Twilight Gets a Puppy
Season 3
By TDR
Just for Seleucus,
Part 3
[Sweet Apple Acres, Sun Down.]
The rumble of thunder made Rahs look up to the clear and cold sky above him, then to his left, where over the Everfree forest a roiling thunder storm raged.
The weather patrol had stated that the storm didn't seem to be moving out from over the Everfree, but they planned to keep an eye on it for the night.
Rahs kept walking along the path towards the clubhouse. With the possibility of a storm he was going to send the Crusaders to sleep at the farm house rather than try and stay in their club house. Sure the clubhouse was on the other side of the farm from the Everfree, but he trusted the farm house over the girls and Spike's repair skills when it came to dangerous weather. That the place had been 'reinforced' for the winter worried him, though it did keep the heat of the two small magic heaters fairly well last time he was up there.
He pulled the front of his heavy robin egg blue winter coat tighter and made sure the large bundle he had with him was still wrapped up tight with the heating spell still on it before continuing his trek.
The collection of non upgraded magic items around today made him a little wary as he didn't want to drain any of them with his presence, especially not the one keeping the pizzas hot.
Winona darted up and started barking as she bounded around his legs. The farm dog was a bit of an oddity to him. After all he was kinda a dog and the diamond dogs were dogs, but here was a smaller, and dumber..... okay scratch that he was pretty sure Winona was smarter than some diamond dogs he had met, but still. In either event it always felt weird to have dogs as a thinking race and as an animal like pet.
Spike felt sorta the same way about Gummy.
She seemed like she happy to see him, and or she could smell the food he carried. Trudging on he made his way to the crusaders club house shooing the small dog off. He watched her run off back towards the farm house before he walked up to the edge of the clearing that held the clubhouse, looking up at the brightly lit place.
“WOOF!” Rahs called, waiting a moment as Spike poked his head out of a window.
“I told you I didn't set the traps.” Spike shouted back.
“Hey is that Rahs with the food?” Scootaloo called. ”Bring it up I'm starving.”
“Yah just ate six apples, four moon pies, and a box of crackers.” Applebloom chimed up.
“Hey I'm a growing filly!” Scootaloo protested.
“Yeah growing outward maybe.” Sweetiebelle tittered.
“Hey don't start that again....” Spike shut the window and Rahs started up the gangplank to the door. Pushing the door in he sank down nearly to his knees as he ducked inside. The flash of heat coming out of the structure made him pull back before moving inside again closing the door behind him.
The three fillies and Spike had already set up their sleeping bags. An old well used one for Applebloom, a Power Ponies one for Spike, a Wonderbolts one for Scootaloo and an Vicious Nursery Sleeping bag for Sweetiebelle. How those ex Heart Guards managed to get a teen colt band going was beyond Rahs, he was pretty sure one of them was forty.
Applejack was sitting off to one side against a wall, the grown mare nodded to him as he came in though he took note of why it was so hot in here. One wall was piled high with firewood and next to it was a small iron stove with a fire inside that was burning merrily. A pipe went up and through the wall rather than the roof funneling the smoke out and a layer of bricks sat under the stove keeping it off the wood floor.
“Woof?” Rahs asked setting down the pizzas on the little table in the room before sitting down himself, being the biggest thing in here he tried to put himself in a corner to give every one else more room.
“Oh the stove? We set that up a couple hours ago. For some reason the two magic heaters we had burned out.“ Spike explained. “We even kept them at the farm house so you wouldn't be near them so they'd stay working.”
“I'm glad I saved the receipt.” Sweetiebelle harrumphed.
“Any way you figure out why that spell Luna taught you isn't working?”Spike asked opening the first box before passing it off to Sweetiebelle, bell peppers, pineapple and bean sprouts .
“I still have no idea I had it working perfectly when she showed me, then I used it at home a few times, but the moment I come out here to show some pony suddenly I can't get it to work right.” Sweetiebelle protested as Spike handed a box to Scootaloo. Extra cheese, jalapeno, bell pepper, ghost pepper, chilies and a dipping cup of hot sauce.
Spike was to blame for her taste in food as of lately as he had the same thing, only with bacon.
“Sounds like that … what ever it is, the rule where everything works fine until it's shown off.” Scootaloo shrugged already having inhaled her first slice.
“I know what you mean but I don't recall what it was either. Twilight would know.” Spike suggested as he handed a blue box with a griffon feast to Rahs. Pepperoni, sausage, bacon and anchovies and lots of cheese.
“Woof?” Rahs questioned over the sounds of frenzied eating.
“Yeah it does sound like a Murphy's law thing.” Spike agreed grabbing a slice of his own. “ Did you want some Applejack?”
The orange mare paled a little tilting her hat down as she shook her head. “Nah ah'm good Spike, still feeling a bit ill and something's turning me off pizza any way.”Applejack offered.”If Rahs is here ah'll probably head back to tha house then before it gets too late. Gonna waste away if ah don't eat something soon though ah' spect.”
“I thought you said you gained weight?” Applebloom asked around a mouthful of food.
“It does take a bit before not eating starts losing you weight. The body thinks it's starving and starts trying to hold onto all the fat, it eats away at muscle first.” Spike offered.
“Every time ah start to ferget yer related tah Twilight.”Applejack chuckled. “ Yah good here Rahs?”
“Woof.”
“Ehh?” Applejack questioned.
“Great.” Spike grumbled.” And after all that work getting the stove set up.”
“What?” Applebloom added.
“He's going to run us all up to the farm house after we've eaten. That storm over the Everfree is worrying him.” Spike sighed.
“Awww. “ The trio of girls offered.
“Hehe, well better safe than sorry. I'll see ya'll when yah git up there.” Applejack chuckled ducking out the door into the cold.
“Well shoot, Granny's not going to let me practice if I'm back at the farm house.” Sweetiebelle pouted.
“Well give it another try. With Rahs here he might be able to figure out what's wrong.” Spike offered.
“Won't he eat it?” Scootaloo asked.
“Bork.” Rahs rolled his eyes and ate another slice of pizza.
“Wow rude much.” Spike scoffed at Rahs.” Nah, if he's in an area for a long amount of time he'll screw with the ambient spells in the area, but if it's a short direct cast not targeting him the effect should still go off even if the duration will be shortened.”
“Ummm” Sweetiebelle stared.
“Just cast it, you'll be fine.” Applebloom frowned.” Yah ken show Applejack later if yah git it right again.”
The white unicorn filly closed her eyes her horn starting to glow. The others watched curiously a few gasps as the room noticeably darkened like a shadow was covering all the light sources. Motes of white light started appearing scattered at random in the darkness, adding faint light to the darkened room. The whole effect looking like the night sky had come down around them.
The others look on with awe at the scene as Sweetiebelle bounced in place.
“I did it! I did it!”
“Woah, cool.” Scootaloo offered.
“Nice one Sweetiebelle. I haven't seen anything like this before. Is it an illusion?”Spike asked.
“Big sis said it was a two part spell. It makes the shadows bolder and then adds the light illusions. It's kinda hard to set up, but it's easy to hold in place.” Sweetiebelle smiled.
“Does it have a purpose or did she tell you what its for?” Applebloom asked.
“She said there's a third part of the spell that's a lot harder and I might not ever be able to do it, but she'd let me try.” Sweetiebelle offered. “Hey … they're moving.”
The Crusaders watched as many of the little motes of light drifted through the air, all of them slowly heading towards Rahs. As they got with in a certain range of him they winked out.
“Behold my brother. Magical black hole.” Spike snarked.
Rahs was about to hit his brother with a scathing retort when a howl cut through the night making everyone in the club house go silent.
A scream quickly followed.
“APPLEJACK!” Applebloom shouted as a blast of cold filled the room, the door to the club house was ripped off it's hinges as Rahs didn't even bother trying to open the door inward in his effort to get out.
The moon dog was already on the ground and tearing into the trees as the others got to the door.
“We need to stay put and barricade the door and set the traps....” Spike shouted only to realize that the three fillies were already tearing across the ground after Rahs.
“Fuck, no one learns.” Spike uttered before racing after them.
Rahs broke through the tree line along the path to the house from the club house skidding to a stop under some apple trees along the path within the snow less zone of the farm.
The ground was littered with sticks and twigs and a wolf head made out of wood that had a hoof print embedded in it's fore head.
There was also a great deal of blood and a shredded stetson.
“What tha hay. Where's mai sister!?” Applebloom shouted running up. Rahs turned quickly, snatching the filly up before she could see, tossing her back to her friends pointing at the farm house where Granny had come out onto the porch with her grand pappy's gun.
“GRRR!” Rahs yelled at Spike making it clear what he wanted of them before he turned back to the scene sniffing the air. The timber wolf head was devoid of magic, so the thing must have reformed. There was a trail of blood leading off towards the woods. He flinched as another howl sounded from the forest.
A flash of green fire drew his attention as the timber wolf skull and scraps of the hat were sent off to the Princesses. ”I'll send for help, go!”
Rahs nodded as Spike went to help the others drag Applebloom to the farm house to keep her from running off to find Applejack.
Rahs took off again following the trail.
Running out of area of warmth made by the Crystal tower Rahs crouched to check the snow. The blood splatters showed up clearer and numerous timber wolf tracks covered the ground. Another broken timber wolf body lay splintered to the side and he saw what he was worried about. There were larger tracks along with the timber wolves and the trailing blood was around those tracks.
The big one must have come back and grabbed Applejack. Rahs wasn't sure why she was snatched up, but he didn't think it was anything good.
Darting across the snow covering the edge of the Everfree he was barely a score of feet into the woods before the temperature shot up and the whole area became like a humid jungle, rain fell steadily as the thunder rolled almost constantly the sky above the thick canopy flashing with light that barely reached the forest floor.
The rain washed away the traces of blood, but the scent of the timber wolves magic still clung in the air and kept Rahs pointed in the right direction. He cursed lightly as the heat hit him in his thick winter coat, though the rain soaking him kept him cooled down enough to progress. He yanked off the heavy coat tossing it over a branch within sight of the Apple farm in case one of the Princesses showed up to help, before he tore deeper into the forest following the scent.
A number of timber wolf bodies littered the ground giving him hope that Applejack was still fighting and thus still alive.
Of course that hope turned to complete confusion as when he passed the forth timber wolf husk the scent of magic stopped.
Rahs skidded to a halt as thunder crashed. He sniffed the air looking for any scent of any sort of magic and there was nothing. It was like the timber wolves had just vanished.
A sudden scream further in caused his ears to perk and he was off like a shot. Rahs burst through the trees, sliding down a muddy slope as the river came into view. Great roots of trees rose into the air as fallen trunks of old wood leaned precariously over the river, tilting in the soft soil. The river raged , swollen from the storm, whole trees rushed past in the foaming water as it splashed up on the banks.
At the edge of the river near a pile of logs washed up on the shore was a body only briefly illuminated by the flashes of lightning in the open air above the river.
Rahs winced smelling blood though no magic was in the air.
He moved forward quickly nearing the unmoving form staring down at it a moment before a flash of lightning lit up the area for a brief second showing the corpse of a wild pig. The feral hog had been recently killed judging by the occasional muscle spasm and still growing pool of blood. The pigs throat had been torn out, it's head nearly removed.
Rahs frowned, had he come across a manticore's kill somehow?
A scent snapped him back to focus and raised his hackles, his amber eyes widening.
He knew that scent, it hadn't been that long ago since he fought one.
A witch wolf.
Whirling about he was barely able to dodge the attack as the beast came at him from down wind, hiding it's scent until it was nearly on top of him.
Rahs cursed lashing out with his claws driving the beast back. His tail whipped wildly, his amber eyes narrowed as he growled and readied for a fight. This had been a trap, likely for him, another of his cursed kin had found him it seemed.
The witch wolf responded in kind with a low rumbling hiss. Glowing points of light over it's ears showed they were flat against it's skull and that the tip of it's tail was lashing.
The beast was large, a little bigger than he was in fact, but no where near the size Managarmr had been.
A lengthy flash of lightning lit up the river bank like it was day time and Rahs got a good look at the witch wolf.
The massive form was all muscle, had it been standing on two legs it would have been about the size of Jynx, and in terms of bulk it wasn't much smaller than the Alpha. Green eyes glowed brightly as it growled at him not speaking anything other than an animistic anger. It's fangs were bared and judging by what he could see in the tuft of dark orange fur of it's chest it was female. A mane of longer wild hair spilled over it's shoulders hiding it's face from view though the blonde hair was hardly what Rahs was focused on at that second.
Given it's position crouched on a log slightly above him he could see it's haunch....
…..and the three red apples marking it.
“Applejack?!?!” Rahs asked in confusion before the orange furred wall of muscle slammed into him.