Chapter 1: The Meeting of Two Species
Chapter 1: The Meeting of Two Species
Wolves. They lived in Equestria long before ponies made their homes there. They had lived in villages and cities, formed tribes (or packs as the wolves referred to them as), and hunted for their food in the nearby forests. They were content with their lives for the most part. They had never been bothered by another species. In fact, they haven’t even known of the existence of ponies, griffins, or any of the other races. As far as they were concerned, they were alone in the world... and they couldn’t be happier about it. However, all of this changed when the ponies began to move in.
The day the ponies arrived was a day that both races would always remember. When the three pony races arrived at what they had assumed was unclaimed territory, they began a bitter argument over who had the right to claim it. Each one thinking they deserved it more than the other. The anger that heated the six creature’s arguments seemed to make them oblivious to the watching eyes of a nearby group of wolves.
“What are those creatures?” Shadowrun asked his nearby pack leader, a look of confusion and intrigue plastered on his muzzle. Him, his leader, and three others had been going to hunt in the nearby lands when they had happened upon the pony’s bitter arguing.
“I know not, but they appear to be at each others throats over some issue.” replied Æthelwulf, the nobel leader of the notorious Faded Shadow pack.
“Perhaps we may be of assistance to ease whatever issues they are having.” suggested another from the group.
“I’m not certain if that is wise. If they show this kind of hostility to each other, how can we be certain we will not be met with the same response?”
“Of course, elder. Perhaps we should wait and see what unfolds before we make our next move?”
“That is my planning. Shadowrun!” Æthelwulf turned to face his hunting companion, “I have a task of utmost importance. I need you to return to the village and inform them of what we have found. In time, I will attempt to speak to these guests to our home. If things go wrong, and these creatures turn out to be here for hostile purposes, then we shall remove them from our lands. Now make haste!”
“Yes, elder!” Shadowrun broke from the group, sprinting back to the village. At the speed he was traveling, he would reach the village in a matter of minutes. Æthelwulf smiled. It brought him joy to see members of his pack have such speed and determination. It would certainly come in handy in battle.
“Æthelwulf! Look at the sky!” one member of the hunting party was pointing his paw into the sky, indicating what he was seeing. “The clouds seem to be moving in at speeds I have never witnessed!”
Æthelwulf looked into the sky. His party member was correct. A large number of clouds seem to come from nowhere and seemed to be surrounding the still bickering ponies. The perfectly warm and sunny day quickly became cold and dark. Large amounts of snow began to fall from the sky and frost was forming on the groups’ fur.
Æthelwulf looked at his paws. The bottoms of them seemed to almost be freezing over.
“Elder! What is happening? Why has the weather suddenly become so cold? I can barely feel my paws.” The emotion of the group slowly descended into one of panic. Æthelwulf, alone, remained in his current emotional state. He showed no worry... only curiosity.
“It seems that our guests did not come alone.” Æthelwulf stated as he stared at the large beings that seemed encircled the area where the ponies had been fighting. The beings looked similar to spirits and resembled the guests who had just arrived moments ago. The ponies had fled into a nearby cave to seek shelter. Æthelwulf realised that they should do the same.
The cold was becoming too much for even Æthelwulf to handle. He turned to order his group back to the village, but he met a sight that depressed him. All members of his group, excluding him, were trapped in ice; their facial expressions still locked on their faces. The only reason Æthelwulf didn’t suffer their fate was that, being the pack leader, he was much larger than the others and was coated in much more fur.
As much as he wanted to help his pack members, he knew that there was nothing he could do. He looked around, hoping to find some sign of shelter. All he saw was the cave that the ponies had fled into. He reasoned that it was his only option. Either risk meeting a hostile species or freeze like the rest of his group. Æthelwulf took his chances and made a dash for the cave entrance.
When he arrived his hope of seeking shelter disappeared. The entrance had been completely frozen over, making passage impossible. Æthelwulf looked through the clear barricade and saw that three of the visitors to his land had met the same fate as his party. The three “leaders,” as they appeared to him, seemed to have been frozen in opposite corners of the cave. Looks of anger plastered on their frozen faces. The other three, however, were in the center of the room, the ice slowly creeping its way towards them. The three in the middle were not arguing like the others had been. No, they were huddling together for warmth. They were obviously very frightened of something, but it didn’t seem to be the ice that scared them. Æthelwulf raised his head slightly higher when he saw them. The spirit-like creatures were circling directly over the frightened ponies. It was only a matter of time before they too would be frozen. Æthelwulf knew what he needed to do. He began to violently slam his body against the frozen barrier, relentlessly trying to break through.
I must try to save them, he thought. After several more brutal bashes against the ungiving ice, Æthelwulf began to realise it was hopeless. He must now try to save himself. It’s too late for the others. He turned and prepared to begin his escape when he heard something.
“Was that? Laughter?” He wondered why someone would be laughing at a time like this. He turned back to the cave. He noticed that the three ponies in the middle were laughing while they were being frozen. This confused Æthelwulf to new lengths. Why would something laugh as its about to meet its end? Try as he might he couldn’t fathom a reasonable answer. As the three had fully became frozen, something occured. The horn atop the ones head began to glow brightly. Suddenly, a huge blast of what appeared to be purple fire shot directly upwards. The three frozen ponies were instantly released from their icy prisons. The purple flames smashed straight into the encircling spirits causing them to scream in agony. As the spirits vanished, the purple blaze formed into a heart shape over the horned pony who had caused it. Æthelwulf couldn’t comprehend what he had seem. Such things seemed impossible. The only wolf who could ever perform something like that was Prince Bloodmoon, yet this creature seemed to perform it without hesitation.
“What are these things? How can they perform such feats of magic?” Æthelwulf questioned to no one. He knew he must report this information to the Prince as soon as possible, but first he was determined to meet these creatures face-to-face.
The weather quickly returned to the warm sunny day that it once was. It would only be a matter of time before the ice fully melted. He decided to make his way back to his, hopefully thawing, party. He reasoned that the cave entrance would remain frozen for much longer as it appeared to be several feet thick. Also, after seeing what these visitors could do, he felt it would be much safer to have the support of his pack once he finally greeted the newcomers. He decided to move quickly and reunite with his fellow pack members.
~~~
Æthelwulf returned to find that most of his party had already been thawed. One of the party was still frozen at the legs, but soon he would be freed as well.
“Elder! What happened? The last thing I recall was a bitter cold and then I found myself awoken to the heat of the sun melting the ice on my fur.”
“You were all frozen from the extreme cold. I alone managed to escape an icy imprisonment. It appears that this sudden and abrupt change in weather was caused by the visitors. They seemed to have been being chased by a group of spirits, the likes of which I’ve never before seen. When the creatures attempted to take shelter in that cave,” he pointed to the cave on the face of the nearby mountain which he had just returned from, “the spirits followed and froze them just as you had been frozen. However, as the last three were about to face the same fate, a horned one unleashed some sort of magic that defeated the spirits and lifted the bitter cold.”
“What sort of magic did they use?” one of the pack asked with a curious look on his face.
“I’m not sure, but it was very powerful. It looked to be just as powerful as the magic the Prince and Princess use.”
This news shocked all six wolves present. As far as they knew, the Prince and his sister were the only ones who could use magic. Yet, these newcomers seemed to harness the same power.
“Come.” Æthelwulf motioned for his group to follow him, “We’ll go make our presence known. No one is to speak except me. Is that understood, brothers?”
“Of course, elder. You are the best to be leading this exchange between our two species. If anyone can represent the pride and power of our pack and species as a whole, it’s you.” replied one of the pack members.
“Your words touch me and I thank you for them. Now, let’s move out!” Æthelwulf took the lead, running at a trotting pace, the rest of the group close behind. They were about to change the future of their entire race. If only they knew what that future would entail...
~~~
“What happens next, Papa?” asked the curious pup who had been attentively listening to his father’s story telling.
“Well, young Wyndbain. This is where the story begins to reach its apex. Æthelwulf and his fellow hunters began their return to the cave which housed the leaders of the pony tribes. When they had arrived, they found that the icy barrier that separated the ponies from the outside world had almost fully melted. Only a small bit of it remained. The last bit of remaining ice was thin enough that it could be easily smashed. Æthelwulf readied himself and rushed at the ice barrier. He was quite eager to meet the ponies. His body made contact with the ice...”
~~~
CRASH!
Æthelwulf smashed his body through the thin, icy veil that separated him from the ponies. Shards of ice were flung all around. Thankfully none of them injuring anyone. Once he was in the cave, he noticed that the three “leaders” had been thawed as well and it seemed that the ponies were rejoicing that they were all right. However, their celebration was cut short as the large, strong, not to mention intimidating looking wolf smashed his way into the cave. Now they just stared at the strange creature before them. Æthelwulf figured now was the time to attempt communication.
“Greetings. I am uncertain if you can understand me, but my name is Æthelwulf. I’m the leader of the Faded Shadow pack.” Æthelwulf felt as though his words fell on deaf ears. He wasn’t even sure that their two species spoke the same language, yet he treated them as though they were a new neighbor.
A pony decked in a full set of armor, a helmet, and appearing to have wings on each side stepped forward to address him. She, Æthelwulf assumed she was a she based on her feminine, yet brash voice, began to speak.
“Just what are you, creature? And why can you speak our language?” The words were stern and they seemed to be intended to intimidate Æthelwulf. He didn’t budge at her words.
“My species is wolf. We have lived in these lands for many a century. As to why we speak the same language? I know not the answer to that.”
“Hmm. That’s very strange,” came the voice of the horned one who had performed that powerful spell just a few moments earlier. “An unknown species that speaks our language? I wonder why that is.” She seemed genuinely curious as to why both of their species could communicate so easily. “How did you know we were here?”
“Me and my party were wandering in the nearby area when we noticed you all fighting over something. When the harsh storm showed up, I noticed you attempt to take shelter in this cave. I had attempted to gain entrance earlier, but the blocking ice made that all but impossible. May I ask,” he began, “What species are you and where do you hail from?”
“We are the three races of ponies.” the horned one explain, ”I’m a unicorn.”
“I’m a pegasus,” the armored one chimed in.
“And I’m an earth pony!” the wingless and hornless one, that wore a quite odd set of attire, exclaimed with great enthusiasm.
“We all hail from distant lands,” the unicorn spoke once more, “We came here in search of a new place to live as our old homes have fallen into a state of disrepair.”
Æthelwulf realized what this species had intended to do. They were hoping to colonize this area and begin to move away from their native lands. Æthelwulf was unsure how to react to this bit of information. He felt sorrow for the hard times these ponies had faced, but he also wasn’t keen on the idea of them living in his lands. He didn’t, however, want to deny them the right to live amongst the wolves, but he worried what the other packs would do. He decided that they should follow him back to his village. Perhaps he could call together the packs and figure out a way for the ponies to receive the new home they desperately need.
“My pack’s village is not too far from here. Seeing that you have traveled a great distance to get here, you might as well stay for the time being. I would be honored to provide you with a place to stay until we can work out the issues you currently face.”
The ponies all looked at each other. They had all traveled from far off lands and the offer of a village to rest in was all too tempting. But could they trust these “wolf” creatures? They came together to help form a joint decision. After a minute of discussion, they finally replied.
“We accept your offer. We would love to stay in your village” The armored pegasus stated.
Æthelwulf nodded.
“Right. Please lead us to your pack’s village. We are quite interested in learning more about your species.” The unicorn added.
“The feeling is mutual, but we can ask each other questions later. Follow me. If we leave now we should arrive before sundown.”
As they left the cave, the ponies finally were able to take in the beauty of the land they had found. Lush green fields, ice capped mountains, long rolling hills... it was perfect. The ponies would love living here now that they had set their differences aside.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Æthelwulf asked as he clearly noticed the ponies had expressions of awe as they stared at their surroundings.
“Yes! It’s gorgeous!” the unicorn replied.
“You should see it at night. It’s even more majestic. My kind loves the night. By the way, I never asked your names.”
“My name is Clover the Clever!” responded the unicorn. She pointed to the pony next to her. “This here is Princess Platinum.” Æthelwulf hadn’t notice that this one also had a horn atop its head, but the mention of her being a princess sparked a reflex in his mind. He gave a short bow.
“It is a pleasure to meet you princess.” The other members of the party bowed before her as well. Though they had just met this species, they knew how to show respect to royalty.
“My, my! Such Gentlecolts...err I mean gentle...wolfs? What is the plural of your species?”
“Wolves, princess.” Æthelwulf responded.
“Ah yes! Such gentlewolves!” A large smile grew across her face. The armored pegasus was next.
“I’m Commander Hurricane and this here,” she pointed her right hoof toward the other one in less exquisite armor, “is Private Pansy.” The Private seemed to be rather shy and did her best not to make eye contact with the wolves. She muttered a muffled "H-Hi," before lowering her head.
“Ah. A fellow warrior. Perhaps we should test your skills later?” Æthelwulf said with a grin on his face.
“Oh I think you’ll find my skills in combat to be of much higher quality than yours.” The Commander snapped back. Æthelwulf chuckled at her boasting. It would be fun to spar with this one.
“And what are your names?” Æthelwulf shifted his attention to the wingless and hornless ones.
“Oh well mah name is-” her words were cut off as the other one in the strange outfit jumped in front of her.
“I’m Chancellor Pudding-head! And this is my secretary, Smart Cookie!” This one seemed to be full of energy. It reminded Æthelwulf of a young pup, always itching to have some fun. Æthelwulf couldn’t contain himself as he let out a small laugh.
“I must say those are quite interesting names.” Æthelwulf remarked as he let out another laugh. The others in his group joined in as they found this chancellor to be quite humorous.
Æthelwulf finished laughing and returned to his blank expression. “Well, like I said, my name is Æthelwulf. I shall let my brothers introduce themselves.”
One wolf stepped forward. The wolf was a mixture of grey and white in color.
“They call me Rijo. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He gave a short bow. His voice had a hint of nobility in it.
“My birth name is Ulfric,” a large jet black wolf announced as he stepped forward. He was only mere inches shorter than Æthelwulf. “I’m the muscle of this group. Only one stronger than me is Æthelwulf. I’m also one of the generals for our packs’ army.”
“Hush up Ulf! You know I could best you in a fight any day,” came the voice of a black and white wolf standing next to Rijo. “Anyway, the name’s Zev.” He raised his paw in an attempt for a paw shake. He quickly realised that such a thing may have no meaning to the ponies, but his fears were quickly vanquished when Smart Cookie met his paw with her hoof and gave it a good shake.
“It’s great to meet yah Zev!” She exclaimed. Zev enjoyed the hoof/paw shake. This, Smart Cookie, had quite the grip.
“Well now that we’ve all properly introduced ourselves,” Æthelwulf began, “we really must pick up the pace. It will be dark in a couple of hours.” He motioned to the setting sun off in the distance.
“Well let’s get a move on then! Onwards, wolves and ponies!” The chancellor ordered as she began to walk forward. Well...she was more hopping than walking. The wolves didn’t know how to react. Was it normal for it to bounce like that as it moved?
The group began walking once more. Æthelwulf was leading the group, Ulfric right at his side. The ponies were in the middle, seeming to be walking in no particular order. Zev and Rijo were taking up the rear of the group. Commander hurricane seemed to stay to the back of her pony friends. She was just mere feet in front of Zev. As they walked Zev began to become very distracted by something. Rijo noticed his friends change of demeanor and decided to question him on it.
“You alright there, Zev?” He got no response. Rijo tried to see what he was staring at. It seemed that Zev was staring directly at Commander Hurricane’s... oh my. Zev was locked in some sort of trance as he stared at the warrior pony’s flank. He couldn’t look away. He hadn’t realised that his tongue was now hanging out and he began to pant slightly. It took all of Rijo’s power not to laugh at his drooling companion. He had to admit, the Commander did have a fine looking flank for a species he had only just met. He didn’t blame Zev for staring, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t funny.
It didn’t take long for Commander Hurricane to realise something was amiss. The panting noise behind her seemed to grow in volume. She shot a quick look back...
“And just what are you staring at?” She questioned to the hypnotized wolf.
Zev let out a loud yelp. He’d been caught red-pawed staring at the rump of a species they had just met. He tried to lie his way out...
“Umm... I w-was... just admiring the beautiful...” he looked around, “scenery! Yea that’s it! I love this area!” His eyes darted back in forth hoping his lie would work. It didn’t.
Everyone around Zev burst into laughter. Ponies and wolves alike found the sight of the caught wolf to be outrageously funny. Everyone except Zev, of course who was blushing profusely. Æthelwulf even found himself laughing at his pack members embarrassment. Zev dropped to the ground and covered his face with his paws in an attempt to hide his blushing. The sight only made the others laugh more. The Commander walked to his side and placed her hoof on his shoulder.
“It’s ok there soldier,” she cooed, “I’m not gonna hit you or anything. I am pretty amazing looking ain’t I? It seems even other species can’t keep their eyes off me.” The Commander herself then began to giggle. She helped Zev back onto his feet and gave him a pat on his back. A rather hard pat, in fact. She then walked back over to her friends seeming to almost wiggle her rump on purpose. Zev found himself mesmerized again, but he quickly shook his head and went back to walking.
After about a half hour of walking they finally reached the village. Several wooden buildings dotted the landscape as wolves of all sizes went about their business in the town. There were so many wolves out and about that the ponies couldn’t even begin to count them all. They seemed to number in the hundreds. Æthelwulf noticed the astonished look on their faces.
“We are quite a large pack,” he stated matter-of-factly. “But even we pale in comparison to the Prince’s mighty Bloodmoon pack.”
“Prince?” questioned Clover with a look of curiosity of her face.
“Yes. He and his sister are hold up in the mighty Bloodmoon castle. Perhaps I will attempt to get you all an audience with him. I’m sure he would be quite interested in meeting you.”
“Well I would be very interested in meeting him! Being the princess that I am, I’m sure we will be able to chat about all things royal!” Princess Platinum seemed to beam with excitement over being able to meet royalty like herself.
“And I’d certainly like to meet more of your generals. I’d love to see just what kinds of things you wolves are capa-” The commander’s words were cut off as three beings sprung from the other side of the gate that marked the entrance to the village.. The three wolves that had jumped from the shadows were the darkest black imaginable. If it were fully night they would be almost invisible. All three of them wore equally as black armor on their bodies. The armor had several markings on it, though they were difficult to see unless they were in direct light. What worried the ponies the most is that two were armed with sharp swords. The handle of the blades was in their mouths as they bit down to hold it in place. The blade was turned sideways and leaned to the left of them as they began to slowly approach the group. Though they had swords in their mouths, it was clear that they were making growling sounds as they approached. The Princess, overcome with panic, quickly fainted at the sight. The other ponies, excluding the Commander who had taken a battle stance, were huddled together, shaking. The third one, who was unarmed and wore a more ornate set of armor with obvious markings that clearly indicated his rank, stepped towards Æthelwulf.
“Æthelwulf! Are you sure it was wise to bring these things here? How can we be sure they don’t pose a threat to our pack?”
“You question my judgement, Captain?” Æthelwulf snapped back, “When have I ever made a wrong decision? Now I would ask that your men back off from our guests.” Æthelwulf shot the Captain a stern look that told him that he was displeased.
The captain turned to his men and gave them the order to holster their weapons. The two dark soldiers complied, turned their heads, and placed the swords into the sheaths at their sides. They then regrouped behind their captain.
“My apologies Æthelwulf. I should never have misjudged you.” With that he and his men turned and walked in the opposite direction. Æthelwulf turned to address the frightened group of ponies and the battle ready pegasus.
“I apologise for that,” he began, “The Captain was just trying to ensure the safety of the village. I respect him for caring, but he should never distrust his pack leader’s judgment.”
“I understand,” Hurricane replied reassuringly, “My men would have done the same.”
Clover was next to speak. “Yeah, it’s fine. No harm done. Well... except for the princess.” She motioned to the unconscious princess on the ground in front of them.
“I apologise for that as well. Perhaps we should get her inside to get some rest. Follow me. Seeing that you are guests to my lands, I feel as though you should stay with me in my keep. I have several rooms that you may stay in and I’ll make sure my guards don’t bother you.”
“Oh we wouldn’t want to impose” Clover responded.
“Not at all. It would be my pleasure to have you stay in my keep.”
“Well what are we waiting for?” Puddinghead questioned the rest of her group. “Let’s go!” The rest nodded in agreement. Clover bent down and used her magic to lift the limp princess of the ground and place her onto her back. She found that the weight of her princess was too much for her to handle and her legs began to wobble as she struggled to carry her princess.
“Here let me help you with that.” In one swift motion Ulfric lifted the princess off of Clover’s back and threw her across his own.
“Thank you,” a relieved Clover said.
“Well let’s make haste to my keep. While you are all resting I will send a runner to inform the Prince and Princess of your presence here.”
Everyone nodded in unison as they began their march to the keep. While making their way through the village, they discovered it was even larger than they had first anticipated. It was easily large enough to be considered a city. Everywhere they turned they saw houses, shops, barracks, towers, and several training soldiers. It quickly became obvious that the wolves were even more militant than the mighty pegasi. Hurricane couldn’t help but smile at such military prowess, but she also began to feel a sense of worry growing in her. Though the wolves’ initial intentions seem peaceful, the number of warriors they have and their seemingly large love for battle made her fear that they could be a more hostile race than they let on.
The keep was positioned at the top of a large hill that marked the center of the village. It was one of the largest constructions the ponies had ever seen. The keep was made entirely of wood and had similar styles as the rest of the village. At the far back of the keep was a large open balcony that could allow one to watch over the entire town. The area of the keep encompassed several acres and left all portions of the hill covered. It was surrounded on all sides by a stone wall. Several guards patrolled the keep from atop the wall. They all turned their attention to the ponies as the group approached the entrance. The ponies felt very intimidated by the amount of eyes staring at them. All except for Commander Hurricane who showed no emotion at all. They crossed a small wooden bridge over a pool of water and approached the two large wooden doors that marked the entrance to this mighty keep. Æthelwulf went ahead and stood up on his hind legs as he placed one paw on each door.
“Welcome...” he began as he slowly pushed the doors open, “to the Faded Shadow Keep!”
“Wow!” All of the ponies seemed to speak in unison as they now found themselves in a lavish hall that was brightly lit from a large quantity of torches scattered across the room. A large, black carpet was in the middle and lead up a set of stairs to the next level of the keep. Several pillars followed on each side of the carpet, went up the stairs then changed directions, and went to the left and right. Æthelwulf continued to lead his guests farther into the keep. He got to the bottom of the short staircase and began his ascent.
As the group reached the top of the stairs, they found themselves in the throne room of the keep. A large wooden table, several yards in length, stood in the very center of the room. A seemingly endless number of chairs encircled the lavish dining table. To the left they saw a large opening in the wall leading to the kitchen and to the right they noticed another opening that seemed to lead to an office of some sort where a wolf appeared to be making strange mixtures in several vats. Clover identified this particular wolf to be an alchemist of sorts as she recognised several of the concoctions it was making. As the ponies continued to scan the enormous room, their eyes fell to the several colorful banners that draped the walls at the back of the dining table above and to the left and right of the throne.
“What are those banners for?” Clover finally broke the silence to ask.
“Well each one marks a different pack.” Rijo explained. “The pack banners that are present here are the Bloodmoon pack...” he pointed to a blood red banner with a black crescent moon in the center, ”...the Fallen Star pack...” he pointed to a blue banner with a golden embriol on the edges and a large golden star in the center, “...the Shattered Bone pack...” he pointed to a bone white banner with what appeared to be a set of sharp teeth biting a bone in half, “... and lastly, our pack, the Faded Shadow pack!” he pointed to the banner directly above the throne. This one was a silhouetted wolf howling at a moon, it’s shadow being cast against the ground the wolf stood upon.
“Is that all of the packs?” Smart Cookie questioned.
“No where close,” Zev joined in. “There’s thousands of packs spread throughout these lands. These are just the ones that we are most allied with, but we respect the others as well. All packs follow the leadings of the Prince and Princess. Though we may follow them in different ways, we all respect them as our glorious leaders. Well... almost all of us...”
“What do you mean by that?” Commander Hurricane asked as she raised an eyebrow.
“There was a pretty large rebellion not too long ago. A few wolves felt that the Prince was not fit to rule and seceded from their respective packs to form the “Shining Light” pack.” Zev spat as he mentioned the pack's name, “The leader of that group was one of our packs best generals. Thankfully, we were able to crush the “Shining Light” by the combined forces of the loyal packs. We even got the satisfaction of personally executing that traitorous dog.”
The ponies were taken aback by the almost gleeful tone Zev took as he explained how they executed the rebel leader, but they brushed it off and kept their composure.
“I took no pride in that execution...” Æthelwulf words seemed to hesitantly slide out of his mouth. “That wolf was a good leader even though his views were misguided. He was a good friend of mine growing up. I received no happiness from his death.” Æthelwulf hung his head for a moment before raising it again. “Now then. If you’ll kindly follow me, I’d like to show you all something.” Æthelwulf led the group to another set of stairs to the right of the throne and climbed them with his group still in tow. “Oh wait,” Æthelwulf stopped when he remembered something, “Ulfric. Please take the princess to the guest room and inform Kira to check and see if the princess is alright.”
“As you wish, Æthelwulf.” Ulfric broke from the group and headed down a nearby corridor before turning a corner and disappearing from sight.
“Who’s Kira?” Clover asked worried as to why this “Kira” needed to see the princess.
“She is our healer/alchemist. I just want her to make sure Princess Platinum is perfectly alright.”
“Oh, ok then.”
Once again the group reached a set of large doors. Æthelwulf motioned for Zev to open these ones he complied, opening the doors in a similar fashion to which Æthelwulf had opened the main entrance. They now found themselves out on the large balcony, staring out at the town and the landscape. The moon slowly began to rise over the horizon when the ponies noticed an extraordinary sight.
“Woah! Why is the moon red? I’ve never heard of it doing that before.” Clover seemed to always have a thirst for knowledge and the sight of a red moon peaked her yearning once more.
Æthelwulf turned to answer the curious pony’s question. “It’s the Bloodmoon. It is red because it holds the power of the Prince. Though if you were to leave our lands, the moon would turn to it’s normal white state. The moon and the Prince are one in the same. The moon is also one with the pack leaders.”
The ponies back up slowly as they noticed the bright red color Æthelwulf eyes had turned. It seemed as though Æthelwulf was changing; his fur grew more ruffled and he seemed to take on a more “wild” appearance, but his demeanor remained the same.
“The moon causes every pack leader to take on a more hardened form as it were. When the moon is full, as it is now, part of the Prince’s power is given to each one of the leaders. It turns our eyes a blood, red color and causes our muscles to strengthen to abnormal lengths. On the night we brought about the destruction of the “Shining Light” pack, the prince personally rose the moon during the day to give me and my fellow tribe leaders the edge we needed. The moon didn’t work on the rebels because since none of them remained loyal to their packs they did not receive the same blessing. They never stood a chance.”
“That’s incredible. I had no idea your species was so intertwined with the moon. It seems that without the moon, your species would not be able to go on.”
“Indeed. The moon has and will always be our domain. Nothing can change that.”
The ponies stared in awe and even fear at the mighty crimson moon. A silence befell the group until a voice was heard.
“There you are, elder! I heard you had arrived and I-” Shadowrun paused as he noticed the ponies. “Elder. Why are they here?” He gestured to the ponies as he spoke.
“They are our guests, Shadowrun.”
“If you feel they can be trusted, Æthelwulf, then I trust them as well. I informed everyone of them as you requested.”
“Good. I have another task for you. I need you to journey to the Bloodmoon castle and inform the Prince that we have guests. I’m sure he will be eager to meet them.”
“Of course. I’ll leave immediately.” Shadowrun made a dash towards the group before turning sharply and leaping over the balcony. The ponies all gasped and ran to look if the wolf was alright. Shadowrun had landed on top of the surrounding wall and leaped off that before reaching the bottom of the hill and rushing through the town. He was traveling at amazing speeds.
“Well, he did say he’d leave immediately,” Æthelwulf noted as he began to laugh. The rest of the group joined in. It was a glorious thing. Two species who had only met mere hours ago were sharing a good laugh and treating each other as good friends...
~~~
“Why do they hate us then, papa?” Wyndbain questioned, bringing an end to his father’s story telling.
“Huh?” His father replied having not heard his kin clearly.
“The ponies. Why do they hate us now? From what you say, it seems like we were all getting along in the beginning. What cause the hatred between us?”
Wyndbain’s father sighed. “It’s true that when our species first met we were well on our way to become close allies. However, a series of events would soon unfold. Events that would lead our two races into a war that would change our future forever. A war that would cost each side countless lives. A war... that would lead to our own downfall.”
