Underworld: Equestria

by Freelancer

Rating: mature
Tags: Adventure, Crossover, Human, Main 6, Diamond Dogs, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Sad, Other, Romance, Princess Luna, Queen Chrysalis
Length: 73666

Lucian awakes in Equestria after being killed by Kraven, but he isn't the land's only new immortal resident

13/11/2013: Heavy editing/re-writing of older chapters in progress, expect changes and possible (temporary) mistranslation with more recent chapter content.

(UnderworldXmlp) After being betrayed and shot, Lucian, the most powerful lycan since William Corvinus, awakes to find himself in a new and unusual world; Equestria, the land of ponies, magic, and friendship. This world, he learns, has never known humans, let alone the likes of vampires, werewolves, or lycans, and has only rarely encountered the concept of war, facts which only serve to make him feel even more out of place.

However, these things lay poised to change in the aftermath of his arrival, as a dangerous problem soon arises in the peaceful land.

It soon arises that another immortal may have made it to Equestria in death, one who has not only apparently taken side with the changelings, but one who's hunger for power could destroy everything Lucian now holds dear litterally overnight; the powerful vampire elder, Viktor.

As the threat of all out war rises between both new and old enemies, Lucian realizes he alone may hold the key to the pony nation's survival... his own lycan virus.

Published 2012-05-27 07:14:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-06-26 12:56:28 UTC

Chapter 1: Meet The Lycan...

Chapter 1: Meet The Lycan…

Lucian felt himself pulled back to a conscience state by the ramble of voices that filled his ears, followed by what sounded to be by the click of a lock a moment later, a sound he'd grown uncomfortably familiar with over the years, and then finally the light clop of horse hooves on stone.

His back, as he quickly came to realize and grumble at, felt like it had been whipped multiple times with a silver bladed cat-of-ninetails. The worst possible pain imaginable, as every lycan knew.

Gingerly, and somewhat painfully, he forced his blue eyes open to his surroundings.

His vision revealed that was sitting against a wall in a metal barred cell, not unlike the one he had grown up in during his years of slavery, with a black blanket draped over him, and the only source of light coming from a flaming torch that sat, apparently bolted, to the stone wall opposite his cage. The door to his cell was also open, but protected by two burly armoured pony guards with lowered spears, both looking down at the lycan sternly with expressions of what seemed to be disdain.

Neither, he noted, had any horn to speak of, were an unusual dark blue-ish colour, and wore equally dark armour that was unnervingly similar to those once worn by vampire death-dealers.

Between the two of them stood another pony that was also watching him, but this one was quite different from the other two; it was much taller, slimmer in it's overall proportions, and had a dark coat and eerily dancing mane, unlike the two guards. This one also possessed large feathered wings, and wore a small dark crown or tiara atop its head.

For a moment, Lucian could do nothing but blink and stare blankly at the taller equine, and in return the pony slowly approached him, his curiosity returned in equal.

“So you are awake it seems?” Said the pony as it stepped closer, locking its dark eyes with Lucian’s own. The tone of its voice confirmed to Lucian that she was female, and the sound itself reminding him they had met before. “This pleases me, although you are... different now, why is this so?”

“I’m glad to hear that you are pleased… and if you insist on asking, I’m a lycan, which means I shift between two forms,” Lucian said with a dull groan as he sat up and rubbed his face, his back burning in sudden protest at the action. “Now then, would you mind telling me what exactly it is that I’m doing... here... and perhaps why I’m in so much damn pain while you're at it?”

Lucian saw a pained expression cross the pony's face as she bit her lip, and simultaneously looked at her front hooves. The two guards behind her gave what sounded like an amused snort, though they were, however, quickly silenced by the mare with a simple glare, and an added growl from Lucian for good measure.

He had never truly liked violence, but tearing off heads was something he did rather well.

“You were unfortunate enough to disturb the wedding reception of captain Shining Armour… and I fear he did not exactly take kindly to such action given recent events, and saw fit to... subdue you... with magic…” The pony sighed as she shook her head and returned her eyes to the lycan, sounding to Lucian almost ashamed. “And then have you sent to the dungeons, I am… sorry… I did not know he would act so harshly.”

“I’ll get over it, besides, I happen to heal rapidly anyway,” Lucian said with a fickle laugh, slowly using the cold stone wall as a support to get to his feet, returning his eyes to the female pony after regaining his balance. "And magic? Truly?"

The pony regarded him oddly. "You are confused by the subject?"

"I'll probably need time to think it over later." He reassured. Logic be damned, he should've been dead. “I remember you… you are the kind one who approached me earlier, yes?”

“I am,” The pony replied with renewed happiness, a warm smile, or what Lucian guessed was a smile, spreading across her muzzle. “I am Princess Luna of Equestria, ruler of the night, and you are?”

“Lucian, first of the breed and leader of the lycans.”

The Princess's face took on a look of utter surprise... or what Lucian guessed was surprise, anyway. Equines with facial expressions was something he still found confusing. "A Leader? Truly? By Faust, please, allow me to offer my sincerest apologizes for the actions of our subjects... though where may I ask do your kind hail from? I have never heard of the race of lycans in any book or text."

"Firstly, don't worry about it, and secondly, that's... something of a long story." Lucian chuckled somewhat darkly.

The two exchanged a quick nod of acknowledgment with each other, though before anything else could be said, one of the guards cleared his throat loudly. The interruption could be said to have rudely shattered the moment, with Luna turning to him in an instant with an almost annoyed expression.

While she glared, Lucian quickly picked up the blanket and wrapped it around himself; he was a lycan, and hence was used to being seen naked by others, but in the presence of royalty he decided it better to be decent.

“Princess, your sister, captain Shining Armor, and the element bearers await you in the grand hall… do you think idle chat could wait a little while?”

“Of course, Steel Hoof,” Luna replied with a slight tone of embarrassment, turning back to the waiting lycan a moment later with her cheeks a dull red. “Please follow me, Lucian, my sister has wishes to meet you.”

"Sister?"

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….......

“Princess, are you sure this is such a good idea?” Twilight asked from her chair, her hooves, that were resting on the table, twitching nervously. “This creature… I’ve never heard of anything like it before in my studies, it could really be dangerous.”

“I understand your concern, Twilight,” Her royal mentor replied with one of her gentle smiles. “But do not fear my faithful student, if my sister believes it can be trusted, then so do I.”

A loud snort filled the grand hall as Princess Celestia finished. Turning to the source, everypony saw, and as Twilight had expected, her older brother was the culprit.

In response Princess Celestia face hoofed herself, and muttered under her breath, perhaps Twilight guessed wondering why she had picked Shining Armour of all stallions to be present; the day's events had no doubt left him more wound up then the loading mechanism in a griffin's crossbow.

To say the least, everypony else was a little tired and agitated as well; first a changeling attack, a wedding, a reception, and now a meeting with a strange creature that had terrorized half of the Canterlot nobility. Twilight admittedly found herself a little more enthused then everypony else at the prospect of meeting a new race, but there was still a touch of fear in her about the strange creature that they had encountered.

She had, after all, looked into its eyes, and seen what could be described best as only void and darkness, and now she was wondering whether or not introducing it to everypony was Princess Luna’s best idea, given how on edge everypony still was.

“Princess, with all due respect, you don’t really believe this thing is intelligent do you?” Shining Armoured muttered from his own seat, shaking his head to show his distaste at the situation. "We tried to detain him peacefully,peacefully, and instead he goes and nearly shatters three of Private Striker's ribs..."

“I would advise you not to make such unfounded assumptions,” a male voice suddenly interjected into the ongoing conversation, the tone of it so cold Twilight swore her blood chilled at the very sound. “Doing so may well see you on my bad side, and unless you want your throat torn out and your insides spilt like spare meat, that is not a place you want to be.”

The entire hall went dead silent in a heartbeat as everypony turned, and watched the creature that had terrorized the royal reception enter the room; Princess Luna, strangely by the looks of the things, was more than happy to walk beside it and act as its escort, along with the two heavily armoured royal guards of course.

The creature Twilight's eyes encountered looked nothing like it had only a few hours ago; the night black fur had somehow been replaced by soft tanned skin, it’s former razor-like claws now resembled something like those of Spike, and its eyes were no longer deathly black, but rather an unnaturally shimmering sky blue.

There was still a lot of black fur on it she admitted, but it was concentrated on the top of its head, around its face and on its chest, she also noted it had wrapped a blanket or something similar around its legs to conceal itself.

A monster with decency?

The creature stopped at the far end of the long dining table, and then silently ran its eyes slowly over each pony individually as Luna took her seat, as if waiting for a response or reaction to his statement.

In reply to it's wandering gaze, as it met each of them, Fluttershy gave a fearful squeak and jumped under the table, Rarity, as Twilight half expected, gasped a few times before fainting and falling from her chair with a crash, and Pinkie burst out laughing hysterically and joined the white unicorn on the floor a moment later. Rainbow Dash simply crossed her front hooves and returned the creatures glare with utter dislike, Applejack sat motionless other than raising an eyebrow in curiosity, and Shining Armor did nothing more than snort in reply.

As the creature's eyes fell on Twilight, however, she felt herself literally unable to look away, like the creature’s eerie piercing blue eyes held her in place as they looked into the deepest depths of her young mind; whatever this creature was, she was sure it wasn’t like anything else she'd find in Equestria or her books.

Slowly, a smile spread across his face, and he removed his eyes from her, flicking them for a moment around the well-lit grand hall, before settling them on the two awaiting Princesses.

“I guess I should start then,” He said with what could be seen as a grin, his thickly built forelegs resting gently behind his back. “Greetings to you all, I am Lucian, first of the breed and leader of the lycans.”

If you couldn't hear a pin drop before, you could now.

Twilight swore her brother actually choked on a breath of air, and a second later went into a coughing fit, causing everypony, including Lucian, to look at him as he began to sweat quite profusely.

A wide smile spread across Lucian’s face as he raised his head and laughed, his deep voice rebounding around the hall like the howl of a timberwolf.

“Be calm, captain,” He chuckled as he pulled his long locks of black hair from his face. “It was your wedding reception after all, and I hear you had some trouble earlier on… so you may sleep easy, I have no intention of sending an army to rip you limb from limb, if that is what you're afraid of.”

Did he take some kind of sadistic pleasure in scaring ponies?

Shining Armour just nodded rapidly in reply and took a few deep breaths, his normally stoic face, along with those of most of the other guards in the room, now a slight shade of pale green.

Lucian then returned his attention to the two Princesses, who were both still watching him from their respective seats, expressions showing them to be both wary and unsure of the situation as a whole; his eyes first running over Luna for a moment and then resting on Celestia.

“I believe you are Luna’s older sister, Celestia, yes?” He asked with a grin, slowly inclining his head to the princess of the sun to show his respect. “Luna has told me much about you.”

“I am... indeed,” Celestia replied somewhat cautiously, rising from her cushioned seat and navigating her way around the table to Lucian, her eyes wandering over the lycan’s unusual frame. “You are a most... unusual creature, Lucian; you seem to possess the politeness of pony, and yet the apparent bloodlust of a griffin at the same time, a most unusual combination…"

"I am, for the most part, a wolf, princess," The lycan replied. "And as the leader of my kind I am expected to be both a diplomat and a warrior; for me, there is no difference between sitting down to make an agreement, and dealing with my enemies as I face them."

"Eesh, you talk like a diamond dog when you say that," Shining Armour muttered, giving Lucian a once over. "And while I'm at it, you sure as hay smell like one."

Lucian blinked at him. "Diamond dog?" he asked, noting the various shudders in the room.

"Bipedal canines that inhabit the mountainous regions of Equestria, usually living in underground pack-cities." Celestia answered shrewdly, the note of distaste not escaping the lycan. "And might I add that you basically just put part of their cultural into words... are you're races related by chance?"

"I fear I have never set foot in your country until today, so I'm quite sure we aren't."

"Hmm... I guess that makes sense." Celestia replied, albeit a little tensely. "Tell me then, Lucian, if you are royalty from outside Equestria, where is you kingdom, may I ask? I have lived a very long time, and seen nearly all of the known world in those years, and yet I have never heard of the lycan throne nor it's nation until today.”

Lucian sighed, and rubbed his forehead, as Celestia continued pacing in circles around him; to her surprise, Twilight noticed Luna seemed almost agitated at her sister’s actions, like Celestia was trying to take something the princess of the night had already laid claim to.

“If I am to speak my mind... I would guess that I'm from a world unlike this one in many ways..."

"You mean a country far across the sea?" Celestia interjected curiously.

"Well... uh, no, I fear a different world all together from what I have seen and been told, or so it seems anyway to me... have either of you ever heard of the race of humans?"

Both princesses simultaneously shook their heads, prompting Lucian to groan and rub his temples.

"I thought not," Lucian said flatly, his eyes drifting towards the ceiling. "Look, exactly why I'm here is unknown to me as much as it is to you, Princess Celestia... I have something of an idea as to how I got here, but I'd rather not discus it openly for the sake of keeping my own sanity."

The knowledge of being dead, Lucian silently figured, probably wouldn't go down so well.

"What is your world like then, if I may pry." The marble princess asked. "The knowledge may allow me to understand what your saying a bit better."

The lycan huffed. "Well... In my world there are three main races, much like there are... earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi here, as Luna has explained to me. I am a lycan, but there are also humans and vampires, who for your knowledge look fairly much like what I do at the present moment. Humans are the most numbered race in our world, and have a lifespan of around ninety years, give or take ten; vampires and lycans however are immortal…”

For a moment Lucian stopped talking as his eyes fell on Twilight, who, as everypony quickly noticed, was busy taking down everything the lycan said on a small notepad that had somehow materialized in front of her from Celestia-knows-where. Once she realized all eyes were on her, the pad and writing quill quickly disappeared, and the unicorn’s cheeks went blazing red; Pinkie burst into a new fit of laughter, while Dash face-hoofed to show everypony else’s embarrassment.

“Twi, please, tell me you weren’t just taking notes?” Dash said flatly as she shook her head.

“Well…I…um…” Twilight murmured as she played with her hooves. “Maybe.”

“You are SUCH an egghead.”

“Anyway…” Lucian went on as he ignored the two ponies, folding his thick arms over his chest as his eyes left Twilight. “As I said, lycans and vampires are immortal… but we both have our own individual poisons, so to speak.”

“Out of curiosity, what makes you immortal?” Twilight asked hurriedly, ignoring the new wave of awkward looks from everypony. “Is it magic?”

“Umm… no… I fear we do not have ‘magic’ in my world,” Lucian said gently, once more inclining his head to the curious unicorn, who's mouth was now hanging open at the thought of 'no magic'. “Our immortality is caused by a virus in our blood, which is transferred by either normal reproductive means, or a simple bite. There are, for your knowledge, three known virus types… those being lycan, vampire, and a rare pure strain which can result in a hybrid of the races… a creature similar to an... alicorn, I believe Luna referred to herself as being, in your world's regards,”

Ignoring Rainbow Dash’s prior insult, Twilight hastily took down the lycan’s words with her quill and pad, ideas of tests and experiments concerning immortality already whizzing through her head.

“And… how old are you may I ask?” Luna asked abruptly, causing everypony to now look between the princess of the night, and Lucian, with curious expressions.

“Seven hundred and ninety five.”

Lucian swore even the two princesses gasped at the statement; it was however understandable when, in comparison, he could have been mistaken for a thirty year old human. What Lucian noticed next was the somewhat frightening grin that spread across Luna’s face, a grin that surprisingly unnerved the world’s most battle-hardened lycan.

“This is… Interesting,” Celestia said with a small laugh as she broke the silence, a moment later lifting her head and yawning at the ceiling before continuing. “The concept of parallel worlds is known to us, but we have never known for anypony to cross from one to another..."

"Perhaps I am just lucky then." The lycan smirked, mentally trying to accept what he was being told while keeping a straight face.

Celestia giggled behind a hoof. "So it seems... but I fear everypony it is late, and I really need some sleep after all that has transpired, so perhaps we may continue this conversation another time… you and your friends may stay here in the castle for tonight if you wish, Twilight. As for you Shining Armor, I’m guessing Cadence, and your honeymoon, now await in the courtyard with your carriage… and Luna, if you would be so kind to find Lucian some cloths and a spare chamber, he seems to me to be lacking the warmth of a fur coat at the moment, and I do not believe it fair to make him sleep in the dungeons.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“So who will be royal guard captain while Shining Armor is away?” Lucian asked, trying to break the silence that had reigned since the two of them had begun climbing the tower stairs.

“Iron Lance, his second in command, will take the rank for the time being,” Luna replied from behind him a little nervously, the clopping of her hooves on the stone stairs the only sound in Lucian’s ears. “Although he should only be gone a month, or so I am told to believe.”

The conversation came to an end after that, and was replaced by what was best described as an 'awkward' silence, the two of them instead climbing the eastern tower’s countless stairs without so much as a word to each other. Lucian had no dislike of Luna, in fact he felt quite the opposite about her, but he couldn’t help but feel unnerved by the way she looked at him, especially with those big glistening eyes of hers; exactly why these ponies had such unnaturally large eyes was beyond him.

He was now though, admittedly, a little more comfortable with being around them... even with his brief incarceration.

Thinking about it, not only did they seem kind to him, even after learning of what he was, but had gone out of their way to make sure he was comfortable, perhaps in a small way to try and make amends; Celestia had invited him to stay in her palace, sought some of her royal seamstresses to make him some cloths, and Luna, in the meantime, had gladly found him a brown robe to wear, an attire leant to minotaur ambassadors when they paid visits he'd been told; it wasn't a perfect fit, but fairly close. In truth it was perhaps the best treatment he had ever received from anyone, although he was still a little suspicious of Luna’s intentions... was this some kind of test?

He sighed at the thought. It had always been the harsh reality for lycans and vampires alike, the knowledge that they would never truly be accepted by mortal man; the stories passed down through human generations had seen to that. There had always been some truth in those stories, what with the likes of William, and Viktor's throughts on the race of man, but when the vast majority of lycans didn't want to harm humans, and instead just wanted to be seen as equal beings... it was more then a little disheartening.

Would these ponies just turn out the same? If they knew the truth nature of the lycans?

“I should not think of such things,” He whispered to himself, shaking his head to rid himself of his thoughts.

At last the two of them reached the towers top, and the side-by-side sleeping chambers that adorned it, Luna quickly turning on the lights with a flick of her glowing horn, before beckoning the lycan into one of them.

He couldn’t help but gasp at the glorious splendour of the room; elegant pony-done paintings hung from every wall, soft carpet and marble tiles covered the floor, a wooden desk and wardrobe sat beside a balcony door, a mighty fireplace sat on the far side of the chamber, and a huge bed was laid out to accommodate the occupant. Lucian felt his jaw slacken as he walked around the room, stroking his beard and examining it thoroughly; an action judging by Luna’s sudden burst of giggles amused the princess of the night.

“I take it you approve then? Rarity, as my sister has told me, reacted in the same way when she stayed here.”

“I… I have never seen such a lavish chamber in all my life princess,” Lucian replied at last, regaining himself before returning his eyes to the awaiting alicorn. “I do not know how to thank you.”

“My sister wishes for you to be comfortable Lucian, as do I, so please you need not thank us for this,” Luna smiled, taking a few steps forward until virtually no gap remained between the lycan and the princess of the night, her eyes looking over him intently. “Although… I am most curious about you I will admit… one does not simply live eight hundred years, and not have an interesting story to tell.”

Lucian raised a curious eyebrow and sat on the end of the bed before replying.

“I will say my life has taken many interesting turns for sure, but I fear most are rather depressing and... war-filled, princess... not the types of tales you’d wish to hear.”

"You think me a filly, Lucian?" The dark alicorn teased.

Lucian chuckled. "No, I simply do not wish to make see me... differently... because of events outside of my control."

“I spent a thousand years trapped in the moon with nopony to talk with,” Luna murmured softly, her eyes closing as she spoke in a sad tone. “And even now I spend my time awake alone… drifting across the night sky with only myself as company while everypony sleeps, and I get so lonely some times. Whatever your story, I would very much like to hear it, for despite my long life I have heard so very few Lucian… and had very little close company in all my years.”

“So you… do not sleep then princess?”

“I sleep very little,” Luna replied with a shrug of her graceful shoulders, sounding a touch defeated. “I do not need it… but if you must sleep then I understa…”

“No,” Lucian jumped in hurriedly, placing a gentle hand on the alicorn princess, her smile returning. “In truth I do not sleep much either… I simply said nothing as I did not wish to insult your sister’s hospitality.”

The two shared a smile as Luna’s eyes opened again, sparkling and shimmering just like Lucian’s own blue ones. For a moment they just stood there as her moonlight flooded in through the window...

...And then, almost like an excited child about to get a new toy, Luna joined Lucian on the bed, the princess of the night laying her head down across his thigh as she got comfortable.

"I am very glad to hear that Lucian,” Luna said, smiling and looking up at the lycan. “Now please… tell me your life’s tale.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Note:

Just to clarify…no this chapter is not meant to lead to sex, rather it is kind of the beginning of the romance.

Chapter 2: A Life Like No Other

Chapter 2: A Life Like No Other

Slowly, Lucian lay back on the bed so he was staring up at the dark ceiling above him, drawing his hands behind his head, and relaxing as best he could.

Inwardly, he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive about letting out everything he had carried for the entirety of his life, his very long life at that... but Luna, it seemed, trusted him to a surprising extent, and hence he figured he had no reason to doubt her integrity.

“Very well Luna… as you wish,” He said finally, closing his sparkling eyes as he began his story. “I was born in a place called Hungary…”

For what seemed like hours, Lucian gave to Luna everything there was to know about him. Starting with his birth, and the fact he was the first lycan to be born of two werewolf parents, bearing all the outward features of a human yet the blood and soul of his forefathers. He described everything that he remembered truthfully, and to the utter best of his ability and memory, trying to create in the mind of the princess of the night an exact replica of the moments he recalled. For her part Luna did very little other than listen, and ask the occasional question, otherwise she was completely silent, and happily lost in the worlds her mind and Lucian’s words created for her.

Lucian held nothing back from her, seeing as he had no reason too; he told her everything about his years of slavery, including the tragic tale of his vampire lover, and the subsequent deaths of Sonja and his unborn child when they were discovered, the princess not even flinching as he gave up the painful six hundred year old memories. Luna quivered a little to show her sadness, but otherwise simply listened to him, the kindest thing anyone could have possibly done in her position.

He then told her about the ongoing war between vampires and lycans, giving to her the names, and in-depth descriptions of each of his lieutenants, from Raze to Taylor, as well as the strengths and flaws their individual personalities' possessed. He felt slightly saddened as he guessed he would never see them again, but it was the way of the world after all, for the living to eventually depart those they held dear, and hence he had accepted it.

Finally, he spoke of the hybrid, Michael, and his love for Selene the vampire, and how in a way they had become the Lucian and Sonja of a new era, and would hopefully bring peace between the immortal clans in time. He expressed his hope that, perhaps, they would one day no longer need to hide in the world's shadow, but was straight in telling her that was a slim chance at very best.

After he finished there were a few minutes of silence between the two of them, Luna lying still with her soft face resting on the lycan’s thigh while he ran his fingers silently through her floating mane.

“You did not lie when you said your tale was sad one, Lucian,” Luna murmured at last, the moon outside now resting at its highest point in the night sky and illuminating every detail of her face. “But thank you for telling me… as foalish as it sounds, I do enjoy hearing stories.”

“I do not want sympathy princess, but I am glad you enjoyed it,” Lucian replied with a soft chuckle, his eyes slowly opening to the dark world that was his chamber. “What has happened, has happened, and I cannot change it… besides… because there is now a hybrid in existence, the last laugh seems to have been mine.”

The two of them shared a chuckle with each other in the darkness; it was then at last she lifted her head and replaced it on the pillow beside him, supporting it with one of her hooves as she watched him lay there beside her peacefully.

“You are the most interesting creature I have ever met, Lucian,” she smiled, leaning forward and nuzzling his cheek with her muzzle in a show of affection. “And I hope my lands are as accepting of you as I am, for I would believe it to be a great shame if they weren't.”

Lucian grinned and returned his blue eyes to the ceiling, a sort of amused sigh slipping from his lips before he spoke again.

“We will see in time princess, although judging by the reactions of your captain and everyone else earlier, forgive me for being a little sceptical.”

“You and I are similar in that regard Lucian,” Luna said gently, nuzzling him once more and making him smile. “When I returned to pony society after a thousand years of being gone… I was feared to say the least. But Twilight Sparkle helped everypony get to know and understand me, and I quickly gained many friends, and found myself somewhat accepted again. I know you may seem rough on the outside, but your heart is gentle and compassionate, and I am certain once everypony knows that they will like you as I do.”

"You would go so far as to call me a friend?"

Luna simply nodded. "I believe that one's past should not dictate their future, Lucian. You have lost many friends, but that does not mean you do not deserve to make more... besides, you have shared with me something that you hold dear, and in doing indulged my wishes, so yes, I would call you a friend.

As she finished there was a moment of silence, in which Lucian turned his head so his shimmering blue eyes met Luna’s own dark blue ones. Lucian could smell cake and other sugary foods on her breath, and yet strangely he didn’t really mind the obscure scents. In turn, Luna felt the lycan’s hot breath running across and warming her face; she would never have gotten this close to anypony after only knowing them for a few hours, but Lucian was different, and it wasn’t just the fact he wasn’t a pony either.

“You are very kind Luna, and I will take your words to heart,” Lucian chuckled at last, raising a single hand and running it along the cheek of the princess of the night. “But I fear I grow tired… my back still hurts, and without sleep it will not heal as fast as it could, so here I must bid you goodnight.”

“Very well Lucian,” Luna replied softly, gently removing herself from the bed and slowly heading for the door “I hope you sleep well…”

As Luna reached the doorway however, she stopped and looked over her shoulder, smiling to herself as she saw Lucian had already been pulled into a gentle sleep.

There was something about him that made her happy, but she couldn’t put her hoof on it; perhaps it was the fact he treated her like a friend, rather than a ruler, maybe it was because he was so at peace at telling her everything about himself, or perhaps it was the fact they both knew how it felt to be an outsider.

Perhaps it was simply his compassion.

Luna had stayed awake every night since her return, and watched over Equestria diligently for each and every one of those, but she suddenly found herself feeling strangely exhausted, and the idea of sleep somewhat inviting. She knew she had her duties, and she also knew that Celestia would be grumpy with her in the morning, as any older sister would've been, but the princess of the night decided then and there she needed a night off for once.

Hence, with a smile and a yawn, Luna returned to her place on the bed beside Lucian, laying her head down on the pillow beside the sleeping lycan, and quickly allowing her dreams to take her away.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Where are you, Luna?” Celestia murmured to herself, turning and trotting down the eastern hallway in search of her younger sister. “It is most unlike you neglect your duties, let alone to miss breakfast.”

There were countless royal matters running through Celestia’s mind on this particular morning, and the fact she couldn’t find her sister was only making her rather bad mood worse. She had asked every guard she had come across, and all had said they were yet to see her, a fact which was really beginning to unnerve the ruler of the day, especially considering she had awoken to find the moon still hanging in the sky outside her window.

Normally, she would have dismissed Luna’s absence as simply her sister's want to be alone, but considering the day before there had been a massive changeling attack, and then the appearance of Equestria's first lycan, Celestia wasn’t taking any chances.

At that point she was going to explore one of her last plausible options, an option she seriously doubted, but had decided it best to check anyway.

“Ugh! of all mornings, Luna,” Celestia muttered to herself as she began to ascend the stairs of the eastern tower. “You best have a good reason for scaring me like this, little sister.”

As she emerged from the winding stairwell, Celestia stopped dead in her tracks, an eyebrow rising with her curiosity at the sight of what was before her.

The wooden door to Lucian’s chamber, as she noted, was wide open. To any common pony it would have meant nothing, but it was royal tradition that once a guest was shown to their room, the princess or guard, or whomever had escorted them, would close it as they left; it was a simple matter of privacy above all else. Because Celestia was yet to see Lucian this morning, it meant one of two things, either Luna had forgotten to close it, which was highly doubtful, or that the princess of the night had never actually left the lycan’s room.

Not entirely sure what to expect, Celestia made her way to the doorway and peered inside, her bad mood disappearing and an amused grin spreading across her muzzle as she did.

Lucian was lying flat on his back and still very much fast asleep, still dressed in his brown robe, with his hands folded across his slowly inflating and deflating chest. Lying beside him, with her head resting beside his, was the peaceful form of Luna; she too was still lost in the world of sleep and dreams by the looks of things, her forelegs tucked up against her chest, and face half concealed in her long mane as she slumbered. It was a perfectly innocent sight as Celestia knew, given that other such activities would have left a certain... scent in the air, but none the less a few stray questions formed in the back of the alicorn’s mind.

Slowly, and quietly, Celestia walked up next to Luna, shaking her head in amusement before giving her little sister a gentle nuzzle in the back to wake her. With a gentle sigh and small squirm Luna’s blue eyes creaked open to the day around her, the sunlight that flowed through the window dancing off her coat as she shifted to get her blood flowing.

“Did you enjoy your night, little sister?” Celestia asked with an amused smirk.

Upon hearing her older sisters voice, and in an action that Celestia would never let her forgot, Luna nearly fell off the bed in surprise, her head snapping around to see the princess of the day smiling down at her.

Naturally, Luna’s cheeks turned to embers in a moment, but she managed to maintain her grace as she removed herself from the bed, and then met Celestia’s inquiring gaze.

“I can assure you nothing inappropriate happened sister…” Luna started defensively, trying to keep her voice in check so as not to wake the still sleeping Lucian.

Celestia however simply raised a hoof to silence her.

“I know Luna… with all due respect, I would be able to tell if anything had, and I hold no grudge against you for a perfectly innocent action, such as sleeping beside a male.”

For a moment Luna was lost for words, and could do nothing other than open and close her maw a few times; not only was Celestia not angry at her for neglecting her duties, but she didn’t seem to even mind the fact she had slept beside their guest.

“I… Tia… you truly do not mind my actions? Are they not... well, you know, unbecoming of a princess?”

“You are a grown mare now Luna,” Celestia replied with a chuckle and a smirk. “Even if you don’t act like it at times, hence I believe I no longer need to monitor your every action… although I’d prefer next time I awake not to find the moon still outside my window.”

The two of them shared a quiet laugh with each other, still, however, trying their best to keep the volume at a minimum; they both knew what Lucian was capable of, and didn’t really want a grumpy lycan on their hooves.

When they finished their giggling though, Celestia’s smile faded a little, the change of expression prompting a worried feeling too well up inside Luna.

“Is something wrong sister?” Luna asked hurriedly, tilting her head in confusion.

“I fear we may have a slight problem Luna,” Celestia groaned, rubbing her forehead with her hoof like she had a headache before looking down at Lucian. “One which concerns our guest.”

Now it was Luna’s turn to raise an eyebrow in curiosity as she followed her sister’s gaze.

“What kind of problem?”

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“It is a great annoyance to us, and perhaps I fear insulting to you, Lucian,” Celestia said dryly, tearing her eyes from her window and looking back at the awaiting lycan. “But I fear I have little say in the matter…”

Lucian simply raised his raised his hand in both acknowledgement and understanding, the ruler of the day falling silent as he did so. Despite his action, however, there was a snort of annoyance from close by.

Luckily it was directed at Celestia rather then him.

“I am but a guest in your lands Celestia, and hence I do not expect, nor ask, for any special treatment,” The lycan replied firmly but gently. “Besides, my presence would no doubt cause problems for you… having a creature such as myself lurking around the palace shadows after my initial actions... well, even I will admit that I would unnerve the court members.”

Upon awakening from his long sleep, Lucian had found both Celestia and Luna waiting outside his chamber; for her part, Celestia had looked to be stuck somewhere between unhappy and nervous, Luna however had appeared to be downright angry for some reason.

The lycan had tried to gleam what was going on from them, but neither had spoken a word of it; that was until Celestia and Luna had led him to the palace library, and locked the doors for privacy, only then had they explained what was bothering them both so much.

In light of the changeling attack, as had since been explained, the Equestria Court had been called to a sudden emergency meeting in Canterlot, a meeting which would require all members from across the pony nation to come and discus the newly discovered threat. Effectively, this meant that for the next two weeks, or more, the palace would become a home for the court members and their families, which in turn meant Princess Celestia would need as many free chambers as possible to accommodate them all. On top of that, there'd apparently already been rumours flying around the nobility about a 'monster' prowling around the castle.

He didn't need any more explained after that; all up it meant there would be no room for the lycan within the castle.

After exploring all other options, or so he'd been told, Celestia had in the end finally requested Twilight Sparkle put Lucian up at her library in Ponyville for a few days, a request the very curious unicorn had been all too happy to accept, apparently without a second thought.

Lucian personally didn’t mind the idea, if anything he needed to get away from the city, for reasons only lycans and vampires would understand; else he risked losing control of himself, and in his hunger attacking an innocent pony. Luna, however, was far from impressed with the entire situation, and had no problem or issue with openly showing it, snorting and stomping to show her displeasure while she spoke her view on the matter.

“I simply do not see sister why some of the court members cannot stay in accommodation outside the castle,” Luna snorted aggressively, her ears back and her dark tail slashing at the air in annoyance. “There are many fine hotels within Canterlot, as you know Celestia.”

“It is customary that the court members stay within the palace grounds, for reasons of security, Luna,” Celestia retorted with equal venom, her eyes angrily shifting from Lucian to her little sister, who was standing half concealed in the shadows of a large bookshelf. “I acknowledge that we have a guest on our hooves, but I cannot simply deny centuries of royal tradition.”

Lucian did nothing other than stand perfectly still between the two alicorns; his first encounter with magic had been a far from enjoyable experience to say the least, and considering how agitated the two princesses were, and how powerful he'd been told they were, he feared even a slight movement could cause one of them to snap.

“Ugh! This is ridiculous sister!” Luna yelled abruptly as she stalked from the shadows to the lycan’s side, sounding very much like the barrier which held her temper had just collapsed. “I will not have you…”

“Oh enough Luna!” Celestia jumped in just as loudly, the pure volume of her ancient voice silencing her sister in a moment, and startling the formally composed lycan. “Stop acting like such a school-filly and grow up a little! I have made my decision, Twilight Sparkle had accepted that decision, and Lucian will hence be leaving us at midday whether you are graceful about it or not.”

For a moment, Luna just stood there in a combination of anger, shock, and perhaps even sadness, her mind utterly collapsing on itself for a moment as it absorbed her sisters words.

Upon recovering, and before he could say anything, she did the last thing Lucian would have expected, which was to turn around and bolt hurriedly from the room as fast as possible, opening the door with her horn before slamming it loudly as she left.

A groan from Celestia made the lycan turn and face her once again, the white coated princess shaking her head in dismay before looking up at him.

“Please forgive my little sister, Lucian,” She sighed, turning and returning her gaze to what lay beyond the glass of the window pane. “She has never been one to control her emotions that well.”

“I did not mean to cause such a rift between you two,” Lucian sighed, feeling somewhat guilty as he ran his fingers though his locks of long black hair. “But I fear I do not completely… understand… what is going on.”

Celestia sighed and shook her head against before answering, the sunlight that bounced off her face only illuminating her frown even more.

“I believe Luna has grown rather attached to you, Lucian, for you see my sister has a somewhat bad reputation for a past wrong, and hence very few ponies here in Canterlot... take the time to get to know her, as you or her close friends have. You are different then everypony else in that regard, the act of being willing to spend hours simply talking to her has shown my little sister that, and by giving her the attention and friendly presence she so very much longs for... it has left something of an imprint on her. Do you know what happened last night after you fell asleep?”

“I fear I do not, princess,” Lucian replied, unsure of whether or not he wanted to hear what she was about to say.

The princess of the sun turned to him with a strange expression etched on her face, one which to Lucian resembled something like amusement. Slowly she walked circles around the lycan as she spoke, her eyes affixed on him as she did.

“After you fell asleep, Luna returned to your side, and spent the night next to you. It was perfectly innocent action I assure you… but it demonstrates how much she cherishes and cares about your company, Lucian. If I am to guess, her outburst was more or less a demonstration of her fear of losing you, like she believes that allowing you to venture beyond these palace walls will cause you to somehow disappear.”

Celestia turned and faced him directly. "Lucian, whether you realize it or not, you're friendship means a lot to my little sister. You are the first friend she has actually made herself in a long time, without any sort of intervention or input from myself or Twilight Sparkle."

Lucian bit his lip and stroked his beard as he tried to think of how to respond; he admitted that he liked Luna's company, she was, after all, readily accepting of his actions and his past, and had shown him nothing but kindness thus far, but the knowledge of just how much he had rubbed off on her was utterly left field.

The thought, in turn, of leaving her both sad and worried weighed down on his mind like a block of lead.

“Perhaps I should talk to Luna before I do anything, just so she understands my own feelings on this matter,” he sighed, looking up at Celestia who was now standing directly in front of him. “And... I must ask, would it be possible for her to visit me whilst I am away? If I mean this much to her... I wouldn't be able to be at ease knowing that she was distressed.”

Celestia's eyebrow arched in surprise. "Those are... some unexpected words, Lucian," She said, albeit sharply. "Words that I wouldn't have expected to hear."

"As I said last night, princess, I am, for the most part, a wolf; my instincts are to protect and care for my pack, or my friends as you might see them as, whoever and whatever they might be."

The words were punctuated by a menacing growl that spoke volumes, one that Celestia couldn't help but wince at, though she kept her grace.

"As the leader of a herd race by origin, I... I think I understand your feelings... She must be present at each of the court meetings… but otherwise I will make arrangements for her to visit if that is your wish,” Celestia said, a smile at last reappearing on her marble furred face. “And yes, I agree that you should go and talk to Luna.”

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Notes:

Sorry if this chapter is a little unimpressive, this week was end of semester submissions for uni so my writing time was a little short.

I know main character going to Ponyville is cliche, but there are many reasons and I can write a much more exciting story with the ideas I can now use...you will see what I mean.

Just a heads up that next chapter I’ll be introducing Thane (Dash’s ‘coltfriend’) and a few other dragon characters, so if you get bored or want to know their background read ‘My Red Eyed Friend’.

Chapter 3: Welcome To Ponyville

Chapter 3: Welcome To Ponyville

For the first time in his life, Lucian felt well and truly unnerved.

He had been through unbelievable torture, faced countless vampires, and even technically died thanks to a full clip of silver bullets, but none of those seemed to compare to what he was facing right now.

Before him was the door to Luna’s chamber, his hand resting on the heavy gold doorknob as he tried to mentally prepare himself for their encounter. If it were any other time he probably wouldn’t have been so uneasy, and would have simply walked in... but seeing as the princess of the night was renowned for losing control when she was angry, and Lucian knew she was far-gone from angry, that wasn't quite the case.

“Don’t think about it,” Lucian thought to himself, running the fingers of his free hand through his hair. “Just talk to her. How hard can that be?”

Tempting fate, yet again.

Without another thought, or word, Lucian grit his teeth, turned the knob, and gently pushed the door inwards, holding his breath as he emerged into the royal bed chamber of Princess Luna.

The sight that lay before his eyes was literally nothing like anything he could have expected; in regards to splendour her room was truly that of royalty, in both size and materiality, every wall lined with glorious paintings, wooden bookshelves, and small tables with flower filled golden vases.

Directly in front of him, however, was what held his attention. The deep blue blanketed bed of Princess Luna lay before him, with the regal ruler of the night sprawled stomach-down across the top cover, with her face and eyes buried in the depths of her pillow as she cried.

For a moment Lucian could nothing but watch, his insides feeling like a vial of liquid molten silver had just been poured into them. The sight brought back so many painful memories his mind felt like it was going to shift... memories of Sonja’s final moments, as she was burned alive, screaming, right in front of him simply because they had loved each other, the haunting sound of her cries and tears filling his mind.

Unsure of exactly what to do, Lucian gently closed the door as quietly as he could, though despite his best efforts, it still gave off a tiny metallic click as the locking mechanism closed, which Luna apparently managed to hear, the princess of the night tearing her head upwards in an instant to confront the intruder.

As soon as she saw it was the lycan though, the angry fire in the alicorn's eyes died, and with a sigh returned her head to the pillow, brilliant blue iris's locked on the silently awaiting lycan as she blinked her tears away.

“Lucian, would you mind sitting beside me?” she asked quietly, shifting over a little to imply he didn’t have a choice in the matter.

He did so without hesitation, seating himself with his legs facing the door and his left hand resting beside the princess’s neck. Slowly he ran his fingers through her mane and rubbed her flesh, trying, and hoping to at very least to bring some happiness to her. At last she gave a sort of whinnied grumble, and sat up on the bed beside him, resting her head on Lucians shoulder while he continued to pat her gently.

“I am sorry that I reacted so badly back there,” she sighed at last, pulling her head away so they were looking directly at one another. “It was behaviour that I should not have exhibited in front of you as royalty... or as your friend.”

"Do you wish to talk about it?"

"Not really... hmmf, but I guess I have little say in the matter," the alicorn sighed, sounding somewhere between defeated, annoyed, and perhaps a little embarrassed. "Lucian, the truth of the matter, as foolish as this sounds... is that I fear losing you."

“You know as well as anyone I can take care of myself Luna,” Lucian replied with a half grin, placing his hands on his knees and twiddling his thumbs as he spoke. “I have done so for over six hundred years, besides, I am staying in a library, not out in the middle of a forest.”

“It is… not just that which scares me.”

Lucian turned back to see she was now looking down at her front hooves with her eyes closed, looking like she was in some sort of silent mental debated with herself. The silence lasted a few moments before her eyes creaked open, and slowly she faced him again, this time however there was something in them that hadn’t been there before, something which both confused and unnerved the lycan.

“Lucian, I know it sounds foalish… but I am scared… because I fear losing not just you, but you're companionship as well. Where so many turn their backs and run from me, you did not, where so few give me chance, you did; perhaps this is what being alone for so long does to one, but after having felt the warmth of somepony like you, the warmth of a soul who also knows what it means to be truly alone... I guess I simply fear losing it,” gently, she ran her muzzle along his neck. "It is like your friendship is the warmth of a fire, and the thought of that fire going out terrifies me."

For the first time in his life, Lucian was actually speechless.

His mind flashed back to the night before; there had been that moment when they had just lay there on the bed.

Although he'd never admit it, Lucian knew it had been the most tender moment he had experienced ever since Sonja’s death over six hundred years prior, and the main reason he had enjoyed it was because Luna, someone who understood each and every emotional and physical scar he bore, had been laying there beside him.

Was this what it felt like to have a companion? Someone who truly understood you, who didn't judge you for who or what you were, who looked beyond what you had done in the past? Someone who held you close to their heart.

Did she truly see all those things in him?

It was then Lucian made a final decision; he had lived six hundred years and then died without forming any close bonds, and he wasn’t going to let that happen again.

“If it helps Luna… I’ll admit I feel such things for you too," he said, a hand finding it's way to her hoof. "You showed me kindness, understanding, and compassion, things that I have not felt for a very, very long time, so I truly understand how you feel.”

The princess of the night blinked in surprise. "You mean... you do not find my feelings... unsettling? Most I daresay would call me obsessive."

"I am not like 'most' ponies, Luna," Lucian chuckled, before shaking his head. "In truth though, and as you have said, we are far more alike then one would think. In me you see someone who can understand and be there for you, and I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy spending last night with you... it has been so long since I met someone who would be willing to simply listen."

A hand found its way to he cheek as he continued. "Perhaps we can bear each others burdens."

A mere moment after he had said the words, he swore Luna’s eyes widened to the size of the moon she commanded, her jaw dropping simultaneously. Lucian went to lay a hand on her shoulder in a show of reassurance, though before he got the chance she sprang forward, and joyfully slammed him onto her mattress, her hooves around him a tight embrace and her head resting against his neck as she went into fits of happy laughter.

“I guess I forgot how girls can act,” Lucian thought to himself as she pulled back at last, smiling and running his fingers through Luna’s mane as he spoke. “So… will you let me go to this Ponyville town now and not worry about me?”

“Of course,” Luna said happily as she removed herself from his chest and let him up, the lycan rubbing a patch on his forehead where her horn had smacked him with her initial jump. “But, don’t expect me not to come visit you while you’re there.”

“I asked Celestia about that, and she agreed to let you come and visit,” Lucian chuckled as he scratched the spot between her ears, the princess of the night going into a fit of rather unroyal ticklish giggling. “Although I doubt you’d stay away, even if your sister said no.”

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“So, let me get this straight… you met each other last night, told a few stories, slept in the same bed, had a quick talk this morning, and then decided you're, what... best friends?” Twilight blurted out in rapid succession, her eyebrows raised to a point halfway up her forehead with amazement. “I’m sorry, but that is just so illogical that it’s not funny.”

Lucian growled to himself, and for a moment contemplated simply throwing the annoying unicorn out of the chariot, and letting her plummet to the ground below; the sound of her, her damn lecturing voice, he swore was soon to either make his ears start bleeding, or cause him to shift.

“Oh, I’m sorry, but while were on the subject, Twilight, in my world, your mere existence is considered so illogical it’s not funny,” he snapped and half growled in reply, leaning back into the side of the chariot he was sitting against, and ignoring the glare from the unicorn. “Look, I don’t know why it happened between us, we just... connected.”

Twilight gave a half grunted sigh and face-hoofed, the two pegasus guards who were carrying the chariot taking a quick glance back at the two, before muttering a few words under their breaths to each other.

“I’m not saying it’s bad or anything Lucian, in fact I’m glad that Princess Luna has found somepony to be there for her… but it’s just the way you two met, and the way this is all happening... just doesn’t work for or make any sense to me.”

“Twilight, I know you are curious and wish to understand… but, maybe sometimes you simply must accept that there are things that are beyond even you to comprehend,” Lucian replied with a shake of his head, using his fingers to remove his long black locks from his face. “You could not understand how it feels to constantly be surrounded by others, and yet feel constantly alone.”

Twilight grumbled something to herself, but said no more, rather returning to her side of the chariot and leaning over the edge to look at the world below.

For the rest of the journey there was a mutual silence between the two of them as they hurtled through the cloudless midday sky, Lucian quietly sitting back with his eyes shut as he thought.

In the end he finally figured out why he connected Luna so much; in part it was because of who she was, kind, considerate, accepting of what he was and had done, and gentle, beneath a rough exterior, to say the least.

The other part, as painful as it was to admit, was that she was just like Sonja in a way, a young and rebellious immortal with a fiery temper but a heart of pure gold.

“I wonder what she would think of this place,” Lucian thought to himself as he allowed his eyes to creak open.

No sooner had he returned to the world of the awake, he felt the chariot begin to descend rapidly, the change in feeling forcing the lycan to stand up and confront the town he would call home for the next few weeks. Gingerly, as the chariot came down, Lucian struggled to his feet and braced himself against the side, his blue eyes peering down at the earth below.

The sight that awaited him wasn't exactly what he'd had imagined.

Nestled next to an endless thick green forest, that appeared to stretch off to the horizon and beyond, was the sleepy town of Ponyville, its countless colourful inhabitants going about their business in the light of the midday sun. The buildings reminded the lycan of those of his youth in Hungary, quaint hatched roofs and wooden frames built amongst pine forests... which had the unfortunate habit of being the hunting grounds of William's sons and daughters, he silently admitted.

Lucian held on tight as the chariot made its way toward the middle of town, the driver pegasi guards aiming their landing roughly at the front of a huge oak tree turned building, which he had been told was Twilight’s library, and his source of accommodation.

An oak tree that was actually a library... how ironic.

Within a matter of moments the wheels hit the road, and the chariot swiftly came to a stop, Twilight briskly jumping out and thanking the guards as Lucian stepped down a little more shakily.

Flying chariots were something different all together.

Still, the feeling of hard brown earth under his feet brought a smile to the lycan’s face; he knew his place in the world, and that was on the ground.

Taking a quick Look around, and with an arched eyebrow, he took note of the rustic buildings that now surrounded him; unlike the white stone of Canterlot the structures, the ones here were predominantly wooden framed, with apparent cream coloured plaster, pink trimmings, and thick straw rooves.

They were... almost scarily familiar close up.

Slowly, while Twilight was still in conversation with one of the guards, Lucian wandered over to one, and ran his hand over one of the walls, feeling the smooth, cold plaster run under his fingers with delight.

Naturally, he could sense everypony was now looking at him strangely, and muttering things to their closest neighbour along the lines of 'what is that thing?', 'what's it doing?', and 'typical Twilight Sparkle', but Lucian was really too curious to take any notice of them.

“Strange,” he murmured, tapping the plaster with one of his nails. “These ponies do everything humans d…”

“LOOK OUT!”

A sudden frightened shout made Lucian spin around to confront what he thought was a threat; what he ended up getting, however, was a quick glance at a cyan blue blur just before it crashed square into him.

If this was the traditional greeting, then it was no wonder the town was so small.

If he had been human, Lucian figured he would've found himself flattened on the road. With the fraction of a second he had to his benefit, he began shifting and managed to catch the object on his chest.

The pure force of the collision caused him to slide backwards along the gravel road at least a meter. Luckily though, with his sudden added size and mass, Lucian found himself able to keep his feet firmly planted, they lycan merely feeling the wind getting severely knocked out of him as he caught the blue meteor.

After giving out a few coughing growls as he refilled his lungs with air, and regaining himself, he looked down at the object which abruptly had slammed into him, and upon doing so realized that grasped in his black paws was a slightly dazed Rainbow Dash, the cyan pegasus he had met the night before.

For a few moments she continued to look unwell, complete with eyes rotating in different directions, before shaking her head and looking up at him, her pupils at first widening with terror before a smile spread across her face.

“Oh, hey Lucian… welcome to Ponyville,” she giggled lightly as she rolled from the lycan’s grasp, and quickly landed elegantly on the road in front of him, shaking her coat of any dust a moment later. “Sorry about that, I guess I kind of lost control back there.”

Lucian gave an amused snort in reply before returning to human form, his black fur, dark claws, and hollow eyes replaced in an instant by Caucasian features, the resounding growls and cracks of reforming bone echoing through the street.

Looking around he saw everypony was now staring wide eyed at him with their jaws freely hanging open, or their faces green with disgust, like they had just seen something disturbing or supernatural... which they had really, after all.

They'd get used to it eventually.

“Don’t worry about it,” Lucian smirked as he returned his gaze to Dash. “What were you doing anyway?”

“Uh… racing,” Dash replied, her cheeks turning to embers as she played with her hooves. “…with my coltfriend.”

Lucian for a moment stroked his beard in curiosity; for some reason she seemed a little embarrassed and almost nervous talking about being in a relationship.

It was just then that Twilight came over and joined the small ground of two, although she did little more than look at Rainbow, who shrugged, the lavender unicorn only nodded in reply before turning to the lycan with a pained expression.

“Forgive me, but is there something I’m not getting here?”

It was then Lucian heard a rather loud thud, which was swiftly followed by the feeling of having a rush of hot air run across the back of his neck; his mind instantly going into an adrenaline filled, fight-ready overdrive.

“I think they’re just a little nervous abou…”

For the second time in a matter of minutes, Lucian spun around and shifted as his lycan instincts kicked in; his target this time was the source of a deep male voice that had, somehow, originated from right behind him.

He'd been out of action for a day, and he was already getting sloppy.

Though, for a moment after turning, he could do nothing but stand and stare into a set of massive emerald green eyes that met him... eyes that were roughly the same size dinner plates, and stared straight back at him.

It was then, however, that his lycan blood truly hit, and with a feral roar he slammed his clenched right paw into the side if the creatures face, the superhuman strength in the strike knocking the head of the whatever-the-hell-it-was sidewards, and momentarily revealing an exposed throat.

Before Lucian had a chance to go for it with his teeth though, Dash was between him and his target, yelling and shouting for him to stop as everypony around them ran for the nearest source of cover, her hooves rapidly striking at his face, but doing no more damage then serving to annoy him.

Still snarling like a caged werewolf, grudgingly, Lucian lowered his claws and backed up a little, and it was then that his still canine jaw slackened as he finally realized exactly what he had just hit.

Standing before him, with a grin on its face, and a huge claw resting on its now sore cheek, was a dragon, a massive dragon at that, covered in apple green scales, and identical to those Lucian had seen in the few books he'd read over his eight hundred year life.

Two long white horns emerged from its head, and a row of matching spines ran the length of its head, body and tail. From there, a set of wings emerged from its back just below it's shoulders, and a set of sword like fangs slightly emerged from its maw.

What?

If Lucian had his blades on him, then he would have drawn them in an instant, but since he didn’t... he just hoped his claws would suffice in the event of a fight.

“Well, I got to give it to you Lucian,” the dragon grinned as it rubbed it’s cheek, the pure fact the creature was actually speaking almost causing the lycan to double-take. “You have a pretty good punch on you.”

Lucian shook his head, and, albeit uneasily, shifted once more back to a more peaceful looking human form. His jaw however remained set as the dragon eyed him humorously... and then laughed.

“Would you relax, trust me, I’ve had a lot worse first encounters; first five minutes of being here in Ponyville I got put to use as a makeshift roadblock,” It chuckled, spreading it’s rows of ivory fangs in a smile as it sat back on its hind legs. “I’m Thane by the way, joker, weather dragon, all-round pain in rear, and Dash’s coltfriend, as these ponies refer to me as.”

Lucian’s eyes somehow managed to widen even further as he flicked his gaze between the dragon, and the small form of Rainbow Dash, who was at that point standing proudly with a grin on her face beside Thane’s right fore-claw.

“Wait… so you two… truly?” Lucian stammered, running his fingers through his hair as he tried to accept what he was seeing, and hearing. “Ok, forgive me but I need a moment to clarify… you’re a talking dragon... who’s the lover of a pegasus? Correct?”

Thane and Dash simply looked at each other, smiled, and turned back to the awaiting lycan and Twilight, who was by now standing beside Lucian and seemingly giggling at his confused expression.

Everypony else in the vicinity, as it was, had since stopped paying attention to the group and gone about their business.

With glances in various directions, however, Lucian could see they were still watching him.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it,” was Rainbow Dash’s eventual reply as she jumped into the air, hovering level with her dragon coltfriend’s sore cheek. “I know it’s not exactly what everypony would see as normal, but the hay, it's perfectly legal, we like us, and I think that’s all that really matters.”

"And you seem to have a track record with non-ponies." Thane sniggered with a glance down at her. "A certain griffin ringing any bells?"

The words earned the dragon a death glare. "I thought we both agreed to never bring up Gilda again?" she huffed venomously.

"I know, but you're just too adorable when you're wound up to resist."

"Ugh, you're lucky I love you," Dash mock-groaned, a small smile and a blush spreading across her face. "Otherwise I'd kick you're scaly backside all the way back to the Badlands."

Despite the odd way of being expressed, the passion in the words rang like a bell inside Lucian’s head as he heard them.

He knew all too well what it felt like to have others disapprove of ones love, simply because the partners were of different races, he and Sonja had been an extreme case of such disapproval; he dearly wished he'd ripped Viktor's head off for that when he had the chance.

Now it also seemed he was in a similar position with Luna, and the thought of how her subjects would react to the idea of her and a lycan being close friends... was something he found a little daunting... the nobility alone, if their reactions to him the night before meant anything, wouldn't take it with gladness and joy.

“If it is any consolation, I am happy for you two,” he replied at last as he pushed the thoughts away, grinning as he once again folded his arms across his chest. “I know full well what it feels like to have your feelings for another disapproved of simply because of race, so just know you will always have a friend in me in such regards.”

Now it was Thane and Dash’s turns to recoil and look somewhat surprised; probably, in theory, because that was the last thing they had expected to hear from Lucian’s mouth.

“Uh… wow… thanks Lucian, you’re probably the only one who’s not freaked out when we told them,” Thane chuckled loudly, his voice somewhat like roaring thunder. “You know, you seem pretty cool, you should come hang out when you get tired of being around all these mares.”

Dash gave him a none-too-gentle kick in the cheek in reply to his statement, which only caused both of them to smile awkwardly at each other afterwards. Lucian simply stifled a chuckle at the dragon before him; ten minutes into his stay and he already had new friends, a good sign by any account, and especially for a lycan.

“Nothing of it, and I’d be glad too,” Lucian grinned, shaking his head in amusement. “But I fear I must get settled, so I will leave you two for now… a pleasure meeting you, Thane.”

“Likewise,” the green dragon said warmly in reply, rearing back on his hinds and throwing up a cloud of dirt and dust as he jumped into the air, Dash beside him and the pair quickly disappearing from sight.

For a moment Lucian simply stood there beside Twilight and said nothing, his eyes closed as he processed the fact he had just befriended a dragon of all things. Once he was done with his mental safekeeping, he turned, and looked down at Twilight, the lavender unicorn patiently looking up at him with a soft expression on her face.

“That was… rather interesting,” He muttered to her, scratching his forehead. "Are such relationships common in Equestria?"

Twilight shrugged. "Depends," she replied simply. "Pegasus ponies and griffins have been doing the interspecies thing for some time now, which according to research is what lead to Equestria's hippogriffs coming to be... dragons and ponies being together are a much rarer case, but are far from unheard of... heh, we actually have three such couples in Ponyville."

She blushed and trailed off as she finished, prompting an odd look from Lucian.

“Hehe, anyway, please follow me,” Twilight laughed gently as she shook her head, leading her lycan guest back towards the library that he would call home. "I should get you acquainted with where you'll be staying."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The inside and outside of the library were far from similar to say the least; the outside of the building realistically resembled a living tree in every detail, but the inside though was as far from natural as Lucian could've expected. It was in all a little bit of a culture shock for the lycan to say the least, but he was thankful none the less to at last escape the hot midday sun, and the eyes of the town ponies.

The main room was, as with any library, lined with countless book shelves containing possibly thousands of colourful books. For a few minutes Lucian did nothing other than pull random books out and flick through their contents with interest, upon finding they were writing in an illegible script however he quickly put each one back. On the left side of the main room as he saw was a doorway which led to what he guessed was the kitchen, and on the right a curving wooden staircase which apparently led up to the bathroom and sleeping quarters.

“I know it’s kind of basic,” Twilight offered with a touch of embarrassment as she closed the door.

“Trust me Twilight; it’s a lot better than the cage I grew up in,” Lucian smirked softly in reply, running his fingers over the rough fibres of the wooden shelves as he walked around the room.

For a few moments, Twilight simply sat quietly in the corner, and was silent as she watched the curious lycan examine his surroundings, looking into every tiny detail as he explored the room and its contents. These, she silently deduced, were his wolf instincts coming into play, the showing of a natural drive to examine and familiarise oneself with a new surrounding.

A few times she was forced to bite her lip to stop herself laughing, such as when he found himself confused by how the lights functioned without a switch; it seemed pony magic was something he didn’t yet fully understand.

“I can teach you how to read, and maybe about magic a little later on if you want,” she offered after he voiced his confusion, an amused giggle coming from the lavender unicorn. “But for now I suggest you go upstairs and take a look at your room. You’ll find the clothes the princess requested for you on your bed, and the bathroom's two more doors down… if you need it that is.”

Lucian smiled and was silent for a moment before replying.

“Thank you Twilight,” the lycan replied with a small blush, his shimmering blue eyes as usual catching her in a trance as she met their gaze. “Before I go, I need to ask if you had any plans for me tonight?”

“Uh…no…why?” she stammered with surprise, not entirely sure of what to think of the question.

“Because I have a certain… need… to be alone on some nights,” he replied gently, sitting down on the carpet with his back leaning against the bookshelves. “It is by no means any cause for you to be alarmed… but it would truly be best if you did not ask questions, or follow me on these nights... ever… for your own safety, with all due respect.”

Before Twilight could reply she saw something in his eyes change; their shimmering blue remained but underneath something rippled, a dark and unnatural tint that chilled the unicorn’s blood in a second; whatever it was, she knew it was both unnatural and bore the markings of an uncontrollable urge. If she had any thought of asking a question it ran out of her head screaming as fast as possible.

“Uh…sure, I don’t mind I guess.”

“Thank you, Twilight” Lucian replied with a gentle smile, the unnatural darkness in his blue eyes disappearing from sight, but still burning brightly in the frightened mind of the young unicorn

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Notes:

Just a question for a bit later on…anyone object to me putting Raze (a.k.a the massive black lycan/ Lucian's best friend) in here?

Chapter 4: A Demonstration of Force

Chapter 4: A Demonstration of Force

“You’re scared aren’t you?” Lucian said suddenly, breaking Twilight’s chain of thought as she was reminded he was still present, and watching her. “Scared of me.”

Twilight bit her lip and looked silently across the room at him, the sight of those nightmarish blue eyes sending a shiver down her spine as she met their steely gaze. She hated to admit it, but she was scared, in fact she was terrified, he just had an unnatural aura about him, that she swore would make the bravest royal guards shake in their horseshoes.

On top of that, ponies were, but origin, a prey animal, and one of the predators they had feared since the beginning of time were wolves, no matter what form they came in.

“I… yes… I am.”

Lucian gave a chuckle and leaned back, raising his hands behind his head to act as a makeshift pillow against the bookcase, his blue eyes shifting from the nervous mare to the roof. Twilight, for her part, was both scared and a little annoyed, for the lycan seemed to be above all else amused at her fear.

“You have every right to be afraid of me for what I am Twilight, but just accept I will not hurt you; I have no reason too after all, and you are a friend of Luna’s,”

“I’m… glad to hear that,” Twilight said awkwardly with a smile, trying her best to disguise her still unwavering unease despite his kind words.

Before either of them said anything else, a chorus of loud knocks filled the room, and a moment later the library door was abruptly thrown opened; a small group of conversing ponies basically stampeded in soon after, causing Twilight, who was caught unawares, to take evasive action and hurriedly jump out of the way.

Lucian immediately recognized about half of them; one was Applejack, another was Rarity, and the last recognizable mare was Fluttershy. Beside them were another three ponies, and what Lucian guessed was the young dragon he'd seen briefly the night before; the first was a thickly built red stallion, wearing what looked to be a draft horse collar, one was a small sandy coloured filly with a red mane, and the last was a similarly small white unicorn. The dragon, as Lucian noted, had purple scales, bright green spikes, and strangely no wings to speak of.

As soon as they saw the lycan sitting across the room they all came to a sudden skidding stop, prompting an amused grin to spread across Lucian’s face.

“Well hello there,” he smiled warmly with open arms, running his crystal blue eyes over each of the presently stunned ponies and one small dragon. “I hope I’m not intruding on anything.”

“Actually, we all saw the guards leavin' and were coming to see ya, just to make sure ya'll were settling in alright,” Applejack chuckled, stepping forward with the tan filly and then red stallion beside her. “Lucian, I’d like ya to meet my siblings, my brother Big Macintosh…”

“Eeyup,” Has the red stallion’s single word reply, followed by a slight incline of his head.

“…and my little sister Applebloom,” she went on, pushing the small filly forward with her hoof in encouragement despite stubborn her resistance.

She clearly looked a little frightened of Lucian, and blatantly refused to meet his gaze... a reaction that now appeared natural for little girls of any race. Gently, Lucian reached forward and scratched the farm filly’s neck, immediately sending the formally timid creature into fits of cute giggling, the rather adorable scene causing everypony else to starting laughing along.

“H-hey! Stop it! T-that tickles!” She laughed.

“See, I’m not so bad now, am I?” Lucian grinned, removing his hand from the now hysterical filly.

Gently she came in close and put her front hooves on his leg, content to run her sort muzzle over every inch of him to satisfy her curiosity about the strange creature. Pretty soon she was joined by the white unicorn filly in her search for answers about the lycan; Lucian for his part simply folded his arms and closed his eyes as they had their fun, he, for one, didn’t mind curious children.

“Wow mister Lucian, I ain’t never seen anything like you before,” Applebloom giggled as she stepped back, Lucian’s eyes flicking open as the two removed themselves.

She then turned to the white unicorn filly beside her.

“This here’s Sweetie Belle, she’s one of my best friends,”

“Hi Lucian,” was the gigglish reply.

“A pleasure to meet you both,” Lucian said with a nod as he got to his feet, and then looked over at the small purple dragon, his thick frame towering over the two small fillies as well as everypony else even in his human form. “And who may I ask is your young scaly friend?”

“Oh, that’s my coltfriend Spi…”

That was when Lucian saw her eyes widen, and her cheeks go red... not to mention the small dragon start frantically looking for a place to hide, while Twilight and Applejack glared between the two of them. It seemed her tongue had betrayed her, and now an uneasy tension had begun building because of it, a tension Lucian couldn't help but grin at.

“Applebloom, I thought I told ya… you’re too young to be dating anypony,” Applejack scolded, glaring daggers at her younger sister.

“But Spike ain’t a pony AJ,” was the filly’s reply, backing up towards the towering dark haired lycan like she found him a source of protection. “Besides, Ash says it ain’t like we’re doing anything wrong.”

Applejack watched as Lucian lowered a hand to her little sister’s shoulder, and then she stopped dead in her tracks as his shimmering blue eyes met her own advancing green ones. Twilight had told her multiple times the lycan’s eyes were somehow eerily captivating, but Applejack hadn’t really believed her.

Now, however, she had to admit there was something about them, something supernatural that sent a cold shiver down the spine of the element of honesty.

“You… uh… we’ll talk about this later, Applebloom,” the amber pony stuttered finally, taking an uneasy step back towards the cover of her big brother, who was given the circumstances rather unreactive.

“Anyway…” Twilight said with slight cough, nodding towards the young purple dragon who was looking truly unnerved. “This is my assistant, Spike, he lives here with me so you’ll see a lot of him around… if you want to send a letter to Princess Celestia… or Luna, then just ask him.”

“Yeah… uh… hi, Lucian,” the little dragon said somewhat awkwardly, stepping forward with his scaled arm extended in a welcoming gesture, one which Lucian gladly returned by shaking the dragons claw with a smile.

“You can relax, Spike, I do not bite,” Lucian chuckled playfully, giving the young dragon a fond scratch on the head with his free hand. “Well, much anyway.”

There were a few light chuckles through the room, although Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity glanced between each other, and looked a little less than sure that his statement was reassuring, considering they all knew what he was.

Once the laughter had died down, Rarity took a small step forward, running her keen gaze over the brown robe Lucian had been wearing since the night before with a look of utter disgust.

“Darling, with all due respect… the pure sight of that thing is an insult to both fashion, and to good taste in general. Before we go any further, would you mind going upstairs and changing, I am rather looking forward to seeing how my work compares to those of the royal seamstresses.”

“Well... if you insist,” Lucian replied with a nod, immediately heading for the stairs.

Before he even got close to them though, the door once again crashed open with a loud bang, prompting everypony in the room to let out a chorus of surprised shouts and the lycan himself immediately spin around.

Applejack, who was closest to the door, regained herself and angrily looked around first, expecting to see a sprawled and grinning Rainbow Dash, but instead found herself coming face to face with the panting pegasus, Thunderlane.

“Thunder, what in the name of Celestia…” She started with a snort, the pegasus however quickly put a hoof over her mouth to silence her.

“AJ… there’s… a… stallion…” He panted, shaking his head at last to regain himself. “…we had a bunch of stallions from Manehatten come into town this morning, and they weren't friendly… and now they’re looting all the market stalls in Ponyville, including yours.”

“But I got Caramel running the stall today,” Applejack started, her heart suddenly spiking with fear as she saw Thunderlane nod, everypony else in the room looking between each other nervously, while a low growl echoed from behind them all.

“Yeah, I know, that’s why I’m here,” he snorted angrily with a shake of his head. “Caramel tried to step in, so they gave him a kicking AJ, I sent a few other’s to find one of the dragons, but so far we've had no luck.”

Applejack quickly turned around to her big brother, and judging from the venom in his eyes, he was as ready as she was to kick some flank.

“Come on big broth…”

Before she could finish, a new fear overcame the farmpony, a fear that ignited just as a huge dark blur sailed over her and everypony else in the room, and then before she could even blink, disappeared out the door like a shadow escaping its owner.

With a quick glance over her shoulder, she and everypony else saw the room was now void of Lucian other than a torn brown robe, which meant that the black wolf-like blur had in fact been the enraged lycan.

Thunderlane now looked like he had just had a terrible nightmare, his eyes flashing rapidly between the doorway and the other ponies in the room.

“W-what was that… t-thing?” The pegasus stallion stuttered rapidly, literally shaking in his metal horse shoes as he spoke.

“Spike, you and the fillies stay here… we’ll explain on the way Thunder,” Twilight said hurriedly, taking the lead and galloping out of the library with her friends beside her, the unicorn, for the Manehattan stallions' sakes, silently hoping Lucian somehow got lost.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Scootaloo nervously peered out from the alleyway she was hiding in, silently hoping, by both Celestia and Luna, that the stallions standing in the now abandoned market street didn’t see her.

Luckily, they were at that point going between the abandoned stalls on the far side of the market street, the former owners sitting and fearfully watching them from the safety of various nearby windows.

Biting her lip, and trying to hold her nerve, the orange filly refocused her gaze on her target, Applebloom’s wounded friend Caramel, who was laying beaten and unconscious beside the smashed up ‘Sweet Apple Acres’ stall, his buckskin body covered in countless bloody cuts and bruises the group kicked into him.

By her reckoning, there were only a few meters between him and her alleyway, and hence all she had to do was grab him, and pull him out of there; Caramel of all ponies was quite light for a fully grown stallion, meaning that although she couldn’t lift him, he wasn’t that hard for her to drag over a short distance.

It was a crazy idea above all else, especially given she was on her own, but Applebloom’s family had always been nice to her, and hence the filly felt it her responsibly to try.

“You can do this,” she whispered to herself, taking another glance at the small rowdy group as she made her move. “Rainbow Dash would be able to.”

Her first, and only, point of cover was Daisy’s smashed up flower cart, which now lay with its contents scattered in a floral semi-circle around it, half of the former elegant flower bunches trodden and squashed on the road. Scootaloo quickly and quietly scurried forward and ducked behind the remains, a few drops of sweat running down her face as she leant into the safety of the upturned wooden cart.

So far, so good.

Caramel was now only a couple of meters away, so close she could hear his breathing.

Just as she readied to make her move, however, she froze as her ears pricked up; she could hear both the groups’ hoof beats and rowdy voices, both of which were getting louder, which in turn meant they were coming her way. Silently she retreated into the cover of the flower stand, biting down hard on her hoof to try and control herself as she heard the group coming ever closer.

“Don’t panic! Don’t panic! Don’t panic!” She thought hurriedly, closing her eyes tightly as the sound of hooves came ever closer, so loud now she swore the gang was walking right up to her hiding place.

“What do we do with him?” she heard a voice laugh, the hoarse accent that was mixed in making her guess he was from either Canterlot or Manehatten.

She heard the entire group let out a chorus of snorts, and a moment later she whimpered as the wood of her hiding place creaked loudly, giving her the impression somepony was either leaning, or even standing on it.

“That dumb farmer… I reckon just leave him boys,” said another voice. “Maybe he’ll learn his les…”

The stallion’s voice suddenly trailed off, which both confused both Scootaloo, and apparently his comrades.

The frightened filly did nothing more than listen, and ready to try and escape for a moment... but then, among the loud sounds of their breathing and the creaking of wood, she heard something else...

...a rhythm of thundering footsteps that were far too loud to be that of a pony.

“You guys hear somet-” one of the stallions started, sounding to Scootaloo’s surprise a little unnerved.

Before he could finish, something cut him off.

That something was a titanic roar that was so loud and deep, Scootaloo swore the very ground beneath her hooves shook; it wasn't a roar that belonged to a dragon, but something even should could tell was far darker, that much she could tell for certain.

A moment later, there was a loud scream followed by a sickly crack of breaking timber.

Finally losing her nerve, the filly sprinted out blindly from her cart and headed back for the cover of her alleyway.

Before she even got close she slammed into something and fell back on her rump, something she realized that was thick, hard, and furry.

In absolute terror she covered her eyes and began trembling wildly, silently believing that it was one of the stallions standing before her, and ready to punish her just like Caramel.

When no brutal kicking met her body, she slowly lowered her hooves from her eyes.

Only then to have them widen in equal or worse terror, as she looked up into the hollow black eyes of a towering creature.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Lucian used the scent of blood as his guide, following the smell in the wind as he bolted through the narrow streets of Ponyville, his mind half lost in a blood-hunger fuelled rage. Admittedly, he knew everypony would become fearful of him if he killed somepony, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t teach the perpetrators a brutal lesson.

To anger a lycan was to sign for certain, painful, and bloody retribution.

Lucian noted that the streets were completely empty as he ran, which probably meant the gang had scared everypony indoors with their antics; frankly, Lucian didn’t know how many he was up against, and silently growled at himself for not giving the panting pegasus stallion time to tell, but it didn’t really matter in the end, as long as he dealt with the group quickly.

His keen nose guided him true as usual; shooting down a dusty alley way he saw a cluster of stallions standing at the opposite end, completely oblivious to the fact they had a lycan charging towards them from the shadows. For a single second he thought about maybe just roaring and scaring them away, but then he heard a lime green pegasus stallion crack a joke about the unconscious form of Applejack’s cousin.

That sympathetic second was over quickly.

Giving out a hellish roar, he used up his momentum and jumped.

For anyone who had ever seen a lycan jump, the sight was usually considered a violation of the laws of physics, mainly because using the massive strength in their back legs, the average lycan could easily clear six or seven meters.

Just as swiftly as he had jumped Lucian landed with a slam right on target, half a meter away from the nearest stallion, a dark blue pony with a white mane and two quills crossed over a scroll for a ‘cutie mark’ as Luna had called them.

The stallion had around a tenth of a second to realize what was going on before Lucian had his paw around him, his mighty black furred hand completely encircling the stallion’s neck as the lycan lifted him, kicking wildly, from the ground.

The stallion’s friends still seemed to be mentally registering the sight stage at that point; Lucian though was done looking at the scrawny blue stallion, and with all his might hurled him at the nearest wall, which just so happened to belong to a building which resembled a giant gingerbread house.

The stallion let out a final scream as he was hurled through the air, and then there was a loud wooden crack his body ploughed through said wall, and left only a gaping hole behind.

In triumph and rage Lucian roared again at the remaining stallions, his brain now becoming overwhelmed with a combination of adrenaline, anger, and a hunger for blood.

It was then, as he took a heavy step forward, that he felt something smack into his leg, and hurriedly he looked down.

Seeing to his amazement a bright orange filly looking up at him, wide eyed and with her jaw open.

Something hard slammed into the side of the lycan’s face, causing him to yelp in pain as a ripple of agony swept through the side of his skull; the pain luckily lasted only a moment before he was ready again, and with a snarl his huge claw swung out like a furry mace, and swatted a pegasus from the air, the perpetrator of his pain rapidly sailing a good seven meters before becoming buried in the ruins of cart.

With a deathly snarl, Lucian took another step forward and readied his claws and fangs like a set of swords, the lycan now standing his ground between the frightened orange filly and the downed pony, and the five remaining stallions.

Two of them, a dark grey and a lemon yellow, were unicorns, and both by the looks of things had their horns lowered and glowing.

With all his strength, Lucian grabbed up the half broken flower cart that had been lying beside him, and hurled the wreckage at the group, his aim directed at the unicorns in particular.

The two remaining pegasi just managed to get out to the way, the two unicorns and pale blue earth pony though weren’t so lucky. The flying wreckage collected them up like a car striking soon-to-be road kill, before landing with a crash a few meters back, launching shards of wood and various flowers high into the air.

The two pegasi made the mistake of looking back at their dazed comrades, and before they even had a chance to return their gaze, Lucian jumped forward and caught them in his claws, wrapping his paws around the base of their throats before raising his arms high into the air.

Without so much as a pause, he hurled the two equines at the ground directly in front of him, his massive arms putting in about half of his true superhuman might behind them; the two unlucky ponies threw up clouds of dust as they hit the ground like a pair of furred meteors.

Before they had the slightest chance to move, Lucian pinned them both, a paw on each one’s chest, and his fangs and monstrous eyes bearing down on them.

It was as if death itself had come.

“D-don't eat me!” the lime green one from earlier screamed, the snarling lycan’s drawn fangs and death glaring eyes falling on him.

A sudden overwhelming hunger drove into Lucian’s mind, so strong he found himself involuntarily lowering his teeth to the stallion’s soft exposed throat.

“LUCIAN! STOP!”

The lycan’s head snapped up as he heard a familiar voice, and then, as he finally noticed Twilight and her friends galloping towards him, he grudgingly fought his instincts and managed to remove himself, taking a few steps backward before returning to his human form.

Neither pegasi stallion moved in the slightest, their legs frozen with their tails between them.

Soon the group of ponies from the library skidded to a stop before him and the dazed pegasi stallions, looking between him, and the now mostly unconscious pair of flyers; true to his personal promise, none of them were dead, simply majorly injured without being in a life threatening condition.

“What’d ya do to ‘em?” Applejack asked seriously, looking between the dazed pegasi and the three ponies that were scattered around the flower cart’s remains. “Please for the sake of Celestia tell me ya didn’t kill any of ‘em?”

“I only taught them a lesson,” The bearded lycan replied with a shrug of his thick shoulders, barely even caring that he was once again standing stark naked in front of everypony. “If you’re wondering, your friend is behind me, and the last two are either in the remains of that carrot stand, or in that building,”

The small group of ponies looked over at the gaping at the hole in Sugercube Corner, seemingly horrified that Lucian had actually thrown somepony through a solid wooden wall.

“How did you… you know what, I’m not even going to ask,” Twilight muttered loudly, waving a hoof to dismiss her own part-question. “So much for no need to fear you.”

“I would never hurt any of you,” Lucian replied bluntly, shaking his locks of black hair from his eyes. “But what do you expect me to do when there’s someone terrorizing your town? Politely tell them to stop?”

The small group of ponies looked between each other and shrugged, seeming to, for the time being, accept Lucian had only done what he had for Ponyville’s good.

Sensing that he was, for the time being anyway, forgiven, Lucian turned and went to examine Caramel's injuries.

Before he got the chance though, or even near Caramel for that matter, a pair of huge shadows crossed over the sun; a moment later, something scales and red slashed downwards, and hastily coiled around him like a chain.

“Wha…” he started, his mouth shutting in an instant as he came face to face with a set of enraged, red dragon eyes, realizing at last he was uncomfortably trapped in the beast’s tail.

“And just who are you?” The dragon snarled deeply as it landed with an almighty thud, its red body taking up the entire width of the street, while a black scaled beast, and a couple pegasi, did the same just behind Twilight and her friends.

Lucian struggled and pulled as best he could, but only gained an angry snarl and a tightening grip for his efforts.

Before he had a chance to explain himself though, Fluttershy, of all possible ponies, left Twilight's side, flew up beside him, and gently spoke to the massive creature.

“It’s ok Titan, he’s our friend, and he only wanted to protect Caramel,” she said gently, running her hoof over the red scaled dragon’s cheek as his blood-thirsty expression softened. “You can put him down now.”

Slowly and gingerly, the dragon lowered its tail to the ground before releasing the lycan, the two of them stepping apart as Fluttershy went about whispering something in the dragon's ear.

The few other pegasi, who had apparently fetched the dragon’s, then quickly departed with Caramel and Scootaloo, apparently content to take the still unconscious stallion and frightened filly to Ponyville hospital while the lycan-dragon introductions went on without them.

“Tch, well, you're definitely something alright, Lucian,” was the dragon’s somewhat humorous reply to the lycan’s confusion, Lucian quietly guessing Twilight and her friends had told just about the entire world of him. “Sorry about all that, name's Titan, and that's Ash,” he nodded to his black companion.

“You must be friends of Thane's then?” Lucian asked as he glanced back at the night black dragon behind him, a little surprised at how different the way Titan and Thane spoke.

“You could say that,” Ash replied with a deep toned chuckled, lowering his head a little so he was eye level with Lucian. “Thane's an old friend of ours, although personally I think he's a little immature for his age.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s just 'cause Rainbow’s a bad influence on him,” Applejack put in, nuzzling the black dragon’s face fondly before looking back over at the awaiting lycan. “Dragons and ponies usually don’t have a lot to do with each other, Lucian, but these three have been around here so long... well, their kinda part of the family now.”

Looking between Ash and Titan, Lucian couldn’t help but wonder how exactly three apparently adult dragons had come to live in Ponyville... though he guessed that was another story for another time.

“So you three actually live around here with the ponies?” Lucian asked as he turned and faced Titan again, amazed the massive red dragon could actually fit in the narrow pony street.

“Eh, we try to at least,” Titan replied with a smile, looking down at Fluttershy fondly, who was standing beside his claw. "Heh, as hard as it is to believe, we've actually only really been here a few months now, but we try our best to fit in; I help Fluttershy care for her animals, Thane helps the weather team out... when he's not lazing around, anyway... and Ash works with Big Macintosh in his forge.”

“You have a forge?” Lucian asked sharply, realizing only when everypony jumped in surprise and he heard his own echo how loud he had been. “Uh… forgive me, but I was wondering if there’d be any possibility of me using it, I am a skilled blacksmith.”

“You saved Caramel and gave those stallions what's for, Lucian, so she’s all yours, whenever you want,” Big Macintosh chuckled with a shake of his head, the words prompting a smile to spread across the aged lycan’s face. “I barely use it anymore anyway… she’s out at the farm though, which is a about a mile from Ponyville.”

The lycan just shook his black locks. “Distances do not matter to me,” Lucian said with a smile.

His smile however faded a little when he felt a terrible pain run through him, a pain not caused by a weapon or strike of any kind, but rather by his now tearing and unbearable hunger; after all the combat he needed to feed, and the lingering scent of Caramel’s blood was only fuelling his urge.

“Forgive me,” He said calmly as everypony and dragon flinched, and then hurried forward, looks of concern on their faces. “But I must be alone for a while, and I beg you all please do not follow me, for your own safety.”

Without another word, Lucian shifted into a wolf, and bolted forth from the street.

In just under a minute he had disappeared into the shadows of the Everfree forest, leaving a cluster of confused ponies and dragons in his wake.

“What was that all about?” Rarity asked dryly as she looked over at Twilight.

The purple unicorn suddenly winced as a terrible fear welled up inside her, and, at last, she made the rather obvious connection between the lycan’s wolf-form, his sharp teeth, and his need to be alone.

“You DON’T want to know,” was the short and hurried reply, saying nothing else, and instead heading back towards her library, leaving her confused friends to ponder her words.

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Notes:

For those of you who haven’t read my other work, Titan and Fluttershy are only good friends (Titan’s almost like a big brother to her)

For those of you who have, I’m going to build on Ash a little during this fic, because during ‘My Red Eyed Friend’ I feel I neglected him as a main character, so he'll be around a bit.

Chapter 5: Love, Blood, and Moonlight

Finished off first exam today and feeling good about it…so to celebrate here’s a chapter for you all. Just be aware I knocked this up in two days, so it probably isn't exactly an overdose of awesome, but I hope you enjoy all the same.
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Chapter 5: Love, Blood, and Moonlight

“What do you think the moon’s like?” Rainbow Dash asked quietly, flicking her head up at the huge white piece of rock that floated through the night sky above.

“I’m guessing pretty flat, barren, and boring,” Thane chuckled in reply, his own emerald eyes joining Dash’s in gazing up. “I wonder if Princess Luna carved her name up there… or maybe she wrote something like ‘Buck you Celestia’ in huge letters.”

The green dragon’s statement was enough to send Dash into fits of hysterical giggling, and cause her to nearly fall off his back; thankfully for her, a quick nudge of his tail he kept her in place.
.

The two were out on a late evening moonlight stroll through the Everfree forest, the sky above them almost at the point of falling from day to night, but not quite there just yet. Above their heads thousands upon thousands of stars dotted the cloudless darkening sky beside the white of the moon, which was only just now appearing as the sliver of a new cycle, the movement towards a full moon barely commenced.

There was a soft but warm breeze blowing through the tree as Thane walked with Dash atop him, the soft thump of his steps the only obvious noise other than the wind, and the occasional animal call; with the sky being cloudless, such a walk provided the perfect escape for the two after another lazy day of Ponyville hustle and bustle, plus neither the trees nor the creatures of the forest judged them as pretty much everypony else did.

“Thane,” Dash said quietly, causing the green dragon to look back and see her smiling at him. “How long have we been going out now?”

A toothy grin spread across the dragon’s face as he answered.

“Two months and three weeks Dash,” Thane replied happily, stopping for a moment to stretch his head back and nuzzle her softly on the neck. “But I’m not keeping track of course.”

Dash simply giggled and lazily ran her eyes over his soft-set face; she loved the way the moonlight danced off his apple green scales, illuminated his ivory horns, and made his emerald eyes shimmer like gems... but, in truth, that wasn’t the real reason why she loved him.

Ever since they had met, Thane had shown her nothing but unbound love, care, and affection, something no stallion had ever been brave enough to do when she was growing up; perhaps it had been her tom-colt attitude, but the fact remained regardless, and although she'd never openly let it show those years had been more than a little painful.

Thane though had gone and put himself in harm’s way for her, even saving her life at one stage, and ever since that day she'd stopped caring about what everypony thought.

And, in the end, he had done the same.

“I wonder…how do you think my parents are going to react when they meet you?”

Thane simply smiled, and opening his jaws he ran his tongue across his cyan furred marefriend’s face, coating her cheeks in warm saliva, much to her embarrassment.

“I’m guessing quite badly,” He replied with a smug grin and a shake of his head, his tail flicking with excitement. “But I won’t care either way.”

“And neither will I,” Dash giggled as she wiped away the last of his saliva, laying her head down gently against the scales of his neck and closing her eyes. “Ever.”

Thane sighed happily as he watched her beautiful figure be bathed in moonlight, swearing to himself that he was perhaps the luckiest dragon who had ever lived. Every creature alive new that dragons prided themselves on what they had, whether it be status or material wealth, and here he was, mate to a pony who was not only an Element of Harmony, but had helped save their world from Discord.

“You know Thane,” Dash giggled abruptly, a single cheeky magenta eye creaking open to look at him. “All this mushy talk of love and stuff has got me thinking… you wanna go see Twilight about that spell one of these days?”

Thane thanked his ancestors he had scales, otherwise the redness and heat in his cheeks would have been able to light up the forest just as well as his fire. In truth, he had personally very rarely, if ever, thought about that side of their relationship, but he guessed with almost three months now at their backs, it was natural Dash would be wondering about when they’d take the next step.

“Well… I…” he began, trying to put together a reasonable response.

Dash, however, didn’t give him the chance to finish, instead with a cheeky grin spreading across her cyan face she jumped down and left his back.

The green dragon just stood there silently, and watched her curiously as she walked past him, unsure of whether or not he should be watching the sway of her hips like he was.

He couldn’t stop himself stepping back in shock when she revealed her plan to him; slowly and gently, the rainbow maned mare lowered herself to the forest floor, and flicked her tail invitingly, her magenta eyes casting a single look over her shoulder at Thane, a wink in the mix as her excited scent filled his dragonic nostrils.

“You know… I don’t think we’ll need Twilight’s spell this time, I reckon that tongue of yours would work just fine.”

Before his mind could put together anything else romantic or logical to say, he found his head falling forward, like the primeval urge inside him had suddenly, and completely, displaced his brain and ability to think. In response to his movement Dash’s rainbow tail began to lift, revealing to the young adult dragon a sight that fulfilled all his adolescent dreams and more.

Fate, however, seemed to disapprove of Dash's plan.

Just as Thane’s tongue began to emerge from his jaws, the moment was shattered by two snarling, coloured shapes that hurtled out of the darkness and sprinted past the two of them, one slamming into Thane’s side as it rapidly changed direction.

He snarled as pain swept through his ribcage, directing his anger at the whatever-it-was.

And then a blood chilling roar of pain echoed through the trees, and made him freeze.

Dash, as expected, squealed like a filly, shot up from the ground with a frightened start, and grasped Thane’s neck like a metal vice, magenta eyes scanning the shadow laced trees with Thane’s own green ones, both looking for the creature that was the source of the sound.

Thane wasn’t stupid, and would never put Dash in unnecessary danger, but on the other claw at that point his mind was telling him to find what had roared. He knew from prior... personal experiences... that the sound belonged to a manticore, and hence it had most likely been injured, if not worse, by the very same something that had been chasing it.

If he knew one thing for certain, it was that if something could injure a manticore, it was not a creature Ponyville needed hanging around.

“What the hay was that?” Dash asked nervously at last, sinking into the safety of his neck.

“Just get on my back and stay there,” Thane replied firmly with a snarl, taking a few stealthy steps through the trees with his ivory fangs and claws ready, his keen snout already picking up the unmistakable scent of freshly spilled blood. “And I suggest you cover eyes; if I’m right I may have to kill something, and I don’t want you to have to see it.”

Dash did as she was told while he trudged quietly through the thick wall of trees for a few moments, his dragon eyes seeing everything in the dim light just as well as he would on the brightest of days. Thane’s nostrils were flaring uncontrollably at the now quickly strengthening scent of blood, and his heart was pounding like a drum his chest; whatever had invaded the forest was now close and he knew it, and soon it would feel the strength of dragon claws, and the heat of dragon fire, for both getting under his scales and disrupting his night.

The dragon stopped dead before a thicket of trees when he heard it fill his ears, the gut wrenching and sickening ripping of flesh as it was torn away from bone; he only knew the sound because he was a dragon, and had every so often been guilty of creating such a sound himself, but knowing it was something else at the root of the particular noise he found his blood burning with angry fire, angry fire directed directly at whatever was waiting beyond the nearby trees.

“Dash… If you haven’t had your eyes covered already, now is a good time too; you will not want to see this.”

Dash’s only reply was a tightening of her grip on Thane’s neck; a moment later the green dragon reared up on his hinds, and using the strength of his front claws tore an opening in the tightly woven wall of tree’s directly in front of him with a loud crack. Like a lance, his head and torso shot forward through the opening with his jaws wide open, ready to unleash a torrent of fire on whatever he encountered, when his eyes fell on the creature that awaited him, however, he stopped.

Standing in the middle of a small clearing, bathed in soft moonlight and covered in fresh blood, was a black wolf-like creature; the same one Thane had met only hours earlier in one of Ponyville’s quiet streets.

Lying beneath Lucian’s red stained front claws was the bloody carcass of a freshly killed manticore; the lycan’s head buried in its ripped open chest, as he loudly, and hungrily, tore off and devoured the creature’s meat.

Before the green dragon could think, or do anything for that matter, Lucian’s head snapped up to meet him, the lycan’s glistening black eyes meeting Thane’s own emerald green ones in a neutral exchange of ‘what exactly are you doing here?’.

Thane stood dead still as blood dripped down the motionless lycan’s face, not daring to move in case he provoked Lucian into attacking; then, without growling or making a sound, Lucian opened his mouth and showed the dragon his rows of blood red razor sharp fangs, not in anger or threat but rather saying ‘this is why I’m here’. In reply the green dragon simply closed his jaws, and nodded in understanding at what he guessed was a peaceful demonstration.

He highly doubted that Lucian was a threat to Ponyville, but he still felt a little unnerved at the grizzly sight before him, and he was still a little annoyed.

Before he could remove himself from the scene, however, Lucian’s head snapped around at the sight and scent of a certain cyan pegasus, who was at that moment trembling with her head dug into Thane’s neck. The green dragon winced and blushed under his scales, he knew that Lucian would have a keen nose and had probably smelt, and guessed, what had gone on if he hadn’t seen it properly earlier; but the lycan to his amazement did nothing more than grin, or rather show his bloody teeth to Thane in what looked like a grin anyway.

“I didn’t see anything if you didn’t.”

The lycan simply nodded in reply to the embarrassed dragon’s statement, and then like nothing had happened went back to eating his kill.

Pulling his head back, Thane swore he glanced a set of beady blue eyes disappear into the shadows, but when he shook his head there was nothing. Growling, he dismissed it as just his imagination; he highly doubted anything would be brave enough to watch a lycan eat a bloody carcass.

Slowly and quietly, the green dragon backed away from the clearing and headed off through the trees, leaving the hungry lycan to finish his meal in peace.

Once he guessed they was a decent distance away, and near the border of the forest, he looked back at Rainbow Dash, who to his surprise still had her cyan face buried deeply in the scales of his neck.

“It’s safe now Dash,” he whispered, nuzzling her gently on the cheek with the end of his snout. “You can open your eyes.”

With a little hesitation, the cyan mare pulled her head away and looked around, breathing a heavy sigh of relief when she saw they were now standing at the edge of the forest, the golden lights of Ponyville now shining through the night not too far away.

“What… happened?”

“Let’s just say we had no reason to be afraid,” Thane chuckled with a grin, turning and heading back along the road towards her floating cloud house. “But how about I take you home, I think that’s enough adventures for one night… in the forest anyway.”

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“About time, Twilight,” Spike snapped, giving the unicorn an annoyed glare as she stumbled into the kitchen for breakfast; not exactly the good morning she was hoping for. “Your pancakes almost went cold.”

The unicorn’s first reaction was to yawn and blink a few times, trying her best to banish the essence of sleep that still fogged her mind from the night before. She had to admit being drowsy or late out of bed in the morning wasn’t unusual for her, especially after long study sessions, but the fact she had stayed up half the night worrying had caused her to sleep in much longer than usual.

She had been thankfully to have at last been woken from her twisted nightmares by another of Celestia’s mornings. In the depths of her dreams she had seen horrible things, Lucian as a black wolf, hunting down and devouring innocent ponies with gusto, and to say the least she was now more scared of him than ever.

“Sorry Spike,” she sighed lazily, shaking her head to remove the heaviness from her eyes, taking her usual seat at the table and levitating over her plate of pancakes. “But I didn’t get much sleep last night, I was worrying and I kept having nigh…”

“You weren’t worrying about me, were you?”

The young unicorn then did something she wished she hadn’t, mainly because Spike would never let her forget it from that day on. Upon hearing the voice of the lycan, she squealed like a frightened school filly, and spun around... the only problem was that because she was on a chair, her momentum wasn’t exactly circular, resulting in both the unicorn and chair toppling over with a loud crash.

Spike, as Twilight half expected, burst into fits of hysterical laughter. She still however shot up again like nothing happened, and promptly tackled the bare-chested lycan who was standing in the doorway, throwing them both back into the main room of the library and ending with a slam as they hit the wooden floor.

In an instant, Twilight had a pinning hoof on Lucian’s both of shoulders, her eyes meeting his own confused blue ones with a gaze that was somewhere between questioning and horrified.

“Please for the sake of Celestia tell me you didn’t eat somepony?”

For a moment Lucian just looked up at her oddly, and then burst out with laughter just about as hysterical as Spike’s. With a swift movement he stood and picked up the lavender unicorn, running his fingers through the purple ponies mane to show his affection and amusement.

“Luna said you were one to worry, Twilight Sparkle, but I didn't think you were of such extremes,” he chuckled, at last lowering the now very confused mare to the floor. “I would not and will never eat one of your kind, you have my oath and promise… besides, if I did, Celestia would most likely banish me to the moon, as you know well.”

“But then who-I mean… what exactly did you eat?”

Lucian just sighed and shook his head; this little pony truly didn’t know where to draw the line on curiosity, did she?

“If you really must know Twilight, off the top of my head, it looked kind of like a giant cat with wings and a scorpion tail.”

The small pony's jaw dropped to the point it nearly hit the floor.

“You ate… a manticore?”

“I guess I did,” Lucian replied with a small shrug.

Twilight just stood there speechless as her mind through up gory mental images; manticores were feared by even the elite of the Canterlot royal guard, and now the lycan in front of her, was casually saying he had turned one into an everyday midnight snack.

And, if she had somehow managed to forget, he was living with her.

“Um… ok,” Twilight managed to say, trying her best not to hyperventilate and go into an uncontrollable panic. “I’m going to accept what you said… and ask you that if I ever want to know what you ate again, please don’t be honest with me.”

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Notes:

I’m not one for writing sensual fics personally so don’t expect a lot of such things…unless the vast majority of readers think it would work somehow, then I will possibly think about it.

Chapter 6: Matters of Heart

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.

Chapter 7: Razing Hell

Chapter 7: Razing Hell

“Well this is... unexpected,” Raze thought to himself as he lowered his wolf nose to the road, taking in as he inhaled both the sight, and scent, of what lay etched in the mud path in front of him.

It was the unmistakable mark of a horse hoof print that had caught his wandering attention, the first of its kind, and the only sign of civilisation he had come across since awakening in the strange forest.

How long he had been walking, somewhat aimlessly, through the seemingly sinister city of tree’s, the lycan wasn’t totally sure anymore, although he was certain he would be glad to get out of it above all else; the ancient trees themselves seemed to try and reach out and grab him, and every creature he had some far seen had looked downright evil, if he managed to see them at all, so all up he was pretty sure he didn’t want to be here.

He had somehow awoken some two days prior in a small clearing deep in the heart of the forest, wearing no clothing whatsoever, and strangely baring no marks from his prior fatal encounter with Viktor. At first Raze had thought he was perhaps dreaming, or even dead, but a quick test of biting himself had drawn blood, and hence ruled out either option as plausible.

Hence, for the next two days, Raze had trudged aimlessly through the forest, in lycan form, and in search of something that would perhaps explain the phenomenon, as of yet however he hadn’t found anyone, or anything, that was helpful in the slightest, or technically that was up until he had come across a crude path, and now when he had come across a hoof print.

“Perhaps I am not alone after all,” he mused, his wolf teeth spreading out in crude smile as his sharp eyes traced the muddy path through the trees, each few centimetres bearing the same small hoof print, as well as countless others of varying sizes.

Without another thought or word he headed off following the prints path, his nose guiding him while his ears stood up, constantly in search of any odd sound as he headed through the shallow darkness of the forest. In truth, he wasn’t exactly sure following the hoof prints of a, presumably, strange band of riders, was such a good idea, but if it meant he could get out of the forest he was all for the risk.

When the path at last came to an end, Raze found himself literally stuck on the spot, and unable to move, his mind trying to understand just what he was looking at.

Bathed in sunlight before him were a combination of wild rolling green meadows, and fields covered in a combination of lush grass and wildflowers; here and there elegant trees twisted and grew up towards a cloudless blue sky, and in the distance sat a range if mighty hills, and upon one a shining white castle.

The castle he could only just make out from the extreme distance, but even from far away he could see it was a truly magnificent structure to say the least; around a dozen white towers stood tall and reached for the skies, while the main structure sat on the edge of the mountain, suggesting to the lycan whoever ruled there took pride in showing themselves to be somewhat of a god.

“What is this place?” he whispered to himself, rising from all fours onto his hind legs to get a better view of the landscape. “Is this… heaven?”

If that statement was true, then he would be dead, which he was certain he wasn’t; either way, however, Raze knew he was certainly no longer in any land he had ever heard of.

Before he could try and think the site over more though, something else caught his attention, not something seen or heard, but something smelt with his sharp lycan nostrils; it was an odd scent, a strange but unmistakable combination of canine essence, mixed in with the smell of freshly cut wood and tree sap. Pondering the source, Raze looked down at the tracks he had been following for the last hour or so, and the moment he laid eyes on them, his blood went slightly cold.

The horse tracks and the path he had been following continued on under his now muddy black paws, beyond the trees, and across the rolling green fields and meadows he found himself at the foot of; what made him uneasy was the fact that they abruptly converged with a large set of tracks, tracks that resembled a smaller version of his own.

Returning to all fours, he inhaled and found that by his reckoning they were indeed canine, but it was also literally woody in scent which only managed to confuse him; In his mind he guessed the riders had for some reason been followed from the forest by a small pack of wolves, which must have meant there was a settlement nearby, that presumably offered meat of some kind, otherwise hungry wolves wouldn’t bother to go there.

“I wonder what the people of this land are like,” the lycan grinned to himself, taking a single look over his shoulder at the shadowy forest behind him, before charging off down the dirt road, the only urge in his mind being to discover the secrets of this strange new place.

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“What on earth?” he whispered to himself, peering out curiously from behind his tree at the strange sight that awaited him.

As Raze had approached the small town, he had sighted a strange building a little off the road to the east, that quietly sat against the edge of a thicket of trees; deciding it best to take a look before barging into the town centre, he had gone to investigate further.

Slipping between a combination of trees, park benches, flower beds, and even a stone well, he made his way over to it, keeping his eyes peeled for any potential threats that may have confronted him. Upon arrival, however, he had got a lot more than he had bargained for, and was at that point trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

Before him was a building that resembled a miniaturised, wooden American style church, which was painted a deep red-purple and white in colour, and flanked with large amounts of grass, a white picket fence, and a variety of children’s’ play equipment. All of that the lycan could to an extent accept, what he couldn’t make sense of, however, was that the children who presumably used the place... all seemed to have small horses, and not only had they apparently made way of brightly colouring their mane’s and tails, but also allowed them to roam freely and untethered outside.

“It’s no wonder there would be wolves around,” Raze smirked to himself as he eyed the small grazing herd, his huge black form still hidden by the shadows and his tree. “If I hadn’t made a meal of that vampire Sorren, then I’d be tempted to take one myself.”

He could readily see four small equines in total, three that by his reckoning looked to be perhaps young colts or fillies, and one that he guessed to be an older mare, all four of which were lazily lying in the grass and by the looks of things soaking up the sunlight.

It was a strange sight to say the least, but one that Raze couldn’t help but find oddly peaceful, like whatever this place was, it was one of serenity above all else, a vast contrast to the shadowy forest he had awoken in and recently left behind him.

“Perhaps I’m dreaming,” Raze thought himself, raising a black paw and biting into his hairy black foreleg, and a moment later feeling a ripple of pain shoot through it. “Ok… I'm not dreaming,”

Before he could do anything else, however, something that drifted to his ears made his head snap up, something which he was both glad to hear, but also unnerved the lycan.

The sound of laughter.

Quickly pulling himself further into the shadows, Raze scanned the entire area before him for the source of the sound, but no living creature or creatures revealed themselves to him and his eyes, other than the four horses he had been watching for the last few minutes.

Curiously he closed his eyes and raised his ears, straining to very edge of hearing in search of what he guessed was utterly impossible, and a figment of his imagination.

Before he could pinpoint his confusion though, his sharp sense of hearing picked up something else entirely, something that made him feel suddenly very uneasy.

He could hear the soft thump of footsteps, and sound of heavy breathing over the rustling of the leaves in the wind, but the amount of steps and the pattern, and volume of inhales and exhales suggested that there were multiple sources, and that they were somewhere very close by to him.

Raze hurriedly tore his dark eyes open, and with an echoing growl glanced around the shadows of the thicket of trees he was in, keen wolf eyes looking for any sign of movement or a potential threat.

His gut instinct was telling him that the sources were no doubt the wolf pack he whose tracks he had been following earlier; after all, they had led him straight to the town he now found himself at.

His head whirled between the nearby trees, and the four horses he had been watching; in part he guessed whoever owned them would thank him for protecting them from a pack of hungry wolves, but at the same time considering his own black wolf appearance, they could just as well misunderstand his intentions and turn on him.

“Perhaps, I’m just hearing things,” he thought with a growl and shake of his black furred head.

His thoughts of stupidity were abruptly cut off, not this time by laughter, however, but the sound of a high pitched scream that filled his ears. In a heartbeat he glanced up to see a group of light brown wolves, stalking hungrily from the trees, and heading straight towards the four horses, just as he had imagined seconds prior, the three younger ones instinctively cowering behind the mare as they were forced backward, toward the corner of no escape that was the nearby white picket fence of all places.

Deep inside, Raze something abruptly snapped, that thing being the mental chain that kept his inner bloodthirsty fury in check; Lucian had always said that despite their werewolf heritage, they weren’t savage beasts or wild animals, but even he couldn’t deny there was an inbuilt urge to kill buried deep inside every lycan he commanded.

Forcefully pushing all doubts about his appearance from his mind, Raze charged from the trees like a massive black furred juggernaut from hell, covering the some thirty meter distance and slamming into the first wolf, and ripping it to pieces before any of the others could even blink.

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Rarity could do nothing but stand dead still, with a strange combination of fear and awe pulsing through her, the white unicorn not entirely sure what seeing in front of her was actually real.

Only a few moments ago she had found herself enjoying a casual day of watching the CMC, then scared out of her coat and backed up against a fence by a pack of six snarling hungry Timberwolves, and now witnessing said pack of Timberwolves being torn to wooden shreds by a lycan, who she was sure wasn’t Lucian.

Hence, all she did was stand perfectly still while the lycan dismantled the closest three Timberwolves one by one in rapid succession; the first was caught totally unaware, and found its head crushed between the lycan’s paws and the grassy earth, the second likewise didn’t have time to react before a black furred fist went through its wooden stomach and emerged out the other side, and the third only managed to turn slightly before being picked up by the tail, and slammed into the ground like a carpet being beat-dusted.

All of this took place right in front of Rarity and the fillies eyes in a matter of seconds, so fast she swore she only managed to breathe once before the first three Timberwolves were nothing but piles of scattered splinters.

Upon realizing that half their pack was dead, the other three backed off some, regrouping a good eight meters away from the massive snarling black lycan, who strangely, as Rarity noted, took his place directly between the girls and herself, and the remaining Timberwolves.

Despite the seriousness of the situation the white mare couldn’t help but marvel at the structure of her unusual rescuer; she swore the amount of muscle on the lycan would have been even more than the monstrous brute minotaur, Iron Will, a single one his thickly haired shoulders alone, she guessed, would have weighed roughly as much as Big Macintosh, if not more.

“Who is th…”

Before she could finish her thought, the lycan spread its jaws, and roared like a dragon whose tail had been stepped on, but unlike a dragons roar, this one truly scared her. She could tell from experience most dragon roars were simply to frighten, or scare away something that was annoying them, the lycan’s roar however literally spoke in a beastly and feral way something along the lines of ‘I’m about snap off all your limbs, tear you open, rip every organ out of your bleeding carcass, and then I will kill you,’.

Two of the wolves backed off even further at the guttural sound, the largest of the remaining Timberwolves, however, snarled, and taking no notice of the threatening display, darted forward at its meaty pony quarry regardless, and before it ever got close to her or the girls, the lycan went to work on it.

Just as the wooden wolf jumped forward the lycan fell to one knee and slammed a hairy paw into the creatures exposed throat, not enough to kill, but enough to dissipate all forward moving momentum in a single blow. Then the four ponies all watched in horror as the lycan stood up and raised the stunned creature so they were eye level, a mighty black paw locked like a vice around the struggling, snarling and snapping wolf’s wind pipe, if Timberwolves even had a wind pipe that is.

And then taking a firm hold jaw below the wolf’s jawline the lycan’s muscles bulged slightly, and a moment later literally tore the wolfs head off like he barely even attached.

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Raze wasn’t exactly sure what these creatures were made of other then wood, after all, that last time he checked, animals carved or made from wood weren’t supposed to be alive, all he knew was that the easiest way to make sure just about anything was dead, was to separate the head from the body.

For a moment he fought against the unknown force that held the strange creature together before his immense strength overcame it, the snarling wooden monster’s head finally tearing off under the effort of his thick black paws with a final yelp, both halves of the creature falling into various sized pieces of kindling as life abruptly left it.

“Easier than I thought,” he smirked mentally to himself as he eyed the last two wolves, both of whom were now nervously backing off under his nightmarish gaze, and staring timidly at is dagger like black claws.

With a final deep throated roar, Raze sent them both running with their wooden tails between their legs, frightened forms disappearing into the trees just as fast as their wooden paws could carry them.

It was then, at last, he allowed himself to return to his human form, turned around, and looked down at the cluster of equines he had for the last few minutes been protecting... who had for some reason not moved a single muscle the entire time he had been dealing with the wolves.

Slowly he folded his thick arms and allowed his hollow black eyes ran over each one individually a moment, and only then did the pure fact of what he was seeing hit him like a mental sledgehammer.

The mare standing right in front of him was no normal mare, but an alabaster white... unicorn... of all things, one which to Raze’s utter amazement literally had a white lance-like horn protruding from her forehead, just as the old tales had described them. He also saw for the first time she had a three diamond mark etched into her flank, and what looked to be some kind of saddle blanket draped over her back, one which roughly matched the deep purple colour of her mane and tail.

Unable to control his curiosity, he took a quick look around to make sure he was alone, and then promptly but gently lowered a mighty black hand and tapped the end of the strange white spike lightly, resulting in the lycan becoming certain he wasn’t imagining things. In return the unicorn did nothing more than stand perfectly still, and watch him oddly, giving him a look of odd confusion.

“Um… can I help you there?”

For a single second, Raze though he would jump out of his fur when he heard it, a female voice that had at last buried all his former doubt, and confirmed what he had initially thought impossible, either that or he was insane.

Nervously he took a step back and traded confused looks with the unicorn, his eyes just about as wide as they could humanly possibly be.

“You can… speak English?” he muttered in his deep, bass toned voice, his nervous words half question and half statement. “You are… a talking horse, yes?”

“Pony, technically,” was the unicorn’s ‘matter of fact’ reply, what he guessed to be a smile on her face, and a hoof rising to her lip in what the lycan perceived to be a slight blush. “Oh, do relax darling, I don’t bite, allow me to introduce myself… I am Rarity, and this is my little sister Sweetie Belle, and her friends Applebloom and Scootaloo… and you are?”

At her words the three smaller ponies crept out from behind her, looking far from brave which was, considering what he was and what had just happened, quite understandable.

For his part Raze, who was usually a very confident and composed lycan, was totally and utterly speechless, his jaw hanging freely as his mind tried to process the fact he was not only staring at a female unicorn, but having a conversation with her as well. There was now one thing he was certain of above all else, he was no longer in the world of humans, lycans, and vampires.

“Uh… Raze,” he replied, shaking his head to dismiss his confusion before returning his eyes to Rarity.

“Raise?” she asked oddly with a slight tilt of her head, the three small fillies, as their names suggested, joining in the action as they watched him curiously. “As in to raise a foal?”

The lycan was far too confused to feel insulted by the statement; hence in reply he simply shook his head.

“Ah… no… as in to raze something standing to the ground.”

Rarity seemed a little taken aback by his statement, as Raze saw, and made no effort to hide it, the fillies however were all looking at him wide eyed like he was something of a legend, something which for the first time in the conversation brought a smile to his face.

Before they could say anything, however, Rarity noted something that made her cheeks sting red, something that made her feel like an absolute foal for not seeing earlier.

“Ah… girls,” she said as she turned to the three young fillies, who were gathered behind her, an obvious fake smile on her alabaster white face. “Would you mind… turning around for a moment please?”

The three starred at her oddly for a moment, and then after shrugging to each other, complied with the strange request and turned their tails to him.

In his confusion Raze glanced down at Rarity, who to say the least looked rather concerned, and at last following her directional pointing hoof realized exactly what she was concerned about; being a lycan meant you were used to seeing your comrades naked, and hence it was never an issue; unfortunately, over time, it meant you also forget when decency was necessary. Before he could do anything Rarity tossed him her purple saddle blanket, the lycan gladly accepting the generous gift.

“Forgive me,” he grinned, using it to shield himself from further view. “I fear I am new around here…”

Rarity waved a hoof in dismissal of his mistake.

“Quite alright Raze, I can assure you, especially considering what you have done for us,” she smiled, her cheeks still a touch like embers. “Although I must ask… you wouldn’t happen to be any relation to a lycan named Lucian wou…”

Raze’s eyes flared open again when he heard Lucian’s name, so much so that Rarity stopped her sentence halfway through in surprise at his unexpected reaction, and took a step back, accidently bumping into her unawares little sister in the process who yelped in annoyance.

“RAR…”

“RAZE!”

Before Sweetie Belle could finish, or anypony could say anything else, their heads all snapped around, and true to the sound of the voice, a blue jean wearing Lucian was marching over from the main centre of Ponyville, a wild grin on his black lock framed face and his arms open in an inviting friendly embrace.

Beside him, as Raze noted, was a rather shocked looking amber pony, and a massive black creature he took to be a dragon of all things.

Neither, however, he cared about, and instead his entire attention was solely on his old friend Lucian.

For a moment the black lycan could once again do nothing but stand and stare, his mind processing the facts of what he was seeing, once it did though, the only thing he felt was an overwhelming sense of joy, knowing that at least he wasn’t the only lycan in this strange world.

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Notes:

The timberwolf attack is an important event just so you all know, the reasons behind it however will have to wait until the next chapter.

Chapter 9: Awkward Situations involving mistaken Royal Romance

Chapter 9: Awkward Situations involving mistaken Royal Romance

“So this is my stay then?” Raze chuckled as he passed through the white picket fence of Sweet Apple Acres, eyes tracing the horizon that was filled with apple trees in every direction, their shiny red fruit glistening in the later afternoon light. “I believe I will like it here.”

The day spent exploring Ponyville and its surroundings was, perhaps, one of the most enjoyable days of Raze’s life; he no longer had to fear the eyes of vampires, and nor did he feel himself being judged by everypony, Lucian’s words of the talking equines being accepting were defiantly true.

Now with the day done Applebloom had decided to show Raze his new home, and if first impressions were anything to go by, the lycan liked it.

“I figured you would old friend,” Lucian smirked as he put a hand on his old friend's shoulder. “After some six hundred years in hiding, I felt the same way when I first came here.”

“You may just want to be a little careful of Big Macintosh,” Ash remarked, the two lycan’s almost shifting at his sudden interjection, while Applebloom giggled at their fright, that dragon had this odd way of saying nothing for a long time, and hence making them forget he was even there. “Hehe, sorry about that.”

Raze and Lucian just looked at each other as they walked along the dirt path between the trees, and a moment later both stopped, and abruptly burst out laughing, drawing odd looks from both Applebloom and Ash; neither in truth could honestly remember the last time they had actually been startled in their six centuries of knowing each other.

After regaining themselves they proceeded towards the barn, and as they did Lucian began to ponder over a few things; he was undoubtedly happy to have Raze with him again, but something just didn’t seem quite right now.

On their trip from Canterlot, Twilight had explained how they had come to Equestria, pulled by magical energies from their own world to hers as their metaphysical forms left their physical bodies, and then re-materialised with the help of magic. In the beginning he had accepted the second chance with open arms, but with Raze now here he was left to wonder a rather dark and unlikeable question.

Who else could have possibly ended up in the land of ponies.

“Do not think of such things Lucian,” he hissed to himself as he shook his head and straightened his long black locks, the fields Raze would soon call his place of work coming into view. “Leave your thoughts of the war where they belong… as memories.”

Lucian once again shook his head and continued walked, although he was now aware that Raze was watching him with his dark eyes, and no doubt wondering what he was thinking, but in Lucian’s mind it was best the other lycan didn’t know lest he begin wondering the same thing.

“Don’t ask,” he muttered, Raze simply nodded in reply.

The two lycan’s soon found the barn doors hanging open in welcome and allowed Applebloom to lead them all inside, except for Ash, who couldn’t quite fit given his immense size, and the rather small door-width in comparison of course.

Lucian stood by the door and watched, as curiously, Raze wandered around the place and examined everything, from the bales of hay to the wooden barrels of different coloured apples, one of which he picked up and tossed up and down in his massive hand.

“Strange,” he murmured aloud as he rolled it between his fingers. “This apple… it looks and smells like any other, and yet seems different somehow, is this the doing of magic Lucian?”

“I would not know old friend, I have never eaten a normal apple before let alone one of these.”

“You’ve never eaten an apple before?!” Applebloom basically gapped, looking downright shocked to say the least, her lower jaw just about reaching the ground. “How is that even darn possible?”

“Most foods we can’t eat except for certain… exceptions,” Lucian sighed with a shrug before looking over at Raze, he wasn’t quite ready to drop the ‘meat’ bomb on the innocent little filly.

Raze nodded in agreement before glaring at the small fruit in order to unlock it’s secrets, causing a smirk to spread across Lucian’s face, and Applebloom to once again go into a fit of giggles; at this rate Raze was probably thinking just about everything in Equestria was magical.

Unfortunately, the sweet moment didn’t last as Ash stuck his large head in, a rather worried look set across his black scaled face which basically shouted something was amiss.

“It seems we’re about to have some company,” he remarked dryly, moving his mass out of the doorway just as three mares came charging in with a cloud of dust directly behind them, digging their hooves into the wooden floor and coming to a skidding stop.

The three were, as Lucian half expected, Applejack, Rarity and Twilight, all however were looking like they’d sprinted their entire journey and needed a moment to shake the sweat from their coats and regain themselves.

Once they did however, things turned pear-shaped and rather quickly, as Applejack basically started fuming as soon as she laid her eyes on Lucian, and hence reared up and drove him against the wall with her front hooves, her snorting muzzle millimetres away from the now confused lycan’s face.

“Ok, just what'n the hay are ya doin' with Princess Luna?”

The moment everypony heard the words all eyes fixed on Lucian if they weren’t already, including those of a confused Raze and Ash despite him already knowing.

As he quickly saw, Twilight was looking far from confident while Applejack and Rarity both seemed ready to try and kick his head in at any given moment, the lavender mare standing and biting her lip while then end of a scroll jutted out her saddle bag.

“May I ask how you found out before I go answering questions?” he asked with folded arms, his now darkening eyes moving from Applejack, who suddenly looked rather nervous, to a still lip-biting Twilight.

“Princess Celestia accidently... let slip... in a letter, as it were,” Rarity answered for the three of them, drawing a surprised growl from Ash and minor heart-attack from Lucian. “She also informed us Princess Luna plans to come and... pay you a visit... this evening Lucian. So would you care to explain what exactly is going on between you two?”

Lucian raised an eyebrow at the statement, he knew Luna had intended to visit, but he was still surprised. He had after all only been away from Canterlot for two days.

“I could, but I believe it would be appropriate to do so with Luna present.”

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Luna couldn’t help but feel happy as she drifted down the through the clouds that dotted her night sky, her dark coat rendering her almost invisible against the star-studded black ceiling of Equestria.

Around her countless specks of light danced as the very last rays of sunlight dwindled down, and then slowly headed beyond the horizon, leaving the land of ponies to the temporary reign of Luna and her night.

She flew across Canterlot Plain predominantly in silence, the only sounds the wind and the beats of her wings as she left the white city far behind her; the grand capital was her home, and she liked it there, but only when she was able to remove her crown, and escape the constant duties and shackles of being royalty, did she feel she could relax and be herself.

The entire day she had put up with the ramblings, gibbering, and arguments of the pony nations nobles and high-military in regard to matters of security, something which Luna would rather bang her head against the nearest wall then be put through again, but now the day was done, and hence she was free to roam her night to her hearts content.

And pay her lycan a surprise visit.

The very thought of him sent a strange but pleasurable feeling down her body.

“But I cannot rush this though,” she told herself with a shake of her head. "Both our scars are still fresh."

The princess of the night nodded as if to affirm herself before returning her eyes to the dark world below, the moon washing the land in soft light, so everything seemed to glow a faint white; she knew very few ponies appreciated the beauty of her night, even in the modern day and age of the ‘night life’, but she also knew Lucian did appreciate it, which made her happy all the same.

Her eyes left the fields below immediately as Ponyville came into view, beginning as only a small cluster of lights that sat on the edge of the Everfree, before transforming into a neat arrangement of streets and buildings, which a few ponies were quietly traversing in the early darkness. The only one Luna was focusing on, however, was the tree-structure in the town’s north that was the library.

In particular, a lone figure who was standing on the balcony, and looking up at the night sky, his hands leaning against the rails as his blue eyes stared up at the moon.

“Lucian,” she whispered smiling, ceasing her wing beats as she glided down to meet him, her soft hooves barely making a sound as she landed and folded her wings.

As soon as he faced her however she could see something was wrong; his features were indeed etched in a show of happiness but there was an aura of uncertainty about him and in his blue eyes, one which Luna read with a single glance.

“Are you…not surprised or glad to see me?”

A grin spread across his face as he approached her, his features framed by his long locks of black hair that were dancing with the wind, and his body attired with a well-made brown vest and a pair of blue pants.

“I am far happier right now than you could possibly know Luna,” he said softly, raising a hand and gently moving a lock of mane from her face while the other wrapped around her neck, a smile spreading across her own muzzle as she was pulled into his warm embrace. “I have missed you.”

The normally composed princess melted like a school-filly into his chest, joyfully knowing that it was there she would always be welcome, and never judged for what she had done in the past.

“I have missed you too,” she murmured.

The two stood there for a minute or so, before the lycan slowly released his grip and stepped back a few paces, a hand venturing to the back of his neck to show he was once again uneasy; Luna immediately picked up the vibe that something was wrong but held her tongue rather than jumping to conclusions, mainly because incorrect ones had a habit of getting her in trouble.

“Is there something I should know?” she asked with a tap of her front hooves and the raising of an eyebrow.

Lucian sighed and bit his lip somewhat nervously before answering.

“It seems… accidently or not, your sister decided it was time for some of your subjects to know of our close friendship,” he growled deeply, running a hand through his black locks, a knot forming in Luna’s throat and a stone settling in her stomach. “And as it were they are demanding an explanation as to whether or not what she has said is true about you and I,” he sighed. "I should've seen this coming. I've only been here a day, so my getting so close to you has no doubt made them somewhat suspicious of me."

Luna simply sighed to herself and face-hoofed, muttering oaths under her breath of how she would make Celestia pay for putting them in such an awkward position; she really should have foreseen Celestia doing something like this for a laugh.

“Who knows and how have they taken the news thus far, may I ask?”

“Luckily for us, only those who we have close ties with know, but I admit some have taken it better than others,” Lucian shrugged as he returned his hands to the balcony railing and his eyes to the stars. “Twilight already knew, and is in general ok with it, Fluttershy and Pinkie both seem happy for you to have a companion… Applejack and Rarity on the other hand aren’t exactly impressed, and Rainbow Dash has sworn to, and I quote, personally shove the largest lump of silver in Equestria down my throat if I ever hurt you.”

Luna couldn’t help but put a hoof over her muzzle and giggle at the last part, Lucian growling at her amusement.

“She is the element of loyalty, Lucian, so I guess such a reaction is to be expected of her,” Luna smiled, approaching the silent lycan from the back, before wrapping her front hooves around his chest and laying her head on his shoulder. “Well, given the situation, I believe it best we go and deal with the issue we are faced with. Shall we go answer their question, my lycan?”

Lucian was literally stunned, of all the reactions Luna could have possible given being calm, composed and possibly happy were the last ones he had expected.

“I am surprised you find this so… easy,” he chuckled with a shake of his head as he turned to face her, arms folding across his chest as he leant against the wooden rail. “Are you sure about this?”

“You have offered me a chance at true friendship, Lucian, and that is something I cannot take lightly,” she smirked, before nuzzling him. "Besides, what have we to fear?"

For a moment Lucian stood in silence as his eyes traced over the princess of the night, taking in every detail of her moonlight bathed body as he thought of what they were faced with.

“Very well.”

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Twilight sat perfectly still while her eyes lay locked on the stairs like everypony else in the room, her heart beat abnormally fast as nervousness clawed at her stomach, like an angry manticore was slashing inside her, the air in the room heavy with tension as she and her friends awaited for Luna and Lucian to descend and confront them all.

She wondered why exactly Princess Celestia had decided to drop both her sister and Lucian in such an awkward situation, all she could hope was that Celestia had a good reason.

The library was as expected packed with ponies, namely Twilight, her friends, Spike, the CMC and Big Macintosh, who was watching the gigantic muscular shape in the corner that was Raze with an unusual and untrusting expression; no doubt AJ’s idea of sharing their home with the lycan wasn’t exactly a welcome symphony to his ears.

Ash, Thane, and Titan had decided not to attend, which Twilight was admittedly rather glad about, unless she wanted to tear down a few walls, there was no possible way of accommodating them inside the library itself... unless they wanted to just stick their heads through the windows

“Why're we all here again?” Pinkie whispered to Twilight with a poke in the shoulder, her usual hyper-happy mood a little dim given the situation.

“Just… see what Luna says, Pinkie,” Twilight replied with a forced smile.

Her head snapped around as the wooden stairs suddenly began to creek loudly, and then, somewhat uneasily, everypony watched as the pair of Lucian and Princess Luna descended side by side and into the main room. The princess was blank faced as was her lycan partner, neither saying a single word before they were the centre of the library’s main room and in the middle of all the ponies present.

There was now an undeniable air of hostility filling the room, the main sources being a glaring set of Applejack and Rarity, and a hovering Rainbow Dash, who looked like she was about to launch herself at the lycan and buck him in the face.

If there was ever a moment Twilight would prefer to be somewhere like the Everfree, it was now, Luna’s eyes were like Lucian’s, in that a single look from them would shake a pony to their very core, and at that moment they were ignoring everypony else and looking directly at her.

“Twilight Sparkle, does everypony know why they are gathered here?” the princess asked firmly, her gaze leaving the lavender mare to dart between her other gathered subjects, who were sitting about the room and watching on in silence.

“Y-yes Princess,” Twilight stuttered in reply, despite being seated her tail curling up between her legs in nervousness.

“Good,” Luna replied sharply with a quick nod. “So then, I believe we should get started… everypony, you have no doubt heard of mine and Lucian’s relationship from either the letter sent by my sister or your own friends, and I am to believe you wish for clarification on the matter correct?”

There were nods of agreement from every pony present; Raze on the other hand just looked on with a blank expression, finding himself apparently far more confused than his equine counterparts.

“Very well then… I guess I should start by simply saying, that what my sister has said about us is true, Lucian and I are very close.”

She let that sink in for a moment for continuing, noting that both Applejack and Rarity actually looked surprised at her words, while Raze and everypony else remained as they were; a grin spread across Lucian’s face at the two former angry mares reactions.

“Lucian has also said some of you aren’t exactly...” Luna continued as she sat back on her haunches, her front hoof waving around a little as she searched for the right word. “…comfortable… with the idea of us being together in such a manner, may I ask why this is so?”

Silence took hold for a few moments as the gathered ponies looked between themselves for an answer; at last Rarity spoke up, but the words that came from her mouth were awkward to say the least.

“So you're not... together, so to speak?”

Both Lucian and Luna blinked, both of their faces suddenly feeling like they were on fire, a true first for Lucian and a rarity for the alicorn. Did she just ask... did they think... was that what Applejack had thrown herself at him about?

“I-I appreciate your concern Rarity, but I assure our feelings for each other are for now not of that sort," Luna clarified with a stutter, her dark cheeks feeling like they were crimson. "It is more a companionship between us. Two beings who have gone through much, and seek to move through friendship with one another. Nothing like... that,” she exhaled, glad to get that out of the way. "It is strange to you all, perhaps, but Lucian understands what I have gone through since my return, and I myself can understand the burdens he carries, so I approached him with the idea of each of us helping the other to heal."

Judging by the various reactions the statement caught everypony off guard.

“So… you’re telling us… that you asked him out?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow as her front hoof pointed first at Luna, and then at Lucian, looking between the two with an expression of confusion that matched Raze’s, who simply put looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

“Technically I did not ‘ask him out’, as their is nothing... intimate between us at this time,” Luna blushed as she returned to a somewhat composed state, he dark furred cheeks now as bright red as apples as she gave Lucian a glance, his own once again matching hers. “And besides, that is not the royal custom of courtship… as it happened, I simply expressed my feelings of wanting a companion to him first, and we went from there.”

“Awwww, that’s so cute.”

Every pony and lycan in the room immediately looked down at Sweetie Belle with unusual expressions, the unicorn filly quickly and silently disappeared from their fields of view behind the cover of her older sister in return; Lucian and Luna simply looked at each other and smiled at the filly’s words, it seemed they had at least one supporter after all.

“I guess then… we were all bit hasty in our assumptions Luna,” the amber mare went on with a defeated sigh, removing her hat to show her remorse. “Sorry about dragging you both into this and making a ruckus of it. I also should admit Princess, it was really me and Rares here that caused all this, so please don’t go being angry with everypony else cause of us.”

“You had Luna’s interests at heart, Applejack,” Lucian replied for the two of them as the last remanets of his fluster died away, inclining his head to the blond-maned earth pony as his shimmering blue eyes met her green ones. “Personally, I'm not saying I'm happy about your uninformed conclusions of me, but I see no reason to be angry with either of you if Luna can't.”

Luna said nothing but nodded in agreement, and the moment she did Twilight and everypony else breathed a long sigh of relief, the last thing any of them wanted was an angry lycan, and alicorn princess of the night on their hooves.

Once the tension had abated, Lucian turned and looked over at Raze, who was sitting with his hands together, and looking at the two leaders with an expression somewhere between amusement and befuddled shock.

“I take it you weren’t exactly prepared for such a surprise so soon old friend?” he chuckled as he folded his arms again, the black lycan just grinned and shook his head in reply.

“You have always been full of surprises Lucian, but this I truly did not expect,” Raze chuckled, his voice as Luna noted was deeper than any creature she had ever come across; so this was the other lycan Celestia had spoken of. “Uh, once upon a time I would've called you insane, if not worse... but… you devoted yourself to nothing but the war for six centuries. Some company I daresay would be good for you.”

Lucian swore he saw a small and somewhat cheeky grin momentarily spread across Applejack’s face as she replaced her hat, one that reminded the lycan of the one Luna had given him the day they met.

“I am glad that we have your approval, Raze, it means a lot from to me coming from my lover's oldest friend,” Luna smiled warmly at the lycan as she slowly and gracefully moved towards the door, her tail swishing across Lucian’s face to get his attention. “However everypony, as has been explained by my sister I will for the night be taking him off your hooves, there is something I dearly wish to show you Lucian.”

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Notes:

Sorry about the wait everyone but I’m back at uni now, so free time is in short supply.

Chapter 10: Alone in the Dark?

Chapter 10: Alone in the Dark?

“May I ask where it is you are taking me?” Lucian inquired as he walked, sharp blue eyes drifting from the silent princess beside him, to the numerous shadowy trees which stood around them. “With respect Luna, the Everfree forest as I have learned is not a place ponykind enjoy visiting.”

“Oh ease up Lucian, I assure you nothing bad is going to happen,” Luna smirked in reply, shaking her head in amusement at the lycan’s nervousness. “And as for where were going… that is a surprise… and in a way something I know I must show you.”

Lucian simply looked at her with a raised eyebrow, noticing a clear wince in her voice as the last few words of the sentence left her muzzle; exactly what kind of pleasant surprise, as Luna had hinted at, could await him in the middle of the Everfree was beyond even his imagination’s ability to comprehend, although he was beginning to wonder if it was actually pleasant.

The two had been trekking through the darkness of the forest for at least an hour by the lycan’s reckoning, predominantly sticking to the vague gravel road, but on occasion venturing for a short while into the trees where the road died away and it became necessary; the only real obstacle they had faced had been a small river, which Luna had teleported them over.

That to the Lycan was a truly interesting experience.

When he had hunted, Lucian had taken very little notice of the finer details of the forest, but now with their slow pace he realized that, despite the place’s sinisterness, it was rather peaceful at a glance; every so often an owl would hoot or a tree would rustle, but otherwise there was just the gentle silence and the rhythm of the lover’s steps, and the road was often lined with strange but otherwise beautiful blue flowers that seemed to glow in the moonlight.

“I wouldn’t touch those if I was you,” Luna smirked when she noticed Lucian looking at them curiously and reaching out to pluck one. “Those flowers have been known to do very some unusual things to ponies, Lucian, and if their plausible effects on lycans are similar, I am not sure you would enjoy the experience.”

He immediately growled and quickly drew his hand back, causing the princess of the night to giggle at him behind the hoof that covered her mouth.

“I swear, Raze may actually have some merit in his argument that everything in Equestria is somehow magical,” Lucian said bitterly as he caught up to her, Luna only giggling a little harder at him.

They continued to exchange small talk as they walked through the moonlight saturated darkness, Lucian eventually laying a hand gently on Luna’s shoulder and pulling her gently against his side, much to the millennia old alicorn’s apparent liking, as she smiled when he kneaded his hands through her fur.

It had been so long since she had done something like this, just talking openly with somepony who listened intently without fearing her, and hence adjusting their responses accordingly so they agreed with every word and opinion she put forward; it was like she wasn’t just talking to a terrified mimic of herself.

Eventually, and rather suddenly however, Luna found herself somewhat caught off guard, not by a blood thirsty creature of the forest however, but by something Lucian said completely out of the blue as he looked down at her.

“You know, you truly are beautiful Luna.”

The co-ruler of Equestria felt her knees almost buckle and the muscles holding her jaw shut slacken for a moment; she had been called beautiful before, namely however by her older sister, and the personal subjects that groomed her back in Canterlot both now and when she had been young.

“I… thank you, Lucian,” she smiled weakly as the storm of emotions inside her at last began to settle. “And you are a truly handsome lycan as well, I might add.”

The two of them shared a grin as they walked, Lucian no longer caring where she led him too; he hadn’t realized up until now how much he had missed her since leaving Canterlot for Ponyville, and that was saying something, considering he had only been gone for a day or so.

Their pleasant moonlit trek ended abruptly though as they emerged from the shadows and greenery of the forest, and came before something that sent a very unlikeable shiver down Lucian’s spine, the sight before him bringing back a wave of horrid and sickening memories from the years he spent in Viktor’s service, as both his personal lycan servant and pet in a way.

Before the two of them loomed the ancient structure of a massive grey stone castle, the once mighty fortress piercing the black skyline like the rising fist of some earthly god. Now, however, it’s once proud towers and noble walls were crumbling into ruin as the combined forces of nature and the forest took back what was rightfully theirs.

The lycan could easily tell that once upon a time the castle had been a place of grand splendour, and served as a symbol of authority and power by whoever had ruled from it; he was glad he had a fair idea of whom it had been, lest his nerves give him more trouble.

He had also seen a lot of masonry work over the years, and knew from just looking that every stone had been cut and mortared perfectly, a clear sign of the royal importance that the castle had once portrayed. But now, with apparent abandonment and a lengthy passing of time, only a faint memory was left of its former regal and military glory.

What tore at his gut the most was something other than its appearance, something far more sensed then physically seen or felt; the lycan however couldn’t put his finger on it, but it felt like a residing evil presence of some kind.

“What is this place?” he asked firmly, looking down to see Luna now no longer happy, but rather distressed and virtually pushing herself against his side for comfort.

“This Lucian… is my story,” she replied, looking up at him with tears now shining in the rims of her eyes. “I believe it only fair that since you told me the tale of your life… that I tell you mine.”

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The interior of the castle, as Lucian quickly learned, was nothing like the exterior, in that much like Canterlot the interior was fitted to invite a sense of awe and majesty, rather than military prowess like the exterior walls and towers; the long untouched moonlight lit halls were lined with art works of various kinds which had survive surprisingly well over the years, and the various rooms, despite being long abandoned, were still fitted with their original royal splendour.

The only hint of military might that remained were the dusty, spider web covered suits of weapon sided pony armor, that usually sat silently on either side of a main doorway.

According to Luna, they were by herself and Celestia enchanted to withstand the grip of time, and dragon fire, amongst other things.

Lucian took in every detail as Luna led him through the dark and silent halls of her former home, his fingers and shimmering blue eyes taking in the sight and feel of the countless millennium old carvings, tiled mosaques, and colourful murals of her and her sister, all the while the alicorn spoke of what life had been like; according to her the castle had once been the great capital of Equestria, and it was from there that she and her sister had ruled.

Why they had abandoned it Luna was yet to tell him, but he guessed that given the feeling of sorrow and despair that seemed to permeate the air, the reason was probably not something he wanted to hear.

Plus he actually swore the shadows would move every so often, which only added to haunting feel of the ancient castle.

“…and so a grand feast was held in honour of the new friendship between ponies and dragons,” Luna said solemnly as she walked along briskly beside the lycan, sounding as if the words recreated a scene in her mind of the day that had long since passed. “You should have seen it Lucian, that night this entire place was packed with celebrating ponies from all over the land.”

“I bet it was,” Lucian chuckled lightly with a grin, his words along with Luna’s own echoing through the empty passageways.

Luna looked over curiously to see him running his fingers and eyes along the walls, his face set as if his mind was off in some faraway place of ponderings. “Lucian, is something on your mind? You seem distracted.”

The lycan bit his lip and looked at the floor before answering, aware that her eyes were directly on him now.

“Luna, there is something… very wrong here, I can feel it but I cannot describe it…”

“…like there is misery trapped in the walls, hatred in the stone, and hopelessness in the very air around us?” Luna sighed as she finished his sentence, stopping in her tracks, and allowing her eyes joining his in looking over the once beautiful tapestries and murals, the regal night ruler’s head coming to rest on his shoulder. “I know those feelings well Lucian… for those feelings were once mine. You must understand powerful magic is a strange thing, and where it is cast it will on occasion leave a sort of magical stain, and the stains here carry with them how I felt as I cast those spells so long ago.”

Lucian gingerly stepped back as she approached a particular mural, raising a hoof and gentle running down the ancient surface as her eyes took in the proud depictions it showed; it was a scene depicting her and her Celestia standing over their respectable heavenly bodies, the golden sun behind Tia and the bluish moon behind herself.

“As I told you earlier Lucian, this castle is my story… or part of it anyway. Have you ever wondered why I was banished to the moon for a thousand years?”

“I have wondered, but I didn’t think it right to ask,” Lucian replied bluntly but gently, folding his arms and leaning back against the wall, careful to avoid bumping a sets of armor.

Luna gave a single sigh and shake of her head before starting.

“A thousand years ago, Lucian, peace flourished in Equestria… and everypony in the land was happy… everypony that is except me. The ponies would laugh and play through Tia’s daytime, but would always slumber through my night, taking no notice of the great effort I put into making the night beautiful and pleasing to them. At first Lucian I just accepted it, since it was the natural way and order for ponies to sleep during the night, but over time anger and jealousy built up inside me, because of how they celebrated the day and ignored my night… and eventually that anger and jealousy took over, corrupted my magic, and turned me into… a monster.”

“What do you mean by a monster?” Lucian asked quietly, his words prompting a snort and an annoyed glare for Luna, causing him to shift uneasily under her cold gaze.

“I became Nightmare Moon, Lucian, a vile and corrupt version of myself who sought to overthrow my sister and bring eternal night to Equestria, smothering the land in my beautiful darkness... but as you know, first my sister… and then finally the elements of harmony, managed to stop and free me from that vile thing. Both of those battles took place in this very castle, as you have sensed,” Luna snapped, anger now rising in her voice as a torrent of long stored pain and anguish flood her mind. “The very day Tia defeated me, this place was abandoned to ruin with all and everything that lay within it... because of me, because Tia should could not even stand in the halls of her own home without weeping, weeping for her little sister. Now a thousand years have passed, and yes, I am Luna again, and I have made amends for what I did..."

A hoof suddenly slammed into the image. "But yet even after all this time and everything I have done to show I am no threat to Equestria, they refuse to see me for who I really am, the only thing anypony see’s when the look at me is… is that vile thing I was those thousand years ago!”

With the last words screamed she again slammed her hoof into the mural, so hard that it caused a loud crack, and a hairline split to form across the ancient stone depiction of her; a moment later the princess of the night lost all control of herself and her emotions, a millennia worth of tears spilling down her cheeks.

Before she knew it she was wrapped in the embrace of her lycan, her head held firmly against the warmth of his chest, his arms wrapped around her neck, and as his chin rested gently atop her quivering head. Her sobs slowly died down as the lycan’s fingers ran through her mane and he whispered softly to her.

“You know that is not true Luna,” He sighed gently at last once she was somewhat calm. “Neither Twilight nor her friends see you as such, and nor do Raze or I; we are your friends, and that is all that matters… and... if knowing will make you feel better the I will admit that I... am a monster as well.”

“Huh?”

Lucian growled deep in his throat before answering, looking into the teary eyes of the surprised princess, who he held firmly in his arms.

“In my world... lycan’s like myself live in the darkness and shadows at the very edge of human society. Throughout history we've been portrayed as nothing but animals and bloodthirsty beasts, ever since the days of werewolves and William Corvinus, the first of the wolves. So I know how it feels, Luna, to know hopelessness, to be looked down on as a monster, a beast even. The vampire who raised me treated our kind like we were nothing more than animals, and humans for centuries have in legends called us nothing but demons, so if there is anyone alive who knows how you feel, it is I.”

“You… truly mean this Lucian?” She asked quietly as her tears finally stopped.

“Would I lie to you?”

The princess of the night looked at him for a few moments as what he had said sunk in, and eventually a wide smile spread across her royal muzzle, a smile that was obvious even with the low amount of light.

“Then I guess… perhaps we were meant for each other then, weren’t we?” She whispered, leaning into his warmth...

...Only to yelp as she was suddenly shoved backwards.

“We are not alone.” He growled.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Lucian knew something was not right the moment her heard it through the haze of the moment, a faint sound similar to that of a buzzing bee, but far louder than anything the common insect caused.

Upon peering around, he found the shadows that dotted the halls were now literally moving and shifting, as if they were alive and awake.

It took all his will power to push Lunaaway, but he managed it; to let her get hurt because they were both lost in the moment, and hence failed to recognize a potential threat right behind them, would've been unforgiveable. To say she looked downright confused at his action was an understatement, but just after he had told her they weren’t alone her dark ears shot up as they registered the buzzing sound.

Hastily, she looked back and instantly recognized the source of the sound; the sea of shadows were now moving towards them from the northern end of the hallway, with roughly six sets of bulging blue eyes and white fangs glistening in the low moonlight at the centre of the black mass.

“Changelings,” she snorted angrily, dropping back to all fours as her eyes began tearing around the buzzing hallway. “What by Faust are they doing here?”

The two slowly backed up a little as the bug-like creatures came ever closer, and Lucian got his first real looked at ponykind’s most hated enemy; to say the least, they weren’t exactly appealing to his eyes.

“Lucian, whatever you…” Luna started, stopping as she glanced over her shoulder, and saw the strangest thing... Lucian gripping the ancient long swords of the pair of unicorn armor suits, and pulling them free from their sheaths with metallic rings. “I hope you know how to use those.”

The lycan simply twirled the duals blades at the approaching changelings while a grin spread across his face, the magically enchanted swords looking just as new as they had the day they were forged a millennium prior.

“I spent two hundred years training and six hundred years fighting vampires, Luna. Do you really need to ask me that question?”

Without another word he jumped past her, and charged at the buzzing swarm before them with his blades dancing like metal extensions of his arms. Their lethal edges soon found their first changeling before carving through the creature’s throat and gut and spilling it’s disgusting contents.

In a moment he was swamped by the creatures on all sides, all of them acting as if they wanted to sink their short fangs into him at every opportunity. Still, countless years of honed sword-skill meant the lycan was used to dealing with enemies on multiple sides.

Plus, given their small size, Lucian could wield the blades as swiftly as he could a pair of daggers.

With the first down only five remained, and a second quickly joined its dead brother when the lycan arched a sword upwards, and ran the blade through its skull while the other sword fended, the metal blade punching easily through the layers of exo-skeleton, flesh, and brain before emerging through the creature’s skull just behind its horn. With a swift downward flick he freed the blade by splitting the pony-like thing’s head like a sliced melon, a gush of brain and greenish coloured blood accompanying the sword as it the left.

Quickly kicking the corpse away, the lycan dropped to one knee and swiftly lanced the incoming changeling directly in front of him through the centre of the ribcage, dispatching it pretty much instantly.

Playing on their susceptibility, and just as Sonja had once done with a werewolf ,he pivoted around a hundred and eighty degrees and shot the other blade out directly behind him, catching the unlucky changeling that had filled the empty space and tried to take his back a heartbeat prior. The semi-stuck creature shrieked for a moment before Luna hit it with a bolt of blue energy, tearing it violently off the sword and tossing it some five meters back down the hallway, Lucian taking the moment to plant the changeling he had lanced earlier on the stone floor and crush it’s skull with his free sword’s pommel.

That was when his luck dried up.

He made the mistake of looking up and grinning at the cold expression of the princess of the night, and in doing so failed to noticed the second last changeling that darted for his right arm, and upon entering range quickly sank it’s fangs into it.

A wave of pure agony surged up his arms as the teeth punched into his skin and a cry escaped his lips... that agony however quickly turned to rage; the last thing the changeling learned in its life was that if you bite a lycan, they will bite you back four times as hard.

Dropping both his swords, Lucian grabbed the creature by the horn and painfully tore it from his flesh. Using the free moment he shifted, and then with a sickening crunch slammed the changeling into the adjacent wall.

The final changeling seemed to realize then and there he had no chance of winning this particular fight, no matter how it tried, and thus just as fast as its wings could carry it flew out the nearest window.

Leaving the blood splattered lycan leader and alicorn princess standing alone among its dead brothers.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Well that was certainly interesting,” Lucian muttered as he returned to human form and examined his arm, glad to see that the changeling’s bite marks had already healed over despite the red blood that marked his skin. “Do those things usually bite that hard?”

“I have… never heard of them biting anypony, Lucian” Luna said gently in reply, weaving her way through the pile of corpses to look at his wound, her brow furrowing with concern. “But I was not present during the attack on Canterlot, so I cannot say if it is their natural behaviour or not. Does it hurt?”

“A little,” he chuckled as he looked around the pile of bright green splattered bodies. “They have surprisingly strong jaws for such small creatures, but I assure you that I'm fine.”

Luna however looked far from amused at his sense of humour. If anything, she looked mildly horrified that he was casually joking about his sustained injury, and right after a rather bloody fight as well.

Personally, he was more annoyed that his cloths were now ripped and blood splattered.

“I am glad to hear that… but I believe it best if we leave Lucian, and I take you to Ponyville Hospital; although I do not doubt your healing abilities, I do not want to risk you falling ill to some venom I do not know of.”

“Luna, I promise it it’s just a scra…” he started defensively.

The princess of the night gave a glare that basically said ‘we can do this the easy way or the hard way, your choice’, and given her now far from happy mood, he guessed trying to resist would only end badly. He didn't like having to end their night on a note like this, but he knew he really had no say in the matter.

“Ugh… very well.”

Luna’s horn quickly glowed a bright blue as she readied her teleportation spell,

But, just before Lucian was caught by it and catapulted through space and time, he took a final glance at the dead changelings... and abruptly a dagger of fear drove into his mind as he looked down at the one with the blood stained teeth, and remembered how its own blood had tasted on his wolf tongue.

He had tasted that blood before.

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Notes:

I’m not sure if it’s mentioned in the movies, but I’m running with the idea that the vampire and lycan viruses cause the bearers blood to have a distinct taste (since the viruses are in the blood after all). Also I’m not trying to be a tease but a bit of causal sensual stuff seemed to easiest way to bring the changelings out.

Finally for putting up with my lateness (thank you very much university) I’ll throw in some LucianXLuna next chapter (you won’t need to read it but if you want to it’ll be there).

Chapter 11: Canine Comparison

Chapter 11: Canine Comparison

“I really don't see why any of this is necessary,” Lucian groaned as he sat back in his chair and stared at Luna, his arm outstretched in mid-air as a pearly nurse cleaned the dried blood from his wound, the princess of the night watching on intently from beside him.

“It is necessary because I deem it so,” Luna said dryly in return as she glared at him. “You for one may be perfectly fine wandering around with a potentially infected wound. I, however, am not.”

Before either could say anything else, the nurse cut them off with a polite ‘ahem’, causing both the lycan and the alicorn to glance down at her.

“Well… to be honest, Princess, I actually can’t seem to find any open wounds,” The nurse said bluntly, showing them both she had cleaned away the last of the dried blood from Lucian’s arm, and revealed the flesh had healed over. “I mean, given the amount of blood I don’t doubt there was one… but it seems it’s healed already, and since there’s no inflammation I highly doubt there’s any risk of poison or infection.”

The nurse’s words allayed all of the night princess’s fears, and allowed a sigh of relief to pass from her royal maw; the stress of seeing her friend get hurt, and potentially poisoned, had been weighing heavily on her mind for the last hour since she had brought him to Ponyville General Hospital; but now at last it seemed those fears had been thankfully found to be pointless, and hence she could rest somewhat easy.

She still admitted it had been an utterly unnerving experience; above most all other things Luna hated hospitals, because they reminded her of the pain and suffering her subjects often endured though either their own or somepony else’s fault, and to have the lycan, who she cared so deeply for, sitting in one such sterile aqua coloured room while he was attended to by a nurse... it just about made her feel sick.

“I told you I heal quickly,” Lucian chuckled smugly, rising from his chair and giving Luna a mischievous grin as he stretched, the dark alicorn simply rolling her eyes, smirking, and shaking her head in reply to the lycan’s comment.

“I know you did,” she sighed gently, walking over and nuzzling Lucian affectionately on the cheek. “But can you really blame me for worrying about you after what happened?”

“Of course not,” he grinned with a shake of his black locks before looking down at himself. “Although you should be worried about Rarity’s reaction to my clothes; given how much these are apparently worth, I very much doubt she’ll be glad to find out they’re ruined.”

Luna nodded before gingerly running her eyes over his attire, which now looked like two coloured canvases splattered with immense amounts of green ‘paint’.

“I’m sure she’ll get over it.”

Abruptly, the nurse loudly cleared her throat, and from behind them flicked off the light switch with her hoof, a subtle indication they both knew that meant since everything was taken care of, it was time for them all to leave; the two had been lucky enough to find one of the nurses still present and finishing up some paperwork despite the late hour, and given Luna was a princess, it didn’t even take a moment to convince the slightly startled mare to have a look at Lucian’s arm.

And as they made their way through the winding corridors, Lucian guessed all she wanted to do after the unexpected experience was to go home and sleep.

“Thank you again for everything,” the lycan said as the nurse finally led the two out the main door and back into the realm of the open night. The mare cast a smile in his direction before closing the door, heading back down one of the hospital corridors, and eventually disappearing from sight.

Silently, he grinned and turned back to Luna, only to find her standing perfectly still on the hospital pavement, and looking up at the diamond studded blackness that was her night sky, the stillness of her expression and dark eyes suggesting she was almost in a trance.

It was a strange and almost eerie sight to the lycan to see her so still and lost in her own thoughts, made more so by the way her mane floated and danced on a breeze that was none-existent.

“Are you ok?” he asked tentatively as he came over and joined her.

She was silent for a few moments before sighing, looking back at him and answering, and when she did the lycan could see the edges of her eyes shimmering with tears.

“I just… ugh, I’m just sorry about what happened back there Lucian. I had no idea there would be changelings hiding in the ruins of my former home…”

“So why blame yourself then?” Lucian chuckled, running a hand gently through her mane and down her neck to calm her. “Luna, I am fine, as you have seen, and I believe you're allowing your emotions to get the better of you when there is no need.”

“I know I am! Celestia has a habit of making that rather known to me when I do,” she snorted in a slightly annoyed tone as she pulled herself from his grasp, her dark eyes meeting his own shimmering blue ones as her snorting stopped and she relaxed once more. “It is just hard for me Lucian… hard for me to watch those I care about get hurt after being alone for so long.”

The lycan couldn’t help but wince deep inside at the words as his last memory of Sonja filled his mind, the memory of seeing her bound in place directly in front of where he had been chained by Viktor, so that he could hear her painful screams and see her flesh burn as the sunlight washed over her body.

Shuddering, he shook away the vile memories before anger could overwhelm him. There were certain things he no longer wanted to remember, and nor did he need too.

“I know all too well how that feels Luna… to feel helpless,” he said at last, running his fingers through his locks of matted black hair. “As you know I loved Sonja with all my heart, and I was forced to watch her die… so like you I hate seeing those I care about get hurt, but I understand that sometimes there is nothing I can do, and that I believe is something you must learn.”

Luna was watched him in silence for a few moments before nodding in understanding, knowing that although she was over a thousand years old there was still much for her to learn.

“I guess you are right,” she smirked as she returned to him. “So then, I believe it best if we leave this unfortunate event behind us and enjoy ourselves. The night is still young, and as immortals so are we.”

“Hmhm, I couldn’t agree more.”

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

As Lucian soon discovered, Ponyville was a far different place after dark, the bustling vibrancy the town portrayed during the day replaced by a much more quiet and intimate atmosphere, one that he personally found to his liking as he and Luna wandered without any set direction while they exchanged small talk.

The normally cramped Mane street was almost bare under the stars and soft white light of the moon, occupied only by the ragged lycan, Princess Luna, and a few other pony couples who seemed to be either heading out to dinner, or returning from an evening out; Lucian couldn’t help but feel a little surprised to see the ponies they came across usually shy away from him and Luna as they passed by, normally either distancing themselves, or outrightly changing direction when they came too close.

For a time he believed it was perhaps the fact he was splattered with changeling blood, but that thought was put to rest after he removed his vest and wrapped it under his arms, but the ponies continued to avoid them.

After a while, Luna too became obviously confused, but by the time she had the two of them were wandering alone through the tranquillity of Ponyville Park, and Lucian had realized that it was not her, but him they were avoiding.

“It seems I may have made a bad first impression,” The lycan growled with a shake of his head and a glance over his shoulder at the lights of the small town, drawing an odd look from the alicorn next to him. “…the day I came here, a group of young stallions were causing trouble, so I dealt with them, but in doing so I showed the local ponies what I truly am. I fear they do not trust me as such because of it.”

Luna simply smiled and nuzzled his side affectionately. “You acted with their town’s wellbeing at heart Lucian, and that I believe is all that matters, and soon as these townsponies did with me they will warm up to you… beside, I personally believe half the problem is that you look like a diamond dog.”

"There's that name again," he growled. "Would you mind explain this to me, because right now I have no idea what you're referring to."

“A diamond dog,” Luna went on. "Hmm, I assumed Twilight would have told you a bit more about them. Well, diamond dogs are a group of canine creatures that inhabit the rugged mountain regions of Equestria, and as it were, other than the fact they eat gems, strongly resemble what you and Raze look like as a wolves.”

"Yes, Shining Armor and your sister seemed content to mention them when we first met." Lucian sighed and rubbed his brow with his free hand, remembering the words, but more so the disgust. “And from what you’ve just told me I take it ponies and diamond dogs don’t get along?”

Luna bit her lip before answering, the regal princess of the night feeling a little uneasy under the gaze of the lycan’s crystal blue eyes.

“Unfortunately, you are quite correct in that assumption. As you already know, we ponies are predominantly creatures of love, friendship, and peace... but diamond dogs, on the other hoof, are quite the opposite; creatures of greed, conflict, and war, and it is that difference that tore our races apart."

Luna snuffed a yawn before continuing. "As it was, Lucian, diamond dogs and ponies once living side by side in a state of... well, something close to harmony anyway, but years ago, whilst I was still trapped in the moon, Celestia had a falling out with a diamond dog alpha male about what she perceived to be his kinds’ brutish behaviour, saying that if they wished to remain a part of Equestrian society they had to stop their constant in-fighting… but as wise as my sister is, she never fully understood what she was saying.”

“So what happened?” Lucian asked, seating himself down against the rough trunk of a tree, with Luna in turn sighing and looking up at the cloudless sky as she did the same.

“Well, to put it bluntly, she forgot she was talking to a diamond dog and not one of her subjects... and that in saying they had to change their behaviour was not only considered an insult by the dogs, but also a direct attack on their culture; you see, much like dragons or griffins, the strongest dog becomes the alpha male.”

“And the strongest dog is determined by fighting and conflict,” Lucian finished for her, the princess nodding her approval of his statement.

“Yes, so to say the alpha male, Iron-Fang, was fuming would be an utter understatement. If not for the fact he knew of Celestia’s powers… and that the dragons were at the time very much looking for a reason to raid the dogs gem stores, he probably would have threatened all-out war against us. But, instead, the diamond dogs chose to simply but totally disappear from pony society, and return to their own underground cities.”

Lucian fell silent for a few moments after she had finished, his mind locking away the information as he mulled over his thoughts of such a race so like his own; if he were human he would have called them animals, but then again, he was a lycan, and had once similarly but wrongly referred to werewolves as animals.

If not for them the lycan’s would never have been freed from Viktor’s slavery.

“But if the dogs disappeared from your society years ago, why then do ponies in the modern age fear them so much?” he asked as he began to stroke her neck. “And more to the point, why those ponies in a town such as this?”

Luna once again sighed in annoyance; this time, however, she shifted so her head rested across the lycan’s lap and her front hooves across his thighs before answering his question, the princess enjoying the warmth that radiated from him; it really wasn’t a dignified position for a royal to be seen in while out in public, but she knew they were alone, and even if the two were spotted really wouldn’t have cared.

“The same way your kind were granted a stigma of being the creatures of evil by humans, Lucian. The diamond dogs are, well, in general, not a bad race of creatures, and do not seek to harm our subjects, but over the years some have captured stray ponies and put them to work in their tunnels… and as it was, Rarity was unlucky enough to be put through such an experience when she ventured into their territory in search of gems, so Ponyville holds a particularly large disdain for them.”

Lucian nodded in understanding as he remembered the rebellious lycan’s he had dealt with over the years, such as Taylor and Pierce... who despite working together enjoyed nothing more than trying to tear each other to pieces in their free time. It always seemed the case that the minority ruined it for the majority.

The lycan stroked his short beard as he pondered. “Has anypony ever tried to perhaps make amends for the misunderstanding?”

“Celestia has tried Lucian,” Luna replied with a tone of slight frustration, flexing her neck so she was looking up at his face. “But the diamond dogs did not wish to hear her. They are, to put it bluntly, a race of stubborn and prideful warriors, and hence will only listen to the words of another warrior they see as worthy, not some ‘peace loving pony princess’ as they say.”

“They are sounding more like lycans by the second,” Lucian thought with a smirk as he stared up at the white waxing crescent that was the moon, a brilliant glowing shape that matched the one on Luna’s flank perfectly.

"I wonder how a diamond dog would perceive me."

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Notes:

As I hinted in a few comments some chapters back, I will be introducing a diamond dog in the next ‘proper’ chapter (which will explain why they were included in the character tags)

Chapter 12: It's a Dog's life

Chapter 12: It’s a Dog’s Life

“Uh, I swear if the alpha still thinks nothing’s wrong, he’s probably got rocks for brains,” Silver growled angrily under his breath as he walked down the almost empty passageway, his metallic grey coat, and steel shoulder guards, glistening in the light of the flaming torches that hung from the tunnel walls around him.

In years past Silver would never have dreamed of questioning Stone-Paw, or his decisions for that matter. Like all diamond dogs he looked up to the battle-hardened mighty alpha as both a leader, and a shining pinnacle of their race and its strength...

...But nowadays things had changed, and drastically at that.

In the last few days alone the pack had lost a total of five work groups in the southern tunnels, to ambushes from an unknown enemy of all things. Yet despite his high military rank and best efforts, Silver couldn’t get through to the alpha that there was something far from normal about the latest spate of attacks.

And now he once again found himself in the position of having to confront Stone-Paw with the bad news of the latest loses. Said loses being six tunnel workers, whose bloody mutilated corpses had been found roughly an hour earlier.

Whatever the diamond dogs were up against, Silver had absolutely no clue, but judging by the state of the bodies they were pulling in these things we’re unlike any enemy the dogs had encountered before.

And now he just had to convince the alpha of that fact.

“By the bitch that gave birth to him, I just hope Stone-Paw will finally listen to me,” he growled in his throat, the gem encrusted double doors to the high chambers coming into view at the tunnels end. A burly brown spear dog stood on either side of the golden archway, and watching him intently as he neared.

The steel colored dog grasped his spear a little tighter as he approached the two of them, knowing full well that despite their utter stupidity in comparison to him, the heavily built dogs were still a force not to be reckoned with; naturally, however, the white diamonds set in his shoulder guards gave away just who he was to them, and hence the two wordlessly and obediently pushed the doors open, stepped aside, and allowed their grey brother to pass.

“Hail to Stone-Paw, the mighty alpha!” Silver bellowed as he entered the chamber, raising his spear above his head in salute of the packs’ leader.

Across the natural stone cavern that formed the high chambers, a huge beast of a dog nodded in acknowledgement of his title, this one covered in thick steel armour, seated on a throne carved from veined marble, and bearing a spear with a head carved from a single massive diamond; around the massive creature sat eight more smaller dogs on smaller thrones, four on either side as the alphas of the minor pack families, all similarly wearing armor and brandishing spears at their sides.

“Greetings Silver-Fang,” Stone-Paw rumbled as his warrior bowed, the tone of his voice very much like that of a snarling dragon. “What matters of the pack do you carry with you this night?”

There were stirrings from the minor alpha’s and guard dogs in the room, all of them now facing Silver with expressions of interest, causing the metal-grey dog to bite his lip and grasp his spear firmly.

“I fear we have succumbed to another attack, great alpha, one which has claimed six tunnel workers…”

There was a chorus of angry snarls and growls from the other dogs in the room, but a single menacing snarl from Stone-Paw silenced them all at once; he then turned back to his guard commander and nodded for him to continue.

“As I was saying, we lost six tunnel workers… all of them bearing the same wounds as the others we have lost in the last few days.”

“What sorts of wounds do you speak of pup?” asked one of the minor alphas, his snarling black furred face marked by a jagged scar across his jaw line, one that was easily illuminated by the torch light

“Broken or shattered bones, shrivelled flesh and muscle, and teeth marks that resemble a fanged beast,” Silver replied with a touch of growl; he was younger than them but he was no pup. “Those teeth marks coming in large amounts, and especially on the drained corpses… almost like something’s bitten in and sucked their blood from them, alpha.”

The war dog growled and inclined his head in understanding.

“Tell me Silver-Fang,” Stone-Paw interjected, tapping the arm rest of his throne with an armored paw. “What is your opinion on these attacks? Do you believe a pack among us wishes for war?”

The various minor alpha’s glanced at each other, like they suspected their neighbour to be the enemy; it had been some years since the last pack war, but, as Silver-Fang knew too well, some old wounds among dogs took a long time to heal.

In answer to the question Silver shook his head and mentally sighed, if there was one obvious flaw that Stone-Paw possessed, it was his fear of another dog trying to take his throne.

“No great alpha, I do not believe it to be a pack among us nor a rebel group…”

“Then it must be the dragons!” shouted a brown alpha abruptly from Silver’s left, his armored paw pounding on his stone arm rest as he stared up at Stone-Paw. “Great alpha, the pup speaks of fang marks and the draining of blood, and those scaly beasts are the only ones who’d dare to do such a vile thing to us!”

“You are a fool, Iron-Tooth,” shot another alpha, this one a dusty grey-white. “Have you coal for a brain? Do you truly think a dragon would fit into our tunnels? And even if one could why would they leave the meat of a dog behind?”

“And what do you propose then, Marble-Hide?” Stone-Paw asked sternly with an inquiring glance, silencing Iron-Tooth before he could argue.

“It is not my place to speak great alpha, for I have not seen the dead,” Marble-Hide sighed as he rubbed his temples. “But… if there was a race that stood out to me, one who’s past relations with our own has not been so savoury, in my opinion… it would be the race of ponies.”

“Now you are just pulling our tails,” snapped the black dog who had spoken earlier, Silver firmly grasping his spear in case things got out any more of control. “Why would the ponies want to hunt us in our tunnels?”

“You truly know nothing of them, do you Onyx-Claw? Very well… ponies, if you are so ignorant, are actually just as obsessed with gems as dragons are; not as you and I eat them mind you, but rather they adore their bodies with them as a form of… decoration, if you will. To the ponies, gems symbolize wealth, status, and power, and a male pony who wears many gems has a better chance of attracting a female, just as a male dragon does.”

“So why would they attack us then?” Onyx-Claw countered as he leant back and crossed his front paws.

“Ugh! You cannot be an alpha and be that dull? Or is that just one of your pack's common traits?"

"Be very careful with those words, Marble-Hide," Onyx snarled, teeth bared as everydog else went for their weapons. "Or I might just like the idea of making a trophy out of your pelt and bitches."

"I'd like to see you try," Marble-Hide snuffed. "Anyway, as it is, if it's not already obvious to you, we dogs control the vast majority of gem deposits in these lands. As you should know from your history lessons as a pup, the ponies, and their princess, think very little of us other than as barbarians... so in my mind they probably wish to push us out and take the gems we need to survive for themselves.”

Another chorus of angry growls rippled through the room at the words. Most however were not directed at Marble-Hide, but at the non-present race of ponies, and in particular the apparent sun tyrant, one Princess Celestia.

Silver, however, was utterly lost on their argument; he had seen the corpses of the slain himself, an unfortunate fact but a fact all the same, and would've confidently bet his rank then and there that it wasn’t a pony who'd killed Stone-Paw’s subjects... plus the ‘pathetic’ ponies, as his own teachers had pointed out, were totally against violence in just about every shape or form.

The thought of them engaging in brutal underground warfare just didn’t make sense to him.

“May I speak my own mind, great alpha?” Silver asked as he stared up at the hulking shape of Stone-Paw, his voice cutting through the tense silence like the edge of a sword.

“You may, Silver-Fang.”

“I know this is not my place for my opinions to be heard, but I do not believe the ponies are responsible for these attacks... the markings on the dead suggest a carnivorous hunter of sorts, so any suggestion of the ponies being responsible for these attacks, to me, is ludicrous.”

A shallow growl came from Silver’s left, and turning his head he saw an older sandy brown alpha looking at him intently with a paw on his chin, while all the other alphas were staring at him.

"A voice of reason you have, hmm?" the old dog hummed. “You seem somewhat well learned for one of your young age; tell me truthfully, Silver-Fang, if you doubt them as a threat, what then is your opinion on the race of ponies?”

“What does that matter Sand-Stone…” Marble-Hide started angrily, now apparently angry at Silver’s doubting of his opinion.

“I am only speaking my mind here,” Silver jumped in, closing his eyes to focus as he spoke. “But, although they are not a warrior race like our own, from what I have heard they seem well educated in the ways of the world. Why do you ask alpha?”

Sand-Stone sighed bitterly and stroked his chin. “I ask because there is a chance we share a common enemy…”

Most of the dogs in the room growled angrily in opposition at his proposal; the very thought of sharing anything in common with the race of ponies was repulsive.

However, Stone-Paw simply shook his head at them, and nodded for him to go on, silence once again taking its ruler over the chamber.

“…For you see, we do not know, as a race, much of what Equestria has become since our withdrawal into these mountains; perhaps another race of creatures has made home in these lands, and they are responsible for these deaths. That is my own belief based on what I have heard. I’m only speaking my mind here my brothers, but I dare say that perhaps they may know of what we are up against, whereas we do not.”

“So you believe they may have knowledge of our enemy?” Silver asked, the old alpha nodding in approval of his young comrades statement.

“And how would you find that out for a fact pu..” snorted Iron-Tooth, only to find that, before he could finish, Silver’s spear point was at his throat, and Silver had his fangs bared over him.

“Call me ‘pup’ again and you will not live to regret it you waste of hide; a minor alpha you may be, but I am commander of Stone-Paw’s Steel Guard, so show me some respect you son of a whore bitch.”

Iron-Tooth spread his maw to reply, but a rather loud growl from Stone-Paw quickly silenced him.

Satisfied that he knew his place, Silver withdrew his point and returned to his former stance while Sand-Stone, and a few others, chuckled to themselves.

“To answer your question, Iron-Tooth,” Stone-Paw rumbled. “I believe the easiest way to fulfil Sand-Stone and Silver-Fang’s plan, if I'm coming to understand their not so subtle undertones here..." he rolled his eyes. "Would be to confront the ponies face-to-face… but that is, however, not an idea I find particularly enticing. As we all know rather well, you two, our kind and Celestia’s have not gotten along with each other for many years. Since the days of Iron-Fang as I believe. Hence I highly doubt she will welcome me as a ruler of equal majesty… and yet…”

His ancient dark eyes ran over Silver-Fang as his mind put the pieces of a potential plan together, the edge of a grin creeping across his old face.

“…Silver-Fang, since this all partly your plan… would you be willing to go and seek out the ponies of Equestria?”

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Mhmf, what… time is it?” Twilight yawned, eyes flicking open as she felt the light of her mentor’s sun.

A quick glance at her bedside clock revealed it to be eight thirty, by which time on most days she would have been up and about, if not walking through Ponyville with her friends.

But, given the time she had gotten to sleep the night before, a late rise was understandable... in her opinion anyway.

Gingerly, she slipped out of bed, and yawned again, before heading for the door, stepping carefully to avoid making any excess noise, and waking her still slumbering scaly assistant, his murmurings and shifting bringing a smile to her face as she momentarily watched him dream.

Upon finding her way to the kitchen of the library her search for breakfast began, the lavender mare hungrily searching through every nook and cranny of the countless shelves for something appetizing to devour; with a slight groan, however, she eventually shut the last cupboard door in defeat, it seemed the result of their wait for Luna the night prior had resulted in her friends eating her out of house and home.

“Uh, if Rainbow and Pinkie actually have a limit to their stomach capacities, I’ll be amazed.”

“I guess that means you’re in need of breakfast then, huh?” came an amused chuckle, one that was layered with a slight growl, and sent a flush of hot air across the back of Twilight’s neck.

Turning around to the kitchen window, Twilight was greeted by the first sight this morning that had made her happy about being awake; said sight was that of Ash’s large black scaled snout sticking through her kitchen window, with three glistening red apples balanced on the end of it.

“You know Applejack’s going to have your tail if she finds out you took those?” the mare grinned as she levitated them off his nose, prompting the black dragon roll his eyes in mock annoyance as she bit into one.

“Can you ever just acknowledge a gesture without an in-depth analysis?” He smiled, a long pink tongue emerging from his maw, and running across her small cheek as she blushed. “Anyway, do you have any plans for Spike today? I was planning on taking him up to the mountains for a gem hunt if I could.”

“He’s all yours Ash, but just make sure he’s…”

“…Back before sundown,” Ash finished for her with a thunderous chuckle and a flick of his tail. “I know Twilight, you tell me that every time I ask to take him out for the day.”

Her lavender cheeks once again turned a fiery scarlet. “Yeah, I guess I’m just a little over-protective of him is all, it’s hard not to be when I’ve cared for him since he was an hatchling… and I guess with you in his life now I just…”

“Twilight, don’t talk like that,” Ash said firmly but gently, nuzzling her lightly with his warm scales as he leant inwards. “You know I would never think to take him from you, nor let any harm come to him... I care about you both too much to have those things happen.”

A smile returned to the muzzle of the lavender mare as she looked up at the smirking dragon before her; she knew their relationship was special, even if it didn’t revolve around the sexual aspects that most relationships did. No, theirs was instead based on a pure love and respect of each other.

How it had started... neither were so sure anymore, other than an interest in acquiring knowledge via interview when he'd settled down in Ponyville, but all that really mattered in Twilight’s mind was that they were both happy, and Spike now had an actual father figure in his life.

Plus, Ash was perhaps the only one in Ponyville, beside her, who found enjoyment in learning.

“Thanks Ash, once he’s awake I’ll send him out for you,” She said happily, rearing up and planting a small kiss on his large snout, causing the usually proud and regal black dragon to fluster like a school-colt as backed out from the window. “And since when do adult dragons get embarrassed?”

“Since cute mares started kissing them,” Ash replied with a cheeky grin and a flare of his massive black wings. “I’ll see you later then Twi, I’ll be waiting out in the park for Spike.”

Without another word, he reared up and jumped into the air, leaving in his wake a cloud of dust and now content purple mare as he sailed off over Ponyville.

Upon turning around, however, her upbeat mood rapidly diminished into a combination of embarrassment and panic, her hooves freezing in place as her eyes were met by the sight of both Lucian and Princess Luna standing in the doorway, and looking between her and the empty window.

Lucian seemed on the surface perhaps a little surprised, but otherwise unaffected by what he had seen, Princess Luna, on the other hoof, was for the first time since the two ponies had met actually looking gobsmacked.

“I… well… umm…”

“So I take it you’re the ‘special somepony’ Ash mentioned to me then, huh?” The lycan chuckled as he leant against the doorframe, Twilight’s cheeks shining crimson as he grinned at her. "I guess being Celestia's student, I can understand why you've tried to keep this a secret."

“It’s more or less just a casual relationship, Lucian, so don't get the wrong idea,” the mare blushed intensely in return, at last setting the two remaining apples down on the table, before turning to the princess of the night. “And princess, I would really appreciate it if you didn’t mention this to Princess Celestia, or my family, I promise you we’re not doing anything… inappropriate… but I don’t want them to know just yet.”

“Your secret is safe with me Twilight,” Luna said with a small smile and a slight nod. “But you know everypony, including my sister and your family, will have to find out eventually.”

Twilight sighed as she played with her hooves. “I know they will, but just not yet.”

A smirk suddenly spread across her face as she looked between the two of them, her nostrils picking up the faint smell of a certain undeniable scent.

“Speaking of romance, and since you're both here… did you enjoy your night, princess?”

The very moment the sultry-layered words met her ears, the princess of the night’s dark cheeks turned a glowing shade of red and her ears dropped in embarrassment, Lucian’s face matching hers in an instant.

“T-Twilight Sparkle, I merely preferred to sleep here then fly back to Canterlot, do not...” she stopped, and grumbled with she realized Twilight was giggling. "Ugh, you and Tia spend too much time around each other."

Lucian went to reply in order to reassure her as well, but the lycan didn’t get the chance to before he was interrupted... by the rather loud crashing open of the library door of all things.

Hastily, both he and Luna spun around to see who had invaded their conversation, only to find Rainbow Dash lying slightly dazed on the colourful carpet of the main room.

“Rainbow what are you…” Lucian started in amusement as he approached the fallen pegasus.

“Diamond dog! There’s a diamond dog heading towards Ponyville!”

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Notes:

Well, I said Ash liked somepony, so now you know who (but seriously I’ve never found a fic where Spike inherits a real father figure, more or less it’s usually just a character in love with Twilight and he gets pushed to the side)

I’m basing the distance between the mountains and Ponyville on the episode which introduced the diamond dogs (I can’t remember the name off the top of my head *sigh*), where everything seemed to happen within a few hours or so, hence I’m guessing the travelling time on foot/hoof would be about three or four hours.

Chapter 13: Fur and Fangs

Chapter 13: Fur and Fangs

“Well this is certainly… different,” Silver mused aloud to himself, sharp canine eyes running over the various buildings and ponies that were now coming into view.

The young, steel-grey dog had left the tunnels just before the moon had reached its peak the night before, and now, as the sun’s light and warmth began to flood the land, he found himself approaching the small town of Ponyville, the nearest equine settlement in the immediate area, as he had learned from Stone-Paw.

The town was, according to the alpha anyway, a fairly basic and laid-back Equestrian settlement compared to the larger cities, a suggestion that Silver found himself agreeing with.

The ponies he could see all happily seemed to be either shopping, eating, or simply exchanging conversation without any worry or care, all done in an apparent friendly manner without the slightest suggestion of an argument or conflict.

He silently wondered if bringing his spear and wearing his shoulder guards was such a good idea after all... but then again, the idea of walking through the Everfree unarmed wasn’t exactly appealing either.

“They truly are a peaceful race,” the diamond dog muttered to himself as he hid in the shadow of a tree, and watched on, not entirely sure if he was amused or repulsed by the scene in front of him. “I wonder how they keep the creatures of the forest away.”

The most probable answer in his mind was unicorn magic, and said magic he silently hoped, as he left the safety of the tree and headed forward, was a weapon he wouldn’t be getting the wrong end of.

Gingerly, he took his place in the middle of the road and headed into the quaint settlement, doing his best to be in full view so nopony would think of him as a thief or a spy sneaking around, although, trying to be sneaky would’ve proved a little difficult, given his armored form stood twice as tall as the colourful ponies around him.

As he entered he to took note of the numerous stalls that surrounded them and the numerous town residents, his keen eyes absorbing every detail of their wares, whilst his sharp nose took in a thousand different scents.

His plan was relatively simple; seek out the local pony in charge, show said pony he meant no harm, and find out if they, like the pack, had been subjected to any strange attacks of late.

Unfortunately... said plan went straight out the window with the reaction of the first pony he decided to try and talk to.

“Ugh, Daisy, you arranged these wrong!” snorted a pink and crimson maned pony as she attended to an arrangement of roses, hastily rearranging them without noticing the diamond dog approaching her. “Ok, now you’re in my light.”

“Um… would you like me to move?” Silver asked as politely as possible, his canine voice however still coming out with a slight growl as he stood behind her patiently.

The rose cutie marked mare’s ears flattened against her head as she turned around to confront the stranger, only to stop dead still when her pale green eyes fell on Silver-Fang’s tall body structure, her pupils heading skywards until they met his smiling canine face, and topaz golden eyes they were looking down at her.

“Greetings little pony, I am Silver-Fang,” The dog smiled, showing her his white fangs in the friendliest way he could, which only ended up causing the mare to step back a few paces.

“You’re a… d-diamond dog?” the pony choked out rather loudly.

The eyes of everypony else in the area quickly fell on the creature who had invaded their town, and equally as quickly they either began to creep backwards from him, or as in the case of a nearby cyan pegasus, jump into the air and quickly disappear from sight.

The diamond dog reacted by rubbing his temples in minor frustration.

“No I’m a talking, tail-less manticore. Yes, I’m a diamond dog.”

He figured his annoyed tone didn’t help much, but the mare’s original description of him had left the dog in a bad mood; he admitted that because of cultural differences the ponies fear of him was understandable, but that didn’t mean he had to be happy about it.

By now the countless ponies were muttering between themselves hastily backing away from him as fast as possible, most looking nervously between his golden eyes, and the steel-bladed spear that sat clasped in his furry paw, its silver blade glinting as the sunlight reflected off of it.

“Grrr! Look I’m not going to eat you,” he sighed with a shake of his head as he tried to diffuse the situation. “I only wish to talk to your…”

The dog had intended to say the word ‘leader’, but a thundering roar that caused his heart to almost stop, and made the town shake square on its foundations, abruptly cut him off, a dark shadow passing over the sun as the canine’s head snapped skywards.

Before him loomed the last thing he'd expected to see, said thing being the colossal form of a green dragon dropping down, and landing with an almighty slam in the middle of the market square like it was a trained action, the beast shaking away the cloud of dust while its enraged eyes focused directly on him.

Silver watched on as the ponies around him hastily removed themselves from the space between the two of them, and quickly headed for the nearest source of cover, the dragon’s fangs and enraged eyes sat bared in his direction.

It went without saying that since they were both gem eaters competing for food, dragons and diamond dogs didn’t get along in the slightest. The only time the two races came together was usually at the points of spears and fangs in a never ending, but undeclared war.

Silver-Fang silently wondered if this day could actually get any worse.

He was no expert on the scaly race, but from some prior and rather bloody experience as a member of the Steel Guard, the dog could tell this one was fairly young, perhaps the dog dared say barely even an adult.

What also surprised him was the fact that the ponies seemed more afraid of him then the hulking dragon before them... if anything, they were barely taking any notice of the over-sized reptile.

For at least five minutes the silver-grey dog just stared at the dragon in front of him while the dragon stared right back, neither moving a single muscle until the beast broke the silence.

“What are you doing here you piece of meat?” the dragon snarled through gritted teeth, massive green tail swinging like a mace as the local ponies watched on from a safe distance.

Both creatures bared their teeth at each other, the numerous ponies now slowly creeping forward whilst also taking note of every flinch and movement of the combatants as they waited for the situation to escalate.

“I’d ask you the same thing, but I doubt I care,” the dog replied calmly but with his spear still raised. “Look, I am only here to see the leader of these ponies, not to start a fight with you…?”

The dragon opened its jaws and growled loudly, prompting the nearby ponies to cower in wake of an expected fight. “I don’t usually give my name to things I intend to eat.”

The tense diamond dog once again rolled his eyes in frustration, if there was ever a race as stubborn and thick-skulled as his own, Silver knew it was the race of dragons.

“Were you not listening to me dragon?” Silver snapped, slowly lowering the steel point of his weapon so it faced the ground between them. “I am NOT here to start a fight nor do I want one, all I wish to do is speak with the leader of these ponies.”

“Do you really think I believe a word that comes from your mouth?”

“I am telling you the truth you rock skulled lizard.” Silver snarled in frustration, his temper quickly diminishing.

“And maybe you are… but do you really think I’m going to just let you talk to the mayor?” The dragon growled in return, taking a step forward and causing the diamond dog to hastily raise his spear again. “A good friend of my mate was taken by you vermin and forced to work in your tunnels, so if you think I’m letting you go anywhere near them, you’re sadly mistaken.”

The battle dog sighed and gingerly lowered his spear at the dragon’s venomous words.

Strictly speaking, the diamond dogs wanted nothing to do with ponies, which absolutely included bringing them into the tunnels; but, sadly, there had always been the occasional runt pup who thought the ponies would make good pets or slaves, and had hence forcefully dragged an unsuspecting one down to work every so often.

"Those runts better hope I never get my paws around their necks"

The diamond dog decided the best thing to do in order to diffuse the situation would be to apologize... but he never got the chance, and rather quickly regretted lowering his spear.

As he looked up to meet the dragon’s gaze he was greeted by a flash of emerald green, and before he could mutter a single harsh word or insult, found himself hanging upside down in front of the green dragons snarling face, the beasts tail wrapped around his legs and his spear now lying on the ground just below him while he hung helplessly.

“Now then,” the dragon growled smugly, giving the confused dog a deadly and savage grin. “Should we see how good you taste, or how far I can throw you?”

“You wouldn’t dare unless you want to start a war!” the diamond dog snapped, his anger only causing the dragon’s grin to widen.

“Hmm, usually I wouldn’t want a war, but now that you mention it… a chance to enjoy copious amounts of well-done diamond dog is tempting.”

“So help me…” Silver started through bared teeth, the ponies who were watching them all suddenly looking somewhat ill.

Yet another sudden angry roar, however, cut him off mid-sentence... again... but by his alpha, this one was even louder than the green dragon’s own, and sounded far more enraged at that.

“Thane! What by the fire of our ancestors are you doing you scale brain? Put him down, right now!”

Silver-Fang hastily turned to source of the new voice, and he just about had a heart attack in the dragon's grasp then and there.

Quickly approaching them, from further down the street, were two more dragons, one with blood red in color and the other night black scales, these ones massive even compared to green one that was currently holding him with its tail.

What shocked him even more, however, was that walking right beside them were not only a small group of ponies, but standing high on their back legs, and with their own fangs angrily bared in his direction, were two burly canines that looked very much like he did.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

In his mind, Lucian thought Rainbow’s actions were a little extreme, given the situation he was currently looking at.

As he had learned from her she had left the dog to Thane, then bolted over to Fluttershy’s and found Titan, then flown off and grabbed Raze as he and Applejack had been coming into town with the days sales worth of apples, and had finally crashed into the library to call him, Twilight, and unintentionally, Luna to arms.

And given that there was only one diamond dog to deal with, to say it was overkill would have been the understatement of the millennia... an overkill which had also left Applejack and Twilight in none too happy moods.

“Oh come on!” Thane growled in annoyed tone as he flexed his talons into the ground, looking between his furry quarry and his brethren. “He’s a diamond for Celestia’s sake! Can’t I just have some fun with him?”

Both dragons let out a simultaneous growl at his statement. “Thane, just do what Titan says,” Ash sighed as he rolled his eyes and face-clawed, a habit he seemed to have unfortunately picked up from Twilight. “If you haven’t noticed, were in a town full of ponies who don’t really like your sense of humour.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” Rainbow Dash tossed in as she flew above the small group, her statement earning her a few annoyed glares from her friends and quickly causing her to cringe.

Applejack, however, preferred to put her feelings in words then gestures, said words being. “If a’ hear another stray word come outta your muzzle Dash, I’m gonna tie it shut, and then buck you into next week.”

Lucian watched on as Thane growled at the amber pony, but soon grumpily shook his huge head, and released the imprisoned dog, doing so by simply opening his tail and letting the canine free fall the two meter distance to the ground, and land with a smack and a loud yelp, the action drawing an annoyed snarl from Titan.

“You really are a pain in the tail sometimes, Thane,” the red dragon hissed.

“Well I could drop him, eat him, or throw him,” Thane smirked with a cheesy grin as he stepped away from the dog, Rainbow Dash quickly flying over and perching herself on his back. “Which of those would you have preferred?”

Titan growled but decided not to pursue the matter, knowing well from the years spent growing up together Thane readily made a habit of speaking or acting before thinking, much like the certain cyan pegasus he called his marefriend.

As slowly and as gently as he could, the red dragon approached the diamond dog with both Lucian and Raze beside him; the newcomer canine, having risen to his feet, was now dusting himself off and picking up his spear, muttering a few choice words about Thane under his breath.

“Sorry about that,” Titan sighed as the dog looked up at him, nodding to where Thane was standing. “He has a habit of acting first and asking questions later.”

The diamond dog growled and shook his head. “I do not like him, but I do not blame him either. He says a friend of his was taken by our runts and put to work in the tunnels, so such dislike of me I guess is… understandable,” the dog shrugged as he leant on his spear. “I am Silver-Fang, commander of Stone-Paw’s Steel Guard, and envoy of the alpha council.”

“Name’s Titan, and this is Ash,” the red dragon chuckled as he nodded towards the equally large black dragon behind him. “And that idiot over there as you know is Thane.”

“Hey!” Dash and Thane snapped in unison.

“Well you are,” Ash put in with a smirk.

“Alright, maybe I am... sometimes,” the green dragon hissed in distaste. “But that doesn’t mean you need to go telling the fur ball that.”

Silver couldn’t help but smirk as an annoyed trail of smoke drifted upwards from Thane’s nostrils, but his interest in the dragon quickly disappeared when the two canines approached him along with a few of the ponies behind them; the diamond dog had to admit that most of the alphas, and perhaps even Stone-Paw, would have problems if he came up against these creatures in a fight, the one on the left looked to almost half as a big as Thane.

In a mixture of curiosity and horror he watched them suddenly change, the sounds of painful growls and cracking bones filling his ears as he watched their fur be replaced by soft flesh, one a faint brown and the other the colour of burnt oak.

Both, however, had unnaturally eerie blue eyes.

“What in the name Stone-Paw’s wide-hipped bitch… are you two exactly?” he asked as he took a single step back from the two, not sure if he was amazed or horrified.

The jaw of every pony and dragon within a thirty meter radius had their jaw hit the ground in a heartbeat, except for that of Princess Luna, who silently sniggered behind a concealing hoof at the statement; unlike everypony else, she knew the intended meaning was not a profanity.

“You can relax Silver-Fang, we are lycans,” the smaller of the two smiled. “I am Lucian and this is Raze…”

“A Pleasure,” Raze chuckled, his voice Silver-Fang swore deeper in tone than any of the three present dragons.

“...Yes," Lucian went on. "So, what exactly brings you to Ponyville?”

The diamond dog snapped back to reality, sighed, and rubbed his temples with his free paw as numerous sets of eyes fell on him, the other paw still warily grasping his spear in case it was for some reason needed.

“I would've asked you the same question... but, I have come on behalf of my alpha, Stone-Paw, to seek audience with the leader of these ponies,” he growled, looking up and meeting the long haired Lycan’s blue eyes with his own golden ones. “A number of our workers have recently been lost to tunnel attacks by an unknown enemy, and Stone-Paw wishes to know if these ponies bear knowledge of what this enemy might be.”

Lucian took a quick glance back at Luna, who much like him had a sudden expression of unease plastered across her face, as she no doubt also remembered the events of the night prior.

He quickly turned back to find both Raze, and the massive form of Titan, now looking down at him along with Silver-Fang, all obviously wanting answers to his and the night princess’s rather unusual actions.

“What kind of attacks exactly?” the lycan asked as he pulled at his beard.

The diamond dog snarled angrily and drew his fangs. “Brutal ones… usually we find the workers with their bones shattered and covered in bite marks,” He snapped, his free paw now balled in an angry fist. “Why?”

“I… believe Raze, Luna and I can answer your question on what you’re dealing with.”

“We can?” Raze asked in confusion, hastily looking between the dog and his leader before his eyes widened. “Lucian, you are not saying…”

“The taste of blood does not lie old friend,” the pale skinned lycan growled, taking a quick look around him, and in particular the cluster of ponies who were watching him from a few meters away. “Twilight, do you mind terribly if we bring Silver-Fang back to the library, I fear we have important matters to discus with him as well as everypony else... matters which are for now best kept private.”

A growl from Titan quickly reminded Lucian he was still there, and sounded a little annoyed at being left out of the conversation. “What kind of matters exactly?”

Lucian sighed, and under the combined gazes of Titan and Raze, muttered a statement he had hoped that he would never have to say in the land of ponies.

“Matters of vampires.”

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Notes:

If you see an error please tell me, also just so you all understand I alternate between Silver and Silver-Fang based on what seems right (the same way I might call Rainbow Dash by her full name in one line and just Dash in another).

Feels good to finally bring Thane and Titan back, just because I’ve always loved writing for their personalities for some reason (shrugs). Anyway for those of you who are into dragon stories (you know who you are) I have another story you might like, enjoy.

Chapter 14: A Tale of War

Chapter 14: A Tale of War

“Lucian, just what the hay is going on?” Twilight snorted as Lucian opened the wooden door and she trotted inside, annoyed at not only being told what to do without any information whatsoever, but also having her library turned into a meeting room without a moment’s notice.

“Yes Lucian, this is, with all due respect, rather inconvenient… I happen to have quite a lot of orders to fill,” Rarity put in as she entered and seated herself beside Applejack and Spike. “And while we’re asking questions, what exactly is that… thing… doing here?”

The last, rather venomous words were directed towards Silver-Fang, who had decided to stand against the stair case in the corner of the room, and by the looks of things was inspecting his spear’s point for any scratches or nicks; the grey diamond dog reacted by pulling his ears back and flicking his gaze up at the alabaster unicorn.

“You have a problem with me, little pony?” he asked dryly, the edge of a growl evident in his voice as he eyed the mare.

Rarity snorted while everypony else looked between each other, fearing an all our war was about to start in the library. “You mean other than the fact you’re an unclean and smelly animal just like the rest of your brutish kind? With no apparent sense about how one should look when meeting royalty?”

The last few words she said while nodding her head towards Luna, who in return face-hoofed along with everypony else in the room.

Much to everyone’s amazement, Silver-Fang simply laughed at the white unicorn’s venomous insult. “Oh, you are a funny little pony, bah! You and your need to look all pretty and proper,” he chuckled, folding his paws across his chest as he grinned in her direction. “We diamond dogs call pretty bitches like you by a special name.”

“And what might that be?” the alabaster unicorn scoffed with her muzzle in the air, everypony and dragon now cringing at the argument. “Civilised? Cultured?”

The diamond dog chuckled and shook his head at the well-groomed fashion designer. “A whore.”

“WHY YOU FILTHY…!”

“THAT IS ENOUGH FROM BOTH OF YOU!!!”

Lucian had heard Luna’s royal Canterlot voice before, but that had been in the rather large space that was the royal library in Canterlot palace, hence the volume dissipation had made the sound somewhat bearable. In a small and confined space however, such as the Ponyville library, the volume dissipation wasn’t so good, and hence the lycan with his sensitive hearing literally felt his ear drums ringing from the almighty barrage of sound.

“Silver-Fang… is here to represent his race, Rarity,” Lucian explained gingerly at last as he turned and faced the group before him, the ponies, a still enraged looking Luna, Spike, and Raze all ducking around the library carpet, while Titan, Ash, and Thane stuck their heads in through the various windows, all with slightly uneasy looks on their faces.

“And as a diplomat of another race, you are required by law to treat him with some respect,” Luna added with a furrowed brow, a stern glare, and an annoyed flare of her wings, the tone in her voice serving the make the white unicorn feel very small, very quickly. “He has said he wishes no ill upon us, and I expect us to do the same despite past… experiences.”

A small grin spread across the dog’s face as he watched Rarity shrink back under the gaze of the dark alicorn, although she still looked far from friendly, as did the purple hatchling beside her.

Once everypony seemed comfortable, and somewhat calm again, Lucian loudly cleared his throat, shifting all wandering attentions to where he was standing in the middle of the room, and ceasing all prior mutterings and conversations as he began speaking.

“Everyone, I know this comes at short notice, but it seems Silver-Fang has all but confirmed a prior fear of mine… a fear I believe you all have the right to know given recent events,” the lycan sighed, crystal blue eyes wandering over each of the confused faces individually. “I have told most of you about mine and Raze’s former world to so some degree, and about the three races that inherit it. However, there is something I never mentioned to any of you except Luna, and… regrettably, I believe it is no longer safe for me to hide these things from you all… ”

His eyes closed for a moment as he spoke, and rapidly the memories of the war came flooding back like he had never even tried to forget them. “The truth…” Lucian growled in his throat. “Is that is our world was far from peaceful like this one.”

“So you mean there was conflict?” Ash asked curiously, his head hovering protectively above both Twilight and Spike. “With respect Lucian, Equestria is not a land free of…”

“Conflict… does not come close to describing the nature of our world,” Raze said darkly, the expression on his face, coupled with the ice-cold tone in his voice, actually making the dragon flinch. “Since the beginning our two races, vampires and lycans have been at war and brutally tried to destroy each other, and that beginning was over a millennia ago.”

“Although it is a little more technical then that… what Raze has said is true,” Lucian sighed as he rubbed his brow, fully aware every pony and dragon in the room now looked either confused, curious, shocked, horrified, or a combination of all four, and Raze had put it lightly. “So I guess it’s time to tell you all the truth about our two races. I want you all to know now this story is not pleasant in the slightest… but hopefully by the end you’ll all understand why I’m asking you to listen.”

He momentarily glanced over at the massive black lycan sitting nearby, who simply nodded back at his leader to show he agreed with the proposition, everyone else around them looking between the two oddly before getting comfortable again.

The lycan sighed under their gazes and closed his crystal blue eyes, preparing to tell them all of a hell he had hoped to have left behind when Kraven’s last bullet had taken him, but even in death he couldn’t seem to escape it.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“The vampire and lycan bloodlines were born from two brothers,” Lucian started as he walked in small circles around the middle of the bookshelf-lined room, recalling what he had learned of both his race and the vampires over the centuries, the various ponies around him all dead silent as they listened. “Both of whom were born with a pure strain of the immortal virus that I have told most of you about, the virus that all vampires and lycans carry. Their names were Marcus and William Corvinus. As it came to be, Marcus was bitten by a bat, and hence, through the mutation of his virus, became the first and most powerful vampire in history. William, like his brother, was bitten and became almost godlike in strength and agility, but he was bitten by a wolf and hence became the first lycan.”

“But if you were all… related… I guess, why did you say you were raised in a cage?” Twilight asked, looking both confused and uneasy.

Despite her apparent nervousness in asking the question, her signature pad and quill were levitating in front of her face and recording everything he said in reply, the quill’s scratching much to apparent annoyance of everypony else.

“Because although Marcus maintained his humanity and sanity… William did not,” Lucian sighed, running his fingers through his black locks as he remembered the tales of William’s rampages, and subsequently the hatred of werewolves he had carried in his first two hundred years. “William became a savage beast, guided only by his wolf instincts to hunt and kill anything in his path, and any human he attacked inherited his virus, and became a beast just like him. Marcus, it is said, used his own powers to try and hunt down the infected and control his brother, but all trace of human and reason in William had died the day he became infected… he couldn’t be controlled. In his failing Marcus did the only thing he could do. He sought the aid of the ruler of his land, a human named Viktor.”

Lucian couldn’t help but ball his fists as the memory returned, the memory of the vile creature who had once taken everything from him in a single night.

“Viktor was old at the time and on the very brink of death, so Marcus made a deal with him. In return for helping him stop his brother and hunt down the werewolves, the spawn of William’s virus, Marcus would infect Viktor and make him a powerful immortal vampire like himself, and then do the same with his army… needless to say, Viktor agreed.”

“So if William was as monstrous as you say Lucian, and the forefather of the lycans, why then do you not share such… well, bloodlust? No offense or anything,” Thane asked curiously, his green head snaking inside from the window beside the doorway.

“And you still haven’t answered my question,” Twilight put in, sounding a tad agitated while her statement caused a collective rolling of eyes.

“For both of your information, that is where things changed dramatically,” the lycan explained, giving up his fight against gravity and seating himself on the floor, his legs forward and his hands resting on his knees as he closed his eyes. “Viktor agreed to Marcus’s conditions and helped imprison William for eternity, but after a while, rather than simply slay all the other werewolves his army came across… he enslaved some of them for his own use. Like bats, vampires cannot go out into sunlight like lycans or werewolves can, and Viktor happened to be very protective of his kingdom’s silver treasury and the human slaves he commanded, so he basically used the captured werewolves as guard dogs during the day… and those he didn’t capture he simply slaughtered. For years he did this and believed he and Marcus had crushed all fight in the wolves William had created… but then one day all that changed, and that day was the day I was born.”

More than a few cries of ‘huh’ and ‘what’ resounded through the library, but the lycan payed them little attention and simply continued.

“As I said the night we first met, I was the first of my kind. Before me there were only mindless werewolves such as William and my parents, purebloods if you will, who once turned couldn’t change back into human form like I can… there in which lies the difference between me and them, Thane. When I was born, Viktor was tempted to kill me at first sight just as he did the werewolf who birthed me… which if he had been wiser he would have,” Lucian went on, a small smirk crossing his face at the last few words. “But instead where he should have seen a threat he saw an opportunity, a chance to create a new breed of slaves who were both stronger than humans and immortal… that, Twilight, is why I was raised in a cage. To Viktor I was little better than the mindless beasts who spawned me… my saving grace being that I was useful to him, being able to ‘breed’, so to speak, more immortal slaves.”

The former reactions of shock had suddenly and frighteningly changed; the faces of the diamond dog, ponies and dragons around the lycan were no longer adored with unease, but rather a combination of sadness, anger and even hatred, even Luna looked readily enraged despite already having heard his story.

“That… that is just so bucking wrong!” Rainbow Dash snorted at last, her nostrils flaring and her hooves pawing in anger.

“H-how could anypony… b-be so cruel,” Fluttershy whimpered from behind her pink mane, tears starting to slide down her yellow face despite Titan’s efforts to comfort her.

“Yeah! He sounds like a really nasty mean-meanie-mean pants!” Pinkie snarled, the growl coming from her throat surprisingly and unnervingly like that of a werewolf. “Grrr! If I ever met this Viktor guy… he’d get his just deserts!”

“That is… not the worst of it,” Raze spat, his own massive fists balled in front of him like he was ready to crush something. “Viktor regarded the race of humans as he did lycans, below him and the other vampires. I was taken from my family and homeland, and brought to Viktor’s kingdom to be made a lycan in his service. And as I stood before the wolf who gave me the virus… he said he was giving me a gift… a blessing.”

For a moment Lucian swore that Raze would shift out of pure anger and rage alone, but before he could even prepare to deal with the possibly dangerous situation the dark lycan was strangely his usual calm self again, the remedy to his anger, to Lucian’s utter surprise, being Applejack’s gentle and reassuring amber hoof finding its way onto his massive shoulder.

A silence quickly settled in the room once he finished talking, a silence that was ripe with tension, anger and disgust that permeated the very air. The six elements of harmony quietly looked amongst one another, all silently thinking the same thing but not daring to voice their thoughts; they had believed they had faced and defeated true monsters before, but the very thought of how vile this Viktor creature was made Discord and Chrysalis look like harmless foals in comparison, they had both caused trouble but neither had done anything as evil as what Lucian’s enemy had.

“Lucian,” Ash said at last, his deep but now seemingly calm voice shattering the silence. “I speak for all of us when I say I am truly sorry for what you were all put through, but may I ask... why you have chosen to bring these things up?”

“Aye,” Silver-Fang growled in agreement with a bow of his head. “You have my greatest sympathies also, but what does this have to do with the attacks on my kind?”

“Because, these are the creatures you now find your race being hunted by,” Raze answered for his still angry leader. “The marks you have described on your dead Silver-Fang are those of a vampire. Vampires, when they feed, bite into their victims and drain their blood from their wounds. I believe what Lucian is telling you both should be quite clear… it seems you have vampires in your lands.”

“And… ” Lucian sighed, turning and facing the snarling dog directly. “Because it seems that said vampire or vampires have… infected… another local race with their virus, the ones you all know of as Changelings. A few nights ago I encountered a small group of the creatures in the Everfree forest, and much like a vampire they tried to sink their fangs into me. I believe given what you’ve told me Silver-Fang, we have a much greater problem on our hands then either of us first imagined.”

Lucian was sure he observed Twilight’s complexion pale along with those of Princess Luna and her friends as their jaws just about hit the floor, which Twilight’s pad and quill hastily did as her concentration all but evaporated. A moment later a few of them, namely Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, went a pale shade of green like they were about to be sick.

“Are you saying there are… v-vampires… here? In Equestria?” Fluttershy whimpered from where her hiding place behind Titan’s head. “And they… f-feed on b-blood?”

“I swear if this is true!” Silver-Fang snarled through bared fangs, paws clenched around the handle of his spear and looking ready to barge out the door. “I will take Stone-Paw’s army into that forest, find every one of these putrid creatures, and bury them beneath a mountain of spears!”

Lucian however growled and shook his head at the violent proposition. “Have I not made myself clear? Or were you simply not listening to me, Silver-Fang? What you are dealing with are creatures of supernatural abilities; this is not a fight that can be won on numbers alone. These infected changelings bear all the strength and speed of a normal vampire. To simply charge out into the forest looking for them would be suicide.”

“And you have a better idea?” the diamond dog snarled angrily, throwing his arms up in desperation while his golden eyes affixed on the lycan’s blue ones. “I cannot simply sit on my paws and allow my kind to be hunted like this.”

“And with respect, Lucian,” Luna put in firmly as she rose to her hooves, shaking her mass to get the blood flowing back into her tired limbs. “Given what you’ve told me, neither Celestia nor I can simply sit back on our haunches either, especially when there is a chance these changelings will attack innocent ponies next. I saw what they did to you Lucian even with all your strength, and if something like that happened to one of my subjects… I doubt they’d be able to escape.”

The lycan sighed and put a hand to his lips, his mind running over the various options available given the revelations, of which there were very few. He understood Luna’s want to protect her ponies and Silver-Fang’s need to do the same with his kind, but simply running into the forest to try and find the changelings would be crazy. Then there was also the issue of facing them if their hiding place was located; the creatures bore all the abilities of human vampire, and hence even the most battle hardened of ponies or diamond dogs would be at a disadvantage.

Moreover, if open hostility was shown, what was to say the changelings, with their newly gifted fighting strength and hunger for blood, wouldn’t simply launch a counter-invasion? Ponyville and Canterlot, he guessed, would be able to defend themselves in such a situation; given the presence of either three adult dragons or hundreds of royal guards, but the rest of Equestria however, he wasn’t so sure about.

There was however, one more possible option available, one the lycan dreaded to even think about let alone use. The consequences of such an action would be irreversible and no doubt change the face of Equestria forever, and there was also no certainty it would work the way he intended either.

The problem was though that he presently had little choice left, for in Lucian’s mind it was the only effective solution to the dangerous problem that, being located somewhere the in Everfree, was possibly right on both Equestria and Ponyville’s doorstep.

“Alright,” he sighed at last, turning to the two leaders and deciding to bite the silver bullet. “Luna, if you believe you must do something, send out a small group of your guards to explore the forest and nothing more. I have been fighting vampires for centuries and I know what they’re capable of, so trust me when I say you don’t want to anger them and start a war while you’re nation is unprepared.”

He then turned directly to the awaiting grey diamond dog, who was standing with his fangs drawn and his spear held at the ready, obviously prepared to spill changeling blood at the first opportunity. “As for your kind, and you in particular Silver-Fang… I have a proposition.”

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Notes:

Uh, I HATE trying to find time to write during folio week…

Anyway, I've recently gone back and changed the structure of the story chapters (took me two days, but I managed). Also, special thanks to Edragon for pre-reading this chapter.

Chapter 15: First of the Breed

Prior Note: This chapter was written quickly and in the middle of my exam period, so there is a chance I will be editing the content at a later date.

Pre-read by Edragon

Chapter 15: First of the Breed

The diamond dog’s ears instantly flicked back in suspicion at the words, a none too pleasant feeling immediately sprouting in his gut as he looked between the two silent lycans. Diamond dogs like himself were always weary of making deals, usually because most dogs were sour and underpawed when it came to making them, and he wasn’t exactly sure if he trusted Lucian yet either.

“What kind of proposition are we talking about?” he asked sharply as he stepped back a little, golden eyes running over Lucian as he grasped his spear and mildly bared his fangs.

The lycan chewed his lip for a moment, a lone hand pulling at his short beard as he traded looks with the dog. “One that is not to be taken lightly. Silver-Fang, we have established that the changelings have inherited the vampire virus, and as you now know all the traits that come with it. Vampires, as I have told you, fear very little other than sunlight, after all they are extremely strong, fast, and immortal… but the one other thing they do fear, and quite a lot at that… are us, lycans.”

There was silence in the room for a moment as the words hung stagnantly in the air, every pony and dragon present looking between each other for answers to the pale skinned lycan’s riddle-like statement, but finding none whatsoever.

Twilight though, being the ever thinking and analysing mare she was, quickly put the pieces together and understood what he was implying, and once again dropped her pad and quill as her mouth fell and hung agape.

“Lucian… you… you wouldn’t do such a thing?!” she virtually gagged as she took a nervous look between them, the very thought of what he was proposing making her feel physically sick. “That’s just… evil.”

Applejack, being nearest to Lucian and Raze, turned to her friend with an arched eyebrow first, and was quickly joined by the equally confused Princess Luna, Spike, and the other present mares and dragons.

“What’s he sayin' that’s so evil now?” she asked from beneath the brim of her hat, looking between her friend, then Silver-Fang, and finally the two lycans in front of her. “I’m lost here Twi, and I think everypony else is too for that matter.”

The unicorn gulped once before answering. “He wants... t-to turn Silver-Fang into a l-lycan,” she shuddered, barely managing to speak the words.

In an instant, everypony, including Applejack, was looking directly at the lycan in utter horror, their faces set in expressions of what he took to be absolute disgust, while, presumably, images of the diamond dog becoming warped into a beast-like crazed animal filled their minds.

Despite their sizes, and apparent lack of fear of most things smaller than them, the three dragons also looked downright uneasy at Lucian’s unusual proposal, their sword sized fangs half bared to show their uncertainty at the prospect being presented to them.

Fluttershy, though her words came out in barely audible whimpers, was the first to break the silence and speak her opinion. “Y-you wouldn’t d-do such a t-thing, would you Lucian?”

“And Lucian, with all due respect,” Rarity added through her look of terror and the hoof across her lips, glancing sideways at Silver fang like he was half the reason for her distress. “Even the very thought of such a thing… such a creature… is simply revolting on so many levels.”

“I must agree with Fluttershy and Rarity on this, Lucian… you cannot seriously th…” Titan started in a slightly aggressive tone, only to be cut off by the very source of the current issue.

“I accept,” Silver-Fang said suddenly as he stepped forward from his wall, the red dragon’s maw suddenly falling slack, as he and everypony else looked at the diamond dog, who stood with an odd air of honour and certainty about him as he approached the seated lycan. “If what you say is true Lucian, and that such a thing will give me the strength I need to defend my pack from these demons, then I will gladly accept your offer.”

To say the ponies in the room, even Princess Luna, were stunned would have been a total and utter understatement.

They all understood from Lucian’s tales, to varying extents, the extents of the costs that came with being a lycan. As such they just couldn’t wrap their heads around how the dog was taking the choice before him so lightly. It was after all, as Raze had so well stated, virtually a curse.

If Lucian had offered it to any of them, Twilight was sure each and every one of her friends would have declined without a second thought.

Luna, who was still the only pony standing along with the diamond dog, cast him an inquiring glance. “Silver-Fang, although I respect your need to protect your kind… are you sure you want this?”

“I am commander of the Steel Guard princess, if I am not willing to make sacrifices to protect my kind, then I ask who shall?” The diamond dog replied somewhat proudly, and matter-of-factly. “Besides, anything that will help me crush my enemies, the putrid blood-sucking vermin that they are, is worth any cost in my opinion.”

“So you basically want to be turned into a creature of war, just so you can march into the forest, go about killing changelings, and become even more of an uncivilised brute then you already are,” Rarity scoffed, the tension between her and the diamond dog suddenly returning at both his choice of words, and her still seething feelings of disdain.

“Rarity!” Twilight gaped.

It was however far too late, Silver-Fang had already heard the marble white unicorn’s words, and that particular outburst, for the diamond dog, was the last possible straw.

“UNCIVILISED BRUTE?! Why you pathetic little waste of equine hide!” Silver-Fang snapped as he stalked towards her, his burning eyes now affixed straight on Rarity as she nervously, and rapidly, began to back up. “This ‘uncivilised brute’, for your knowledge little pony, is what stands between those changelings and your races total and utter slaughter! So before you start insulting my kind and I, ONCE AGAIN, try and get this into your rock hard skull! My kind are warriors, and have been since the first alphas. We have fought each other, we have fought dragons, we have even fought your kind in the past, and now we are going to fight Changelings! The difference now, you annoying little girly pony, is that we are not fighting for land, or gems, or treasures, we are fighting to protect both our kind and yours from an enemy unlike anything your pathetically peaceful land, and its useless ‘royal guard’, have ever seen! And this is the best, and probably only chance we have at winning that fight! So before you decide to open that annoying little mouth of yours again, little pony, perhaps you should think about why I am doing this!”

Rarity, despite her usual firmness in the face of most dangers and dangerous situations, including those that featured diamond dogs, found herself quivering like a filly under Silver-Fang’s enraged golden glare.

Eventually, after calming down a bit, he snorted and stalked away from her, leaving a group of utterly flabbergasted ponies and dragons in his wake.

After everything did simmer down to a, mostly, calm state, Lucian gingerly got to his feet and faced the diamond dog, standing, as a human, virtually eye to eye with the grey coated canine. “Silver-Fang, this is not just some simple everyday choice, alright… should you accept you will bear lycan immortality, and all the pain that comes with it,” the lycan growled in a dead serious voice, crystal blue eyes meeting the dogs gold ones. “You must be absolutely certain of this, for there is no cure to this virus… and even I am not sure of what will happen to you.”

The diamond dog simply snorted and shook his head. “I am a warrior and protector of my pack, Lucian. Whatever price it takes to defend it, I am willing to pay, and I will repay myself when I bath in the blood of these putrid scum that hunt my race,” he snarled through clenched teeth, the pure amount of venom in his voice strangely sending an uneasy shiver down Lucian’s spine. “Now, what must I do?”

If they weren’t already looking ill from the lycan’s idea, the diamond dog’s words turned just about every cheek in the room a pale shade of green, all of the gathered ponies now getting to their hooves and backing up nervously.

Lucian stood there and looked over the diamond dog for a few moments, his mind trying to clarify the certainty that, despite the consequences that followed, this was a good idea; admittedly it was the best way to counter the changeling threat that now loomed over Equestria, and the diamond dog race in particular, but the creation of a totally new race was not something to be taken lightly, for whatever happened from then on would forever onward fall squarely on his shoulders.

But Silver-Fang had now willingly agreed to his offer, and hence there was no going back.

Lucian took an uneasy glance at Raze and nodded for him to approach; the black lycan in reply quickly standing up, and with a chorus of sickly cracks, growls and snarls shifted into the hulking shape of his lycan form, his steps pounding on the floor as he stalked towards the diamond dog, growls echoing from his throat.

“I suggest you be ready,” Lucian said firmly, momentarily looking over at Luna. “The lycan virus has only ever been passed on to humans, so I’m not sure how a diamond dog’s body will react to it, for all I know he could either shift when night falls like human… or right away like a werewolf.”

Instinctively, Luna nodded, flared her blue wings, moved in front of everypony else in a protective manner like a mother guarding her foal, and lowered her glowing horn towards the three bipeds.

Almost immediately, Twilight in return quickly came to stand beside her princess, her own horn glowing and her magic ready, the lavender unicorn’s face locked in an expression somewhere between total and utter fear and curiosity.

“Silver-Fang, if everything goes as I expect, no matter when it happens, this will not be a pleasant nor easy undertaking,” Lucian continued in a stone cold tone, looking straight at the canine warrior along with Raze, who’s menacing fangs were bared and his maw letting out heavy snarling breaths. “The first shift will be perhaps the most agonizing experience of your entire life, and for a few moments you will probably feel a near uncontrollable urge to tear every living thing around you apart and feed on it. So, unless you want Raze and I to forcefully restrain you, I suggest you listen closely now; focus on something, whether it is something you see or a memory it doesn’t matter, but you need to keep your focus on that one thing, no matter how much pain you’re in. It’s your best chance of not losing control of yourself. Now… are you ready to go through with this?”

“Do what you must,” was the dog’s simple reply, leaning his spear against the wall before removing his twin shoulder plates, the two pieces of armour hitting the floor with metallic clangs. “I am ready.”

Lucian nodded, took a sharp breath in, and allowed his own lycan side to emerge, his bones breaking and reforming in a chorus of sickly snaps and cracks as they enlarged, while his muscles tore apart before rapidly growing back together. It was a feeling he had grown used to over the many years he had lived, and hence the process for him rarely hurt anymore, but he, like every other lycan, had gone through the first shift once upon a time, and he knew exactly how excruciating the pain that awaited Silver-Fang was.

Everypony and dragon else watched on with their breaths held, eyes set purely on the three burly canines as Lucian’s paw reached down and grasped Silver-Fangs wrist, each and every one of them tensing up as he did so.

Gingerly, the snarling lycan pulled it up to his eye level and held it before him, empty black eyes running along the length of the appendage as if he were judging it, all the while Silver-Fang just stood there looking forward like nothing was happening, his rhythm of deep breaths serving to calm his nerves as he stared directly at the door.

And then, without any sign or prior warning, Lucian’s jaw snapped open, and the lycan swiftly sank his pearly white fangs into the dog’s flesh.

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To Silver, the initial bite barely hurt enough to make him flinch, the amount of pain that ran up his furry foreleg the rough equivalent of being sharply pocked with a spear. His only response was to tense up and growl as he felt Lucian’s sharp fangs dig into him like a set of small blades, and feel a near overpowering urge to clench his other paw and slam it into the side of the lycan’s face. Much like he would have done if the situation was a training brawl, and was Lucian a diamond dog.

As quickly as it had started though it was over, the lycan withdrawing his slightly bloody fangs and stepping away, leaving Silver, and all else present, to look between the bite mark and its source in mild confusion.

“Is… that all there i-grrrrGHAAARRAA!!”

That was when he felt it begin to take over, just as Lucian had said it would be mere moments earlier, a surge of pain unlike anything he had ever felt before that ripped through his entire body, like superheated molten steel had been poured inside him, and was now running freely through each and every one of his veins. It felt like every piece of body, every fibre, muscle, and tendon was being forcefully torn and ripped away from itself, while his bones were being snapped in dozens of places at once, and his joints agonizingly wrenched from their rightful limbs and sockets.

All the while wile thoughts began to forcefully drive themselves into the front of his mind, thoughts of ripping and tearing those around him apart and hungrily devouring them, especially the annoying white unicorn who had insulted him; it was as if his mind craved the idea of ripping into a piece of meat, and lusted for the feeling of having hot blood run down his throat, like perhaps the pain would go away if he ate something or somepony.

“Concentrate!” a small part of his mind roared through the storm of pain and agony. “Do not let this consume you!”

He balled his paws and snarled as the virus took over, a series of agonizing guttural screams soon beginning to escape from his throat and fill the small town’s library, no doubt scaring anypony passing by outside. The pure amount of pain was now threatening to break his will and his control, which came from a deadlock concentration on the wooden door before him.

All the while, his limbs, with a series of sickening cracks that chilled the blood of everypony who hadn’t yet either vomited or fainted, began to grow and enlarge at a rapid rate. Looking down at himself, through the burning red agony that tinged his vision, the diamond dog saw his paws no longer resembled basic dexterous appendages to grasp his spear, but rather massive furred fists measuring at least the size of large axe heads, with deadly black claws that could rip apart flesh like it was soft earth.

Before the eyes of Lucian and everypony still standing, the diamond dog suddenly kneeled over on all fours, and a massive furry paw slammed into the floor as he landed, the immense force creating a patchwork of cracks across the surface; they all watched as his shoulder blades cracked, snapped, and widened as they healed, his prior screams now coming out as beast-like feral roars and snarls. Ash instinctively curled his head around Twilight and Spike, and along with Thane and Titan opened his jaws in case his fire was needed.

Eventually, much to the gathered ponies’ slight relief, Silver-Fang’s roars and violent struggles stopped, and were replaced instead by heavy growled breathing as the process of the dog’s first shift finally finished.

The terror of the creature before them though stayed as strong as ever, and perhaps even heightened, as he slowly rose up again, and allowed everypony to see what the first lycan-diamond dog looked like.

Before the ponies, four dragons, and two other lycan’s in the room, was what Lucian guessed was a creature out of the standard pony’s worst possible nightmare or even Tartarus, the Equestrian underworld.

The diamond dog before him was roughly twice as tall as he had started as, and now towered over even Princess Luna; his formerly steel coloured coat now a mixture of black, white and greys, and his muscle mass looking rather close to even that of Raze. His once fairly harmless looking paws were now ended with blade-like black claws, and razor sharp white fangs stuck out from his maw.

What was most prominent though was his eyes, which were no longer a topaz gold, but a deep and seemingly endless black.

“Grrraaa?” he growled incoherently, looking over his new body curiously as he growled aloud to himself, the sudden deep throated sounds causing everypony to yelp slightly. “Grrrr?”

After a tense moment the initial fright passed, and, slowly at first, Princess Luna and Twilight together took a nervous step forward towards him. Everypony else opted to stay put as far from him as possible, other than Rarity and Fluttershy, who had both apparently fainted from shock halfway through the grotesque ordeal.

Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash we’re still somehow standing, though judging from their rather tense facial expressions, it looked like they’d probably be having nightmares for quite a while.

“Silver-Fang?” Luna said a little uneasily, the diamond dog immediately looking up as she came closer, and watching her still flared wings and still glowing horn intently. “Are you… alright now? Can I approach?”

“Grrrra,” was the former dog’s reply with a short nod, his thick shoulders relaxing so he stood calmly as Luna and Twilight looked him over.

It took a few moments, but soon enough, most of the prior and remaining unease melted away into the back of everypony’s minds, allowing the princess and Twilight to creep forward and examine the dog, Lucian and Raze returning to human form and stepping back a little. The unicorn was truly amazed at both what she had just witnessed, and what at she was now seeing before her. Silver-Fang’s muscle mass must have doubled at the very least; his shoulders, hind legs, and forelegs now presented far stockier in comparison to the rest of him, and his jaw line was no longer as flat and bulky as other diamond dogs, but somewhat pointed like that of a timberwolf.

“So Twilight, do you find him scarier than me?” Lucian teased almost casually, causing the diamond dog to growl curiously, and the mare to glare at him and flatten her ears.

“This is… truly unusual,” the princess stated as she walked in slow circles around him, her dark eyes admiring the stature of the newly-created creature before her. “Such changes are beyond anything I’ve ever seen or heard of, even when changelings disguise themselves they stay roughly the same size… though Lucian, I must ask; do you think he can change back as you do?”

“That… is a question only he can answer,” the lycan shrugged unknowingly, drawing odd looks from both mares and the new lycan. “If he’s reacted like a werewolf would, then no, but if he’s like Raze and I, I don’t see why not to be honest… all he should need to do is let go of any aggressive thoughts and feelings, and the change should happen on its own.”

“That’s it… he just needs to… relax?” Twilight asked sceptically with another flick of her pointed ears, prompting a collective rolling of eyes from everypony else.

Lucian glanced momentarily over at Raze, and then shrugged again along with his old friend. “A lycan’s shift is brought on through their emotions, when we become angry or defensive of someone, we turn into wolves, and when we relax again the opposite occurs, that’s the best explanation I can personally give you… for all I know it could be related to anything from our heart rates to the amount of adrenaline released… I’m only a lycan Twilight.”

Twilight stomped and pouted, her need for knowledge getting the better of her. “Hmmf, there’s got to be some explanation…”

“I think that can wait for now, little pony Twilight.”

The unicorn, along with her normally stoic faced ruler, friend, and princess, just about jumped out of their fur coats as they heard Silver-Fang’s voice. Together they instantly spun around and faced the former-dog-now-lycan, only to find he was no longer the towering lycan menace he had been moments prior, but rather had returned to his original size and stature; his forelegs folded across his chest, and an annoying smirk displayed proudly across his face.

“You… but… I didn’t hear anything!”

“A shift from lycan to human, or in his case lycan to diamond dog, is usually much quieter and less painful then it’s prior,” Raze laughed somewhat awkwardly, sounding a little amused at the colorful equines fright. “How are you feeling?”

“To be honest, I am… not entirely sure,” Silver-Fang growled, scratching the top of his head with a paw. “That blasted pain is mostly gone, thank my ancestors, but I feel as if there is this foreign urge in my mind, like something other than me is saying I want to eat something… something meaty.”

Everypony present and awake gasped and hurriedly stepped away from the diamond dog, while the three present adult dragons each let out menacing growls and showed their large fangs. Lucian though just shook his head.

“Those are the normal and natural urges that accompany being a lycan Silver-Fang, they will regrettably never truly be gone, but they aren’t very hard to control either. I suggest though that you should hunt at least once a week, otherwise your healing rate will suffer, and you yourself risk attacking an innocent.”

Gingerly stepping closer he ran his eyes over the newest addition to the lycan race, who despite the immense amount of pain he had gone through, also seemed pleased with the results of their agreement and Lucian’s ‘gift’.

The world’s oldest lycan admitted the results were more than he had hoped for, and would’ve been lying if he said he wasn’t glad to have another member of his race around, but Silver-Fang’s change had raised a new thought in his mind, one which related directly to the very threat that had brought about the need for his transformation from diamond dog to lycan.

“So it can be done it seems… and now what?” he murmured to himself.

The issue currently plaguing his mind, as he looked over Silver-Fang, was the very fact he had created a lycan, and in doing so had to the purest and truest extent brought the ancient and bloody war to an otherwise peaceful land, a land of harmony ruled by the one he now loved dearly.

There was, however, another side to his present thought about the new lycan.

Silver-Fang was a start and a good one at that, but the vampires, whoever they were, had done the same as he had on a much larger scale, and were apparently far more concerned with using the changelings to bring Equestria to its knees then bringing about peace, and now a threat loomed over the land that could only be stopped in one way.

Three lycans would not be enough to either stop the changelings or protect Luna’s, and his in a way as her lover's, little ponies, for that he needed an army.

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Chapter 16: The Best of Limited Options

Chapter 16: The Best of Limited Options

Pre-read/Edited by: Edragon

“Are you actually serious about this?” Thane asked with a slight tilt of his massive head. “No offense or anything Lucian, but diamond dogs… well, they aren’t exactly known to be the most level-headed of races, even at the best of times.”

“To be honest, I’m far from sure,” the pale lycan sighed deeply, drumming his fingers against the smooth timber beneath his palm. “But what choice do we have? A threat now lies at our very doorstep Thane. Besides, they cannot truly be that thick skulled, can they?”

The green dragon just snorted in return. “Trust me Lucian, I’ve had my fair share of encounters and experiences with them.”

Lucian stood leaning against the elegant wooden railing of Twilight’s balcony, the lycan feeling the hard timber fibres run under his fingers as the force Thane’s heavy breathing, along with the heat and smell that accompanied it, ran across his face. For the last half an hour he had stood there and pondered what to do next, everypony else having gone their separate ways; Luna had left for Canterlot to warn her sister of their nation’s threat, and Raze had taken Silver-Fang for a hunting lesson in the depths of the Everfree forest.

Since then, Thane and Twilight had been his main and only sources of company and conversation, seeing as Dash had afternoon weather duty commitments, and Ash had taken Spike off on a gem hunt for the day; they were ones he had eventually come to explain his rough plan to, though their reactions were, unfortunately, far from supportive of his idea thus far.

The lycan was slowly pulling at his short black beard with a free hand as he spoke, the warmth of Celestia’s midday sunlight washing over his pale skin, and his crystal blue eyes all the while wandering out over the peaceful and quaint town of Ponyville. As he thought, his sharp gaze slowly wound its way through the sprawling equine settlement, then to the surrounding green fields and apple tree orchards that lay on its far rims, and finally to the rolling cluster of rocky and untamed mountains that rose above the distant horizon; said mountains, and the creatures that dwelled within their dark caverns below the surface, were the current issue in his debate with the green dragon and lavender unicorn.

“Ugh, Lucian, look… going out there, warning them, and maybe asking for peace and an alliance is one thing, but what you’re proposing…” Thane growled with a frustrated snort, twin tails of black smoke rising from his snout. “It’s crazy, probably even bordering on insane,”

“Not to mention you’d be going against a millennia old custom of theirs,” Twilight put in without looking up from her reading, the unicorn seated comfortable in the shade of a nearby branch, and presently flicking through a book on diamond dog history. “Silver-Fang may be the commander of the steel guard, but from what I can gather here, the unit itself has always fallen under the direct control of the pack’s alpha male, kind of like a royal guard almost…”

“And you just marching over there, and asking him if you can turn his personal warriors into a legion of lycans… probably won’t go down too well.” Thane finished bluntly, an undeniable tone of distaste in his thunderous voice.

Lucian groaned, and rolled his eyes in reply to the slight insult. “If this turns to war, which it probably will in the end, it’s the only way any of us will have a fighting chance against these beasts. Equestria isn’t a nation of military strength you two, no doubt you both remember how well the royal guard coped during Shining Armor’s wedding?”

The young adult dragon gave another unamused snort while Twilight nervously bit her lip, but taking a glance over his shoulder and judging their facial expressions, Lucian knew his words had hit home for them both.

“And may I remind you both those were normal changelings,” he continued matter-of-factly, turning to face his two uneasy friends directly. “The ones we’re up against now bear unnatural strength, speed, and carry a vicious thirst for any kind of blood they can get.”

“We know that already Lucian, you told us all earlier.” Twilight said with a scold, a shiver running down her back as she remembered the lycan’s disturbing tale. “But how does that change the fact that your plan can’t work?”

“It can work Twilight, the diamond dogs know they’re under threat from these things; Silver-Fang even said they’ve lost some of their own already in tunnel ambushes, ambushes which will no doubt become more frequent in the coming days and weeks, so with all due respect, I cannot see why they’d be so against me giving them the means to fight back.”

“Because you’d be going against the diamond dog way of life!” she retorted as she slapped her book shut, causing both Lucian and Thane to first glance worriedly at each other and then stare at the frustrated unicorn. “Ugh, think about what you’re saying Lucian! The diamond dog pack itself has always held the alpha in the highest possible regard, but as the elite of the pack, who happen to also serve under the alpha directly, the steel guard take that devotion to a whole different level. They will only ever obey his order and his order alone, and they’ll never openly challenge his judgement or his authority. Yet you insist that you can walk in and convince them to change loyalties?”

Within a moment Lucian regretted getting into an argument with the mare, for she was quickly up on her hooves, and pacing in wide circles around the balcony, picking apart every flaw with his plan, and as he was now beginning to realize...there were many; and evidently more as she continued on while he and Thane just stared at her.

“But that’s only the first part of the problem, the other issue is the alpha, named Stone-Paw according to Silver-Fang, himself; he more than likely won’t be too happy with what you’re proposing Lucian, if anything he’d see it as suspicious, or maybe even hostile… I mean, it’s almost like a griffin just approaching Princess Celestia out of the blue, and asking her if he could just take control of the royal guard.”

Lucian groaned and rubbed his temples, despite the fact he didn’t like what the mare was saying, she had a good point; Luna had mentioned the alpha’s orders were never questioned, since he was considered and respected as the strongest dog and best possible leader of the pack. Given the entire race had completely and utterly retreated from pony society, and into the depths of the mountains, at his word a few centuries past, there was very little chance an outsider like himself could sway even a single dog, let alone the entire steel guard.

“So this alpha figure commands absolute power then huh?” Lucian growled, a hand now scratching at his beard once again as he pondered. “You know, Luna mentioned to me the most powerful dog rules the pack… Twilight, do you believe I could challenge Stone-Paw for the title of alpha male?”

“WHAT!?” both the dragon and unicorn cried in unison, prompting the formerly composed lycan to snarl and cover his ringing ears, and few passing ponies below to glance up curiously at the balcony.

“Are you actually crazy?! Of course you can’t!” Twilight snorted as her furious pacing resumed, now looking even more frustrated than she had before. “Firstly, in case you haven’t noticed already, you are not a diamond dog Lucian! Secondly, you’re closely connected with Princess Luna of Equestria…”

Thane couldn’t help but curiously raise an eyebrow at the statement. “Ok, Umm, yeah, Twilight… I get the first part, about him not being a diamond dog and all… but what exactly does that have to do with anything?”

“Ugh! Thane! If Lucian were to… somehow… become the diamond dog’s alpha male, most would see him as puppet controlled by the princess,” she scolded as she face-hoofed again. “Can either of you really see the diamond dogs accepting her as their ruler? Given diamond dogs and ponies have been at total cultural odds with each other for centuries.”

“Quite the opposite,” Lucian grunted in distaste, annoyed at once again realizing she had a very valid point.

“The very notion of having a pony in power of the diamond dogs could even lead to all-out war!” Twilight added matter-of-factly.

That’s when Thane said something, although more than likely just for a joke in his mind, which suddenly changed everything.

“You know… we could always just have Silver-Fang challenge the alpha.”

Twilight literally stopped pacing mid-stride with a front hoof in the air, and Lucian was caught with a hand midway through his locks of black hair, both of them slowly turning their heads towards the dragon, and staring at him in absolute disbelief; the lavender unicorn’s jaw working up and down a few times while the lycan’s thought pattern was left shattered, rendering him unable to do more than just stand there in silence.

“W-What?” Twilight managed to get out eventually.

“Well, think about it Twi, normally Silver-Fang wouldn’t dare question the alpha right? Since he’s a member of the steel guard and all,” the dragon went on, sounding a little embarrassed at suddenly being the centre of attention. “But now he’s also a lycan, so... in a way... his loyalty no longer lies solely with the alpha male… instead it’s now kind of split between Lucian as the leader of the lycans, and Stone-Paw as the diamond dog’s leader, you see what I’m getting at here?”

“Umm… kind of… I think,” Twilight blushed, the redness in her purple cheeks prompting Lucian to grin.

“It means that if Stone-Paw didn’t like Lucian’s strategy, Silver-Fang could instead challenge him for the right to rule the pack… and if Silver-Fang were to become alpha, he could allow Lucian to convert the steel guard without challenge, plus they’d be more than willing since their new alpha would be a lycan anyway.”

For a moment, both the seven centuries old lycan master, and studious intellectual unicorn, just stood there and stared at Thane in total and utter amazement; out of the three dragons who he had come to know, Lucian had always seen Thane as the least serious, and perhaps the last one to be able to ever come up with a decently logical chain of thought, and now in ten seconds flat he had been made to eat his words by the green dragon.

“You... but... how?” Twilight stuttered finally, holding a hoof to her temple, and vigorously shaking her head in an effort to pull her jumbled mind back together.

Thane just laughed and smiled smugly, showing off his rows upon rows of pearl white fangs. “I have my moments,” He grinned. “But, Lucian, your plan more or less hinges on Silver-Fang liking your idea... I mean, I’m pretty sure he will since he’s a lycan now too, but...”

The lycan waved a hand dismissively. “I understand what you’re saying Thane, my plan is... drastic... amongst other things, but we’ll see..."

"Yeah, who knows, maybe that fur ball will be some use after all," Thane chuckled as he rolled his eyes, his action prompting his two fellows to do the same.

"I will never fully understand you, Thane," Lucian smirked as he rubbed his brow. "Anyway, I’ve been meaning to ask you something... who out you, Titan, and Ash is the fastest flyer?”

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“Much more of this and the treasury will be left bit-less,” Celestia sighed aloud to herself, her eyes running over the unrolled parchment before her as a hoof rubbed her aching temple.

Gingerly, she set the parchment down on the floor with all the others, and took a moment to simply close her eyes, sit there in total silence, and try and catch her breath for once. For the entirety of her day thus far, the alabaster alicorn had found herself locked in her chambers looking over the requests and suggestions, most of which she found ludicrous, put to her in light of the changeling attack.

And to say it was taking a toll on her would’ve been a vast understatement.

She didn’t really dislike the task, so to speak; it was, after all her subjects simply voicing their own opinions on how their land could be better defended, a matter Celestia was glad they shared her concern in. No, the main reason behind her current sour mood and bought of annoyance, was that she was trying to read through a decently large pile of suggestions all on her own, courtesy of her little sister presently being elsewhere.

She figured she knew exactly where.

Despite her mood and frustration with her sister, however, she couldn’t help but feel a small bit of relief in the back of her mind as she looked around her lavish room, and remembered how her younger sibling once seemed content to garrison herself in her own. Ever since Luna return from her thousand years of imprisonment, she had been distrusted, shunned, and even feared in every town and city bar Ponyville; even in Canterlot her presence was often regarded as dangerous by the common ponies. As a result, Luna had elected to hide herself away in the palace or her chambers, not even daring to come out and show a single hair or bit of hide at the Grand Galloping Gala, nor any other formal event for that matter.

All the while Celestia had been forced to watch her younger sibling sink deeper into sadness and despair, and find herself believing she would never be truly welcome in Equestria ever again.

Within the last week though, all of that had swiftly and dramatically changed, thanks to the presence of a certain lycan in the night alicorn’s life; how Lucian had so easily been able to coax Luna out of the shadows, Celestia wasn’t entirely sure as of yet, but to simply see her sister happy for once was enough to reassure her.

“I will never truly understand you, dear sister,” the white alicorn sighed, a small smile growing across her marble muzzle. “You are an alicorn and the immortal ruler of the night, and yet I now find you prancing around Lucian like an excited school-filly.”

She dared think that, with time, where that road would lead.

Before her thoughts could progress any further, or her eyes return to the parchment that lay in her hooves, a loud clatter of hooves echoed from the hallway outside. This was followed quickly by the banging sound of her golden knocker being beaten against her chamber door, and the voice of the very pony who had previously been occupying her mind.

“Tia! Open this door! We must speak at once!”

The white alicorn giggled to herself and rolled her eyes. “Though your bossiness never seems to change Lulu,” She smirked, her horn glowing as she released her former lock spell.

Within a heart beat the heavy door was violently swung open as the night princess entered, revealing to a surprised Celestia the form of her younger sister trotting in through the arched doorway, and for some reason looking the furthest from pleased. Three rather uneasy looking solar royal guards followed hastily in toe of the dark alicorn, surprisingly, including the stocky unicorn first lieutenant, and current acting guard captain in Shining Armor’s absence, Iron Lance.

Celestia’s brow furrowed slightly as she glanced between him and her sister. “Luna, two things if you will; firstly, why exactly were you not present this morning? And secondly, may I ask why my royal guards look so on edge?”

Despite the seriousness of the situation she had found herself in, Luna couldn’t help but feel her cheeks sting as they glossed red with embarrassment, the recent memory of waking up in the spare room of Ponyville library, and finding herself gently held in Lucian’s embrace, quickly finding its way to the forefront of her mind.

“I… well,” she stammered weakly as she played with her hooves, only to find her sister now smirking at her, and the royal guards looking between the two alicorns in confusion. “Ehem, we will discuss that matter later Tia, for now we have far more pressing issues to address.” She said at last, the new firmness in her royal voice almost causing the guards to cringe.

Celestia’s eyebrow rose a little, the dark tone in her sisters voice already causing worry to sprout in her gut. “What sort of issues, sister?”

The night black alicorn’s face went as hard as stone, and her eyes darkened with supressed fury. “Issues of diamond dogs, changelings, and vile monsters, Celestia… and of war.”

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Author's Note

Hmmmm, Freelancer didn’t add any A/N’s this time...I’ll just type some stuff here and see if he notices. :rainbowwild: (yes I did memorize several of the icon commands :facehoof:)

Let’s see...I’m Edragon. I edit stuff for him sometimes...uh...well if you see anything I missed please point it out in a comment headed with: EDRAGON YOU DUMMY HOW COULD YOU MISS THIS?!

(Freelancer) Edragon wh… you know what, never mind, I’m too tired (falls asleep at laptop). :facehoof: Anyway, I’ve been playing with the idea of lycan ponies (lyquine?); most of the opinions thus far have been in support of the idea, but more are welcome and appreciated.

Chapter 17: Crafty Lycan, Angry Dragon

Prior Note: Just a heads up, this is the last building/non-gore chapter for a while. Yay!
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Chapter 17: Crafty Lycan, Angry Dragon

Pre-read/Edited by: Edragon

“Do we know if everypony is present?” Celestia asked, taking a moment to glance down at the guard walking along beside her.

The white stallion just shrugged his shoulders unknowingly. “I know vice-captain Iron Lance is present, your majesty. However, I cannot say anything in regards to the other commanders or regents,” the royal guard replied, his face not revealing a hint of emotion. “With all due respect, princess, this meeting has been called rather abruptly.”

“Given what we have just learned, sergeant, it is necessary,” Luna said as she joined her sister.

Celestia sighed as the sound of voices greeted her from down the hallway, the alicorn momentarily closing her eyes in an effort to control her growing headache.

“Are you alright Tia?” Luna asked, noticing the scowl that crossed her older siblings face.

The solar ruler couldn’t help but groan and flick her ears back. “I have the threat of a changeling attack to deal with, a country I now need to prepare for possible war, the issue of an apparent re-emergence of the diamond dogs, and on top of it all I have to deal with you know who,” she grumbled coarsely, a shoed hoof loudly meeting the floor as she showed her annoyance. “Ugh, sometimes Luna... I truly envy your ability to simply not get out of bed in the morning.”

Her remark earned Celestia a silent glare from her younger sister.

“You could always give me the sun for a while, I promise I’d give it back,” Luna retorted with a grin after a moment, causing Celestia to chuckle slightly as they continued down the hall.

Within a few more moments they had reached their destination; said destination being the arched doorway leading to a small chamber built into one of the walls, tucked away deep within the winding marble corridors of the palace as far away from prying eyes as possible. This particular chamber, as Celestia knew all too well, was constantly presided over by two unicorn guards, and always locked for good measure. Surprisingly, if her memory served her right, it hadn’t actually been used since the last border scuffle with the Griffin Kingdoms, and that had been nearly a hundred and thirty years ago.

Still, Celestia felt a hundred and thirty years wasn’t nearly long enough.

This particular chamber was commonly referred to as the ‘War Room’, as it was where every royal decision, in regards to military operations during times of conflict, had been made since the construction of Canterlot as Equestria’s capital.

Within the room lay a wide variety of things that had been stored away across the centuries, all of them solely related to the matter of conflict including: signed peace treaties, records of battles from past wars, defensive layouts of Equestria’s major cities, and even emergency decree’s for the raising of taxes during times of hostility; hence the need for the royal guards’ constant presence.

It was the room's very purpose that caused Celestia to grind her teeth at as she neared it; she truly and utterly loathed the room’s very existence. For her, it brought back nothing but vile and haunting memories; memories of the various times of brutal bloodshed that had come about through the ages since Equestria’s birth, and yet, like so many things, it was a necessary evil, and a place she regrettably found herself forced to return to every other century.

“But I’m going to miss my grooming!” a stallion’s voice whined from up ahead, the obnoxious noise breaking Princess Celestia’s silent reminiscence. “Just look at the state of my coat! It’s despicable!”

“Ugh! Just stop complaining you arrogant foal; do you actually want everypony else's ears to start bleeding?” snorted an older stallion’s voice loudly in return. “The only thing that’s despicable around here is your Tartarus damned attitude!”

“Why you!...”

The princess of the sun couldn’t help but groan at the two voices. “This is not going to be a very pleasant morning,” she thought bitterly.

Gathered just outside the doorway as she saw, along with the two constant pair of door guards, were six other ponies; each of them bearing high rank and status in the Equestrian Court, as well as representing a faction of either the Equestrian population or the royal guard.

The first four were all members of the royal guard, one standing in for each individual wing, while the other two ponies represented the nobility and civilian populations respectively.

The first pony was the stallion Iron Lance, the middle-aged first lieutenant of the Canterlot royal guard, and the commander of the unicorn detachment in Shining Armor’s temporary absence. Beside him stood the heavily built earth pony Gate Breaker, a renowned guard veteran who’s back leg strength made his name more akin to a title of reputation. Nearby, a younger royal guard named Storm Flash, the recently appointed commander of the pegasus air battalion, was conversing with Star Chaser, the cocky bat-winged pegasus pony who oversaw Luna’s night guard detachment.

Rather regrettably, one of the remaining two ponies was Prince Blueblood of all individuals, who was, as Celestia knew all too well, standing in for the members of the Equestrian nobility, a responsibility he often bore rather poorly in Celestia’s personal opinion.

The last pony was Fancy Pants, a white coated unicorn who, despite being the wealthiest and most well-known stallion in all of Canterlot, had always admitted to having a soft spot for the common pony, and had as such been picked as a fitting representative for the civilian populous some years prior... If only Celestia could say the same for her nephew. They would, after all, be the ones feeding Equestria's war machine with their bits, and hence deserved at least some say.

“Please stay and guard the doors, sergeant,” the marble alicorn said tensely, pausing for a moment as the two already present guard’s bowed to her, and she inclined her head in return.

The stallion nodded once before silently moving aside, and taking his rightful place beside his two lower ranking comrades, all of them wearing the same blank expression as their trained eyes began scanning the desolate hallway for activity. All the while, the other ponies had turned their attention to the two rulers, some blank faced, some smiling coyly, and some, or rather Blueblood alone, looking annoyed at having been forced to be present.

“Greetings to you all,” Celestia said as she smiled, her muzzle, despite the severity of the situation, wearing its renowned motherly smile. “Firstly, please forgive me for calling you all on such short notice, and to a place such as this as well.”

“It’s always a pleasure to be in both your presences, majesties,” Fancy Pants said bashfully, inclining his head in a show of respect. “Though I must admit, I am personally quite surprised to find a place of such an… unusual name… exists in your palace; I take it that this particular chamber is rarely spoken of?”

“Damn right Fancy, long time since this place has been spoken of, even longer since it’s been used, ain’t that right Celestia?” Gate Breaker remarked gruffly, the heavily built stallion smirking as he ran his eyes over the door’s woodwork. “My guess is that if you’re calling us here on such short notice, then things have gone downhill somewhat then huh?”

“How dare you talk to my aunt in such a way!” Blueblood snapped as he stamped his hoof. “First myself and now my aunt, we are your rulers and you are but a common soldier, and hence you should address us as such! Do you somehow lack the ability to absorb that fact?”

Celestia tried to resist the urge to face-hoof as she watched her nephew’s ego, once again, erupt into a public display; she managed, but only just.

“Calm yourself, Blueblood, now is neither the time nor the place for this,” Celestia sighed through her clenched muzzle. “Besides, what Gate Breaker says is true.”

All eyes quickly shifted from the self-obsessed prince to her.

“It is?” Gate Breaker asked.

“H-he is?!” Blueblood choked out.

“That… is unfortunately the case, the changeling situation has indeed escalated... drastically,” Luna answered for her sister, her words earning her what seemed to be a nod and an amused snort from the armored earth pony.

“Heh, for four generation’s my family’s been in the guard, and I end up being the only unlucky bastard to get dragged into a war then eh?” Gate Breaker laughed, his remark drawing chuckles and face-hoofs from his fellow royal guards, and raised eyebrows from the two regal unicorns beside them.

“You don’t sound too disappointed, Gate,” Storm Flash sighed as his left hoof met his forehead.

“Me? Na, I ain’t disappointed Flash, personally, I’d like to do nothing better than to squash a few of those bugs under my hooves; made us all look like a herd of idiots last time, they did.”

Although she let the laughter before her carry on for a few moments, Celestia felt she shouldn’t have, especially given the circumstances they were all being faced with; here were the leaders of the royal guards carrying on like a group of school colts in a state of ignorant bliss; bliss both gladly and regrettably caused by both Equestria’s lack of war experience in the last century, as well as their own inexperience in the field of combat. They had never truly seen open war before, never witnessed grassy fields awash with red mud where the blood and earth had become one, never laid eyes on a plain covered in hundreds of dead warriors from both sides, but those were the things that accompanied true war.

As her horn glowed, and she released the century old locking spell that bound the war-room’s heavy door, Celestia silently assumed one thing which pained her deeply; of everypony living in Equestria in this modern age and time, only she, Luna, Lucian, and perhaps Raze knew what truly awaited them, everypony else would be near completely unprepared.

“Where ever you are Chrysalis, damn you for making me do this,” Celestia sighed under her breath once more and approached the door.

The white alicorn then gingerly reached forward, pushed the heavy door open, and together with Luna and everypony else, walked inside the ancient chamber to prepare for a war.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Ow! AJ!” Thane growled as his massive head swung back. “Kindly do me a favour and stop trying to pull my scales out!” he snapped as twin smoke trails floated from his flaring nostrils.

“Well then do yourself a favour and just hold still, ya’ oversized scaly varmint,” the amber pony snorted in return, her muzzle half full of the rope she was pulling on. “Sweet Celestia, and here I was thinking that tying Applebloom’s darn bow was a mighty big pain in the flank.”

Her remark drew a distasteful growl from Thane as he turned away, as well as a few amused snorts from Lucian and Silver-Fang, the two presiding lycans patiently standing back a few meters away, and watching as the scene unfolded.

Silver-Fang sniggered with an arched eyebrow. “Well, Lucian my friend, this plan of yours… I’m not entirely sure I can call it good...” he grinned, a blood matted grey paw gingerly scratching at his pointed chin. “...But I can definitely call it out there.”

Lucian, in return, just chuckled and shrugged his broad shoulders. “Even I wouldn’t go as far as calling it a good plan,” he said in amusement, his blue eyes following the golden-eyed gaze of the diamond dog beside him. “Rather… the only plan that has a chance of not ending in disaster, I suppose.”

His statement caused Silver-Fang to momentarily give him a sort of ‘are you joking?’ kind of look, while the metallic grey dog’s eyebrow simultaneously managed to rise further up his face, and Thane gave off what sounded to be yet another sarcastic snort.

The numerous dense groves of apple trees which covered Sweet Apple Acres, as Lucian had found out first hand on his initial visit to the farm, were strangely comfortable to lean against whilst conversing, though currently he wished he could say the same for the present situation itself. After sensing their presences as they returned from their hunting lesson, Lucian and Twilight had summoned everyone out to the southern apple orchard, to both meet up with Silver-Fang and Raze, and finalize the plan, though the group now lacked Pinkie Pie due to work commitments, as well as Ash and Spike.

Personally, Lucian didn’t completely mind Pinkie’s absence too much; he’d seen a lot of strange things in his long lifetime, but she, somewhat ironically, took the cake for being the strangest.

Lucian had chosen the desolate location for two reasons, firstly because having the two lycans come back into Ponyville, in the middle of the day and most likely covered in the dried blood of their prior meals seemed a rather poor idea... lest of course he wished to see everypony screaming and running away as fast as their hooves allowed. As it had turned out, both of them had emerged from the Everfree’s darkness exactly as predicted, in that they literally looked like they'd fallen into a tub of red paint.

Secondly, Applejack’s farm carried the most plentiful supply of rope in all of Ponyville, as Thane had quickly found out to his detriment upon Lucian revealing the final part of his plan.

“It’s sounding more disastrous by the second, Lucian, if you ask me,” the green dragon growled from where he was standing. “And might I just add I’m not exactly looking forward to having my hide filled with spear points.”

Thane’s words only served to amuse the two lycans further, while his apparent frustration triggered a few smirks and laughs from the various ponies seated on the ground around him, and a chorus of hearty laughter from Titan; the green dragon quickly found his jaw clenching tightly as his head dropped in further humiliation.

“Well, like it or not Thane, you’ve definitely gotten yourself roped into this, haven’t you?” Titan said between his thunderous chuckles.

His humour died a little though when both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy turned around and glared disapprovingly at him.

Thane ground his fangs and swung his tail in further annoyance. “I swear Titan, if I hear one more pathetic one-liner out of you…” he growled angrily at his old friend, the apple green dragon grating his ivory claws across the earth to show he wasn’t particularly enjoying being laughed at. “Grrr! You know what Lucian, if you weren’t cosy with Princess Luna, I’d eat you for this.”

“If you’re hung up about the reigns Thane, trust me when I say they’re really not that big a deal,” Rainbow Dash smiled, flying up to his face in an effort to calm him down. “I mean, just think about it, we all wear saddles during winter, and Big Mac’s always wearing that draft collar of his...”

“Uh, Rainbow dear,” Rarity chimed in tentatively. “I should remind you that neither saddles nor collars carry the... innuendo... that reigns do.”

Her sudden lack of words, coupled with the crimson blush that spread across her face, only earned Rainbow Dash a curious look from the young male she called her partner.

“... Yeeeaaah, I’m gonna stop talking now.”

Although he didn’t dare voice his thoughts, Thane knew what she was talking about, and was now wishing more than ever he’d lied back at the library, and told Lucian that Titan was the faster flyer.

The reason being, as he guessed he should have foreseen when Lucian had asked him earlier, was that he was now being expected to put his wings where his mouth was. In other words, basically fly up to the front gates of the diamond dog tunnels, something no sane dragon would ever even think of doing, and then twiddle his claws as the two lycans did their thing with the dog’s alpha.

He wasn’t exactly looking forward to that experience, but that wasn’t the only source of his bad mood.

Titan’s massive tail, despite Thane being utterly annoyed at him, continued to flick from side to side in amusement, the source of said amusement being the make-shift rope harness that now encompassed Thane’s upper half, which the now giggling pair of Applejack and Twilight were securing around his front legs and shoulders; all the while Thane was constantly twisting, shaking, and fidgeting in an effort to get comfortable in it, though to no avail other than either annoying or amusing the two mares.

“If I ever have to do something like this again, Celestia forbid that day, I’m getting something proper made,” he sighed in defeat as he ran his green eyes over the rough apparatus. “This thing is about as comfortable to wear as sulphur is to breath.”

The harness was, to give a rather blunt description, nothing more than long lengths of Applejack’s brown farm rope tied together to give Lucian and Silver-Fang something to hold on to. The main loop, which formed the harness’s centrepiece, encircled the base of Thane’s neck. From there, two untethered lines ran straight back to form crude neck reins for the lycans to hold, while two larger ropes ran down over the dragon’s chest, looped around each of his shoulders, and then finally circled his girth just behind his front legs, hence stopping any major rotation of the neck loop in the event of one of them falling off.

Finally, a layer of tough green fabric, courtesy of the ever generous Rarity, had been cut to size, laid across Thane’s back, and secured underneath the girth line, thus separating the dragon’s hard apple green scales and the two soon-to-be-rider’s soft skin.

As he leaned on his now returned spear, and admired the strange sight before him, Silver-Fang had to admit these ponies could be both efficient, and rather creative, when they put their minds to it.

“It is not hard to see why their race is so advanced, eh?” the diamond dog yawned lazily to his counterpart. “They are very smart for such small creatures, kind of makes me realize why they would call us dogs uncivilised.”

“You’re telling me,” Lucian grinned in agreement. “Twilight just about tore my original plan apart when I talked it over with her.”

“Uh-huh... you know Lucian, this idea of yours... well, it seems fairly sound in my opinion, at least under normal circumstances,” Silver-Fang said, the bloody paw still pulling at his chin as he admired and inspected Twilight and Applejack’s hoofwork closely. “Though I am far from sure Stone-Paw will see you eye-to-eye on the matter; I didn’t discuss this with you earlier, for I had no reason to mention it, but Stone-Paw is somewhat... uh, Twilight Sparkle, what is that strange pony word for one who always thinks they’re under attack?”

The unicorn stopped what she was doing, and momentarily glanced over her shoulder at him. “Um… paranoid?” she answered.

“Paranoid… hmm, yes, I think you could call him that.”

“Twilight and I discussed that as his presumable reaction earlier,” Lucian stated, the lycan’s own hand pulling at one of his stray black locks. “But I believed that in light of both of our situations, he’d at least be able to see where we’re coming from; you think otherwise?”

Silver-Fang sighed and shrugged, his two metal shoulder guards giving off small chinks with the action. “As I said, under normal circumstances that would be the case, but Stone-Paw... well, hmmf, how can I put this? In my experience with him... he often sees threats where there are none to be seen,” he explained as every pony, lycan, and dragon all fixed their eyes on him in curiosity.

The tone in his rough voice sounded surprisingly cold.

“B-but isn’t that, um, natural?” Fluttershy asked, the butter yellow pegasus quickly stepping back towards Titan when Silver-Fang looked her way. “I-I mean, aren’t alpha males supposed to look out for the rest of their pack?”

“Yes, he is wary in regards to the pack as a whole, as one would expect, but more so himself, and to a fair extent more as it were, probably far more so than any of the alphas before him. If I’m to be honest with you all, and you especially Lucian… and again, I’m only going on my own experiences here, but he’d likely think you’d have a hidden motive of some kind... that’s basically what he thinks about most dogs that approach him with proposals.”

Almost every pony and dragon present let out a small ‘Huh?’ at the dogs words, and quickly found themselves looking between each other for guidance; trust between two ponies was one of the quintessential aspects of Equestrian society, while a dragon’s pride in turn would never allow them to be deceitful to another dragon, and the respective leaders of both races were supposed to be seen as examples of such ideals.

How exactly an entire race could function when its leader, of all individuals, didn’t trust his own subjects, was beyond any of them.

“Ok, let me get this straight; you’re basically saying that he’d think Lucian was trying to… stab him in the back... or something like that?” Rainbow Dash asked, the formerly aerial pegasus perching herself between Thane’s massive shoulders. “Even though he’s pretty much the one who sent you to come ask us for help in the first place?”

“In short, yes.”

Raze, though quietly so no-one else would hear, couldn’t help but let out an unsavoury snort, and dig his fingers into the bark of the apple tree he was leaning against; the giant lycan remembered all too well a certain black haired vampire regent whom he and Lucian once similarly trusted, although his motives had resulted in both their downfalls.

“Wow,” Dash went on, the cyan mare frowning, and sounding vastly unimpressed. “No offense, but I think paranoid is a pretty big understatement when it comes to this guy.”

Lucian himself sighed and rubbed his temples as he contemplated his companion’s words. “You really think he’d react like that?”

“To be honest with you, knowing Stone-Paw as I do, I am quite certain he would think like that,” the diamond dog commander growled, his right paw tightening on the shaft of his spear. “The fact that you’re asking for control of the entire Steel Guard, in the name of a pony princess no less, not to mention we’d be flying in on a damn dragon... well, uh, that kind of thing would make any diamond dog suspicious of your intentions, let alone an alpha like Stone-Paw.”

Lucian and Raze glanced at each other, shared a puzzled shrug, and then both turned back Silver-Fang. “Surely he has some sense of reason?” Raze asked, stepping out from the shade of his tree, and taking his place beside Lucian. “We are all being faced with a war, after all.”

“Reason? Bah! He is so… paranoid, as these ponies say… that there is a saying about him that is whispered amongst the Steel Guard members as a joke, though I would think it far too offensive for these female ponies to hear.”

The diamond dog’s off-hand statement, coupled with his sudden bad mood, caused two lycan eyebrows to raise, two dragon maws to curl up and snarl in mild distaste, and more than a few sets of pony ears to flatten back in insult.

“Ya’ know, for somepony you’re apparently supposed to see as your top dog.” Applejack said at last, the amber farm pony speaking as she removed her hat, and shook her face free of a few drops of sweat. “You don’t seem to think of him as a very ripe apple.”

“Indeed,” Rarity added, the alabaster unicorn poshly pointing her nose in the air. “We’d never even think of either Princess Celestia or Luna in such a degrading way, much less voice such opinions.”

Silver-Fang, to everypony’s utter surprise, suddenly snarled loudly and balled his paws into tight fists when Rarity finished talking, the thick muscles in his back, arms, and shoulders rippling with strength underneath his bloodied grey coat, all thanks to his recent transformation.

This growl though, even to the untrained ear, was obviously not one of mere dislike or annoyance, no, this was one of pure and utter hatred.

In quick response to their fellow lycan’s sudden mood swing, both Lucian and Raze immediately tensed up, and readied to shift and subdue the diamond dog if need be; all the while everypony else simply shut their mouths, and hastily scooted backwards behind the protective cover of the two other lycans, each and every one of them silently fearing Silver-Fang would snap and shift at any given second, and then quickly turn each of them into dog treats.

“Not that long ago... I’ll admit I looked up to Stone-Paw with nothing but respect,” Silver-Fang spat as he turned around and faced the cluster of ponies directly, the dog’s topaz golden eyes now burning brightly with barely suppressed anger, and his deep canine voice barely making it through his clenched jaws . “But the way he has handled this situation thus far, sticking his head in the sand as we lost dog after dog, night after night, ignoring just about every damn word I said...”

As quickly and drastically as it had come, however, the fire in his golden canine eyes seemed to suddenly die down to mere embers, everypony watching somewhat curiously as the diamond dog’s prior rage followed suit as his body relaxed, and his breathing returned to normal.

“No, I cannot bring myself to do that anymore, that time has passed.” He sighed bitterly, a grey paw rising up and rubbing his forehead. “Uh, forgive me, everypony, for that outburst, but you sort of hit a personal grievance of mine just then… not to mention I still don’t like that obnoxious girly one.”

“Well, that’s all kinds of great to hear, Equestria’s survival now happens to be hinging on a psychotic canine with personality issues,” Thane yawned. “Oh, and Stone-Paw’s decision as well.”

“Thane, for once in your life, just keep your scaled-brained comments to yourself!” Titan snarled, his vicious tone crushing any minor amount of remaining humour.

Everypony present, most of whom still being on edge thanks to Silver-Fang, ducked as Titan snapped out of his stupor and snarled loudly, the red dragon baring his deadly ivory fangs, and, along with both Raze and Rainbow Dash, glaring in annoyance at his slender green counterpart once again.

To everypony around him, Titan appeared to be giving Thane a look that apparently threatened, should Thane’s present attitude not quickly improve, to wrap his red scaled tail around one of Applejack’s trees, tear it from the ground, and then repeatedly try to beat some sense into Thane with it.

“Unfortunately, despite how… distasteful… his words are, the dragon does indeed speak some truth. With any past alpha this plan would stand a decent chance, but with Stone-Paw…” Silver-Fang forced out through clenched teeth before trailing off.

Despite both Thane’s snarky input and Titan’s response, Silver-Fang’s words continued to hang heavily in the air like the scent of something foul, and caused Lucian to groan inwardly; he could almost feel the mood already dropping a few notches in terms of optimism for his plan, if the looks on each of the ponies faces was anything to go by, and that he knew was the last thing anyone needed to happen.

As any good leader knew, poor morale had a habit of being contagious, and could cripple an army before the fighting even started; if not for his own ferocity and resolve, it probably would’ve cost him his army during the taking of Viktor’s stronghold all those centuries back.

The lycan also knew it didn’t take a scholar like Twilight, rather perhaps just a bit of everyday common sense, to know that if Stone-Paw wasn’t willing to listen to what they were proposing, or worse, believed they were somehow plotting against him behind his back, than things were indeed going to get very complicated, very quickly, for both the diamond dogs and Equestria.

“You sure ya’ll wanna go flying with these two?” Applejack asked from beside him, her thick accent shattering his prior chain of thought. “They’re probably gonna end up throttling each other before ya even get half way towards those mountains.”

Upon looking down, he saw the mare facing him with a doubtful expression, and her front hoof pointing between the now quarrelling pair of Thane and Silver-Fang, who, thanks to Thane’s sharp dragon tongue, had erupted into an argument.

“If we don’t get going soon, they’ll do that before we get off the ground.” Lucian groaned in reply, his words causing Applejack to snicker, and Raze to let out a deep baritone chuckle. “Perhaps Rainbow Dash can convince Thane to play nice for the trip. I’ll try to keep Silver-Fang in check… as best I can anyway.”

Raze and Applejack both looked between the quarrelling pair and Lucian as he spoke, the ancient lycan apparently already questioning his own decision.

“I have a feeling this is going to be a very long day.”

...........................................................................................................................................................

Author's Note

Notes:

Freelancer: So, yeah, as my last blog post said, I was put out of action for a while thanks to one of my horse's back legs, so sorry about the wait.

Edragon: I get the feeling Gate Breaker was somewhat inspired from said event. :rainbowwild: Anyway, all lame jokes in this chapter, courtesy of me; all good ones courtesy of Freelancer. (well maybe I got one good one.)

Freelancer: Edragon… stop reading my damn mind! :facehoof: .

Chapter 18: Wise Words and First Confrontations

Prior Note: I decided to give Raze the first part of this chapter, just because I felt I was ignoring him a little too much *shrug*.

Chapter 18: Wise Words and First Confrontations

Pre-read/edited by: Edragon

“Applejack, you seem unsure of something,” a deep voice like thunder rumbled.

Despite its volume and depth, however, Applejack barely even noticed she’d heard it as her eyes watched Thane’s monstrous form disappear over the Everfree.

Her young mind, as the old saying went, was currently a million miles away; at that particular moment in time, it was watching over a memory that lay buried in the very back of her mind, one which was now some thirteen years passed, a memory which to say was ‘unpleasant’ would’ve been the understatement of the millennia: the death of her parents.

She didn’t exactly know how the sight before her had led her mind to drag up that particular memory, but it had, and in doing so had brought with it all the long forgotten or suppressed pain. She remembered it all too well really, as if it had only happened the day before, one doesn’t exactly forget the day their parents leave forever; the feelings of sorrow and despair tearing her up inside, her heart feeling as if it were nothing but a void, and a single word constantly rebounding inside her head that made her gut clench.

Goodbye.

To say such a word was an everyday occurrence; from one friend to another, it was a simple acknowledgment that they’d have to be apart for a while before seeing each other again, something which the amber mare herself had probably said a couple times a day since she could talk. But the goodbye she’d just said to Lucian, Thane, and Silver-Fang… it was as painful as those final goodbyes she’d said to her parents, those painful words escaping her lips as eyes watched their coffins be lowered, just as they had moments earlier as Thane disappear into the skyline.

Nearly every other time she’d said goodbye, Applejack knew she’d see her friends again, but this time she knew there was no such guarantee, nor would there be in the near future; if what Lucian was saying was true, then an all-out war was possibly on the horizon, a war that could very much turn a common goodbye to a friend into a final one.

That knowledge alone hurt as much as any buck to the side.

“Applejack?” the voice rumbled again, this time finally shattering her gloomy thoughts.

Applejack shook her head as her thoughts at last receded, and upon doing so found the massive form of Raze standing directly over her, what she guessed to be concern splayed across his face.

Taking a quick look around the groves of nearby trees, and finding a lack of anypony else either sitting or standing amongst her apple orchard, the mare guessed that her friends had since departed her family’s property to go on with their own lives… just how long had she been staring at the sky anyway?

“Are you alright?” he asked, the lycan’s tone matching his face. “I’ve been trying to get your attention for a while...”

“Heh… sorry,” she mumbled, gingerly scraping a front hoof across the dirt, and doing her best to avoid making eye contact. “Guess ah’ just… zoned out there for a moment.”

Raze snorted in disagreement. “With all due respect, I know you’re lying; you looked as if you were standing face to face with William Corvinus just then.”

Applejack cringed and bit her lower lip as the words stung her ears, subsequently prompting them both to flatten back; being the element of honesty always did have that particular drawback.

With a quick final glance around the apple tree bordered clearing, just to make doubly sure nopony would unnecessarily hear their conversation and thus jump to conclusions, the farm-pony sighed and virtually slumped back on her haunches in the dirt.

“How’d ya do it so easily?” she asked after a long moment of silence, the hoof which had previously scraping at the earth now reaching up, and carefully removing her Stetson. “Ya just stood there and let Lucian, you’re oldest and best friend as far as I can see it… run off with that crazy plan ah’ his without even liftin’ a hoof to try and stop him. For all you and I know he could be dead by sundown.”

The massive lycan just tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t seem to doubt his plan earlier,” Raze replied bluntly, his words though only managing to earn him an unimpressed glare.

“Don’t you try and muddy the issue, alright? That ain’t the darn point I’m gettin’ at and you know it!”

A long sigh escaped Applejack’s lips as her breathing slowed, and she eventually calmed down to a state of level-headedness again, though by ‘calmed down’, one could probably argue that ‘suppressing her anger’ would more accurately describe Applejack’s composure; if someone were to be judging by face value, she still looked about ready to nail the first thing that moved with her back legs.

“I just… I just don’t get it… how ya can just stand there like nothing’s wrong?” she went on, her eyes falling to meet the ground beneath her hooves, and her voice dying to a mere whisper, as a wave of confusion and dread washed over her. “He could die, Raze.”

The entire world seemed to stop and go quiet as the last few words left her muzzle, and it actually seemed to stop rather suddenly, as if an order of silence had been put forth by Celestia herself; the easterly wind suddenly seemed to vanish, the gentle rustling of the apple tree leaves abruptly stopped with it, and the songs of the birds that inhabited said trees all ceased; it was as if the word ‘die’ was a poison to all the world that heard it.

Whether or not Applejack simply imagined it, she couldn’t tell; but it seemed real enough to her.

And then Raze’s mouth, in an act that caught Applejack totally off guard, and ending up prompting her eyebrow to twitch in annoyance, suddenly broke into a smile that would make Pinkie Pie burst into song.

“Applejack, you and I both know what Lucian is doing is dangerous; we both know what the beasts of the Everfree are like, we both heard what Silver-Fang said about his alpha, and we both know Lucian’s plan can potentially end badly… but why should either you or I stop him from trying to go through with it?”

“H-huh?”

Perhaps she was imagining things again, but the amber pony swore the ground shook a little as Raze’s mountainous form sat down opposite her with a soft thud, the lycan using the thick surface roots of his former leaning-tree as a seat, while his massive back found it’s resting place against the truck; if not for the fact she’d seen them take one of Lucian’s shoulder charges, Applejack figured she’d be waiting for the trunk to bend and snap under Raze’s immense weight.

“Let me ask you something,” Raze rumbled as he at last got comfortable, the lycan reaching up and placing the palms of his hands behind his head. “Why do you think Lucian is willing to do this?”

“Cause he thinks he can just go and win over those dogs’ alpha?” Applejack replied with a roll of her green eyes, her words dripping with unamused sarcasm.

Raze just chuckled at her obviously agitated words, the action quickly earning him a snort and glare from the farm pony, and forcing said farm pony’s blood pressure to subsequently rise another few notches; his laughter pretty much ended in an instant, but his smirk stubbornly remained despite Applejack’s wish otherwise, forcing the mare to grind her back teeth to avoid doing something hot-headed and irrational.

“No, in my opinion, he probably doubts Silver-Fang’s alpha just as much as you and I do; he did this because he believes in doing the right thing, and hence because he believes seeking out the diamond dogs is the right thing to do.”

“He’s putting himself in danger here! Calling that ‘the right thing to do’ doesn’t make a darn lick ah’ sense!” Applejack snorted in disbelief, unable to resist face-hoofing at Raze’s ludicrous statement. “Ugh! I just don’t get you lycans!”

All the while, she was still trying to resist the urge to buck the amused, yet-to-disappear smirk off of the dark lycan’s face.

“Ya’ll keep saying Lucian’s willing to chance getting himself killed… because he thinks it’s the darn right thing to do? Well what about everypony who doesn’t want to see him die then huh? What about you or Princess Luna? Didn’t he ever stop to consider the rest of us when he came up with this featherbrained scheme ah’ his?”

“Put these words in your mind, Applejack: Don’t shed a tear for a man who died fighting for what he believed in, but weep for a man who died but fought for nothing.” The lycan replied simply.

It was at those words that Applejack froze.

Inwardly, that kind of logic just didn’t sit right with the earth pony, no matter how many ways somepony could put it; if any one of her friends were going to attempt something anywhere near this dangerous, whether it be Rainbow Dash, Twilight, or, Celestia forbid that day, Rarity, then at the very least she’d attempt to talk some sense into their apparently empty skulls.

And yet… she’d personally done some of those types of dangerous things before, on more than one occasion; the big one that immediately sprang to mind was when she and her friends had basically charged into the Everfree, ironically of all places, in search of the elements of harmony. Looking back, it had been an utterly crazy idea to begin with, and given the likes of what Nightmare Moon had thrown at them, Applejack found herself silently amazed they’d all lived to wield their elements.

“But…if ah’ had to… I’d do it all over again,” she thought to herself, the mare’s gaze drifting to the rustling leaves above her and Raze as her mind reminisced.

“Lucian and I have lost countless friends to over the years, Applejack,” Raze went on in a slightly more level tone, apparently content to simply ignore her sudden bought of silence. “But neither he nor I have ever once shed tears for them. Why is that so you ask, because they all died fighting for something they believed in, something which both Lucian and I believed in. A better future for the lycans, and a world free of vampires like Viktor. Now… that time has since passed, but as it is we all, you, Lucian, and myself included, stand at the beginning of a new conflict… so I want you to ask yourself this question now rather than later, should I try and hold onto my life for the good of a few? Or, if the need were to arise, should I be willing to give it up for the good of many?”

For a split second, Applejack chewed her lip as if she was thinking over the question, but in truth it was hard for her heart not to already know the answer.

“If it came to it… if it meant protecting ma’ friends and family… I’d be willing to give my life for Equestria.”

Raze smiled proudly and nodded. “Now you understand how Lucian and I think, and why our friend has done what he has,” The lycan grinned, reaching over and offering the deflated farm pony a scratch behind the ears, which she gladly accepted with a bowed head. “Don’t go worrying yourself about Lucian, he’s faced far worse and lived through it.”

With that, the earth seemed to rumble once again as Raze got to his feet, the massive lycan giving off a smile that frankly unnerved Applejack as he loudly cracked his knuckles.

“Now then, as Lucian’s lieutenant I should probably be making myself useful, and seeing as I already know you can use your mouth to grasp farm tools, would you show me where you keep your axes?”

Applejack swore her eyebrow rose the length of her forehead. “Uh… why?” she asked, taking a tentative and nervous step backwards at the word ‘axes’.

If she hadn’t already been unnerved by the dark lycan’s menacing grin, then she was as it promptly doubled in width. “There is a war coming, and with all respect your back legs will only get you so far in a real battle… so I’m going to teach you how to fight vampires like a lycan.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The Everfree forest.

It was, to put it quite simply, an utter anomaly to Lucian, something he figured he would never be able to truly come to terms with.

As far as the lycan had come to understand, most of ponykind believed it was nothing but a vile, evil, and unnatural place, one to be feared and avoided at all possible cost if you were even slightly sane; to them, it appeared to be a place where the most twisted and deranged fiends, that would otherwise only ever be found in a pony’s worst nightmares, would manifest into a physical reality, and then seek out the flesh and blood of anypony foolish enough to wander unprepared into the forest’s darkness. Although he’d never voice it openly, Lucian had to admit that some of that wariness was slowly seeping into even his toughened mind, with the memory of his and Luna’s encounter with the changelings only adding to that distrust.

So it was somewhat understandable, in the former lycan leader’s opinion anyway, that he found himself confused by how at home he felt in its deathly embrace.

“Then again, it’s probably the closest thing to my home Equestria has to offer,” he thought as he looked down across the dark green expanse, the words leaving a bittersweet taste in his mouth.

That, he knew all too well, was a very true assumption, almost scarily so in fact; with a little creative imagination, Lucian could very much see packs of William’s savage spawn making their dens amongst the mountains and shadowy depths of the Everfree, just as they had done in the harsh wilds of the Hungarian forests during his own youth; from there, the wolves would no doubt silently wait in the unrelenting darkness until nightfall, before emerging to prey on any unsuspecting creature that had wandered too far into the trees, just as the Timberwolves did.

Then there were the remains of Luna and Celestia’s former home, the very thought of which brought the taste of bile to his tongue. Just like the fortress of the vampire council that Lucian had once called his home, those ruins had stood against the wrath of time like an ever mocking reminder, but just like Viktor’s own keep, only to a select few; the few who had been unlucky enough to have shaped it’s unsavoury past.

For Luna, as she herself had said, it was as painful to look at as any physical scar.

“SILVER-FANG! If you jab me with that Tartarus damned thing one more time…”

“If you would just fly straight then I wouldn’t have to jab you! Every time you twist and turn I feel as if I’m going to lose my stomach; do you really want my lunch covering your precious scales?”

Lucian couldn’t help but groan as his thoughts were shattered like glass, and his eyes were finally pulled away from the vast expanse of the Everfree; what they met, however, wasn’t really much better.

The diamond dog’s words, if Thane’s agitated expression was anything to go by, seemed to have had only annoyed the dragon further, and had now prompted puffs of angry grey smoke to escape his already flaring nostrils; said puffs of smoke, coupled with a set of sword-sized fangs being drawn simultaneously, was giving the impression that Thane was very close to viciously reducing something, or somedog, to a pile of ashes.

All the while, the metallic point of Silver-Fang’s spear, the apparent cause of Thane’s sourly bad mood, continued to hover precariously over his green scaled hide, with the canine wielding it looking more than ready to use it again.

And it was between this set of ‘a rock and a hard place’ that Lucian found himself sitting.

If it were anywhere else, Lucian figured he could’ve just groaned, ignored the quarrelling dragon and canine pair, and walked away… but right now he couldn’t walk anywhere. The fact of the matter, quite frankly, was that he was presently stuck a mile or so above the expanse of dark green that was the Everfree forest, on the back of said dragon as they hurtled past sky scraping mountains and through the low lying clouds, with said canine seated directly behind him.

“Do you even know how boring it is to fly in a straight line? For hours on end? No, of course you wouldn’t, because you don’t have wings, and you also happen to be the one sitting on my back, so how about you just shut up and deal with it! Or do you want me to put this stupid harness on you and see if you can carry me?”

“Well forgive my kind for not being born with wings!” Silver-Fang snarled, throwing his paws up in exasperation. “Bah! Why by the first bitch do I get stuck with an overgrown lizard like you?”

“Overgrown lizard?! Call me that again you sorry excuse for a rug, I dare you!”

“Can you two kindly not try to kill each other for once?”

What followed Lucian’s sudden input was a moment of silence, during which both the diamond dog and dragon fell silent, and, embarrassingly enough, both of them still with their mouths freely open; it seemed that with their quarrelling, both far younger males had somehow forgotten about the lycan’s presence, and upon looking back at him had discovered him glaring at them, with his arms folded and a clearly displeased expression across his face.

As every lycan who’d ever served under his command had learned, the likes of Taylor and Pierce better than most, you didn’t want Lucian annoyed with you.

At that realization, Silver-Fang grudgingly but quickly lowered the point of his spear, and returned the weapon to its prior resting place at his side. Thane, in turn, after giving the grey diamond dog a final venomous show of his lethal fangs, let out a final growl before turning away and returning to flying, the sounds of his guttural snarls being replaced with the heavy beats of his massive wings; neither, however, did so much as acknowledge each other.

Lucian just groaned and rubbed his brow as he relaxed again. “I swear I’ll never understand either of you.”

“Tch, I swear I should’ve eaten him when I had the damn chance,” Thane muttered sourly in return. “He’s an even bigger pain in the tail then Titan is… hey Lucian, could you do me a favour and throw his furry backside off?”

“Oh please do!” Silver-Fang growled deeply. “I’m sure you flying up to my kind’s tunnels will go sooo well without me.”

“I’d sure as hay eat well,” Thane hissed.

“Bah! You’d be full of manticore spears in, oh, what’s that line your pony bitch says? Ten seconds flat!”

A very sudden, very loud, very angry, and very justified snarl echoed throughout the sky as Thane’s head suddenly lashed around with lightning speed, the blood-chilling look that covered the dragon’s face, complete with rows of drawn pearly fangs, lacking any trace of his usual playfulness as it hovered inches from both lycan’s faces.

“If you dare say another word about Dash, I WILL TEAR YOU APART AND THEN THROW YOU OFF ONE PIECE AT A TIME!”

Thane’s last few words came out pretty close to being a thunderous roar, and with each one being said his teeth got closer and closer to both Lucian and Silver-Fang’s faces; by the last word, barely a hair’s breadth stood between them and the polished white wall of glinting, dripping natural swords.

If Applejack was around, Lucian knew she’d confirm Thane hadn’t been making an empty promise.

“If I may ask…” Lucian started after a tense moment, his back still arched away from Thane as he cast his blue eyes between his two companions. “What are manticore spears?”

In truth, he didn’t really care that much about what the mystery weapons were, all he was hoping to do was to somehow diffuse the hostile, and thanks to Thane sulphurous, air that he was literally stuck right in the middle of, or, at very least, change the toxic subject.

Although he doubted Thane would do anything rash at their altitude, Lucian couldn’t help but grip the rope harness’s reigns a little tighter as the already agitated green dragon snarled again, the lycan’s heart likely beating faster than it ever had done before.

The problem was that Thane wasn’t a horse, so pulling at the reigns would probably only anger him further.

“They’re the main reason us dragons haven’t been able to eradicate the diamond dogs over the years.” Thane grunted as his head slowly returned to facing forward, and his fury apparently died down, the dragon’s vast wings now tilted to guide them slightly more southward around another natural stone giant. “Remember back at AJ’s farm when I said ‘I’m not looking forward to getting my hide filled with spears’? Case in point. Manticores are the diamond dogs’ primary anti-dragon weapon, and are a total and utter pain in the tail to deal with, and I mean that literally.”

Silver-Fang nodded in agreement. “They’re mounted spear throwers,” the diamond dog put in, an edge of a canine growl coming through in his words. “The best description I can give you is that they’re similar in design to the crossbows that the griffins use… you do know what a crossbow is, right?”

Lucian wordlessly nodded as he re-adjusted his own sitting position, though Thane’s scales made getting comfortable virtually impossible. Given that he’d grown up in Viktor’s colossal fortress, and learned how to operate the massive ballistae that lined its main wall, the guessed he already had a very good mental idea of what these supposed weapons looked like; if they were in anyway similar, then the kind of damage they were capable of doing would be lethal to just about anything.

More than a few werewolves, and even some of his lycans, had been unlucky enough to have discovered that the hard way.

“Well… manticores are basically very large crossbows… they’re made for fighting off dragons when groups of them try and raid our tunnels. The spears themselves are about twice as heavy as mine; each manticore is built to fire two spears at a time, and we make the spears with carved diamonds for heads, that way they can punch through even the toughest dragon scale if need be.”

“And you wonder why we don’t like you?” Thane’s voice ended on a sour note. “Uh, Lucian, can we stop for a while? My wings are starting to hu-What the hay?!”

If either one of the lycans on his back had been able to wonder what the possible cause of Thane’s problem was, the single available second provided no chance to voice said confusion; before the words ‘what the hay’ had even fully left Thane’s jaws, the dragon’s vast wings, at a speed that would seem to defy the established laws of physics, withdrew from the air and slammed closed against his side.

In a heartbeat, the lack of propulsion sent his massive body into a diagonal sharp dive, and onto a collision path with the dense forest below.

For a moment, Lucian’s gut clenched as he struggled to grip the makeshift reigns, the thought of Thane having finally broken down under his anger and snapped rapidly bombarding the front of his mind; but then the dragon did something totally unexpected. Without any sort of warning, Thane’s draconic jaws suddenly tore open, and he unleashed a downward torrent of blistering flames…

… Straight into an ascending swarm of shrieking changelings.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“You just had to go and bloody roar!”

“Tartarus dammit! Just shut up for once you annoying furball!” Thane snarled in reply, swinging his head back and bathing another section of the pursuing swarm in dragon fire. “You two should probably get a hold of something, LIKE NOW!”

“I would but my hands are full!” Lucian thought through his own fury, angrily and brutally tearing the membrane wing off the thrashing changeling he was holding, before hurling the shrieking black bug-creature back into the sky.

He watched it plummet with a satisfied growl.

The lycan’s spot of freedom though was relatively short lived, for just as the changeling he’d maimed disappeared screaming from sight, three more of the buzzing creatures came flying in a little too close for comfort; all three attacked from different directions, forcing Lucian to try and hold on to the makeshift reigns with one furry paw while slashing out wildly with the other, all the while doing his best to avoid getting kicked or hit with green magic pulses.

“Well… given we’re still in the sun, at least I can be say they’re not vampiric,” he thought, snatching one that got too close from the air, and then squeezing down on its neck until he heard a sickening crack.

The formerly blue sky that covered the Everfree had now become something of a battle ground, with a deadly game of cat and mouse being played by the combatants amongst the clouds. The black mass of changelings followed them no matter which way Thane flew, no matter how close he cut by the sides of mountains, and no matter how he dived or curved with his wings, it seemed he couldn’t get away from them without risking throwing the two lycan’s off, hence there had only been one option left.

Fight their way out with whatever they had.

All the while trying not to fall from the green dragon’s back, Lucian used his lycan paws to slash and tear at any changeling that got within striking range, his canine claws leaving deep bloody furrows in whatever piece of chitin they met. Silver-Fang, on the other paw, struck by accurately lancing and jabbing out with his spear, his years of honed skill apparently enabling him to skewer the creatures on the metal point with relative ease.

They were quickly discovering one major problem; they were basically in the middle of an entire swarm. It seemed no matter how many the two lycan’s killed, and no matter how many dozens Thane reduced to smouldering piles of goo and ash, swatted from the air with his tail, or crushed between his talons, the changeling numbers never seemed to dwindle in the slightest.

“You know, this is getting old really quickly,” Thane’s voice growled over the resounding hum of their pursuers wings.

His words were accompanied by something that sounded like a terrified squeal, a loud snap, a sickening crunch that made Lucian shiver, and finally a gag as Thane presumably spat something vile out. “Bleh! These things taste even worse than they look!”

Doing his best not to roll his eyes in frustration, Lucian snorted and returned to slashing out, all the while regretting leaving the swords he’d found in the ruins of Luna’s former home.

“Any chance you can just… fly faster than them?” Silver-Fang asked through his own gritted teeth, the diamond dog presently trying his best to hold the reigns, while simultaneously shaking the limp corpse of a changeling from his spear’s end. “The tunnel gates shouldn’t be too far from here.”

Using his still changeling-ended spear as a pointer, the diamond dog quickly gestured towards to the towering structure of an ever nearing mountain, one which rose from the Everfree forest on its own, and stood out slightly taller and wider on the range than its surrounding brethren; with a squint of his dark eyes, Lucian swore he could vaguely distinguish a dirt road that wound upwards through the dense tree cover that covered the brown stone monolith, and ended in what looked to be a cluster of towers and embattlements perched just below the mountain’s snow topped peak.

“The entrance keep up there will have manticores and guard dogs all over it, so we should be able to land while they cover our tails; I don’t know about you two, but I’m a much better fighter with both of my paws firmly on the ground… think you can blitz that distance scaly?”

Thane went quiet for a moment as he tilted his wings forward, abruptly dropped another few feet below the main body of the swarm, and then flared them fully open again. By now, Lucian figured they’d lost about half of their initial altitude whilst trying to outmanoeuvre the insect-pony cloud; they were so close to the ground now he could make out the top branches of the individual trees below.

“I can out fly these freaks.” The dragon answered with an uneasy glance over his shoulder. “But trust me; you’ll want to hold on tight for this.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Author's Note

Notes:

Call it a spoiler if you want, but next chapter will be entirely a battle chapter. (*rubs palms* as Kenpachi Zaraki would say “This’ll be fun!”)

Edragon: A whole battle chapter! *Squee!*

Prologue: A Wolf's Awakening

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Prologue: A Wolf’s Awakening

Lucian could see and sense only blackness; it was the usual situation, he silently guessed, when someone found themselves lying on the very border of life and death with half a dozen bullets in them. He had since accepted that he had only moment’s left before the poison rounds at last silenced him to eternal damnation, thus the lycan allowed himself to try and enjoy them as best he could.

What was left of his mind wandered gently over the memories of his long life; of his beautiful Sonja, of how he had witnessed her being killed along with their unborn child, which had in turn spurred the events of the last six centuries. Then he thought of his other lycan friends and brothers, most of whom having died in proud service of him in the war with the vampires.

"Perhaps they too spent their last moments reflecting."

A flash an anger coursed through Lucian at the last thought; it was done and thus unchangeable, but he still regretted ever trusting the vampire, Kraven, grudgingly knowing full well he should've foreseen earlier how foolish he was to put his trust in an enemy. Now, it seemed, fate was making him pay the full and painful price for his mistake.

He had still accomplished his long-time goal though, and that brought with it some satisfaction; a hybrid of the races had been created, and he had played his part as perhaps was fate's intention, and thus it was time for him to go.

“Perhaps death at least I trust,” he thought to himself with a grim mental smirk, the former lycan leader gaining no reply from the darkness that surrounded him. “And maybe at last I will find some peace.”

After a while though, and even with the silver nitrate having probably gone to and addled his brain, Lucian had to admit that something felt amiss; logic was telling him that he probably should've been long dead by now, especially with an entire clip's worth of silver nitrate rounds lodged in him, and yet the darkness, and his mind, still remained. He felt uncomfortably cold for sure, but it was not the cold of death he expected to feel as life departed... but rather... a soft sort of cold, like he was lying on a lawn or patch of grass, and wind was blowing over him.

Slowly, and somewhat painfully, he forcefully opened his shimmering blue eyes to the world; a moment later he swore his heart actually stopped.

“This isn't possible… it… can’t be possible.”

Despite blinking over and over though, the scene before Lucian did not change. He was no longer leaning against a concrete wall in the lycan den, but rather lying flat on what appeared to be a white stone path, amongst rows of trimmed green hedges, small trees, and lawns, and looking up at what was undeniably a darkening blue sky.

Glancing either side of where he was laying, and ignoring his body's painful berating of the action, the lycan came to realize that around him stood various elegantly carved white stone statues, most of which were carved into the form of horses standing in common, human-like positions, one even holding a drawn bow and another leaning on a lance.

Well... that was different.

Gingerly, and trying to ignore the many points of searing pain in his back, Lucian growled and sat up before slowly getting to his feet, his eyes all the while darting around the place for any signs of movement; upon taking a closer look, and despite his sense of logic telling him that the entire situation was ludicrous, he realized that he was actually, somehow, standing in what was presumably the royal garden of a looming white castle.

Even more oddly though, the lycan also came to realize, was that everything around him, whether they be plants, statues, fountains, or otherwise, had decorations and bright streamers neatly tied around them, as did the various towers of the castle itself by the looks of things; for a long moment, Lucian did nothing other then stand, gape at the sight, scratched his beared chin, and wonder how it was all possible...

...or if it was all just a silver-on-the-brain induced dream.

“What… is this place?” He murmured at last, running his fingers through his long black hair, and mentally trying, and failing, to understand what he was seeing.

Another spike of pain abruptly tore at his stomach, and Lucian suddenly found himself remembering that Kraven had, quite literally, filled his body with a clip's worth of rounds, and hence hastily began examining himself; this only ended up causing his mind more problems. To the lycan's utter amazement, he realized that now not only was he naked, which was problematic in itself, but there was not a single bullet hole in his thickly haired chest.

Lucian just growled again in response to the revelation, and reasoned it somehow meant he was truly and actually dead; the questions in his mind though were now how he had awakened in an apparent... well, royal garden type place, and what exactly was he supposed to do next.

“I should try and find someone,” He sighed as he scratched his head like a confused monkey, taking another glance around the seemingly empty gardens. “Perhaps they can explain what is goi…”

“HALT INTRUDER!”

"Or they can just shout at me."

The sudden input of a deep throated voice made Lucian turn in a heartbeat, the amount of aggression carried in it almost causing the lycan to shift at the sound, courtesy of years spent being yelled at, while being viciously beaten by vampires; his anger though, in an instant, was replaced by something somewhere between curiosity and amazement at the sight of the three creatures before him, all three of which were hastily approaching him from the other side of the garden, and not looking anywhere near happy at his presence.

They were small white... horses? Or perhaps ponies? that stood roughly level with Lucian’s hip in height. They each wore blue-crested golden helmets and plate body armour, and had what looked to be slender horns emerging from their foreheads.

What Lucian also noticed was that they each carried brown saddle bags at their sides, and golden tipped spears, which were at that point... levitating? And happened to aimed directly at him.

And they apparently talked.

Well... if this was supposed to hell, he figured then that heaven must've been guarded by teddy bears and had trees made of candy floss.

The three came to a stop a few meters from where Lucian was standing, each defensively closing ranks as their abnormally large eyes began running over his body with equal curiosity as he did with them, the three apparently taking especially wary interest in his hands; he silently guessed they hadn’t seen something like him before, seeing as the feeling was mutual, after all.

“State your name, beast?” Said the middle one, taking a single step forward with his spear still held firmly at the ready.

“Lucian, leader of the lycans,” Lucian replied sternly after a moment, folding his arms across his chest as he returned the smaller, equine creature’s glare; after all he'd gone through over the years, and the constant effort to bring his race out of savagery, he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed at being called a beast... the last one to do that had been Viktor. “And who... and what, are you three exactly?”

“We are Princess Celestia’s royal guards,” The middle horse-creature replied bluntly, his words punctuated with a agitated snort. "And we are unicorn ponies, for your information. Now, state your reason for being within the royal grounds at this time.”

“Well… in all honesty, I woke up here,” Lucian replied with an equally blunt shrug.

"You're kidding us, right?" The one on the left said flatly, an eyebrow rising up his forehead.

"I'm afraid not."

The ponies looked between each other for a second, exchanging whispers as they did so, before looking back at Lucian with what could be easily deduced as cold expressions. A moment later the centre guard’s horn began to glow an eerie blue, a set of metal shackles quickly emerging from his saddlebag.

At the sight of them Lucian began to panic slightly, and readied himself for what could potentially become an unlikeable situation; he had only just woken up, and was by no means ready to be anyone’s prisoner, let alone that of a bunch of talking ponies that had strange powers.

He'd been a prisoner for over two centuries already, and that was more then long enough.

“Now hold on,” Lucian growled as he backed up along the path a little, his hands out to protect himself if need be. “I’m not here to hurt anyone. Put those away or else.”

“I cannot do that,” The guard replied firmly, his comrades coming forward with him in an advance towards Lucian. “There is a royal wedding being held at the present, and we have had enough trouble today as it is… so until the princesses can look over you, and we can confirm you are not a changeling or threat... we have no choice but to incarcerate you.”

Naturally, the guards hadn’t known what Lucian was truly capable of, and were caught by surprise with his next move; as they came forward, the lycan, in a single moment, roared and shifted into a massive black wolf.

Lucian was pretty sure he heard one of them scream something like "What the bucking hay!".

Without giving them a moment to collect they're jumbled thoughts, or do anything else for that matter, Lucian bolted through the three unicorns just as fast as his legs would allow, a dinner-plate sized paw striking aside one of the guards in the process, and throwing him screaming at least ten meters across the garden and into a hedge.

He had no idea where he was going, or what the hell to do next for that matter, but the chorus of shouts from behind him made the lycan fairly sure that getting out of the guards' sight was a good start.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Ugh! Do you know how many stallions are hitting on me?” Dash snapped angrily as she left the dance floor and approached Twilight, the cyan mare’s ears back to show just how pissed off she was. “Do they not understand me when I say I have a coltfriend already?”

“Well, it might have helped sugercube if you brought him along,” Applejack laughed from nearby before Twilight could put a word in, the farm pony happily treating herself to food from the dessert buffet.

“Applejack! you know that couldn’t work,” Twilight sighed as she face-hoofed at the statement, not moving from her viewing place beside the wooden dance floor. “Only the six of us and Spike were invited… besides, can you imagine everyponies reaction to Thane?”

“Yeah, but it would have been a lot easier to deal with the changelings with him around,” Dash said bluntly as she walked away, looking over her shoulder once as she headed for the drinks table. “And no offense to your brother Twi, but this reception kinda sucks.”

Twilight just snickered and rolled eyes, the mare almost relieved at having Dash complain about such trivial matters. Admittedly, that the royal wedding day had been... interesting and eventful... to say the least, but now as the reception headed further and further on into the night, it seemed things were at last returning to somewhat normal... although according to Dash normal meant boring and annoying.

She was now able to just sit still, at long last, as things returned to normal; what with the changelings having caused a large amount of strife in Canterlot, as had their walking-embodiment-of-ugly queen for that matter, Twilight had found herself unable to be at ease during the last few hours.

Thankfully though, the fact that the love of her brother, Shining Armour, and Cadence, had since saved them all from creatures’ love-hunger driven attack was at last sinking in for her, and with the knowledge that said threat was now gone Twilight was slowly allowing herself to relax.

There was, however, still something nagging in the back of Twilight’s mind as she watched the happy newlywed couple dance; she had studied magic near her entire life, which was more than long enough to know that extra energies, like those left over from such a powerful and undirected spell, didn’t just disappear into nothing; the fact she hadn’t yet figured out where the immense amount of it had gone was still unnerving to her.

“Twilight Sparkle, why do thou look so tense on a night such as this?” A firm female voice from behind her asked. “Are thou not happy for thy brother?”

Twilight turned to see none other than Princess Luna trotting over, the ruler of the night levitating what looked to be a slice of strawberry icing topped chocolate cake next to her as she approached.

“I’m… a little confused princess,” Twilight sighed, shaking her head as the princess stopped beside her. “I feel like something just isn’t right,” she exhaled and looked at her hooves. "But then again, that's only how I've been feeling ever since the day we arrived."

“Perhaps thou should retire to a bed for the night. It has been a stressful day for all, though you even more so I can imagine.”

“I’ll be okay princess… by the way, why aren’t you dancing?”

At her words, the princess’s cheeks went bright red in embarrassment, and she shied away slightly, in truth the last reaction Twilight had expected.

“I fear I am not one for dancing, Twilight Sparkle… on a dance floor anyway, I seem to be unlucky enough to possess four left hooves... so to speak,” Luna blushed, before nodding to the floor. "Once upon a time I could, but I fear styles have changed much since my youth."

"It's ok princess, and I also see you're not using the royal 'we' nowadays."

"Oh! Thank you most for noticing! Though I will admit that Tia should bear most of your praise, she has been... quite persistent in my training in modern speech."

The two of them shared a quick laugh; they had been good friends ever since Luna had come to Ponyville on Nightmare Night, and in truth, if not for Twilight, even Luna had to admit she would've still be seen as an outcast among her subjects. Twilight was also glad Luna had decided to watch over the reception; As everypony knew, Princess Celestia was still weak from her ordeal with the changeling queen, and it seemed right she get as much rest as possible.

“You still deserve congratulations for going through with it,” Twilight said with a smile as she looked up at the slightly taller alicorn. “Anyway, if it's any consolation, I’m not one for dancing either, as you can te…”

“M-Monster!”

The former happiness of the night was abruptly and painfully shattered like glass, and Twilight was equally suddenly cut off, by a high pitched shriek from somepony on the dance floor. A moment later the entire reception crowd parted and dispersed as a stamped in fright. Without a second thought, Twilight and Luna charged forward through the herd of scared ponies to see what the commotion was all about, the princess of the night a little annoyed at having to abandon her piece of cake.

Once the sea of ponies at last parted, however, the two mares immediately dug their hooves in and came to skidding stop, neither completely sure what to make of the situation before them.

Standing silently in the middle of the now abandoned dance floor, and looking around as if it were lost, was a strange and by all means frightening creature, though one neither pony recognized in the slightest. It stood on its back legs, and in doing so measured roughly twice as tall as Celestia, if not perhaps a bit more. It's body lay covered in a thick coat of matted fur, somewhat like a diamond dog, but where the dogs' furs were brown or grey, this creatures coat was pitch black.

When it turned to face them though, what Twilight noticed most were the creature’s eyes; they were as dark as obsidian, emotionless, and to her seemed almost bottomless, like the creature held no soul or feeling behind them. To called them unnatural was a frightening understatement.

“What the hay is going on?” Twilight heard as an angry rainbow Dash appeared beside her, the cyan mare’s hooves up in ready for a moment. It was then she appeared to finally realize just what they were facing. “Ok, just what the hay is that... thing?!”

Soon enough, Twilight found herself joined by Spike and her other four friends as they responded Rainbow's cry, the unusual creature's presence drawing far differing reactions from each of them, though the most prominent unquestionably being fear.

But, surprisingly, the entire time that the surrounding crowd backed away, the black creature did nothing but stand, look at each of them, and breath heavily, even as more ponies joined the blockade around it.

Around the small group of friends, everypony else watched on from a safe distance, seemingly unsure of what to think of the standoff, or the creature that had suddenly and unexpectedly appeared. Shining Armor eventually gave an annoyed snort, and the creature growled menacingly at him; neither moved, but Cadence still nervously moved a little further behind her husband.

“What are you creature?” Princess Luna asked after a few more tense moments, the equally dark coated mare taking a brave step forward, and causing the creature to turn to her. “Can thou understand me?”

The massive creature, to the amazement of everyone present, inclined it's head once in reply, and took a slow step toward the night princess.

everypony silently flinched at the action, and held their breath nervously, including a now very edgy Twilight. But the beast did nothing more the look closely at her, showing no obvious sign whatsoever of aggression, but rather... what could be best described as curiosity, given it's lack of facial expression.

Then it did the last thing Twilight would have expected; it knelt down on one leg so the two were roughly eye level with each other. Luna did nothing to abort the action, but stood perfectly still like a foal under an elder's gaze; perhaps, in Twilight's opinion, she either trusted it enough not to move, or feared she would anger it if she did retaliate.

“Ah Twi… you mind telling us what exactly is going on?” Applejack asked from beside Twilight, her words coming in a hushed tone the lavender mare barely picked up. “And... just... what in the hay is that thing anyway?”

“I have no ide…”

“THERE HE IS!”

Before Twilight got to say anything else, she was, once again, rudely cut off. This time though it was by a charging group of twelve heavily armed guards who abruptly burst forth from the nearby bushes, and then charged strait for the creature with their spear’s raised in wall of pointy death.

And then it happened.

With what would easily be called unnatural speed, unless it was Rainbow Dash doing the describing, the creature turned with its night black claws drawn, parted it's massive jaws... and then it let out a deathly roar that chilled the blood of everypony who heard it.

It was a roar that sounded like it came from a creature born in the darkest depths of the Everfree forest.

There was no one way to describe it in words, the voice spoke of power and strength, and yet unfathomable sorrow at the same time, feelings of fear, of hatred, of bloodlust, of savagery, like it was the creature's entire being projected with a single, guttural note. Twilight could've sworn that her blood went cold in her veins.

Though before anypony could blink, the guards meet their target, or the creature move forward or sideways in the slightest, there was a sudden flash of light pinkie-purple, a howling roar of pain, and the creature fell over unconscious with a rather loud thud and a dull growl, the charging guards coming to an immediate skidding stop just in time.

Looking over, Twilight initially thought it had been Luna who had intervened, but as she quickly realized it was actually her brother who had his horn lowered, and hence had produced the sudden blast; the princess of the night was actually, and surprisingly in contrast quite annoyed at his action.

“Are thou sure that was necessary?” Luna snapped abruptly with a surprising amount of venom, turning to her royal guard captain with an angry spark in her eyes. “He was yet to cause any harm, captain, thou had no reason to strike him in the back.”

“I’d rather not take chances princess,” Shining Armor replied bluntly before turning to the awaiting guards, who were all gathered and looking between their two commanders, their lowered spears a hair's breath from the unmoving mass of muscle and black fur. “Guards, take… it… to the dungeons, we'll deal with this thing later.”

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For those of you who haven't read 'My Red Eyed Friend', Thane is Dash's green dragon 'coltfriend'. I had quite a few requests about writing a story with them included, so I did (shrugs). Also Luna will only be talking in her 'formal' voice every so often (mainly because I really hate trying to write it... any tips on it though are gladly welcome)

Chapter 8: Suspicions, Slight Seductions, and Strange Events

Chapter 8: Suspicions, Slight Seductions, and Strange Events

“And what, by the blood of William Corvinus, are you doing here?” Lucian chuckled as they embraced each other like old times, everypony watching the strange re-meeting of old friends with a mixture of interest and amusement.

“I was going to ask you the same question, old friend,” Raze replied as they let go of each other, giving Lucian a fond firm punch in the shoulder for good times sake. “I must say though, if not for you I’d believe myself crazy… talking ponies of all things, what is this strange place?”

The last words he spoke while he looked over at the five colourful ponies, who were currently watching them, and making the lycan feel slightly uncomfortable. He wasn't exactly thrilled about being gawked at by strange creatures.

“They are the main residents of this world called Equestria, Raze, and are generally a very caring and peaceful race… and also may I personally say, seem to be quite accepting of creatures such as ourselves. Other than them you have a few other races in these lands such as dragons… on which note, may I introduce you to my friends, Ash and Applejack.”

Raze slowly removed his eyes from Lucian and refocused them on the other two who had accompanied him, or specifically on the hulking black dragon, who was at that moment towering over everyone else, and actually blocking out the sunlight.

There were very few moments in a lycan’s life when they could say they actually felt a little scared, or small; this truly was one of those moments for Raze.

“You are… big,” the lycan said as his eyes ran over the mighty creature, causing a toothy smirk to spread across the dragon’s maw as their eyes met.

“As are you, it seems,” Ash chuckled in return, his colossal night black wings spreading out to show his true size to the lycan. “A pleasure to meet your Raze.”

“Likewise,” the black lycan grinned with an incline of his head.

Raze then turned to the stunned amber mare who was standing beside Lucian, raising an eye brow as he saw her mane and tail were tied back, and a western style hat was sitting atop her head.

Unlike Rarity, she had no horn to speak of, and yet, judging by body and muscle proportions, was presumably much stronger than the white unicorn. What he also noticed was that she had her jaw hanging open and her rather bright green eyes running over him fiercely, resulting in an amused grin spreading across his dark face.

“And you are the one known as Applejack then? I must say you look to be an admirably strong creature, I have seen many equines in my life, but few with the amount of muscle you possess.”

It was hard to tell because of the colour of her coat, and the fact she was standing in Ash’s shadow, but Raze got the impression she blushed at his complement of her figure, sheepishly hiding her face beneath the brim of her hat.

In truth she was blushing, and wildly at that; not only was she being complemented on her body, but by a lycan who looked like he had the equivalent of all of her big brother’s muscle stored in one mighty bicep, and her brother was one of the biggest ponies around.

“Well… thank ya kindly,” she replied at last as she somewhat regained her composure, raising her hat from her face but still seeming a little embarrassed. “It ain’t often I get words like that coming my way, and yes I’m Applejack… pleasure to be meeting your acquaintance.”

Raze once again inclined his head before first looking at the various piles of scrap wooden, and then uneasily looked back at an awaiting Lucian, who for his part did pretty much the same thing in the same order.

“What were those things my friend?” Raze asked bluntly, looking between his friend and the others present around him. “They were wolves… but made of pieces of living and breathing wood, unlike anything I have ever encountered before.”

He looked on as Lucian did the only thing he could, shrug his shoulders; It seemed to Raze that his old friend and leader was still learning the strange ways of this world, just as he was, and in truth probably only knew a little more about its inhabitants then he did.

“Ironically they are known as Timberwolves, Raze,” Ash put in to fill the silence, and to answer Raze’s question, drawing curious gazes from both lycan’s as he lowered his head and motioned with his snout. “They are said to be the results of stray magic left over from a battle between two powerful ponies over a millennia ago.”

The last words Ash said as he cast his eyes momentarily down at Lucian; Applejack, Rarity and the three fillies all looked between each other in search of what he meant, none finding an answer.

“There is… magic… in this world?” Raze muttered sheepishly.

A broad grin spread across Lucian’s face as he nodded in affirmation to the other lycan.

Raze simply groaned as his already overloaded mind processed the facts. "Again, old friend... what is this place?"

“And yet…” the dragon went on like he was thinking aloud, with a thud sitting back on his hind legs as he looked over the battleground and the nearby trees, everyone else looking up at him. “This is strange. Timberwolves, from memory, are very territorial by nature, and hence never venture beyond the borders of the Everfree forest… unless something stronger than them encroaches on their territory.”

“Perhaps I may have frightened them a bit,” Lucian grinned with a tilt of his head and a shake of his black locks, Raze cracking a smirk at his old friend’s statement, while everypony else looked on clueless. “Whatever the reason, what is done is done and they have been dealt with…”

Lucian glanced up at Raze before continuing, a firm hand rising, before coming to rest on the dark lycan’s shoulder, and the grin on Lucian’s face only widening.

“…And now I find myself having you at my side again, Raze, to say the least I doubt I could be happier with this strange turn of events… all we need to do now is get you used to living here in Equestria, and amongst ponykind, which although I look forward too, regrettably, will probably be a minor culture shock for you old friend.”

“I will survive,” Raze said with a humours shake of his own head, looking between his lycan leader, Ash and the small group of ponies he guessed he could now call ‘friends’. “Although, with respect, and if it’s not too much hassle... I would much prefer to have a roof over my head then trees, that forest is not the sort of place I’d like to sleep in again… do you have a place within this town Lucian?”

“Like you, I am for the moment slightly displaced Raze,” Lucian sighed, removing his hand and scratching his bearded chin. “And I fear the library I am staying at only has one spare room…”

“He can stay with me!” Applejack said the moment Lucian had finished, causing everypony, dragon and lycan to jump and look at her with expressions of surprise, resulting in the amber pony’s cheeks once again going as red as ripe apples. “Uh… sorry bout that… what I mean to say, is that we do have a spare bed over at the farm if you’re interested, after all, you did save my little sister Applebloom, so it’s only fair I try and repay ya for that.”

Raze gave a hearty chuckle; he admitted these ponies were a rather odd race compared to his own, or even humans for that matter... but if they were all as kind hearted as the ones he had met so far, he guessed he could get used to them.

“I will gladly accept your offer, Applejack,” He replied happily.

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“I simply do not understand these lycans, Applejack,” Rarity said dryly as she trotted through Ponyville, alabaster white hooves kicking up small clouds of dust behind her just like her amber comrade. “Personally, I cannot decide if they are somewhat sophisticated, or just animalistic.”

“They don’t seem so bad to me Rares, Lucian’s a nice guy, and Raze seems pretty easy going,” Applejack chuckled as she trotted beside her friend, gaining the reward of a pair of daggers being glared at her. “What?”

“I am sorry, Applejack, but I do not see how you not only trust Raze, but willingly invite him into your home of all places… if like me you had seen what happened back there, if you saw what Raze did to those Timberwolves…”

“All of which he did to save our sisters lives, and your tight flank Rarity, so how about you cut him some slack on that rope,” Applejack snorted with a surprising amount of anger in her voice, the sudden flare of fire causing the unicorn to uneasily widen the space between them. "And just cause it's your element, doesn't mean the rest of us can't be generous now and then."

For the next few minutes, the two said nothing to each other as they navigated the busy midday roads of Ponyville, seeking out their destination of Twilight’s library in complete and utter silence, while they avoided everypony else they came across; they both had the same goal and would not deviate from it.

Beneath the brim of her hat, however, Applejack was finding herself somewhat lost in an odd chain of thought, trying to figure out why she had abruptly snapped at one of her oldest friends, for simply voicing her opinion of all things. The earth pony guessed it was simply because her opinion was quite the opposite, and perhaps more accurate than her friend’s, she had after all actually sat down and talked to a lycan, while Rarity had only ever had a few passing words with one or seen their dark side.

And yet there was something else pulling at her tail, something not related to lycans, but strangely to Raze directly. When she had invited him to stay at the farm, earlier she had done so without a second thought, like something other than her brain had been speaking for her at the time; plus she had willingly and trustingly allowed Applebloom and her friends to show him around Ponyville in lycan form, with Lucian and Ash of course.

“Oh get out of my head,” she hissed mentally as she pushed the thoughts from her mind, she had done the right thing by him and that was all that mattered now.

Although his small compliment of her body continued to rebound inside her skull.

Being a small town, they found themselves standing before the library fairly soon, Rarity taking a quick glance over her shoulder at her farmer counterpart, before loudly knocking on the door, both wondering and hoping that Twilight would be home to hear the rather interesting news.

“It’s open!”

“Answers that question,” Applejack smirked to herself as she followed Rarity inside. “Does she ever leave this place?”

Twilight was, as they both expected, lying stomach-down on the wooden floor, and buried in a rather large book, a floating quill beside her to take down notes on the as of yet unknown subject as she read through the numerous pages. She immediately looked up when she saw her two friends enter looking a little uneasy, a rather annoyed expression crossing her face that was presumably caused by their own nervous ones.

“Ok, what did Lucian do now?”

Applejack and Rarity both grimaced and looked between each other before returning their eyes to Twilight, who subsequently and rather quickly got to her hooves, and took a few steps towards them, looking like she was actually on the brink of kicking the nearest somepony’s flank.

“Well, actually, it isn’t Lucian who’s the matter on our minds, darling,” Rarity started somewhat timidly as she took a step back, causing the lavender mare to stop her advance, and then arch one of her eye brows. “Please do try and stay calm, but we believe that you, and hence Princess Celestia, need to know that… we now have another lycan in Ponyville.”

Twilight’s bottom jaw dropped open like a block of lead had suddenly been shoved into her mouth, her maw moving a few times, but only a single word managing to be heard and understood by the other two mares in the room.

“H… how?”

Two things happened in the space of around four seconds after the single word was spoken; the first being Twilight’s eyebrow twitched menacingly a few more times, as she made sense of what had just been said to her, and the second being the echoing of loud thud as the purple unicorn fainted, and hit the floor in front of her two friends a moment later.

“Well that didn’t exactly go our way,” Applejack said bluntly as she stared down at the unconscious mare, Rarity huffing and nodding in silent agreement. “Sheesh… and I thought you were a drama queen Rares.”

The quick moment of silent agreement was over quickly.

“We will debate those extremities later, Applejack,” Rarity snorted at the insult, flicking her tail in annoyance as she walked past and headed for the stairs. “SPIIIIKE! Are you up there darling?”

“I… uh-hu-wa… Rarity?” was the half still-asleep reply.

A few moments later, Spike grudgingly emerged from the upstairs bedroom, and descended the stairs, rubbing his eyes a few times to clear away the last remnants of his rather extended sleep as he made his way down to the main room. He stopped for only a moment to look curiously between the two standing mares, and the unconscious form of his sister-figure Twilight, who was at that moment beginning to drool over the pages of her book.

“Do I even want to know?”

“We had news she didn’t exactly take well darling,” Rarity replied with a face-hoof. “News concerning the amount of lycans in Ponyville… increasing.”

“Increasing huh? Well, makes sense then I guess, as much a love her and all, I’d say she has a fear of them,” Spike grinned as he folded his claws, causing both mares to look at him with expressions of shock. “It’s a long story involving what Lucian had for dinner.”

Whatever by Celestia that meant, neither mare really wanted to know, and hence to avoid the subject Rarity raised her horn, and using her magic plucked a blank scroll from the shelf on her left side, levitating it across the room and into the space directly in front of Spike’s claws. The young dragon instantly got the message and pulled out a trusty quill, holding it at the ready as Rarity began pacing while Applejack stood perfectly still and watched.

“Ok Spike, this is important, I want you to write down exactly what I say,” the unicorn began, her pacing growing into the form of large circles. “Dear Princess Celestia, we are writing to you to inform both yourself, and Princess Luna, of an unexpected arrival here in the town of Ponyville, that being of a second lycan named Raze, an old friend of Lucian’s.”

“Raze huh? Doesn’t sound that scary,” Spike smirked as he rapidly wrote down the words.

“I wouldn’t go saying that till you meet him,” Applejack snickered, giving the young dragon a firm pat on the head. “He makes my big brother look like a foal in size comparison,”

Spike paled a little at the thought of such a creature, which in his mind was a combination of Lucian mixed with an Ursa Minor.

“Anyway, back to topic…although we have only known him a short time, we have deduced from both him and Lucian he is not a threat to anypony’s wellbeing, and have hence welcomed him into pony society. Raze is at the present being accommodated by the Apple family, while we and Lucian introduce him to the pony way of life, which, despite some initial confusion, he seems to be taking to quite well… get all of that Spike?”

“So far,” was the dragon’s reply, the scribbling sounds dying away as he finished the last line she had said.

“Ok, last thing Spike” Rarity said skittishly, his eyes watching as a shudder ran though her entire body. “However, the matter of his arrival has also raised some indirect, but rather important questions. Earlier today, a group of six Timberwolves left the Everfree forest, and travelled as far as the school-house, which is located on the outer eastern edge of Ponyville; presumably due to a predatory pack-style attack this action was in search of prey, in the form of ourselves.”

For a moment Spike actually thought he was going to throw up all over message, luckily his stomach just managed to hold his horror in, and his breakfast down.

“This attack was followed by a confrontation between Raze and the Timberwolves, after which no threat to anypony remained, however, it has, as stated, raised some disturbing questions. Ash, our close friend, and one of Ponyville’s three resident adult dragons, voiced a knowledge that Timberwolves are very territorial by nature, and would not leave the Everfree forest unless forcefully displaced. Although we understand we may be jumping to conclusions, given the light of recent events, we believe there may possibly be an as of yet unknown threat within the borders of the Everfree. We will await your response and subsequent action if you see fit… your loyal subjects, Rarity and Applejack.”

Rarity stopped pacing and watched as Spike finished the last few words, dotted the parchment with a loud clack and rolled it up in his claws, holding the sealed letter before the two mares like he was asking for their approval.

“Ya might as send it now Spike,” Applejack nodded, glancing down at the still silent form of her friend Twilight. “I don’t think she’s gonna have anything to say about this anytime soon.”

“I know this is going to come back and bite me somehow,” Spike muttered under his breath as he opened his maw and engulfed the letter in a burst of green flames. “And now…we wait.”

Said waiting was luckily only about seven minutes in length, by which time Twilight had managed to regain consciousness, and shakily get back to her hooves. Despite everyponies best efforts of calming her, however, she was still a little freaked out about the prospect of having two lycan’s around, why though she would not reveal to either Applejack or Rarity, despite their barrage of questions.

What did get her attention, however, was Rarity’s description of the Timberwolf attack; it seemed the lavender unicorn knew more than a bit about the creatures that roamed the Everfree from her studies, and agreed with Ash’s statement of their behaviour when Applejack repeated it.

“If the local Timberwolves are acting it up, it definitely means something is impeding on their territory,” she said as she pulled another book from the shelf, and began to flick through the pages with her magic, the others in the room watching and listening intently. “But it could be anything really… anything from just another but larger pack of Timberwolves, to an Ursa Major… or then again perhaps it’s just Lucian or this Raze guy.”

“Lucian did say he might of frightened them a bit,” Applejack frowned from where she was sitting against a bookcase, her hat sitting beside her front hooves. “You know what that means Twi?”

“Ah… sorry AJ, hehe no clue,” Twilight replied hurriedly as she tried to hide her face behind her purple mane, drawing a look from the amber mare that basically said ‘you know, you’re a terrible liar Twilight... and I mean terrible’

Luckily, before the conversation could go on any further, Spike belched and his mouth involuntarily let out a tongue of bright green flame, which before three mare’s, and one dragon’s eyes, danced and materialized into a rolled up royal-emblem sealed scroll, which Spike hastily plucked from the air, and unrolled while the mares leant him their eyes and ears.

“My loyal subjects Rarity and Applejack,” he began reading aloud, either end of the scroll grasped in his claws. “I am most surprised, but very happy to welcome the lycan Raze to Equestria, and I hope to meet him in the near future, formerly introduce myself, and thank him for his heroic actions in protecting my subjects. As for the matter of the Timberwolves, I will be speaking with my sister and the Equestrian Court about the issue, and should it be deemed necessary I will arrange a guard party to search the Everfree Forest around Ponyville for any signs of a potential threat, or cause for their strange behaviour. Finally, and since I doubt I’ll have another free moment today, could you please advise, and perhaps warn Lucian that Luna intends to come and visit him sometime tonight, her royal highness Princess Celest…wait, what?”

Her stomach churned and two small words unwillingly left Twilights mouth as all eyes in the room rebounded from Spike to her, her cheeks burning like embers as both Applejack and Rarity stared with an obvious hunger for answers to the letters confusing statement; a moment later they both read her facial reaction, and both their jaws dropped as the facts of what had been said sank in like water hitting sand.

“Oh buck,” Twilight hissed as she face-hoofed.

Being the ‘say-it-how-it-looks’ type of country pony, Applejack basically summed up everyponies else’s thoughts in a statement that was half question and half fact; although no doubt already knowing of such things, she disguised the words so Spike’s young mind didn’t become tainted will disturbing images, but it still burned readily in Twilight’s ears as did the thought of Lucian’s reaction when he found out they knew.

“So…Lucian’s…porkin Princess Luna then huh?”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Notes:

Alright so I decided to throw in some Aussie slang, I’m pretty sure you can get what it means anyway.