It was a beautiful Thursday in Ponyville, fairly sunny with clear skies.
It being midday, many of Ponyville’s residents were out and about, living life per usual, the adults doing important things like working or running errands, and the kids, out for more recreational activities with their friends, but all going about their lives with that warm and friendly atmosphere that made Ponyville one of the talks of Equestria.
Well that, and the fact that one of the four Alicorn Princesses, Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, resided there.
Twilight was currently in the map room of her massive castle made of crystal, which doubled as her house, contemplating recent events. She was wearing her royal attire, a pink dress with gold accents and golden, metal boots.
“The wolves have been attacking more and more as the days pass,” stated Twilight.
She was waiting for the her friends to arrive having sent a message to Fluttershy and Rarity, as they were the closest and we're easiest to teleport the letter to, asking them to gather the rest of her friends. She was really not looking forward to telling her friends what happened.
She looked upon the holographic map. On it, all the cities, towns and capitals of Equestria were visible, as well as small red dots, known enemy camps, and small blue dots, Equestrian war camps, at various places.
Twilight looked outside at the sun and couldn't help but think of her former mentor, the Princess of the Sun, Princess Celestia.
“It's been awhile, hasn't it?” contemplated Twilight. Ever since the wolves had started their attacks, Celestia was always too busy with military matters or meetings with Equestria’s allies to visit or talk with Twilight.
She had given up trying to contact her via letter. Every letter she'd sent was returned with an apologetic letter from Celestia’s younger sister, the Princess of the Moon, Princess Luna, stating that Celestia was too busy to respond.
It was ok though, Twilight herself was too busy to send any letters. She had been frantically researching tactics and learning the wolves strategies. Up until last night she hasn't slept for three days, now feeling refreshed and awake.
Due to the eminent threat of the wolves to Ponyville, Celestia as well as the Princess of Love, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Cadence, as she preferred to be called, had sent some of their best soldiers to form a guard in Ponyville.
Twilight lied her face on the crystal table that was projecting the map and rubbed her temples with her fingers. ‘Why does war have to be so frickin’ stressful?’ Twilight thought.
Right after she thought that, she heard the huge doors to the map room open and quickly composed herself.
The Element of Kindness, Fluttershy, dressed in her green, short-sleeved shirt, pink skirt, and brown sandals, followed by the Element of Generosity, Rarity, wearing a blue and black dress, and a pair of black mid heel shoes, entered the room.
“Hey Rarity. Hey Fluttershy,” greeted Twilight.
“Hello darling. How do you like my new dress?” Rarity asked.
“It looks great, where are the others at?” responded Twilight.
Fluttershy walked up next to Rarity. “Well, AJ was apple bucking when we told her you wanted her, Pinkie’s throwing a party, and Starlight was helping Dash set up for stunt she's planning on performing at the next show. They all said they would meet us here as soon as they could,” said Fluttershy.
“You know, daring, you simply must come with Fluttershy and I to the spa this next Saturday. They have a new massage treatment that I hear is to die for,” said Rarity.
“You know what? That's sounds like a fantastic idea. As far as I know I have Saturday off,” said Twilight
Rarity and Fluttershy both smiled and went and took their seats. “Wonderful! So, Twilight,” started Rarity, “what's the matter, why have you called us to a meeting?”
“I’d rather wait until the rest of the girls get here to discuss that,” said Twilight.
“Uh, Twilight, where’s Spike? Isn’t he usually at these meetings too?” asked Fluttershy in confusion.
“Yeah where’s my little Spikey-Wikey?” asked Rarity.
Twilight’s expression darkened. “That's part of why I've called upon this meeting.“
Rarity had a bad feeling about that. ‘The way Twilight said that… it's as if something bad happened. I hope darling Spike is OK.’
The there was a moment of silence, then a knock at the door.
“Come in,” said Twilight. Twilight's student, Starlight Glimmer, the Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash, and the Element of Honesty, Applejack entered the room.
Starlight was in a purple unbuttoned half shirt over a sky blue t-shirt, black jeans, and black skate shoes, Rainbow Dash in her white tank top, black Nike sweatpants, and a pair of blue sneakers, and Applejack was wearing her cowboy hat, a buttoned up, red plaid shirt, blue Daisy Dukes, and a pair of brown leather boots.
They all took their seats. “Uh, guys,” Twilight looked at her friends quizzically, “where's Pinkie?”
Applejack looked at Twilight, puzzled, “We thought she was already here. We went Sugar Cube Corner to go Pinkie, but when we got there, the party was over.”
“We asked the Cakes where Pinkie was and they said that Pinkie was already on her way here,” said Rainbow Dash.
Suddenly, there was a sound of an explosion in the room, startling the mares, then a voice squealed, “Happy Anniversary, guys! “
“Pinkie Pie! You scared us all half to death!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
With a sheepish smile Pinkie said, “Oops, sorry. I just wanted to celebrate this wonderful occasion.”
Pinkie was dressed in a lively yellow t-shirt, a sky blue skirt that went passed her knee, and rosey red slip-on shoes.
“Uh, darling, what exactly might the occasion be?” asked Rarity
Pinkie grinned, “It's our three hundredth meeting together since Starlight became Twilight's student, silly. How could you forget?”
“Uh, Pinkie, as honored as I am you kept track, even I didn't know that. Sorry,” said Starlight.
Pinkie smiled, “That's alright. We just have to plan ahead for meeting number 400!”
Twilight's rolled her eyes. She looked around the room. “Uh, Fluttershy? Where did Fluttershy go?”
“Up here,” said Fluttershy in a voice just above a whisper, who was hiding in the tree chandelier. She fluttered down back to her seat and gave an embarrassed smile with flushed cheeks.
“Alright,” said Twilight, “let's get on with the meeting. As you all know about three years ago, Princess Ember became Dragon Lord. Well, she has become of the age where she must find a mate.”
“What does this have to do with Spike, Twilight?” asked Rarity.
The Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Starlight, and Pinkie all realized the purple dragon was nowhere to be seen.
“Wait. Isn't Spike usually here with us for meetings?” asked Rainbow.
Twilight looked sadly down at the map. “Lord Ember has chosen Spike her mate and… he accepted. “
Everyone gasped. “WHAT?! B-but… my Spikey-Wikey can't leave!” said Rarity in a raised voice.
Rainbow Dash yelled, “Spike is moving to Dragonland?! B-but he can't leave! He's our friend!”
“I know girls, but, he isn't a small dragon anymore. He can make his own decisions. Plus, I think Ember needs emotional support, with the war and what not,” said Twilight with a sad look.
“Are you sure you're OK with this, sugarcube? I mean, how will ya get letters from Celestia?” asked Applejack.
“She’s too busy to talk anyway. I don't know when the next time I'll see her will- ” Twilight was cut off by a grey mare with blond hair crashing through one of windows in the room.
“Derpy! What the hell?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“One second I was flying, the next I crashed. I just don't know what went wrong. Anyways, I have a message for Princess Twilight Sparkle.” Derpy pulled out a white envelope and handed it to Twilight.
“Derpy, you don't have to call me Princess, we’re friends,” said Twilight.
She took the message from Derpy’s hands. “So, whose this from, Derpy?”
“Oh yeah,” Derpy pulled out her clipboard, “ this was sent by Princess Celestia from Canterlot Castle.”
Twilight looked at the letter in shock. ‘But she hasn't sent me anything for months!’
“I'll be on my way then. Sorry about the window,” shouted Derpy as she flew out the hole in the castle that use to be a window.
Twilight turned over the envelope. Sure enough on the back was the Royal golden seal.
Twilight hurriedly tore open the envelope and read the letter aloud, “It says, ‘My Dear Twilight, I am sending this letter to address a few things. First, I'm sorry I haven't been contacting you, I've been busy with the war going on and have hardly had a minute to myself. Next, I heard about Spike leaving. I know it must have been hard for you to let him go, but I'm proud of you for letting him go.”
Twilight couldn't help but smile at that last part. She continued, “And finally, I want to announce that Luna, Cadence, Flurry, your brother and I are coming to Ponyville l.”
They all gasped. “Why are they coming? Oh no, I have to plan a party!” Pinkie said before trying to dart out the door, only to be stopped by Applejack holding her tail.
“What a second, Pinkie! Twilight, does it say why they're comin’? asked Applejack.
“They wouldn't come on such short notice unless something important was happening,” said Fluttershy, who had just come out from under the table, having been startled by the shattering of the window.
Twilight continued to read the letter to herself. “She says they will be here today,” she said with a smile.
But as she continued, that smile quickly faded and was replaced with a look of terror as she found the reason of their rush to get to Ponyville.
“She says an army of one hundred wolves is coming to destroy Ponyville!”
A Sheep in Wolves Clothing
Despite it being daytime, the denizens of Ponyville had learned long ago that the Everfree Forest was an eerie and dangerous place to behold.
Regardless of that fact, one individual still ventured through it that fateful Thursday.
“This isn't the worst place I've ever seen, but it's certainly on the top ten list of places never to take a vacation at,” he grumbled as he walked through the forest.
He had been walking through the Everfree Forest for hours and, luckily, only ran into a couple Timberwolves, of which he had quickly disposed of with no major injuries. Any scratches he had received were healed quickly, thanks to his Self-Healing ability
He saw a clearing in the forest and was glad he would finally be out of the forest. As he stepped out, he saw what looked to him like a rural town in the distance.
He scanned the area and saw a group of ponies clad in guard’s armor going down a dirt path towards the town. He knew that under the circumstances, there was a possibility that they would attack on site, but he really hoped to avoid fighting.
“Excuse me, guards,” he yelled after them. When they turned and saw what he was, they drew their weapons and ran up to him.
“Put your hands up!” yelled the lieutenant of the squad as they surrounded the wolf, pointing their weapons at him.
The lieutenant was a caramel-colored mare with sky blue eyes, wearing silver armor while the other guards wore bronze.
“Whoa!” the wolf put his hands up, “I come in peace!”
The lieutenant snorted, “And what makes me think I'm gonna believe that?”
“I have come to speak with Her Majesty, Princess Celestia,” said the wolf.
“Well, we’ll just have to see what Princess Twilight says about that,” said the lieutenant, giving the wolf a look of hatred.
Twilight was watching intently from her throne as the Captain of Ponyville’s Guard, Flash Sentry, marched back and forth in front of Ponyville's Royal Guard, clad in his purple Captain’s armor that reminded Twilight of when her big brother used to be Captain of the Guard, back when there was only one guard in Equestria.
Twilight’s friends were off informing Ponyville’s civilians of the forthcoming danger.
“Listen up! There's an army of wolves marching on our Ponyville and will be here at about eighteen hundred hours,” said the Captain, “I don't think I have to remind you that your job is to protect your Princess with your lives. Those wolves main priority will no doubt be to capture or kill the Princess. Do not let this happen! Failure is not an option! Is that clear!”
“Sir yes sir!” shouted the Royal Guard in unison.
Flash’s rant was interrupted by the throne room doors being flung open as the Southern Border Patrol of Ponyville came marched in, escorting someone.
They walked up to Flash and stopped in front of him, standing up straight in military fashion and saluted to him. “Captain Sentry, sir,” said the brown lieutenant, “we found this wolf trying to sneak into Ponyville from the Everfree Forest.”
“Is that so?” he asked, turning his gaze to the wolf in question and gave him a death glare.
“For the record, Captain Sentry, was it, I wasn't trying to sneak in anywhere. I approached your guards and simply asked to speak with Her Highness, Princess Celestia.” said the wolf in a calm, collected voice.
“What makes you think I’m gonna believe that? Take him to the dungeon!” commanded Flash, disgusted the that the wolf thought he could fool a Captain of the Guard so easily.
“Wait!” pleaded the wolf as he was being dragged away by two burly guards, struggling a bit. He turned to Twilight, “Your Majesty, please, just hear me out.”
“Wait!” Twilight beckoned to one of her Royal Guards. The guard broke the line formation that they had stayed it the whole time, and approached her.
“You, go get Applejack and bring her here,” Twilight told the guard.
The guard left the room and Twilight turned to the to the wolf, “What is your name?”
He knelt down before Twilight, the guards pulling out their weapons from the sudden movement, but sheathing them after they saw what he was doing.
“My name is Justin T-Bone Bellator,” said the wolf.
He had black fur, with a patch of red around his left eye, as well as red streaks throughout his fur. His eyes were chocolate brown. His ears were twice as long as Twilight’s and had white fur on the inside. He wore a dark grey t-shirt under a black, unzipped hoodie that had red trimming, black and red high-tops,a pair of black, fingerless gloves and black jean-shorts.
He was big, with a tone figure. He was also quite handsome, especially for a wolf.
Twilight relaxed a little as Justin showed no signs that he meant her any harm, but she still kept her guard up. Twilight had more questions for Justin, but wanted her friends bullshit detector first.
Five minutes later, the guard reentered the room with Applejack. She gasped when she saw Justin and hurried past him in fear up to Twilight.
“Whaddya need, Twi?” asked Applejack, wary of Justin’s presence. Twilight turned to Justin.
“Applejack here is, arguably, the best lie detector in Equestria. You may plead your case, but if you lie, Applejack with tell me and you will be put in the dungeon, is that understood?” Twilight asked the wolf.
“Yes, Your Highness. As I was saying before, I have come here with the intention of speaking with Princess Celestia,” said Justin, still kneeling.
“Do you have any intention of bringing cap or death to Princess Celestia or any other citizen of Equestria?” Twilight asked.
“I have no intention of doing such things,” responded Justin.
Twilight looked at Applejack who gave her a confirming nod.
“Are you with the wolves that have been attacking Equestria and started a war with us?” asked Twilight.
“No, I have no allegiance to them whatsoever.” As Justin answered the question, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that up on the rafters of the crystal castle, was a hooded wolf notching an arrow in his/her bow.
Twilight and the guards were too busy with their attention on Justin, that they were oblivious to the impending danger. Justin knew if he did act fast, the Princess would be killed, and he would be blamed.
“Where are you fro-” Twilight was interrupted by Justin breaking his cuffs and ran towards her before the guards could grab him.
Not Twilight, Applejack, nor the guards had enough time to react as the assassin above let loose an arrow, and Justin, in one swift move, jumped, grabbed the arrow, and threw it back to the one who shot it.
Justin then turned back to Twilight, kneeled and bowed his head to her as a wolf assassin fell from the rafters with an arrow in his heart.
Flash turned to his guards, “We've been infiltrated! Search the castle for any more assassins! You,” he said pointing at Justin. After a moment of hesitation, he continued, “If you're really on our side, then take the Princess to her chambers and guard her with your life… please.”
Justin stood up and saluted with a smile, “Yes sir!”
“Applejack, go help with battle preparations,” said Twilight.
Applejack opened her mouth to protest, but was stopped by Twilight’s raised hand, “I'll be fine, just go,” she said with a reassuring smile.
“Ok, Twi,” Applejack turned to Justin, “if you hurt her, I swear I'll-”
“I swear on my parents graves, no harm will come to her while I'm still breath,” said Justin.
With that, Applejack left, and Justin followed Twilight as she rushed to her chambers. As they entered, to guards looked the door behind them.
Now that they were alone, Twilight dropped her calm, regal persona, and breathed a couple deep breaths, then turned to Justin.
“So, how do you know Celestia?” asked Twilight.
“I met her when I went to Canterlot on business with my parents, though I doubt she'll recognize me By the way, why are you acting differently now, Your Highness?” asked Justin.
“To be honest with you, I'm terrified, I haven't ever had a real attack from an army. And, just call me Twilight,” she said.
“If that's alright with you, then, ok,” he responded.
Twilight sat on her bed, trying to calm herself, while Justin stayed standing, alert and using all his senses to look for danger.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Twilight spoke, “Thanks. For, you know, saving my life.”
Justin looked at her with a smile, “No problem. I- Someone's coming!”
The doors burst open as a tall, regal looking, white Alicorn, clad in golden battle armor with her silver sword drawn, burst through the door, followed by a blue Alicorn, and a white unicorn stallion with blue hair.
When she saw the wolf near Twilight, she pounced on him, putting her sword to his throat as Luna and Shining Armor got between them and Twilight.
“Wait! I wasn't attacking her I was protecting her!” pleased Justin
“It's the truth, Celestia! Don't you remember him?” asked Twilight.
Celestia looked at her, “I haven't the slightest clue who he is.” She turned to Justin, keeping her sword at his throat, but softening her tone, “Who are you?”
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you don't remember me. It has been a while. My dad’s name... was Richard Bellator and my mom was Lily Cheyenne Bellator.”
Celestia gasped, then got off of Justin and lowered her sword. She stared at him wide-eyed, mouth agape before saying, “Justin?”
“So you do remember me? Remember the first time we met?” Justin asked with a smile.
As Celestia stared at him, she remembered when she met the black and red wolf at the peace conference. He was such a entertaining pup and left an everlasting impression on Celestia.
She dropped her sword and rushed forward, and embraced Justin, to which he returned.
“It's been so long. Where have you been? I haven't seen you or your parents since the attacks started,” said Celestia as she finished her hug.
It was then that Flash Sentry rushed in, fearing the yelling earlier was another assassin. After seeing Celestia, he bowed, “Your Majesty, I had no idea you were here,” he said.
“As soon as I had stepped into the castle, I saw guards on high alert, so I asked what happened. They told me an assassin had attempted to take Twilight’s life, so we rushed to her chambers as quickly as we could to see if she was alright,” Celestia explained.
“Well I'm glad to report, we've secured every square inch of this castle, so Your Highnesses should be able to relax now.”
Not long after Flash said that, sirens started blaring outside.
“What's that sound?” asked Justin.
Twilight spoke with fear in her voice, “Those are the warning sirens. The wolves are here!”