Brotherly Bonding Time

by Sketcha-Holic

22.4--Brink of Tragedy

As it turned out, cleaning up a train wreck takes a long time. In fact, it took most of the Appleloosans a few hours to get there by pump car, with only the pegasi arriving much earlier.

After Rainbow returned from Appleloosa, there was a lot of hassle. Letters had to be sent to the railroad bigwigs about the wreck, and to other stations so that other trains could take alternate routes. The Appleloosans that had arrived on the scene had put up medical tents near the crash site, because goodness knows they don't want to expose train wreck victims to werewolves. And whoever was able and not tending to the wounded were picking up the pieces, salvaging items that survived the wreckage intact, and putting broken things in a garbage pile to be taken to a dump later.

Twilight's wing was properly cast sometime after the more seriously injured were tended to, Fluttershy had her cuts bandaged, and the others had their checkup, brushed the dust off and tidied themselves up, and rested for a time for the soreness to fade. In the meantime, as a few ponies were preparing one of the pump cars for them to get to Appleloosa, Twilight did a little more reading aloud of Wayer Rune's journal, sitting on a rock as the others surrounded her.

"Silver Rune is of marrying age, and Jamberry and I argued over which of the fine mares in town he should court. She believes that Silver should choose for himself, with no regard for any social status; I don't believe that's quite realistic for our family to do it a second time, as we were just fortunate that the princesses liked her. Regardless, it will have to be settled another time, because I hear there's a call to war with the Minotaur Kingdom."

"Finally, we get some action!" Rainbow said, throwing her hooves up in the air. "I can't wait to hear how he kicked minotaur butt!"

Twilight rolled her eyes and read the next entry. "'Princess Celestia was acting rather strange today. She declared to those going off to war that minotaurs had been stealing from and killing ponies near the borders, and apparently that was enough for her to assume that they are all evil and should be swiftly dealt with. I'd assume that diplomacy with the minotaurs about this problem did not fare well, but I was shocked to see her ranting and raving about how they harmed our citizens and were planning to take land, thus they needed to learn a painful lesson. It must have been serious if she was angry enough to char that railing.'"

Twilight pursed her lips. "Okay, I know that relations with other kingdoms were less than ideal during that time, but that does not sound like Celestia when she's angry."

"I dunno, it sounds like them minotaurs were causin' too much trouble to ignore," Applejack said.

"But it could have been just a big misunderstanding," Fluttershy said.

"A misunderstanding that left a high death toll on both sides," Twilight said. "The war is considered by both us and the minotaurs to be one of the most pointless wars in history, due to it being started by nothing more than an overreaction to bandits who could have been taken care of rather quickly. At the time, it was perceived by both parties as their opponent attempting a land grab, and it took several years before the truth came to light."

"It doesn't sound like Celestia to be so impulsive," Rarity said. "Just what was she thinking?"

"Celestia doesn't talk about it much, so I don't know what she was thinking." She grinned nervously, and awkwardly turned the page. "It's clearly miscommunication, there's no other way that Celestia would have made this big mistake that lead to the creation of a monster and ruined relations with the minotaurs until relatively recently."

"Oh," Applejack said, rubbing the back of her head. "Still, he makes it sound like an army was attackin'."

"To be fair, he didn't have all of the information at that time." Twilight looked back in the journal. "'It has been a fortnight since I and many others have left our homes and families to fight. My dear brother-in-law, Wheat Harvest, and I are in the same cohort, and we promised our wives that we'd watch each other during the war. It may seem concerning that a unicorn like I and an earth pony like he are in the same unit, but our military is specifically trained for cohesive teamwork between unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies, utilizing each specific magic discipline toward a common goal. And since we ponies are more well-versed in magic, I am confident that this war will be short.'"

There came a whistle from the railroad, and the girls turned to see that the pump car was ready for them, with enough space for most of them to ride to Appleloosa. Twilight shut the book and stood up. "Well, I suppose that we can read more on the way there."

As they approached the thing, Rarity grimaced at the sight of the car. "Oh, I know it'll be faster than walking. But, I still distinctly remember when Pinkie and I had to travel that way after getting abandoned in the desert..." She shot a glare toward Rainbow Dash, who turned to avoid her gaze. Rarity then continued, "And believe me, it's not as fast as a train, especially when you get tired!"

"Well, we ain't got time to lose," Applejack said, picking up and slinging a canteen over her neck. "If we work together pumping the thing, we'll get there before that moon rises."

"Or I could push it!" Rainbow suggested.

"Uh, I think most of us would fly off," Fluttershy said. She looked at the lever. "Or get hit by the lever."

"Not if we hold on tight and duck!" Pinkie exclaimed. "We really, really, really need to hurry and get those werewolves back to normal! I hope they don't forget what it's like to be a pony."

Fluttershy furrowed her brow. "As concerned as I am for the werewolves, I don't want us to risk any other injuries by being reckless."

Twilight looked at her wing sadly. "I'm afraid she's right; any further injury will just slow us down. We'll have to see which speed is safest for us."

As the mares all boarded the pump cart, with four of them taking the lever, the stallion who had been preparing it chimed in, "Are you sure you should go to Appleloosa, Princess? Things are real tense there, and the wolves might swarm you if you tick 'em off."

Twilight smiled confidently. "Don't worry. When I cure those ponies, Appleloosa will be safe enough for these ponies to recover at. I hope you have enough water to get through the rest of the afternoon."

With that, the mares started pumping the lever, and the car moved forward. Rainbow Dash pushed behind as well to help speed it along, and they were soon yards away from the train wreck. Out into the desert they went, their only companion being the railroad.

Pinkie was looking at a watch on her foreleg that had not been there before. "Alrighty, it's late afternoon, and we gotta travel about forty miles until we get there, but so far, we are making good time! At least until we get hungry and have to have something for dinner, but still, we are coming, Cheese Sandwich! No more will you be an evil dog thing--and maybe you won't be so mean anymore!"

Rainbow groaned. "Twilight, maybe you can keep reading the journal."

Holding on to the book tightly in her magic, Twilight cracked it open. "It'll be a good way to pass the time. Ahem... 'As it turns out, minotaurs use talismans to counteract our magic. They are more skilled than I thought...'

---

The sun set, and there was still no sign of Twilight and her friends.

The dozen bite victims made a tentative attempt at their normal routines and tried to connect with friends and family as part of the medicine bison's advice for spiritual healing. But, even with magical desert plants calming them, they were still subjected to the fear of the townsfolk, with many still sitting upon rooftops to avoid them. There was even a sizable number of volunteers that left town to help victims of a train wreck that were a good distance from town, and thus, the wolves.

The fence that Trouble Shoes smashed was fixed. Once evening fell and there was no princess in sight, Sheriff Silverstar rounded up the bitten, as well as patient zero, and held them in the rodeo arena with several ponies and a couple of buffalo standing guard. With eyes on the victims, all they could do was wait.

Braeburn rocked back and forth on the bleacher he sat upon, and stretched his neck up as high as he could to see the railroad. "I'm getting mighty nervous 'bout this. Moon's about to rise, and I don't see no sign of the princess!"

Tomato sat beside him, bouncing his leg impatiently. "Well, she better get here soon, or we'll have to face Round Two of wolf nonsense." He looked straight at Cheese, who was just moping and staring out into the desert, separate from the others. He gulped. "Let's just hope the medicine bison's methods work to keep them from going crazy."

It was mostly silent for the next few minutes. The ones in the arena didn't say a word, only performing simple actions such as sitting in meditation or to scratch an ear, pacing back and forth, and chewing sticks. Every so often, one of them would take a quick peek at the dimming sky before facing the ground again, drumming their hooves. The guards had ropes and nets attached to crossbows ready, and most townsponies just stared from their high perches, waiting for disaster. The only noise made was the nearby chatter of pony and buffalo, with the latter lamenting the perversion of the noble wolf.

The moon rose into view. The bitten looked up and stared at it, and held still in a trance, their eyes drinking in the moonlight like sweet nectar. A chill fell over the rest of the town, and the guards readied themselves without a word.

And then suddenly, the bitten screamed.

Some of the ponies crumpled into a heap and curled up, shuddering and crying as they clutched their heads or stomachs. Some tried to walk off the pain, only to fall on their knees and bite their tongues hard enough to bleed, breathing through their teeth. And some of them crawled, and reached out to those outside the arena, squeaking out pleas for either help or the sweet release of death. The guards staggered back at the sight, their eyes showing that they wanted to help, but there was nothing that could be done. A couple of them turned away, and another couple gagged at the sight, especially when those ponies' bodies began to change.

As the transformations progressed, Tomato hugged himself and just looked down, not wanting to see. The screams and cries made his body shudder and his stomach churn, and he could feel those vampire fangs and those wings growing in again. Braeburn rubbed his back sympathetically, his reaction being the rest of his body freezing, with his own heart pounding.

The only two who didn't have a extreme reaction were Cheese, who simply grunted and panted as the second transformation took hold and passed much more quickly than the others', and the lone buffalo, who was stoic as he morphed into his half-wolf form and only sweated through the process.

Those who expected a haunting melody of howls were to be disappointed, as the transformations ended with the former ponies catching their breaths, relieved that they didn't die, but also afraid to look up. Some dared stand up, their legs wobbling as they did so, but still had their eyes on the ground. Unfortunately, that gave them a good view of their own hooves-turned-paws, and they staggered at the sight.

One even backed right into Trouble Shoes, and the two snapped their heads around, seeing each other's canid muzzles for the first time. Their gasps and screams made everyone else jerk their heads up, and look around in panic at the nightmare they were living. Some tugged at their shaggier fur, some squeezed on their new paw pads, and some felt the cold, wet, black nose at the end of their muzzles. Regardless of what they did, all bemoaned their new state.

"I'm asleep! I must be asleep!"

"No, no, no, I didn't want this to be real!"

"I shouldn't have paws... I shouldn't have paws!"

"I'm still a pony, I swear!"

"That dang Cheese cursed us all!"

Tomato looked up at that, and his eyes fell on his brother. Cheese stayed in his corner, opting to lie down in the dust and just bear the curses flung at him from most of his victims. From the way that the fur on their back was raised to the bared fangs, Tomato was fully expecting them to rush him like savage animals. He tensed up and held his breath, still watching as Cheese was ready to accept his fate.

"Silence," the lone buffalo-wolf said, still sitting. He paused to let the others turn to him. "He is just as much a victim of this curse as we are. Do not let this dark magic turn you into the demons they all believe we are now; you are still in touch with your pony selves."

Trouble Shoes snorted. "But he bit us! We demand justice!"

"Real justice lies in subduing the one who cursed him," the buffalo continued.

Braeburn now stood up on his bleacher and shouted, "He's right, y'all! Somepony put that spell on him, and whoever it is, that one's to blame! And right now, none of us don't want y'all actin' like animals, not when Princess Twilight's coming! I promise, y'all will be cured soon!"

Another werewolf growled. "It better happen soon! I don't like bein' in this here pen!"

Another one was clearly holding back tears. "My family been lookin' at me like I was some devil."

Trouble Shoes looked at his paw and sighed. "Just my luck, ain't it? I earn a little respect, and now I lose it by turnin' monster."

The other werewolves turned around and left Cheese alone, glumly going forth to other spots and taking some provided toys and sticks to chew. Tomato let out a sigh of relief, thankful that if nothing else, the medicine bison's treatment had them avoid a rampage like Cheese's, and instead keep their reason intact from the get-go.

Braeburn looked over the horizon once again, biting his lip. "Ohh... what's takin' her so long?"

Even with the hope of Twilight on the horizon, Tomato still felt a pit in his stomach. A chill ran up and down his spine, telling him that there was still danger. He wanted to believe that the reason Twilight was late was because she had been fighting the sorcerer and that she would come with the good news of his capture. After all, wouldn't that be nice, to have that taken care of and then everyone's back to normal? It'd also probably explain why the creep was also taking his sweet time to actually cause more trouble.

And then, he heard it.

The whistle.

---

The drive through the desert was long and hot, and constant pumping for a half hour was tiring enough, to say less of how tiring a few hours was. There were times the car slowed because somepony needed a water break or a cupcake break courtesy of Pinkie. There were a couple times that the car ended up derailing thanks to Rainbow's impatience, or how they had to stop so Fluttershy could talk whatever wayward animal was sitting on the tracks. Even as the sun was setting, they still hadn't made it to Appleloosa, much to everypony's frustration.

At the very least, they had Wayer Rune's journal passing the time.

"I do enjoy those quiet days when we do not fight or discuss plans of attack, where I can just enjoy nature's beauty and write letters to my family. One of my favorite spells is an imitation dragonfire spell that allows me to send letters instantly--saves me the worry of having to send a messenger that could be captured. Silver Rune and Pixie Dust could receive the letters easily, but once in a while I send them to Destiny Star, who had just received her cutie mark before I left, and thus, she needs the practice. I hope her elder siblings warn her about being overzealous; I do not want to be rained upon with whatever drawings she wants to show me."

"I had received a wound on my shoulder because Destiny did the one thing I feared she would do; rain her letters and drawings upon me with that spell while I was in battle, leaving me vulnerable to attack. I was gored by a horn before I could put a shield up, and I barely escaped with my life thanks to Wheat. I had to bite a stick as my wound was stitched, and I wished that healing spells weren't some of the most difficult, stubborn, and unpredictable magics of any creature."

"I feel your pain, Wayer," Twilight sighed. "If I could instantly fix my wing, I would."

"Good news; I've reworked the spell so that letters cannot reach me when I'm in battle, so I don't have to worry about being rained upon again, and Destiny has been instructed to send one at a time as to not overwhelm me (and to not waste parchment). Unfortunately, we keep losing soldiers in our battles with the Minotaurs. As adept in magic as we are, they are much more adept in battle strategy, and even when we outnumber them, the combination of their strength, ferocity, and use of talismans can have one winning against several ponies. I am currently in search of a weak point."

"Another battle was fought today. Since we couldn't hit the enemy directly, we had to make them slip on sheets of ice that we unicorns conjured, and it admittedly was amusing to see them slide. The pegasi dropped rocks upon them, causing several fatal blows to the heads of those who didn't hoist their shields up in time, before diving at them and striking them like a swarm of bees. I'd like to think we won the day, but I fear some of the pegasi have been captured."

"I feel truly awful. When we out to battle, the minotaurs taunted us with the head of one of the captured pegasi--a beloved one, the ever optimistic Cumulus Formation, who gave us all a good laugh and told me that he admired my wife for her efforts in joy. In a fit of rage, had tried to blast the minotaur captain with a powerful fire blast; however, thanks to runestones that he had grafted into his palms, he deflected the fire away from his soldiers, and sent the fires among mine. The field around us was soon aflame, with walls of fire towering above us and roaring like dragons. From then, our priority was to escape the flames, and navigate the burning labyrinth as the minotaurs laughed. The smoke overcame me and I collapsed, but Wheat picked me up, and galloped through in search of an exit, searing his legs in the process. He found a way through, along with several others, and we managed to retreat. Breath spells were cast on us survivors... however, it pains me to know that many had perished in that fire because of my foolish attack, and I should have died along with them."

"I now know what they do to prisoners of war. After several of us were captured in an ambush, they dragged us to a cavern, where they had dug an entire labyrinth to throw pony prisoners in. They broke the horns off the unicorns, and ripped the wings off the pegasi, and let them loose in the labyrinth, to never return. I managed to flash a hypnosis spell to fool the minotaurs into thinking he broke my horn off when it was actually intact, and I only stayed in the labyrinth in order to find other survivors. I spun a magical thread to create a path back to the entrance, and wandered the caverns. I managed to find Wheat Harvest alive, much to my joy, but we came across ponies ripped apart in ways I shan't describe should somepony read this. We soon discovered that they had 'wardens' marching through the maze, brutalizing any pony they came across, often to the point of killing them. When one of them caught Wheat and prepared to rip his limbs off, I struck the beast with a blast that decapitated him. It had happened so fast, that I could scarcely believe my eyes, and could hardly move. Wheat took me out of there, following the trail I left until we found the exit. He got me to my senses, and I phased us out and we galloped back to our camp. Even now, I still tremble at the thought beheading a fellow sapient, even if he was trying to kill me. Now, two years into this war, do I wonder what we are fighting for."

"Twilight," Rarity piped up in the middle of the reading. "Hearing all those entries about war is getting rather depressing. My own morale is sinking just hearing about all the bloodshed, and I feel like... erm... throwing up just a little bit."

Twilight looked up at her, and looked at the others looking a little gloomy from hearing all the entries about the war. "I'm sorry, I might be getting a little too caught up in the narrative. We're supposed to be learning more about the werewolf, after all, so I'll just skim the other entries until we get to his turning point."

Applejack huffed and puffed as she pumped, looking to the horizon as the sun sank out of sight. "Might wanna give yourself a little light there, sugar cube. I don't know how long we'll be until we make it to Appleloosa... at this point, I think we're only runnin' on Pinkie."

Indeed, Pinkie was the only one still furiously pumping as even her friends were worn out by the long journey. Rainbow was even resting from pushing and grumbling about how the stupid cart needed to go faster. On hearing her name, Pinkie shouted, "Well, every second we waste is another second that Cheesy's a werewolf, and I won't rest until he's back to a super party pony with all his memories in his head! I can't stop now when the moon is rising! I need to go faster! Come on, Dashie, help me out!"

"Well, sor-ry!" Rainbow snapped. "I'm not allowed to go too fast or else this thing will derail again!"

"Hey!" Fluttershy interjected. "You should keep the fighting down, it won't solve anything."

Twilight lit up her horn and sifted through the pages. "Look, I'm sorry we didn't get there before sunset, but I'll get to curing the werewolves when we actually get there! I'm just hoping nopony else gets hurt or that Appleloosa's not an entire werewolf town by now. Just let me read through this..."

"Why do we even need to know why the werewolf guy did it?!" Rainbow shouted. "You just need to zap them with the cure, and you're done!"

Twilight growled. "Well, maybe I just want to know his thought process that lead to the disaster in hopes that I could understand it better in order to deconstruct it, and maybe prevent something like that from ever happening again!" She looked in the book and grumbled, "Too bad this isn't indexed. Let's see, battle, battle, battle... a mind probe in a prisoner of war that reveals that the minotaurs are just as confused as they are... battle, battle... Jamberry is apparently very critical of the war and begs Wayer to come home... battle, battle, battle... lots of doubt..."

"Wow, that's a lot of battles," Pinkie said.

"That's war for you," Applejack sighed.

Twilight stopped flipping the pages and landed on the spot she intended. "Aha! Right here. 'We lost more soldiers in this battle, and I fear that we may be on the verge of losing the war. Princess Celestia has been sitting back, and Princess Luna has fallen ill from a mysterious condition involving toxic magic--much like several friends of mine have, though I know not where it came from. This is mad, Celestia has gone mad, and I'm sure the nobility is only keeping this war going for their selfish interests. This is clearly just a ploy for more land, and the minotaurs are the perfect scapegoat.

'Much to my shame, I have considered pulling out the grimoire I found back in Hollow Shades, to see what is there that can help. Could dark magic get past the talismans unlike regular magic? So far, only physical blows have an effect, seeing as their talismans only defy our magic and not regular swords and spears. If dark magic could penetrate that shield, we just might turn the tide.

'However, Wheat saw me with the book, and was quick to talk me down. Even as an earth pony who could never understand magic like I do, he was wise to point out that using that magic would corrupt me. I think back on the fire incident or the labyrinth, and just how fearful I was at becoming a monster, and I am thankful to have a brother who supports me when I'm troubled and talks me out of any more foolish decisions.

'Even so, I don't know how we'll end this. I'm tired.'"

"You know, why do they have to fight some silly war?" Pinkie asked. "A party would be a whole lot better! You get to make new friends, share stuff from each other's cultures, eat lots of cakes and pies, play games... that's a thousand times better than killing each other over some silly misunderstanding! After all, we prevented a war with the yaks because of a party!"

Twilight smiled at her. "Yeah, parties are better than wars. Unfortunately, it might be too late for a party by this entry."

"Knowing that he's Wayer's anchor... what did Wheat Harvest think when he finally cracked?" Fluttershy said.

Twilight turned the page, and sighed. "Well... as Wayer says here... 'They killed him.'"

The other five gasped, with Fluttershy whispering, "Oh, no."

Twilight continued, "'Wheat was gored right in front of my eyes, to the point of impalement. He coughed up blood, and didn't say a word as he fainted. After I disposed of that now red-horned bull by causing a tree to fall on him, I cradled my brother-in-law, screamed his name in trying to awake him, shaking him and slapping him to see the light in his eyes once again. But it was all in vain, he was gone. Only Wheat's family and my wife will sob harder than I at his death.

'I have had it. These monsters shall pay for their bloodlust, and our royalty and nobility shall pay for their greed! I will do what I must to end this war, even if it means reading from the grimoire and learning a new way to cast. I have avoided dark magic for so long, fearing its power and how it will corrupt me; but as of now, this blasted war has already corrupted me. The question is what course of action I shall take now.'"

Twilight looked up at her friends, who were silent at the words they heard. Downhearted as she was by the entries of the war, she continued to skim through, instead paraphrasing, "A wolf's howl gave him the idea, and he captured a lone dire wolf to experiment on. He gave it a coat of enchantments such as boosts to speed and strength, a communicability curse to spread to others through bites, moon masking to hide the appearance until a certain phase of the moon, and a mind control spell that responds to a certain pitch picked up by dog ears, so he could reign his pack in when necessary. Wrapping it all up by fusing himself with the wolf and drawing the new magic from his own blood sample, he created the werewolf spell."

Fluttershy snorted hotly. "How dare he drag that wolf into that awful curse! Poor thing must have been separated from its pack and looking for them. I know he's desperate, but he shouldn't hurt innocent animals in the process!"

"And that spreadin' it through bites thing..." Applejack said. "I reckon that means he dragged other ponies into it, too."

"Well, it was first spread because he cast his new spell on drinking water, so nopony was none the wiser until the next full moon," Twilight said, scanning the pages. "The Battle of Sorrel Canyon was bloody, and any restraint that the ponies had was gone. The minotaurs' talismans could protect them from magic attacks, but not from pack coordination and bites to the throat."

After reading a little bit more, she widened her eyes and grimaced, and followed up by slamming the book shut. "Okay, Wayer didn't need to go into that much detail about the battle and how they ripped their opponents apart like..." She shuddered. "I feel queasy just knowing that those are still ponies acting like monsters."

Rainbow blinked. "Okay, so those minotaurs could defy a big friggin' fire blast from a powerful wizard, but then ponies turn into wolves and all of a sudden they get their butts kicked? Did I miss something? Because I thought minotaurs were strong enough to rip ponies in two with their bare hands and had that talisman thing going on."

"Well, Wayer did say that the talismans protected them from magic attacks, not physical attacks," Rarity said. "Not to mention that if my enemies suddenly turned into wolves, I'd be rather shocked myself."

"And the moon masking was for the element of surprise," Twilight said.

"Talk about an awful surprise!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"But what happened when they lost that element of surprise?" Applejack asked.

Twilight looked in the journal again, reading the entries after the Battle of Sorrel Canyon. "With enhanced strength, speed, and stamina, as well as heightened aggression to match their opponents, the ponies were winning more battles even without the transformation. It would be a few more full moons until Celestia met with the Minotaur King to finally end the war, and the survivors could all go home."

"So... that's it." Applejack said. "That's the end of the werewolf thing, right?"

Pursing her lips, Twilight shook her head.

Just then, Pinkie looked down the railroad and gasped. "Hey! Appleloosa ho!"

The others turned the direction she pointed, and sure enough, under the light of the full moon they could see dark buildings in the distance, with some light emanating within the town square. They weren't close enough to see the ponies, but just those buildings had the girls nearly leap for joy, for the end of the journey of pumping across an endless desert was nigh.

"It's about time!" Rainbow shouted.

Pinkie leapt up and down along with the lever, her smile snapping to an impatient scowl. "Come on! We can get there faster if all six of us pump like crazy! If we don't hurry, more ponies will end up getting invited to the werewolf party, and that's a kind of party that I know the real Cheese would really hate to throw! So, come on, let's get moving!"

Everypony on that pump car took hold of the lever, with three ponies to each side, and set loose a great burst of energy into their pumping. The car went the fastest that it did all day, skimming along the railroad as the town came closer and closer, and they listened for the sounds of any ponies or wolves coming from the town. Even when their limbs started to feel like jelly, they kept going.

I hope they were able to keep the werewolves at bay until we made it, Twilight thought.

---

One moment, it had been calm. The werewolves were calm, content to chew on items or just lie in the dust until help arrived. They had no interest in attacking, even though most were shooting glares here and there to Cheese, growling under their breath about how he deserved to be ripped apart. Regardless, they kept their level minds, like the ponies and buffalo they were.

Then the whistle blew, and the werewolves went nuts.

That whistle was so shrill and so loud, that Tomato was glued to his seat, only shuddering and covering his ears to try to block it. He watched in horror as Trouble Shoes and the buffalo hopped to their paws and barreled through the fence, with the rest of the werewolves to follow. He watched as the guards lassoed and netted a couple, only to be attacked by a few more in the process. Some spread out, in order to find stragglers on the ground. The two steamrollers of the pack attacked the buildings in hope of getting the prey on the roofs.

He looked down to see that a cloudy-eyed Cheese was sprinting up the bleachers, teeth bared without mercy. He was lucky that Braeburn was quick to buck Cheese away, though not without a "Sorry, pardner!", and then pulling Tomato away from the arena, and hopping out to find a high place for both to take refuge in.

As they cantered away from the town the werewolves harassed, Braeburn hissed, "Are you a plum darn fool? Cheese was aimin' for yer throat and you just sat there like tortoise glued to the road! An ear infection should be the least of your worries!"

Tomato blinked. "Ear infection? I don't have an ear infection, I was trying to block that annoying whistle noise!"

Braeburn stopped at a tree, and then started to hoist Tomato up. "What whistle noise?"

Tomato wobbled as he suddenly found himself sitting on Braeburn's head, and only held the tree for stability. "What do you mean 'what whistle noise'? I heard it clearly! It was loud and shrill and one of the most annoying noises that I have ever heard!"

Braeburn pushed him upward along the trunk, wincing from the pressure on his bruised leg. "I didn't hear no whistle! It was quiet until the werewolves went crazy!"

"The whistle is why the werewolves went crazy! It's not like it was a dog whi--" Then and there, it clicked. His eyes widened at the realization that he was the only non-werewolf that could hear the whistle, and to everypony else, this attack just seemed unprovoked. And as random as it seemed to him, he could guess that the mystery sorcerer was doing it to terrorize the townsfolk, and showing them his work without revealing himself.

And Tomato knew why only he could hear the whistle.

He flinched as the shrill song stabbed his ears again, and he let out a loud hiss in response. He wouldn't blame the werewolves for going nuts if they weren't clearly hypnotized; the dang noise was making him show his vampire side, enough for Braeburn to jump in fright and send him higher up the tree.

"What was that?!" he cried.

Tomato breathed through his teeth. "Vampire thing." He hovered the end of his tail in front of Braeburn. "Now, take my tail, and I'll toss you to that branch, and then you help me up. Deal?"

Braeburn nodded, and was about to take the tail, but he was swiftly interrupted by one of the werewolves having grabbed his tail, and was promptly tossed aside. Tomato watched as Braeburn rolled in the dust meters away, skidding to a stop on his side, and taking a moment to hold his bruised leg, gritting his teeth. The cowboy cracked an eye open, leaving no doubt that he was okay, but Tomato was quick to realize that the lone wolf was joined by the rest of the pack, and they surrounded the tree.

Stupid! Branching off from the crowd put a target on our backs! He didn't know if that thought was toward himself or Braeburn, but either way, he was in trouble. Trouble Shoes easily pulled him back down to earth, and Tomato turned around to face the wolves--but more specifically, his brother. He backed up against the tree as Cheese, apparently taking the role as leader, approached.

It was hypnosis all right--the glazed eyes were a sign of that. But, he recalled the one thing that Cheese did to make him snap out of it during the Las Pegasus debacle, when Kazam had pulled the same hypnosis stunt on the vampires.

So he slapped him. Hard.

"Ow!" Cheese cried. Turning back with his normal green eyes, Cheese rubbed his cheek. "Hey! Why'd you do that?"

Tomato breathed heavily, his back against the tree. "You were hypnotized. And so are they."

Cheese glanced around at the confused pack, and grimaced at the implication at what they were about to do. "Tomato, I... I, uh..." He sighed, and shot glares at the rest of the werewolves to order them to back up. He kept on glaring, adding growls to make his point clear. Tomato had to admit, it was impressive how quickly he went from pariah to the alpha wolf.

Then, turning back to him, Cheese said, "Tommy, I won't let them hurt you. I lost too much of myself... I can't lose you."

"Just... hold on a bit longer, big bro," Tomato pleaded. "Princess Twilight's on her way."

Cheese looked down at the ground, and then looked up with a ghost of a smile. He opened his mouth to say something, but was suddenly interrupted by the whistle shrieking through his, Tomato's, and the pack's ears. As Tomato covered his ears in an attempt to save his eardrums, he could only watch as Cheese switched between snarling like an animal, and screaming like a pony.

Cheese's eyes filled with tears, and he tried to cover his ears. "Somepo... augh! Somepony help me!" He snarled again, and his eyes shifted between clear and opaque. As the whistle continued to stab at him, Cheese smashed his paws against his ears, and kept chanting, "I'm a pony... I'm a pony... I'm a pony..."

But it was no use, and they both knew it. Staring straight at his brother, Cheese whimpered, "Buh... baby bro?"

Tomato wanted to answer, but couldn't. He could only watch as the whistle's spell took hold, and dark, cloudy eyes glowered at him. The snarling beast clamped onto his tail, pulled him forward, and then proceeded to whip him against the tree. There was a crack as Tomato's head hit the trunk, and his vision went black.

The hypnotized Cheese looked down coldly. The whistle sounded again, whispering to him, Take the vampire.

Braeburn barely got up to his hooves when Tomato was knocked out. And he couldn't chase after when Cheese, carrying his brother by the back of the shirt, lead the rest of the pack into the forest, as his still throbbing leg had him stumbling. He didn't know why they didn't take him, or why they didn't just tear Tomato apart then and there, but he stared into the cold, dark forest, fearing over what was to happen in those Macintosh Hills.

He took his hat off and held it over his heart. "I'm sorry."

Author's Note:

Sometimes, one of the most frustrating things about writing a pony fic is figuring out what the heck to call certain things that normally have the word hand in them. Today's word is handcar, as in this thing:

Found out that it does have several different names, but I used the simplest alternative.

In other news, apparently listening to music from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith kind of sets the tone I was going for when I was writing this thing. Don't know how well I succeeded.

Comments

[SageBrony07]

Oh wow. So the villain wants Tommy as well. I wonder who it was, and what is their plan. Great job with this chapter.

[redmar]

I really hope this is over soon and this story can go back to the fun from before Wayer Rune's involvement.

[Goldfinch142]

Man, Tomato has some serious bad luck when it comes to getting knocked out and/or kidnapped. I'm pretty sure one or the other's happened at least five or six times over the course of the summer. And this time, it's both.

That said, maybe Wayer Rune wants to use Tomato to recreate the vampire curse as well (especially since he only seems to refer to Tomato as "the vampire"). After all, why use one animal-fusing curse to create an army when you can use two?

Which begs the question of what such an army would be used for, since the Minotaur War is long over. Perhaps he wants to overthrow the princesses as revenge for his imprisonment in Tartarus? Or try to destroy the minotaurs for killing Wheat Harvest? Or both?

[ChaoticKindness]

Dang, things are getting rough for Tomato now!

[Godslittleprincess]

It just gets worse and worse.