Copper Heart

-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.