//------------------------------// // Full Moon Rising // Story: Forever Wolfpony // by WhateverTheHeck //------------------------------// It took a while for everypony to orient themselves inside Twilight’s Castle, but after what felt like half an hour of walking in circles, the quadrio of foals finally made it to the guest rooms. They stood adjacent from each other, two on one side of the hallway, and two on the opposite. The rooms themselves were identical; a bed in the back with two bedside cabinets, a dresser, and a mirror. No windows, however. Fullmoon sighed in relief at that fact. “Ah would say goodnight, but considerin’ how much time we’ve wasted, we’re probably gonna sleep through a lot of the day,” Apple Bloom said, a yawn escaping her. “That just means it’ll give Twilight more time to translate that book. I just hope she goes as fast as she can,” Fullmoon replied, gently opening the door to his room adjacent to Scootaloo’s. “I’ll see you three sometime tomorrow, hopefully. If I’m not up and you are, please come wake me up.” He waved gently before disappearing into the darkness of the room. The door slammed shut behind him. “It’s nice to see him calm again,” Scootaloo admitted, sighing. “I dunno, guys. Am I the only one that gets the heebie-jeebies from that tome? There’s something off about it that I just can’t put my hoof on,” Sweetie Belle stated, her face contorting in thought. “Ah dunno. Ah get the same feelin’ too. Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom turned to the orange pegasus, “are ya feelin’ the same way too?” “I hate to admit it, but yeah, I do,” Scootaloo answered, rubbing her dry eyes. “I don’t want to bring it up with Fullmoon because he seems genuinely convinced that this will help him.” “Let’s all keep an eye out just in case something happens, agreed?” Sweetie Belle proposed, reaching her hoof out in front of her. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo did the same. They nodded in unison. “Agreed,” Apple Bloom said, grinning with determination.  “Agreed,” Scootaloo added, looking at Fullmoon’s door. “Now let’s get some sleep. If we want to watch him, we need to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.” The Cutie Mark Crusaders deconverged, strolling to their respective rooms. “Goodnight, everypony,” all three said in unison, fading into the depths of their rooms. Fullmoon lay flatly on the soft mattress, staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom. Every now and then he would stir slightly, but other than that, he was immersed in thought. No moment was wasted. He sighed heavily, finally shifting onto his side. What am I gonna do after this? he pondered, gripping his pillow tightly. What’s my life’s purpose? These thoughts constantly nagged at him. Every second just gave him more and more to ruminate. And the more he did, the more his head pounded. “Maybe I just need some fresh air,” he said, rolling off of the bed and onto his hooves. He navigated his way across the dark room, exiting it and entering the hallways. Everything was quiet, as expected. Listening closely, he could hear the light sighs and snores of his friends. He draped his hood over his head, travelling through the corridors and into the main throne room. Sat in the throne with a big purple star was none other than Twilight. She was situated there with two books; the Taxus’ Tome they had found earlier and the guide to translating it. Constantly her head swayed from side to side, viewing each book for a couple of seconds before writing down something in a notepad with her magic. She definitely looked worse for wear as well, her eyes having bags under them. Every now and then they would close shut, before she flinched and continued with her work. “Twilight?” Fullmoon asked quietly, sitting down on the throne just by her. “Hmmn?” Twilight groaned groggily, staring him down with tired eyes. “Oh… greetings, Fullmoon.” She waved rather slowly. “Why aren’t you asleep?” “I could ask you the same, but judging by what’s in front of you, I can already guess the answer,” he replied, pointing at the two books. Twilight let out a soft chuckle, following it up with an exhausted sigh. “Maybe doing this so late at night wasn’t a very good idea…” she conceded. Her head leaned on the armrest of the throne. Just the thought of a few seconds of shut-eye appealed to her desires. “This might take longer than I imagined…” “Twilight… can I ask you something?” Fullmoon requested. His question was soon replied with a gentle nod. “What’s my purpose in life?” The alicorn jerked up in shock. “What?” She blurted out, tilting her head to the side. “What do you mean?” “Well… all this time I’ve strived for a cure. Something to finally rid both me and all of Ponyville of this monster inside of me. I’ve never really thought of what I’d do with my life afterwards, you know?” He stared down at his hooves, a soft sigh escaping him. “Hmm… how long has it been since you’ve been cursed?” Twilight inquired. “I wanna say three years, but time goes by way too quickly to remember,” he replied. Twilight’s eyes opened wide with her mouth agape. “Th-Th-Three years?!” she exclaimed, her wings popping out in surprise. “How did you survive this long?!” “I… had my friends. Those three fillies are the reason why I kept going. They’ve covered for me for so long. I had a place to live. I had somepony to talk to. I didn’t have to fear anything whenever I was around them. WIthout them I’d be thrown in a dungeon by now.” He leaned back on the throne, taking in a deep breath. “Maybe even worse, now that I think about it.” “Then why don’t you ask them?” she asked. “If I was having trouble with anything, I’d ask my friends to help me out. With you, it should be no different.” “With you being a princess and all, I thought you would’ve had it all figured out by now,” he said matter-of-factly. “Fullmoon, I’m the Princess of Friendship, not the Princess of Life Advice.” She chuckled before clearing her throat. “But I can tell you that if you truly trust your friends, you’ll have no issue asking them for help.” He turned to her with eyes of desperation. She looked back with a gaze of sureness. Fullmoon’s small smile turned to a big grin.  “Thanks, Twilight… that means a lot.” He bowed his head to her. Twilight reached a hoof to his chin, being forced to face her. “Just know that I’m always open for conversation if need be,” Twilight assured, nodding to him. He did the same, standing up swiftly from the throne. “I need to get some sleep. Make sure you do too. I doubt that you’ll be able to translate that while half-asleep,” he teased, giggling. She laughed back, closing both of the books. “You’re right. I’ll see you in the morning, Fullmoon.” Twilight waved him goodnight, before disappearing into one of the long hallways. He trotted back to his room as quietly as possible. Although it was slower, it was better than waking up any of the crusaders. He reached for the doorknob. “Whatcha doin’ up?” Apple Bloom suddenly asked, standing right behind him. He yelped, hopping upwards slightly before landing back on the cold floor. “A-Apple Bloom!” He turned around in shock, his heart beating out of his chest. “W-Why aren’t you asleep?” “Better question, why aren’t you asleep?” she snarkily questioned, giggling lightly. He huffed, feeling quite annoyed.  “Just go back to bed. I-I was just talking to Twilight, is all,” he nervously said, opening the door to his room. “Alright alright, Ah’ll go.” She walked over to her room, gently shutting the door behind her. He rolled his eyes, slamming the door behind him. Apple Bloom tapped her back hoof in frustration. “Ugh!” She pouted. “This is gettin’ ridiculous! How long is he gonna sleep!?” “Well, he did say to wake him up if all three of us were up before him, so…” Scootaloo reminded. All three of them smirked, sneaking into Fullmoon’s bedroom. It took no time for them to find the snoozing colt. There he was, in plain sight, snuggled up in his bed and sleeping the morning away. His mane was ruffled, hair strands poking out in all directions. His face also seemed a bit pale. Sweetie Belle was first to take notice of this. “Uh, is it just me, or does Fullmoon look a little worse for wear?” the marshmallow filly asked, pointing at his mane. “Oh come on, Sweetie Belle! You’re just saying he has a bed-head,” Scootaloo replied. “You missed a spot when you brushed yer hair by the way,” Apple Bloom teased, pointing at the back of her head. “What? Where?!” Sweetie Belle squealed, patting down the back of her mane. Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo laughed hysterically. “That isn’t funny!” she huffed, her cheeks flushing a deep red. “Come on, let’s wake him up,” Scootaloo said, trotting up to his bedside along with her friends. The trio took a deep breath, before… “Good evening, Fullmoon!” “Graah!” he shrieked, rolling off the side of the bed and onto the floor with a loud thud. He opened his eyes begrudgingly. The first thing he saw was a leg of the bedside table. He stood himself up gradually, yawning groggily before staring at the trio. “G-Good… evening, I think?” he stated. Now that he was actually up, it was easier to see him in the light. He looked downright sickly, his eyes missing some color to them. His mane seemed to sag slightly along with his tail, and his movements as he trotted up to them were slow and heavy. All three of them stared at each other with looks of worry. “Uh, Moon, are ya feeling okay?” Apple Bloom asked, tilting her head to the side. He nodded lazily. “Y-Yeah, I’m good. Just need a bit of time to…” he began, another yawn escaping him, “wake up a bit.” The crusaders looked at each other with worry as he strolled out of his room. They followed closely behind, chatting with each other. “He doesn’t seem alright,” Scootaloo bluntly stated. “Oh, so now you listen to me,” Sweetie Belle sneered, sticking her nose up. “Can it,” Apple Bloom scorned. “Though he does seem ta’ be rather… sickly.” She watched as he stumbled through the halls, his eyes frantically darting side to side. “Hey, Moon!” she called, trotting up next to him. “If there was anythin’ wrong with ya, you’d tell us, right?” “O-of course! Why wouldn’t I?” he said, appalled. “I’m fine, if that’s what you’re asking. Just a bit of a weak spell… is all.”  “Fine, fine,” Apple Bloom conceded, rolling her eyes as they traveled onward in the maze-like hallways.  “Is it just me or has this place gotten bigger?” Scootaloo thought aloud. “I-I’m sure it’s the exact same size as it was before we sle--” Fullmoon began, before  trotting into the princess herself. He fell over backwards, plummeting to the ground right onto his flank. A small yelp escaped him. He stared upwards, seeing the alicorn immersed into the tome; just like last night. His eyes widened. “O-Oh my gosh I’m so sorry!” He steadied himself, bowing his head. “Hmm…?” Twilight questioned, averting her attention from the book. “No no… it’s fine, really.” She scanned him for a moment, blinking a few times. “You look like Tartarus,” she stated bluntly. “You’re too kind,” he replied sarcastically, returning to his normal stance. “I was wondering if you’d found anything in the book yet?” he asked, chuckling nervously. “Yes, I have, as a matter-of-fact!” She beamed, perking up almost immediately. “Follow me!” She turned around, trotting down the hall. The quadrio walked close behind, talking amongst themselves. “Moon, Ah wanted ta’ ask ya somethin’,” Apple Bloom blurted out, facing him. “Why were ya up last night?” His eyes shot open, his pupils shrinking as he stared at her. The other two members looked at Apple Bloom with confusion, then to Fullmoon. “No reason, honest!” he replied hastily, raising his hoof up to his chest. The crusaders eyeballed him. A few beads of sweat slid down his cheek as he gulped. “O-Okay,” he began, wiping away the few drops, “m-maybe I just needed a bit of fresh air!”  “Moon, you’re stuttering,” Scootaloo chastised, before placing a hoof on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?” “Yeah, Moon, is there something going on?” Sweetie Belle asked, tilting her head. “We’re here for you.” “Ya can tell us what’s wrong, or let it stew in yer brain for a bit. Yer choice in that,” Apple Bloom said, looking at him with those sweet amber eyes. He let out a deep sigh, removing Scootaloo’s hoof from his shoulder. “I just…” he began, “I’ve spent so long trying to figure out a cure for this, that I don’t have anything else to fall back on once I’m done with it all. What will I do? Where will I go? How will I get there? I already talked to Twilight about it, and she told me to talk to you guys. What do you think?” Slowly his head dropped, gazing down at the floor. A cream-colored hoof placed on his chin interrupted his musings, raising it up. His eyes met with the three. “Moon, relax,” Scootaloo started, smiling brightly. “You might not realize it, but we felt the same way after we found our cutie marks!” She pointed at their flanks.  “Scootaloo’s right, we’ve been through a very similar situation to you.” Sweetie Belle patted him on the back. “In the end, we’re always by your side.” “And no matter what, yer always gonna be a friend ta’ us, wolfpony or not. We’ll help ya’ through this till the very end,” Apple Bloom finished, pulling her friend into a tight hug. Fullmoon stood there speechless as the other two joined in on the gesture. He finally gave in, wrapping his forelegs around the three the best he could, a small smile creeping onto his face.  “Thank you… thank you.” He sighed, splitting from the hug. “Come on. We don’t wanna lose Twilight.” He darted off in Twilight’s direction, with the crusaders following close behind.  “So… Twilight? What is it that you found?” he inquired, growing a little impatient as his tail began to wag. He poked her side. “Oh, right, yes!” she snapped back, entering the library. “I’ve been doing immense research on this book, and I found something very fascinating! I did find a cure, but--” “Yahoooooooooo!” Fullmoon squealed suddenly, flying up into the air. Figure eights, cartwheels, barrel rolls, and other flying tricks filled the air as he dashed around. “Finally! Finally!” he shrieked. It took the combined power of Sweetie Belle’s magic, Apple Bloom’s strength, and Scootaloo’s mouth grabbing onto his tail, to hold him down. After a moment, his eyes opened wide. As he stood up calmly, his cheeks flushed a bright pink. “Sorry…” Twilight let out a gentle giggle at his outburst. “I’d be ecstatic too if I was in your horseshoes, however you should learn to let other ponies finish.” She sat down on one of the bright blue painted wood stools, beckoning them to join her. They did just that, with Fullmoon sitting the closest. He eyed the book with excitement, a bright grin spread over his face. “It isn’t a, ahem, conventional way of curing, come to find out.” She floated over a stack of notes with her magic, shuffling through each of them. She finally stopped about halfway through the stack, plopping the pieces of paper in front of them. “Right here is our answer,” Twilight stated. “There were a couple of options at our disposal, however some were, to say the least, outdated.” She flipped one of the sheets over, showing a really well-drawn picture of a flower. “For example, this flower right here, the Lunar Bloom, could cure wolfponyism at any time. However, these have been extinct for hundreds of years, sad to say.” Fullmoon’s ears slowly dropped at this news. “However, there is another way.” She slid one of the other papers in front of them. “This spell, right here. While it is true that a lot of the spells in Taxus’ Tome can be cast without the aid of a unicorn, some do require it due to how powerful the spell is. This is one of them. I couldn’t make out what the whole spell said, but I did discern some of the words. ‘Separate’ and ‘individually’.” She pointed at the written out spell. ‘Circumdedisti me omni virtute, in duos distincta. Ut vivant, et non per se’ is what it read. “Judging by its other contents, it seems to be a spell that separates the wolf and the pony. It makes them into two separate entities.” “So wait, you’re saying that there will be two Fullmoon’s after this?” Scootaloo asked with a hint of confusion and disbelief. “Not exactly. Fullmoon and his wolfish side have two different personalities and desires. It’s what makes this spell entirely possible,” Twilight replied, looking at the colt. “As far as I can tell, this is the only way we can cure you of this ailment. Are you willing to do it?” “Of course!” Fullmoon exclaimed, standing up from the stool, knocking it over backwards. “I’ve been going through this for three years! If this is how we can end it, then so be it!” His wings fluttered as he stared at Twilight; determination burning within him. Twilight nodded, grinning slightly at his enthusiasm. “I’m glad that you are willing to do this, Fullmoon. Not many ponies similar to you have the courage to admit that they need help as desperately as they really need to,” Twilight said, nodding her head slightly.  “Anything to finally live a normal life.” He grinned. However, something inside was nagging at him, like something was wrong. His grin turned quickly into a frown. “Hey uh, Twilight… Do you have a calendar?” “Uhm, sure?” she questioned, floating a rather thin and small calendar in his direction. He grasped it, flipping through the pages. Finally, he landed on the month he was looking for, November. He placed his hoof against the rough paper, letting it slowly glide down as he scanned the weeks. He stopped on November 24th. Small, bold letters at the bottom of the square read ‘Moon Phase: Full’. As he read this, his heart sunk. He loosened his grip on the calendar, sliding from his hooves and onto the ground. “T-The full moon is tonight?!” he shrieked, frantically looking around the room. The princess and crusaders gasped lightly. He took a deep breath, before exhaling and calming down. He turned to Twilight. “I-it’s okay...you can cast the spell right now, r-right?” he stuttered. “Sad to say that I can’t just cast the spell now.” Twilight lowered her head, shuffling through her notes. “It’s going to take some time to prepare. At least eight hours.” Fullmoon’s eyes shot open. “Ei-Ei-Eight hours?!” he sputtered, pacing around the table quickly. “W-We can’t wait that long! It’s already four!” He screeched to a halt, gulping heavily. “By then I’ll have turned!” He dashed under one of the desks, shaking profusely while chattering his teeth rapidly. Twilight groaned in frustration. “Of all nights…” she muttered, before shaking her head side to side. “It would explain why you didn’t look so well when you woke up. On days before the night of the full moon, the cursed body prepares for its transformation. Effects can vary. From fevers, to dog-like acts, to weak spells,” she explained, thoroughly looking through her written notes. She frowned. “I hadn’t found a spell to subdue the transformation, sad to say, however I may know a way to buy us some time after you change.” She motioned to Sweetie Belle. “While I focus on the spell preparations, can you focus on holding him down whenever he changes?” “You can count on me!” Sweetie Belle agreed.  “T-Then start the preparations, we’re burning daylight!” Fullmoon demanded nervously, crawling out from under the desk. “I’m really sorry I got you three involved in this. First I drag you all on a dangerous journey into the Everfree, and now you gotta deal with me being a wolf. Some friend I am.” He sighed, lowering his head in shame. He heard the soft clapping of six pairs of hooves coming towards him, before he felt three sets of forelegs wrap him into a hug. “Don’t shame yourself like that, Moon!” Scootaloo said, rubbing his mane roughly. “We’d gladly do it again if you asked us, because we’re your friends, right girls?” The other two nodded, tightening their grip around the colt.  “You will be cured, and we’re gonna make sure of it. No matter what,” Sweetie Belle reassured, splitting up the embrace. Her friends followed her action. Instead of the droopy frown that he used to have, Fullmoon sported a small but relieved smile. “Thank you,” he whispered, breathing a bit heavy. The poor colt’s vision began to blur, splitting up the three fillies in his sight into two. “H-Hey...since when were there two of you?” He pointed at Apple Bloom woozily, before doubling over onto the ground. “Moon!” the crusaders shouted in unison, rushing to their friend’s aid. Apple Bloom nudged him with her hoof; no response. She leaned next to his mouth, listening closely. Soft breaths escaped from it. She sighed in relief. “He’s still breathin’, thank Celestia,” Apple Bloom said, shaking from worry. “B-But what happened ta’ him?” “It must be another symptom of his body preparing for the change,” Twilight stated matter-of-factly, standing from her stool. “Get him back to his bed and let him rest. We’ve all got a long day ahead of us, and a long night in his case. I need to start preparing the spell.” She grabbed her notes and the tome with her magic, trotting out into the hallway before halting. “Keep watch over him throughout the day to make sure no other changes happen. I’ll be in the throne room if anything is needed.” She began walking once more, disappearing into the long labyrinth of hallways. “Come on, girls, help me out here!” Apple Bloom called, lifting Moon and placing him over her back. He was decently heavy for a colt his age, making the farmer struggle a bit. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo dashed over to her, splitting the weight over each of them. They started for his room, moving at a snail’s pace. By the time they had reached their destination, they could use naps of their own. They slid him onto his bed, and covered him up with the blanket. “We’ll work in shifts. I’ll start the first shift, and after an hour we’ll switch. Agreed?” Sweetie Belle proposed. The other two nodded in agreement, trotting out of the room. The marshmallow-colored filly stared down at the sleeping colt, sighing heavily. “You’ll be okay. We promise,” she whispered, pulling up a chair and sitting in it.