Wolfsing

by PaperMoonWolf

Rating: teen
Tags: Romance
Length: 19752

Wolfsing is trying to prove that she's more than just another filly, trying to learn what her cutie mark really means, but someponies just can't seem to stay out of her way. Sometimes she doesn't even know they're there.

Wolfsing, a young mare, rises to her new position, learning about wolves a politics alongside a mysterious stallion that lives among the Everfree. Another mare, hungry for power and recognition, has plans of her own, hoping to turn Equestria–an Equestria before Nightmare Moon's return–on its head.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-08-10 16:42:57 UTC

Prologue

Wolfsing watched from the shade of a tree as a group of ponies practiced their battle techniques. They were a specialty force known as the Scythe ponies, and as a testament to this most of them had a scythe cutie mark. They were all family, one way or another and they were trained to fight with sickles from a very young age. One such pony, Cakern, glanced at her with undisguised irritation.

She turned her head away arrogantly. He was just upset with her because she had refused him when he tried to ask her for a date. She wasn’t the type of pegasus to waste time with courting, especially with someone as arrogant as this scythe pony. She hated being a mare of Canterlot castle.

When she was very young her father died in a military accident, being a very famous guard pony with a blood red coat like hers though he had a rust colored mane. She got her emerald mane from her mother, Gladesong, who was a shunning shade of green. Her father, Bloodtryst, had earned the name Wolfsing from killing a wolf, or so the stories went. She remembered him telling her stories about how he went out to the forest and spoke with the wolves and how they were great friends and so, rather than claiming the name himself and wearing it as a badge of something he was ashamed of, he would give it to her to always remember what he taught her about coexisting with the forest and the ponies around her.

Personally she didn’t understand that last part. She didn’t find it necessary to interact with the ponies around her. Canterlot was the home to a bunch of upstarts and arrogant foals. She cared greatly about Celestia, but even she neglected her. She had taken her in after her father had been killed—Gladesong had died long before that of a contagious disease that had swept the area—and promised her an education and an easy life. Her father was certainly deserving of the privileges she got, if only it didn’t restrict her freedom.

As a mare of Canterlot courts she was expected to act as a princess would, with absolute dignity. She was expected to be content with her life in the castle, and she was never allowed into the forest. That was the one thing that she wanted more than anything else, however. It was how she got her cutie mark, after all.

She remembered, as she stared at the nearby castle wall and her mind went out to the forest, how she had escaped one day from her caretaker, Croll, an old and paranoid grey earth pony. She remembered how the trees towered over her, and the light shined through the leafy branches as if welcoming her. She felt so light and free and the sting of losing her father lessened. It felt as if he were standing beside her, guiding her, and nothing could possibly hurt her. Then there rang a sound, as if straight from a dream, that rang through the trees. It was the sound of a lone wolf howling and she found herself raising her head as if to answer it.

She would have, too, she thought, but at that moment Croll and Cakern’s father, Sara, appeared, looking stern and upset with her. They took her back and she hadn’t been able to leave since. It still left an imprint on her mind as well as her flank. Her cutie mark was the profile of a wolf’s head facing right with a red wing unattached to the left of it. Sara, ever since he saw it that day, had always looked at her with suspicious. It was no secret that he and most of the scythe ponies were anti-wolf and would drive and kill them until there were none left in the Everfree forest if it weren’t against the law.

Croll approached her, distracting her from her daydreams that were growing more and more vivid. “You know Celestia won’t be pleased to hear that you’ve skipped language usage and etiquette class again,” he said in his rusty, squeaky voice.

“I wasn’t going to miss it,” she assured him, getting to her hooves. “I was in fact on my way there now.”

“Good,” he replied, his eyes narrowed suspiciously as she trotted past him. As soon as she was away from him she rolled her eyes. She doubted Celestia cared if she missed that particular class. She was fantastic in reading and spelling since her father had insisted on instilling a love of reading in her when she was very young. Instead she had other ideas. The Scythe Ponies were currently occupied with their exercises and so nopony noticed as she flew over the walls and trotted silently into the city, nor through the alleyways, nor into the forests as she passed beyond the limits of the city.

****

Thornpaw followed in the very back. His father, Fangsor—the name his father had, that maybe his father had, and no doubt both of his uncles had as the story went—along with his sister Sparrowsun were ahead. Each day his father would lead them closer and closer to the borderline that the ponies and wolves of old agreed upon. It was no secret to Thornpaw that his father despised the ponies and didn’t feel bound to an agreement that was made before he was born by a group of packs that weren’t his ancestors. He still obeyed the line, but only barely, and likely because he feared the ponies and their magic and technology that a wolf couldn’t hope to utilize.

“Don’t you think we’re getting a bit close to the line?” Thornpaw warned, causing Fangsor to pause and turn to glare at him.

“What did you say? Do you do what the ponies want? Are you, perhaps, afraid of them?” He snarled, glaring hatefully at Thornpaw.

Thornpaw wisely lowered his head. He could have just as easily faced him aggressively—Fangsor was getting old and would likely lose in a fight—but Thornpaw was perfectly fine with how things were. He didn’t care that his father hated him. He knew it was because he reminded him of his mother, unlike his sister who had reddish brown fur like his father. Thornpaw, however, was a wolf with black fur and strange green eyes that sparked with their own intelligence. He knew that if he defied Fangsor and showed that he was able to outmatch him, the old wolf would likely leave, giving Sparrowsun and him less of a reason to continue living together rather than finding mates of their own. He loved his sister dearly and nothing meant more to him than her wellbeing and so he put up with the abusive undercurrent in his father’s voice.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, “but I’m not afraid of the ponies. I simply don’t think we should waste time and energy. You’ve been straying farther and farther from our own territory as of late.”

“Don’t speak to me as if you know better than me. This is my pack and it’s my call where we go,” Fangsor replied loudly.

“Maybe we should keep going,” Sparrowsun said, intervening for Thornpaw’s sake. “We don’t want to be out too late or we might run into some timber wolves.”

This quieted the old wolf. All three of them were cautious about running into timber wolves; rumored to be the spirits of wolves that died in the wars of old between the ponies and wolves when there were no borders. They were thought to have possessed the discarded branches of the forest and they attacked ponies and wolves alike, envious and vengeful towards the living.

Fangsor agreed and so they continued on their way. Thornpaw was discontented to find that they had in no way altered their path, but he dared not start another fight.

To his dismay they came to the very edge of the forest and he could see the walls of Canterlot in the distance. He walked lower to the ground, his nerves on end. Fangsor growled at him when he noticed.

“Blast you! Why must my own son be such a coward?!” He growled, turning and baring his fangs at him. “We’ve not crossed the border yet and you’re already crawling on your belly like a dog.”

“You’re acting unreasonable,” Thornpaw replied. “What would you have me say if something was to happen to Sparrowsun?”

“I think I can speak for myself,” she growled at him, though she looked just as nervous.

He ignored her as he continued, “The point is that I’m sick of your games. I know you realize that this is more dangerous than you act. It’s all just a game!”

“I’ll prove you wrong,” Fangsor replied angrily. “This very day we’re going to kill one of them and walk away unscathed and you’ll realize what a fool you’re being for defying my wishes. Truly you are only a thorn in my side.”

Thornpaw bristled as Fangsor turned quickly and took a step to follow, but something, thin and silvery, caught his eye. He looked up to see a series of sharpened, medium sized logs that he knew to be attached to the thread. He cried out, but it was too late as Fangsor stepped on the thread. He only had time to save one of them, Sparrowsun in line with the trap as well. He slammed into her, knocking her to the ground, just as the trap sprang and impaled Fangsor, driving through him. He was dead almost instantly.

The siblings did not witness their father’s death, however, as Thornpaw unwittingly pushed Sparrowsun into a pit trap in which they both fell. They hit the bottom with a loud thump, but they were hurt no more than the wind being knocked out of them though Sparrowsun lost consciousness from the shock. Thornpaw was awake a few seconds more, long enough to catch sight of the yellow circle of light above him. He groaned as he thought he saw someone looking down on him before his vision blurred and he was no longer aware.

***

Wolfsing didn’t come anywhere close to where Thornpaw and his very small pack had been ambushed. She had, in fact, entered the forest without incident in a more northern part far from where Fangsor and his pups roamed.

That did not change how she felt. Things seemed a lot different from when she was a filly, and she wasn’t convinced she couldn’t be hurt any longer. Even the smallest sound made her feel nervous, and she honestly wondered if it would be better if she just turned back and went back to the castle without mentioning that she left in the first place.

She shook the thoughts away quickly, glancing at her flank a time or two to remind herself that this was where her talent led her. What did that even mean? Maybe she was meant to be a sort of negotiator or representative for the wolves. If they had a representative that was a pony then maybe those ponies that were complaining about the wolves would see things their way. Then again she began to doubt whether or not wolves could speak the pony language. She saw plenty of dogs and all they did was bark. She began to feel more and more uneasy as the branches above her began to grow thicker, and it became darker, and she found herself going deeper and deeper.

A loud snarl made her stop in her tracks and she turned quickly towards the sound. There stood one of the biggest wolves she’d ever seen. Well, she never really saw a wolf in real life before, but they were far bigger than she imagined they would be.

She smiled widely, trying to show that she was friendly, but that fell away as another wolf appeared along her side and other wolves surrounded her. All around her were hostile wolves and there was no escape in sight.

“I’m sorry,” she cried. “I didn’t mean to intrude. I just want to be friends…” They hardly seemed to care and showed no signs of understanding her, only growling louder and coming closer and closer as she turned about at least twice.

“Stop,” a commanding voice said, and out of nowhere a tall unicorn stallion appeared. His coat was a bright lime color and his mane was dark blue so there was no chance for her to mistake him for another wolf though he certainly had the ruggedness of the wolves around him.

“You control them?” She stuttered, beginning to smile hesitantly.

“I’m talking to you,” he said stiffly. “They don’t like when ponies smile like that. It looks like you’re baring your teeth at them. Only wolves command wolves, and even then it’s up to the wolf to listen or leave.”

Wolfsing nodded, having no trouble losing her smile as she felt a twinge of disappointment. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go, she thought to herself. As her smile became less noticeable some, though not all, of the wolves stop baring their fangs at her and raising their hackles.

“Who are you, and what do you think you’re doing here?” The unicorn asked her, his dark green eyes hard as he stared into her crystal green eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she nearly stuttered. “I came here to learn about the wolves, but I didn’t know how much I didn’t know.” Her voice grew quieter and tighter with shame as she added, “I came from the Canterlot castle and my name is Wolfsing…after my father. H-He taught me about the wolves at first, but I was really young and since then I’ve only remembered the forest he told me about.”

The strange unicorn looked at her curiously for a moment before finally saying her name, as if trying to decide if it was good or bad. “Wolfsing…I suppose if you’re telling the truth I can tell you a few things.”

As if this was a signal, most of the wolves, including those who were still showing a bit of hostility, dispersed, the rest watching curiously.

“R-Really,” she said, working hard not to smile like she was so used to. She noticed that he seemed to wear a permanent scowl, but she realized this was probably just as good as a smile for this pony that lived among wolves. “What is your name?” She felt stupid, wondering why that was the first thing that came to mind.

He gave her a strange look and it took a moment as if he was trying to figure that out himself. He finally said, “The wolves call me Wolftail so you can call me that too. It’s because of my mark.” He turned a bit to show the mark, the image of a wolf’s tail.

She nodded softly, no longer sure what she should say to this unicorn who must have been countless years ahead of her. Realistically he was about the same age as her, maybe a month or two older.

“I was raised here,” he said, his voice a bit clipped as he explained, “my father wasn’t fond of the way ponies lived in your Canterlot and my mother would follow him anywhere. He built the log cabin over this way, where I stay now. He died of sickness and my mother died of heart sickness.” He looked uncomfortable talking about himself so he added, “So what do you want to know of wolves?”

She shrugged a bit and replied in a quiet voice, “I really don’t know. I guess everything. I mean my father taught me a lot about them, but I was really young. I already said that though. I just knew that wolves aren’t as bad as the ponies say and I wanted to see for myself.”

“They don’t trust ponies much,” he said, looking distant now. “They keep their stories alive by telling them again and again and so I know there was a war a long time ago between the wolves and ponies when the ponies first came to these ancient woods, looking for more land in order to expand. One day the sun princess—Celestia?—came and spoke with the strongest alphas of the forest. She made a deal with them stating that they would no longer take from the forest as long as the wolves did not come and attack the ponies in their villages and allowed them passage if they were passing through as they would another wolf. If a wolf should attack out of the forest they would be punished as a pony however just like if a wolf was caught stealing prey from another pack in the forest.

“Still, they fear that Celestia will lose interest in our deal or else turn a blind eye. Wolves don’t have a single leader like ponies do in your Equestria after all. Only a sick or old wolf would attack a pony for fear of retaliation, but my pack is a bit different. They wouldn’t have killed you, but they aren’t afraid to bear their fangs at you and stand their ground because I was raised alongside them and they know I will stand for them. My father was a friend of wolves, just like Bloodtryst. Would you know of him?”

“He’s my father,” she said quietly, looking surprised, though pleasantly so.

She didn’t know how since he still wore his solemn expression, but there was something about his stance that made her think he was happy and excited to hear this.

“Why don’t you come back to my cabin with me?” He asked her, the sound of excitement definitely in his voice. “First of all I’ll tell you about the stance of the wolves, how it conveys emotions that ponies often just use their faces to express—rather badly, I’d say.”

“I would love to,” she replied, her inflection seeming to copy his as she started to get used to his subtle mannerisms, “but those in Canterlot will start to worry about me if I don’t start to head back soon.”

“Then let me lead you back. It’s easy to get disoriented when you’re not used to these woods,” he replied, looking a bit discouraged, but still determined. “I can tell you a few things on the way back.”

“That would be great,” she replied happily, reminding herself just in time not to smile like she was accustomed to. She didn’t know why mentioning her father’s name had opened him to her, but she found that she liked this stallion even if he seemed eons ahead of her. She seemed to gain a bit of a spring to her step as she glanced into his dark green eyes one more time. He was no longing looking so hard into hers, but she was starting to realize this was a good thing as they headed back to the castle. He even began to joke a bit with her, and she slowly started to catch on. She couldn’t explain it, but she felt so happy.

Ch 2 Dark Connotations

“Celestia! I demand that action be taken. A strange stallion has breached our defenses and is now wandering freely among our ponies!”

Solomen scuffed his hooves nervously, but Selena merely smiled, completely unconcerned beneath the surface, though outwardly she looked just as concerned as Cakern.

“What?” Celestia replied, looking alarmed. “What do you mean breached?”

“Just what I said! Breached! There has been a stallion that no one has seen before spending time with Wolfsing. He’s the biggest pony I’ve ever seen! They may even be working together to do…something,” Cakern hissed, fuming.

“Is that all?” Celestia answered, looking annoyed. “I know about this stallion. I’ve seen him as well, and I’ve decided that he’s no threat to Wolfsing or Canterlot. This is hardly the kind of news you should be wasting my time with.”

“Well of course he’s not a threat to Wolfsing! They’re plotting together. She’s too clever to make it obvious,” the pegasus stallion cried.

“Alright,” Celestia replied reasonably, though she was obviously tiring of his yelling. “Bring him here and I’ll see for myself. Just tell them that I called on them and I’m sure they will come. I would appreciate if you would not use force.”

“I will, Princess Celestia,” he replied, turning with a huff, and for a moment she was a bit concerned that he meant that he was using force.

“I’ll go with him,” Selena replied with an empathetic look, “to make sure he doesn’t get himself into trouble.”

“Thank you, Swallowdeath,” she answered, missing her sour look as Selena turned away. “I’m always grateful for a bit of help with these kind of things."

"I'm always grateful to help," she replied as she turned to leave, Solomen at her side. He felt relieved as soon as they were out of the room, wondering how the pony princess could have possibly miss him.

"For something that happened over nine centuries ago, before either us were born, she sure seems to dwell on what she did to her sister," Selena commented, seemingly out of nowhere.

"What happened to her? You aren't to tell me that she’s lived that long. Nobody can live that long," Solomen muttered as he walked alongside her so he wouldn't have to speak louder than he had to. He hated when Selena started talking to him like this, as if there were no chance that anyone was listening.

"Nopony," she corrected him. "For somepony that wants to stay out of sight, you certainly don't bother to blend in."

He wanted to contradict her on which one of them was responsible for his lack of blending, but held his tongue. He knew it would do him no good to argue with her, though he felt that if ‘anypony’ was trying to make him stick out, it was Selena herself. She didn’t seem interested in continuing their conversation anymore so he continued following her in silence.

Ahead of them, Selena could just barely make out what Cakern was saying. It was something about how he swore they were in the woods. He seemed to go into the forest without any worries at all, which Selena found silly of him. There were many vengeful wolves in this forest, and his silly wings would hardly carry him away fast enough if they caught him here. As it went, no wolves seemed to be around and none barred his path.

“Are you sure we should be following so close?” Solomen asked Selena quietly. “There are wolves all around us. I don’t know why they haven’t done anything yet. It’s almost as if they’ve got orders not to attack the likes of us.”

Selena glanced around, using a bit of her magic to check, and she found he was right. “Don’t worry about it. They won’t be able to come anywhere close to us even if they do choose to attack.” Her horn glowed and Solomen paused for a moment. It felt like there was a layer of silk covering him as he walked. “That will prevent them from seeing or smelling us, so we won’t have to worry about being cautious.”

Solomen nodded as he walked alongside her, still feeling uneasy though the wolves around them seemed to stop paying attention to their movement altogether. He imagined Selena’s spell also had an element to it that made those who were seeking them forget what they were looking for, because he knew for a fact that this strange pack wouldn’t simply give up on them just because they disappeared out of the blue without a cause.

They nearly ran into Cakern. He stood stunned as he walked Raisong and Wolfsing. He was standing in thick bushes, but Selena didn’t doubt that they would notice him when he was standing there, gaping like that. She knocked him out cold and he fell with a soft thump. She was glad that they didn’t hear it, though the next moment she nearly forgot about it.

As Solomen walked up beside her, he looked a bit shocked as well.

“We can definitely use this,” Selena said with a malevolent grin. “I’ll have to remember to clear Cakern’s little mind of the last few minutes as well.”

***

An hour prior, Raisong found himself rushing Wolfsing through the forest. “I’ve waited too long,” he explained, “It’s not fair of me to keep this from you much longer. Don’t worry about anyone following us either. I already told my pack not to attack any ponies they see in case they’re your friends from that castle.”

“I hardly have friends from the castle,” Wolfsing replied, though that wasn’t entirely true. She had to admit that she did care about some of them, but she didn’t think those ones would actually follow her this far. “What is this all about?”

“I can’t tell you yet. You might get upset,” Raisong warned her. “I just want you to trust me.”

She considered stopping and not moving again until he told her exactly what he was planning, but a part of her was afraid that if she did that he would turn her back on her. She couldn’t stand the thought of him leaving her, the thought of being all alone in the castle again, being doted on by Croll and harassed by Cakern.

“I promise my intentions are good,” Raisong reassured her, seeing the pain and uncertainty on her face. “I’m just really scared because I don’t think you’ll like what you see, but I promise I won’t hurt you.”

It felt strange to hear him admit that in his deep, foreboding voice that would have scared lesser ponies away, but Wolfsing was strangely reassured nonetheless. When they finally arrived at his cabin he looked nervous and agitated as he turned about. His dark, green eyes betrayed his worries despite how his face always seemed devoid of emotions. His mane seemed to shiver.

“What I’m about to show you might scare you, and I don’t know what it might look like to you. You can close your eyes and open them when I tell you to, or you can just watch,” he explained.

She didn’t have time to ask him what he was talking about, and she didn’t bother to close her eyes. Her breath was taken away as he suddenly changed before her. The tall stallion was replaced by a huge wolf, and Wolfsing felt a sense of relief rather than fear when she realized that she had suspected this the entire time. Perhaps not on the way here, but here and now it all made sense. The only thing that could have been wrong with this was his blaring colors, lime green with a dark blue stripe down his back starting from his forehead. His coloring as a pony certainly didn’t flatter him as a wolf. Even so, she loved him no less.

“You aren’t afraid?” Raisong asked her, and she was surprised for a moment. Raisong had hinted that the wolves could speak the pony language, but his own pack simply didn’t want to talk to her.

“Of course I’m not!” Wolfsing replied after the initial shock wore off. “I love you for sharing this secret with me!”

“Then you understand that it’s a secret to be kept from those in your castle,” Raisong stated more than asked.

“It’s hardly my castle, but of course I wouldn’t mention this to them. They would simply become frightened, or worse. At best they wouldn’t believe me and would disallow me to come out here again.”

Raisong’s fur stood on end and he snarled as Selena came out. He changed back quickly, as if that would be enough to make her forget what she saw.

“Don’t worry,” she explained as Solomen walked out behind her. “I won’t tell anyone yet. I have mistrust to sow first.”

“Swallowdeath?” Wolfsing asked with some trepidation. This unicorn was the last mare she would expect to see out here, and as far as Wolfsing knew, she preferred to stick to herself. What was she even doing so far out into the woods?

“I would prefer if you would call me Selena, not that you will remember that. It’s a real shame,” Selena replied as Raisong’s pack surrounded her. She sneered, hardly worried about it even as Raisong’s horn started to glow dangerously. She wasn’t worried. She doubted he knew anything beyond pragmatic magic, and maybe a few weak attack spells necessary to survive so long on his own.

As he charged at her everything seemed to freeze. Everypony except for Solomen and Selena herself seemed to be stuck in a bubble, including the wolves. She smiled as Wolfsing shot her a dirty look a moment before she erased their memories. Memory tampering was one of her many talents, after all. They all collapsed, a part of the effect of the spell.

“What are you going to do now?” Solomen asked him, his nostrils flaring and his hooves scoring the earth. “This looks like a big mess.

“There’s nothing left to be done. Everything that I need to do here has been taken care of. They won’t remember that I saw that brute change forms—probably a curse, but that’s not really important—and Cakern won’t remember what he saw either. It’s still there though, and I’ll be able to unlock it again when I need to. For now let’s get out of here before any of them wakes up again.”

She turned about and brought up her cloaking spell again before walking away, Solomen following after a moment. Her magic made him nervous to say the least. She seemed dangerous even among ponies, or perhaps she was just dangerous.

All of them awoke feeling groggy and confused, but Wolfsing felt a sense of relief. She still remembered the fact that Raisong could change into a wolf. She wanted to ask him a thousand questions—even if it were possible for her—but the next moment all those thoughts were shattered as Cakern awoke as well and stepped forward, looking angry.

He glared at them, and for a moment she was afraid that he had seen Raisong change as well. His next words dowsed her doubts. She knew that even he wouldn’t care about this more than the fact that there was a pony amongst them that could become a wolf.

“What do you think you two are doing? There’s no way I can condone the two of you coming so far into the woods just to be alone together,” Cakern hissed.

“He lives here,” Wolfsing growled back, “and you’re trespassing!”

“Trespassing? Nonsense! This is wild land that belongs to nopony. I should report him for this and I should turn you into Celestia for this treacherous behavior,” Cakern hissed at her. “Don’t you see that he’s an outsider? That he means you nothing but harm?”

“Is he an outsider or are you just an elitist like the rest of them? Don’t you see how much I hate it there and how much I hate all of you and your elitist attitudes? I swear if my parents were still alive I wouldn’t even be living amongst Celestia’s courts. I would be far from here by now!”

Cakern frowned before turning away from her and taking a couple of steps before glancing back at them over his shoulder. “Both of you come with me, or you’ll be considered enemies of Equestria and scythe ponies will be sent to apprehend you—or worse.”

“What did you—!”

“I think we should go,” Raisong told her, stepping ahead of her.

“What? We don’t have to do anything he says! He can’t send anypony after us and he knows it,” Wolfsing snapped.

“Maybe, but I think it’s in our best interest just to go,” Raisong answered. “I think it’s about time I identified myself to this court of yours. I would hate to cause more trouble for the both of us, and I would hate for more of these ‘scythe ponies’ to find my home.”

Wolfsing nodded quietly and followed behind him without a word. Many of the ponies that were out that day stared openly at Raisong as he was led by Cakern. They hissed and whispered when they noticed Wolfsing behind him, as if it were any of their business.

“Old hens,” she hissed again and again.

Though on most days Princess Celestia would have been too busy to see them on the spur of the moment, she seemed intrigued to meet Raisong, and he showed similar interest in her. “I’ve never seen an alicorn before,” he whispered to Wolfsing.

“Maybe I’ll be an alicorn one day,” Wolfsing replied, though it was only a joke.

“Maybe,” he replied seriously.

“Princess Celestia,” Cakern addressed her, sounding on the edge of exploding, “This blood traitor—going by the name of Raisong—was found living in the Everfree forest. He has a cabin there and everything. He stole Wolfsing away. Who knows what he would have done to her if I hadn’t arrived!”

Celestia looked more amused than concerned as she watched Raisong carefully. Finally she asked him, “Is it true? Do you live in a log cabin in the woods?”

Raisong didn’t hesitate, holding his head high as he replied, “It is true. My father built that cabin and I was raised there. You cannot ask me to leave the forest.”

“I wouldn’t dream of telling you to leave your home. You’ve obviously done a good job at keeping yourself safe,” Celestia told him. “What I want to know is—tell me, is your father, by chance, named Asana?”

“You’re not going to punish him?” Cakern interrupted, scraping his hooves.

“Please be quiet or I will ask you to leave my throne room,” Celestia hushed him, still watching Raisong. “I’m sorry if my question is a bother to you. You look so much like him in body. Your colors are like those your mother had, if I recall correctly.”

Raisong nodded quietly before responding, “Yes. Asana was my father. He taught me everything I needed to know to survive and I still thank him every day. I understand that he used to be a knight here, before he left to leave in the woods before I was born. He didn’t talk about it much, but when he was out my mom would tell me stories all about him. I must admit he hated it here, and he seemed to nurse a dislike for you.”

Celestia smiled apologetically as she explained, “I simply couldn’t keep order during his time. There were too many things going on at the time that I wasn’t aware of until it was too late to stop it.”

Raisong nodded, though he didn’t seem content with her explanation of things. “An alpha needs to know what’s going to in their pack in order to prevent in-fighting or their pack is going to fall apart from within. I believe alone you’re spreading yourself too thin.”

“An interesting way to put it,” Celestia replied, “and what about you, Wolfsing? What do you think?”

She jumped. She hadn’t been prepared to be questioned. “I—I think there needs to be somepony who is watching out for everyone, both servants and nobles. I also think there shouldn’t be such a big gap between them.”

“That’s exactly the type of thing your father would said,” she replied warmly, “and I agree. What would you say if I made you the ponies responsible for that? Raisong, Wolfsing, I need help, and I believe I can trust you both. Will you both serve Equestria by being my knights?”

Wolfsing looked at Raisong for a moment and he gave her a small nod so she stepped forward. “We would be honored to be your knights just like our parents were.”

Raisong stepped forward and bowed gracefully, more gracefully than Wolfsing honestly thought his huge frame would allow, and he said, “As long as we are your knights I swear that we will do whatever it takes to straighten out any kinks in your system, and we will do anything to defend you, or end you if you should become corrupt. This I swear.”

“R-Raisong,” Wolfsing nearly whispered, starting to feel scared and embarrassed.

“That is more than what I ask of my knights and I’m glad to have somepony like you here to keep everypony in place,” Celestia answered. Upon hearing these words Cakern was on his last straw and he was out the door in seconds, “And what about you, Wolfsing?”

Wolfsing gulped and she replied, similarly bowing, “I swear to keep the peace and to lead those under me with a kind, but firm heart. I will not allow corruption to stand, even if that means fighting those who are higher ranked than me.”

Celestia nodded appreciatively and said in a quieter voice, “The reason why I indoctrinated you like this, on such short notice was that I’m worried about what’s going on with my ponies. With all my royal duties I have little time to actually be amongst them, as you’ve seen when you were simply a lady of my court. I fear there is rebellion brewing and the only other pony I can trust at this point is possibly Swallowdeath and her servant. I especially fear the scythe ponies as they’ve started to get a mind of their own and seem to take joy in making their own rules.”

Something made Wolfsing uneasy at the mention of Swallowdeath, as if it was unorthodox for the Princess to know anything about the mare and her servant beyond seeing her every now and again, but she swallowed her fears. They were probably good friends and Celestia probably knew her better than Wolfsing thought.

Celestia smiled kindly at Wolfsing and Raisong as they were dismissed.

ch 3 Union of Wolves

The following spring, Raisong and Wolfsing were married. By then they were well-known for being Celestian knights, and because of this it was expected by the royal court for them to wed in front of all of Canterlot, if Wolfsing’s life prior to meeting Raison wasn’t enough of an excuse for all of them. Wolfsing considered refusing, but already rumors were spreading like wildfire about her dislike of the capitol, and she knew now that it would be her undoing if they all believed that she was against them as a knight. The Scythe Ponies had assured that she couldn’t get out of this public wedding with their quiet insinuations.

Raisong hardly was eager, but he had agreed—very solemnly—that it would be best. He couldn’t imagine what the big deal was, considering the ceremony trivial. He had promised her that they would have a more meaningful ceremony afterward. Still, as he looked out at all the ponies, watching him, he felt like he was going to be swallowed up. He hated crowds, and he hated having them all watching him.

“Everything is going to be okay,” Celestia reassured him, and he jumped visibly, trembling more and more. He merely nodded as she watched him, a glint of amusement in her eyes. Neither seemed to notice Selena standing near the front, a wide, satisfied smile on her face. She used a ward to hide herself, else her dark colors would be easy to see through the crowd. She could certainly capitalize on the fact that they were going to be married.

Raisong felt as if he had been standing there for an eternity when suddenly everypony grew silent. All eyes focused on Wolfsing as she entered in that moment. She seemed to be shaking for a moment. Her mane was pinned up, and she was in a gorgeous white dress with red flowers speckling it. After she took her first hesitant steps, a bit of confidence grew in her and she raised her head proudly as she made her way down the aisle, the ponies gathered moving out of the way as she moved with commanding strides.

As she came to stand beside Raisong she looked up at him and smiled, her green eyes glinting. “I made it,” she mouthed. She had struggled to keep a smile on her face, but now that she was beside him everything around her seemed to quiet, not merely the crowd, but her despair and fear.

As they spoke their vows, Raisong’s went something like this, “As long as the trees shall stand and the moon should rise, I will continue to stand beside you. Any curse, or misgiving, shall have to go through me before they ever touch you. Know that any heartache you shall feel will strike ten times and twice more. This I swear.”

As he spoke a few uncomfortable murmurs cropped up in the crowd. Nopony mentioned the moon so blatantly, especially in front of Princess Celestia. She simply looked wary as she asked, “Do you have any vows, Wolfsing?”

“May we run on to dawn without tiring as long as we’re together,” Wolfsing answered, “and our hearts shall be forever twined, hiding away the sky from those that should bring us evil.”

Celestia finally asked the vital question in any wedding, “Do you take Wolfsing as your wife until death do you part?”

“I do,” Raisong replied, and despite how his face was usually stony, he was smiling widely now, and it did not look like an act of aggression to Wolfsing.

“And Wolfsing, do you take Raisong as your husband?” She asked Wolfsing.

“I do,” she nearly choked. She almost expected Cakern to come in and deny everything about their marriage, to make all the ponies gathered to see them together question and cringe, but he didn’t come, and they kissed.

Cheers rose up all around them, and they both felt light-headed as they touched, finally lying their heads on each other’s shoulder. They left the party that came with the marriage early, galloping to their forest.

Blood pulsed in her ears as they went, the forest returning quicker than she anticipated, though she was hardly out of breath. She felt great joy in thundering past the tall trees and jumping over high, fallen logs. It wasn’t long before wolves ran alongside them, hardly bothering to hide from her any longer. Wolves of all colors and sizes seemed to greet her, and some even bumped into her in a friendly manner. More did this as they finally came to a stop at the cabin.

They both breathed heavily, laughing and shaking.

“Did you see how many ponies were there?” Wolfsing gasped. “When I was told everypony who was anypony would be there, I didn’t think they meant literally everypony in Canterlot!”

When Raisong didn’t answer, she looked up to see Raisong watching her with admiration in his eyes as he said softly, “The only time a pony has been able to keep my speed was when they were running away.”

“I’ve changed a lot since we first met,” Wolfsing replied and Raisong chuckled quietly. It was true. She had changed a lot.

Since they were knighted Raisong had shone her a lot about wolves and the ability to shift. At first Wolfsing didn’t think she had it in her. She thought that it was something only certain ponies could do, and she wasn’t one of them. She could imagine hard hooves become soft and flexible paws, or flat teeth becoming sharp and dangerous weapons, or fur becoming thicker, so thick that her cutie mark became unreadable.

It had happened, and in that moment Raisong asked her, as if reciting a sacred ceremony passed down from the many, many ancestors of the woods, “Would you take me as your mate, and run beside me forever more under the moon?”

“I will,” she replied, feeling breathless.

It felt as if he should reply with an affirmation, but it was enough that their voices rose in a howl that was joined by many others in the forest. It wasn’t long before they stood, touching, a blood red wolf with a lime green wolf, their voices raised to the sky.

Seasons passed with Raisong and Wolfsing acting as knights, and though they rarely opposed them directly, the Scythe Ponies continued to cause them trouble. They did little things, such give them false alarm missions, and pretend as if they didn’t know that they were in the way, and taking up the courtyard on days when they knew that Wolfsing and Raisong were going to practice there. It didn’t matter. The forest was their training grounds, and they became better and better. Wolfsing became a better flyer going through the trees.

Raisong became stronger for a very different reason as it became more apparent that Wolfsing was pregnant. The following fall she gave birth to three young fillies, two pegasi and one unicorn.

The first pegasus was an adventurous filly and her name was Zanril. She had a brown coat and dark blue mane. She would thunder though the forest beside the wolves and flew high above the treetops, to Wolfsing’s dismay. She was very brave and had a strong heart. She wasn’t afraid to break rules when she knew they were unfair.

Silve was a tall and proud unicorn with a silvery grey colt and a dark blue mane a shade lighter than Zanril’s. She was serious about following laws and would read often, trying to become more knowledgeable about the world in that way. She fought constantly with her sister over what was right and wrong, and would often challenge her to duels, eager to prove her point.

The second pegasus and last sister was a quiet filly that didn’t talk much, and spent the most time alone. She had a brown coat and blue mane as well, though both was much lighter than Zanril’s. She was her father’s daughter because of this, being meek and mild. She wasn’t involved in Silve and Zanril’s rivalry. She constantly stared out at the lake, wondering if there was something more out there, and because of this she was named Seablue.

In school Zanril and Silve were considered prodigies, their constant competing making both better and better until they were far ahead of all the other ponies. Seablue was a very timid filly, and so she didn’t do well, afraid of the teachers and the other foals. She dropped out when they reached their teenage years, preferring to stay in the forest with the wolves and her father during the day.

Raisong wasn’t interesting in the political aspects of being Celestia’s knight, but Wolfsing became a representative of the order. She would go each day to participate in debates. Instead Wolfsing would go, though it mostly consisted of a bunch of older ponies slowly discussing tasks that didn’t require such deliberation. She noticed that Selena had a place amongst the representatives, though she wasn’t so sure this was a good thing.

One of Silve’s teachers took a great interest in her and her brand of justice, and when he told her of his idea she was more than eager to comply. What he was asking of her was to travel with him to a country far away filled with darkness in order to bring them light. It involved killing a corrupt leader and a very long journey through hostile country.

“Your daughter has a powerful moral standing, and I know that she is the right choice for this journey,” Stormshine explained. “I’ve already taught her how to properly wield a sword, and I swear on my honor that nothing bad will come to her.”

Wolfsing stared at the unicorn with suspicion strong on her face. “What makes me believe that this is the right choice for her? From what you say this may be the most dangerous thing she will ever do in her life!”

Raisong stood silently, his stern gaze showing his agreement on its own.

“You don’t understand! She is possibly the only mare that I know that has the level head for this job. She’ll be back, safe and sound, in no time at all,” he explained desperately.

“Are you sure there’s nopony else?” Wolfsing growled.

“Mom,” Silve said suddenly, “I want to do this. This is something I have to do, that I want to do.”

“You heard what he said—“

“Then go ahead then,” Raisong said, interrupting Wolfsing. She gave him an incredulous look and he explained, “If you really feel like you can do this, then you should do it. Just make sure that it’s something you really want to do before you go.”

“It is,” Silve replied airily, looking away to hide her face.

Wolfsing looked hesitant, and Stormshine’s desperate look didn’t make things any easier for her. She was terrified for Silve, but she couldn’t explain why. After seeing Silve’s face, cast in shadows as she tried to hide her tears, Wolfsing finally answered, “Alright. If this is truly what you think is right, then I won’t stop you.”

Upon hearing these words Silve seemed to return to her stiff, airy stance, and she stepped forward to rest her head on her mother’s shoulder for a moment before whispering, “Thanks. I promise I’ll be back,” before stepping away and saying officially, “I won’t let either of you down. I’ll take care of this, and I’ll return without any hitches.”

“We don’t expect anything less,” Wolfsing said formally, knowing that’s what she wanted, rather than a few sappy words.

She was gone by the next morning.

During the time she was gone Zanril was seeing a young stallion with a white coat and green mane, named William. He had fiery orange eyes, but a quiet demeanor. He was just a bit older than the young mare, but he looked like he held all the world behind his solemn eyes. He donned a pair of black-framed glasses and carried a scythe around with him up to the point where he found a home in Canterlot. Apparently he had come from a land far away.

At first Zanril kept him away from the forest and her family. He was a pony of a religion that few in Equestria knew anything about, and it scared her to think that William might come to hate her. The fact that Equestrian feared wolves was enough to frighten her when she loved him so much.

One day, however, Zanril decided that William would have to find out one way or another, and so she led him into the forest as a wolf.

“Zanril?” He called. He wasn’t sure what he had seen, but the creature he caught sight of ahead him was definitely not a pony. He chased after it despite his growing fear as the forest closed in around him.

Raisong was out in the forest in his wolf form that day, and he didn’t realize what Zanril was doing, he only saw that William was chasing her. He snarled and slammed him to the ground. He gave a terrified look as Raisong’s fangs came close to his throat, up until the point where Zanril threw him off. Raisong stared at her in surprise, shocked at how strong his daughter had become since she was a pup.

“I-I’m so sorry, William,” she told him, changing back to being a pony. He had barely moved since Raisong slammed him to the ground. “I wanted to tell you about what I was, but I was afraid you would hate me so I was going to show you. You’re probably afraid of me now, right?”

William started to get back to his hooves as he replied, his voice quivering, “O-Of course not. I mean, honestly I’m surprised, but I’ve seen a few things. A wolf in pony form isn’t so strange.”

“You’re not just saying that because you’re afraid of us? I’m really sorry about my dad. You must have frightened him,” Zanril told him.

William was now looking at Raising now, still in wolf form, and still irritated. “A…lime green wolf. I never would have thought.” He sounded more amazed than scared the longer he watched him.

“Don’t say things like that,” Zanril said, standing between her father and William as Raisong began to growl and turn away, “He doesn’t like it when people point out how strange his fur looks.”

“O-Oh,” William said in embarrassment as the retreating figure became a unicorn once more and he caught sight of his dark blue tail as he retreated.

William was considered a part of the family from that point on, and a few months later Silve returned, not with Stormshine, but a strange coal pegasus with fiery orange eyes that seemed to know about death, and a long, wavy maroon mane. His teeth were sharp and he had a dark air about him. He had a friend as well that had a rusty coat and teal mane as well as dark purple eyes. Neither spoke much when they first came to Equestria.

Alaru, the first, was quick to show a wicked sense of humor, and showed strong disregard for the life of those in Canterlot. He showed distaste for Celestia the most. Rust, his friend, gave him a sense of level-headedness, and it wasn’t hard to see that Alaru loved Silve or he wouldn’t have stuck around.

Alaru particularly found distaste in William, though he found that he lived in an apartment close to him, and William seemed to show similar distaste for Alaru.

“What are you looking at?” Alaru growled at him one day, butting his head against William’s along the right side of his horn. “Do you have a problem with me?”

“I do,” William growled. “You’ve treated Zanril and Silve’s family with disrespect despite what they’ve done for us.”

“Done for us?” Alaru scoffed, “Don’t get self-righteous on me. We could be anywhere we want, with or without them.”

“Would you want to be anywhere else?” William challenged. “You’ve been causing them trouble, saying all those horrible things about Celestia.”

“You don’t think that Celestia would care what happens to us if we weren’t acting as her knights?” Alaru spat.

“What are you getting at?” William hissed, trying to shove him away with his horn. “Are you picking a fight with me for the fun of it?”

“Perhaps,” Alaru replied, cracking a smile before turning away.

***

“I think our family should have a name,” Zanril said one day when she and Silve, Alaru, Rust, William and even Seablue were all sitting together in the park. “Alaru doesn’t like Celestia enough for us to be just called the Celestial Knights, and we can’t be Scythe Ponies, because those guys are jerks.”

“What do you mean?” Silve replied contemptuously. “We’re the Wolfsing family, plain and simple, or would you rather be called the Raisong family?”

“You don’t get what I’m saying,” Zanril complained, looking at each of them, William with his nose in a book, Alaru lounging with Silve lying next to him, Seablue looking into the pond, and Rust listening politely. “We need a name for this, for us. We’re not just Wolfsing’s children. We’re all…we’re all.”

“Decans,” Seablue said quietly, picking at the shells of a couple of Decan pecans that she found discarded from the day before. They were common in the Everfree forest in Raisong’s territory, and the six of them often ate them around the school and town.”

“That’s right! We’re Decans; Decan Wolves,” Zanril exclaimed.

Alaru shrugged. “I don’t see why we need a name.”

“I think it’s nice,” William commented, still reading. “Something to keep us all together.”

Silve rolled her eyes and muttered, “That’s a stupid name. Why name our group after a type of nut? Why would anypony care what we’re called?”

“Because we’re going to be great one day! We’re going to be the very best in all the world one day, and we need a name befitting what we’re about. On the outside we might look rough, but on the inside there’s something special in each of us. It’s also a reference to our beginning that only we’ll know about.”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Rust put in when no one else spoke. “Why not?”

Zanril smiled widely at all of them, and after a while Alaru nodded, “Sure, whatever,” and Silve agreed soon after. Seablue gave a small nod, which was the best confirmation from her, and William even looked up from his book to smile at her.

The triplets’ parents were agreeable to the name, though they were yet to realize that this was going to be a name to be remembered for seasons to come.

Ch 4 Breaking Point

    The five of them—Seablue not included since she didn’t stay in school—graduated with many honors despite all the trouble that Alaru had gotten himself into. Before this they were doing minor jobs as Celestia’s knights, but now they were considered official knights—other than Alaru, who refused to be considered a mere knight, especially in the name of Celestia.

    All of them, by now, had learned how to change into wolves, except Alaru.

    “It’s probably because I got bit by that wolfpony back in Alaris,” he explained with a small smirk, and none of them could tell whether he was kidding or not as he continued to explain, “It’s also probably because I’m a Shadow Walker. Between that and the wolfpony curse it cancels out, I guess.”

    Trouble had been brewing and Celestia had called all of them into her throne room. Alaru was there along with the rest of the knights since it would have been a hassle to tell him otherwise, and Celestia was secretly glad to have him working for her, knowing that he wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to act on what she gathered them there to do. Selena and Solomen were there as well, and the Decans hardly noticed, accepting that the head sorceress—for that is what she achieved in all that time—was a part of their order as well.

    “You’re probably wondering why I’ve brought all of you here today,” Celestia addressed them, “Well, to put it frankly, there have been murders taking place amongst the high-ranking in the city, and I know that I can rely on you the most to get to the bottom of it. I also wanted to warn you to watch your own as well, knowing that you all are just as likely to be targeted, but keep it on the low. I don’t want the common ponies to become distressed by this, though it will no doubt get out quickly as these things usually do.”

    “We’ll do the best we can,” Wolfsing told Celestia, stepping to the front. “These crimes against Canterlot will not stand.”

    “Noble words,” Selena murmured to Solomen as they walked out at the end of the meeting. “It’s a shame they couldn’t sniff out the real culprit when it was standing right beside them.”

    Solomen simply grunted. It was no secret to the two of them that he was the one responsible. He had been going out in his wolf form and killing, but the catch was that he allowed Scythe ponies to see him. He didn’t mind the dirty work, caring little for ponies now, and needing an excuse to get away from Selena. Even now, as they walked together, she leaned on him. She could feel her bobbing with mirth as they passed Sara, the leader of the Scythe ponies and Cakern’s father.

    The younger Decans had cleared out by then, but Wolfsing and Raisong were still there when he burst in. He glared at the couple, they being his greatest enemy in the military as far as he was concerned, though he himself had tried to avoid the pettiness of the younger members that mostly followed his son’s lead.

    “Wolves. A group of black wolves have been terrorizing our good city,” Sara rasped, addressing Celestia. “Something must be done immediately to catch these devils!”

    “Wolves?” Celestia retorted skeptically.

    “There are no wolves in Canterlot,” Wolfsing mentioned firmly. She didn’t feel entirely honest saying it, but she knew for a fact that none of her own could have possibly have done such a thing, and if there were any that were in town they would have caught them. They didn’t have the slightest clue about Solomen, Selena taking the time to ward him against Wolfsing and her family knowing their secret.

    “I know it for a fact because I’ve seen one myself. There’s also no denying the way that these nobles are dying. They’ve been torn open by something with sharp teeth, and you can’t convince me that it’s anything other than a wolf,” Sara hissed. Wolfsing didn’t miss the way he was looking at her cutie mark, the head of a howling wolf with a wing behind it.

    “Impossible. I know how you scythe ponies feel about the wolves and the Everfree,” Wolfsing retorted, glaring at him and turning a bit so it couldn’t see as much of her flank. “How do we know you’re not setting us—I mean the wolves—up?”

    Raisong didn’t say anything at all, but a growl was building in his chest. Celestia could see the potential fight that was building between the two so she said quickly, “I will keep what you said in account. For now you’re both dismissed. The sooner you figure this out, the better.”

    “What kept you?” Alaru asked impatiently, though Wolfsing and Raisong didn’t seem bothered by his blunt attitude. She told them what had happened and what Sara had said about a black wolf.

    Alaru shrugged, just looking annoyed as he answered, “Is that it? I’m heading out then. I’ve been getting annoying headaches lately.”

    He flew off quickly, and the others just shrugged. Alaru had a habit of just disappearing. Rust felt a bit bothered, however, as he heard what Wolfsing was saying and followed him. He looked surprised to see Rust following him as he landed on a cloud.

    “I need to talk to you about something,” Rust told him solemnly.

    “What? Can’t you tell I’m busy? I guess it’s important since you never want to talk about anything, huh?” Alaru almost looked regretful about his harsh tone.

    “Listen, I need to know. If you were a wolf you would be black, but you say that you can’t change. You get what I’m saying, don’t you? It sounds really suspicious to me,” Rust told him bluntly.

    Alaru stared at him for a moment before growling, “Look, I’m really not lying about the wolf thing. That’s kind of what I thought too, so I’m going to look into this and figure out what’s going on before the rest of them think of that as well. You know the Shadow Walker thing, I really can’t explain it, but I feel like someone is trying to cast a spell on us.”

    “A spell?” Rust asked. “That would make sense, but where would it be coming from?”

    “I’m getting a strong vibe from that Swallow Death, as well as her lackey. I feel like he might be a wolf but…what was I just saying?” Alaru shook his head. “Well, whatever. I’m going out tonight to figure things out.” He then flew away again in a flash. Rust could have followed him, but he felt like he had a point, and was satisfied with what he had told him so he didn’t say anything to the rest of the Decans.

    That night Alaru flew swiftly, darting between the tall buildings with confidence. Everything seemed to be in order, and he felt powerful in the cover of the night. Something gave him pause. He noticed a tall, black, unicorn stallion walking the streets. He glanced at Alaru, and started to trot faster. He found it strange that the unicorn had sensed him at all, and he considered it his prerogative to follow him and find out what he was doing, or rather he would have, but something else slammed into him.

    He twisted in the air, kicking out with powerful hooves to shake his attacker off him. “Who do you think you are, attacking me like that?”

    “I knew it would be you,” the pegasus scoffed. “You were always a troublemaker. It makes no difference to me that you’re a demon as well.”

    “What? Oh, you think I’m that wolf. It’s kind of funny how you would get me mixed up with the likes of him, but I swear I just saw him,” Alaru replied dismissively, “So get out of my face, old man, so I can catch up to him.”

    “I won’t fall for your lies,” Cakern answered, his feathers ruffled by Alaru’s words. He streaked toward him in outrage. Alaru was a bit surprised by his speed, but he was a bit faster, darting above where Cakern would have been before slamming his hooves down on his back.

    Cakern suddenly became disoriented and fell away. Alaru snorted, wondering how someone like him could be considered one of the elite Scythe Ponies. Still, he was worried about being mistaken for the black wolf, so he returned home.

    He didn’t realize that this failing on Cakern’s part was caused by Selena, and he was unconscious by the time she lowered him to the ground. “There,” She said. “I think I’ve left your memories blocked long enough. I think it’s time you recall what you’ve found out about your dear Wolfsing and her Raisong.”

    The next day all was abuzz as Cakern rallied his fellow Scythe Ponies, and as their rowdy display rose, guards began to join them as well.

    “I saw it with my own eyes,” Cakern cried to them. “Raisong is a wolf taking the form of a pony, and now so is Wolfsing. I bet her children are as well. It’s the most obvious thing there is to see, and it’s gone right under our hooves.”

    William was the first to get wind of it, and so he warned Rust and Alaru, both of which were living in town. Despite Alaru being the only one to not be able to change, he was the one who was the fastest to get to the family.

    “They’ve lost their minds,” he explained. “Apparently they know that the two of you are wolves and they’re coming for you.”

    “We have to fight them,” Zanril cried. “We’re no different than them, other than the fact that we live in the woods.”

    “We should,” Alaru agreed with a sneer.

    “I think it’s a bad idea,” Silve decided at length. “It’s best that we don’t make the capitol our enemy.”

    “If you haven’t noticed,” Rust mentioned as he approached alongside William, “We already managed that simply by being discovered.”

    “I can’t imagine how,” William added. “We were careful about all of this.”

    “They’re simply rioting,” Raisong said, his voice monotone. “That doesn’t mean that Celestia is standing beside them. We can go and plead with her, and she’ll fix things for us.”

    “What makes you think Celestia would do that?” Alaru snorted. “She’s not interested in protecting us.”

    “I have to believe it. It was told to me by my father; a promise Celestia made to the wolves,” Raisong replied, “though I’m not sure if wolf shifters were included in the agreement.”

    “I personally think it’s worth a shot,” Wolfsing said to put her thoughts in.

    Raisong nodded. “I will go alone, as one is less likely to get caught than a pack. You all should flee from here. Change to your wolf forms and run as far as your paws will take you with the pack. It’s not safe here and it won’t be for quite some time.”

    “But this is our home,” Seablue cried, to the surprise of the rest of them, “This is where we belong, where we were born! We can’t just leave it like this.”

    “Don’t worry,” Raisong comforted her. “There’s another territory far from here, one where we’ll all be safe. That was what was passed down to us, and that’s what we will find, but first we have to settle this war against my people.”

    Seablue nodded, teary-eyed but determined.

    “I’m going with you,” Wolfsing told him. “I can’t let you go alone. I’m terrified that something horrible will happen to you if you go on your own.”

    Raisong nodded, knowing it better not to argue, already in silent agreement about that, and addressed the rest of them instead. “Get going! Don’t look back, and don't follow us. We’ll meet up with you far to the south of this point.”

    The three sisters exchanged glances before starting to turn away, but Alaru stepped forward and growled, “I’m not running away if you two are going in. I can fight just as well as any of you, maybe better.”

    “We’re not looking for a fight,” Wolfsing shot back. “We’re looking for a compromise, and you’ll certainly not help matters.”

    Alaru glared at her, but nodded slowly, walking away with the rest of them. It wasn’t long before they were running as they were told, however, and Raisong with Wolfsing turned towards Canterlot and made haste. They dared not go in their wolf forms, for fear that they would be met by other ponies and possibly killed on the spot.

    Wolfsing winced as her hooves went from fine earth to stony walkways. It no longer felt right to her, despite how she had served as a representative for so long, and she hated the sound their hooves made on the stone. It seemed to echo all around them.

    She ran right behind Raisong, but something caught her attention, and she stopped without realizing it. Raisong didn’t realize it either and kept going.

    “Do you hear that?” Wolfsing asked, not aware that she was alone. Nopony was on the streets today, and it was a wonder she didn’t hear Raisong still going. She didn’t realize that he had changed to pick up speed, knowing that no one of consequence would catch him.

    She then realized he was gone. “Raisong?” She asked, shivering as she realized what had happened. The sounds could still be heard, and Wolfsing realized that it was the Scythe Ponies rallying. She decided then and there that she would set them straight so she headed toward the sound.

    She followed their chanting, the sound growing louder and more obnoxious the closer she drew. She stood on the edge of the gathering, and ahead she could see an old, grizzled general type, rallying the crowd into murderous intent. Cakern was nowhere to be seen, despite apparently being the cause of this uprising.

(This part is a musical number of sorts, based off of the song Bats from the actual show)

“These Everfree wolves will give you a fright, attacking ponies both day and night. They rest for a minute, maybe three, and then they’re after every pony in the family,” he growled, stomping forward, and leaning into the crowd.

    “They don’t care about nada, not zilch, no, nothing, except bringing about a kingdom’s destruction,” he roared, and the ponies around him roared in agreement.

    Wolfsing was sickened as she heard what he was saying and stepped forward, her voice ringing out around her as she moved toward the center of the crowd. “Now wait just a minute, there’s another side to this, and if I did not defend them, then I would be remiss. These wolves are mothers and fathers too! They care for their young just like we ponies do.” Her voice shook with emotion, pleading with them to understand.

    The crowd only jeered at her, mocking her and calling her names.

    “You’re hardly a pony like we are!”

    “What do you know, Wolfsing? Come to cry your praises to these killers?”

    The General glared down at her and spat back, “Oh, give me a break, you’re being too kind. These creatures have a one-track mind. These villages aren’t theirs to haunt, but do they ever think what others may want? NO! They don’t, and that’s just one, simple fact. These wolves, they just simply don’t know how to act!”

    Wolfsing heard the cries around her heighten in agreement, and she felt disheartened though she still forged on. “That’s where I have to disagree; they’re loyal to their family, roaming these lands both far and wide.”

    “You see one coming, you’d better run and hide!” The General growled, jumping from his pedestal to get in her face. He stomped his hooves and pushed her back with each word. “They’re big, and ugly, and mean as sin! Will you look at the state my troops are in?”

    She glanced about, seeing his point. Things were becoming dangerous all about her, the ponies around jeering and hissing threats, thirsty for the blood of wolves.

    “Th-They’ll help your troops,” she stuttered, “Th-they’ll grow st-stronger faster.”

    “They’ve turned my life into a total disaster,” he screamed back.

    A young noble mare stepped forward, her fur bright and clean, and put in, “Well, I for one don’t have a doubt. These vermin must be stamped right out.”

    One of the castle guards in attendance called out in agreement, “I second that, they’ve got to go. These wolves; they’ve got to hit the road!”

    The General sneered down at her as cheers of agreement rang all around them and he barked, “it comes down to just one simple fact. They've crossed the line, it's time to fight them back!”

    “No!” Wolfsing cried desperately, but it was too late. The ponies all around her converged on her, seizing her wings and binding her tightly.

    They tied her to a post and raised it high, her wolf and wing cutie mark still visible as they roared and chanted, “Stop the wolves, stop the wolves! Make them go and not come back!”

    She struggled and cried out as the general ordered wood and kindling to be gathered and the General hissed, “There can be no mercy for these wolf walkers that speak to the wolves and live in their forests.” His voice rose above the chanting and frenzied cries of his rallied followers, “Yes, it comes down to just one simple fact. They’ve crossed the line. It’s time that we attack!”

    ***

    Raisong found the silence of Celestia’s castle foreboding as he made his way up the stairs silently. He had just now realized that Wolfsing was no longer behind him, but there was something about this that promised that if he dared take the time to find her then it would be too late.

    He forced the big double doors open just in time to be witness to what was happening within. Celestia struggled to stand, Sara, Cakern’s father and the leader of the scythe ponies standing over her, his horn bright and sparking.

    “I’m tired of watching you overlook my units in favor of that upstart wannabe princess and her rouge lover, Celestia, and her filthy family. You’ve gone feeble with overworking yourself to maintain a kingdom that’s too big for you alone, and you’ve gone soft as well,” Sara told her.

    “There are going to be dire consequences for your insubordination that have long been coming,” Celestia promised him. “Because of you, your family will be reduced to the lowly.”

    “Those words mean nothing coming from an old, dead mare,” Sara replied as his horn grew brighter, but he was cut off as Raisong crashed into him. He stumbled to the side and glared at him, expecting some serf earth pony, but was surprised to see that it was Raisong himself.

    “Your magic isn’t strong enough to bother to be used?” He sneered.

    “It’s not needed,” he corrected.

    “We’ll see about that,” Sara growled, shooting off a beam at Raisong, but his magic countered with a sharp bolt of lightning that broke the beam and refracted against the walls. Sara was stunned and awed, so he hardly noticed Raisong’s charge that followed within the brilliant light that blinded him until the moment when Raisong locked horns with him. He swallowed nauseously at the impact to his horn, so solid and quick.

    He growled and tried to press back on him, however, despite how Raisong had sheer strength behind him. He didn’t get his position merely by inheritance. Raisong snarled as Sara shoved him back and they were once more struggling in a battle of magic and horns.

***

    Solomen walked down the streets with his horn hardly hidden and aglow. He hardly hid his intentions, and blasted at stores and windows every so often, intending to draw attention to himself. Selena had promised to reward him once he returned, but he felt sickened as he was sure it wasn’t the reward he was doing all of this for. Her advances were beginning to become unbearable to him, and he was surely going to be glad when he finished this task for his sister’s freedom and could leave. If he was never a pony ever again, he would certainly be glad.

    He thought, for just a moment, that after what Selena had done and set up that there wouldn’t be a home for him and his sister to return to even if she kept his word. He would be hunted and cursed to the ends of the earth, or at least to the edge of Equestria, and he didn’t want to think about what might be beyond that.

    He shook his head, trying to clear it of thoughts so far ahead. He was doing this to save his sister. It didn’t matter if there was nothing left afterward if he couldn’t save her to begin with. He growled as an arrow tore along his side and flank, having grown distracted, and looked up to see a line of ponies standing ready to attack him from behind shields.

    “Stay back,” A voice called to his comrades. “I’ll take care of this.” A pegasus sprung up into the air and Solomen growled and tried to shoot him down, but he missed as he hurtled toward him. It was Cakern. The next moment the air was filled with magic and chaos as those in the line tried to blast Solomen to nothing, their fear growing at his approach.

ch 5 What makes a Wolfsing?

“Alaru!” William cried. “We’re supposed to be going with the others. They’re going to need help moving the younger ones, and Raisong is going to be cross with you, and me because I’m not leaving until you agree to come along,” he said. He was referring to the three sisters’ younger siblings that Wofsing and Raison had since they started school. They were about five years old and there were four of them.

“I know you love me, but this is a bit much,” Alaru joked, leering at him over his shoulder to see William scowling at him, his eyes narrowed. “There’s no reason why you should follow me, though I would think you would like to be able to get back that scythe of yours.”

“It means a lot to me, but our lives and the lives of our family mean more to me than that reminder of my past,” William answered crossly.

“Let’s just say,” Alaru replied, “That I feel like somepony is in trouble and we’ll be losing some family if we don’t return to save them. Silve was agreeable, why can’t you be?”

“Because you’re acting unreasonable,” William told him. He looked ready to say more, but Alaru stopped him, pulling him down to the ground by his horn.

He didn’t have time to complain about the treatment as he caught sight of the same thing Alaru did. The two stallions were both hunched down on a ridge, and they could just barely make out the form of a pony, held high on a post surrounded by a raging crowd. They could definitely hear the screaming and cursing from here.

“You know who that is, right?” Alaru asked him, a proud smirk on his face at being right.

“Wolfsing,” He breathed. “What are we going to do?”

“We’re going to go in there, raging like hellfire, smash a few heads, and get her back. We better do it quickly too. That crowd is hungry for blood,” Alaru told him.

“And how are we going to avoid getting murdered ourselves?” William replied and Alaru rolled his eyes at him.

“I thought that was obvious. We’re going to use skill, my good brother-in-law,” he replied, and before William could talk him out of it, or at least suggest a plan, he was gone, hurtling toward the crowd on highly adjusted wings. William shook his head, and it wasn’t long before he was charging headlong as well, his magic blazing.

Wolfsing whimpered as she struggled to escape her bindings, shifting her wings about, but the ropes were too tight. So tight that they cut into her skin and made it hard to breathe. What was worse was the sounds of their voices all raised in anger and excitement at her impending demise, pressing in on her like an unrelenting sea of despair. They backed off just enough for the wood to be placed before a unicorn stepped forward, his horn aglow to light it.

There were cries of surprise and pain that distracted from the task, however, as Alaru landed amongst them kicking and slamming into them with a vengeance. Right when they thought they might be able to overwhelm him, might get some relief form his ferocity, a blast of magic rained down on them as William joined the skirmish. It wasn’t long before they had gained a wide berth for themselves and William managed to blast the ropes holding Wolfsing, effectively freeing her.

Though she knew they were saving her, she was absolutely terrified. The moment she managed to get free she fluttered away before landing heavily out of the circle, her wings sore and maybe even broken. They were definitely not cooperating as she ran into the forest, flapping them frantically before finally holding them tight to her side.

The General growled, knowing that they wouldn’t last long against these two stallions as broken apart and confused as they were, and he was hardly willing to let her simply get away. “Ignore them! Go after Wolfsing! Hunt her down before she brings her entire devilish pack upon us with a thirst for blood and murder!”

Those watching William and Alaru with nervous eyes took a step back and went to pursue her eagerly, finding one injured mare much easier to deal with than two enraged, dangerous Stallions. Seeing what was happening, the two tried to stop them, but they couldn’t catch all of them before they were long gone in pursuit of Wolfsing.

***

Solomen made short work of the defending line, and all that was left was Cakern who came at him with fury, his sickle in his mouth though every strike he took on Solomen was either a harmless glancing blow or a complete miss as he stepped out of the way with ease. It hardly helped the Scythe Pony how incredibly furious he was, his anger muddling otherwise clean strikes.

The way he buzzed around Solomen, swooping in and out to prevent him from returning a solid attack, was beginning to annoy him suddenly.

Selena had warned him not to do this, that it would get him into trouble if he did so in front of other ponies, but it wasn’t as if this particular pony would be telling anyone once he was through with him, and he intended for this to be his last job in any case. Wings suddenly sprouted from his back to accompany his horn. It was in Selena’s vain image that the enchanted horn would be able to make him an alicorn. He had seen her countless nights fiddling with mechanical wings that would hardly hold her when she wasn’t trying her hardest to make him hers.

Cakern was shocked for a moment, and cried out as Solomen dove up to meet him, his horn cutting along his shoulder until the pegasus managed to get away. It was suddenly a deadly game of chase, Cakern rising higher and higher, trying to escape that deadly horn, especially as the black stallion began shooting off beams of magic. It shouldn’t have been possible. This kind of magic shouldn’t have existed at all.

Cakern was hoping to wear him out, but if anything Solomen seemed to grow stronger and stronger simply from his fear, and he knew that if he didn’t do something to remedy this fast he would be the one to wear out and fall from the sky. He turned to meet him head on, his sickle tearing down his side as he managed to dodge around him, blood dripping from the wound to the cobblestone below.

“Do you have the blood of a god as well?” Cakern sneered, but the next moment Solomen was turning in the air, slamming his hooves down onto Cakern, carrying him into the side of a wall with a snarl.

“The blood of a devil,” he promised, wincing painfully.

***

Wolfsing shuddered as she ran. She could hear them chasing her from far behind, too far back for her to see but still a constant digging at her mind. It didn’t matter. She knew that if they caught her they would kill her.

Her hoof caught on a jutting root and she was thrown to the ground. She sniveled horribly as she tried to pull herself back up, but it hurt too much. She held still and squeezed her eyes tightly shut, preparing herself for the end.

The sounds of distant hooves suddenly ceased and the forest around her grew louder. She opened her eyes and nearly shrieked as a huge wolf stood over her, his teeth bared. His fur was a dark red from his maw to his tail and his eyes were a shattering green. Her fear fell away to something of awe as she watched him, though she was almost certain she was about to be devoured by this rage-filled stranger.

“Do you know who I am, Wolfsing?” He growled. She shook her head slowly, her eyes wide with curiosity now. “I am your father.”

“Bloodtryst—father?” She gasped, “But you’re dead.”

“That’s right, but you’re not,” he told her, his voice sharp with anger. “Stand and fight for what you believe in. Avenge me and avenge yourself for how they treated you. You have life and family to live for, and a clan bigger than the moon with a future brighter than the sun.”

“I don’t think I’m strong enough,” she murmured, tears shining in her eyes. “I did all these things and appeared before all these ponies, but it’s not like I can fight them father. They’ll find us one day and they’ll kill us, or else we’ll have to wander forever and we’ll never know peace.”

“Is that really what you think?” Bloodtryst sneered, holding out his hoof to her. “No daughter of mine—“

She reached out to take it, but wolves were all around her, sinking their fangs into her, into legs and mane and neck and flank and she cried out. She never felt anything more terrible and intense in her life.

***

Sara groaned as he laid stiffly, Raisong’s hoof firmly on his side, his horn glowing lightly, though he wasn’t really threatening any longer. He knew that he had won and Sara had lost and that was that.

“You’ll pay for this,” Sara hissed at him. “You’ll pay along with all of your family.”

“That’s funny,” Raisong replied. “The only one that I can imagine paying is you.”

The doors began to open and Sara laughed. He expected the pony coming in to be his son, ready to take care of Raisong, but instead he turned to see a dark stallion with a long horn. His wings were now gone.

Raisong turned to see him as well and was promptly blasted. He howled in pain, a dark scorch mark on his side. Sara jumped up quickly, going to his side, believing he had an ally, but Solomen killed him with a sweep of his horn.

“Aren’t you Swallow Death’s assistant?” Celestia demanded, a look of horror and disgust crossing her face.

“That’s right, and Selena sends her regards. I was told to come here, kill you and every ‘pony’ with you, and then return to my mistress,” he replied, narrowing his eyes at the word.

Raisong growled, bitter about the cheap shot and angered at his threats. They were suddenly locking horns, but Raisong was surprised to find how much more adept he was at the art of locking horns than Sara, and it wasn’t long before blood was running freely down his shoulder. The next moment Raisong slashed out and Solomen howled in pain, his eye bloody. He growled and shook it off. He had to finish this for the sake of his sister and returning home. He forged on, a snarl on his face.

***

Wolfsing awoke with her head feeling heavy. She looked all over, but there wasn’t a mark on her body. She struggled to her feet and the next moment her pursuers were there, scraping the earth, but they all paused when they saw her.

“Is it real?” The first asked the second with some trepidation, and the second looked at him and shook his head slowly, not in disagreement but because he wasn’t sure what was going on. She didn’t understand what was going on as well, but she took a threatening step forward. She was done running away. To her surprise they took a step back, fear in their eyes. Was she in wolf form? No, she definitely wasn’t, she could see her wings out of the corner of her eyes. Then she realized she could see something else as well.

Another pony caught up with them, and this time they didn’t question what was happening at all. “Sh-She’s an alicorn now!”

“What?” Wolfsing replied, though it didn’t sound like her own voice. Still, she couldn’t deny how much heavier her head felt, and what she could see in the middle of her forehead out of the corner of her eyes. How did unicorns deal with this, having something like this in the center their vision at all times? However when she stopped focusing on it, it seemed to stop being prominent to her, much like her snout.

Even so, she thought, this wasn’t possible. Ponies didn’t simply become alicorns and somepony like her definitely didn’t. Still, what her father told her stuck in her head. She was meant to rule, to have a mighty clan, and so what did that mean? That she would have to be a princess to lead them? That didn’t really make sense. She didn’t have time to think about it. The three that had been staring at her had become four and then five, and they could see her indecision and personal confusion at what had happened to her and encouraged each other until they made up their minds about it. They charged at her, but she charged back. She nearly lost her balance, however, with the new appendage.

At that moment William and Alaru arrived. William stared at her with wide-eyed awe, but Alaru simply laughed. He had played this game before, and he had personally refused it, but he thought it looked good on Wolfsing if only she wasn’t still stumbling around, struggling to stand. The other ponies turned their attention on them with terror in their eyes and fear in their hearts, and it wasn’t long before the two stallions had them off and running.

“What are you looking at?” Wolfsing growled at Alaru as he started laughing again after the two returned to stand at her side.

“Oh nothing, my dear lady Wolfsing,” Alaru smirked, “Our good princess, or would you prefer queen? I prefer queen because it makes you sound better than that bottom feeder Celestia and her annoying sunlight.”

“Come now,” William gulped, looking between Alaru and Wolfsing. “That’s really not necessary Alaru. Celestia has done a lot for us.”

“Bet you she’ll be upset* about Wolfsing here. So how did it happen?” Alaru asked her.

“Well,” she said slowly. “My father visited me a vision…or something…and then I awoke and I was like this.”

“Your dad helped you with that?” Alaru laughed, “Mine too! Let’s go find your mate before Celestia comes down on us with her unholy sunlight and destroys us all in the name of Leto!”

They watched him slowly, his reference lost on them before Wolfsing nodded and replied, “I suppose it can’t be helped.” The two stallions agreed, and supported her until she was able to manage her balance again and walk.

***

When they arrived it was eerily quiet, but the first thing they noticed was Celestia, suspended in a crystal that gave off a brilliant light that made the entire room an eerie lavender color. The second thing they noticed was Raisong, less noticeable as he lay bloodied and battered in the middle of the floor. There was no sign of Solomen. Wolfsing cried out fearfully, running to his side, but pulled up short as a blast of magic hit the floor between them.

“How kind of you to show, Lady Wolfsing,” Selena sneered but paused, an ugly look crossing her face. “How did you do that? Tell me how!”

Wolfsing was confused for a moment, but then she realized what she was talking about. She didn’t know the answer to that herself, but right now she simply wanted to spite this arrogant mare that seemed to have caused this turmoil. “Wouldn’t you like you know?” She asked lamely, and something about her answer revealed to Selena just how much she knew, and she merely sniffed disdainfully.

“I suppose you won’t be able to tell me, but no matter. I have way of taking it from you, fur and flesh,” Selena informed her, and the next moment she was descending down the stairs, and the next moment she was attacking Wolfsing with vicious magic she was hardly prepared for.

Ch 1 Dark Plots

Thornpaw groaned as he awoke, his head pounding and his body bruised from the fall. He struggled to his feet, and looked around, trying to figure out where he was. There were hardly any scents besides the musky dampness. There was nothing descript about his surrounding so he began walking though he limped terribly and, though he would never admit it, he was terribly afraid. He knew there must be water somewhere, but it wouldn’t matter if he starved to death in this cave. Wolves were not meant to be underground with a solid ceiling of rock over their head and no way out.

A speck of light caught his attention and he turned toward it before pursuing it eagerly though he couldn’t move very fast with his sprained leg. He was certain that it was the way out. Excitement at the thought of being free gave way to panic, however, as he saw what the light was. Entrapped in a crystal that glowed with energy, was his sister, Sparrowsun. She was suspended in the center and her eyes were closed. He couldn’t tell if she was breathing, but that didn’t matter. He was certain she couldn’t possibly alive. Still, in his panic he didn’t care whether or not that was true. He threw himself at the crystal, hoping to break it, but he merely bounced off and fell. He was in great pain, but he tried to get up again nonetheless, knowing that to give up was to accept that she was dead.

He struggled to his paws, but the one that was giving him trouble gave out and he fell again. He tried to get his breath before he tried again, but his body would not heed him. It was the first time in his young life that he was unable to act.

“I would stop if I were you,” a mocking voice said. He knew what it was. She had a strong pony accent and didn’t bother to speak in wolf if she even knew how. It didn’t matter. Both languages were capable of understanding the other though wolves were better at making their voices harder to understand when they wanted other species to not know what they were saying.

He merely growled at her, laying still.

“That’s no way to treat the one who saved you. You would have probably died by now if it wasn’t for me,” she continued.

More growling. She was the one who set the trap to begin with, he thought.

“You don’t want to leave her, do you? I can help you, but you have to help me first,” She said. No growling. She was encouraged. “I know magic, but among my own kind I lack certain abilities that would allow me to move up. There’s few you can trust with schemes such as mine, but I need a partner. Who better to overturn a monarchy than a wolf?”

“I want you to free my sister first,” he growled. “Then we talk.”

“But then you’ll have no reason to stay by my side. I heard loyalty is strong among wolves, but I can never be sure,” she said. He could hear pleasure in her voice. “You do what I want from you and I will free her. She’s not dead, just frozen. Once this is all over she’ll be just how she was before she was frozen.”

“How do I know you’re not lying?” He replied, growling loudly. “Your kind are known for it, I’ve heard.”

“You want proof?” She asked.

He started to answer, but she was already working. The crystal disappeared suddenly and he saw his sister lying there on the stone where she was previously suspended. She jolted awake suddenly, getting to her paws. She saw Thornpaw and she looked stricken, seeing him on the ground like that, and started to walk towards him. “Thornpaw, are you okay,” she asked, but at that moment she was frozen again, now in the same position she was in when she started to tentatively walk towards him.

He darted to his paws, trying not to fall again as he snarled at her. “What did you do?”

“The same thing that I did before,” she answered, smiling at him as she admired his green eyes. “She’s still fine and she’ll be fine until you finish what I asked of you. It’s only fair that you should pay back my debt for saving your life.”

His snarl didn’t lessen as he watched her with burning hatred. She was a grey unicorn with a sharp horn and dark purple eyes. She looked like a demon to him, and for a moment he wondered if he should risk being impaled to kill her rather than take her demands. Still, as he thought about his sister suspended behind him, he knew he couldn’t risk killing this pony or getting himself killed for her sake. He finally swallowed his pride and bowed his head, no longer snarling.

“Good. So you accept my proposition?” She asked him.

“You swear you’ll let my sister and I return to the forest after I do this for you? We won’t be pursued and you won’t go back on your word?” He growled.

“I can’t promise that you’ll come out unscathed, but if you do this for me I will let your sister go. If you happen to die for me I will do the same as if you completed the task,” she answered. She thought for a moment that this might be a bad thing to promise in case he decided to die to get out of his contract with her, but she pushed that away. She could tell by the way his eyes watched her that he was too proud to take the easy way out.

“What do I call you?” He growled.

“I hope you don’t expect something like Master,” she replied. “Simply call me by my name, Selena, and I shall call you by yours. If you’d like, you can call me Lady Selena, but nothing as stiff as Master or Mistress.”

“My name is Thornpaw,” he answered bitterly.

“That won’t work. I’ll give you a proper name. From now on, I will call you Solomen,” she said and added like an afterthought, “I love your green eyes.”

He snorted. “Fine.” He wouldn’t admit it to her, but he was glad to not be called Thorn ‘paw’. It was his father’s way of reminding him how much he was hated. Paw! It was the name of a pup to be shed, but he doubted, as long as he was with his father, he would ever lose it and it would be lasting now that he was an adult with that name. Now it was just gone.

“Come, Solomen,” she said, turning. He never would have turned so blatantly on a wolf he didn’t really know and he felt insulted before he realized that with her horn she could freeze him like his sister, or worse, and so she had nothing to fear from him. He paused and turned back to him as she heard his back paw scraping on the ground. “Here. This will make things go smoother.” A bit of white light appeared around his injured paw and then it was gone.

He snorted, wondering what the purpose of it was, but as he went to follow her again she realized that his paw was no longer strained. It felt as good as new, in fact. She led him down a series of tunnels again and he started to feel agitated once more. Were these tunnels ever going to end? Finally she stopped and he walked up beside her as she stood before a case.

“Look in,” she instructed. He did as he was told and struggled to comprehend what he saw. It was a horn, a long sharp horn that looked as if it was made of hard ebony.

“This is my first gift to you, Solomen.”

***

Croll scowled at the two of them. This wasn’t the first time he had caught his Wolfsing out with this strange unicorn.

“What did you say your name again?” He asked, narrowing his eyes. He looked as if he had never groomed himself in his life. His dark blue mane was tangled and sprawled low on his shoulder. Croll grew up in a time when stallions kept their manes short and neat and anypony that didn’t agree was wrong.

“Raisong,” he answered. He didn’t look Croll in the eyes, not wanting to appear disrespectful to Wolfsing’s guardian, but it only made him look like he was avoiding looking at him and this made Croll more annoyed. Wolfsing and Raisong had agreed that among ponies, he should have a different name. He remembered it like a hazy memory. It was the name his mother had given him and so he didn’t feel as if he were being treated like less than a pony.

“He’s really shy,” Wolfsing explained to Croll as she noticed how he looked on the verge of exploding. She had spoken to Celestia the day before and she was perfectly fine with her going with Raisong. She would be less okay with it if Croll exploded all over the place.

“Where did you say you met him again?” Now speaking to Wolfsing, fed up with trying to communicate with Raisong who didn’t want to talk to him anyway.

“We met in the park. I know I wasn’t supposed to be out, but I asked Celestia. She must have forgot to tell you. She’s really busy, taking care of an entire nation all by herself, you know,” Wolfsing answered innocently.

“You’re old enough to go places yourself on your own,” he answered guardedly and Wolfsing tried not to laugh aloud. She knew he thought the exact opposite. “You don’t need permission to go to the park every once in a while.”

“Really?” She said excitedly, “Then you won’t mind if we go down to the diner? Thanks, Croll!”

“Wait! You can’t just leave. You have work to do and I think you should send your friend home for the day,” Croll answered crossly.

“I have the day off,” she answered, “Celestia says.”

“For sompony that has a lot of work to do running a nation, she sure has been telling you a lot of things,” he answered strictly.

“I know. I guess I’m her favorite,” Wolfsing answered. Croll didn’t even notice as Raisong snuck away and Wolfsing was able to fly off before he could get the next word in.

“Fillies,” he muttered under his breath.

“Hey, old pony, who was that stallion with Wolfsing?” Cakern asked as he landed beside him. “Was he a unicorn?”

“I suppose he was. She met him while she was sneaking out,” he replied irritably, glad to have someone to rant to now that she was gone. “Doesn’t she know it’s dangerous for a noble to spend time with commoners?”

He turned to regard him, but he was already gone. “Foals,” he hissed under his breath.

***

“What’s a diner?” Raisong asked, looking nervously around. She knew that she didn’t like spending time in public with other ponies about, especially when he was noticeably taller than most ponies. She thought that maybe he would feel more comfortably in a smaller place like the Ponyville frontiers, but he stood out here where most of the ponies were snooty high bloods.

“It’s a place where ponies go to hang out and eat, or something, but we’re not actually doing that. I just had to tell Croll something that he couldn’t argue with. We can go back to the forest if you want,” Wolfsing answered.

He nodded and they stopped abruptly and turned about, but they nearly ran into Cakern.

“Who’s he?” He demanded, glaring at Raisong. “I’ve never seen him around here before. I think I would, seeing as he’s such a big unicorn.”

“Shut up, Cake. It’s none of your business,” Wolfsing hissed back.

“Your safety is my business,” he replied before adding irritably, “And don’t call me that! My name is Cakern. Don’t you have any loyalty anyway?”

“What does this have to do with loyalty? The only reason why you’re bothering us is because you’re jealous that I didn’t want to date you and I’m now out here with a stallion,” Wolfsing retorted angrily. “So get out of my face. Go practice flying or something.”

Raisong stood stiffly, glaring at the strange pegasus. He didn’t know what this was about, but he didn’t like it, and he began to show his teeth.

“What? Are you making faces at me?” Cakern growled, pushing past Wolfsing to stand squarely with Raisong. “Do you have a problem?”

“Don’t mess with me,” Raisong warned, glaring down his nose at him. “Wolfsing told you to leave her alone, and I think you should do what she says.”

“Or what? You lay one hoof on me and I’ll be sure that all of the Scythe Ponies come down on you. You’ll be lucky to get out alive, let alone see Wolfsing again,” Cakern spat.

“Are you threatening him?” Wolfsing hissed, turning about as Cakern passed her.

“What if I—“

Cakern growled, turning back to her, but before he could finish his sentence she slammed her hoof into his face, hard, and he went down.

“What do you suppose we should do with him?” Raisong asked pragmatically. “He won’t send anyone after us now, will he?”

“Leave him here,” she replied. “I doubt he’ll actually do what he said, and even if he does I doubt that they will actually listen to him. Let’s get out of here before someone notices though. If someone finds me here like this I bet Croll will try to keep me on castle grounds again.”

Raisong nodded and they continued on their way. They didn’t notice the dark shadows that waited to swoop in on Cakern.

***

A tall, sleek, dark unicorn stallion with strange, green wolf eyes accompanied Selena up the steps to the building of magical knowledge where she worked. He seemed uncomfortable and every so often he could be seen shaking his head a bit as if something was wrong. No onlooker would have realized that this stallion was a wolf in disguise and no smart pony would question it. Selena wasn’t the kind of mare to be messed with, after all.

“Where are we?” Solomen whispered nervously. “I’ve never seen so many ponies in my life.”

“We’re in a Magic Studies library,” she answered simply. “This particular one is directly controlled by Princess Celestia though she leaves us to our own works. I would be head of it, but Celestia thought it better to place a soft-hearted buffoon in charge.” Her voice took on a hard edge and Solomen realized that this was probably a bad subject with her so he didn’t question her on it.

She led him through a bustling main hall where unicorns of all sizes and colors rushed about or else huddled in a quiet corner to study. None of them seemed to take note of Selena’s return and Solomen considered this a good thing. The less ponies questioning him the better. Selena had already told him to say as little as possible if anypony spoke to him.

The farther they went the more desolate the halls became until they arrived in a dark and quiet place, a dorm of sorts, where Selena had her own personal chambers. It was rather bare and all that she kept there was a writing desk and a bed. There were a few books and a few empty glass flasks, but that was it. Solomen didn’t know at the time, but this was considered empty compared to those others who studied there. Selena kept most of her experiments underground in her secret base, so that the other ponies would not find out what she was doing.

“We shall be staying here from now on until your job is done. I suppose I will return to my true laboratory a time or two but here on out I have everything I need,” Selena told him with a confident smile and he nodded, saying nothing at all.

“Excuse me?” This was from outside and Selena narrowed her eyes as she rushed to the door.

“What do you want?” She hissed, throwing the door open angrily. It crashed loudly against the wall and the young filly standing there cowered away.

“I’m sorry, Swallowdeath,” she whimpered. “I’m just here to bring the research papers you wanted before you left last time.” She held them out to her and Selena took them with an irritable tug using her magic and placed them on her desk before slamming the door in the filly’s face.

“Swallowdeath?” Solomen couldn’t help but ask.

“It’s nothing,” Selena replied snappishly. “It’s a name my mentor gave me. He thought he was clever. I was very frail and sickly as a filly and everypony thought I was going to die, but I didn’t. Nopony knew my name back then since I was an orphan, but my mentor thought he was being clever when he gave me that horrible name. It’s supposed to be hopeful, but I knew better. It was a brand, a warning to everypony that I was less than trustworthy. It was cruel name!”

“You have a mentor?” He dared to ask. “An older pony that taught you what you know? Is that what that means?”

“Correction. I had a mentor. He’s dead now, thank goodness. He was always smiling as if he didn’t give me a cursed name. You’re correct, that’s what that means. I taught myself most of what I know however. All he wanted me to know about was friendship and playing nice. Where did that get him?” She huffed and collapsed on the bed.

“Where am I to sleep?” He asked her, looking around the room slowly.

“Lay with me,” She said. “There’s only one bed for a reason. Lay beside me, wolf, Solomen.”

He watched her curiously for a second. There was something odd about the way she said it that he didn’t like. “I think I’ll sleep on the floor. I’m more used to hard ground anyway.”

He almost regretted what he said, her eyes glowing with outrage that he should deny her, but she was distracted the next moment by a strange sound—it was more like a pulsing in both their minds—and she got up, seeming to forget her outrage. She moved over to the darker part of the room and tore a cloth away to reveal a medium-sized crystal ball.

“We’re not allowed to have these, not individually. If anyone wants to scry somepony they need to get permission and do it in the big main room where the heads gather—I’m considered a member of those heads actually—but I kept this one for myself,” she said conversationally as she worked to bring the image to the surface. “Not that it’s anything special. All the heads are hiding one from Celestia one way or another.”

“What is it?” He asked, encouraged by her change of feelings.

“A crystal ball for spying on others and seeing far away things. How do you suppose I got there to save you in time? I wasn’t going to lounge around there all day,” she answered simply. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed how irritated he seemed now. “I love to see you when you’re mad.”

Solomen grunted and turned away from her. She was secretly relieved. She didn’t like when other ponies watched her using her crystal ball, even her new pet. The surface swirled and twisted until the image of Wolfsing walking away with Raisong appeared.

“What? What importance is this to me? Am I supposed to care about the daughter of—“

The words caught in her throat. The Wolf Slayer! Why hadn’t she considered that? She was hardly her father, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t become dangerous to Selena’s operation. And who was the unicorn she had with her? Something else caught her attention. It was Cakern, on the ground. It was obvious that he was unconscious, but what really caught Selena’s attention was the look of outrage on his face. What was that about?

“He could be useful to me,” she mused.

“What?” Solomen asked. She didn’t realize how long she had been standing there, contemplating Cakern and at least an hour had passed since she had last spoke.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about,” she replied. “Just come over here, and quickly!”

She covered the crystal ball again hastily and turned around, her horn glowing. Solomen, seeing the magic being performed, became nervous and backed away but it far too late for him to escape before she enacted the spell. The next second they were standing outside of the castle grounds.

“A spell of teleportation. Luckily we were in my room. The Magic Library has wards and glyphs to warn of when someone is teleporting in or out of the building, but before I left I managed to figure out a way to rip a hole in the spell so that my room isn’t affected,” she said, sounding almost as if she were bragging.

He didn’t say anything, feeling dazed and confused as he looked around to find that he was no longer in a dark room, but practically in the open. It took him a moment to realize that Selena was no longer beside him, but moving towards the colt that was unconscious nearby. He moved quickly to follow.

Selena shook her head, and sighed. “Probably just another headstrong foal. Scythe Ponies are hardly good for anything other than war. It’s far past time we had another one.”

Her horn glowed as he called Cakern from his state of unconsciousness. He groaned audibly and trembled before pushing himself up. He tensed when he saw the black pony, as if preparing to attack, until he finally recognized her. “Swallowdeath, right? Thanks.”

“Who was that unicorn, the one with the Wolfsing filly?” Selena hissed, trying to ignore the name she despised so much.

He looked at her strangely for a moment, still a bit groggy, but then realization hit him. That unicorn! That—He took her from me! He came out of nowhere and took Wolfsing right out from under me! He isn’t even from here. He’s some stranger, an intruder, and yet no one sees it.”

“What?” Selena said, a plan already stirring in her head. “Is that so? Maybe he’s dangerous. Maybe he’s an outsider, trying to trick our dear Wolfsing in order to get closer to Celestia. Something should be done about that, shouldn’t it?”

“I know! I’ll go and fight him. If I win he’ll have to leave. We’ll make a deal,” Cakern stuttered. “That will assure that he won’t be able to get to Wolfsing!”

“If he’s an outsider then how do you know he has such honor? Perhaps he’ll kill you instead, when your back is turned. You should kill him first just to be sure,” Selena suggested, her horn glowing ever so slightly as she tried to influence him.

“What?” Cakern said, his face screwed up in confusion. “You want me to kill him?”

“Did I say that? Oh no,” she said, trying to twist her words around, using her magic to influence him further. That was your idea. What I think you should do is take it to Celestia. Make it personal so she’ll have to see him. He’s bad news, right? There’s no way that she won’t banish him, and then Wolfsing will be all yours.”

“Right!” Cakern answered, though he sounded groggy and nearly fell as he walked back towards the castle.

“Here,” Selena cooed. “Let me help you. He hurt you, didn’t he? When you weren’t looking of course. Head to head I’m sure you would have won.”

He nodded, accepting her help. His pride wouldn’t let him believe what actually happened, that a filly had laid him out flat, that Wolfsing was stronger than him. He hardly saw Solomen or noticed how Selena was smiling.