One With the Pack

Quetzal was still standing at the cave’s entrance when she saw the group approach. Her heart dropped at the sight of Ember, and she ran towards them. “Alpha! Are you alright?”

“I’m ok, Beta.”, he replied weakly, eyes half open.

Collin gently lowered himself to the ground, allowing the other stallion to get off. Quetzal had ran off to go get Firefly, the both of them emerging moments later. The Omega covered her mouth with a hoof and gasped, walking quickly over to him. “Alpha, what happened?”

“I’ll explain later. Please, could one of you go get me some food? I'm starting to feel light headed.”

Speckle was the first to move towards the cave, using her red eyes to see in the dark. The other mares went to work with cleaning and bandaging all of the cuts that on Ember’s body. He was rather calm throughout, rarely flinching or crying out. The large cut on his belly had to be stitched closed, and he growled lowly when he felt the needle pierce his skin. Quetzal paused, watching him closely. He glanced up at her, nodding once, signaling her to continue.

She slowed her movements, having the needle go in and out, making sure that the thread was straight and didn't snag. When she finished, Sirena cleaned up the now closed wound once again, covering it with a piece of gauze. Ember sighed, thanking the trio for patching him up. They gave their welcomes, backing up to give him some space as Speckle returned with a large hare in between her jaws.

The others strolled into the cave, leaving Ember, Speckle and Collin alone. The pegasus shifted his gaze from the unicorn to the earth pony as she dropped the hare onto the ground in front of him, which the Lead tucked into eagerly. She raised an eyebrow, slighty perplexed. “Collin? Are you ok? You seem...distant.”

The stallion didn't answer for a few moments, lost in his thoughts.

“Rookie, she asked you a question. It's rude to ignore it.”

“What? Oh, sorry Speckle. I’m fine, just a bit overwhelmed, I guess. Everything that's happened in these past few hours, it feels like I’m finally catching up with it.”

She gave him a sympathetic look. “I understand. It must have been rough for you, it sure was for me.”

Ember had been thinking on something while they were talking, and suddenly his eyes became slits,showing that he was concerned about it. “Speckle, could you go inside please? There’s something I need to discuss with Collin.”

She nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

When she left, the two pairs of red eyes locked with each other. “Sir?”

“By what you’ve told me, those Rogues are coming back, and they want me.”

“Yes, Sir. How are we going to prepare for their return?”

“Simple. We have the others relocate to another cave, leaving just us Alphas. We see what the Rogues want, settle it, then call the rest of the pack back.” Suddenly, he felt a cold chill run down his spine, something he had felt once before. He sighed. “What is it, Crimson?” The transparent figure floated out of his host’s body, his eyes aglow with excitement.

“Now, I don't mean to interrupt your lovely little conversation, but I had to come out and ask. Is there going to be any killing going on? Because that would make me a very happy camper.”

The stallions both narrowed their eyes in annoyance. “Only if it's necessary.” Ember replied.

“Aw, come on. Don't you guys hate those wolves?”

Collin answered this question. “Yes, but not enough to kill them. Actually, wait. Make that not kill two of them.”

“See? Collin catches my drift. Maybe I should attach to him instead.”

Ember rolled his eyes. “That's not the point. I just want them to stay away from my pack. Nothing more, nothing less. If one of them makes a move on us, then that's a different story.”

“Fine, fine. But I’m coming out the second I notice anything threatening.”

“Whatever. Collin, go relay the plan to the others.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The Lead lowered his head when the other stallion left. “Tonight is going to change us, one way or another.”

The four Alphas made their way to where the Rogues were last seen. Ember let out a howl, the sound echoing across the field. The trio of Rogues appeared moments later, transforming themselves. “Well, if it isn't the Lead Alpha himself. Pleasure to see you again, Ember.” Grassblade sneered, a less than friendly smile plastered on his face.

“Likewise, Grassblade. Now, let's get this over with, shall we?”

Astral tsked. “If by ‘over’ you mean making a deal, then sure. Onyx, you first.”

The yellow pegasus glared at the Lead, his eyes briefly turning silver. “Thanks to you, I was banished from the Elder Pack. All I ask is for you to talk with the Head about letting me back in. It's been months since I’ve seen Rose, and it's driving me insane.”

Ember had his eyes narrowed, but he raised an eyebrow. “I’ll consider it.”

Grassblade then stepped forward. “Well, I’m sure you can guess what Astral and I want, so I’m not going to go through the trouble of repeating it.”

Speckle growled, fed up with having go through this yet again. “Haven't y'all heard of the term Marking? We are both Marked, and clearly we’re not interested in the likes of you. So could you just drop it?”

Grassblade snorted and rolled his eyes. “Fine. If that's what you want. Don’t think I’ll be forgetting this anytime soon, Speckle Shine.” He turned and slinked away, transforming as he did so.

Astral, on the other hoof, wasn't intent on giving up so easily. His eyes bore daggers at Collin, who stared back just as fiercely. They started to circle each other, both growling lowly. “Collin, don't you think things would be easier if we just shared?”

The dark blue pegasus laughed bitterly. “Me? Share with you? Over my dead body will I ever think that.”

The unicorn’s eyes darkened, and he hissed, “Then you leave me no choice.”

He leaped forward, landing face first into the ground as Collin rolled to the side at the last second. Pinning the unicorn down by sitting on his back, he roughly pulled his head up and stared into his eyes.

“Don't underestimate me, Astral. You have no idea of what I’m capable of.”

Astral didn't have time to spit out a witty comeback, as he then screamed out in pain, feeling his horn bend then snap in half. His cry was muffled as Collin slammed his head back into the dirt. The pegasus’s eyes were now pure white, making him look even more angry than he currently was. As much as he wanted to take matters into his own hooves, he knew that he would have to gain approval first.

He glanced over at Ember, asking this with venom dripping in his voice: “Permission to kill, Alpha?”

The Lead didn't skip a beat, and he answered just as darkly. “Permission granted.”