Copper Heart

Chapters

Chapter One: Memorial
Chapter Two: Desolation
Chapter Three: Recuperation
Chapter Four: A Journey's End

Chapter One: Memorial

-The Outskirts of Ponyville-

The winged unicorn gazed down at the old, wooden cross with furrowed brows, a long sigh slithering from her nose. It had been eight years since her best friend’s death at the hooves of Commander Falcon Wing, and even now, it hurt her to think about. Wolf Heart wasn’t ready to lose Dapper Jolt when she did, and she still wasn’t ready. She had come to terms with his demise fairly quickly, but her heart had been broken by the event. Years later though, it had mended, if slightly crooked.

Slowly, Wolf Heart leaned down, positioning a pair of white roses before the grave as her eyes misted over slightly. Dapper Jolt had never stopped loving her, even in his final moments, even when he’d had no reason to hold onto love.

Wolf Heart looked down at the prosthetic wing that her friend had worn, seeing a small patch of rust developing along the edge of the copper plating. Running her hoof along its edge, Wolf Heart gently rubbed some of the orange tarnish off of the wing before telekinetically repositioning it so that it stood more proudly. It was May fifth, the anniversary of Dapper Jolt’s death and a day that Wolf Heart most often spent by herself.

But today was different. An earth stallion with a short mane stood beside her this time, alongside an alicorn filly who was only four years old

“So this is what you wanted to show us?” Steadfast queried, gazing down at the cross and furrowing a solemn brow. “A grave?”

Wolf Heart wordlessly looked up at her husband and nodded.

“Dapper Alan Jolt,” the stallion read, squinting so that he could better read the faded text. “Those that keep the peace, forever shall they be blessed?” he said, cocking a confused brow. “Is this… that stallion you told me about who died a few years ago?”

The mare nodded again.

Had Wolf Heart not cared so much about Dapper, or had he not cared so much about her, the stallion may have been less willing to accept Wolf’s request to join her this year for the memorial. But in the end, he cared deeply for his wife, and with a quiet sigh, Steadfast wrapped the mare into his arms as she began to cry softly. “I’m sure he’s looking down on us with a smile,” he reassured her whilst their child looked down at the grave.

“Mommy, who was Daffer Colt?” she asked adorably, looking up at her mother with big eyes.

Wolf Heart sniffled before she gently pulled away from Steadfast and looked down at June Bug with a soft smile, leaning down and looking her daughter eye level. “Dapper Jolt was a pony who saved me from a big-bad dragon long before you were born, Sweetheart,” she smiled. “You see… He was Mommy’s best friend and… and a bad pony made him go to sleep… forever,” Wolf Heart explained as tears slithered down her cheeks.

June tilted her head and frowned. “Mommy, why are you crying?”

At hearing the words, an innocence that her child possessed, Wolf sobbed, wrapping her daughter into her arms and hugging her tightly.

Steadfast sighed and gazed down at the sight. Taking a step towards the grave, the stallion knelt down and placed a hoof on one of the stones, gently running his other across the feathers of Dapper Jolt’s prosthetic wing before he leaned forward. “Thank you for saving my wife, Mister Jolt,” Steadfast whispered, closing his eyes momentarily and dipping his head.

After a few more moments, Wolf Heart gently pulled away from her daughter with a sniffle and smile, looking down at June Bug. “Dapper Jolt was a good pony who I only wish could meet you… He was... he was very close to me,” she whispered.

“But why can’t he meet me?” June asked.

“Because, Sweetheart… You see, Dapper is asleep, and he’s not going to wake up,” Wolf Heart replied softly, not wanting to hurt her four-year-old daughter with the plain truth of the matter.

June Bug wore a confused expression, looking around her as if she’d see him asleep somewhere. “Where is Dapper?”

The winged unicorn pointed up. “He’s in Heaven, June Bug,” the mare whispered whilst wearing a soft, sad smile. With that she stood up and added quietly to herself; “I hope.”

“Can we go visit him?” June Bug asked with a giddy smile.

“We will… but not for a long time,” Wolf Heart said, forcing back tears as Steadfast placed a hoof on her shoulder and sighed, kissing her forehead.

“Come on, Bug… Time to go,” Steadfast exclaimed as the small alicorn lifted a hoof to the imitation feathers of the prosthetic wing with fascination upon her face. As the filly jumped up at his words and skipped over to her parents, the stallion rubbed his wife’s shoulder. He hadn’t seen her this upset for a good long while, and at this point, he was unsure of how to cheer her up. The earth stallion’s usual methods weren’t working, much to his surprise.

June Bug lifted her small hoof up and tapped her mother’s arm, where Wolf Heart looked down with a half-hearted smile and took her daughter’s hoof in her own, her own prosthetic wings drooping slightly as the small family walked away from the gravesite.

-Canterlot-

“Where the fuck is Shadow Blade?!” Colonel Hurricane roared angrily, slamming a hoof down on the table with an enraged expression upon his face. “He was supposed to be back here two hours ago!”

The alicorn mare across from him flinched slightly, but nevertheless wore a slightly smug look on her muzzle. “The hell if I know!” Flute Melody sniped rudely. “And to be completely honest, I couldn’t give a shit less where that retard is! He’s the next Falcon Wing if you ask me,” she snorted, kicking her hind hooves up onto the desk with a glare.

Colonel Hurricane roared. “Falcon Wing was my finest soldier in that damned war! He was a better fighter than any of you could ever dream to be!”

“Then how did he manage to get himself killed, eh, Colonel?!” Melody snapped, rising from her chair with a glare crossing her muzzle.

"Perhaps you'd like to take his place?!" Hurricane suggested, his eyes blazing as he jumped from his seat and his wings shot outward. "I for one, do not appreciate the lack of respect on your end, Commander Falcon Wing was one of my soldiers, and your commander!"

Flute Melody sat back down, crossing her arms with a grumble. "I could've done the job," she muttered under her breath.

"What?" Hurricane barked.

"I said, 'I could have done the job'!" the winged unicorn repeated slowly. "I could have killed Steam Shock and Wolf Heart, without any issue!"

Colonel Hurricane inhaled, looking up with an angry underbite developing upon his face. "Then go... Get out of my sight, and don't come back unless you have Wolf Heart's head in your saddlebag and Shadow Blade by your side. If you see Abacus Oak and Jackpot Ace along your way, kill them too... I don't need any of Heart's friends coming back for revenge or meddling with my plans."

"And what of Steadfast and the child?"

Hurricane cocked a confused brow. "Who?"

Melody rolled her eyes and brushed back her wavy mane. "Wolf Heart married a stallion a couple of years after Steam Shock died and they had a kid about two years after that. Her name is June or something like that, I don't know, and I don't care."

Hurricane smirked. "Funny, always thought Shock and Heart were a couple," he chuckled lowly.

"Lots of ponies did, with the way they acted around each other at times. Shock was always up her ass in high school," Melody grumbled. "Besides, how could they be a couple when Shock is dead?"

"Doesn't matter, kill them too," the pegasus stallion said. "But, do not fail me, Lieutenant. I'm sure Shadow Blade wouldn't mind replacing you."

"Yes, Sir," Flute Melody grumbled before she exited the room.

-Ponyville-

Abacus Oak sat next to his marefriend with a soft smile, his arm across her shoulders as the duo sidled up beside each other. Lily Pad smiled whilst nuzzling her snout under his chin, her eyes closed as she hugged the earth stallion. A couple of moments went by in silence before the smokey-blue eyed stallion lifted his head at a knock on the door. Gently, Lily moved away from Abacus as he rose to his hooves and approached the front entrance.

Upon opening the door, his line of sight was greeted with a winged unicorn with a dark blue mane and striking green eyes. "Wolf Heart!" he exclaimed before noticing a grey earth stallion with a blonde mane behind her and a little filly.

"Hey, Abacus," the mare replied with a slightly downtrodden smile before she gave him a friendly hug.

Even as she did so, however, her friend could feel the tension in her motions. "Wolfie?" he queried, gently breaking away and looking into her eyes. "What's wrong? You seem... not relaxed," Abacus inquired, cocking a confused brow as the taller stallion took a step onto the small porch of the house. Looking up, Abacus furrowed a brow. "Haven't seen you since little June Bug was born," he exclaimed, lifting his hoof.

Steadfast nodded to acknowledge that he heard the words. "I know," he said, shaking Oak's hoof with a polite smile. "Work keeps me away."

"Tell me about it... So, what's up? It can't be because you just thought you'd come by and visit," Abacus chuckled, looking back and forth between Wolf Heart and Steadfast before noticing June Bug.

Just as he leaned down to greet the alicorn filly, Wolf Heart spoke. "Dapper Jolt left us eight years ago," she said solemnly, eliciting a heavy sigh from Abacus. "He didn't have anypony that he could have settled down with either," Wolf Heart exclaimed as Abacus rose to an upright position.

"You say that like it's my fault," he said with a squint.

Wolf Heart breathed deeply before she turned to her husband. "Can you take June Bug and excuse us for a moment, please?" she cooed, kissing Steadfast's cheek. "It will only take a minute," Wolf smiled.

Steadfast let a mischievous grin across his muzzle. "Perhaps," the charcoal grey stallion acknowledged, taking June's hoof and gently leading her away as Wolf Heart turned back to Abacus.

The mare rolled her eyes before once again turning to Abacus. "I'm not saying it's your fault," Wolf continued. "But I think you're missing my point, Abacus... I know that you're seeing Lily Pad, and Dapper would have been happy for you, but I'm not so sure he'd be so enthused about your lack of remembrance for him. That was one of the few things he wanted from us as his friends... He just wanted to be remembered after he was gone."

Abacus wore a confused expression. "Wolf, what are you talking about? I do remember him. He was like my brother, for the love of Celestia... You can't accuse me of forgetting that just because I don't spend every May fifth worshipping the dude!"

"I never said you had to worship him, Abacus... But do something to show some appreciation," Wolf Heart said with an eye roll, beginning to grow irritated at her friend's argumentative tone. "Anyway, I didn't come to argue about our deceased friend. I just wanted to come and say hi to my living one," she sighed.

The earth stallion exhaled, dipping his head. "I still have a couple of his drawings from high school," he muttered, closing his eyes.

Wolf Heart smiled. "So do I," she chuckled, remembering the number of drawings that Dapper Jolt had given her while they were in school. At the time, it seemed almost like Dapper's way of flirting with her... until he gave Wolf a portrait of herself and Steadfast. She looked back on the time fondly, remembering the times that the two would just sit down and talk about drawing, with Dapper trying, sometimes in vain, to teach Wolf Heart in his ways. The mare smiled and lifted her head, looking at Abacus Oak to see tears in the corners of his eyes.

Wolf Heart frowned and took a step forward, lifting a hoof to his shoulder.

"Please, I don't want sympathy right now," he muttered, gently pulling away. "It was nice to see you again, Wolfie," Abacus continued solemnly as he turned and went to close the door.

Wolf Heart sighed and lowered her eyes as the door closed in front of her with a soft click. Swiveling around, the mare made her way down the porch and regrouped with Steadfast and June Bug, approaching them with a half-hearted smile. "Let's go home," she murmured, her ears laid back slightly.

Chapter Two: Desolation

-The Everfree Forest-

The black pegasus stallion grinned demonically, a set of four arm-like appendages on his back flexing in an unnatural manner reminiscent of a spider. Their tips were caped with long, jagged blades, that of which had been visibly slashed across his shoulders and chest, leaving scabs and scars. His short mane and tail were crimson and his eyes were bloodshot.

Shadow Blade was an operative for Colonel Hurricane in the fight against those that had rebelled against Princess Celestia during the Crystal War, fifteen years ago. Such an operation, however, was deemed treason by the Princess, however, so those who were a part of it had to remain inconspicuous in order to avoid the post-apocalyptic execution for such an act. Shadow Blade had willingly taken a role in the operation, withholding a long-winded, and sanity-stealing grudge against a former friend of his.

As a result of his "enthusiasm" for eliminating threats, Shadow was sent out into the Everfree with the knowledge that an old ally of Wolf Heart had been seen out in the forest. Jackpot Ace hadn't been seen for three years, up until about a week ago, and Colonel Hurricane wanted him dead.

Hence, the pegasus had been dispatched to scout the Everfree for the unicorn earlier in the morning. His search, however, bore little fruit, and in spite of his never-waning lust for blood, Shadow Blade was growing bored. The stallion leaned back on his haunches, lifting one of his four long shoulder arms and scratching his scalp with the blade attached to it. He sighed...

Rising to his hooves, Shadow walked forward whilst scanning his surroundings for any potential signs for Jackpot Ace. The one place he could think that the obnoxious stallion could be was Beaver Hollow, an old cave alongside a river that was often used by squatters, homeless ponies who unlawfully took up occupation on other's land.

With this in mind, the stallion spread his plated wings and took off towards Beaver Hollow.

Unbeknownst to the agent, the pegasus was being watched. A muscularly built stallion peered out at him from behind a large tree, gazing at him with his one good eye. He scratched his beard, a scowl etched across his face. He recognized this black and red pegasus, and he despised him. Slowly, the earth stallion slunk out from behind the tree wearing heavy copper gauntlets laden with iron engravings. He was a pegasus, though his wings weren't feathered. Rather, they were dragon-like in appearance, bearing fingers, leathery skin between them, and serrated claws. The large stallion bore a full beard with a heavy mustache and he was old, with wrinkles of age annunciating his glare.

Slowly, he moved forward, following Shadow Blade whilst maintaining a distance to avoid detection.

-Beaver Hollow, The Everfree Forest-

Jackpot Ace tossed a small amount of the cold river water onto his face, wearing a solemn, flat expression on his face as he lifted his head and shook his hooves off. The unicorn stared down at his rippled reflection in the body of water and sighed, shaking his head to himself. "Pathetic," he muttered to himself, splashing at his reflection before rising to his hooves and turning back towards the mouth of the cave system that his old friend had once taken up residence at.

Jackpot looked down, seeing the old, heavily rusted copper forelimb that he only imagined was his friend's prosthetic before he had been given a replacement wing. Pieces of armor also littered the ground around him, including an old, tattered Wonderbolts uniform with the name "Dapper Jolt" emblazoned upon the breast pocket. Slowly, he approached the uniform and lifted it off of the ground, where pill-bugs and a salamander that had been dwelling underneath the weathered suit scurried away as their home was moved.

The unicorn ran a hoof through his mane and sighed, tossing the one-piece aside and kicking away a lone segment of rusted copper wing plating.

Ace scanned the surroundings. It was all a reminder of what had become of his friends. He himself was by no means in good shape, scarred and bearing chipped hooves and bloodshot eyes. As he looked around, Jackpot ushered a heavy breath, leaning back on his haunches before he heard a familiar voice.

"Hello, Jackpot."

Turning to face the voice whilst also hearing a thud and mechanical clicks, the unicorn deadpanned at seeing a black and red pegasus. "Shadow Blade!" he exclaimed with mock joy. "What a horrible surprise, now please, go fuck yourself," Jackpot snorted as the agent in question flexed his mechanical arms.

"You don't make yourself easy to find," Shadow Blade said, ignoring Jackpot as he approached.

"And for good reason, now piss off."

Shadow Blade grinned malevolently. "Nah, I don't think I will. You see, Colonel Hurricane wants you dead. I've never let him down, and I don't plan to start today," he sneered snidely before looking down at feeling something brush against his hoof. It was the tattered uniform, a navy blue, camouflage printed suit. "Mourning the loss of your dearly beloved, hm?" he taunted, snapping his head up with a psychotic grin. "I wish I could've been there," Shadow grinned. "Wish I could've seen the blade pierce his heart and make him choke on his own fluids... slowly... and painfully."

At the words, Jackpot broke, surging towards Shadow Blade in a blind rage whilst brandishing a long-bladed sword in his teeth.

Shadow Blade hissed, lunging back as Jackpot swung the blade with full force. The pegasus easily avoided having his throat sliced as his rival's eyes blazed.

"Dapper Jolt was five times the stallion that you could ever hope to be!!" Jackpot roared, whirling around and throwing his hind hooves back.

Shadow rolled his eyes with a scoff, taking steps back to avoid each of Jackpot's attacks with little effort. "Please," he snorted. "He was nothing more than dead weight to you and your group. He couldn't fight, and when he did, he got himself killed." As he spoke, he deflected another swing with a mechanical arm before he began to push forward, jabbing at Jackpot's hooves with a grin. "Now, let me show you how to fight."

As the unicorn staggered back, Shadow began to stab at his arms, some hits slicing across his fur and drawing blood, whilst others impaled him with unnatural speed, eliciting a series of pained shouts from him as he moved. Shadow attacked swiftly, purposely avoiding killing the stallion as Jackpot tried in vain to counter or dodge attacks.

After another moment, Jackpot collapsed to a knee, lifting a hoof and grabbing one of Shadow's appendages just as it hurled towards his heart. The unicorn struggled, teeth clenched, as another bladed arm jerked towards him like a scorpion's tail. Jackpot winced and ducked his head, where the arm impaled the ground.

"Just give up, Ace," Shadow Blade laughed.

He was unable to reply as a large stallion approached Shadow Blade from behind. "Dapper?" he coughed with wide eyes, noticing his gauntlets and clawed wings.

"Wait, what?" Shadow Blade blurted with fear before he turned away from Jackpot. He promptly received a branch to the jaw for his actions, where he stumbled back and fell, passed out cold. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth and he was now scraped across the face as the newcomer held out a hoof for Jackpot.

"No, I am not Dapper," he explained, hoisting the unicorn to his feet.

Jackpot could see now that his savior was indeed, unfortunately, not Dapper. He was older, with age lines visible upon his face. His mane was also shorter and swept back, rather than forward. The newcomer's wings were also different, as they were more bat-like than Dapper Jolt's were. The most prominent feature was the fact that he only had one eye which was a striking green-blue in color. Jackpot Ace sighed and dipped his head taking a step away from the stallion, but not without a pained grimace as his legs bled profusely.

"Thanks for the help," he shrugged, where the stallion nodded in acknowledgment. Looking back up at the stallion, he cocked a confused brow. "Who are you, anyway? And why did you save me?"

The pegasus lifted a brow. "I can wake him up if it's a problem?" he grunted sarcastically before answering Jackpot's first question. "My name is Astral Thunder. I didn't know Dapper Jolt personally, but I don't think our meeting was a coincidence, Jackpot Ace."

The unicorn leaped back with a wide-eyed expression. "How do you know me?!"

Astral rolled his eyes. "Calm yourself... I work for what uncorrupted government we have left in this damned country. Dapper Jolt was quite famous before he died, but not for the right reasons. He'd created a lot of enemies over the decades, and now that he's dead, those that sought to kill him are after what few friends he still has in circulation... That includes you, Mister Ace," he explained.

"And how do you fit in?" Jackpot asked skeptically.

"I'm the bodyguard. Don't worry, I've been trained more heavily than your average soldier, so you're safe. I can not say the same of your acquaintances, however. Currently, they, and you, are being hunted by a group of ponies who work under Colonel Hurricane's orders, but illegally. However, one of you is in particularly grave danger... Wolf Marie Heart. She was Dapper Jolt's closest ally if I'm not mistaken, and she had also made a fair amount of unwanted rivals. Hence, she and her family are being more heavily tracked," Astral Thunder told him, looking down at Jackpot to see a fearful look clad upon his face.

"What, you're serious?" the unicorn exclaimed. "Who again, is hunting Wolf Heart?"

"Her name is Flute Melody, and as you know Shadow Blade is also with them. Our sources say that they work in Canterlot without Celestia's knowledge, so we need to leave... I'll go into further detail as we walk," Astral ordered.

With that, Jackpot allowed for a small amount of magic from his horn wrap around his forelegs and slowly mend his wounds before he followed the larger pegasus.

-Ponyville-

Wolf Heart slept next to Steadfast on the living room sofa, her Crystal Imperial wings neatly positioned on a wall mount as they usually were when she was at home. The mare's head was nestled against his chest and a soft smile was visible upon her face, in spite of the events from earlier in the day.

June Bug was passed out on the floor, drool slithering down her chin as she snored softly

Steadfast smiled to himself, gently kissing his wife's forehead and tickling her forearm in a playful manner. The mare squeaked softly in her sleep, her tail twitching slightly as she buried her head underneath Steadfast's chin and drawing out a wide smile from the earth stallion as he chuckled. "I love you, Baby-girl," he whispered into her ear, flicking his own to attention and listening intently.

Before long, he heard her reply, albeit in a muffled, nearly incomprehensible voice as a result of her current state of sleep. "Luv youuu moar," Wolf Heart murmured, eliciting a smile from her husband as she rested her hoof across his belly. After a while longer, the mare's eyelids fluttered and she sighed, slowly looking up at Steadfast with a sheepish smile.

Slowly, she sat up, wiping a thin line of saliva from the corner of her mouth that made way for a slightly embarrassed smile at the realization. "Sorry," she said in a slightly higher pitched voice than she typically did, as was usual when she was tired or flustered.

"You're adorable," Steadfast chuckled, kissing her again.

-The Outskirts of Ponyville-

Astral Thunder and Jackpot Ace sprinted towards Ponyville. While Astral was managing to remain mostly calm, Jackpot was in a full-fledged panic. After a short while running, the two slowed to a trot, and eventually a walk.

Jackpot, in his state of panic, instantly started for Wolf Heart's home before he was stopped by Thunder. "No! We go for Mister Oak first. Colonel Hurricane will likely take him hostage to lure Wolf Heart towards him so that he can take care of her himself," he explained sternly.

The unicorn nodded and followed the pegasus, and before long, the two had neared Abacus Oak's home. But when they did, Jackpot saw something that made him sick.

A shorter alicorn mare in a uniform had a hoof around Abacus Oak's neck, the blade of a short sword to his throat. "Don't take another step!" she shouted out to the duo as Abacus struggled slightly, teeth clenched. The mare sneered at seeing Jackpot Ace, practically ignoring Astral. "You two are a couple of fucking idiots, aren't you?" she barked, looking back and forth between the two and dropping the blade to her side with a look of disappointment.

"No... you," Abacus grunted. "You fucking bi-"

Jackpot's eyes went wide as Flute Melody slit Oak's throat, blood pouring down from the wound. Astral Thunder's expression remained firm, though with his beard hiding his mouth, the stallion's expression was hard to read.

"I'll kill you next," Flute Melody snapped, dropping Oak's body with a sneer before she abruptly warped away with a flash of light. that burst from her horn momentarily.

Jackpot's breath came heavy as he gazed upon his friend's dead body. Astral Thunder, in that time, approached the earth stallion's body and hoisted Abacus Oak over his shoulder with an effortful grunt and solemn expression before he turned and looked down at Jackpot Ace. "You're not safe here. We need to go," he ordered.

The unicorn could only nod, speechless as Astral walked by him, Oak's blood soaking the white fur of his shoulder a gory shade of red. "Wh... where are we going?" he spluttered, face turning a sickly shade of green.

"Harsh as it sounds, we must inform Wolf Heart of the danger that she is in, in a way that will not raise any questions," Astral acknowledged flatly. "The sooner we can get her away from this place, the better off her and her family will be."

Jackpot was unable to respond, his head swimming as he took a deep breath and leaned back on his haunches. "Ohhhh, the PTSD," he exclaimed, lifting his head and looking up at the sky. "I can't deal with this anymore," the unicorn groaned.

Astral turned back towards Jackpot, furrowing a brow. "We need to go, Mister Ace," he ordered.

-Moments Later-

Jackpot Ace nervously banged on the wooden door, both nervous and terrified to see his old friend after what would be three years now. The stallion turned to face Astral Thunder, squeezing his eyes shut to avoid looking at Abacus Oak's lifeless body before the door swung open with a creak.

"Jack?" Wolf Heart's familiar voice exclaimed before he felt her leap into his arms with excitement. "Jack! It's you!" she laughed joyfully before he pried himself out of her grip with a grimace.

The stallion looked down at his friend solemnly. "Hey, Wolfie," he muttered, unable to find the same amount of enthusiasm as his friend.

Wolf Heart furrowed a brow as Steadfast came to the door holding June Bug in his arms. "Jackpot," he chuckled. "Long time no see!" Repositioning his daughter, the earth stallion held out a hoof for the unicorn.

Jackpot simply moved his gaze down and shifted uncomfortably. "I didn't come here to say hello," he muttered, beckoning a bat-winged, heavily bearded pegasus up to the porch.

At first, Wolf Heart almost mistook him for an older Dapper Jolt until she caught the sense of foreboding in his eyes and saw the grizzled, war-veteran visage spread across his muzzle. "Who are you?" she asked whilst furrowing a brow before noticing the shape hunched over his shoulder. "What... what is that?"

She received her answer as the muscularly built pegasus threw his arm, dropping a dead stallion onto the porch with a dull, lifeless thud. Jackpot squeezed his eyes shut and turned away as Wolf Heart screamed, where Steadfast's expression became that of disgust as he pulled June Bug's head away from the grisly sight.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Steadfast shouted angrily as his wife stumbled backward, tears streaming down her cheeks as she retreated back into the house. "Get the fuck away from my wife, and stay away from my damn house!" Steadfast shouted at Astral.

The stallion promptly received a hoof to the face for his actions before he collapsed, clearly out cold. In a panic, Jackpot Ace telekinetically caught June Bug as she fell before, with a small blast of light magic, he rendered her painlessly unconscious. Astral cocked an expectant brow, staring down at the additionally unconscious form of Steadfast before he let himself inside with a stern expression

"The fuck, Thunder?!" Jackpot shouted at him, where he received a fierce glare from the stallion in question.

"Go deal with her," he barked unrelentingly, pointing in the direction that Wolf Heart had gone to.

"Ohhh, no! I'm not done with you! You can't just show up to somepony's house and start throwing their friend's body around, for starters!" Jackpot hollered at him before Astral marched towards him, eyes blazing as he loomed over the unicorn.

"I said... go deal with her," Astral repeated, his voice a low growl.

Jackpot glared up at him before begrudgingly cooperating, locating the mare in the kitchen, hunched down in front of the dishwasher and sobbing.

Chapter Three: Recuperation

-Ponyville-

Jackpot Ace sat down beside Wolf Heart, furrowing a worrisome brow as she cried. "I'm sorry about Abacus," he muttered, his vision blurring as his gaze became unfocused and zoned. His ears fell flat whilst the winged unicorn's cries resonated through the house.

"I can't deal with this anymore," Wolf Heart sobbed, head buried in her arms as her shoulders shuddered. "He wasn't supposed to die... not like this," she cried.

The unicorn stallion sighed heavily. "Better him than you," he retorted, more so to himself than anypony.

At hearing the words, Wolf Heart lifted her head, her expression now that of anger as she took the heavily sleeping form of June Bug from Jackpot's arms. "My life was worth no more than Oak's was! Now get out! Get the fuck out of my sight!" she roared in his face, her horn glowing faintly.

Jackpot, bewildered and shocked, obliged, making a hasty exit from the kitchen before Wolf Heart slowly fell back down, burying a hoof in her mane and crying whilst holding her child in her free hoof.

-Moments Later-

"Did you talk to her?" Astral Thunder asked Jackpot Ace flatly as he stormed from the house, slamming the front door behind him.

"Shut up! Shut up! Okay?! Just shut up! I don't want to hear your bull shit! Now leave me the fuck alone and take care of this yourself!" Jackpot shouted in his face before storming away.

Astral sighed and dipped his head before haphazardly nudging Steadfast's head with his hoof. "Wake up," he grunted.

The earth stallion in question woke slowly, lifting a hoof to his snout with a wince. "What happened?" he muttered as he stumbled to his hooves before looking up at Astral Thunder. Almost instantly, a scowl came across his face. "What are you still doing here? I thought I told you to leave?" he growled.

"I can't leave, not just yet," Thunder explained. "You see, your family is in grave danger. You are being hunted by a very bad group of ponies who wants you and your wife dead. You never met Dapper Alan Jolt, but he was a friend of Wolf Heart's and now his former enemies, are her current enemies. I need you to grab your wife and child, and get out of here... before you fall victim to this." At the words, the pegasus pointed down at Abacus Oak's body, moving Steadfast's attention towards it.

"Why? Why do they want us dead, though? It can't be just because of Wolfie's affiliation with Mister Jolt, so don't try to feed me that bull shit," the earth stallion retorted.

Astral Thunder rolled his eyes. "Why is not important right now. The point is if you care about your wife, you will do as I say, no questions asked, do you understand me?"

-Beaver Hollow, The Everfree Forest-

Shadow Blade stirred, ushering a pained growl as he hefted himself to his hooves. The stallion's face bled as a result of the branch he'd received to the jaw, and a few of his teeth had been knocked loose from his mouth. Spitting a blood clot from his mouth with a grimace, the pegasus stallion cracked his neck and looked over his surroundings, flexing his metal arms momentarily in the process.

With a sneer, he beat his wings. He recognized the being that had taken him down, and Colonel Hurricane needed to be made aware. Astral Thunder had been a thorn in his organization's side for too long...

-Ponyville-

Steadfast slowly walked into the kitchen, brows furrowed with concern for his wife's well being. Wolf Heart was currently balled into a fetal position, clutching her daughter close to her chest while her knee bounced as it typically did when she was anxious or upset.

"Hey, Baby-girl," Steadfast cooed, gently taking up residence next to her and placing a ginger hoof on her leg in hopes of calming the mare. The stallion sighed as Wolf slowly turned her head and looked up into his yellow-tinged, brown eyes, her own bloodshot and red. "I'm so sorry about Abacus," he whispered, pulling Wolf Heart close while being careful to avoid crushing his sleeping daughter between them. Steadfast exhaled, running a hoof through the mare's long, navy and sky-blue mane.

Wolf Heart sniffed as she forced back tears. "First Cipher, then Dapper... and... and now Abacus," she cried softly into his shoulder. "I wish they were here."

At the words, Steadfast wrapped Wolf Heart into a tight embrace, pulling her into his lap and kissing her forehead. "I know you do, Baby... I know you do. I'm sorry you had to see that... That stallion thinks he might know who's behind all of it though," he explained in a voice barely above a whisper before noticing that Astral Thunder was leaning against the frame of the door that led to the kitchen, arms crossed. Steadfast glared up at him. "We need to leave," he continued through a sigh.

"What? Why?" Wolf queried, leaning back and looking at her husband with a quizzical, and sorrowful expression. Turning her head, she noticed the muscular pegasus in her house.

"Because," said stallion started in a stern voice. "You are not safe here anymore. A group of agents working illegally under Celestia's nose wants you dead... One, in particular, seems to show a particular interest in seeing to it that you are killed, Misses Heart," Astral Thunder answered.

Wolf Heart's expression darkened considerably as she recalled many years ago when she had a run-in with a certain alicorn. "Flute Melody," she sneered, her sorrow making way for pure anger.

"Yes, that's right... I have orders to take you to the Crystal Empire in order to see you to safety. Apparently, Princess Cadenza would like to speak with you." It was at that time that both Steadfast and Wolf Heart noticed his cheeks redden slightly, a cursory smile slipping across his muzzle.

-Hours Later, Train to the Crystal Empire-

Wolf Heart sighed, her gaze trained upon the floor of the train car as Steadfast slept in the spot beside her, with June Bug snuggled into the crook of his arm. Astral Thunder sat across from her with a stern, yet slightly more gentle expression clad upon his face as he scrutinized her curiously.

"Tell me, Wolf Heart... What was Mister Jolt like?" he grunted.

The mare looked up at him, her emerald eyes fixated upon his own green and blue, singular eye. "No," she replied flatly, leaning back in her seat

Astral tilted his head and flicked an ear, raising an eyebrow. "I need to know what he could have done to create the enemies he did... or I can't help you," the pegasus said calmly, angling himself forward and touching his forehooves together.

"Did it maybe occur to you that we don't want your help?" Wolf Heart replied snidely, crossing and legs and folding her arms whilst glaring down at Astral. As much as she wanted to make Flute Melody pay for being the cause of her friend's death, Wolf Heart still didn't trust the pegasus fully, nor did she much like him. "For all, I know... you could have been the reason for Abacus's death," she accused, her voice wavering. "Tell me, Mister Thunder, could you have stopped Melody from killing him?"

The bat-winged pegasus dipped his head. "She already had him by the throat, Heart... There was nothing I could have done. And what about you, hm? Might it be that Mister Ace also winds up dead because you told him off, rather than allow him to stay with us?"

At the words, Wolf Heart's eyes practically blazed, her pupils constricting into cat-like slits as she bared her teeth, revealing a small pair of previously hidden fangs. The winged unicorn lunged forward, placing a hoof against Astral's throat and lifting the other above her head as a crackling teal and violet enveloped her horn.

Almost instantly, Steadfast awoke from his sleep with a jerk, looking over to see his wife ready to strangle the pegasus. "Wolfie, what are you doing?!" he blurted, rising to his hooves.

Astral lifted his hoof to stop the stallion as Wolf Heart snapped her head over to her husband, lips curled back aggressively. "Steadfast," Thunder choked as the mare growled. "Stand down, immediately!" he hissed.

The moment was over as soon as it began when Wolf Heart's eyes returned to a neutral state, her pupils dilating as her lips uncurled and the glow of her horn died to a flicker. Looking down, the mare wore a bewildered expression as she removed her hoof from Astral's throat. "What happened?" she spluttered, lifting her hoof to her forehead and leaning back.

As if on cue, June Bug awoke from her sleep with a yawn, her eyelids fluttering as she stretched her arms and looked over at her mother. She must have felt the tension in the air, for the little filly frowned and looked around. Steadfast gently set her down as she looked up at Astral Thunder and retreated behind her father's leg. "Daddy... he's scaring me," she exclaimed nervously, hugging Steadfast's muscular forearm and pointing at the bearded stallion.

"Don't be afraid, Honey-Bun, he's here to help us... I think," he explained with slight skepticism on his tone as Wolf Heart slumped back in her seat, sweat touching her brow as she breathed heavily.

Looking down, Steadfast furrowed a worried brow. "Baby? What is it?" he asked, sitting down beside her and lifting a hoof to her forehead. "Jeez, Wolfie! You feel like you're on fire," the earth stallion said with a shocked expression lacing his muzzle as he yanked his hoof away from her.

"I'm... fine," Wolf Heart lied, feeling quite the opposite of fine in that moment of time.

Steadfast deadpanned. "Tell me what's wrong," he instructed as June Bug looked worriedly up at her mother.

"I-I don't know. I feel faint. Just... give me... give me a moment to rest-" Her words cut off as she slumped over and passed out, falling against Steadfast's form as her eyes rolled back in her head.

Astral Thunder sat upright with an uneasy look on his face as June Bug squealed in fear. "Mommy?!" she yelped, taking her mother's leg and giving it a meek shake. "Mommy, wake up!" she begged before Steadfast lifted a hoof up to silence his daughter.

"Mommy's fine, Bug! She's just feeling a little bit worn out, okay?" Steadfast reassured her, gently lowering a hoof and resting it against June's cheek in an attempt to calm the panicked filly.

"What's wrong with her?" the small alicorn pleaded with wide eyes, standing up on her back hooves so that she could see her mother more clearly. "Why is she sleeping?"

Steadfast looked down at his wife's unconscious form with a disquieted frown.

"Has she had any contact with dark magic recently?" Astral interjected with a serious tone and firm expression that demanded an answer.

Far too flustered to retort, Steadfast acknowledged. "N-no, not that I know of!"

"And have you ever seen her behave this aggressively?"

"What are you, a damn doctor?! Of course, I haven't, Thunder!"

Astral Thunder stroked his beard, deep in thought. "Doesn't matter, we're here. Princess Cadenza can figure it out when we get inside." As if to prove the pegasi's words, the train ground to a halt, the whistle sounding off and the squealing of the metal wheels against track ringing.

As the train finally came to a stop, Astral Thunder rose to his hooves, where he came to Wolf Heart's side to hoist her up. "You get your daughter, I can carry Wolf," he explained to Steadfast before, with a grunt, he tossed Wolf Heart over his shoulder.

Steadfast grumbled a string of swears and derogatory remarks under his breath but didn't object as he lifted June Bug onto his back. "Mommy will be fine, okay, Bug?" he assured the four-year-old, though speaking to her more as an inner dialogue in order to reassure himself.

"Okay," the filly replied as the group of four departed from the train station and made their way towards the Crystal Empire itself.

-An Hour Later-

The first thing that Steadfast saw when Astral Thunder opened the throne room doors was a blur of light, bubblegum pink rush forward before leaping into the pegasi's arms that caused a wide smile to cross the normally rigid visage of his face. "Astro!" a regally armored alicorn laughed joyfully whilst hugging him tightly.

"Candy! Fuck, give me a chance to come to the door!" Astral exclaimed.

"Candy?" Steadfast scoffed, looking back and forth between the two before the realization hit him and his jaw dropped.

"Daddy? What's wrong? Your face looks funny," June Bug said, tilting her head and tugging on the fetlocks of her father's hooves.

"You two... are together?!" Steadfast blurted suddenly, throwing his hooves up as Astral slowly slipped Wolf Heart off of his back. In response, all three who were still conscious, even June Bug, looked to him like he had three heads.

Astral Thunder smirked. "Changes things, doesn't it? Y'know, I could have you tried for treason, considering your blasphemous behavior towards me," he snickered. "But for starters, you didn't know. And secondly, I'm not exactly what you'd call a 'royal'," the pegasus went on gruffly

Princess Cadence interrupted with an abrupt exclamation. "Goodness gracious! This is Wolf Heart!" she noticed with fear lacing her expression. "She needs medical attention, now," the alicorn said with authority, telekinetically lifting the unconscious mare into the air and rushing off. "You two stay here, I'll be back as soon as I can!" she called to the duo before leaving them alone, June Bug still on her father's back.

A moment of silence passed.

"So," Steadfast started in an attempt to strike up a conversation and ease off his worry for Wolf Heart. She was safe now. "You're a prince, hm?"

Astral Thunder swiveled his head to face the earth stallion with deadpan laced across his expression. "Don't be a fool," he grunted before turning and taking a seat against the closest wall, dipping his head and closing his eyes with a sigh. "Course I'm not a damn prince."

June Bug leaned forward. "I don't think he likes you, Daddy," she whispered.

"Thanks, Bug," the earth stallion said, shaking his head whilst chuckling at her words.

"You're welcome!" the filly chirped.

-Meanwhile, Crystal Medical Wing-

Wolf Heart slowly opened her eyes, having to do so at a snail's pace so that her vision could grow accustomed to the light that assaulted her retinas. The winged unicorn groaned as she pulled herself to an upright position, a blanket slipping off of her lap before she noticed that her prosthetic wings were not attached to her shoulders. Groggily, she sat up and looked around her, reaching for the bedside to put on her glasses. Upon doing so, Wolf Heart studied her surroundings before noticing the alicorn who stood at the foot of the bed with a warm smile upon her face.

"Welcome back, Miss Heart," Princess Cadence said softly.

"Thanks?" Wolf muttered, rubbing her eyes with a yawn. "What happened?"

Princess Cadence furrowed a brow. "We're not quite sure yet, nor do we know what caused you to black out... But, last I checked, normal ponies don't have fangs," she surmised.

"Where's Steadfast and June Bug?" Wolf Heart queried. "And... yeah. I noticed them about a month ago, oddly enough. Is there a problem with my having fangs?" the mare said, cocking a confused brow as she slipped off of the medical cot.

The alicorn spoke. "Your family is alright. I left them guarded in the throne room... And, no, nothing wrong, per say. Just odd. Your eyes reacted differently to light than other ponies tend to as well. When you were under, our doctor's ran a couple of tests to make sure nothing serious was going on. Most ponies, when a light is flashed in the eye, the pupil constricts, sure... Wolf Heart, yours constricted and slit... like a cat or dragon," she explained.

Wolf Heart lifted a brow in confusion. "What's that mean?" the mare asked.

Princess Cadence dipped her head with a sorrowful sigh. "Aerenth poisoning."

Wolf Heart's jaw lowered a couple of inches and her breath grew heavy. "H-how do you know?" she spluttered, none-too-pleasant memories of Dapper Jolt experiencing its effects flashing across her vision.

"King Sombra had those same features under dark magic's corruption. I think when he cut your wings off, you were infected by the aerenths that made up his scythe," Cadence continued. "I don't want to be a pessimist, but the fact that you've managed to maintain your sanity for this long is a miracle, if you are infected, which would seem to be the case."

She shook her head in disbelief. "No... Please tell me you're kidding," Wolf begged, not wanting to go down the same road as her deceased friend.

The Princess of Love shook her head slowly. "I'm really sorry for you, it's a Hell of a thing. I've already put a small spell on you to hopefully counterbalance its effects, but I can't make any promises that it will last." Cadence slowly opened the door leading into the room for Wolf Heart, where she followed her out.

As Wolf Heart trailed behind Cadence, her vision swam, disbelief and anxiety having mingled together in a mind-meddling mix that threatened to make sure she lost sanity. After a few more moments walking, the winged unicorn noticed that they weren't at the throne room, as she had been informed her husband was at, but the armory.

Wolf Heart furrowed a confused brow.

"I figured you would be going back out to find Flute Melody and take care of her, so while you were unconscious, I had a special pair of gauntlets made for you by our blacksmith," Princess Cadence clarified, noticing the uncertainty clad upon the mare's muzzle. "We also gave your wings a minor upgrade from the previous model," she smiled.

Wolf shook her head to clear her vision before she responded. "Hm? Oh, you really didn't have to do that," she retorted.

"Nonsense. A friend of mine and savior of the Crystal Empire deserves only the best," Cadence giggled, leading her towards a crystal resident wearing safety goggles as he slammed a large, square-headed hammer down on a long sword whose blade was still red hot. The two metals collided with a shower of sparks before the mustached unicorn looked up to see his ruler approaching him.

"Your Majesty!" he exclaimed with a smile, tossing the hammer onto a workbench and bowing his head. "You here for the new gauntlets?" the stallion asked.

Princess Cadence smiled warmly. "I am indeed, Smithy," she replied.

Smithy grinned and turned briefly before hefting a pair of iron gauntlets caped with sharp claws before him with a grunt. "Here they are, as requested! Caped with titanium wolf claws and padded with the harmlessly shorn fur of the Everhoof Mountain's snow yak!" he boasted proudly, puffing his chest slightly.

Wolf Heart gazed upon the gauntlets with fascination, her eyes wide. They were elegant, the base of the aforementioned claws laden with small jewels and the heel opened for a more feminine feel. A thin padding of snowy white fur was visible lining the interior of the gauntlets and flared out from the tops of them. The winged unicorn looked back and forth between Smithy and Cadence with disbelief etched across her face.

"We thought it fitting that the mare named "Wolf Heart" should have wolf claws on her battle-armor," Cadence said with a kindhearted smile.

"Do try them on, won't you?" Smithy said eagerly, placing the heavy boots on the floor.

Wolf Heart nodded and slipped her forehooves into the gauntlets, and lifted a hoof, expecting the armor to be heavy, after seeing the effort that the blacksmith put into lifting them. She was pleasantly surprised at how light they actually were and smiled. "I... I don't know how to thank you," she said whilst looking over at Smithy.

"Don't," the unicorn stallion smiled. "Not just yet anyway. Bend your wrist," he instructed.

Doing so, Wolf Heart smiled as, with a downwards motion in her wrist, the claws attached to the gauntlets also flexed down with a series of nearly silent mechanical whirs.

"They'll require some maintenance from time to time, of course, because they're mechanical, but otherwise, they should serve you well," Smithy smirked as Wolf Heart repeatedly flexed her wrist, fascinated with how the claws seamlessly flicked back and forth. "We also have your wings ready to try on as well," he noted, turning and moving to a corner of the workshop.

He returned a moment later with a large pair of wings gently rested on a cart. They were clearly larger than her previous pair, and now sported a small claw each. The frames were laden with crystals of varying colors that worked their way down the rainbow and they looked quite heavy.

Wolf Heart reached down and studied them with a smile before her gaze became caught on a series of etchings. She could see a pair of initials carved into the baseplate on each wing. On the left, she saw D.A.J. and the right, A.E.O. "Princess Cadence requested that your old friend's initials be carved onto the plates," Smithy smiled.

The mare leaned back, those initials were those of Dapper Jolt's and Abacus Oak's. She smiled, holding back tears and dipping her head. "Thank you," she whispered as Cadence telekinetically lifted one wing and Smithy the other. Wolf Heart closed her eyes, feeling the duo work and position the prosthetic appendages over the stumps of her old wings, where a center plate snapped the two together and leather straps were tightened around her chest and belly to prevent the set from slipping.

The two equines stepped back, where Wolf Heart flexed the new wings with a soft smile. Looking over her shoulder, she fixed her view on the large wings and sighed.

"You ready to head back?" Princess Cadence asked her after a moment.

"Yes," Wolf Heart replied softly.

The Princess of Love nodded and turned to Smithy. "Thank you Mister Smithy, you did a fantastic job. I'll get you the payment in a while, but in the meantime, why don't you take the time for an intermission, you deserve it."

"No payment necessary, Your Majesty. The satisfaction of the customer is payment enough for me," the unicorn smiled kindly, bowing briefly before Cadence led Wolf Heart from the workshop with a nod of respect towards the blacksmith.

-Moments Later, Crystal Throne Room-

Wolf Heart walked into the throne room, followed by Princess Cadence, a soft smile sketched across her muzzle as Steadfast and June Bug trotted up to meet her. "Mommy!" June blurted, jumping into her mother's arms with a gleeful squeal as Cadence moved towards her own husband.

"Hey, Bug!" Wolf cooed, hugging her daughter as Steadfast patiently hung back while mother and child embraced each other. "Did Daddy misbehave?" the winged unicorn asked her daughter with a mock look of seriousness, though she spoke in a sing-songy voice.

June Bug giggled and whispered into her mother's ear as Steadfast approached the two. "Hey, Baby," he smiled softly, relief washing over him at seeing his wife happy after the events that had unfolded in only a day.

"Hello, Handsome," Wolf Heart giggled while looking up slyly at her husband before she took a step forward and kissed her special-somepony on the lips, snaking a free hoof around his neck and lightly tickling him with a claw before she gently set her daughter down and lifting the other to his collarbone

"What's the news?" Steadfast chuckled after kissing her back, holding her tightly.

At the words, Wolf Heart's expression dulled considerably and she gently broke off the hug. "You remember I told you that Sombra used his scythe to cut my wings off?" she asked her husband through a sigh. "And that Dapper had his arm and wing cut off the same way?"

"Yeah, why?"

The mare moved her hoof away from Steadfast's collar and looking away. "Dapper had contracted aerenth-poisoning from the scythe, and eventually, it changed who he was," she whispered. "Baby..."

Steadfast cut her off by lifting a hoof to her lips. "I understand," the earth stallion said softly, ushering a deep breath. "Now you have aerenth-poisoning," he surmised, dropping his gaze down and lowering his hoof from her lips sullenly.

Wolf Heart choked back tears. "Cadence told me it was a miracle I hadn't already gone insane," she clarified, lifting her hoof and rubbing her eye with her arm.

Her husband looked down to see big eyes staring back up at him. "Your Majesty," he called to Princess Cadence, drawing her attention away from Astral Thunder and towards the trio. "Can you watch over June Bug for a moment, please? I need to speak with my wife."

"Of course," she replied, approaching them and gently leaning down to look the little alicorn in the eyes. "Hey, Miss Bug, why don't you come with me for a few moments. I can get you a snack, alright?" Cadence said with a warm, motherly smile that was her trademark smile.

"Okay," June Bug replied hesitantly before Cadence rose to her hooves and lifted the filly onto her back, where Astral followed them out of the throne room.

When he was sure that they were gone, Steadfast spoke again. "Is there any cure?" he asked Wolf Heart worriedly. "There must be some way to heal you of the poisoning," Steadfast exclaimed, lifting a hoof to his wife's cheek.

Wolf Heart shook her head. "Cadence said that the best she could do was slow its effects," she whispered, taking a step away from the earth stallion. "I don't want to hurt you if I lose control of myself as I did on the train," the mare then said, distancing herself slightly from her husband with sorrow engraved onto her face.

"You could never hurt me, Baby," Steadfast assured her, shaking his head with a smile in an attempt to reassure the mare and diminish her fears.

"I don't want to push luck," Wolf retorted, turning away from the stallion. "Besides that, you're... not coming with me."

Steadfast's expression became surprise. "What are you talking about?" he said, furrowing a brow.

"I'm going out to find Jackpot before Flute Melody and Shadow Blade do... and I don't want to risk you getting hurt or... or worse," the mare acknowledged, growing quite serious as she spoke. "Stay here and look after our daughter." With that, Wolf reproached her husband and looked up into his eyes. "I can't stand to lose you too."

After a moment of contemplation, Steadfast spoke, abet in a quiet, solemn tone. "Okay, Wolfie," he whispered, looking down at his wife.

Wolf Heart sighed, lifting a hoof to the back of Steadfast's head and gently craning his snout down. Tilting her head, the mare locked lips with the stallion, a tear slithering down her cheek as her wings lowered slightly. The two remained like this for a moment before Wolf Heart abruptly pulled away and trotted out of the room, leaving Steadfast whilst fighting tears.

The winged unicorn came to a pause at the door and turned to face the earth stallion briefly. "I love you, Steadfast," she said, furrowing a solemn brow before she left the room.

The stallion in question dipped his head pensively. "I love you too, Wolfie," he whispered.

Chapter Four: A Journey's End

-The Everfree Forest-

Wolf Heart beat her mechanical wings, flying low over the forest canopy, the claws on her gauntlets positioned inwards and her arms held close to her chest. Her thoughts transitioned to Jackpot Ace and the way she’d responded to what few words he’d said to her since she’d last seen him three years ago. At this, Wolf Heart couldn’t help thinking about Abacus Oak, who had been buried next to Dapper Jolt, but without a proper funeral as a result of the need to leave Ponyville for safety.

The sun was setting, casting fiery oranges and yellows across the sky as she flew onward.

Tears touched the corners of her eyes at the unpleasant thoughts, but as she tried banished them away, others plagued her mind. Cipher Cloud, stabbed through the heart, Dapper Jolt, betrayed by a friend, and now Abacus, throat slit. Wolf Heart clenched her teeth, squeezing her eyes shut and forcing other thoughts to the front of her mind. Now she saw a group of friends, the mare’s family, dancing across her vision. The consistently ecstatic Cipher, who’d never failed to put a smile on her face with his carefree demeanor and chipper attitude… Abacus, whose care for her never went places it shouldn’t, but remained unceasing… Jackpot Ace, capable of bringing her from the brink of hopelessness with but a few words… And Dapper Jolt… He’d been head over hooves for her, and at times needed to be told to relax. But he always managed to keep her happy and stuck by her side through thick and thin. He loved her, and it wasn’t hard to see most times.

Wolf Heart felt a small smile creep across her muzzle as she neared Ponyville.

Said smile slowly waned however as she came upon the outskirts of Ponyville, where she landed at the roadway into the Everfree. The mare scanned her surroundings before noticing a familiar unicorn sitting in front of a pair of graves.

The winged unicorn furrowed a brow and approached Jackpot Ace from behind, thinking of what she could say to the stallion to make up for her actions earlier in the day. “J-Jack?” she started.

He didn’t respond.

It was in that time that she watched him lifelessly slump over, blood visible staining his chest. Several stab wounds were visible on his torso, some of which still dripped blood. She could clearly see the same sickly fluid surrounding a now empty eye socket.

Wolf Heart stared down with horror, unable to pull her eyes away from the spine-chilling sight as tears flowed down her cheeks. The winged unicorn collapsed to her knees, her stomach heaving and the sour taste of bile rising into the back of her throat before she vomited. The mare spat and gasped before she sobbed, her vision blurring and heart pounding in her ears.

This couldn’t be real… It couldn’t be… Was it a sad inevitability that Wolf Heart would have to face? Was it all just some cruel punishment for her past? Or was it simply a horrible nightmare that was created in her mind’s eye only to cause her ceaseless pain.

Wolf cried.

This is your fucking fault, the mare’s conscience scolded as she sobbed. You could have saved him… You could have saved ALL of them. You’re fucking pathetic.

Wolf Heart’s shoulders shuddered with each crying breath, her wings flat by her side as she buried her head in her hooves. She hadn’t been fast enough, and now her last friend was dead. All that kept her going now was knowing the pain she would cause her husband and child for leaving. The mare slowly lifted her head and opened her eyes to a blurry, unfocused world as tears stained her cheeks and rolled off of her chin.

Forcing her eyes to focus, she gently reached towards Jackpot Ace’s body with a shaking hoof, her lip trembling. Pressing her hoof against his shoulder, she could feel the lifeless, eerie cold permeate even through her clawed gauntlets. Wold Heart pulled away, forcing back a new plethora of anguish and sorrow-filled tears as she closed her eyes and looked away.

“Ohh, I know,” an all-too-familiar voice cooed slyly. “Must really hurt, hm?”

Wolf Heart slowly turned her head to face a black pegasus stallion with a crimson mane and tail, four long, arm-like appendages caped with blades sprouting from his back. The mare’s expression did not shift away from sorrow as she turned her back to Shadow Blade, dipping her head.

“Trust me… I know what it’s like to lose,” the pegasus assured mockingly, approaching her and placing a hoof on her shoulder.

Before he could react, Wolf Heart whipped around with a surprising burst of speed, grabbing his arm and jerking it behind her head, snapping it against her neck. Shadow Blade shouted in pain as he jerked away, the joints in his elbow all but pulverized as he shouted in pain and yanked his arm free of her grasp, positioning one of his bladed limbs down to replace his now broken arm.

“You do not know anything about losing!” Wolf Heart roared at him. “And do you know why?! Because you love nothing! You only care about yourself and your own fucking interests, Shadow!” With that, she took a step towards the stallion. “I’m going to kill you now,” she said softly, but with unparalleled menace, her voice a low growl. “I’m going to carve away your flesh and feed it to the timberwolves.

“Let’s dance,” Shadow Blade grinned demonically, unfolding his wings as Wolf Heart began to walk in a sideways motion, teeth bared and tail flicking, her gauntlets scraping against the dirt roadway with claws clicking.

After a moment longer, Wolf Heart lunged forward, her horn crackling and eyes blazing as she unfurled her own wings and revealed multiple wing-blades hidden under each feather. The mare ushered a war cry as Shadow Blade jabbed forward with his long, knife-armed appendages, laughing bestially as she slid under said arms.

With a growl, Wolf came up behind Shadow and swung a claw caped hoof down on his flank, ready to see bloodshed.

The pegasus stallion was just fast enough to swing around, deflecting the blow with a mechanical arm and stabbing at her with another. The blade of the arm slashed across her shoulder and drew out a cry of pain from the mare as Shadow lifted himself off of the ground with all four of the surgically implanted mechanisms and threw both of his forehooves at her chest.

Wolf Heart was knocked back and she rolled a short distance, where Shadow dropped back to his hooves and began to stab at the ground surrounding her with immense speed, forcing her to scramble back to avoid being impaled by the long blades.

Shadow ushered a demonic laugh and his eyes were wide, pupils pinpricks as, with a demonic joy, he skewered her left Achilles tendon with a spurt of blood. The winged unicorn screamed in pain as the blade was run through her leg and impaled the ground beneath, pinning her leg in place as the stallion lifted another arm in preparation to slaughter her.

“I expected more of you,” he guffawed. “Can’t say I’m not disappointed.” With that, he brought the blade down. He was soon taken by surprise as Wolf Heart lifted a wing and blocked the blow, teeth clenched as she slowly forced the arm aside and glared up at Shadow Blade with fiery eyes, horn blazing.

“Now… you can,” she grunted before Shadow jabbed at her with another of his bladed arms. The mare simply whipped her other wing up and blocked that one additionally, slowly forcing them away from her body whilst lifting a claw-armored hoof up towards his throat.

The stallion growled with wide eyes, throwing forward the last arm in an attempt to deflect her from him.

Wolf Heart sneered, smacking the prosthesis away before grabbing it under her arm and jerking backward. The mare sucked air in through her teeth at the immense pain between her ankle and calf but nevertheless yanked against the mechanical spider-leg with all of her might.

Shadow hollered in a mixture of pain and surprise as the surgically implanted limb was yanked free from the socket with a spurt of blood blackened with oil before Wolf threw a hind hoof at his stomach and kicked him away.

Now free of the stallion’s grip, the winged unicorn stumbled to her hooves and charged towards him before he could recover, ignoring the pain in her leg, as severe as it was. With a shout, Wolf Heart leaped on top of him, pinning the pegasus under her weight before proceeding to throw her armored hooves at his face, scraping her claws along his cheek.

In a last-ditch attempt to save himself, he lifted his mechanical limbs up.

Said attempts to escape bore little fruit, as, with a growl, Wolf bucked the rear ones, bending the frames and breaking the joints. The remaining front blade was rendered useless as she lurched forward and took the limb in her hooves. With a strength both of muscle and telekinesis, she spun around before slamming him down with a plume of dust.

Shadow Blade cried out in agony as Wolf Heart marched towards him, her pupils constricted into slits as she heaved one of the mechanical limbs surrounding the area and broke off the long blade that made up its edge. Frantically, Shadow crawled back on his elbows as she limped forward. “N-no, please! Have mercy!” he begged before feeling the bark of a tree against his back.

“Mercy?! What mercy came to Cipher?” The mare stabbed forward, impaling his chest and eliciting a pained scream from him. “-To Jackpot, Abacus, and Dapper?” With each name she listed, the mare stabbed him, each time drawing from him an agonized wail. Repeatedly, she speared the stallion with the blade, until finally, his head was pinned to the tree by his own weapon through his eye socket, his throat gushed blood, his heart pumped crimson ichor out of his body, and the life-sustaining fluid pooled in his mouth and ran down his pierced throat.

Wolf Heart glared down at the brutally maimed body, her breaths coming heavy and strained as she took a step back. With one last cry, that of which was drowning with sorrow, the winged unicorn yanked the blade from Shadow’s mutilated face and proceeded to bury it in his body, again, and again, until more of his fur was red than it was black.

The mare stood back, heaving for breath as she stared down at what remained of her adversary. Lifting a hoof, Wolf Heart wiped a few drops of Shadow’s blood off of her cheek and leaned back on her haunches with a pained wince. Looking down, the winged unicorn examined her wound, seeing a painful, gaping hole in her leg that bled profusely. Wolf forced herself to her hooves and looked around her, seeing blood seeping into the ground and Jackpot Ace’s lifeless body.

At this, she hobbled towards her friend and slumped down beside him, furrowing her brows with sadness while she gazed down at the unicorn’s body. “I’m sorry, Jack,” she whispered, turning away as the smell of death filled her nose.

Wolf Heart stood and stumbled for a moment, taking a step away from Jackpot with guilt clad upon her muzzle. The winged unicorn lifted her head, her eyes becoming blurred by tears once again as her heart-rate slowed. Without the adrenaline running through her veins after the encounter, the already immense pain in her Achilles tendon became crippling, and she fell backward onto her rear whilst clutching the wounded limb.

Pained tears ran down her cheeks as Wolf clenched her teeth before her vision began to fade and the sound of gentle wing-beats became audible.

Flicking an ear, the mare swiveled her head and looked up to see a faint light descend to the ground. Before long, said light had dissipated completely, revealing a white pegasus stallion with a shoulder-length, ethereal blue mane and azure eyes that glimmered like crystal.

“Can’t stay for long,” Dapper Alan Jolt said with a soft smile that Wolf Heart could visibly see, even in the light of the now present moon.

At seeing the stallion, who bore a shimmering halo above his head, the mare leaped into his arms without a second thought, hugging him as tightly as she was physically able whilst pushing through the pain in her leg. “I knew you were in Heaven,” Wolf Heart exclaimed, her voice wavering.

Dapper Jolt sighed. “Surprisingly,” he chuckled, his voice sounding much more like an echo than a firm tone. In a way, it was eerie, but to Wolf Heart, that didn’t matter.

After a moment, the mare began to cry, fully-fledged sobs as she buried her head into the pegasi’s shoulder.

“Why are you crying?” he asked, gently pulling away and gazing down at her while lifting a hoof to her chin and tilting her head up slightly.

“Abacus… and Jack… They were-“

“Killed, I know… Do not mourn their deaths for too long, okay? I hate to see you tear yourself apart over something such as that. We live, we die… It happens, whether of natural causes or otherwise. But don’t let that tear down all that you have become,” Dapper Jolt said with a soft smile. “Avenge them, as you avenged me.”

Wolf Heart looked into his eyes. “I wish you were really here,” she whispered, dipping her head as tears slithered down her cheeks.

Dapper chuckled. “Am I not?” he retorted, kissing her snout before pressing a hoof against her heart. “I’ve not taken my eyes off of you since I died, Wolfie. Just because you can’t see me doesn’t mean I’m not there… Now then, make Flute Melody bleed for me, alright?” he queried as the hoof against her chest glowed a bright gold and his voice faded…

…where Wolf Heart awoke with a gasp, jerking to an upright position. Taking in her surroundings, the mare could see that it was early morning. Looking down, she noticed that the hole in her leg had completely mended, though some amount of blood had crusted over her fur. It was at this moment that her ears fell flat. Turning her head, the winged unicorn reeled at the sight of Jackpot’s body still slumped in front of Abacus and Dapper’s graves.

Remembering the words of an angelic Dapper Jolt, Wolf Heart stood up with a heavy-hearted sigh before a look of determination spread across her face. Looking down, she closed her eyes. "I'll come back for you, Jack," she whispered before turning to face Shadow Blade's body. With a sneer, she yanked the blood-crusted blade from his torso before spreading her wings and flying off towards Canterlot.

-Canterlot-

Colonel Hurricane leaned back in his chair, a cigar in his hoof and a smile spread across his muzzle. Lifting the cigar to his snout, the pegasus inhaled, taking in its luxury scent. This was from his private collection and the stallion was going to enjoy himself whilst awaiting the return of Shadow Blade and Flute Melody.

With a sigh, the pegasus positioned the cigar between his lips and struck a match, lifting a hoof to prevent any draft from extinguishing the small flame. Inhaling, Hurricane took a long drag off of the smoke, leaning back in his chair and placing his hind hooves onto the desk.

After a while longer, the stallion heard a knock on the door to his office.

"You better have Wolf Heart's head with you!" he called gruffly.

On cue, the door opened to reveal a sky blue, winged unicorn with striking green eyes and mechanical wings.

"Shit!" Hurricane nearly choked on his breath as Wolf Heart threw a hoof, sending a long blade hurling towards his face. With a yelp, the pegasus dropped out of his chair and ducked behind his desk, dropping the cigar on the floor and slamming his back against the drawers. Looking up at the blade that was now buried in the wall, Hurricane's expression became unrestrained horror at the realization that it was one of Shadow's.

"Bring me Flute," Wolf Heart growled, approaching the desk with eyes blazing. "Or I swear to Celestia I will stake your head on my front lawn."

"She's not... here," Colonel Hurricane said calmly, slowly reaching for a drawer and tapping a button, where a blunderbuss was ejected from inside and landed in his hooves.

"Don't lie to me!" Wolf Heart roared, whirling around and bucking the desk.

The pegasus shouted in pain as the desk was thrown against him, pinning the stallion to a wall and causing him to drop his weapon while a crunch became audible as the bones in one of his wings shattered. Hurricane grimaced as he heard metal against the floor, feeling the mare approach him while being unable to see her. "I'm not lying! I don't know where she is!" he gasped, straining to try and find a good vantage point in which he could push away from the wall and free himself.

At that time, there was no need, as Wolf Heart lifted a hoof and threw the desk away, sending various items on top of it flying across the room as the mare grabbed Hurricane by the shoulder, swung him around, and repositioned her grasp at his neck.

The stallion gagged as she lifted him off of his hooves with an effortful grunt before slamming him against the second story window. Glass embedded itself in his back as Wolf Heart hefted Hurricane over the thirty-foot ground below. Wolf Heart leered into his eyes, her horn glowing as she bared her teeth, revealing a small set of fangs.

"What... are you?" Hurricane choked, his eyes rolling back slightly as he kicked his hind legs, lifting his forehooves up and grasping Wolf's arm.

The mare sneered. "Death," she snarled, pulling Hurricane back into the building and hurling him at the opposite wall with strength far exceeding her usual, a loud snap audible as his vertebrae crunched against the pressure.

Colonel Hurricane cried out in agony as Wolf Heart lifted the still burning cigar off of the floor and approached him. With a growl, the mare aggressively grabbed his face and ripped his mouth open before shoving the cherry of the tobacco product into his mouth and holding his jaws shut. A muffled scream rang out as Hurricane flailed, smoke slithering from his nostrils as he mistakingly inhaled an amount of ash. At this, the pegasus began to cough violently, his eyes wide.

Wolf Heart ripped away from him, where the stallion coughed up the cigar and began to choke, his mouth burned and bleeding, and his lungs dry. The mare watched as Hurricane gasped for breath, each inhale he took ragged and rasping as he gagged. Leaning down, Wolf Heart glared fiercely into his eyes. "Where is Flute Melody?"

"I told you," the colonel breathed in a ragged voice, his words slurred and nearly incomprehensible as a result of his internal burns. "She... she's not here."

"Then you are no use to me," Wolf snarled, rising to her hooves and removing Shadow Blade's disembodied weapon from the wall before she reproached him. "I would say be mindful of who you try to assassinate next time," she started, looming over the pegasus. "... but you're not getting a 'next time'." With that, the winged unicorn slowly forced the blade through his chest, drawing a pain filled scream from the stallion as she buried the weapon in his heart.

The mare did not remove the blade from her foe until the light left his eyes and his head slumped over.

Leaning back, Wolf Heart glared down at Colonel Hurricane for another moment before she moved towards the shattered window. "I'm coming for you, you bitch," she growled under her breath as she spread her wings and flew from the building.

-Outskirts of Ponyville-

The alicorn gazed down at the remnants of a black pegasus with a mixture of horror and disappointed disgust etched across her muzzle. Blood caked the body and, as the skull was full of stab holes, his face was nearly unrecognizable. But recognize him, Flute Melody did. Shadow Blade was now dead, brutally slain in a merciless rampage by the only being she could imagine was capable.

"After all these years, you're finally learning to assert yourself," she muttered, taking a step away from the mutilated carcass as a pair of crows landed upon it. One of them jumped to his snout, where it stabbed its beak at an eye socket and pulled a small shred of flesh from the eye. Flute Melody grimaced and turned her back to the corpse, the smell of decay wafting into her nostrils before she began to make her way back towards Ponyville.

As she walked, Melody began to grow increasingly uneasy. Wolf Heart was not simply taking out an enemy, that much was obvious by the amount of clearly fatal blows to Shadow Blade's body. If the mare had simply been defending herself, she'd've gone for a single, fatal blow to take him out, not several. No, it was clear that Wolf Heart killed Shadow out of spite, in a revenge-driven frenzy.

That in mind, the short alicorn made her way towards the tavern, swinging open the double hinged doors and taking a seat at the bar whilst lifting her hoof. "A cider over here," she called to the bartender, feeling her heart-rate quicken as he approached her with a bottle at hoof. The earth stallion behind the bar took a glass from the cabinet behind him and poured the cider before setting down the bottle. "Thanks," Flute grimaced, taking a swallow of the alcohol whilst letting her thoughts wander.

After a while, the mare finished the glass and tossed a couple of bits onto the counter before she left the building.

She didn't notice the winged unicorn standing across the street from her with a fierce glare, arms crossed as she leaned against a street pole.

Wolf Heart stared up at her target, a light breeze flowing through her messy mane and tail whilst also ruffling her fur. Pushing away from the street pole, the mare stood upright and slowly advanced towards Flute Melody, slowly allowing her wing-blades to slide out of hiding as she trudged forward. After all these years, she finally found the true enemy. Wolf could almost feel the crunch of bones as she crushed her ribcage, hear the demon's final dying breath, and see the light leave her eyes. She was going to make Melody suffer the worst imaginable Hell for everything she'd taken from her.

After trailing the alicorn for a short while, Wolf Heart lifted her wings, her blades glinting in the light of the early sun as she curled her lips back with a soft growl, her pupils constricting. With one last war-cry, Wolf Heart surged forward, where Flute turned her head at the sudden noise with wide eyes and fear.

Flute Melody wasn't fast enough to avoid having Wolf Heart's blades slash at her chest with a spray of blood and draw out a pained scream as she stumbled backward. The winged unicorn before her sneered as she threw her wing, sending one blade slicing through the air before burying itself in her shoulder.

Wolf Heart paused as Melody fell back with an agonized shout, lifting a hoof to the blade whilst squeezing her eyes shut. "Look at me!" Wolf Heart screamed with fury, stomping towards Flute and throwing a claw-armored hoof at her face.

Melody fell back with another pained outcry, tumbling onto her back and clenching her teeth as her rival lurched forward and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, looming over her. The alicorn grimaced and slowly opened her eyes, looking up into a pair of enraged, blazing orbs. She sneered. "Good to see you too, Wolfie," she breathed with a bloodied grin.

Wolf snarled, throwing punch after punch at her rival's face and drawing more and more blood with each blow. Before long, Melody's face was bloodied and bruised, most of her teeth missing and one of her eyes swollen shut. The mare glared down at her momentarily before she hurled Flute away, where she rolled across the ground for a small period of time.

Slowly, Flute Melody forced herself to her hooves, looking up at Wolf Heart before painfully yanking a wing-blade out of her shoulder with a grimace. "You gonna fight like a real mare, or do I have to stoop down to your level to fight," she taunted before dropping her rival's bloody weapon.

At this point, Wolf Heart was practically foaming at the mouth, the small set of fangs she possessed bared as she tossed aside her wing blades. "You're still the narcissistic bitch that I remember," the mare sniped. "Always trying to one-up those you're afraid of because you just hate yourself that much."

Flute Melody's confident visage transitioned into disgust at the words before she moved into a battle position. "Y'know whose fault it is that Abacus and Jackpot are dead, Heart? Make a wild guess," she barked.

Hearing this, Wolf Heart exploded, charging towards Melody like an animal with a lust for blood. With a roar, she bared her fangs and lunged forward.

Melody lifted a hoof to deflect the blow, but her attempts were brushed aside as Wolf thrust her jaws forward and slammed them shut on the alicorn's neck. Melody began to choke on her own blood as her adversary rose onto her hind hooves, lifting her up before slamming back down. Flute gagged and ushered a ragged cry of pain as Wolf Heart threw a forehoof at her waist, the crunch of bone audible as her lungs were pierced by ribs.

The light blue mare could taste Melody's warm blood on her tongue as she crunched down on her esophagus, causing her to cough and choke, blood spattering her face.

In an attempt to free herself of the vice-like grip, Flute wedged the tip of her hoof between Wolf Heart's fangs and her throat, slowly prying her off before blood gushed down her neck. The alicorn fell, gasping for breath while her throat bled as Wolf Heart reeled away, shoulders hunched like an animal and tail aggressively sweeping back and forth.

Lifting her head, ears flat, Wolf reproached the dying mare, crimson ichor dripping down her chin as she leered down upon Melody with a growl. "You know how it feels... every time I see them in my head, but knowing I'll never see them again?" she snarled, placing an unmoving hoof on Flute's chest. "Knowing I'll never get to see their smiling faces or feel their warmth?" With the words, she pressed down, slowly digging her claws into her rival's body.

Flute Melody could only continue to choke on blood, unable to cry out for help, or even in fear, before a crushing weight abruptly collapsed into her chest cavity. She could feel her lungs being crushed and torn apart by Wolf Heart's claws, and an aura surrounding her. The realization was quick to reach her as to how she wasn't dead yet.

Wolf Heart's horn was glowing, she was using a spell to keep her alive as long as possible. Melody tried to call out, tried to scream, do something, anything, to save herself, but as she saw her own heart, still beating, in Wolf's hoof, she knew it was all over.

Blood poured from her open mouth and nostrils as she stared up with wide eyes, watching as the winged unicorn crushed her heart with the claws on her gauntlets and dropped it back into her open chest cavity with a cruel grin.

"It feels a little bit like that," Wolf Heart sneered before her magic diminished on Flute Melody's form and she died. With that, the winged unicorn stepped away from the body, her breath growing heavy as she glared down upon Melody's corpse.

Wolf Heart leaned back on her haunches, shifting her gaze from Flute's body to her blood-soaked hooves. Abruptly, she began to cry, tears running down her face and mingling with splotches of blood as she lifted a hoof to her face and ran a bloody claw down her cheek. Her cries grew increasingly louder, as a trail of Melody's blood was left streaking her face.

She had finally killed that which had broken her life, but Wolf Heart did not feel victorious. The mare felt even more broken than she had previously. She felt alone, desperately wishing that Dapper Jolt was here to comfort her, support her through the heartbreak. She wanted Jackpot back, she wanted Dapper and Cipher, Abacus... Wolf Heart only wished that she wasn't alone.

After a long while, Wolf's cries slowly died down, her eyes red and cheeks stained with bloodied tears. Slowly, she urged herself to her hooves, legs wavering as she sniffled. Turning, the winged unicorn looked up with a long exhale, her breath shaky as she weakly trudged away. Wolf Heart felt weak, as if her energy was being swiftly siphoned away from her body. Looking up towards Ponyville, the mare's eyes rolled back and she collapsed.

-Hours Later, Canterlot Medical Wing-

Astral Thunder looked down upon the unconscious form of Wolf Heart with a firm expression, a sigh slithering from his nostrils as he dipped his head and closed his eyes. The stallion sighed, softening his expression before he leaned down with a tear touching the corner of his eye. "I love you, my daughter," he whispered, kissing her brow before taking a seat beside the hospital bed. The pegasus rested his chin on his hoof, his vision unfocused. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you who I was before. I desperately wanted to... on several occasions, but I... my duties prevented me from doing so," Astral whispered solemnly. "I know you may never forgive me for what I did to break you, but please know that I still love you."

With that, he turned to look at the mare, tears welling up in his eyes as he lifted a hoof and gently held it to her cheek.

"I'm sorry about your friends... For all that you've had to go through. I wouldn't want that for anypony."

Astral Thunder shifted his vision back up, forcing back the tears as he leaned back with a heavy breath. With that, he rose to his hooves and left the room, not seeing the tears running down Wolf Heart's cheeks as a nurse replaced his presence, followed by Steadfast and June Bug.

Steadfast gazed down at his unconscious wife with worry etched upon his muzzle as an aura surrounded her body. "Can you cure her of the aerenth-poisoning?" he asked the nurse, looking up at the medicinal mare with a furrowed brow.

She simply nodded with a reassuring smile. "It shouldn't take much to do so. Aerenth poisoning can be deadly, but depending on the species of the being infected, the difficulty of curing it varies," she explained. "You're lucky that she's an alicorn, or it could have been much worse than it is. The one who tried previously to cure her used a spell for an earth pony."

"So she'll be okay?" the stallion asked.

"I should think so, yes," the nurse giggled.

Steadfast sighed in deep relief, his shoulders sagging as the tension he'd felt previously melted away. "Oh, thank Celestia," he gasped.

"No... I should be thanking you," a voice like a chime said as a tall alicorn with an ethereal mane walked into the room. Steadfast and June Bug turned to face the newcomer before the earth stallion fell into a bow. Thinking the motion best to copy, June followed in her father's actions with a giggle, letting her snout touch the floor. Princess Celestia stifled a chuckle at the action. "Please, you needn't do that here," she said, lifting a hoof.

Steadfast hesitantly lifted himself up and gazed up at the tall mare.

"Your wife single-hoofedly eliminated a thorn in Canterlot's side... You should not be the one thanking, Mister Steadfast," she smiled radiantly. "Our guards found Colonel Hurricane, a traitor to us..." The Goddess of the Sun trailed off at seeing June Bug looking up at her with wide eyes. She chose her next words carefully. "Asleep... in a second-story office," she went on. "He was working illegally to ensure the defeats of all who had committed some form of treason against Equestria. It was his methods that made it illegal. He was sending out assassins without my permission, and he had been for years."

"So, my wife is wanted?" Steadfast asked with shock lacing his expression.

Princess Celestia thought for a moment. "She had been, yes... But seeing as she just saved Canterlot from one of its biggest forms of corruption, I think we can terminate those charges," she smiled.

It was in this moment that Wolf Heart stirred, a pained groan slithering from her mouth as she pulled herself upright, drawing attention towards her. The mare lifted a hoof to her forehead with a grimace. "Where am I?" she muttered. Before anypony could answer, June Bug leaped up onto the bed and into her arms with a joyful squeal, hugging her mother's neck.

"Mommy!" she cried, eliciting a smile from Wolf Heart before the mare graciously returned the hug.

"Oh, I missed you, Bug," Wolf whispered into the filly's ear, embracing her tightly. Wolf Heart looked up to see Steadfast smiling down upon her. "Hey, Baby," she said, wearing a soft smile while holding back tears.

Steadfast leaned down, wrapping his family into his strong arms and kissing his wife's cheek. "You never cease to amaze me," he whispered.