Secrets

by bahatumay


Mid-Credits Stinger

A young colt with a periwinkle blue coat pranced nervously in front of the door. He looked around and realized he was getting attention from blocking the door, so he swallowed his fear and went inside the library.

Bingo night was easy to find. He just had to follow the noise. And the giant signs.

A mare by the door waved in greeting. “You come to play?” she asked, gesturing at the bingo cards at the desk in front of her.

“I came for…” 

She wasn't wearing a scarf.

“For... something else,” he finished lamely.

“Well, there's plenty to do here,” she said brightly. “I'm sure you'll find something you’ll like.”

He gave a half-hearted agreement and went inside. The room was full of ponies, most of them older. Walkers and gray hairs littered the group, and once again he felt very much out of place.

He couldn't shake the feeling of foolishness. This was a dumb idea. None of his other packmates had wanted to come. They’d had a discussion, and thankfully it hadn’t been night or it might have come to a wolfing-out fight. Most of them wanted to keep going on their own. Some wanted to just forget the whole thing, go back to their previous lives. And he? He was here.

And he wasn’t even sure why he was here.

He was just about to give this up when he saw a pony in the back leaning back in his chair, a scarf with bones wrapped loosely around his neck like an ascot. 

Well, he'd come this far. He swallowed and walked up. “Hey,” he started, his voice cracking.

The stallion nodded distractedly back.

“I’m… a new pup who, uh, came to bark at the moon?”

His eyes widened slightly, now paying full attention. “That so?” he said softly. He hit his head against the wall, casually, as if he was just pushing himself off with it to return the chair to all four legs. 

But apparently, this was a signal. Within moments, another mare seemingly appeared seemingly from nowhere. She looked at him, and with a welcoming smile, tilted her head and indicated he should follow her.

He followed her to a secret entrance behind the wall, and down a small hallway with a door at the end. 

“So,” she started conversationally, “you've got yourself one of these.” She pulled the fur on her foreleg tight, revealing a scar in the shape of a semicircular bite mark that seemed to shimmer with a silvery light.

He felt a small thrill. He returned the gesture, revealing his own bite mark high on his barrel.

She nodded. “How did you find out about our group?”

He paused as he realized he didn't know her name. “Uh, somepony told me about it. She had a pink and blue mane,” he offered.

She grinned knowingly. “Agent Sweetie Drops brought me here, too. She used to come to these every once in a while, actually.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yeah. Not everypony here’s an ehowolf, some are friends or family.” She pushed open the door. “So don’t worry. You’ll fit in just fine.”

He entered, unsure what to expect.

But what he didn't expect was to be tackled by a wolf. He let out a panicked shriek and covered his face.

She responded instantly, holding her back with a hoof. “Dandi!” she scolded. “What did we say about tackling ponies without their permission?”

The wolf turned and let out a plaintive whine.

His eyes widened as he realized he understood what she’d said.

She sighed. “I know it's instinctive, but that doesn't make it ok. We maintain control, remember?”

Dandi chuffed and trotted off, tail and nose high.

The mare turned and helped the colt up. “Don’t mind Dandelion. She’s more comfortable in her wolf form, and there aren't many places she can just run around, you know?”

“Yeah,” he said softly, a smile spreading across his face as he looked around in wonder at this place where wolves and ponies could co-exist. “Yeah, I do.”