//------------------------------// // 8: A Wolf's Lessons... // Story: An Overlord Apart // by OblivionShadow //------------------------------// Hunter rolled over and slowly got up from his sleeping bag. He shifted and rolled off the sleeping pad he used when not in the Netherworld. As he stood he arched his back to get the kinks out of it. The Overlord was quiet as he looked down and shook his head at Wrath sleeping at the end of his bed. The minion snored quietly and was flopped at the end of the bed. Hunter reached back and prodded the minion with a hoof and the minion slipped from the bed to the ground, landing in a heap. Wrath jumped to his feet and shook his head, ears flopping against his head as he woke up. The minion saw him awake and whistled for the other minions to come and get Hunters armor ready. The Dark Lord was quiet as the minions flooded in and started to comb out his mane and tail and prep his armor. Hunter sat down to allow the minions to do their jobs and waited patiently. Outside he could hear the rest of the camp. Most of the camp still slept and he was used to the silence of the morning. The Black Unicorn was still until the minions set his cloak in place and backed up from him, giving him room to stand. His magic flared as he stood and he left the confines of the tent after allowing his magic to even out and become like normal. Hunter paused outside the tent and breathed in the morning air. The morning dew still clung to the grass and leaves. As he began to move through the camp he could see the servants beginning to wake up as well to tend to the morning chores. The black stallion sat down near the main campfire that had been tended all night to maintain its light and heat for those that were maintaining a watch as the rest slept. He looked to the side of him as a familiar mare sat down beside him. “It’s a bit early for you, isn't it, Twilight?” He asked the purple Alicorn as she sat down. “No. I went to bed a little bit earlier so I woke up a little bit ago. Soft Touch told me to come out here and sit while she checked on my friends.” The mare replied. “Is this normal timing for you?” “No. I’m usually awake a couple of hours ago. So this time is a bit late for me.” “Geez. You are a workaholic.” She replied with a quiet giggle. “Perhaps.” He admitted with a chuckle. He started as a loud yelp sounded. He looked back toward the mare’s tent as Fluttershy came out with Dezhara on a long leash. He glanced to the butter-yellow mare, who looked sheepish and led the dire wolf away from the camp to work with her obedience training. He glanced to Twilight who was watching as well. “How is that going?” “Pretty well actually. She’s not too bad once you take her out to play first.” “Play?” “Well. Hunting types of activities and that gets some of the energy out so she listens a bit better.” “Hmm.” “She’s pretty young so it’s not too surprising according to Fluttershy.” She went on. “If you don’t let her run a bit she gets pretty mouthy and doesn’t pay attention. Well. She runs Fluttershy over if she’s got too much energy.” “How old is she?” He asked. “We think around two.” “Lovely.” “My Lady…Oh.” Soft Touch approached Twilight and spotted Hunter as well. “Morning, My Lord.” “Soft Touch.” He responded and acknowledged the mares greeting. “My Lady, your friends are getting up so I can use the tent to tend to your mane and tail now.” She said and began to usher Twilight back the way they had come. The purple mare looked to Hunter and then to the mare. “Oh…but…I.” She tried to get away from the handmaiden but was ushered back to the tent. “I wonder if she knows how to tell her no?” He whispered to himself and gave a slow shake of his head. “Oh well. She’ll figure it out on her own.” He closed his eyes as he sat in silence, enjoying the quiet of the morning and the first rays of the sun. Time slowly passed him by as he got to his hooves after several minutes. Wrath trotted to him and jumped to his back as the other mares approached the fire with their breakfast close behind them. “Hunter. Will you be joining us?” Rarity asked him as she and the others sat down. “Unfortunately not. There are a few things I need to check on before we set off. Enjoy your meal.” He politely replied as he turned to leave them. “Ya know. Ya should eat with us at least once.” Applejack teased. He looked over his shoulder and gave a wry smile. “Perhaps. I’m not hungry so it would be a meal wasted.” The farm mare shook her head with a smile as he walked away from them. He reached his tent once more and walked into the folds of the fabric. He turned to his saddlebags and pulled out the forms that Gnarl had stashed inside for him to look over as he traveled. He knew that it would be another hour before the main group of wagons began to set out with his command so he had a bit to get things sorted out and prepared. The black Unicorn’s aura kept the papers slowly moving around him as he gave them a cursory glance before choosing the one he would look over more closely and analyze. He sat in silence beside the small desk that he had brought along and used it as he wrote down his orders for the form. Twilight sat in silence as Soft Touch finished her mane and tail and filed her hooves. She escaped out of the tent when the other mare told her that she would be packing their things in a moment. She looked up and found that her friends were waiting for her, but Hunter was gone. She trotted up to Fluttershy to ask about the dire wolf. “Is there anything I can do with her Fluttershy?” She asked her friend. “Oh. You can walk her around the camp a bit. She ran around a bit earlier, but another walk won’t hurt her.” Twilight nodded and took the leash from the Pegasus and gave a gentle tug to let the wolf know what to do. The leather leash was wrapped around her neck since she had no collar. Twilight brought her close by and set out on a walk around camp. AS she walked around she marveled at how the camp had been set up and now was being broken down so quickly. She had seen the ponies setting up the last pieces when they had joined them the night before, but nothing like what she was seeing now. The tents were being broken down and expertly stowed on their respective wagons. She looked back and Soft Touch was stowing their belongings as well. “It’s very well done. Look Dezhara. Your master commands all this. So you need to behave for him.” She said to the wolf beside her. “You need to be a good girl so that he will keep you close by. Then you can take care of him.” The wolf panted next to her and looked around them. The Alicorn began to walk forward, with the wolf at her side. She was quiet as they moved around the camp. She looked up as Hunter came out of his tent and the minions immediately began unloading it and breaking it down. She looked at Dezhara and saw the moment the wolf saw her master. She began to whine and yelp for his attention. “No. Stay,” Twilight said to her and tugged on the leash. The wolf looked to her for a moment and Twilight had enough time to tense and inhale to try to command her, but the wolf lunged ahead and began to drag the mare. She yelped and fell to the ground, losing her grip on the leash. She sat up and glared after the naughty wolf. She focused on the wolf and her magic surrounded it as it nearly reached him. She teleported to him and glared at the whining wolf. “No. Bad Dezhara.” She yelled and her magic pushed the wolf to the ground. She pulled the wolf up and made her stand next to her, the magenta aura holding her in place. “Good catch.” Hunter complimented. She looked at him and smiled. “Thanks. I guess it was a bit early on in training to walk her where you might be.” She replied and glared at the wolf. Twilight started to walk away and cringed. The leg that had been holding the leash hurt. She sat down and looked at the hock of her right foreleg. “Are you okay? That was a hell of a fall.” He asked her as he drew up next to her. “I’m okay. I don’t think it’s anything major. I didn’t let go in time.” She chuckled and looked up to him with a smile. “Hold on.” He looked up and she watched as a blue minion, clad in light armor ran to him. She watched as it came to sit in front of him. He shifted to stand at her side and reached under her leg to hold it out to the blue minion. “Hold still.” He said to her. She nodded and watched as the minion reached out and set its clawed hands on either side of her hock. She started as an aura of blue magic began to encircle her hock and hoof. She stared at the slight pain faded and vanished and the minion gripped the leg, took it from his master, and set it down on the ground. It reached up and tangled its short claws in her fur and gently pulled her to her hooves. She stepped on the limb and there was no pain from it. Hunter looked at her as her head spun to look at him, shocked. “How did?” The Overlord nodded to the minion and it smoothed out her fur then ran back to its own tasks. “The blue minions are healers. That is their purpose. They are sensitive to magic and cannot be harmed by it.” “So if I picked one up with levitation and then pushed them to the ground with it?” “They would shrug it off.” He said to her. “Wow.” She stared, awed at the retreating minions. “That’s amazing.” “It has its uses.” He replied to her. Twilight looked to the wolf and tugged the leash. “You need to learn to behave more.” She teased it. “But I should have been ready for her act.” “It happens. None were hurt badly by her lack of training.” He said to her as he took the leash from her hooves. Hunter tugged the leash and began to walk in a tight circle with the wolf at his side. He spun slowly one way, then turned in on her. She yelped when a hoof landed on her paw, but then began to watch his face and body. He suddenly increased his speed and she responded by barking to him as she moved with him. He stopped and she stopped with him. “Sit.” He said to her, his voice calm. She stared at him and he reached a hoof to her flanks and pushed them down. She yelped as he pushed her and he spun on her once more. He repeated the actions from before then stopped and commanded her once more. The she-wolf paused and then sat down at his shoulder. He reached over and tussled her fur, praising her. “There. She should know it now.” He said and handed the leash back to Twilight, who was staring at him. “You didn’t mention that you knew how to train her.” She said aloud as she took the leash. “You never asked. Dire Wolves are easy to train once you figure out what they want. Some of its food, other toys, some love to work. It’s easier once you figure them out.” He replied. “You’ve trained them before?” Fluttershy asked. “When I was younger, yes. When we started to used them I made sure that I could work with and train each of the mounts the minion's ride. When we found the dire wolves I used the same teaching to train them. So I have trained each of the beasts you see in my army. I simply do not have the time to do it myself currently.” “Well. In your learned opinion. What does she want?” Twilight asked, her tone teasing. “Her?” He looked at her as she stared up at him. “She thrives on action. You saw how she learned to move with me?” They nodded. “She needs a job.” “So she just needs to be taught to do something and do that every day?” Fluttershy asked him. “Exactly. Some of the dire wolves live to pull the carts, they thrive on it. Others are too wild for it and are taught to guard an area or a pony.” “What would be a task that she can do with you?” Twilight asked. “That’s your job to figure out.” He replied with a haughty flick of his tail as he walked away from them. “Dezhara.” Twilight’s voice was stern as she held the wolf back from following him. “That’s it.” She said a thought came to her. “She wants to be with him. So can we teach her to protect him?” She asked her friend. Hunter paused and looked back. Twilight looked up and saw the grin spread over his muzzle. Her eyes widened as she realized that he had known that. She stuck her tongue out at him and looked away. “Hehe.” He chuckled and went back to his own tasks. Though he had to admit he had questions of his own for her, they could wait. He wanted to ask her how she learned to teleport. It was a skill he had yet to master. Well if he was being honest with himself he simply had no idea how it worked. Gnarl taught him many things, but the minion was not a Unicorn, and therefore could not teach him Unicorn magic. He went to the wagons and began to instruct their drivers on where they needed to be in line to give the ponies that had been in the front rest and switch them from the back to the front. They would rotate as the days went by. Hunter watched as the group began to move into the formation and then waited for him to examine the wagons and allow for them to move forward with his blessing. Twilight walked with her friends as the caravan got into motion. She watched as Fluttershy began to try to get Dezhara to respond to basic commands. The Dire Wolf looked bored and watched the ponies around her. “Fluttershy. Can I help?” Twilight finally asked as her friend appeared to be growing upset with the animal. “She’s not listening to me. I can talk to her like the other animals, but she won’t listen to what I’m asking her to do.” The butter-yellow mare looked dejected and simply held the leash. “Any idea why?” Rainbow asked as she walked on the other side of her fellow Pegasus. “I’m not sure. She was doing okay before. Well, she was stubborn but, would listen to me a little bit. But now she seems bored with the idea.” She lamented. Twilight looked to the wolf who had begun to tug on her leash. Twilight glared and took the leash from the other mare. “Okay, let me see if I can convince her to focus a bit. I’m not Hunter, but with my magic, I should be able to have some effect.” The Alicorn took the wolf and pulled her out of line and off to the side. Her magic held the leash, allowing her to hold on when the wolf pulled. “Okay, not this time. Time for you to listen.” She focused more of her magic into the leash and pulled the wolf to her side. She didn’t have Hunter’s height but she could use her wings to be taller than the wolf. She began to spin on her and the wolf resisted, pushing the other way. Twilight tightened her circle and began to muscle the dire wolf into the same spin, forcing her to pay attention or risk her paws getting trod on. She gave the sit command when she stopped and the wolf pulled away again. The mare growled in annoyance and began to spin the other direction, forcing the wolf to move with her. Again Dezhara resisted but was forced to relent when she couldn’t jump over the mare’s wings and had to pay attention to the mare’s body. Twilight stopped and told the animal to sit, which was a command that she ignored again. “Fine. Here we go.” Twilight growled and spin again, her pace a bit faster than the last time. The wolf yelped and once more fell into place in the spin. Twilight stopped and gave the sit command once more. The wolf stared at her and Twilight glared back to her. The wolf looked away and sat down at her side. Twilight wanted to leap on her and praise her, loudly. But instead, she rubbed her chin and went into another spin the other way. She fell into place and once more accepted the sit command when it was spoken. Twilight did finally allow herself to sit down and praise the wolf happily. Once the praise was finished she stood up to walk the wolf back to her friends only to hear a loud clapping of hooves from ahead of her. “Well done.” Hunter praised the mare as he clapped his hooves. “You were watching that?” She asked him, her eyes wide. “Only the last part. Wrath came to me and mentioned that you were falling behind the middle of the group. So I came to check on the reason.” He admitted to her as he approached her and the wolf. “No.” Twilight tugged the leash as the wolf stood up from her sit command. “Damn.” She growled as the wolf pulled on her. “Don’t let her yank you around. You have the raw magic to combat her raw strength. Use it.” He replied and went still. Twilight looked to the wolf and her magic yanked the wolf back to her side. She began to pull away once more and Twilight pulled back. “Walk away with her. If you walk away and she keeps pulling, then drag her. She has to give in if she doesn’t want to end up on her back.” Hunter called out to the struggling mare. Twilight nodded in understanding and turned away from him. The wolf grumbled as she was pulled back as the mare walked away with the leash. The wolf gave in and went to the mare’s side. Twilight told her to sit and the wolf complied. Twilight praised her and turned back to face him, once more commanding the wolf to sit. She began to pull toward him and twilight whirled to walk away. Dezhara looked back as the leash went taut and jumped to join the mare. Twilight could almost see her figuring it out and adjusting. She allowed herself a slight smile and turned back to him, commanding her to sit. The wolf sat and waited for the mare to move. When she remained at Twilights side the mare allowed herself a delighted noise and began to slowly walk toward the stallion. Dezhara started to walk ahead of the mare but paused after a few steps. She looked over her shoulder and waited as Twilight caught up to her and walked with her. “There she goes,” Hunter commented to himself as the wolf began to follow both spoken and unspoken commands. “Now she should be easier to handle.” He said to Twilight as she reached him. “Now you can have her.” The mare said to him with a laugh. “Not yet. So how do you plan to teach her now?” He asked as they began to walk, the wolf between them. “I’m not sure. I’ve never seen any animal protection trained. I’ve seen basic obedience and such, but not sure how to proceed. I know you’re busy, but any ideas?” She asked him as they moved next tot eh caravan. “It makes sense that training in protection is not well known. Equestria is a much gentler place from what I know.” She nodded as he spoke. “But I have seen it done before. We have some wolves that are trained to protect the caravan. There are several of the handlers that have trained the wolves before. I can point out one or two that can be spared to help with her.” Hunter offered. “I have participated in training for that but have not done it personally in a few years.” Twilight was quiet as they moved. Ahead of them Wrath waved to him and motioned for Hunter to join them. The Overlord cursed and his horn lit. He had read the method of teleportation but had not been able to master it. His horn gathered his magic, but it backfired when he tried the spell. “Damnit. By the Netherworld.” He cursed and looked up at his horn as it smoked. He shook his head and waved the smoke away from it. “Excuse me.” He broke into a fast trot and moved toward the minion. “Wait up.” Twilight trotted after him with the wolf at her side. The mare stayed at his side as he reached the minion. “What is it?” The Overlord was quiet as the minion pointed ahead of them. The caravan slowly halted as the dust kicked up in front of them. Hunter narrowed his eyes and stared ahead. “You must be kidding.” He complained and began to walk up to the front. “Dust storm?” Twilight questioned. “No. It’s a blinding technique.” He replied as his horn lit and his bow appeared on his back. “What?” “It’s used by raiders to confuse caravans, forcing them to stop to pick off the end wagons to steal the contents. I had heard that there were some on the route we are using, but I didn’t think they would target a caravan of this size.” “So they are trying to rob you?” Twilight asked. Her voice disbelieving. “That seems…Like a very bad idea.” “Oh, it is.” He admitted as his pace remained easy and fluid. “I deliberately did not fly any of my banners, testing to see if they would act or not. We have the appearance of a large merchant or noble caravan, so that makes us a very appealing target.” Twilight watched as they neared the front. “They will recognize you right away though.” She said and gripped his shoulder, stopping him. “Hang on. We can use this.” “How so?” “Hold still.” She lit her horn and layered an illusion over him. Hunter felt the magic overlay his body and he shuddered under it. The feeling went over his fur and he gave a slight shake to rid himself of it. “What did you do?” “I made you look different. This way you can approach them and speak to them without letting the want to be thieves know who they are trying to rob.” She smiled at him as dawning struck him. “Oh, this is brilliant. You need to teach me that spell.” He said to her and looked ahead. “I’m surprised you don’t know it.” She replied to him as they waited. “Gnarl can teach me many things but Unicorn magic is a bit beyond him.” He replied. “Oh. Fair point. Yeah, I can teach you the spell. And I’ll teach you how to teleport.” She added in. “Yeah. That’s a skill I desperately want to learn. I have many books on magic but with no other unicorn that I can call on to ask about it, makes for a seemingly impossible task.” “You don’t have any other Unicorns?” “Correction. I have many Unicorns on staff, but none that are high leveled enough to be able to use Teleportation.” He clarified as they once more began to walk to the front. “That will have to wait, now to give these fools enough rope to hang themselves with.” He pushed her back and Twilight hung back with the wolf at her side. Hunter trotted ahead and reached the lead wagon in a few seconds. He glanced back and Twilight was far enough back to be missed with the wolf helping to obscure her form. He looked up as a group of several ponies approached the wagons. He fought back a smile as they approached. The lead pony was covered from hoof to head in a light fabric, light brown in color. He didn’t appear to have too many ponies with him and Hunter could see that they were all dressed in a similar fashion. The clothing was meant to keep the dust off and to help them blend in. Hunter came to stand in front of the wagons and waited for the ponies to reach him. A belt went around the lead pony’s middle, showing a thin scabbard on his hip. Hunter glanced to his back and found that his bow was hidden, allowing him to remain unknown. The ponies in the caravan all stared and twilight edged up to tell them that she had put an illusion over the Overlord and to stay out of the way. They clustered around her and hid her and the now growling wolf. A confident smile went over the muzzle of the lead pony and Hunter would now see his pale red eye color. He approached the wagons and Hunter stepped forward to meet him. The stallion stopped and ran his eyes over the illusion that Hunter wore. The Overlord had a moment to be curious about what the Alicorn had made him look like. He hadn’t thought to ask her. “Thank you for stopping. It made this quite simple. So clearly you are unaware of the toll in this area.” The lead pony barked out. His voice grated over Hunter's ears and he fought back a grimace, flicking his ears for a moment as he listened. “I was not aware of any tolls on the Overlords roads.” He replied. He nearly whirled around when the squeaky voice came out of his mouth. He sounded like a prepubescent foal! It had been fine before! Behind him, he heard a quiet snort and managed not to turn to glare at the mare in hiding. The stallions in front of him smiled and he had to fight not to reach back for his bow, despite not being able to see it, to beat the smiling robbers with it. “Yeah. We uh…Have our orders. It’s a new rule. Sorry about it not being sent out in a letter. So we need to factor in how many wagons you have, how many ponies, and the value of the entire load.” He replied with a smirk. “You have a noble with you that should have all the information we need. Don’t; want to get it wrong.” Hunter found himself biting into his tongue as he wanted nothing more to reach out and put the group on their place. “Well, I am the one in charge of the wagons so any information is known by me,” Hunter spoke as little as possible. His own voice made him want to crawl into a hole and cover it with a rock so he could die under it. “Oh good.” The pony approached him and turned the six-foot gap to less than two. “So how many wagons?” Hunter thought back for a moment. “Twelve.” “And how many ponies?” Hunter did the math quickly. “Altogether?” The thief nodded. “Between thirty and forty.” “Wow, that’s more than I thought.” “And the estimated value?” “It’s mostly tents and equipment. Food, etc.” He replied. “We aren’t carrying anything more than supplies.” “Really? You’re sure about that?” “Of course. I wrote out the inventory before we left.” Hunter replied. The stallion looked over his shoulder to the three ponies with him and then looked back to the illusion Overlord. “Well. That works. So how many coins do you have?” “Not much. Enough for supplies to re-equip for the travel back.” “And where are you coming from?” Hunter paused as a whisper caught his attention. “Equestria.” He replied thanks to the whispered suggestion from Twilight. “Oh. Haven’t had many that are permitted to travel across the borders before.” “One of the few with the allowance.” He replied to the surprised ponies. “That works. Okay, so I figure that your toll amount will be…Everything.” “Everything?” He replied, allowing his voice to sound shocked, which just made it shriller. “Yeah. And you’re going to need to leave the mares as well.” “Why in the Hells would I allow that?” The pony looked to the weapons they held and then back to the Overlord. “Since, if you don’t, I will kill them in front of you. Instead of killing you first.” Hunter was quiet as the glanced to the ponies behind him. He saw a small grin go over Twilight's muzzle as she held the wolf closer. He looked back and leaned the weight off one back leg. “No.” “No?” “No.” “I‘m not sure if you’re brave or stupid.” The leader replied, a bit of awe in his voice. “But bravery is only going to get you killed. So you can still walk away.” He replied and backed up a step. Hunter clicked his tongue and shook his head slightly. “No. That’s the part where you are wrong. I can’t walk away. It’s neither bravery nor stupidity. It’s my place to protect them. And that is exactly what I am going to do.” Hunter assured them. “Twilight?” The ponies paused and looked past the Overlord as the Alicorn raised her head slightly. “Yes?” “Can you please drop this awful illusion?” “It’s not that bad.” She giggled. He saw her horn light and then turned back to the robbers. Hunter watched as their eyes widened as the illusion fell to reveal the Overlord of the North. His black coat shone as he raised his head to his full height. The armor he wore glinted in the sun as the ponies stared. It's obsidian and silver threading glittered like tiny diamonds and the gauntlet on his foreleg roared to life at his command. Minion’s thundered to the front at his unspoken command. Wrath leaped to his shoulder and held onto him, ready to attack. The ponies backed up and Twilight joined him, the dire wolf snarling at her side. “You have two choices.” Hunter’s voice rang out, clear and strong as steel. “You can surrender and be placed under arrest. Or. You can die for your transgressions against me.” His red eyes glowed from behind his long forelock, giving him an even more intimidating presence. He advanced one step and they jumped away from him. The minions screamed and lunged forward then jumped back to his sides. The brown minions sat astride the warwolves and the wolves barked and howled. The greens sat astride the black spiders and hissed at the ponies that stood against their master. To the far back stood the red minions with the fire immune salamanders, red flames flickering on their thin forms. Beside him, Twilight flared her wings and lowered her body slightly. Her friend’s standing behind her, also ready to help him. “You stand absolutely no chance against the small army I have with me. You have your options. I suggest you choose wisely.” Hunter said to them. He regarded them coldly, his voice resonating within those close to him. “You don’t know how many others I have with me.” Their leader replied. His body was low as he looked to ponies with him. “I don’t think you have enough to even have mine break a sweat.” He replied. “You don’t know that.” “Yes, I do,” Hunter replied. “As we spoke I had my minions going into the woods around us. They have found and ended the threat you seem to think you have in numbers. I am the Overlord of these lands for a reason. They answer my command.” “You aren’t the real one.” “Oh?” Hunter allowed his voice to show the laughter just behind his lips. “No Ruler leaves his castle for a merchant trip.” He replied his sword coming from the scabbard at his hip. Hunter shook his head. “Stupidity as far as the eyes can see.” He replied. “The only one who can control the minions you see is me. The only pony that can call upon a legion of dragons, is me. Surely you have heard of the dragons?” The pony behind him backed up at the mention of the fire-breathing dragons at his command. “Sir. I’ve seen those dragons.” “Shut up. If he had them they would be here. No Overlord is going to travel unguarded if he has them.” The leader replied trying to galvanize his subordinate. “Why would I need them to protect me when I can do that on my own?” Hunter added. “I bore of this. Your decision has been made. At least, give the minions a workout.” Wrath leaped from his shoulder and the others flooded past him. Their war screams deafening to the ponies. Beside him Twilight gasped as they flooded past her, the air from their charge ruffling her feathers and fur. “Wow.” She breathed out as the ponies screamed. Hunter was silent as he made sure to watch the fight. He was not the type to run away and hide. He had made the decision, so he had to see it through to the end. “You could have let them run,” Twilight asked. “No. They cannot be allowed to run.” He replied to her. “But you don’t have to stare at them.” She said to him, gently nudging his shoulder. “Yes. I do.” She leaned forward as he spoke. “I am the laws of my Empire. I chose the sentence and so I must follow through with it. If I make the sentence then I must be willing to see it through. If not then the ruling has no power to be upheld. I cannot look away.” Twilight turned back as the minions began to rejoin him. The bodies were begin gathered and set to the side of the road. Hunter walked over to the corpses and began to instruct the minions to dig graves for the fallen raiders. Twilight was watching as she loosely twiddled the leash between her hooves. She had heard what he had said and a part of her knew that he was right. The other part of her was disgusted, but she understood. She was beginning to understand what his life was. The reality of it finally beginning to dawn on her. Beside her, Dezhara began to snarl once more. The mare looked to the dire wolf and watched her. She sat down, thinking the wolf was still reacting to the fight. The wolf lunged forward and she lost the leash. She began to shout when she saw the reason for the wolf to be snarling. “Hunter!” She screamed as the raider got up and lunged for the Overlords unprotected back. Hunter heard the scream and looked to the mare as the dire wolf leaped for him. He spun as the wolf leaped past him and a scream sounded behind him. He spun to the rear and watched as the dire wolf savaged a raider behind him. He recognized the voice as the one who had led the attack. He exhaled breath as the screaming stopped and the wolf backed away from the body. She trotted to him and sat down at his side. He blinked and shook his head to clear it as he looked to the wolf sitting calmly next to him. “Oh by Celestia.” Twilight breathed as she got to her hooves and approached him. “Are you okay?” “I’m fine.” He replied after a cursory glance at his own body. “Remind me to allow the Browns to start jumping on the carcasses again.” He tried to joke as the mare still looked stricken. Twilight panted as she stared at him. “You’re really okay?” “Yes. I’m fine, I promise.” He responded to her. He looked to the wolf at his side and rubbed her chest in praise. He looked from her to the mare as she collided with his chest. A cry tore from her and she held onto him, tightly. Her friends approached her as he sat down and held her gently. His touch was gentle as to avoid hurting her with his armor. He ran a hoof over her mane and tried to speak gently to her, but he had no voice for her. His own nerves were frayed and the wolf stayed silent at his side. The gentle cries of the mare in front of him were all that he could hear. Her grip was iron and he didn’t try to escape. He closed his eyes and bowed his head as he held her as tightly as he dared.