Seven Days to the Wolves -part 1-

~Seven Days to the Wolves~

Twilight woke up feeling half starved. Looking around, she saw that the sun was setting, which alarmed her slightly as it had been the dead of night when the ritual had begun. Suddenly hearing her stomach growl like a predator, Twilight realized that her shock at having slept for an indeterminate amount of time would have to wait. She levitated her saddlebag over to her from where it was by the entrance of the room she was in, which upon closer inspection was the same room that Twilight and Luna had stopped to admire the statues.

Pulling out an apple, Twilight bit into it with a ravenous hunger. She wasn't quite satisfied, however, so she dug around in her saddlebags a bit more and felt the cool metal of her flask. Twilight pulled it out and looked at the relatively plain container, slightly unnerved that she was about to drink the blood of another sentient being. Making a disgusted face, she uncorked the flask and brought it up to her eye level.

"Well... Over the lips and past the gums, look out stomach, here it comes!" Twilight said as she took a quick swig of the crimson elixir. Twilight was utterly surprised by the flavor that assaulted her taste buds. It still had the slightly coppery taste blood usually has (which Twilight only knew about because she got a paper cut at one point and sucked on the wound to keep from bleeding all over the place) but there was an incredibly sweet aftertaste, with a bite to it similar to alcohol. And zap apples. Feeling her hunger satisfied for the moment, Twilight took a second quaff of her flask, then re-stoppered it and put it back into her bag.

"How are you feeling, Twilight?" somepony asked from behind the newly made vampire.

Twilight turned around and saw Luna approaching from another room she hadn't seen during their first walk-through. Luna sat down and un-stoppered her own flask, taking a quick drink before looking at Twilight's new form appreciatively.

"What?" Twilight asked, misinterpreting Luna's stare for a more critical look over, "Is something on my face?"

"Perhaps you should take a look for yourself," Luna said with a wry smile as she conjured a full body mirror for the unicorn to use.

Looking at her reflection curiously, Twilight inhaled sharply when she saw the extent of the change the blessing had wrought. Her body had become more sleek and feral looking. Toned by the look and feel things as well, for which Twilight was grateful as she didn't really do much more than lift the groceries in her magic and run around with the girls. Her pupils had changed to cat like slits, which gave her an air of being more ferocious than she really was. Her sclera, the normally white part of her eyes, were now a pale shade of purple.

"Wow..." Twilight said with awe, "That... that's me?"

"Looks like it, Twilight," Serene said with a smirk, "And I must say... you look absolutely stunning."

Twilight blushed at the disembodied alicorn's compliment and tried to hide herself while Serene chuckled.

Changing the subject, Luna said, "We will be leaving come nightfall."

"Where are we going?" Twilight asked.

"To the Whitetail Wood," Luna answered, "there is a tribe of wolves that would be able to train you in combat."

"W-wolves?" Twilight asked in a small voice, "Why w-wolves?"

"Because neither Luna nor I can train you,"  Serene responded, "Luna because she doesn't have all the abilities you now posses and I because of my feelings for you."

Twilight sighed heavily and said, "I understand... but that doesn't mean I have to like it!!!"

~~~~~~~~`~

A week. Granted, Twilight knew that it was going to take a long while to get to Spike, but it was still grinding on her nerves. More than once she had considered just going after the Pegasus that had kidnapped the dragonling she called her son, but each time Serene would stop her. But still, a week to get to the Whitetail Wood was longer than Twilight had thought it would take considering the wood was relatively close to Ponyville.

"Twilight, I advise that you allow me to do the talking," Luna said, stopping for a moment.

"Why?" Twilight asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Because Hanhepi Wi Sumanitu Taka are not exactly a social tribe," Luna explained.

A sudden bark of laughter from the woods to their right made Twilight tense up while Luna merely looked on and gave a small smile. From the woods came a large white wolf with two slightly smaller wolves flanking him on either side. On the left was a light grey female, her eyes an incredible shade of sapphire blue. On the right was an oddly colored male, his fur an almost hilariously familiar shade of purple. His eyes were what set him apart though, because they were both a different color. One was a dark yellow, while the other was a shade of green Twilight had never seen before.

The larger wolf approached Luna. For a moment, he stood high and proud, Luna doing the same for a moment before the wolf bowed low and said, "Lady of the Moon, you honor us with your presence."

Luna nodded and replied, "It has been quite some time since I last visited your tribe, Chief Howling Wind. I wish to amend that oversight, if you would be so inclined."

"Of course," Howling Wind said joyfully, his sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight filtering from the trees, "Your protege and her spirit are welcome as well, should they deign to join us."

That last line caught Twilight off guard as she said, "You can see Serene?"

The male to Howling Wind's right said in a surprisingly soft voice, "Nay good mare, we of the Moon can sense the spirits of those who walked the world as we do. Cloaked in the Moonlight that aids our hunts, the spirit you know as Serene is as plain to us as the doe in the next glade over and the hare just behind your rear left leg."

Looking around, sure enough, Twilight could smell the doe. She was with child from the scent of things as well. And, turning to look back, there was the hare, right where the male said it would be. Turning her gaze back to the male, Twilight saw his faint smile and the gleam of mischief that she saw only too often in Pinkie Pie's eyes whenever the eccentric mare was around.

"Twilight Sparkle," the grey female on the left said, "His name is Purple Heart, and he is ever the joker. My name is Lacuna."

"And she is ever the stick in the mud," Purple Heart laughed, "But her heart is always in the right place."

Howling Wind laughed and said, "Come, you both must be tired after your journey. Eat and be merry with us for a while, and perhaps we can speak about the reason you are here after."