on Fluttershy.

Zeviathan had a dull feeling of pain running throughout his body, every bit of him ached. He could barely feel his tail, but he could feel pressure placed around his torso and his muzzle no longer stung. He managed to open his eyes just a crack, the effort of finally waking drawing a groan from him. He looked around, not really paying attention to anything. But when he did take heed of his surroundings he snapped up immediately, albeit painfully, and swung his head every which way to take in the strange environment he was in.

That's when he saw the yellow and pink creature before him, faintly remembering something similar before falling unconscious. He rested his gaze on the creature before him, 'Where am I?' Zeviathan wondered to himself. He attempted to move forward, but yelped from the pain it caused him and fell back down pitifully. The creature rushed over and caught him before he hit the ground. "Easy now Mr. Wolf, you've been through a lot I'm sure. My name is Fluttershy." it cooed softly, placing him down gently.

Zeviathan looked at the creature called Fluttershy and thought 'Thank you'. A look of shock came upon Fluttershy's face, "You're… you're welcome." she stuttered slightly. Now it was Zeviathan's turn to be puzzled, 'You, can hear me?' he asked in his mind, to which Fluttershy nodded. 'What are you?' he asked, slightly dumbfounded.

"I'm a pegasus, but I can't normally hear animal's thoughts." she responded apparently just as befuddled as himself. "But here, eat this. It should help a little bit." Fluttershy said pushing the bowl of soup towards him "It's soup, now you just try to rest, I need to go do something but I'll be back really soon."

'Thank you again, Fluttershy. My name is Zeviathan, by the way.' he thought, causing a smile to flash on Fluttershy's face before she left out the door.

Fluttershy walked along a dirt path leading through the Everfree Forest, careful not to touch the Poison Joke that littered the sides. She was on her way to Zecora's hut in hopes that she might be able to help with that wolf Zeviathan. She found the tree hut soon enough, the lights and smoke spilling from the gnarled trunk an easy give-away.
Fluttershy was about to knock on the door when it opened, Zecora greeting her warmly
"Hello my good friend, what brings you out here towards this day's end?"

"Well, you see, earlier today I found a wolf and he was really badly injured, so I brought him back home and bandaged him up. At one point I was going to check for light respones so I lifted an eyelid, but when I did the pupil shrank to a really small dot. Now I'm hearing his thoughts." she explained quietly.

Zecora nodded her head thoughtfully, "Hmmm, I will search my books for what I can find, for this wolf seems to have one special mind." she said in her rhyming fashion.

Fluttershy looked slightly downcast at the news; she had hoped for an answer immediately. But she understood that this was a really strange turn of events and it could be hard to pinpoint what may be causing this. So she bid Zecora a soft goodbye and thank you and started her journey back through the mysterious Everfree.

No sooner than five minutes into her walk back, she noticed something had changed. There, in the middle of the dirt path, rested a glistening dark stone. 'That certainly wasn't there before...' she thought, carefully approaching the rock. She felt drawn to it, to protect it like a mother bird would an egg, like it was alive and helpless. 'It's still something from the Everfree, just like that parasprite,' Fluttershy thought stubbournly, yet despite her best judgement she picked it up and continued on her way.

After finally making her way back home, Fluttershy gently placed the stone on the couch. Despite its size the stone was fairly heavy. Sneaking her way upstairs, she opened the door to Zeviathan's room just a crack. He was fast asleep and the bowl of soup empty, bringing a smile once more to her face. She quietly picked the bowl up and went back downstairs, but when she got there, the bowl dropped to the floor with a clunk.

The smooth, glistening stone that once rested on the couch was broken, shattered and cracked in thin pieces like a shell. "Oh dear oh dear oh dear, what happened!?" Fluttershy cried, frantically looking around the room. Her answer came when she looked at the fireplace, for laying in front of it was a full grown snake, white as marble, staring at her.

It slowly made its way over to her strangely though, instead of slithering on the ground, it kept its head high in the air moving it forward first then followed by the main body. As it got closer Fluttershy could see that it had deep green irises, which seemed to hold her in place, she could even see small sharpened teeth along with the fangs. But when it was right in front of her, it did something completely unexpected. The snake seemed to smile, then proceed to curl up at her hooves, completely content.

It took Fluttershy a moment to piece it all together. The stone she found in the forest was broken, and here was a strange snake laying at her hooves without a care in the world. She had to be certain, leaning down her head, Fluttershy whispered "Hey there little guy, this may seem a bit strange, but you wouldn't happen to think I'm your mother, would you?" Only for the serpent to look up with what could only be described as a smile and say "Mother." in a warm voice before laying back down.

Fluttershy, though, was terrified.

Author's Note

To avoid future confusion, I think it's best if I explain what happened. Zeviathan has the unique ability to communicate telepathically which even he was not yet aware of. What happened between him and Fluttershy was the first time he'd ever experienced it. Unless stated otherwise, most of the time Zeviathan is speaking will just be him communicating with his thoughts.

Confrontation and Exploration

Fluttershy took several steps back, fear driving her as she tried to get away from the snake who merely slithered closer. Fluttershy backed up as far as she could before her back was against the wall. "P-please s-stay back," she pleaded as she closed her eyes. After a few seconds of nothing happening, she opened her eyes to see that the snake had stopped. But something was different. Where he once had a happy expression, he now wore a look of pure sorrow. His head was downcast and his eyes betrayed pain and sadness.

Fluttershy, her fear momentarily forgotten, looked upon the snake with pity. She feared that she had somehow hurt the poor thing. 'Oh dear,' she thought to herself, 'the poor thing looks like it's on the verge of tears and it's all because of me.' The more she observed the snake, the more she knew she had to do something. Her motherly concern took over as she approached the downcast serpent. With a gentle voice she asked, "Are you okay little one? Please don't be sad, I didn't mean to upset you. I was just startled, that's all."

The snake looked up to see Fluttershy with a concerned look. Her words alleviated his worries and brought a small smile back on his face.

Fluttershy responded with smile of her own. She loved nothing more than to see all animals happy, and this snake was no different. Said snake was once again slithering towards her, but this time she did not back away. He rubbed his head affectionately on her leg. "You really think I'm your mother don't you," Fluttershy asked. He stopped what he was doing and looked directly into her cerulean eyes.

"Mother," he confirmed with a nod.

Fluttershy was both excited and shocked to hear this. Sure she had taken care of many animals and befriended many of them, but this was something entirely different. 'Oh what should I do,' she asked herself. 'I can't just leave the poor thing to fend for itself, especially when I don't know where his parents are but I just don't know if I could properly take care of him like his real mother could.' She looked as he proceeded to slither around her home. 'Look at him, he looks so happy.' In that instant, She knew what she had to do.

She walked over and the snake stopped what he was doing to watch. She calmly asked, "Would you like to stay here little one," she asked. He responded with an enthusiastic nod and started slithering in a figure eight. A sign of happiness maybe?

Fluttershy giggled at his antics. "You certainly seem happy. I'm glad." She watched as he continued. "You also slither around in the most interesting of ways."

The snake perked up at the mention of slithering and tried to repeat it. "Slith..Slith…Slithe.." He tried again, "Slithe….Sithe." He frowned in disappointment.

"That's okay little one," Fluttershy said, "It was a good try. I'm sure you'll get it eventually." Then she thought of something that hadn't occurred to her-he had no name. She asked, "little one, I just realized that you don't have a name. Do you know what you want it to be?"

He pondered this for a moment. At first he was uncertain, but one name stood out to him immediately. "Slithe," he answered with certainty. He couldn't explain why, but the name just felt right.

Fluttershy was thinking much the same thing. "That's a lovely name," she expressed, "I'm Fluttershy."

"Fluttershy," Slithe repeated. She smiled warmly before she remembered about Zeviathan and how she had resolved to speak with his pack about their behavior towards him. "Okay Slithe, there's something I need to do and I want you to stay here. Can you do that?" He responded with a nod and watched as Fluttershy walked outside and closed the door behind her.

Fluttershy soon found herself at the entrance to the Everfree Forest. She knew she needed to enter but it was hard to bring herself to do it. It just wasn't natural how things worked in that forest. Despite having ventured there in the past, she was still terrified of the place, and that lingering fear kept her from taking the first step.

Then her thoughts drifted back to the injured wolf in her home. That was definitely not an accident. When she had examined Zeviathan and felt the sharp pain in her mind, she also glimpsed fragmented memories that were not her own. They had to belong to Zeviathan because she could see how he was turned on and attacked by his pack. At first she had pushed these memories aside, focusing all her attention on helping soothe his injuries. Now that he was stable, she was going to have a few words with his pack. She had to find out why this happened.

With renewed determination, Fluttershy plunged into the darkness of the forest. A while later she found herself in an unfamiliar clearing. The atmosphere was far from welcoming. A sense of danger hung in the air. A breeze picked up and left Fluttershy shaking from the cold blast of air. With it came a drawn out howl and the appearance of several wolves who appeared almost out of thin air. They were followed by another who walked slowly out of the shadows. Fluttershy gasped as she recognized this particular wolf as the one that had attacked Zeviathan. Same pitch black fur, same aggressive aura, same challenging eyes.

The wolf stopped three feet in front of Fluttershy then asked, "Why have you trespassed onto our territory outsider?"

Fluttershy, intimidated by the beast in front of her, quietly stammered, "W-well I-I came here t-to…to…." She trailed off.

"I do not take kindly to trespassers upon my home and I am rapidly losing my patience." He warned, "Now, speak your reason for your intrusion or I will run you out of here myself."

Fluttershy spoke slightly louder but continued to stutter "I-I recently f-found an injured wolf a-and took h-him back to m-my home to he-help him."

"Did this wolf happen to have a blue striped muzzle?"

Fluttershy nodded.

"I see. You found my worthless son. Though why you decided to take care of him is beyond me; he is unfit to live."

"Wh-what?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "H-he's your s-son and y-you at-attacked him?"

The wolf snarled, "He is no longer my son and he deserved what he got."

The kind-hearted mare could not believe what she was hearing. “But…how can you say that? Don’t you care at all?”

Noctis scoffed. “There’s nothing to care for. He proved himself to be no more than a nuisance, an annoyance that’s better off dead!” He spoke the final word with finality; there was nothing more.

Fluttershy felt the anger build. She could hold back no longer and let it all burst forth. "How could you!? Zeviathan nearly died because of you! I don't care what your reasons are there is absolutely no excuse for this. Your own so-No, not your son; he's too good to be your son. Y-you are the most despicable, most infuriating…most…most…mean-hearted animal I have ever dealt with. You should be ashamed of what you have done!"

Noctis was unfazed. "I do not care what you think of me or what I have done; I don't need your approval. I will lead as I see fit." He glared at her. "Now leave and never return!" He walked back into the forest along with the others. He stopped and delivered one final warning before disappearing from view. “Don’t ever let me see you here again or there will be…consequences.”

Fluttershy stood where she was, still furious with that wolf's behavior. She took deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. When she had cooled down she turned and headed home, thinking about what would become of Zeviathan.

With Slithe...

Soon after Fluttershy left Slithe grew restless. He looked around the cottage, everywhere was something new for him to investigate, something new for him to explore. But there was something his gaze rested on that drew his attention the most, the window and the world beyond. That was what he decided to explore.

He looked around for someway to get out, only to see a hole in the wall of the cottage. When he got closer Slithe saw that it was just big enough for him to squeeze through. Slithe, after he finally made it out, looked around the vast expanse of the meadow. As he took stock of the new area, a high-pitched noise caught his attention. Looking up Slithe saw a rainbow streak zooming across the sky, off and away.

Following the stream of colors, Slithe soon arrived at a busy looking town. Keeping between buildings, Slithe saw something new everywhere he looked, each new place spurring him to explore further. Eventually he came to a tall, circular building with ornate designs covering every inch. Fascinated, Slithe made his way to an open side window and, using his body like a spring, went straight through the opening.

The first thing that caught Slithe's attention was the platform towards the center, but just as he reached it voices sounded from another room. Thinking quickly, Slithe dove into a nearby pile of loose fabrics. "Applejack, I beg you, just let me fix the stitching. You won't be able to see a single difference."

"Rarity, ah've told ya before and ah'll tell ya again, mah saddlebag is just fine."

Slithe just stayed hidden in the fabric, watching the two new mares and rolling the new words around in his head. "Fine, but at least, AAAHHHH! A SNAKE! FILTHY CREATURE!" shouted the one called Rarity. Slithe hadn't even noticed the fabrics lift up and away, revealing him entirely. Slithe looked at the two mares, Rarity was backing away with fear while the one called Applejack cautiously approached him.

"Hey there now lil' critter, you just stay right there..." she said calmly. Slithe looked around for someway out, but the only way was through the same window he entered, now blocked by the orange mare. Finally coming to a decision, Slithe took a a breath, looked her in the eyes and said "Critter." That seemed to do the trick as both Applejack and Rarity stopped what they were doing and looked at him, shocked.

Seizing his chance Slithe bolted under Applejack, leapt out the window, and fled the building with the two mares now in pursuit. He frantically searched for another place to hide, the closest thing being a place made of sweet looking stuff. As he reached the open door Slithe looked back to see a rainbow-maned pegasus chasing him as well. So without a thought Slithe went inside to hide.

Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash sped into the Sugarcube Corner and started frantically searching for that white snake "Hey girls, what's wrong?" asked Twilight, who was just enjoying a cupcake before the dramatic entrance.

"Rarity and I were talkin' when we found a snake in her shop. When ah' tried to catch the varmit it went and got away. We chased it all the way here and now we can't find it!" Applejack explained as she shook her head in disbelief.

"Well I haven't seen it here, you could ask Pinkie but she's..." At this point she was interrupted by a loud "Eeep!" followed by a frantic Pinkie Pie jumping from the kitchen yelling "Run for your lives! There's a giant snake!" as she seemed to run in mid-air.

Twilight used her magic to bring Pinkie to the ground and keep her from running away, "Snakes don't normally come into places like this. Come on girls, I want to get a better look at this snake,." she said, calmly walking into the bakery's kitchen.

Slithe was now very frightened, and taken completely by surprise by the loud pink mare hadn't helped his dilemma. He could hear them talking in the next room, no doubt about him. He looked about for another way out, only to find himself in yet another dead end. He looked at the doorway in time to see the mares from before plus the pink one and now a lavender colored one as well. Seeing them enter, Slithe dove behind a nearby counter with his heart racing.

The one called Applejack spoke first, "There's the darned critter, hidin' behind the counter." she said taking a step forward.

The lavender mare stopped her "Applejack, wait. Let me try a stun spell on it." With that the horn on her head started to glow. Slithe peaked around the corner of his cover and watched in awe as a purple aura surrounded the horn and a wave of it washed over him. Slithe didn't know why, but he suddenly found it harder to think and move, much to the surprise of the lavender mare.

"What?!" she exclaimed with surprise "How is it even still up after that? That particular spell will normally put a full grown manticore out for hours!" The mare looked to her companions for an answer but found none.

"Ah just don't know Twilight, but that ain't a normal snake ah'll tell ya that..."Applejack replied, just as confused as her unicorn friend.

The mare Twilight slowly made her way towards him, even as Slithe backed away and the room became slightly fuzzy. Twilight just eyed him curiously, looking him over. Seeing a similar answer to a similar problem as before, Slithe did his best to look at Twilight as she kept getting closer. When she was almost right in front of him Slithe reared up his head to be on level with her, to her continuing surprise, and said "Ssstunn."

Twilight was taken aback by his speech, nearly falling backwards in surprise as the blue flying pegasus's eyes bulged. Twilight gathered enough of her wits to speak "It can speak?!" she exclaimed, turning to the group. "You didn't tell me it could speak!" seizing his chance, Slithe managed to stumble away as the mares started arguing amongst themselves.

Slithe now found it increasingly harder to focus as he started to see doubles of everything around him. Fleeing through the middle of the town he ran into dozens of different ponies and sent them running, terrified. As he stumbled into street venders and their stalls, Slithe took a quick glance around to try and gather his dulled senses. Turning his head around he quickly ducked out of the way of a speeding blur of rainbow headed straight for him.
With no need for any more encouragement, Slithe took off once again towards his home. Dodging frightened ponies, stalls, and other debris, Slithe eventually made it back to the meadow he first saw upon leaving on his adventure. He thankfully saw his mother just opening the door and despite his further increased dizziness, rushed past her and inside.

"Slithe?! What were doing outside?" asked Fluttershy, motherly concern breaking through.

Slithe didn't answer her--he was too terrified to do so--and quickly slid up onto an exposed beam protruding from the ceiling to hide. Fluttershy just looked up at him, "Slithe? What's wrong?" she asked. Fluttershy jumped in surprise as the door slammed open as the rest of the girls rushed in.

"Fluttershy, are you alright? We saw a white snake we've been chasing run in here, it might be dangerous." Twilight asked with concern as she started looking around.

"Well, umm, I'm fine. Thank you for asking." she answered quietly, trying to keep them all from noticing Slithe. But Rarity, not wanting to get too disheveled, stood off to the side underneath the very beam Slithe was on. Just as Rarity stopped right under it Slithe started to sway from side to side, suddenly dropping from the beam onto Rarity who let out a scream of fright.

"AH! Somepony help me! This foul creature is ruining my mane!" she shrieked. Before the others could get to him, and with some slightly surprising speed, Fluttershy lifted the now unconscious Slithe off of her friend and cradled him in her forelegs like a foal.

"Fluttershy, what are you doing?! That snake is dangerous!" Twilight exclaimed as she took a step forward, only for Fluttershy to move back.

"It's okay Twilight, he isn't dangerous, just curious," responded Fluttershy "Girls, I'd like you all to meet Slithe." They all took a look at the sleeping serpent, who now only emitted a quiet snore