Atonement

A/N: Alright guys, for any newcomers to this series in general, there will be plenty of references to previous installments, if you haven't read those yet, I suggest you hit the back button right now and do that. Anyway, just a shout out to all my fans, old and new. Thanks guys, your praise and encouragement are why I do this. Enjoy!

As we walked towards the area where the crowd was waiting, I could hear the cheers of the crowd and the whistles and requests of the more promiscuous female fans. I smirked slightly, but then Twilight began asking questions.

“What did you mean back there? Who are you? How did you get here? Why” I cut her off then. I had forgotten about her hunger for knowledge, especially of things previously unknown.

“Why do you ask so many questions, Twilight? Can’t you just be content learning everything when everybody else does?” I asked jokingly. At first she seemed offended, but soon realized I was being humorous and giggled nervously.

“No, I can’t.” she said nervously, which was understandable considering the situation. “Can you answer at least one of those questions for me?” she asked, making me sigh as I stopped walking to look back at her. Our eyes met, and my memory consumed me again.

Why are you doing this?

I shook my head. “Fine.” I said, slightly irritated. She deserved that much after everything I had, or rather would, put her through. “You really wish to know who I am?”

“YES!” She yelled, sounding more angry than excited. I sighed again, removing my mask.

“My name is Christian Fleury.” I said, looking her dead in the eye. She looked from me to the general area of the stage.

“What?” she asked, her confusion evident. I chuckled lightly at it.

“I’ll explain later Twilight. All you need to know is that the kid on the stage is also Christian Fleury. He’s just not me.” I said, my sorrow getting the better of me. “Not yet, anyways. Now come on, we need to hurry.” I said calmly, walking briskly towards the dance floor as I pulled my mask back on. I soon found myself in the middle of a silent room, everyone starring at the stage. I looked around and found the crumpled and lifeless body of the DJ. I sighed. “Too late.” I whispered. A voice from the stage caught my attention.

“No…. no no no no nonononononononono NO!” I heard from the stage, looking to see the perpetrator kneeling on the stage, head in his hands.

“This isn’t right….. This isn’t how it happened…..” I whispered as I looked around for any signs of Discord. I could hear a faint laughter resonating throughout the room, but nopony seemed to notice it.

“Damn it, no…. This can’t be happening….. I wrote about this…” That’s where I stopped listening. This wasn’t how it happened at all. It was also when I noticed some slight differences. His hair was on the border line of short and medium, and he wasn’t wearing the funeral clothes I remembered wearing. Instead of a suit, he wore a white hoodie and a black leather jacket with some blue jeans.

“This isn’t right…… This is all wrong….” I said, looking around. I then looked out the window and my blood ran cold.

The full moon was rising.

“Everybody out, now!” I yelled. Everyone’s attention turned to me. I punched a hole in a nearby wall, and they figured out that I meant business and began running for the doors. I was sweating bullets and my hands were shaking. I hear Twilight approaching quickly, as it seemed that she had fallen behind.

“What’s going on?” she asked in a panic. I didn’t have time to explain.

“Every thing is going wrong! I” I was cut off by Discord, who chose that moment to reveal himself.

“Oh, come now my little ponies, don’t be frightened by the big bad wolf, he just wants to play like any other dog.” he said, and me and the boy on stage growled in unison as he slapped a claw on his shoulder. “Sic em boy. Come on now.” he said in a tone one would use when speaking to a dog, and that’s when he began to change. His whimpering screams could be heard throughout the town, but unlike him I attempted to maintain my human form. It was possible, but difficult, even for me. The more I resisted, the more I began to ache all over, to the point where I doubled over, groaning in pain.

“Are you alright?” Twilight asked, putting a hoof on my shoulder.

“I’m fine.” I growled at her, pushing her away as gently as I could. I hear a howl, and knew his transformation was complete. I looked up and saw him laying on the ground, his outfit in tatters except the jacket, which seemed to remain mostly intact. He was surrounded by multiple ponies, which slowly approached his whimpering form. “GET AWAY FROM HIM!” I yelled. Most of them seemed to take my advice, but one in specific, a young filly which I vaguely recognized, stepped closer. It only took me a moment to realize just who it was. “SWEETIE BELL, NO!” but it was too late. No sooner were the words out of my mouth than she stepped on his tail. His head shot up, and he roared, knocking her to her back. Everything seemed to slow down as he pounced on her, digging into her body like a three course meal. I could hear her scream as I could do nothing but watch. It was over as soon as it began, time resuming it’s normal pace as he tossed her mauled, lifeless body to the floor at my feet.

“Oh sweet celestia…..” I heard Twilight mutter next to me. I looked at Sweetie Bell, her eyes seemed to be begging me to save them from a fate they had already met.

I snapped. I let go. My change was more rapid, my bones already knowing where to go and how from centuries of moving about. I felt my mask meld with my face, elongating slightly as my nose and mouth became a snout. It still caused pain, and I let out a howl when I was done. I looked at Twilight, who was looking from me to him and back again.

“You too?” she asked. I could see specks of vomit at the sides of her mouth, and assumed she had thrown up from the sight of Sweetie’s corpse. I nodded, being unable to speak. I then turned to my opponent, who paced up and down the stage on all fours, eyeing me like an alpha male eyes a challenger.

“Oh dear, it seems we have a two man wolf pack. My my, my dreams do hold some merit.” Discord chuckled. I shot him a threatening glare, to which he only smiled and flew off into the night. I turned my attention back to the task at hand only to find the other wolf lunging at me. I let him have his moment, but kicked him over my head as soon as we hit the ground, quickly regaining my footing. We circled each other like rival lions, each simply waiting for the first sign of weakness or a chance to pounce.

His gait faltered momentarily, and I took my chance, lunging onto his back. I knew that if I could assert dominance, he would stand down. We may have been werewolves, but canine instinct was still present. This was no more than a newcomer challenging the alpha male of a new pack. I dug my claws into his ribcage and hear a slight howl. I also felt a slight burning sensation as the wounds I left mirrored themselves in my flesh as the scars he would have soon. I craned my neck towards his ear, knowing that if I could bite it hard enough he would recognize himself as the omega male and stop fighting.

He seemed to catch on, and jerked his head back, catching me under the jaw and knocking me backwards. Unfortunately, my claws were still embedded in his flesh, and thus his wounds were made larger, as were my scars. I whimpered slightly and tried to regain my bearings. Were as I had actually intelligence and strategy, he had brute strength and primal instinct. While most believe that the former would defeat the latter, it is not necessarily true. I had little more time to ponder this and get a grip on my situation before he was upon me, digging his claws through my leather armor and into the flesh of my chest, making multiple swipes before I could shove him off. As he fell backwards, he managed to leave long, deep cuts in my forearm. I ignored them, though, and took my opportunity to take the offensive.

I positioned myself so I could weaken him and do what I had to. I took his head and slammed it into the floor multiple times, hearing both the floor and his bones crack and break beneath the punishment. When I let go, he was alive, but barely. He maintained consciousness, but his breaths were shallow, and he whimpered uncontrollably. I leaned down and bit into his left ear, taking a decent sized chunk out of it. I yelped briefly as I felt the corresponding piece of my ear simply disappear. He was too beaten and battered to do anything more than whimper louder.

I took multiple steps back, and saw him looking at me. He understood. I was the alpha male now. I would have simply killed him on the spot, but he was still needed in this world. I sat on my haunches and began licking my wounds as best I could, beginning with my forearm. I had already started when I heard a slight cough. I looked over to see the assembled elements of harmony, with few exceptions. Rarity had been dragged outside during the conflict, would have to tell her about her sisters death when she awoke, Fluttershy never was one for this kind of atmosphere, and Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found.

Good.

I looked at them, my tongue still on my wounds, when Applejack spoke up.

“I don’t know which human ya are, what jus’ happened, or what yer doin’, but it looks like something’ ya should do in private.” She said with a giggle. Pinkie giggled with her, and the mere sound of it made my heart break. It was somewhat melodic, and it made me think of times long past….

Do you, re-mem-ber
way back then
when, we all were
such happy friends...

I, un-der-stand
that you are sad
but what, you’re doing
is ve-ry bad...

Think, of Dashie
for Celestia's sake
Pinkie, is here
to ease you’re heart-ache...

Please, just stop this
Chris-tian
if, not for us
then do it for her...

I felt a tear run through the fur of my face as I put my paw down, remembering the distant past, and heard a slight gasp.

“Awwww, why are you crying? Did somepony call you the big bad wolf? Cause I think you’re pretty nice, I mean you did just beat the living crap out of someone, but it was to save a bunch of ponies, so I guess that makes it alright, does that make it alright Twilight?” Pinkie asked, talking a mile a minute as always. Twilight didn’t answer, she just slowly approached me.

“Christian?” She asked quietly when she was close enough. I nodded sadly. “What happened here?” she asked again, though more loudly so the others could here. I shrugged and pointed towards my throat. “Oh, right, werewolves can’t talk, can they?” I shook my head.

“We’re gonna need some help luggin’ his flank back to tha castle. Any chance this feller could help us out?” Applejack asked. I nodded again before looking towards my opponent. He would be a lot easier to move were he unconscious, so I did something I’d wanted to do for a long time.

I knocked myself the fuck out.