Master Argon laid down in his feather bed mattress. The old mattress had tape on its sides to keep its stuffing of feathers from falling out. He stared out the window and watched as the morning light first spilled into the room. Everything was so much simpler a few days ago. He laid in bed and thought to himself. Was what happened last night? Was it a dream? Was it all real? He rested his aging body in bed. He let the warming of the sun soothe him. His muscles relaxed. The pain of his failing joints felt better for the moment.
His peace ended when he heard some loud hammering. At first, he questioned what was creating the sound. His fears were confirmed when the walls started to shake.
He got out of bed, forgetting his cane. He ran out of his bedroom and into the central part of his house. This would have been the living room if he didn’t use it as the meeting place for his club.
When he entered the main room, he saw that something had let everypony into his house. They didn’t pay attention to him. Some were painting the walls and floor black. Another group of ponies was boarding up the windows. Argon barked, “What are you all doing to my house?”
None of the ponies answered him. They just continued working. Master Argon stomped his hoof and ordered, “Will somepony tell me who let you all into my house?”
A purple cloud started to form above everyone’s heads. It filled the room with a purple glow as the wind started blowing. A disembodied voice spoke. “Do not worry about what they are doing. It is all part of my plan.”
Argon shielded his eyes and yelled, “Your plan? They are members of my club.”
Nightmare said with a sneer, “I cannot do anything on my own in this form. I am not going to turn down ponies that are happy to help their Queen.”
Argon’s nose started to scrunch as he got irritated, “Root Rot already offered to be your host.” Argon looked around, puzzled. “Where is she right now?”
Nightmare Cloud grinned at him. “Root Rot is on a mission getting a flower that I will need so I can summon a friend to help us.”
Argon raised his voice, “This is my club,” he reminded her. “You can’t just send ponies out on missions.”
Nightmare gleefully gloated, “ I can do whatever I want.”
That was a response that Argon did not appreciate. Argon started looking around the room for some way to defend himself from Nightmare. Ponies were boarding up the windows. No doubt to stop the sun from hurting their queen.
Argon asked a question to bide himself some time to think, “Why couldn’t you have used Root Rot’s body and gotten it yourself? Why send her alone?”
Argon looked up to see the window above the stage had brown paper covering it. Argon thought about what to do. If he used his magic and failed to rip it down, Nightmare could stop him. Argon knew that the glow from his horn would give himself away. He would have to take it down by hoof or throw something at it.
Nightmare pet a random stallion’s head. The stallion waged his tail in approval. She spoke with a silky smoothness to her voice. “Oh, Argon, I can’t use any willing pony as a body. Most would go crazy from the experience.” Much to the stallion's disappointment, she pushed the stallion away. “I need a powerful Alicorn body. One that I can easily control.”
Argon looked behind himself and realized that he was right next to a broom. He decided the best option was to grab the broom and push the window open. He was never that steady at his levitating, so he knew that his best option was to do it by hoof.
Argon responded, “Well, this is my club, not yours. You do not tell anyone what to do.”
Nightmare sneered, “And what are you going to do?”
Argon felt himself seething with anger. Argon did not want to look weak in front of the other Club members. He responded, “If you don’t like my rules, then you will have to leave, or I will make you.”
Nightmare said with a growl, “I am not going anywhere. If you try to make me leave, you will regret it.”
Argon said with a grin, “Wanna bet?” He grabbed the broom and galloped toward the window. “All I have to do is open the windows, then you’ll be gone.”
He pushed hard to try to open the window. Nightmare turned into a thick cloud that slithered toward him.
Argon pushed with all of his might. He felt relief when the window started to open. A sliver of light entered the room.
Argon’s confidence turned to dread when Nightmare reached him. She stared him in the face. Argon gasped when he felt something cold and wet go into his ear. His entire body started to feel cold. His brain felt like it was burning.
Argon’s vision faded. He looked around and saw nothing but darkness.
He heard Nightmare speak, but he couldn’t see her. “If you follow me, I can make any dream of yours come true.”
Argon looked around and realized he was, once again, in the golden oaks library. He walked around the library. A smile formed on his face. A sign above the door said, “Golden and Oaks Library.” Argon looked into a mirror and saw that his coat turned to a vibrant caramel color. His mane became thick and brown. His body stopped hurting as well. He looked in the corner to see Golden Page reading books to fillies and colts.
The lights in the library faded. The ponies in front of Argon turned to silhouettes.
Nightmare continued, “If you threaten me again,” Just then, he saw the silhouette’s eyes start glowing red. They all grew fangs. Everypony in the room turned into Bat-like creatures. Their eyes glowed red. Their teeth grew long, and they all hissed. The group ran at him. Argon didn’t even have enough time to turn around. He fell to the floor. Argon screamed in agony as he felt his flesh being pierced by sharp teeth. Argon’s vision faded.
Argon opened his eyes to see Sister Neon, standing over him. In a gentle voice, she asked, “Master Argon, are you ok?”
Argon looked at everyone with wide eyes. “Yes, I do believe I am.”
Brother Mercury started trying to help Argon get off the floor. Argon’s arthritis made it difficult. His body burned all over.
Brother Mercury asked, “What happened? Suddenly you dropped to the ground, then you started shaking. We ran over to help you. You started screaming at us and hitting us.”
Argon heard laughing coming from a dark corner of the room.
He looked behind the group of ponies to see Nightmare Cloud grinning at him. With a taunting voice, she said, “I may not be able to be in the sun, but I am not weak. Threaten me again, and next time what I do to you won’t be a dream.”
Argon felt a burning pain in his flank that forced him back to the ground. He looked at his flank to see a black cloud behind his cutie mark. “Wh.. What is this?”
Nightmare Cloud grinned at him. “An effect from me being in your head. It means wherever, you are, I will find you. You are mine.”
A mare in the back smiled. “You have the mark of Mother Moon! You are so lucky.”
Argon fell back. His head hit the floor with a loud bang. He stared up at the ceiling. All the voices of the mares and colts became nothing but noise. He went deep in thought at what he realized just happened. After a few moments, he had concluded that he was nothing but a puppet for Nightmare to do with as she pleased. He responded in almost a whisper a tear of defeat fell from his eye, “Yeah, real lucky.”
-------------------------
Shadow and Applejack walked along a dirt path. The path ended at a small old grey building. The grey building looked like it was made of mud. Its old wooden roof looked sun-damaged. Smoke was coming out of a half-collapsed stack of bricks on the top of the building. An old wooden door barely hung on the side of the building. The door was only attached to the house by its bottom hinge. Shadow had to use his magic to lift the door so he could swing it open. Inside, an old mustard-colored stallion bangled away at a piece of hot metal. Behind him, a bald grey orange stallion was doing the same.
Shadow spoke up.“I have iron to sell. How much would you like to buy?”
The mustard pony spoke in a low and grizzly voice, “You took too long. How much durs it cost?”
A dull orange stallion spoke up, “Be nice to our guest, Billet.”
Billet Forge responded, “Keep working, Red Glow. I don’t pay for your opinion.”
Shadow forced a smile as he answered, “30 bits per pound.”
Billet responded, “I get much cheaper from the Mccolts.”
Applejack bit her lower lip. She wanted to say something, but she wasn’t sure what. Before she could say anything, Shadow spoke.
Shadow gasped, “Impossible! The forges it takes to make metal need to be bigger than the land that the Mccolts have.”
Billet pointed at a box full of darkish colored stones.
Shadow walked over and picked up a piece of metal. It crumbled in his hooves. Shadow scoffed.
Shadow explained, “They are selling Pig iron. It is too low of a quality to use for anything. It will take three days just to turn it into something that you can use.”
Shadow walked over to Billet who went back to banging a hot chunk of rock on an anvil.
Shadow said, “You can save time by starting with a better metal.”
Billet looked at Shadow in the eyes. “It is better than not making any bits after buy’n your stuff.”
Shadow sighed, “You are going to lose more money trying to turn the pig iron into something that you can use.”
Shadow walked over to a box of door hinges. Shadow picked one up. It bent with little force. “What you need is Wrought iron.”
Billet spoke something under his breath.
Shadow walked to him and asked, “What did you pay for it?”
Billet answered, “bout 10 bits per pound.”
Shadow gasped, “That is too expensive for such metal. It is going to take you 10 pounds of that iron just to make 1 pound of Wrought iron.”
Red Glow threw down his hammer. He let out a big sigh and looked over at Billet. “Might be a mistake buy’n from the Mccolts. I wuz just watch’n this piece get smaller and smaller.”
Billet yelled, “I DON’T PAY YOU TO THINK!”
Red Glow said, “No, you pay me to make door hinges, nails, and the occasional piece of furniture. The both of us are doing none of that. instead, we are banging away.”
Red Glow walked to the door. “I need to rest my hooves. Neither of us are young stallions anymore.”
Billet sighed, “We already bought that metal, and it was such a good deal.”
Red Glow said, “Was it? It’ll take three days for us to get anything that we can use. Meanwhile, the orders just keep stack’n up.”
Billet says, “Ok, fine. My hooves hurt too. I will take 4 pounds of bars and 1 pound of plates.”
Shadow grinned, “Thank you. You made a good choice.”
Shadow gave the pony the metal. He hovered the bits beside himself. He walked toward the door and started to look back. “Pleasure doing business with you.”
Shadow and Applejack walked down the dirt path. The dirt building was fading into the distance.
Shadow giggled to himself as he played with the bits in the air. Applejack jumped onto his back and hugged him.
Applejack said, “How did you do that? They looked like they were never going to buy. I reckon you could sell an orchard worth of apples in a day.”
Shadow looked at Applejack and smiled. “The first rule of business, make them think they need what you are selling.”
Applejack nodded. “Yeah, but you didn’t reduce the prices or nothing.”
Shadow responded, “Why would I? It would be better business to start with better metal.”
Shadow thought for a moment and asked, “You are not still giving away apples for free, are you?”
Applejack bit her lower lip. She looked both ways to make sure that nobody was around and let out an overly soft, “No.”
Shadow sighed, “Learn from me and never do that again.”
Applejack giggled, “Before you tell me anything, you might want to invite Applebloom to listen as well.”
Shadow smiled, “I have no problem with it. Anything for the Apple family.”
Shadow started to look around. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard somepony call his name. He turned around to see Rarity trotting up the path.
Rarity walked up to the duo. Rarity asked, “Darling, I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time.”
Before Applejack could speak, Shadow answered, “No.”
Rarity clapped her front hooves together, “Wonderful! You must see the work that I have done on the suit. Follow me back to the boutique.”
-------------------------
Shadow and Applejack followed Rarity to Carousel Boutique. Large glass mirrors dominated the main part of the building while dresses hung near the windows. Shadow was amazed by all the dresses in the building. They were all different colors, shapes and sizes. Some dresses even had white material on the edges of them. There was a significant contrast between the dark colors and the grey metal of the Lycan kingdom.
A white cat slept in the corner on top of a table.
Rarity giggled, “I stayed up all night, but I finished the suit this morning. I believe it will look stunning.”
Shadow looked at a soft blue dress on one of the racks. White material was at the edge of the dress to make it look fancy.
Rarity watched what Shadow was doing with interest. “Those are some of my options that I can sell to anypony who comes through the door.”
Shadow tilted his head, “What is this?”
Rarity was not sure how to answer. “That is a dress.”
Shadow looked satisfied, “What is this part of it called?”
Rarity answered, “That is a ribbon, darling. Are you ok? It is like you haven’t seen clothes before.”
Shadow responded, “They all look interesting. Where I come from, they don’t wear much of anything.”
Rarity said, “Twilight told me you are from Las Pegasus. I guess that is from all the ponies that lost their shirts at the gambling table. Heh-heh.”
Everypony was quiet. The cat ran over to Rarity and started rubbing its body against her. Rarity forced a smile.
Rarity broke the silence, “So, Shadow, would you like to try on the suit that I made you.”
Shadow put down the white ribbon, “Oh, yes.”
Rarity walked toward a set of stairs. Shadow walked behind her.
The white cat sat in front of Shadow and blocked his way so he couldn’t follow Rarity.
Shadow walked backward for a bit. He was not sure what to do. The cat waved its paws at him and hissed.
Rarity turned around, “That is odd. Opal doesn’t usually treat customers like this.”
Rarity continued, “Opal go lay back down.” Opal shrieked and hissed in protest. Opal showed her teeth and claws to Shadow.
Rarity used her magic to pick up Opal. Rarity walked up a staircase. “I will be right back down. Opal needs her beauty sleep.”
Applejack looked at Shadow. “Do ya think Opal could tell?”
Shadow answered, “Yup. The cat knew I wasn’t a pony.”
A few minutes later, Rarity walked down the stairs. Behind her, a mannequin of a stallion floated behind her.
Rarity put the mannequin down in the center of the room. The mannequin stood in the middle of three large mirrors in a dark black suit. Shadow liked it because it reminded him of the clear night sky. It had buttons that were gold with an image of the sun on them. The trim is dark blue. Shadow opened up the suit to reveal that the inside of the suit was white and soft. Under the suit was a light blue undershirt.
Rarity asked, “Would you like to try it on?”
Shadow responded, “Ah, sure.”
Shadow looked at it, unsure of where to start. He looked under the mannequin and used his magic to peel the suit up, beginning from the waist gently.
Rarity sighed, “It is not an orange, dear. Put it on.”
Shadow hovered the suit up slowly. The mannequin started to drag across the floor.
Rarity shrieked, “Be careful! you don’t want to tear it!”
Shadow dropped it and blushed, “Sorry.”
Rarity bit her lip and, with no effort, picked the suit off of the mannequin, “Here. Let me help you,” Rarity offered.
Rarity pushed Shadow behind a screen. In a few seconds, Shadow was wearing the suit. Shadow looked at his chest.“Neat. How did you do that?”
Rarity giggled, but she tried to keep a straight face, “I have a lot of practice getting dressed.”
Applejack said, “Golly, you look like a barrel of fresh apples.”
Rarity asked Shadow, “So ... how does it fit?”
Shadow blushed as he answered, “I might need an expert to help.”
Rarity walked up to Shadow. She gently used magic to pull on certain parts of the suit. She whistled and admired her work.
Shadow bit his lip and started to get nervous. Rarity sighed. “I can’t let you go to the Galla with wrinkles in the suit. ”
Rarity stopped and looked at Shadow with concern. “You do not seem excited.”
Shadow responded, “It looks great, but it is a little tight.”
Rarity laughed. “It is a suit. The idea is for it to fit like a glove.”
Shadow stared at the buttons. Shadow asked, “I like the suit, but the sun is not really my thing.”
Rarity said, “Oh, but they match your eyes, darling!” she exclaimed with butterfly blinks at him.
Shadow looked in the mirror. His eyes were red, a sign of being a Lycan, but they faded at one point to yellow. The gold buttons matched the yellow part, but he wondered if that was important. He also didn’t like the image of the sun.
Shadow sighed. “It’s ok. The suit is great.”
Rarity responded, “I can’t spend all day searching for buttons that you like. If I had more time or if you already had an idea of what you want, I could switch them easily.”
It was like a light bulb went off in his head. Shadow thought about the buttons that Blaze had given him earlier. He knew that he would have to think hard about the buttons to teleport them without the bag successfully.
The buttons appeared in front of Shadow’s face. He hovered them to Rarity. “Are these ok to use?”
Rarity said with glee, “Yes! These will do nicely.”
Rarity looked at Applejack. “I was afraid that he was going to ask for more than just some buttons to be changed. I am never letting Clients design clothes again.”
Rarity and Applejack laugh, Shadow tilted his head and looked at Applejack. “What is she talking about.”
Applejack cleared her throat. “Nutten.”
With a flash of light, Shadow was out of his clothes. He looked over at Rarity.
Rarity flashed him a smug smile as she said, “I need the suit back so I can change the buttons. I can do that later today.”
Shadow responded, “That is fine.”
Rarity continued, “Right now, I have another appointment. Do you want to come with me Shadow and Applejack?”
Applejack responded, “Sure as shooten.”
Shadow looked at Applejack. Applejack hit him in the ribs.
Shadow grinned and responded, “Yes.”
-------------------------
In the Crystal Empire, a carriage sat in front of the Crystal Castle. Two Crystal ponies at the front waited patiently for the princess. Cadence ran out to greet the stallions. They were eager to leave but understanding. She ran back into the castle, passing by Shining Armor on the way. “Do we have everything?” she checked cautiously.
Shining responded, “I think so.”
Cadence growled, “I can’t believe you let me oversleep!”
Shining smiled, “What? In my defense, you looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to wake you.”
Cadence snapped back, “Yeah, but now we are going to be late!”
Shining assured her, “Don’t worry. We have more than enough time.”
Cadence looked at the bags in the carriage. “Do we have Flurry Heart’s bag?”
Shining ran out of the castle with the bag levitating behind him.
Cadence looked at all the bags. “I think we have everything.”
Shining Armor walked out of the castle. “Honey, did you forget anything?”
Cadence looked at all the bags. “Nope. We seem to have everything.”
Shining Armor laughed merrily. He levitated Flurry Heart into the air. “How could you forget Flurry Heart?”
Cadence smiled, “I saw her behind your back.”
Shining Armor replied with a grin, “Sure, you did.” He levitated Flurry into the wagon.
Cadence said, “I hope we don’t miss the train.”
Shining Armor leaned into her face. “Don’t worry. They will wait. You are the Crystal Princess and best mother ever.”
Cadence eyes watered, “Do you really think so?”
Shining leaned into her. “I know so.” He kissed her on the cheek.
“Ewww, gross.” A little white Lycan replied to nobody in particular. She laid on her stomach, covered by a large white blanket.
She looked back into a pair of binoculars. “Can they hurry up and leave so I can go home?”
She patiently waited. After what felt like a few minutes, the wagon finally started traveling down a crystal road toward the train station. She smiled to herself. “Perfect! General Claw is going to be happy to know this. Finally, the next stage of the mission can begin.”
-------------------------
Rarity, Applejack, and Shadow walked down a cobblestone path into the town center of Ponyville.
Rarity asked, “So Shadow, how long will you be here?”
Shadow looked at Applejack who smiled back. Shadow said, “Not for much longer. I am going to leave after the Gala.”
Shadow noticed a pony standing in the middle of the road.
Shadow asked, “Where are we going?”
Rarity responded, “To the café, we are all going to eat and talk about our plans for the Gala.”
The yelling pony looked at Shadow. “Nightmare moon has returned! All hail her greatness or be punished.”
The yelling pony looked at Shadow’s flank. He touched Shadow’s cutie mark and said, “Lucky! I wish I had a moon as a cutie mark.”
Shadow ran away. He whispered to Applejack. “Is it just me or is that guy acting strange?”
Applejack laughed, “Why?”
Shadow explained, “He is talking about it like she is back.”
Applejack responded, “Don’t ya worry your pretty lil’ head there, sugar cube. It has been three years, but some ponies are still happy to have Luna back.”
Shadow looked at Rarity who walked up to a table with her friends sitting at it. Rarity turned around to Shadow as she said, “Surprise! The meeting is with our friends at the café.”
Shadow looked around and saw the same waiter pony. Shadow looks at the table. “How are we eating at the same café? Is this the only place to eat?”
The mane six all laughed.
Shadow sat down next to Applejack. “Is there any other place to eat?”
Pinkie Pie answered, “If you like cake, we could eat at Sugarcube Corner.”
Shadow asks, “What is a cake?”
The mane six all laughed.
Pinkie Pie answered, “It is soft and easy to chew and full of sugar. Sometimes it can come with Chocolate frosting.” Right after she said that, Pinkie Pie started drooling as she said, “Chocolate Frosting!”
Shadows ears folded back. “I can’t eat chocolate.”
The waiter walked by. “Hello again, sir. What would you like to eat?”
Shadow looked at the menu, “Can I have eggs?”
The waiter shook his head. “Sorry, sir. Breakfast ended 30 minutes ago.”
Pinkie Pie pointed to the menu, “Shadow, try a Quesadilla.”
Shadow turned to Pinkie, “What is that?”
Pinkie Pie answered, “It is a tortilla with cheese.”
Shadow shook his head, “Yeah, cheese has protein. I’ll get that.”
The waiter took the menu. Shadow smiled, “Thanks Pinkie.”
Pinkie Pie looked at her hooves with pride. “Yeah, I have a lot of good ideas.”
Twilight placed a hoof on the table. It made a loud banging sound. Twilight cleared her throat. “We need to start talking about the Gala.” Everypony sat down at looked at the princess. “I think we should get an early start. We need to get everything set up, and the Gala is tomorrow.”
Rainbow Dash spoke, “Why not leave tonight? I need to get the Wonderbolts ready to perform.”
Fluttershy spoke, “Who is going to feed my animals in the morning if we leave tonight?”
Rainbow Dash beat the table with her hoof. She rolled her eyes, “They will be fine for one day.”
Twilight responded, “We can’t leave tonight. What if the Timberwolves attack?”
Shadow bit his lower lip. Applejack pat him on the shoulder. Shadow shut his eyes and tried to calm his breathing. Shadow was fuming.
Rarity spoke, “So true. We can’t let those Monsters run loose.”
Something inside of Shadow snapped. He couldn’t hold it back anymore.
Shadow yelled, “Monsters?”
Everypony looked at Shadow. Shadow pointed a hoof at Rarity. “Why would you call the timberwolves monsters?”
Rarity giggled, “Darling, they will attack anypony they see.”
Shadow said, “They are animals. They are just doing what animals do. Trying to survive.”
Applejack looked at Shadow, “Please calm down.”
Shadow said, “I just want to know what the standard is. So, just because the timberwolves don’t build homes and make cities, they are animals?”
Fluttershy spoke in a low murmur. “It is also the teeth that they use to ummm…. Hurt innocent creatures with.”
Shadow turned to Fluttershy. She squeaked when she saw his angry glare.
Shadow said with a hiss. “So it’s the teeth, then? You ponies judge animals on their teeth?”
Applejack wrapped her arms around Shadow's shoulders. She was no match for his strength. Tears started to drip from her eyes.
Calmly she said, “Shadow, please sit down for me.”
Shadow plopped in the chair, “Fine, but you ponies have some explaining to do.”
The waiter walked by and dropped off 6 Daffodil daisy sandwiches and a Quesadillas.
Twilight raised an eyebrow as she inquired, “You ponies?”
Shadow looked at her, “Figure of speech.”
Applejack responded, "everypony needs to stop fighting!!"
Shadow picked up the Quesadilla with his magic and took a big tear out of it.
Shadow’s eyes lit up. “Wow! This tastes amazing!”
Pinkie Pie grinned, “Told ya.”
Mostly everypony was quite at the table for the remainder of the lunch. The few times that the silence was broken was when Pinkie Pie tried to cheer the group up. But Pinky's efforts were in vain to lift the spirits of those eating lunch.
-------------------------
In a cold corner of the winter tundra, a grey Lycan with a scar over his left eye watched the crystal kingdom intensely.
He growled under his breath, “She should be back now.”
A dark orange wolf said, “Maybe the princess was running late, General Claw.”
General Claw snapped back, “Yes, Diego. Of course, she is running late. If she was doing anything, she would be late. The sooner we start, the sooner we can leave. The sooner we can leave this Celestia cursed winter.”
Diego grumbled, “I hate snow.”
General Claw looked at Diego. “Keep whining, and I will give you something to whine about.”
An orange dragon ran over to the group and raised a claw.
Diego asked, “Sir, are you going to ask Gizmo what’s up.”
Claw responded, “No. I like ignoring him because he looks goofy.”
Gizmo said, “Sir?”
Claw ran up to Gizmo, got in his face, and yelled, “WHAT DO YOU WANT?”
Gizmo replied, “We have a message from the king.”
General Claw grabbed the message from Gizmo. Claw started reading it under his breath. A small white wolf walked up and said, “Sir, the princess, and Shining Armor have left the kingdom.”
General Claw slammed his head against a rock, an act that left a crack in the rock. Claw breathed out and then said calmly, “The king has given us a change of orders. It looked like this mission is canceled. We are going to march to the morning line.”
Scout screamed, “ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I was in the snow for the last FIVE HOURS!”
General Claw said with a sigh, “Yeah I am serious. We have our orders.”
Diego said, “But there are so few guards. It is the best time to go in and steal the Crystal Heart.”
General Claw sighed, “We have new orders. You know how the king gets. If we question him, then he might give us flying lessons.”
Gizmo smiled. “No worries! I have wings.”
General Claw grinned. “Not after the king gets done with you.”
General Claw stood up and pointed south. “Hurry up. We need to march back.”
All the Lycans in the group moaned at the news.
Claw said, “If you have a problem with that, then take it up with the king.”
Diego pointed to an overweight grey Lycan that was sitting down. “Come on, Rocko. Let’s start packing up.” They both started packing up the tents. Scout started to pick up some of the bags.
Rocko said, “Can’t we at least go to the Crystal Empire for some food? I want to try some crystal berry pie.”
Claw looked to the group and showed his teeth. “Don’t worry. We can pick up some pony to eat on the way to our king.”
-------------------------
Later that day the sun went down. Shadow and Applejack sat under an apple tree while looking up at the night sky.
Shadow said, “The night sky sure is beautiful in Ponyville.”
Applejack smiled, “I thought it was always night in the Lycan Kingdom?”
Shadow responded, “You can call it that. Most of the time, clouds block any light from reaching the ground.”
Shadow looked up at the sky. The stars danced in the night. “They are never this clear in the Lycan Empire.”
Shadow looked down. He played with some of the grass blades. “I am not going to apologize to your friends. I hate how they were throwing around the word ‘monster’.”
Shadow looked Applejack in the face, “I am sorry to you, though. I didn’t mean to ruin your time with your friends. Lunch was so quiet you could cut the tension with a knife. The only one that talked was Pinkie. Did she have to start talking about the monster tacos and the monster mash?"
Shadow sighed, "What is a cherry chimichanga, anyway?”
Applejack grinned, “ Well, that’s Pinkie for ya. She means well. She was trying to cheer ya up.”
Shadow put his head down and continued, “I doubt Twilight will let me go to the Gala with you.”
Applejack sighed. “I talked with Twilight. She said you could still go as long as I talk to you.”
Shadow wagged his tail. “I see you are good at negotiating, too.”
Applejack smiled. “Ah, it was not’tin. They just want me tah tell ya that y’all can’t yell at anypony at the Gala.”
Shadow gasped, “They all hate me now.”
Applejack responded, “They don’t hate you. Out of this group of ponies the last thing that they would do is hate anybody."
Applejack sighed, "Of all the things to defend, why the timberwolves?”
Shadow felt safe since he was at the Apple Farm and they were mostly alone. He transformed back into his Lycan form.
Shadow responds, “Well, the Timberwolves are wolves, I am a wolf. Every time that I go to Ponyville, I have to hide the fact that I am a lycan. Sometimes, with their singing and dancing, I want to be a part of it. Listening to them made me realize I can never be part of Equestria.”
Shadow expanded out his wing and wrapped it around Applejack. “And nothing would make me happier than being able to live in Equestria with you.”
Applejack blushed, “Ah shucks.”
Applejack, “That is why you should talk to Luna. She can change everything.”
Shadow looked down at the ground, “Honestly, I am scared. It was a thousand years ago. What if she doesn’t remember me? What if she looks at me and thinks I am a monster? What if she doesn’t recognize me? What if she thinks I am just like the timberwolves?”
Applejack hugged Shadow back. “You are not a monster. You are great, and Luna will see it too.”
Applejack said, “You can’t get mad at anypony just because they use the word ‘monster’. You have to be honest. There are some real monsters out there.”
Shadow grit his teeth. “Name one!”
Applejack said, “What about the Storm King?”
Shadow responded, “He was a poor leader and a foal he was too goofy to be a monster.”
Applejack thought for a moment. “What about Sombra?”
Shadow looked at the sky. “Sombra was once a great pony. Whatever attacked the Crystal Empire, that was not the Sombra that I knew. It hurts to think that he would have turned evil and done what he did.”
Shadow heard something move in a patch of tall grass. Shadow's ears darted up. He quickly used a spell to hide his wings. Shadow looked at the grass. He could not see what made the sound.
Shadow said, “Applejack, put your head down. I hear something. I can’t smell anything, so they must be downwind.”
Applejack asked, “How do you know that it isn't my sister.”
Shadow sneered, “Does your sister like to hide behind the grass, downwind without making any noise?”
Applejack shrugged, “Nope, normally she makes a lot of noise.”
Applejack crouched down to the ground. Her eyes darted back and forth. She stated, “I can’t see anything. What do you think it is.”
Shadow heard the grass rustle again. Shadow got between the grass and Applejack. Shadow stared at the grass as if he was waiting for something. His claws retracted and he started to bear his teeth. His neck hairs stood on edge. He whispered back to Applejack, “Keep your head down. When I say run I want you to run to the house.”
Applejack shook, “What if you lose? I’m not leaving ya alone.”
Shadow snarled, “I am not going to lose if I know that you are safe.”
Shadow looked back to see that Applejack was right beside him.
Shadow whispered to her, “At least, get behind me.”
Applejack said, “No. I am not going to leave you behind.”
Shadow heard something move in the grass. Quickly, he ran at the object, All he could make out what a black shape. The shape started to try to run away but Shadow was faster. Claws out, Shadow landed on the mass. The intruder flipped in the air and landed on his back. Shadow pressed his front paws into the intruder. He looked the intruder in the face.
With a low growl, he said, “What are you doing here?”
Applejack galloped up, “What is it?”
Whittwolf laid on his back. He looked over, “Hi.”
Shadow growled, “It is someone from my pack, I need to speak to him for a second!”
Applejack stood there.
Shadow emphasized, “In private.”
Applejack shrugged and said casually, “Alrighty then, partner. If any of y’all need me, I’ll be over yonder..”
Whittwolf said, “The pack sent me to go see if you are ok. You have been acting strange.”
Shadow pushed his body weight into Whittwolf’s chest.
Shadow asked, teeth snarling, “How long were you listening to her and me?”
Whittwolf said, “Enough to know that one flower can solve all your problems.”
Shadow stepped onto Whittwolf’s throat. “If you do anything to hurt Applejack, I will send you home in boxes!”
Whittwolf’s struggled for breath as she explained, “The flower wouldn’t hurt her.”
Shadow growled. “She is not taking the flower. The flower has hurt her family enough.”
Whittwolf begged, “Why not? All she needs to do is breathe in its pollen, eat it, or drink the nightbloom on a full moon such as the one tomorrow, then you both can live in the Lycan Empire.”Shadow looked over to see that Applejack was walking closer. Her ears perked up.
Shadow looked back and said, “Can you move further back?.”
Applejack responded, “No, I am far enough back.”
Shadow thought about how it would look to Applejack so he stepped off of Whittwolf’s neck but he kept a paw firmly on his chest.
Shadow whispered to Whittwolf, “If I do that then Applejack wouldn’t be Applejack. For the next 5 years, she will be a danger to everypony. Even then, she may never fully come back.”
Shadow breathed out, “She may turn into somepony different.”
Whittwolf said with an innocent shrug, “It’s just an idea.”
Shadow heard Applejack shout, “Ya’ll ok over there?”
Shadow got off of Whittwolf and shouted back, “Yeah, He is fine you can come over.”
Shadow whispered in Whittwolf’s ear firmly, “Not another word.”
Applejack walked over to the two lycans. “You must be from his pack. Nice tah meet’cha.”
Applejack outreached a hoof, “Well any friend of Shadow is a friend of mine. Put’er there partner!”
Whittwolf looked over at Shadow to see a disapproving look on his face. Shadow flashed his teeth at Whittwolf.
Whittwolf lifted a paw to the air and smiled, “The same.”
The three exchanged glances. Whittwolf made a very fake yawn in the history of yawns. “I should be going soon. Have fun you two.”
Shadow looked at Applejack. “I should be going, too.”
Applejack dug her hoof into the ground, “Yeah. It is an early start in the morning.”
Shadow walked over to Applejack and hugged her with his wing. Applejack embraced him with her forelegs. They both kissed each other on the cheeks.
Shadow whispered in her ear, “See you tomorrow, and I am sorry for ruining lunch with your friends.”
Applejack said with a sigh, “I know.”
They were interrupted by the sound of Whittwolfs tail. Applejack and Shadow both turned to look at Whittwolf.
Whittwolf replied, “Don’t let me stop you. As long as I get to watch.”
Shadow sighed and looked at Whittwolf, “Get out of here.”
Whittwolf whimpered and started to walk away.
Shadow turned to Applejack, “I should go follow him.”
Applejack giggled as she watched him walk away. When they were out of sight, she looked up at the night sky. She thought to herself. I wonder what the Lycan Empire is like?
Big Mac walked up behind her. “Come in. Your going to catch a cold.”
Applejack turned to her brother, “Sure thing.”
She walked toward the house behind her brother. “One thing I want tah ask ya, big brother. What is a nightbloom?”
Big mac looked at her with horror in his face, “Nothing! I don’t ever want to hear ya talk about that flower again!”
-------------------------
In a forest on the edge of the morning line, the line that separates Equestria and the undiscovered west, two ponies searched the woods.
A pony asks the other, “Are you sure you are reading that map correctly?”
The other one says, “Yeah, root rot, I think so.”
Root Rot says, “Lillium, you better have not gotten us lost.”
Lillium turned the map upside down, “I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Root Rot looked at Lilly and asked, “Back at the clubhouse, why did you offer your body to Nightmare Cloud?”
Lillium smiled, “Why shouldn’t I? It was always my dream to start a school teaching Ponies about growing flowers.”
Lillium stomped her hoof into the ground. “And that Twilight Sparkle does it all in a matter of days. All that work and kissing the flanks of the Education Association for nothing.”
Lillium pushed a beatle with her hoof. Soft cracks came from under its shell. “When Twilight Sparkle sneezes, she gets what she wants. I am sick of it.”
Lillium lifted up her hoof. The beatle flew away. Lilly turned to Root Rot, “So, what is your deal?”
Root Rot frowned, she rolled her eyes. “My name is Root Rot. I hate my parents and I specialize in plant diseases.”
Lillium sighed, “What are we looking for anyway?”
Root Rot said, “It is the night thingy. It is white and it glows in the dark.”
Lillium pointed to a glowing flower, “Like that?!”
Root Rot looked to where she was pointing. The flower was glowing with a mysterious aurora.
Root Rot smiled. “Yes! Don’t breathe near it.”
Root Rot picked up a bag. “We need to put this bag around it. If you breathe in the pollen, you get sick.”
Lilium gently hovered the bag over the plant and closed it. “I wonder what the queen is going to do with it?”
Root Rot answered, “Give it to somepony.”
Lilium snickered wickedly. “I hope that Twilight sparkle eats it. The queen will be so happy with us.”
The bag hovered over to Lilly as she asked, “Do you think we are going to earn our elemental names finally?”
Root Rot responded, “I hope so. I hate being called Root Rot.”