//------------------------------// // Chapter 29 - The other side of the mountains // Story: Wherever the Light Shines: Part 2 // by MLPSolarDash1907 //------------------------------// As the night wore on, Mystic lead the Mane Six in a different direction than back where they came from. She had her sharp eyes scanning around at all times. Occasional snaps and brush rustling came once in a while, only to be false alarms every time. “Why aren’t we going back to camp the way we came?” Rarity whined, brushing her mane free of twigs. “Because we don’t want to have that bear following us back or leave a trail back for other creatures,” Mystic explained, “We’ll go through the stream and make him lose our scent if he gets back up.” “If?” Fluttershy thought with a whimper, her mind still on the bear that didn’t react to her Stare. “Fluttershy,” said Rainbow, snapping her out of her thoughts, “Twilight said you weren’t more than twenty feet away from the camp. Why did you end up at the stream to talk to that bear?” “I...I didn’t want to get any creatures close to camp,” she explained, “I must’ve gone further than what I thought...” “I get it, and as for somepony that didn’t make sure she was close by,” Rainbow glared at Twilight. “Hey, I trust Fluttershy,” replied Twilight, “I believed she wouldn’t go very far.” “Still, you should’ve made sure.” Twilight was about to respond until Mystic spoke up, “Save the drama for when we get back to camp.” They silenced and Twilight gave a remorseful look towards Fluttershy, the pegasus just nodded her head, forgiving Twilight, but she couldn’t help but remember being unable to help her friends against the bear. They’d always fought and stuck together, especially in later years, only for her to cower like a filly as she had when they’d met so long ago. Eventually, they came upon a large clearing, no predators in sight, the large full moon’s pale light streamed onto the ground, while the blackened silhouettes of the trees line up against the sky. It looked haunting. “Okay, just pass this clearing is the stream,” Mystic spoke up, “We’ll walk into it and in it to lose the scent.” “Good, ‘cuz we need to get a moving,” said Applejack. Twilight nodded, “Agreed, and...” Loud crashing came through the forest. Everypony stopped cold in their tracks. It sounded as if a large creature is barrowing through the forest, knocking aside bushes and small trees. To the left, the ponies spotted small trees shaking violently, the creatures heading right towards them! Without any hesitation, they hid inside some bushes. A caribou came running out of the woods at top speed. What followed made everypony’s hearts skip a beat. Two grey wolves are right on the caribou’s heels. The wolves snarled and growled as the caribou tried to flee. The herbivore ran in a couple of circles around the clearing as a third wolf entered in, briefly stumbling before getting back on its paws. Everypony couldn’t believe that they’re seeing a hunt taking place, Mystic had a look of expectancy as if she’d seen this before. The caribou ran off to the opposite side of the clearing, the wolves right behind it. ... “Oh...my...” Rarity whimpered. Before anypony could say anything else, they heard loud cries and struggling from the caribou, snarling and growling came from the woods for several seconds until everything went silent. Everypony recalled that Mystic told them about a wolf pack residing in these woods, now they just had their first introduction to the pack. To see them hunting down their prey was all they needed to know how they are. “I don’t think I need to say much,” said Mystic, looking at the ground. She looked at the others, “The wolves reside on a mountain in the middle of the forest and I’ve done my best to avoid them. I believe you all know what you must do in order to stay safe.” The wolves seem to have spoken for themselves, they seem like brutal creatures that don’t take kindly to others. Fluttershy and Twilight wanted to say something to look at it differently, but with everything that happened in the first few hours they’d been here, they decided to keep their mouths shut for now. “Let’s get back,” said Mystic. When Sunset saw her friends reach the camp, she was overjoyed and relieved. “Thank Celestia all of you are okay,” she said, embracing Twilight. “Yeah, we’re here,” Twilight cracked a small smile. Sunset looked over at Fluttershy, Rarity settling her down in one of the make shift shelters. “Fluttershy,” she said, walking over, the pegasus looked up at Sunset with unnerved eyes, causing Sunset to form a sympathetic look, “Are you okay?” Fluttershy nodded, “Mmm hmm...” Knowing something else is wrong, Sunset sat down next to her and wrapped a foreleg around her, “What’s wrong?” Fluttershy sighed, Sunset apparently can read her like a book. “I...” she started, unsure on how to say it, “I...tried to make friends with a bear...” Sunset’s eyes widened, “What?” “I did,” Fluttershy looked at Sunset, “I wanted to show Mystic that friendship is magic and that it is enough for the world.” Sunset blinked, surprised, “Really?” “Yes. And with my talent being able to communicate with animals, I thought I’d be able to bond with him...” she sulked, looking away, part of her mane covering her face, “It didn’t work...I tried being assertive...only for my Stare not to affect the bear in any way.” “Are you kidding?” Sunset lightly gasped. “No...” Sunset knew how much Fluttershy loved bonding with animals and she knew the Fluttershy back in her world sometimes used a stare and that Twilight told her about it beforehoof. To not have a bear react to the Stare and reject Fluttershy... A shimmer of purple magic shined over the campsite. Sunset and Fluttershy looked to see Twilight putting up a force field around the campsite to keep predators out. “There,” she said, she looked over at Mystic, “Now we don’t have to worry about anything coming after us.” “Why couldn’t we have done that during the first night?” Rainbow asked. “Maybe because we didn’t fight something and probably wanting to come after us,” said Twilight, “Plus...I want to save my strength in case we do have to face a big fight.” “Clawdius?” “Especially Clawdius and his pride.” “Why can’t you just teleport us to Starlight or teleport her back to us?” Pinkie asked curiously. Twilight sighed, “I wish it was that easy. But teleportation spells are a bit more than that. You’d have to know who the pony is, where they are, and what place you’ve been to in order to teleport something.” “And?” “I don’t know where Starlight is, plus I’ve not seen any place in Oogundaa,” she looked around at the forest, “Let alone this huge forest.” She slightly shuddered. “Ohhhhhh, I get it,” replied Pinkie, “Sorry, I thought I found something that’d help.” “It’s okay, if I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought to do the same thing,” Twilight lightly smiled, wrapping a foreleg around Pinkie, who smiled. “Hey, what’re friends for?” Pinkie returned the gesture. “All right y’all,” said Applejack, tucking herself into some blankets, joined in by Rarity and Fluttershy, “Let’s get some shut eye and get movin’ in the mornin.’” Everypony else agreed as Sunset laid down next to Fluttershy, casting her a soft smile. “Things will be okay, Fluttershy,” she said, “You’re still a wonderful pony that means a lot to us.” Fluttershy nodded, “I know...” She looked away. Mystic took in her surroundings one last time before she joined the others in their shelter and pulled the blanket over herself. As the ponies began to settle in for the night, ready to face the day tomorrow, they heard howls. Loud chilling howls from numerous wolves. They piled on one another as they echoed through the forest. Everypony gave each other uncertain looks as chills ran down their spines, including Mystic. The unicorn sat up, listening, and deterred that they’re coming from the mountain she’d mentioned a little more than five minutes ago. The howls lasted for about a minute, but it felt like forever to them. When they began dying down... A long, deep howl much louder than any of them echoed through the forest. Mystic’s eyes widened so much that she thought that they’d pop out. She got out from underneath the covers, stood up with an amazed, yet concerned look. The howl continued on as everypony else shuddered before it died down. Before anypony could ask Mystic anything... “A werewolf...” Mystic whispered in an awed tone. “A-A werewolf?” Rarity shivered. “Ya gotta be jokin’ with us,” Applejack remarked. Mystic shook her head, “No. All my time coming this way, I’ve never known of a werewolf being here. We’d better keep quiet and low tomorrow; this is a new development for me.” Mystic rejoined the others underneath the covers, all of them on edge. Needless to say, sleep won’t come for either of these ponies. The sun began rising, its golden rays slowly streaming through the trees. In the midst of the forest, are eight ponies, all wide eyes and sleepless, shook up from hearing wolves howl, not just that one time, but multiple times throughout the night. The werewolf, as said by Mystic, howled a few more times as well, sending even more chills down their spines. The night seemed to go on forever until the slightest bit of light began showing itself. That’s when the howls died down for good. “G-Good mornin’ everypony...” Applejack stuttered, “Is... everypony rested up fer the day?” Sleepy and with bags under her eyes, Rarity answered, “Just...peachy...perfect night of sleep...” “I didn’t sleep at all!” Pinkie cried in a cheery voice, she didn’t even look tired like the others. Mystic sat up and rubbed her tired eyes, mentally scolding herself for being unable to fall asleep. “Well... regardless of how our night went... we have to go...” Mystic mumbled. “How much further?” Sunset asked. Mystic yawned, “We should be there during the afternoon at best. Calm, quiet and fast through this forest and be wary for wolves. They can come down to drink during the day.” Applejack pulled out some apples and granola bars she managed to preserve while Rainbow pulled out several sandwiches of zap apple jam and peanut butter. “Everypony pack up and then we’ll eat,” said Applejack. “But I don’t have any of my food after that night we lost some of our things!” Rarity slightly whined. “Ya can try eatin’ leaves and grass, there’s plenty of it,” said Applejack, taking a bite out of an apple. Rarity looked to see the soggy, wet leaves and grass, her eyes widened, “Oh, Celestia no!” “Then maybe y’all should consider an apple. Just be careful to preserve’em.” “Fine.” Meanwhile, as the others began eating, Sunset checked on Fluttershy, who’s sitting down, slightly slumped and eating some carrots. “Hey, are you ready, Fluttershy?” she asked. Fluttershy slowly nodded. “You’re okay, Fluttershy,” Sunset placed a hoof on the pegasus’ withers, “There’re plenty of other chances out there to help creatures.” “I just...you know... “I know...” After finishing up their breakfast, the ponies tore down their camp, packed up and Twilight took down the shield. Nocreature seemed to come close to them as there weren’t any pawprints or hoofprints. The bear from last night seems to only have been a bad dream, which Twilight found relieving to have been right about him not coming after them. Despite the danger the forest had, this forest seemed prettier and lighter in atmosphere compared to the forest on the opposite side of the mountain. Beautiful aspens, blue-green tree tops leading into pure green tops, the sun shined through pure gold light during the early morning before transitioning to show the forest in its natural state. Everypony that followed Mystic admired the scenery, spotting a herd of whitetail deer alongside a riverbank. Salmon and steelhead trout leapt from the river once in a while. They hated to run past wonderful scenery but they had a mission. Eventually, they spotted a cougar hunting for its prey. The ponies kept their distance as it seemed to briefly look their way before it continued on its way. The herd eventually came upon a wide-open meadow. Applejack admired it, being a country pony and all, she and Rainbow had a small race while Pinkie bounced happily through the meadow. Sunset and Twilight were amused at their friends’ antics while Rarity began thinking of new ideas for dresses. Hey, she can multitask! The ponies spotted a lone mountain with little snow on top of it, and Mystic warned them that’s the mountain of the wolves. It looked to be about five hundred or so feet high and has a commanding, dominant presence. The ponies moved quickly through the meadow as to not be spotted. Fluttershy tried to make friends with some birds, only for them to run away from her in fear, discouraging her again. She tried with some beavers, only to be rejected and kicked off their property. Poor Fluttershy. Her friends tried to comfort her, but she began getting the vibes of her first Gala. An hour passed, and everypony came to a stop on top of a hill, giving them a view of the forest below, spotting some bison down in the forest below. They looked surprised at the ponies’ arrival but quickly went on their way. “Why’re we stopping, Mystic?” Applejack asked. “Look,” said Mystic, pointing out in the distance. Everypony did so, and they spotted the edge of the forest far in the distance, which broke off into a wide riverbank that led to a flowing river, and the trees beyond the river looked greener and denser. “Is that?” Applejack’s eyes slightly widened. “Mmm hmm,” Mystic nodded. Rainbow flew upward to get a better look, but not too high above the trees. She looked closely and spotted the faintest hint of a golden savanna beyond those trees. She quickly came back down and landed next to Applejack. “I saw what looked to be flat plains beyond those trees,” she said. Sunset smiled, “I’m going to say that’s Oogundaa.” “Yep,” said Mystic, “And if Skittle Head didn’t get spotted, we’re likely to be there within a few hours.” “All right!” Pinkie cheered. “Shhh!” “Oh, right!” Pinkie whispered, “Sorry!” “Starlight,” Twilight said with a determined look, “We’re almost there.” Without hesitation, everypony bolted again to get there as soon as possible. The woods got thicker and Twilight used her magic to remove the branches and vines that blocked their path. Sunset helped as well, Applejack and Rainbow were at the ready to take down anycreature out there while Pinkie hummed a happy tune to herself. All while this is happening, they don’t know that they’re being watched by unseen figures. Canine figures. Sunset and Twilight talked with one another, telling each other small stories about Starlight to keep their spirits up and encouraging one another. Everypony is confident moving forward, Fluttershy has gotten her confidence back since the incident with the bear. The ponies made good progress within another hour as the sun reached its peak. Stopping for a drink at a small stream, everypony noticed that they hadn’t seen any wolves as Mystic said there would be some. “Where do you suppose those wolves are?” Rarity asked, “Not that I want to see any of those ruffians.” “Maybe they had a party and are sleeping it off,” Rainbow said with a wink. Rarity giggled, causing Rainbow’s eyes to slightly widen, “I guess so. I mean after all that howling and such last night.” Twilight yawned, “I don’t feel so tired anymore. Adrenaline maybe.” “Ya just yawned Twi,” Applejack pointed out. “I’m more worried about Starlight than stupid sleep at the moment.” “Me too.” “Maybe the wolves have big parties! I can probably bring a real game-changer for their parties!” Pinkie beamed, “They seem fascinating!” “Oh, dear,” Rarity slightly cringed. “I bet I can even sound like a wolf to show them respect!” Pinkie cheered. She took a deep breath. “Pinkie! Don’t!” Twilight cried. She managed to fly over and cover her mouth before she could howl, causing her to groan disappointedly. Mystic’s eyes were wide with concern before she took a small breath of relief. A loud howl came from nearby. The ponies’ blood turned into ice as they turned towards the source of the noise. As more howls broke through the atmosphere, Mystic’s ears perked up at the sound of scurrying. “Oh no!” Mystic said in a dire tone. “You’ve gotta be kidding!” Applejack cried. Twilight and Pinkie huddled close together as Twilight removed her hoof from Pinkie’s mouth, but then... THWIMP! A tranq dart hit Twilight right in the neck. She gasped, holding it in pain. “Twilight!!” Rarity cried in anguish, everypony looked over to see the tranq dart lodged into her neck, and their eyes widened in horror. Twilight managed to pull it out, and when she did her eyes widened. The alicorn looked at her friends and fell over unconscious. Sunset lunged over and caught her before she fell onto the forest floor. THWIMP! Another dart rang out and struck Sunset. The fiery maned unicorn gasped in horror before she reached for the dart and pulled it out in hopes of stopping the effects. But Sunset fell unconscious next to the alicorn. Everypony else is horrified that the two strongest magic users are knocked out cold. “Oh no!” Fluttershy whimpered, scared. Rainbow knelt down to her two friends, she growled and faced the forest, “Cowards! Get out here and show yourselves! We’re not scared of you!” Out of the woods several wolves came out, ranging from white, grey, dark grey, to black. They had on some armor, helmets, and are armed with some blades, a couple of them even had the tubes that blew the darts. Soon, everypony is surrounded by thirty or so wolves, causing them to bundle close together. Mystic held her machete’s grip with her magic, ready to fight. Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie looked scared while Applejack and Rainbow are angry for what they’d done to their friends. Then, a dark grey male wolf with hard green eyes stepped out of the pack, followed by a similar colored female wolf who had turquoise eyes. They both had spears tucked in a sheath on their belts and armor to protect their chests, sides, and backs. The wolf took off his helmet and smirked deviously at the surprised ponies. “Are you scared now, little pony?” he asked with a sneer. “Not for an instant!” Rainbow stomped her hoof angrily, “We’ve faced worse than you!” The wolf laughed. “Oh, did you now?” “Yes! And we’d gladly face down all of you!” “I wouldn’t make a move if I were you,” the wolf growled, glaring daggers at Rainbow. The other wolves pointed spears and blades at them, a look from Applejack told her to stand down, which she begrudgingly did. “Now,” the wolf said in a serious ton., “We’ve been told that there’ve been unexpected intruders in this forest, in our and others’ domains.” He glared hard at the ponies, “And I believe we caught them in our net.” Rarity leaned towards Mystic and whispered, “I thought you said you could get us through safely.” “I did,” Mystic whispered back, “But Skittle Head was probably spotted when she foolishly decided to get a better look at our destination.” “I can hear you mumbling!” the wolf snarled, looking at Rarity and Mystic, causing the former to slightly whimper. “Any outsider isn’t welcome here in the forest as said by the Law as old and true as the sky!” “We didn’t mean ta intrude!” Applejack tried to reason, “We’re just on a mission!” “And what mission would that be?” the female wolf asked, a hard look on her features. “Our friend has gone missing and we’ve been traveling beyond Equestria, past those mountains into this forest!” “Equestria?!” the male wolf asked. “I’ve never seen any Equestrians in these parts.” “Well, ya have now.” Mystic didn’t say anything; she just had a hard look and ready to strike at a moment’s notice. “Ha ha! I don’t know about your friend, but I do think the others here have ideas on what we could do to you for intruding,” the wolf laughed. “We could clip their wings!” one said, causing Rainbow to gasp. “We could eat’em!” another added. “Or turn them into slaves!” a third added, causing Rarity to gasp, remembering her time with the Diamond Dogs. The female wolf took a step forward, “These ponies do look like they’re on a mission.” “By violating the Law and ruining the forest’s balance!” the male wolf countered. “Excuse me!” Fluttershy spoke up, the wolves snapped their attention to her, “We didn’t intend on anycreature or anywolf getting upset by anything.” “Speaking of that,” said Applejack, “Ah believe we haven’t had introductions to address one another properly.” The female and male wolves looked at one another before looking back at Applejack. “Are you kidding, AJ?!” Rainbow bellowed, “They knocked out Twilight and Sunset!” “Ah’ll handle this!” The male wolf chuckled darkly, “Continue arguing, that was interesting.” “I don’t think it’ll hurt to introduce ourselves,” said the female. He looked at her incredulously before she gave a hard look. He rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he said, “My name is Gunnolf. I am the commander of the Pack under his Majestic’s name, Tokuta.” “I am Accalia,” said the female wolf, removing her helmet. “Second in command and strategist of the Pack.” “Okay,” said Applejack, pointing to herself, “Ah’m Applejack,” she pointed to the others, “That’s Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Mystic, Rarity, and Fluttershy. And the two you knocked out are Twilight and Sunset.” “Okay, now that’s out of the way,” said Gunnolf, glaring hard. “You ponies have been causing trouble for this land!” “No, we haven’t!” Rainbow protested, “We just want to get through!” “Oh, really? Then what about our reports we got back to from the lords of the forest?” Gunnolf asked, unrolling a scroll. “First, we got reports that a majestic bear was beaten and had to be pulled out of rubble.” Fluttershy lightly gasped to herself at that, “Next a cougar spotted you while on a hunt and a herd of bison spotted you as well.” He glared hard at the ponies, “And if that weren’t enough, you disrupted some creatures’ homes by removing their homes necessities by using some kind of telekinesis.” He motioned to the unconscious Twilight and Sunset, “As evidenced by these two.” “Yeah, that’s magic,” Rainbow growled, “They were just clearing the way.” “Yes, they were,” Applejack added, “We need to find our friend.” “Then where has she gotten to?” Accalia asked, “Speak now!” “She and her friend had a fallout about something and we were called to investigate and then...” “Out with where she is!” Applejack snarled, “Fine! In a spur of the moment, we had to pack and make our way to Oogundaa!” “Until we were stopped by you ruffians!” Rarity added. The wolves paused. ... Then they began laughing thunderously, all but the female wolf who just stood there with a hard look. “What?! What’s so funny?!” Applejack demanded. “Oogundaa?!” Gunnolf laughed, “Nopony’s been there in ages! If at all! Have you been drinking some strong drink or something?!” Applejack snorted, letting out hot angry steam. “No! We’re worried about her! She and her friend never had such a fallout that caused her to run off!” Gunnolf wiped away a tear as he continued chuckling, “We would’ve been alerted by one of the lords and their messengers as to not disturb our forest.” “What about Mystic?” Pinkie asked curiously, “She’s been through here before a few times.” “What?” Gunnolf asked eyes widened. Mystic groaned loudly, “Way to spill the beans!” Gunnolf glared at Mystic, “You were here multiple times?” “Only to get in and out without being seen!” Mystic snapped, “I had a plan until that Skittle Head pegasus got spotted!” “We didn’t get reports of a pegasus being seen, but what we were told was what was in the report concerning the bear and the other lords of the forest,” said Accalia. “Ha!” Rainbow boasted at Mystic, “I wasn’t seen! So there!” Mystic just rolled her eyes. “Even then, we need to get through!” Fluttershy pleaded to the wolves, “Starlight could be hurt, lost or even worse!” “Indeed! And I won’t waste another moment’s notice until we find her!” Rarity declared. “Sounds like a bunch of rubbish to me,” said Gunnolf. “Excuse ya?!” Applejack snarled. “You shouldn’t be here!” Gunnolf snarled back, getting in the mare’s face, “It’s the Law.” “Then why didn’t we know about it?!” “I guess you’re so closed off from the world in a lot of aspects.” “What?!” “I don’t see any proof other than your words that can prove your case,” said Gunnolf, “All I see is what we’ve been told.” “But...!” “Enough!” Gunnolf snapped. “Do we have any sort of proof?” Rarity asked desperately, wanting to get away from the wolves. She looked at Mystic, who only shook her head. “If you have no proof,” Gunnolf said to Applejack, “Then I’m going to bring you in for telling us a fib and disrupting our forest.” Applejack couldn’t believe this. For most of her life, she’s been living on being honest, her friend is out there in danger, and now these canines are trying to stop her! In anger and fear, Applejack stomped the ground very hard, causing the wolves to take a step back. “Ah ain't lyin’!!” She roared, causing Gunnolf’s eyes to widen, “Y’all can’t just stop us on a quest such as this! We will continue on our way peacefully or else get out them weapons and we’ll handle this the hard way!!” The wolves and her friends were surprised by her outburst, Accalia as well. She looked closer at the ponies, the orange one’s fear is real as are the others. She began wondering about them. “You’d better take back what you’d said,” Gunnolf growled. “Ah don’t think so! We’re goin’! And we’re takin’ our knocked-out friends with us too!” “You’re not going anywhere! You’re coming before the Majestic Tokuta!” “You can just tell that oh so majestic loser to suck it!” Rainbow cried, “We’re leaving!” “Did you disrespect the Leader of our Pack?!” Gunnolf barked. “I guess I did! Now take this!” Rainbow lunged right at Gunnolf punching him into a tree, catching everycreature else off guard. Gunnolf quickly got back on his paws and barked at Rainbow. “Attack! Seize them!!” he ordered. The wolves moved in to seize them, but Applejack bucked her way through the group while Mystic pulled out her machete and sliced a couple of wolves’ belts away, taking their blades and holding them in her magic. “She can use telekinesis too!” a wolf shouted, pointing at Mystic. “Oh, crap!” Mystic shouted. A wolf aimed at her to knock her out, he blew at her but she grabbed it with her magic and threw it back at him and it landed firmly into his neck! Fluttershy grabbed Rarity and began flying away with her but a wolf climbed the tree and pounced onto them, pinning them underneath his weight. Rarity screamed for help. Rainbow flew over to help only to be stopped by a couple of more wolves that lunged at her. She flew over them and kicked their rumps into a tree as Applejack tried to fight her way through. THWIMP! A dart flew out and hit Applejack in the neck! “AJ!” Rainbow cried. THWIMP! Another dart and hit Rainbow in the neck! She gasped in surprise and slight pain before realizing what happened. Before the athletes knew it, they were out cold as well. Mystic continued to fight the wolves, she punched and kicked them away while Accalia managed to pounce onto her and pin her to the ground. “Quit fighting at once!” she demanded. “You can forget about that!” Mystic declared, “I can do this all day!” She pushed Accalia off and bounced back onto her hooves, only to freeze when she spots Pinkie, a whimpering Fluttershy, and Rarity in the wolves’ claws. Rarity looked to be crying, Mystic noticed that Applejack and Rainbow were knocked out, too. “Surrender now!” Gunnolf growled, “Or you and your companions will suffer dire consequences!” Mystic held her machete close, not wanting to surrender, she wanted to get to Oogundaa, but now they’ve been majorly setback by the wolf pack she’d wanted to avoid. Accalia stepped forward. “Surrender now,” she warned, “This will be easier for both sides as hard as it’s been already.” Mystic hissed angrily, but seeing the knocked-out ponies and the others’ desperate eyes, she knew that there wasn’t any way out of this. How will they get to Oogundaa now? With no other option, Mystic let out a huff before putting away her machete, dropping to her flank and raising her hooves in the air to surrender. “Good,” said Accalia, seizing Mystic and placing some chains on her forelegs, she forced Mystic to stand up and took her weapons and satchel, Mystic held her tongue but her anger showed in her eyes. “Round up the others, Accalia,” said Gunnolf, he turned to the others, “And get some stretchers to carry them. We’re bringing them to Tokuta.” “Yes sir!” they all said in unison. Accalia moved Mystic forward all while she briefly glanced at the unconscious ponies and continued to think about them. Mystic seethed as she forcefully walked up the mountain’s trail surrounded by the pack of wolves. She had chains on her forelegs and hindlegs, plus she, Rarity, and Pinkie were all walking in a chain line while being monitored closely by the wolves. As if that weren’t bad enough, she and Rarity both had magic dampening locks placed on their horns to keep them from using magic. This isn’t the first time for Mystic being in chains but it is for being in chains of the wolves. “Oh, I do wish this thing weren’t on my horn,” Rarity complained. “Silence!” Gunnolf growled, “You’re free to remain silent!” Rarity shut up right away. Mystic gazed to her left to see the knocked-out companions being transported on stretchers (while they’re chained and the magic users have the magic dampeners too.) Mystic began thinking of ways to get out of here as she’s always known to do. The path up the mountain got a little steeper as the trees got thicker, almost blocking out the sun and sky above. Then the wolves brought the ponies before a gate with several wolf statues on either side of the entrance. Two wolf guards slowly opened the thick, black oakwood doors to reveal a compelling sight. Mystic’s eyes widened with amazement when she saw a bunch of wolves, from cubs to females and males going to and fro from their homes carved into and out of trees, making them look as natural as possible to the forest around them. There’s a pathway leading to the middle of the society where a large round area where several streets converge. The branches in the back part of the society seemed carved and created out of thick oakwood and twisted upwards. Beyond all of the homes and dens, is a majestic looking tree that looks hundreds of years old. It had multiple windows and a big door shut with the same kind of oakwood at the gate. Mystic’s never seen such a society making things look so natural, it seemed alien and beautiful all the same. Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity couldn’t believe their eyes either. “My stars...” Rarity whispered out. “Shut it!” Gunnolf hissed. “Oh, let them marvel at his Majestic’s society,” said Accalia, “Maybe then it’ll teach them to show some respect.” Gunnolf sighed heavily, “Fine. Just make sure they keep marveling, it ought to do them some good.” “Good,” said Accalia, getting next to the ponies, “As you ponies can see, we wolves have an advanced society for everywolf here. We pride on our Pack and greatly respect our Majestic, Tokuta.” “Who is this Tokuta?” Fluttershy asked. “He’s astonishing, knows the way to live and how it should be for not only the forest but society as well,” said Gunnolf, “And he deserves the highest respects from everycreature.” Fluttershy looked around at the wolves, they locked their gazes on the ponies as if they’re seeing aliens. “We all depend on each other,” Accalia added. “Work together to keep this society running and keeping the balance of the land around us.” “That sounds like friendship,” said Fluttershy. Gunnolf looked at her incredulously, “Friendship? Seriously?” He chortled, “The only friendship we have time is to look out for one another and focus on our survival and balance.” “You... don’t have friends?” Fluttershy’s eyes widened in surprise. “More like acquaintances and useful allies to assist in situations,” Gunnolf explained. “And you’d better appreciate that.” “It’s just...” “It’s just what?” Gunnolf asked in a harsh tone, “Don’t question our leader!” “I think the pony might have something to say,” said Accalia. “Shut it Accalia!” Gunnolf pointed at her, “We all know about your questions!” Accalia looked offended, “I just think she should speak her mind a little bit.” “She can speak her case when we get to our leader! You know that!” Accalia growled, annoyed, “All right then, Mister Stuck up.” Gunnolf growled in return and made the ponies move a bit faster. When they came upon the tree, it towered above them, looking unmovable as if it’d been there since the dawn of time. Gunnolf nodded to a couple of other wolves and they opened the gate. Mystic looked around to see a bunch of wolves entering the tree through different doorways. When they entered, the trees’ hallways were cavernous, carved out from within and forming, tall wide hallways. At the end of the hall, there’s a room that seemed to be holding multiple bleachers carved out of the tree as well. With trepidation, the ponies continued forward, seeing other hallways on either side leading into the room as well. The wolves brought the ponies before a stage just as the others began regaining consciousness. Mystic kept her gaze on a wooden chair while Pinkie spotted the wolves sitting around in the wooden bleachers. There are hundreds of them, all eyes on the ponies. Mystic heard the others’ voices crying out and demanding where they were, only to be silenced by the wolves and Gunnolf demanding their respect. Suddenly the wolves stood up tall and straight, everypony took note of this, even Gunnolf and Accalia did so. Mystic watched as a large figure emerged from behind the chair, made his way over and sat down. “No way...” Applejack whispered under her breath. Sitting in the chair is none other than a werewolf. He’s bipedal, is covered in dark grey fur. He’s fairly skinny, but very lean. He’s wearing a dark blue cloak with a black shirt and some dark blue pants. Beneath the cloak, he has strong dense muscles. His piercing yellow eyes locked onto his subjects. This was Tokuta. “At ease, everywolf,” he said in a calm, commanding tone. The wolves all sat down while his commanders walked forward. “It’s come to my attention that we had intruders in our territory?” he asked. “Yes, your Majestic,” said Gunnolf, “They were disrupting the forest, a bear was massively beaten and we got word from a cougar and a bison herd about them.” He stepped aside and motioned to the ponies, “We found them rather fast as we always do. And we’ve been informed that the orange one with the black mane has been in this forest multiple times without being seen or heard from until now.” “Is that so?” he asked, looking at Mystic with a hard glare. “Yes, and not only did they resist arrest, the rainbow one known as Skittle Head has insulted your great name!” Tokuta growled and glared at Rainbow. “Is that true, Skittle Head?” Rainbow groaned, “For crying out loud it’s Rainbow Dash!” “Answer his question!” Gunnolf demanded. “Fine! Yes! I did!” Tokuta growled and pointed at her, “Maybe I should have your hair trimmed clean off for that.” “What?! No!” Rainbow pleaded, “My mane is awesome!” “There will be time for that later.” Rainbow gulped audibly. “In addition, your Majestic,” said Gunnolf, “Some of these ponies can use telekinesis and were disrupting the forest with it.” He looked at the ponies and they were silenced, he turned back to Tokuta, “You know the Law better than anywolf else, and we can’t allow outsiders to have their way in doing what they’d done.” “I believe I’ve heard enough,” said Tokuta, he looked at the ponies, “So, all of you have been charged with disrupting our forest, resisting arrest, and disrespecting my name. How do you plead?” “We are on a quest to get our friend back,” Twilight spoke up, stepping forward. “With all due respect, we didn’t want to cause any trouble and didn’t mean to disrupt anything.” “I wasn’t told of this,” said Tokuta, looking at Gunnolf. “Because they needed to speak for themselves, your Majestic,” he said, “When asked for proof they never provided anything of the sort other than their own word. It seems like a tall tale to me.” Tokuta looked back at the ponies, “Out to find a friend? Where is your proof?” “We... don’t have any,” Twilight said weakly, “But we didn’t just travel all the way from Equestria, through a dangerous forest, over the mountain, and into this forest to be withheld from finding her!” Tokuta closed his eyes, letting out some air through his nostrils, “You care a lot about her, don’t you?” “Yes, very much so!” Twilight cried, growing desperate, “Please, we must find her! She had a fallout and she could be hurt or worse!” Tokuta opened his eyes, “Where are all of you heading?” “We’re... on our way to Oogundaa,” said Sunset. Tokuta’s eyes seem to slightly widen at that answer. He looked at the ponies for a few seconds before smirking and chuckling a bit. “On the way to Oogundaa?” he asked with a snort, “That sounds ridiculous for pastel ponies to be going that way.” “Hey, these pastel ponies know how to throw some party!” Pinkie cried. “Not helping, Pinkie!” Sunset scolded. Tokuta only chuckled, “And do you suppose I can just take your word about this?” Twilight, feeling desperate stepped forward, “Listen up!” Tokuta looked at her, “We have been traveling hard and wide in order to find our friends! Just because we didn’t know about your Law or anything of the sort, you can’t just treat us like this!” “Don’t you have your own rules and regulations back in your pretty home world?” Tokuta growled. “Yes, and...” “So do we!” “But how could we have known about your Law if we hadn’t been here before?” “The Pony land has been closed off from our ways for a long time, and we made a treaty with them to co-exist!” Twilight paused; she hadn’t heard of anything of the sort. Did Celestia know about this wolf pack? Questions ran through her mind. Fluttershy wanted to step forward, but her hooves were frozen in place out of fear. Her heart hammered in her chest, she glanced at the others, seeing their desperate looks. “We didn’t want to attack that bear, but he was after our friend!” Twilight spoke up. “Sounds like you crossed a line there,” said Gunnolf. At this, Fluttershy stepped forward, “I showed him kindness and he wanted to attack me!” “Every lord of the forest knows how to fend for themselves and don’t need any kind of help!” Tokuta snapped, causing Fluttershy to wince, “We wolves are always looking out for one another and all of us along with the lords of the forest have learned to respect one another and let us know if anything is threatening our home!” “Yet you don’t seem to have friends from what I can tell!” Rainbow shouted. “The only wonderful thing is cooperation, respect, and helping each other stay strong,” said Tokuta, “Such trivial matters would muddy our very existence.” “No, it wouldn’t,” said Sunset, “I learned that the hard way a long time ago.” “Oh, I bet you did,” Tokuta remarked sarcastically, “As for Oogundaa, the wolves and I have learned to respect one another’s boundaries. We stay out of each other’s businesses to keep our societies going.” He chuckled darkly, “That is if Oogundaa can get a stable society.” “Our friend is out there!” Applejack shouted. “I do believe you should consider our need to get out there and help her!” Rarity added. “I’ve done enough considering,” Tokuta snarled. “As for all of you, you don’t have anything that I can go on. It’s a forbidden land, bound to be trouble out there.” “And why are you so scared of traveling out there?” Rainbow asked angrily, causing the wolves in the room to gasp loudly. Tokuta stood up, revealing to be as tall as Celestia. “I am not scared of that cursed land!” he snapped. “It’s just for the safety of my Pack and we always watch each other’s backs.” “Oh really? You’re so close to it, can practically be there within a day!” “Enough out of you, smart mouth!” Tokuta barked, pointing right at Rainbow, “You show some respect or lose your dignity!” Rainbow shut up right away but never lost her glare, everypony else is upset, scared and wanting to leave, too. “Now,” said Tokuta, “As for all of your fates, I get to decide them.” “Please, we need to leave!” Fluttershy pleaded. “We always stick out for one another!” Pinkie pleaded. “Spare his Majestic all that nonsense!” Gunnolf growled, “He’s heard more than enough of your nonsense for the day!” Twilight began hyperventilating, she already had so much to worry about with everything back in Equestria, the Gala’s happening tonight without them there, how is everything going to go according to plan without her there?! But on top of that, she can’t stop thinking about Starlight. “Please, your Majestic!” Twilight cried in an angered, yet strained voice. Some of her friends were a little surprised that she’d addressed him in such a manner, “We meant no disrespect to you when we came through this forest! We were just passing through! Honest! I get that you’re a dependable leader for everywolf here, as am I with helping ponies connect and resolve difference with one another!” She blinked some tears back, her anger is a result of her love for Starlight, she cares like a mother/sister to the mare. Tokuta seemed to take note of her tone and body language, as did Accalia who’s look softened. “Please... we’ll just take our leave... and make amends where ever we need to...” Twilight bowed her head. Sunset stroked her withers sympathetically while Rarity and Pinkie gave pleading looks to the werewolf. Tokuta began processing what he’d heard, he rubbed his chin while every other wolf observed him, wondering what he’s going to do. Mystic just observed the situation, knowing this highly likely won’t go in their favor. “You’ll make amends, huh?” said Tokuta, his lips curling up into a smirk. He looked to Gunnolf, “You hear that? They’ll make amends.” Gunnolf chuckled wryly, “As if. That’s what they all say.” Accalia narrowed her eyes suspiciously, she wanted to speak up but held her tongue. “We’re telling the truth!” Twilight cried desperately. Tokuta chuckled, “Truth is in the eye of the beholder, pony. And I don’t believe any of you for a second.” Applejack opened her mouth to speak, but Gunnolf smacked her. This caused the ponies to begin protesting in fear and anger, their voices got loud all while Mystic remained silent, knowing that they can’t escape. Accalia observed the ponies as they protested against her leader. “Enough!” Tokuta roared, walking down the stairs, the equines went silent before he knelt down in front of them, “You all will shut your yappers and show me the respect I deserve. If you don’t, I will make you suffer much more than what you’ve already gotten and you’d wish you were never alive again.” He snarled and leaned forward, “Understand?!” The ponies hastily agreed in fear, their eyes wide and scared. Tokuta stood back up and walked back up to his chair. He sat back down. “Gunnolf,” he said. “Sire,” he said. “I’m not sure what to do just yet, but throw them in the dungeons and make sure they never escape.” The ponies were about to cry out again but Tokuta silenced them with a glare. “As you wish, your Majestic,” said Gunnolf. The ponies let out more cries of anguish while Mystic looked at them annoyingly. A wolf placed a paw on her shoulder to move her, but she hissed, broke free of his grasp and walked forward. They made it very clear there’s no point in trying to fight or reason. Tokuta watched with hard eyes while Accalia watched with some sympathy and curiosity. Gunnolf shoved the ponies in one by one into the dungeon, Rarity yiped and complained when she hit the dirty floor. Mystic avoided being pushed down and just stepped in, followed by a shoved in Rainbow. Mystic sat down on the floor, fidgeting with her chains and having an enraged look. “You ponies are going to be here a loooooonggg time,” Gunnolf boasted. “You won’t keep us here forever!” Rainbow snapped. “Oh, but we will,” Gunnolf taunted as Accalia glanced at the ponies. He saw her and spoke, “Accalia, make sure the sedated soldier is awake and then get everywolf in top notch before moonrise!” “Yes Gunnolf,” said Accalia. The wolf left while Accalia continued to glance at the ponies. Some of them caught her looking before she turned away and left. “Well, this is just great!” Rainbow punched the jail bars. “That’s not going to help,” said Mystic. Twilight began hyperventilating again, however, due to her concern for Starlight she began calming down and formulating on what to do next. “We can’t waste time to argue we need to figure a way out,” said Sunset, began looking around the cell in hopes of finding something. “I agree,” said Twilight. “And how will we do that?” Rainbow asked. “I’m working on it.” “Me too,” said Mystic, her look softening, “Been planning since they caught us.” “Well, fer now let’s calm down now,” said Applejack, gazing around to see the others’ concerned looks. With that, the ponies began thinking on how to get out, even Pinkie, the peppiest out of the group, had a frown on her face.