As the group of travelers walked through the darkened forest, on their way to Hollow Shades, Dream couldn’t help but beam at what was coming. She’d been looking forward to this since she’d begun traveling with them, and now here it was, their journey’s end. What would her new home hold? What sort of ponies would she meet? What sort of adventures would she have? She could hardly stop herself from running ahead of the group.

In the distance, a howl rang out through the woods. Soon after it was answered by several more.

“Don’t worry, it’s probably some lycans. I hear they make up a lot of the town guard.”

The howls came again, closer this time. Now, Stardust and Nightshade seemed a little less sure. They began to move a little slower, Night moving to the front to scan for danger. With his heightened hearing and night-vision magic, he made the best lookout for the group.

“There’s something coming. A lot of somethings… I hear claws rushing through leaves… I think it’s…”

Suddenly, his eyes went wide, and he turned to Stardust with a shocked expression as the sounds became audible to the rest of the group, accompanied by a foul stench.

“Timberwolves!”

A large, canine creature lunged out of the shadows, darting around to flank the group as more of them followed, circling around the three ponies, working together to surround them. Star and Night pulled Dream in, trying to protect her. Star fixed one of the wolves with a glare. Dream could feel her trying to use magic, but she was holding back. The wooden wolves were watching warily, waiting for any sudden movements. The briefest flash of magic could set them off, and that would spell disaster.

Dream had never known danger, especially not like this. Suddenly this all didn’t seem so fun. She was frozen with fear, watching as the large creatures paced around them, snarling hungrily.

Then, Night whispered lightly to the group, ears darting around. “There’s somepony coming. We need to let them know we’re here.”

Star gave a brief nod, then shut her eyes. She opened them to reveal the white glow of witch-magic. With a cry, she let out a pulse of magic around the group, forcefully pushing the wolves back. Two of them shattered upon striking against the sides of trees, but the rest quickly righted themselves. Still, the group had their opening and quickly began to use it to make their escape, running out through the woods.

Dream began to fall behind the two adults, her small legs unable to keep up. Then she remembered her wings. While she wasn’t a strong flyer, at least she knew the wolves wouldn’t be able to catch her in the air. With a quick beat of her wings she took off, working to gain some height on the wolves.

“Go on without me!” she called out to the group as she flew up into a high tree branch. “Just run!”

She clung to her branch for dear life as one timberwolf broke off from the group to circle her tree, staring up at her. It would occasionally stop to lunge up at her, snapping its jaws and snarling, but then it would give up and go back to circling. She was too tired to fly far. She was trapped.

Then the sound of thundering hooves came, and a large blur bashed against the side of a very surprised timberwolf. In overjoyed awe, she craned her neck to catch a glimpse of her rescuer. There, standing in the midst of a shattered timberwolf, was a young, muscular Earth pony stallion. He smiled up to her.

“C’mon, little lady. Let’s go help yer pals!”

Dream glided down, and the stallion lifted her up with his teeth and planted her firmly on top of his back.

“Hold on tight!”

The stallion thundered off in the direction Star and Night had run, carrying Dream faster than she’d ever traveled before. Curious, Dream tapped into her magic and saw that the stallion seemed to be drawing magic from the ground as he traveled, using it to give him energy. Then, looking up, she saw the signatures she’d come to recognize as Star’s and Night’s auras. They were surrounded, trapped, by a strange magical signal sent out by something big, bigger than the timberwolves had been. She let her savior know, and he quickly changed direction, heading for them.

They came to a clearing by a cliff face where her friends were trapped with their backs to the wall by a giant timberwolf. Dream, still using her power, could now see its strange magic more clearly. There was a single focal point in its chest that held all of the bits of wood together. As she dismounted so that the Earth pony could do his thing, she focused her energy on that one spot, trying to do anything to help the situation.

The point began to glow, clearly showing what seemed to be the thing holding it together. Realizing this, she shouted out to the Earth pony before he could make any other move.

“Hit the glowy bit!”

The stallion turned and gave her a knowing grin, as the giant timberwolf turned to face them. Then, the stallion braced himself, and Dream could see him somehow drawing massive amounts of magic from the earth, building up into a powerful reservoir within him.

The wolf roared and swung down a claw, but the stallion used some of that built up energy to dash to the side faster than a normal stallion should be able to. Then, he released all of that energy in one great motion, propelling himself forward as a hurtling projectile, aimed right for the wolf’s chest. The beast’s eyes went wide as its core was forcefully ripped from its chest by the stallion’s intense attack. With a dying cry, the timberwolf crumbled. They had won.

Star, Night, and Dream all rushed together, grateful that they were all okay. Once everyone was done, they turned to their hero.

“Thank you for saving us mister…” Stardust began, trailing off as she realized she didn’t know how to address the stallion.

“Lance,” he replied with a cocky grin. “Stone Lance, freelancing adventurer, at yer service.”

“Well, Stone Lance, thank you for your help.”

The stallion let out a loud, boisterous laugh. “Now come on, ain’t nothin’ to it! Now if I’m not mistaken, ya’ll ain’t from around here. And ya don’t seem like bandits. So I take it ya’ll ‘re new arrivals?”

The group nodded and the stallion beamed.

“Well, follow me then! Town ain’t far, I’ll give ya the grand welcome!”

Stone turned and began to trot off, leading the group towards town.

“Ya’ll were lucky I was exploring the area, and that it was just timberwolves. Got a lot of worse things out here. Cutthroat bandits, cultists, manticores… gotta be careful in these woods. If ya’ll are gonna live here, we’re gonna have t’ get ya’ll some trainin’, teach ya how to keep safe around here.”

Soon enough, they were stepping out of the forest, and in the clearing, there it was. A modest-sized, quaint town in the middle of the woods, with dark colored buildings framed against a dark night sky, shimmering with a sea of stars. Dream had never seen anything so beautiful.

“Welcome to Hollow Shades!”

The town hall was a large building towards the center of town, and from the looks of it was probably one of the oldest buildings in town. It was also the home of the town registrar, where Dream and her friends would go to register as members of the community.

The stallion in charge was an elderly thestral named Mothlight, who sat at a high desk with a large records book. Quill by his side, he gazed down at the group of newcomers with a bored expression.

“Alright. The mare first. State your name, race, and age for the census.”

“My name is Stardust. I’m a unicorn and a sanguine, and I’m 23 years old.”

“Hm… been a while since we had a new sanguine… Profession? Skills? We like to try and help you find work right away. Can’t have you lazing about now, can we?”

“I don’t really have too many skills. I worked as a waitress before I got cursed. I was studying illusion magic, because that’s my special talent, but I’m not that proficient.”

The stallion grumbled as he scribbled something down. After a moment, he looked back at her.

“Try the inn. I think Grassy Knoll said she needed some help. And perhaps you should join one of the local covens, they might be able to help you with your magic. Next, the stallion.”

“Nightshade. Thestral, age 21.”

“Hrm… Where you from, son?”

“Cravenmoor Cavern tribe, sir. Manticore attack chased everyone away.”

“Ah… always a shame to lose some of the old lands… what did you do for the tribe?”

“I was a gatherer for the local healer. Special talent for identifying wild plants.”

“Well now, seems you’re in luck! One of the apothecaries was looking for a new apprentice. I’m sure you’ll fit in great there. Now, the filly.”

Dream was nervous. What would she tell him? What would happen to her? Now that she was actually here, the full implications of the situation dawned on her. Would she be allowed to stay with Star and Night? They were like family to her! She didn’t think she could be separated from family again…

Star nudged her side with her nose, then gave her a patient, calming smile, that just seemed to make Dream’s worries melt away. She took a deep breath, then faced the waiting stallion.

“I’m Dream Weaver. I’m… 8 years old. And I’m a pegasus… and a witch.”

The stallion raised an eyebrow as he wrote that down.

“A witch you say? Naturally born? Either of your parents a witch as well?”

“Er… yes, I-I think I was born like this. B-but I don’t think my parents were witches.”

“Mm hmm…” he mumbled as he wrote this down. “So what’s your story, missy? It’s obvious these ponies aren’t family. I can guess, but I need to hear it from your mouth for the records.”

And so, with some gentle prodding and help from Stardust and Nightshade, Dream told the tale of how she came to Hollow Shades. When she finished, Mothlight nodded and finished writing, setting aside his quill. Then he steepled his hooves, looking down at the group.

“Given the situation, it would seem to me that you all have grown incredibly close, is that correct?” When the three friends all agreed, the stallion continued, “Well then, I presume you would want to stay together.”

Dream’s heart soared with hope. Could she really stay with them?

“If you two feel you’re up to the responsibility, I can set all three of you up with a room at the inn. I’m sure Grassy will be accommodating. As for the filly, she may stay with you, provided she attend lessons with one of the town covens and that you allow for monthly reviews by the town guard to ensure you’re taking proper care of her. Otherwise, I see no problem with you taking care of her.”

The stallion gave a slight smile before stamping down on a few forms and clearing his throat.

“Well, congratulations. You’re all officially residents of Hollow Shades. Welcome to your new home!”

The three ponies, once strangers but now family, hugged and cheered with joy. Of course none of them were as happy as Dream right now. She had a family that she knew would love her no matter what. She had a new home full of adventure and danger and new ponies to meet.

Her new life began now.

Author's Note

Another chapter up! Thanks again to my editor Requiem17!

Also, I'm currently working on a nice cover art for the story. And if you happen to know of any groups to add this story to, feel free to add it/suggest them to me.

Thank you all for your patronage!