Forbidden: A Lost Wolf Story

Ten Years Later

Ben awoke on a Saturday morning with a little more energy than before. He jumped out of his bed, ran to his bathroom, groomed his fur, and made sure his teeth were clean. He jumped out of his room, which was an extended closet that was concealed in Celestia's room, and was about to leave when he heard a cough from behind him.

Ben grimaced and slowly turned around to see the disapproving face of Celestia glaring at him. I tried. Celestia used her magic to present a number five, reminding Ben about rule five.

"May I?" asked Ben.

Celestia nodded.

Ben jumped with excitement and quickly, yet quietly, left Celestia's room.

Even though Ben was technically fifteen years old, he felt more like twenty. He roamed around the castle, making his way from the kitchens, without being noticed, to the armory, without being noticed, to the gardens, almost noticed, and finally to the dungeons, where nopony noticed. Nopony went to the dungeons. There was no need. No pony has ever committed such a crime to be landed in the dungeon for almost a thousand years.

It was here where Ben felt free to be himself. To speak loudly without being scorned by Celestia. To run around without Celestia's worried face dragging him down. To do whatever I want. Ben knew by age six that Celestia was trying to keep him secret from everypony else. So Ben made his own little secret to keep from Celestia. For fun, of course. Ben went into one of the cells and removed one of the stones from the ground. A small hole revealed a stash of books that Ben had collected without Celestia's permission from the Canterlot library and even some spell books from Celestia's old private library.

If she ever found out about these...

The books were worn and old, a sign that Celestia has owned them for many years. Some contained old folk tales that were no longer told. Others were war strategy books that generals would have referred to. Then there was the spell book.

Forbidden Magics: An Advanced Course in Training, Combat, and Utility Sorcery.

It was an old hardback with purple leather decor and grey bindings. Ben always felt that he had a connection to this book, especially because his coat was grey with purple markings. He never could figure out why he had those markings, since he did not believe that they were just birth marks. He understood that colors of ponies can be random, but with his wolf blood, he felt that his genetics would have some consistency. It was a mystery he gave up on.

He held the book with care as he turned the pages, remembering each page just by looking at it.

Good thing for photographic memory.

He went through the first fifty pages that he memorized by heart and stopped on the section that gave him the most trouble.

Magic in Creatures Other than Ponies.

Since he was a wolf-pony hybrid, he believed that he might find something under this section to give explanation as to the events that occur around him. He had magic, this he knew. What he did not know was how he could control it, let alone know where his magic came from. He created theories, but shot down many of them with the knowledge that he learned from this section.

A creature that is not a pony may possess magic under certain circumstances. One is the creature must have been born by a creature with magic. Ben did not know who or what was the creature that had magic for him to possess in the first place, so he kept that idea in mind.

Another is that the magic can be given willingly to the creature through a ritual. He always skipped passed this one because he thought it illogical for somepony to willingly give him magic.

As he looked down the list of the possible ways he could have magic, his mind started to blank, and was filled with a bright flash of purple light. He was snapped back to reality, in mere seconds, realizing that it happened again.

What is that flash?

He has seen that flash before, but he could never remember where. Ben wanted to ask Celestia if she knew anything, but a gut feeling told him that he would not like the whole answer. Ben knew that whenever he brought up how Celestia found him, Celestia became defensive and would try to divert the conversation a different direction.

Ben shook his head and returned to the book. He saw various images and descriptions of magic flows in creatures such as deer, bears, foxes, rabbits, even elephants. But no wolves. Not a single diagram or mention of a wolf with magic. He always wanted to ask Celestia why wolves were so rare in Equestria, but doing so would put both himself and Celestia in uncomfortable positions. Ben would most likely get an answer that he would not like, and Celestia would be the one to give the answer. To say his relationship with Celestia was stable would be laughable.

Ben flipped through the pages that he knew were not helpful until he stopped on a blank page in the middle of the section. Ben was curious, having not seen this page before in his private sessions. He turned the page to look ahead, but found more blank pages. He turned back, only to see a small inscription at the top of the blank sheet. It was written in what Ben thought was red ink. He took a small sniff of the dry liquid. It was ink.

For a moment, it almost looked like blood.

The inscription read, "Would you like to know more?"

Ben, always ready to make notes in the books he read, picked up his quill, dipped it in his ink pot, and began writing.

"About what?" Ben was wary to respond to books that talk back. He knew that even books had magic.

"About yourself," the book responded.

Ben took a minute to think about what the book just said. Had the book known that he was using it to find out more about himself? The quill shook in his grip, another oddity he was unfamiliar about. Instead of hooves, Ben actually had paws. With those paws were the canine claws that Celestia trimmed herself whenever they grew too long.

After taking a few moments to think, Ben finally responded.

"Yes."

Celestia exited the board room with a false smile. She had to sit through three hours of shouting between three land owners who were accusing each other of planting illegal plants on each other's lands. Celestia had to move the conversation to the board room because the noise was drawing unfriendly attention. Eventually, it was boiled down to the seeds of the illegal plants having been carried through the wind and landed on the land owners' properties.

It was midday in Canterlot and Celestia was roaming around the castle without a worry. This was one of the few days where she had little or nothing to do. She spent this particular day heading out of the castle and towards Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. She really had things to do, but she puts those other tasks off for a later date for a special occasion. She noticed during her free time that a giant dragon appeared at the school. She assumed that it was some prank at first, but felt the surge of magic shortly afterwards. She did not know at the time that she was about to meet her new star pupil.

Ben was exhausted. What he experienced was something he remembered reading in Harry Trotter. The book took him in to a memory. It was there he saw his conception. His father, a grey wolf, and his mother, a purple earth-pony with a short, shabby blue mane, sky blue eyes, and a cutie mark that he assumed was a demonic star symbol. He thought it looked similar to Lord Tartarus' Pentagon, the devil of Equestria. He was sweating by the time he saw the two make love. He wanted to vomit, knowing that he was some child of a devil worshiper. A spawn of the devil, he thought.

The mare was well talented in magic, for she gave a small, incomprehensible chant, and shortly after became pregnant. Ben almost wanted to close his eyes in horror of such a dark magic. He remembered in one of his private sessions reading about dark, forbidden magic. Even if he could, Ben swore that he would never perform such horrible spectacles of magic.

Shortly after, the birth happened. Ben did look, hoping to get a glimpse of the birthing process, even if it was enhanced by dark magic. The screams that came were dull and quiet, as if the mare had prepared, as Ben assumed she did, for this particular moment. The birth had finally ended, and the wolf quickly picked up the young Ben and placed him in the middle of a small meadow. The mare spoke another short enchantment, then fled into the forest. Ben would have followed, but caught the wolf acting particularly strange. The wolf spun his head around, and as he did so, the young Ben started to mature and grow, into a perfectly healthy toddler. The wolf then fled into the woods, but did not leave. A loud, long howl escaped from the wolf, which was shortly followed by a crack of lightning.

Ben watched in horror as a purple bolt of lightning struck the baby Ben's body. The wolf gave another howl, and another lightning bolt struck the inactive body of the toddle. The wolf then jumped out of the trees, picked up the young Ben, and placed him in a small bush. Ben waited along with the wolf, who returned to his position in the darkness of the trees. They both waited until Celestia arrived at the scene.

Ben watched as the scene unfolded before him. Celestia seeing, smelling, hearing, and all that she did. The glowing of the marks on Ben's body luring Celestia closer. When it was over, Ben asked to be returned.

Back in the dungeon, Ben was breathing heavily, sweat was pouring down his face. He first thought that what he saw was a dream, but the faint smell of musk reminded him that he was taken to a real past, to a real event that was the reason for his existence in the first place. He had decided to stand up, and when he did, he noticed the room glowing a purple glow. He looked down at his torso, and saw his marks giving off the purple glow.

Just like when I was born.

He tried to think of the purple flash, and realized that the lightning was the cause. He thought about the lightning, then gasped, as sparks started to surround him and jump across the room. The sparks were connected to the metal bars of the cells, creating electrical fields that seemed unreal to Ben. Several of the books were burnt by electricity, save for the spell book. Ben would have been horrified, but was instead focused by the fact that the sparks were connecting to his paws. No, his entire body! His entire figure acted like a conductor for electricity, but Ben was slightly relieved to not feel like he was actually being electrified.

The sparks ended, but were replaced by a loud boom. Some pieces of dust from the ceiling fell. Ben quickly looked up, feeling a surge, or something, from outside. He could not tell what it was, but it was big. And Ben then felt the urge to return back to his room. He grabbed the spell book and quickly ran back upstairs, but still making sure that he would not be noticed.

Celestia returned to her room later than she expected. She had to go through the paperwork of having Twilight Sparkle be accepted to the school, the medical procedures for the after effects of transfiguration, and finally the talk with Twilight's parents about how she would be offered to stay and study with Celestia herself. After much consideration, Twilight's parents agreed.

Celestia then spent the next half hour giving the young Twilight a tour of the castle, from the royal kitchens to the observatory. Twilight loved the observatory room, which made Celestia happy. Nopony really used the observatory for the past few years, so having somepony live in it would be great. Twilight and the baby dragon that the unicorn hatched were well asleep before Celestia was out of the observatory doors.

Back in the comfort of her room, Celestia began to clean herself up. She stepped into her shower and began to let the stress of the day sweep away, but since this was one of her most pleasurable days, she did not need to be in there long. Celestia dried herself and walked to the balcony where she would wait for Ben to return from his outing. Celestia had a pattern that she would usually follow. Once Ben returned, anytime would be best to lower the sun. But if Ben had not returned yet, she would wait to make sure she did not let Ben break rule three. Celestia waited on the balcony for about five minutes past the expected sundown, sighed, then used her magic to make the sun set on its own. She walked back inside her room, went to her door, and looked out into the hallway to see if she could catch Ben running in late.

A moment after not seeing anypony, Celestia closed the door and made her way to the closet, where she could smell something that she did not expect. Celestia walked inside Ben's room to find the wolf-pony sitting peacefully on his bed. The room was a bit tidier than usual. Celestia wanted to ask if Ben saw or did anything, but she would be cut off shortly.

"How did you find me?" asked Ben.

Celestia became tense. Ben never asked these sorts of questions after returning. In fact, Ben did not usually return to his room without Celestia knowing. Not unless he returned before she did.

"When did you come back?" asked Celestia.

"An hour ago," replied Ben.

Celestia began, "Okay. Do you want something to eat or--"

"HOW. DID. YOU. FIND. ME?" Ben emphasized each word through gritted teeth.

Celestia gulped.

"In a forest. I found you in a forest. The forest at the base of this mountain to be exact. I was performing my regular duties of setting the sun when I saw two flashes of lightning strike the forest. I went to investigate, and I found you," said Celestia.

Ben was pondering what to say next. Should he ask about what else Celestia saw, like the wolf or the mare? No, he decided. He heard enough from Celestia. The book had not lied to him. Ben put himself into a position for sleep, which Celestia saw, and bit her a quick "Good night."

Celestia dimmed the lights in Ben's room, and left him to his dreams. She walked over to her bed, thinking about how she wanted to describe in more detail the events that actually occurred when she found him. The smells, the eyes, the fur, the glow. But she decided that it would be best to tell him on a different day, at a better time. Celestia went to bed believing that she had done a justice by not telling Ben about the wolf.

Ben went to bed knowing that he was the son of a devil worshiper and a grey wolf. But neither of them knew the truth behind the events that occurred fifteen years prior.