Underworld: Equestria

Chapter 6: Matters of Heart

“She must accept that I am what I am,” Lucian sighed to himself, rubbing his brow in frustration as he walked.

He couldn't help but think about his earlier encounter with Twilight, the face of the horrified mare still etched in his mind, with every detail of her features included. “I mean, what did she expect of me?”

Naturally, he never intended to scare her in any way, but whether he liked it or not there was now an obvious and undeniable tension between them, based mainly on the fact he was a self-confessed carnivore.

He had openly sworn to her he would never eat anypony, under any circumstance, but despite his best efforts the young mare still looked at him like he was some sort of blood thirsty demon.

“I guess it will just take some more time,” he went on, putting an end to the mental conversation with himself, and finally dispelling all thoughts of the early morning confrontation.

Around him, the world of Equestria was its usual calm self, the morning breeze running through the branches of the trees that lined the road, the sky was a cloudless ocean blue thanks to the local weather team, and the birds as usual were happily in full song. In the lycan’s mind there was perhaps no other place he’d rather be, although he dearly wished with a smile that Luna was walking beside him.

He let the thoughts slip away as Sweet Apple Acres came into view in the closing distance, the white picket fence half hidden behind the trees that lined the road, but the large welcome sign was a dead giveaway. Upon reaching the main gate, Lucian took a few moments to examine Ponyville’s primary source of fresh produce, and in truth he was rather impressed with what sat before him.

“Do they have enough apple trees?” Lucian murmured with a slight grin, leaning against one of the white painted wooden pickets as his blue eyes scanned the immense expanse of green.

In every direction his eye could see there were heavily laden apple trees, all bearing huge amounts of red, gold, and green fruit that glistened in the morning light, and to him seemed just ripe enough to pick, some already fallen, and now sitting in the wooden buckets that sat at the base of each tree. Other than that there were scattered patches of other almost ripe vegetables, although they were easily dwarfed by the pure scale of the apple orchards.

The sight and unquestionable rich scent of ripe juicy apples would have been hungrily appealing, if only Lucian didn’t depend on meat and blood to survive. Still, he admitted it was quite a beautiful view none the less.

In the middle of the huge expanse of fruit trees was the colossal form of a red painted barn with white finishings, the structures huge doors open like there was a constant invitation for visitors, hence that was the lycan’s first port of call in his search for either one of the Apple family, or the black dragon who would hopefully be assisting him.

Before he got halfway there, however, a loud thumping noise reached his ears, and turning in the direction of the sound, he surprisingly noted the amber coated Applejack, who was slamming her back legs into a red apple tree on the edge of a nearby thicket, the apples subsequently falling easily into the buckets at the tree’s base.

“What on earth?” The lycan whispered, taking a quick glance around before heading over to investigate the strange sight further.

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Despite his immense size, copious amounts of black hair, and the fact he was wearing a pair of blue pants that had been made for him, the pony didn’t realize Lucian was there until he was virtually standing over her, and leaning against the tree trunk she had just kicked. As one might've expected, she gave a startled yelp, and promptly fell back on her rump upon realizing his presence, before relaxing again, an embarrassed smile creeping across her face as he shook his head in amusement at the reaction.

With a quick look over her body, Lucian could tell she was very tired if not exhausted; she had after all beads of sweat running down her neck, shoulders, mane and back, and was breathing rather heavily.

“Oh… howdy Lucian… sorry bout that,” she blushed between pants as she got to her hooves, removing her hat and shaking a few drops of seat from her mane. “What can I do ya for?”

“Well, I was intending to examine your forge if possible,” The lycan grinned, running his fingers over the dark trunk of the apple tree as an idea came to him. “But it seems Ash is elsewhere for the time being… and you seem pretty tired and look like you can use some company… so if you wish, I guess I could give you a hand with this.”

The amber mare looked a little taken back by the statement; normally the gathering of produce was an Apple family only affair... but with Big Macintosh visiting Cherilee for the day, and Applebloom off with her friends, she couldn’t exactly say no to willing help.

“So… you wanna help me harvest ma apples?” She asked awkwardly, looking between the stocky lycan and her still fruit laden trees. “Well that’s an odd offer... and I can’t really pay ya…”

“Did I ask for payment?” He said with a smirk, slamming his heavily built shoulder into a tree, and causing it to instantly drop its quarry, a satisfied smile on his face as he looked back at her impressed expression. “Consider it a constructive use of my time until Ash turns up.”

Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle a little, and without another word went back to apple bucking while Lucian did the same, using his thick shoulders in place of earth pony back legs.

She had to give it to him, that lycan could work, and work darn well.

She swore he actually felled more apples in half an hour then she did in a whole one, which made no sense whatsoever, considering she had been bucking her entire life, and it was her special talent. With his help, the south-east field took barely two hours to finish, by which time she was sweating like Celestia knows what, and yet he was only just starting to show signs of fatigue.

“How… can… you… work… so fast?” the amber pony panted, at last collapsing in a heap under the shade of a tree while Lucian dealt with the last remaining fruit bearers. “I’ve been doing this my whole life, and this’s your first day… and yet you’ve outdone me tenfold easy.”

“I’m a lycan,” He grinned in reply, taking a seat on the soft ground beside her and leaning back against the trunk. “My body can take a lot more punishment than your's can, with all due respect… still, I wouldn’t want to test myself against your back legs, you could probably knock down a small castle with those.”

Applejack blushed beneath her hat at the compliment, or what she took was a compliment anyway.

For a few moments they sat quietly together, and let the breeze and the birdsongs fill the silence, enjoying the strange combination of fair exhaustion and pride at their achievement.

Eventually though, Lucian decided to ask a question that had been nagging at him for a while, one that perhaps was a little personal in regard to the matter. Hence, at last, he turned to the mare beside him, her own emerald eyes meeting his own blue ones in an exchange of curiosity.

“Applejack, I must ask simply because I am curious… why are you so against the idea of your little sister and Spike being…together, even though it’s completely harmless at their age, and apparently considered acceptable?"

What Applejack did was not something he had expected; he had rather guessed she would blow up with anger, and possibly kicked him for insulting her; what she ended up doing, however, was letting out a defeated sigh, and removing her hat, emerald eyes closing before she began to speak.

“Lucian… it ain’t just harmless… I’ve seen the way they look at each other. Heh, can't blame 'em either honestly, they've been friends since Spike moved here," she huffed and looked upwards. "Now, I know as Applebloom’s big sister, I should be supportive and want her to be happy, but the truth is I can’t be when I know that eventually everything will fall apart one way or another.”

She gave a gentle sigh before continuing

“Spike’s a dragon, Lucian, and dragons in Equestria, as far as us ponies know, live forever, us ponies on the other hoof only live around eighty to ninety years. That’s where to me the problem lies…I know that no matter how much they don't want it, Spike'll outlive AB, and the fact is I just don’t think he’ll hang around and... see her get old like she will. That’s why I just can’t bring myself to be supportive of them being together, I just couldn’t bear to see my sis hurt like that. I know you’re gonna say why don’t I have problems with Dash and Thane then? Well Dash is my friend, but she ain’t my family, or my little sister, and being an adult mare I know she can make her own decisions.”

Lucian simply nodded in reply and looked up at the cloudless blue sky, knowing full well that sometimes immortality could be a curse as much as a blessing. Still, he had his own views on the subject, and wasn’t about to let them blow away with the wind.

“I understand your point Applejack… but perhaps give them a little time to be young; they probably don't yet know the extent of each other’s feelings, and hence I cannot see any harm in their childish affection. Perhaps I'm just saying this because I never had the chance to experience childish love like theirs, but I know that if you deny such chances it will be much harder for your sister to move on after failed relationships in her adult years… I’m a prime example of that.”

“What do you mean?” she asked with an eye brow arched in curiosity. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I… unfortunatly, lost my first love, Applejack… and I became overwhelmed with uncontrollable hatred and anger, dark emotions that lasted some six hundred years for me... actually started a war over it even. I guess I simply don’t want your sister to go through the same thing I did.”

The amber pony was silent for a few moments, and then at last under the lycan’s unnerving blue gaze let out a defeated sigh; it was true, after all, that every filly had a crush at some stage in their life, and Applejack guessed if her little sister was to have any feelings for Spike, it was best she expressed them now rather than later on in life.

“Alright… I’ll stop nagging AB about it, but she doesn’t hear about this conversation.”

“Do you really think I would tell her?” Lucian chuckled as his smile returned, rubbing the earth ponies neck affectionately and at last bringing a smile back to her face.

A sudden deep toned laugh shattered the peace and startled the two, resulting in Applejack jumping to her hooves and Lucian to his feet; It was then the lycan turned his head around at the snap of a twig, and as he had half expected, the hulking black scaled form of Ash plodded slowly out of the trees, dark eyes curiously switching between the awaiting wolf and the amber earth pony beside him.

“How long have you been here?” Lucian asked as he stared at Ash, once again leaning against the truck of the apple tree as they exchanged odd looks.

“A few minutes,” was the massive dragons shrugged reply, giving what Lucian took to be an expression of stark innocence. “I didn’t want to disturb you two.”

Both of them felt their cheeks sting at what he was implying. Of course it wasn’t true, but it was still embarrassing to hear.

“You know nothing funny was going on right?” Applejack jumped in, sounding slightly embarrassed and insulted, prompting an amused snort from the Ash as he shook his head.

“I heard everything you two said, so yes, I know it was just a bit of casual talk,” the black dragon chuckled before looking down at Lucian, the sound of his voice similar to the roar of thunder. “Still, it was rather interesting… anyway… I’m guessing you came here to see this forge?”

“Of course… are you coming Applejack?” Lucian asked with a shake of his black locks, looking down at where the blond maned earth pony was standing, but found she was already on her way back to the barn, leaving the two males to their own accords.

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“Well, this is it,” Ash said as he pulled the wooden door open, allowing the seemingly ancient forging room to be filled with sunlight. “Not exactly an amazing sight, I know.”

Slowly, Lucian entered and ran his eyed over the forge, taking note of everything the large square room possessed that the sunlight touched, and he would soon be making use of. The room’s floor was understandably concrete, but the walls were surprisingly made of wood, painted the same red colour as the barn it sat adjacent too. Around the walls were various metal hooks, from which hammers and other tools hung, as well a vent or two on the outside walls.

In the middle of the room sat the forge’s main anvil, and around it a number of work benches, all covered in tools and pieces of metal. On the far side sat the furnace of the room, which looked far under used, and like it needed some work... to say the least.

Remembering his past, Lucian ran his fingers over the cold steel of the anvil, and then gingerly lifted a hammer with his free hand, the countless memories of hammering out swords and other weapons returning in an instant.

“You seem uneasy,” Ash said bluntly from the doorway, causing the lycan to look up and see him sitting on his back hinds, and slowly raking his talons through the dirt. “Something bothering you?”

“It has just been many years since I forged anything,” Lucian sighed, replacing the hammer and continuing his inspection of the room. “The last time I hammered out metal... was when I was barely two hundred years old. I know I still have the skills… but it just feels so surreal when I think about it, that all that time has passed between then and now.”

Ash was silent for a few moments as he watched the lycan contemplate and explore his surroundings, running his fingers over anything and everything to satisfy his curiosity of the place. Eventually, he came to what looked like a piece of metal, which someone had apprently begun to hammer out at a point in time, a slopping edge that reminded Lucian of the blade on an old style plough.

“Who used this place before me?” He asked, casting a curious glance in the direction of the black dragon as he handled the large edge.

“Before you, Big Macintosh’s father was the last one to really use it properly. With all due respect to Mac, he doesn't know a lot about metalwork other than the bare basics. Hate to say it, but I don't think his father ever actually taught him or Applejack.”

The words caught Lucian’s interest as he lay the edge down on a work bench, lifting a medium sized hammer, and began twirling it in his right hand as he thought; It made a little more sense as to why Applejack hadn’t wanted to join the two of them, but it still raised more questions in the lycan’s mind then it answered.

"You know, if you're still thinking over Spike and AB, I wouldn't take Applejack's words too seriously," Ash huffed, the left field comment catching the lycan by surprise. "AJ's a smart pony, and she had her sister's best interest at heart, but when it comes to the love shared between a dragon and a pony, there are a lot of things outside of her control."

Lucian eyed him curiously, the hammer still rotating in his hand. "Why does that sound as if you know something that she doesn't?" he asked. "And for that matter, why exactly would Applebloom mention you when she and Spike were found out?"

The dragon chuckled, or rather rumbled. "Let me put it this way. After Thane and Dash got together, Spike and Applebloom felt compelled to come to me for... relationship advice. Out of the three of us, not that I'm trying to brag here or anything, I know the most about these kinds of things. I told them a few things they needed to know, things that they both needed to accept before going any further, if they wanted their relationship to last... and they did... though the nature of such things is best kept from Applejack until I'm sure she'd ready to hear them."

"You make it sound like she won't want to hear them."

"Trust me, she won't," Ash replied simply, smoke trailing from his nostrils. "It is an oddity found amongst ponies exposed to dragons at a young age; If given time and love, the physical boundaries between dragon and pony can potentially become blurred until they are no more, and I mean that rather literally... hmmf, another year or so with Spike, and with a bit of help from myself, AB will quite possible be breathing fire... but you didn't hear that from me."

“Now that'll be a sight," Lucian chuckled, remembering Michael's transformation at his hands. "You know, you seem to be relatively close to Apple family, Ash… you wouldn’t so happen to know what happened to their parents would you?” He asked quietly, not exactly sure what kind of response he would get from Ash. “I am yet to hear any mention of them, from any one of the three or anyone else, it’s as if it is a subject they wish never to speak of.”

Ash growled deeply and shook his large head, not in anger, but more so in admittance even he didn’t really know.

“All I know is that they died some time ago, Lucian, and the three of them have been extremely close and protective of each other ever since, far closer than most sibling groups would normally be. Other than that, and even if I knew of other details, I would not disclose such things. They are after all touchy matters in many regards, and not mine to tell of.”

Lucian simply nodded in reply, knowing full well he wasn’t going to get much else out of the black dragon on the matter. Instead he abandoned the conversation, and began searching the scrap for a decent piece of metal, one he hoped would suit his rather specific needs.

Gold would have been preferable, but the chances of him finding such precious material, and in such an old forge, were basically zero too none. Eventually he came across a piece in the back corner of the room that would fit his needs, a small plate sized square piece of quarter inch steel that seemed to have originally been discarded, but was rather brightly polished.

Hastily he lay the piece across a work bench, and after plucking a chisel from the wall began to scratch trace his idea into the metal’s surface, eventually using Ash’s curiosity against him to lure the dragon inside for a closer look.

“What is that?” He asked quietly, night black scales blending extremely well with the copious amount of shadow.

“This is a waxing moon,” Lucian replied, removing his hand to show the dragon the graceful curve, that would hopefully soon be a necklace. “It’s not exactly an easy piece of jewellery for most to make from steel, but when you’ve smithed every day for two hundred years, you learn how to deal with difficult ideas and make them look good.”

Looking up again, Lucian was greeted with a most unusual sight, that being Ash grinning like a fox and looking like he was about to burst into a fit of laughter, his sword like white teeth spread out in a toothy smirk.

“And who may I ask is this trinket for?”

Lucian grinned but hid his face. He wasn’t exactly accustomed to being embarrassed, and he certainly didn’t like how it felt, but he couldn’t deny the obvious fact there was a certain mare in his life who he was courting at the present, plus trying to lie to a dragon didn’t exactly seem like the best option available.

“Somepony perhaps,” he replied at last, prompting, as he expected, Ash to burst into a loud fit of laughter which Lucian swore shook the forge.

“Oh Lucian, you are a most interesting creature,” The black dragon sighed happily as he regained himself after a few moments, laying down on his stomach so he could fit a little better in the small room. “Though I'm curious, because as far as I've heard you've only been here for a day or so. Just who exactly is this somepony?”

Lucian leant against the rim of the furnace and bit his lip in unease as he thought; Ash was nice enough, but if word got out he feared what the Equestrian public may think of him of Luna, but then again one way or another it would have to come out eventually, and perhaps a seemingly trustworthy dragon was a good place to start.

“Well…Princess Luna, would you believe?”

Now that shut the grinning dragon up in a second, and his facial expression went from one of amusement to one of shock, his jaws twitching a few times as he tried to speak but failed in doing so.

“Princess Luna?” He repeated, shaking his head to try and pull himself together before speaking again. “You mean to tell me, that you are trying to win the hoof of the ruler of the night?”

“Truth be told, I already have,” Lucian grinned wickedly, slapping the slack jawed black dragon on the cheek as he walked past and headed over to another rack of tools, Ash’s gaze following him sharply as he did. It was only a half truth, but Ash's expression made it worth while.

For a few more moments Ash was silent, glistening dark eyes watching the lycan’s every move as he thought over what he had just learned.

“You are either very brave, or very crazy Lucian, probably both in my opinion… still, I can't say I'm unhappy at the thought. Princess Luna has been something of a shut-in since her return.”

“She told me as much herself actually," the lycan admitted. "So what of you and love then my black scaled friend?” he asked with a sly grin in Ash’s direction, returning to his original workbench with a sharper chisel and a decent sized hammer. “Do you have a dragoness tucked away deep in the mountains somewhere?”

Now it was Ash’s turn to feel his cheeks redden and look away, unable to meet the lycan’s shimmering blue eyed gaze as he felt his insides tighten at the wild grin he was getting.

“I’ll admit there is… somepony… special in my life, although personally I’d rather not talk about it right now. I know you have a good heart Lucian, but we both fear everypony else finding out about us and our relationship… it’s rather complicated is all I’ll say.”

“Hmhm, very well," the lycan chuckled, finding the black dragon's embarrassment both unexpected and amusing. "Now, would you mind heating up that furnace for m…”

Lucian stopped mid-sentence, with the chisel still grasped in his hand, when he felt it. It was a solitary ripple that ran through every fibre of his physical and mental being like an ice cold breeze, causing him to stop in an instant and for a wave of dread to crash deep inside him.

Ash gave the lycan a confused stare but said nothing, guessing perhaps he had just had a sudden thought, which was partly true.

To anyone else, a simple cold shiver equivalent meant nothing, it was usually just an unintentional reaction to an environment that wasn’t warm enough for their bodies’ liking. But Lucian was not like everyone else in many regards, and a simple shiver meant something very different to him, something very different and very dangerous.

Something Lucian had learnt to understand the meaning of, and fear in a way, during his years of slavery.

It meant there was another lycan somewhere nearby.

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Notes:

For those of you who haven’t seen ‘Rise of the Lycans’, Lucian has the ability to sense when there are other lycans around and roughly how many of them there are (kind of like a Pinkie Sense of his own I guess).

Ash's little snippet is a shout out/reference to dragon-pony lore found in 'The Ambassador's Son' by 'midnightshadow'... go read it! like now!... why are you still reading this?

After asking the question the majority of readers said yes to the inclusion of Raze, hence I will be going with the majority and including him next chapter.