Si Lupis Est

Rainbow Dash raced through the sky, giving a grunt as her wings ached, stretching them out as she stopped and started to glide in the wind. She lifted her hand up, shading herself from the suns glare, scrunching up her nose as she peered down at the river below her. She stretched out, peering down, spotting a nice, pebble covered shore, slowly gliding down to it.

"Spike, you are one hard guy to find." Rainbow Dash said, landing onto the pebble covered shore. She stretched her aching wings and limbs, rotating her shoulders. "You better have some badass scars."

Rainbow Dash rested her wings a moment, before looking around, giving it a more critical look, she then looked down, seeing scuff marks on the rocks. She knelt down, brushing the pebbles away, seeing a boot print in the soil, humming in thought.

"Alright Rainbow, what would Daring Doo do in this situation...?" Rainbow asked herself, before looking up, seeing boot prints on the ground, leading into the forest, trailing them with her eyes. "Okay, Spike, you...climbed up a tree? Maybe to see the land a bit better."

She jumped and flapped her impressive wings, getting to the top of the tree rather easily. She trailed the tree with a finger, then flew next to it, looking around. She stopped when her finger landed on Canterlot, the mountain just barely hiding most of the city, only the top of the castle could be seen.

"Canterlot is that direction, which means Ponyville is...that direction. Looks like Spike got out of the river and started heading this direction." Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin, before fluttering back to the ground, humming loudly. "Then...why didn't I see Spike or the thing he fought on the way here?"

Rainbow Dash was startled out of her thoughts by a distant howl, making her shoot up. When she realized there were no bad smells, she relaxed and sighed, realizing the wolf was far away. Good. Last thing she needed right now was a timberwolf attack.

She looked down, following the boot prints, her own shoes leaving a trail. Eventually, she saw wolf prints and shards of wood, making her grimace. She quickened her pace, her thoughts turning to Spike.

Yeah, the dragon blood was tough. Heck, she could throw him in a volcano and he'd be perfectly happy, safe and sound. Burnt clothes and nude, but still, safe. However, the thing that attacked him had to be pretty strong to get through his skin.

Couldn't have been a Ursa Minor or Major, no broken trees. Sure, plenty of clawed ones, but nothing broken. Plenty of blood, and seeing as Spike was no longer leaving a trail and would have bled out before then, it couldn't be a timberwolf that attacked him before.

She stumbled into a clearing, her eyes widening as she saw the bundle of wood, and the wooden head of a timberwolf. "Layin the smack down, Spike, very impressive." She stood up, humming softly as she peered at some new boot prints on the ground, her eyebrow raising as she followed them into the bushes...though Spikes own footprints disappeared.

"Spike, you're in a whole heap of trouble." She mumbled to herself, rubbing her chin. "I gotta stop talking to myself."

Spike awoke again, the searing heat in the back of his mind nothing but a dull warmth now. He clicked his tongue, slowly opening his eyes, reaching his hand up to rub his forehead. When did the ground get so soft? And...so warm?

He heard the crackling of a fire and shot up, fear striking through his body. Did he do that? How long had to he fire been going? He needed to put it out!

He looked around, before realizing he was in a home of some sort, wooden, much like a cozy log cabin. He looked down, seeing fur blankets on himself, bandages around his arm and shoulder, flicking his tongue out.

He smelled something delicious cooking.

Spike sat up, bearing footsteps behind him, making him twirl around and stare at the mystery person. Said person had a hood on, moving towards the fire. When the hooded figure was aware he was awake, it pulled its hood away to show a woman, around her 40s. Her hair was long, dark brown, and three long scars ran across her face, her blue eyes staring holes into him, as if studying him. She gave a smile, showing off her sharp canines, walking over to him, holding her hand up.

"Well met, kinsman!" She spoke, her slitted pupils revealing her identity. A dragon blood.

"Uh...hi there." Spike spoke, confusedly, taking her hand and giving it a shake. "Name's Spike."

"Spike? Well met, Spike! I am Dym!" She said, giving it a hearty shake, before walking over to to the fire, checking on the stew. "I saw your forest fight. Impressive, but you almost lost control."

"Against the timberwolves?"

"Of course. What else could I mean?"

"Sorry...head's a little foggy." Spike sat up a bit and rubbed his head, looking around a bit. "Where am I?"

"In my home. In the...what do the pony bloods call it...Everfree Forest?" Dym explained, scratching her cheek, peering into the stew. "Supper is almost ready, Spike, would you like some? It is a recipe from our homeland."

"Thanks. I'm starving." Spike sat up a bit, rotating his arm a bit to get the cricks out of it, rubbing it a bit. "You're a dragon blood? Like Ember and Smolder?"

"Dragon Lord Ember! A great warrior and diplomat! If I am not mistaken, a young drake gave up the title for her." Dym scratched her chin, before stirring up the stew. She pulled two bowls out, pouring some into one and handing it to the lad. "Eat, regain your strength, young one."

"Thanks. None of the dragon bloods I know talk like you." Spike mentioned, sipping the broth down. He hummed happily and drank more, the warmth spreading through his body. The dull warmth at the back of his head calmed down as he drank it. He blinked as he tasted something squishy and swallowed it, the taste of said squishy item was really good, making his chew the next one that went into his mouth, he pulled away his bowl and cocked his head at some of the items. He recognized carrots and potatoes, however, the strange darker masses in his broth, he did not recognize them.

They did smell...rather delicious though.

"I come from the north, from a place much colder than here, though with many dragons who are far less greedy than most of our kin." Dym scratched her cheek, pouring herself a bowl. She drank it much slower than Spike, giving him a smile, then saying, "I rather liked this place when I passed by, a century or two ago, and decided to stay here. It is much better than the cold up north, and I hear to the big mountain city each month for supplies."

"A century? Wow, you barely look over thirty."

"Aha! A young blood things he has the flame to handle me!"

"Th-that's not what I meant! I mean, you are a beautiful lady, you just aren't-"

"Calm yourself, kin, I jest. You are rather handsome, but far too much trouble, seeing the wounds on yourself." Dym smiled good heartedly, before swallowing another bit of her soup. "You must like my cooking, you are nearly finished with your bowl."

"Yeah, but, what are these dark shapes? I recognize the potatoes and carrots, but not this tasty thing."

"Oh, it is hjort!" Spike looked at her as she scratched her cheek, seeing the lads puzzled expression. "Erm...what was the word...deer! It is deer."

Spike swallowed thickly, looking down at the empty bowl. A sickening feeling filled his stomach, a dark pit of disgust swelling in his innards. He hated the fact that he ate meat. MEAT! Something that would get him glared at in most of pony blood society, he ATE MEAT! He hated that he ate deer. He hated that this woman had killed some poor animal and fed it to him, and...and...he hated how much he liked it.

Wow...meat tastes amazing. That thought raced through Spikes mind, cutting that sickening feeling in half, though the look that crossed his face concerned Dym.

"Do you not like it?" Dym asked, her mind alight with worry. "I can get rid of the meat."

"No, no, it's okay. Just, uh...I've heard dragon bloods are more omnivorous than pony bloods, but I have never...eaten meat." Spike finally said, his appetite quite destroyed at the moment. He handed her the bowl, smiling, before rubbing his chest a bit. "So, you've lived out here a long time, have you seen anything...strange lately?"

Dym looked at him, confused, before pouring herself a bowl, a small part of Spikes mind still wanting some meat, though it was snuffed out. "Well, there were the two pony bloods who woke up the star bears. There was also the incident with a hydra. And the time a God of Chaos popped by for a chat. Otherwise, no."

"No...giant wolf monster or anything?"

Dym perked up, her eyebrow raising as she stared at the young lad. "Wolf monster?"