Blood Wolves

...Canterlot Palace…

...Six Days After Wedding…

Princess Celestia, the beloved monarch of Equestria, bearer of the sun, teacher of Twilight Sparkle, and sister of Princess Luna. She has been alive for many years, and has seen many things in her lifetime. She has seen what Discord could do to a pony, she has seen the war for Equestria, she has watched as friends came and gone, and she has even seen her own sister turn evil. These things were resolved thankfully, so there was no need to worry about these things… but she was beginning to grow tired. She missed her old friends, and she has felt the pain of being immortal.

She has always somehow managed to keep her spirits up, however, whether it be from a silly prank, or by spending time with her new friends. She loves to watch her little ponies grow and learn, and she has grown fond of her position, even if it grew boring or difficult at times. There would be a little tension between the races of Equis, but nothing she couldn’t settle down. Everything was always kept in peace and harmony, war never being on their doorstep… it came close at times, but never actually knocked.

But, there was still the fact that after everything her home went through, they never did anything all that big. Sure, they stopped ancient evils, but they didn’t necessarily deal with anything too difficult. It felt as though the universe was waiting for the right time to test Equis, waiting for the right time to enter their home and greet them. At least… that’s how Luna felt. Celestia felt that they have been dealing with very difficult tasks, and that they have proven themselves more than once.

Speaking of Celestia, she has been sitting in her throne room for nearly three hours now, dealing with the day court, and doing her best to aid the ponies that need help. It was something she’s always dealt with, ever since she took her first step in the throne room.

Just as Celestia was ready to take a rather quick nap, she heard the hoofsteps of three ponies stepping up to the throne. Looking to see who they were, she gained a small smile upon seeing three ponies from the dig teams. But strangely they seemed to be shuffling in their spots.

“Pipeline, Hail Storm, Hole Digger. What brings you three here?”

Pipeline, a grey coated unicorn with a green mane and tail, as well as having a set of blue irises and a long pipe full of oil as a cutie mark, gave a quick bow before clearing his throat, and pulling on that strange collar he always wore. “We, uh… we thought it’d be best to tell you that… we… we found something.”

Celestia grew curious at that, given they never come to tell her what they found except for old pony ruins. “What might have you three found that is so important?”

Hail Storm stepped up at that. He was a light blue pegasus with a silver mane and tail, holding silver irises, and had a hail storm cloud as a cutie mark. “We’ve found a ruin. it’s… different, from pony ruins. It doesn’t seem to hold any form of our own magic, but… it’s own kind instead.” Celestia’s eyes widened. “The ruins seem to be far more advanced than our own, unknown metals and materials used to build the walls. There are strange lights down there as well, but that’s about it. The best we could come up with from what we’ve seen is that these ruins were here before…”

Hail stayed silent, causing Hole Digger to step up. His coat was a soft brown, with a dirty blond mane and tail. His irises were red, while he had a shovel next to a hole for a cutie mark. “We believe the ruins to have once been home to whatever lived on Equis before the ponies did.”

Celestia was very wide eyed now. “Truly?” They nodded. “I never expected us to… not have been the first species on Equis.” They shuffled awkwardly in their place. “Please, make preparations for myself and the Elements of Harmony. I know they aren’t needed, but I do not wish for the guards to get involved.”

They bowed in response. “Yes, Princess.”

Celestia nodded as they began to leave, while she turned to one of the guards. “Send a letter to Twilight…” She thought for a moment. “Better yet, I’ll send her one myself.”

The guard bowed in response. “Of course, your highness.”

…Two Days Later…

...Excavation Site…

Twilight Sparkle, the bearer of the Element of Magic, number one student of Princess Celestia, and best friends with the Mane Six, sighed softly to herself as she stood on the elevator that was currently taking her, her friends, and Celestia down to the underground while the three dirty ponies next to them were whispering to themselves. Twilight felt awkward next to them, given she could smell them from a mile away, and she guessed they were the ‘Dig Team’ Celestia spoke of.

Celestia then spoke to pass the time. “Twilight.” Said student looked at her. “While we wait to reach the bottom, allow me to introduce you all to the head researchers of the dig team. This is Pipeline.” Said unicorn gave a nod. “This is Hail Storm.” The pegasus grunted as his wings stiffened. “And this is Hole Digger.”

Said pony smirked at them, and spoke. “Ever heard of the song ‘I’m A Dwarf and I’m Digging A Hole’?”

Twilight leaned away from him. “No… I can’t say I have.”

He chuckled as he looked off in space. “Ah, every time I ask that, ponies give me that same strange look. And to tell you the truth, it’s a very popular song. You should give it a listen when you get the chance.”

Twilight gave her own awkward chuckle, and looked forward in embarrassment for not knowing something that apparently everypony else did.

“This is so boring!”

Hail Storm gave another grunt. “I may be a pegasus, but I never could see why other pegasi couldn’t learn to be patient.”

The one to have made the comment, Rainbow Dash, glared back at him. “I know how to be patient!”

“Then shut your mouth and be patient.”

Pipeline immediately covered his mouth, chuckling just as awkwardly as Twilight. “Sorry about him, he’s… always in a bad mood.”

Hail Storm simply gave another grunt as he looked away from them. Rainbow easily did the same, not liking him at all.

Just as that happened, the elevator touched down, revealing the massive room of the ruins that the three have discovered. This earned gasps from both the Mane Six and Celestia, while the Dig Team had already shared their shock and surprise. It was quite beautiful… for a dusty and old ruin.

As they stepped off of the elevator, and trotted around the room, they took note of the lights coming from the walls and tables around them, as well as what must’ve been a door off at the end.

Pipeline smiled as he trotted around. “Welp, here it is, the ruins of whatever was on Equis before us.”

The Mane Six immediately yelled in unison. “WHAT?!”

Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle awkwardly. “I’m sorry, I forgot to mention that part.”

The dig team simply shrugged in response, while Pipeline stepped up to the only door in the room. “This is what’s been keeping us from getting any further into the ruins, so we were hoping to get some help from you, Princess. We need to figure out how to open this door, and get further inside.”

Celestia nodded as she stepped up to the door, and examined it. After a little examination, she tapped the door, and immediately there was a spark of energy that shot through the door, shocking everypony as it sparked a little more, before shuttering as a strange green light came up. It seemed to be a kind of theme for this place, strange lights everywhere. But once Celestia awkwardly tapped the light, it pulsed before disappeared, and the door slid apart, shocking everypony once again.

Celestia peeked inside, seeing nothing in the darkness, until the lights flickered, revealing many shadowy figures in the room, and earning a gasp from Celestia as the lights shut off. When they turned on in full, the shadows were gone, nothing but the strange room in view.

Celestia gave a long look around, and thought to herself before looking at the others. “Whatever used to live here, may still be alive, and living down here.”

Everypony gasped upon hearing that, while Pipeline was smiling. “Amazing! Living aliens! We may actually find a living, breathing alien! What a great opportunity!”

Twilight shook her head at him. “I agree, this is a great opportunity, but we shouldn’t get excited. They’ve been living down here for who-knows how long, so they could be hostile, if not a bit cautious of us.”

Pipeline immediately gained a black cloud over his head while they began trotting into the room, keeping together.

The room seemed to be a kind of observation room from the looks of it, and there was currently a pitch black room with a window separating them from it. This caused Celestia to step towards it, and try to see inside. But what she saw made her gasp. A set of red eyes looking back at her.

The others looked, and gasped upon seeing the eyes as well. But… the eyes didn’t do anything, simply looked at them.

Celestia took a calming breath, then gave a soft smile as she looked at the eyes. “Hello, can you hear me?”

The eyes blinked, while they heard what sounded strangely like a timberwolf barking, which shocked them. What was this creature hidden in the shadows?

“Do you… understand me?”

The eyes tilted sideways, meaning it must’ve tilted it’s head, which was what a dog did most times if curious. Was this creature a kind of timberwolf or dog?

Celestia thought for a moment, before seeing another light. She tapped it, and a light turned on through the window, and they were shocked by what they saw.

Standing at the window was a… some kind of dog like creature, standing on it’s hindlegs, and wearing a set of black armor over it’s body. It’s arms seemed to be hardened like armored skin, with large claw like appendages that seemed to hold red cracks along them. The creature itself had blue fur, and strange markings on it’s forehead as it gave them a curious look.

Celestia could only stare with wide eyes as it looked at her curiously. It gave another dog like bark, and pointed at a light to the side. This made Celestia gulp, and touch it.

Just then there was a strange, emotionless barking, before it slowly changed to their own language.

“Translation Test Complete.”

The creature then spoke in their language. “Do you understand me now?”

Celestia was shocked by this, but simply nodded.

“That’s good, it’s a pain trying to learn another species' language, so thankfully we got our computers to do it for us.” It… or he, gave a wolfish smile, which must’ve been a sweet smile for their kind. “Might I know your name?”

Celestia calmed down and cleared her throat, trying her best to find her voice. After a moment, she gave an awkward smile. “It’s Celestia, Princess Celestia.”

The wolf tilted his head. “Princess?” She nodded. “Then who’s the queen?”

Celestia immediately realized the confusion. “Oh! We don’t work like that. We only require Princesses, who are Alicorns.”

“Alicorns?” Celestia nodded. “Huh… we thought your kind were only in myths, creatures of high importance that if one gained the favor of it, they would grant them any wish they requested. It’s never been proven true, but the legend of your kind was something that gave our children happiness in their dreams.”

Celestia smiled sweetly at this. “That’s interesting. But… may I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“What are you?”

The wolf chuckled lightly. “My race is known as the Blood Wolves. We have lived on this planet, Oremanga, for years, training in war and science. But one day, we all began to hear screaming and cries for help from outside. The doors wouldn’t open, and we soon found ourselves locked in this building for an unknown amount of years. Centuries of blood lines and this building has become our new home. We don’t know how long it’s been… but from the looks of you, I can only guess we have been gone longer than expected.”

Celestia couldn’t help but feel a tear form on her cheek. “I’m truly sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help?”

The Blood Wolf nodded at that. “Let us out of this prison, find us land to call our own so we may rebuild, and we will be a powerful ally in the future.”

Celestia could tell he was serious on this, and truly would do this. “I believe you. We will let you out, and we will let you take a part of Equestria that I know you will find good for your own.”

He placed his massive claw against the window. “We… I, owe you my debt. If there is anything I can do to repay this in the future, feel free to ask.”

Celestia smiled at this. “Thank you.” She then looked around. “Now, how do I let you out?”

“Simple, let us leave how you came in. Isn’t that the only exit?”

She smiled even more. “It is.”

The Blood Wolf then left the room past the window, while Twilight stepped up to Celestia. “A… are you sure we can trust them? We just met them.”

Applejack nodded at this. “Ah reckon so, Twilight. Ah can sniff a lie a mile away. That there feller told us t’ honest truth.”

Twilight stayed silent at that, before slowly nodding.