//------------------------------// // 47. ...100% // Story: Wolves of Night and Blade: Book I // by One of Nine //------------------------------// Yep, Micah was defiantly a teddy bear. Pressing the side of my face into his back, the relatively soft murky fur acted as a cozy pillow. Plus, it seemed his body temperature was higher than most Wargs, mine usually being lower that the Nahars’ as explained by the Royal Sisterly Physician. It left like I was cuddling up to a fluffy electric pillow, one that wrapped me up in its grasp and snuggled back. I sighed in bliss as his heavy breathing filled my ears, eyes closed in my overly relaxed state. This just felt so right, being with my mate. My love. ‘Hm, I wonder if he would like a nickname for himself? I mean, he calls us his ‘Queen’, so…’ Moon pondered within our shared mind, disturbing my rest. ‘Must you speak so loud? I’m trying to enjoy this.’ I grumped, the slightest frown crossing my slumbering face. ‘Well, I’ve wanted to do this since day one. But you guys didn’t like the idea of crawling into bed with each other, so I didn’t, but then his scent reeled me in… and well, here we are. And I took it slow, per the agreement you both decided on.’ ‘Is that so?’ I thought back with a mischievous glint. ‘Then we’ll roll and smother his scent with ours… I suddenly wish we had a bed so I could do that.’ ‘Ooooooo, someone’s got a naughty streak~’ ‘I chalk it up to your influence…’ I mentally huffed. ‘Say what you will, but I can’t help it when we get frisky for him~’ “Shut up…” I quietly snarked, looking down from my position; draped over my love. His heavy breathing sending me up and down, his muscular body expanding and deflating with each. I would be lying if I said that his flexing body didn’t made me at least a little excitable. Feeling his hard muscles under my claws and belly almost made me shiver, a light blush claiming me as I pressed my face into his neck, breathing in his delightful musk. A soft but sudden snort alerted me to his awakening. “Wha… nuygh…” He mumbled, his eyes lazily blinking. Finally, after a long moment of adoring my prey, I leaned forward and nuzzled him. “Morning, my love~” “L-Luna?” He yawned, slowly blinking away his retreating slumber. “Good morn’ to you too.” “Sleep well?” “Yeah. The best sleep I’ve had in a long while, actually.” That sent my four hearts aflutter, the blush returning as I berried my face in his neck again, fluttering my eyes. “Oh, really~?” “How could I not with you cuddling me?” His tone shifted, taking on a soft husky tune that soon turned to embarrassment. “If I’m honest, your fur is so soft. And I’ve… always liked snuggling. Even when little, I loved hugging with my mom.” “Well, I’m not sure if I can get to her level, but I shall give you all the snuggles you’ll ever need.” I ended my sentiment with a kiss to his cheek, making his face burn rosy, to which I smiled with a growing warmth in my chest. “T-Thanks…” His blush hardened as he looked away in his awkwardness, a smile on his muzzle. “I dare say that you are even better than my mom.” My blush equaled his, sticking my tongue out with a wink. “Awww, I-I didn’t know I’m that good… and shame on you for buttering me up!” “OMG, get a room you two.” Grumbled Damian from his corner of the tent, sending us a sleepy glare. “Green-eyed much?” I teased the irritable Warg. Maggie had awoken before any of us, evidenced by the fact that she had a quill, paper, and was… currently sketching me and Micah… snuggling… together. OH NO! ‘Oh yes, just be sure she got our good side~’ Moon purred with a giggle. My face turned so red after realizing the situation, my voice coming out as a loud squeak. “Maggie, please tell me you aren’t sketching us sleeping together!” The blonde Wargess couldn’t seem to help but giggle at my dismay. “Sorry, you guys just looked so cute together. I couldn’t resist.” “GAH!” The grey Warg bellyached. “I-it’s fine, just please don’t do it without our permission next time.” “Yes Lu-…” She stopped herself, looking away with confusion before turning back to me, a smile stretching her muzzle. “Yes Alpha.” Before I could question her actions, we turned to see a pony guard enter the tent, saluting before speaking. “Announcing their Majesties, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.” At once, the Two Princesses stepped through the thick curtain, nodding to everyone who was already awake. Danny, Greg, and Roret had still yet to rouse, so we followed the alicorns outside for their sakes. Once done, Micah looked to the sisters and put on a serious demeanor, a brow arched. “Ok, what was it that you wanted to talk about?” “Well…” Celestia looked to her sibling worriedly, clearing her throat before continuing. “We were wondering if you and your friends would be willing to help us take on the Dimond Dogs. The scouts that were able to penetrate their defenses around the camp saw a summoning circle in the center of camp. We suspect that was how you were brought here, though how you ended up in the forest and in our territory, we don’t know.” “So, in exchange for helping you fight, you will help us activate the circle and send us home?” My love surmised; a brow raised. “Yes, that is the plan.” Lulu answered with a look of apprehension. I, however, wasn’t convinced. “Can your armies handle themselves in true combat? Along with the fact you two seem much younger than myself, are you ready to delve into the depths of war? To cleave heads and sever limbs? Do you happen to know the ritual for opening doors through the fabric of time and space? And can you send us home with pinpoint accuracy?” I got the impression that they were trying to act brave, like how Tia and myself did when we had first taken up the thrones. These two were raw and inexperienced. They were children thrust into the roles of generals and commanders; their innocent minds not ready for the grim world. Before either of them could answer though, I voiced my thoughts, leaving no room for argument. “No? Then we shall take on this burden and smite your enemies alone. You just focus on getting the portal to work.” “B-but they number in the thousands!!” Lulu blurted, horror overtaking her. “And there are nine powerful Wargs here, while they are but helpless Dimond Dogs. How many do they number?” “3,500 at the most.” “They don‘t stand a chance.” -=Fang’s POV=- “I feel like we should make up names for our attacks.” Danny mused as we overlooked the darkened enemy army. The Princess’ count hadn’t been off, as the Dimond Dogs numbered in the 2,000s, surely. Just from a glance, you could tell that these guys could… not take on Helm’s Deep. “You mean like an anime?” Maggie questioned, giving the male Warg a look. “Sure, I think it’d be cool.” Glancing to my left, I noticed Luna intently gazing out into the enemy ranks, the gears in her head turning with purpose. “Everything ok, my Queen?” “Yes, I’m just wondering what it is that the Dimond Dogs are fighting for, and to that end, what are Tia and I fighting for? Do they fight for territory, or to ‘purge’ Equestria… like Faust did? I would hate to harm the innocent.” “Hmmm.” I mused, knowing to must’ve taken a lot to voice her concerns and turning back to the army. ‘Baldur, do you think we could listen in on them? Maybe get some info?’ ‘Give me a sec…’ I then closed my eyes as my sense of hearing exploded. “Sir, we almost ready. Dimond Dogs—” “What did I tell you to call yourselves?” Came a very familiar voice. “M-mutts… sir, we a-are mutts.” “Good.” “W-we mutts are almost ready for attack. B-but—” “I’ll deal with them. I want those ponies dead. They serve no purpose in my coming empire.” My voice chuckled darkly. “No-one of my race wanted to join me, so I became their Alpha. And you will follow me because I’m your Alpha. Right?” “Y-yes. You are Alpha, you are Alpha of all. Alpha of World.” Hearing enough of what I could stand, I opened my squinting eyes and found Luna giving me a worried look. “What happened? What did you hear?” I blinked in mild surprise. Had she somehow known I was listening to them? “This world has another me in it, at least I think so from the guy’s voice, and he’s set on conquering the world. The usual Evil Overlord shtick.” Dread slowly filled her eyes. “And do you plan to fight him?” “I think we’ll have to. If he has a goal like that, the fact that the Dimond Dogs are afraid of him, and he enslaved the Wargs somehow? Yes, I think we will.” The Wargess looked away in thought. “Then we’ll need all the help we can get.” I nodded and got to work. Summoning the Eternal Forge out of sight from the enemy, I got to crafting several suites of armor and weapons. Said armor was like that of the Night Sentinels from Doom Slayer, chrome white plates with silver trimming. Glowing blue visors accompanied by the thick armor made for an almost ethereal appearance. “Geez, are you sure you’re secretly not a Doom fan Micah?” Asher laughed, pulling a helmet over his head as his voice distorted, sounding like an echoing ghost. “Heh, the only reason I like Doom is because of this guy on YouTube. He did a series where he acted out the Doom Slayer talking like Deadpool.” “Oh, yeah. I had it on my watchlist...” A horn blew over the hill, the sound of thousands marching soon after. We each peeked over to see the army of Dimond Dogs on the move. Within the heart of said army rolled a chariot pulled by four pony slaves, all pulling along a black Warg with two sets of deer horns and leathery bat wings, his ashen fur streaked with muddy brown. Said Warg seemed to be fiddling with a black-scaled, forearm gauntlet with gold trimming and a glowing green gemstone on the wrist. “Micah, are you ready?” Luna asked, inching closer and brandishing the new spear I’d made for her. Its silver tip shining in the sunlight, while its magically strengthened oak handle held tight in her clawed grip. I nodded, feeling my nerves skyrocket. Yet before they could overflow, I took several hard and long breaths. “Let’s move.” We then made our way down the hillside, idly walking until we stopped in front of the massive army. During this expanse of time, I’d questioned Baldur about our Chroma and the attributes Roret had explained to us while we prepared. Seems they could be mixed to create greater spells. The only difference between using these mixed spells and the ones we usually used was that we had to, conveniently, say them aloud. The concept reminded me greatly of several anime battles, as strangely suggested by Danny not minutes ago. Stepping before everyone else in our group, I watched as the army slowly marched up to us, only stopping because a shout from their leader… aka, me. My doubleganger, let’s just call him Bob for convenience’s sake, tossed the trinket he’d been playing with moments ago back into his cozy seat as he trekked up to us. His army fearfully spit for him to pass, all eyes cast to the ground. Apparently one of his soldiers had their spear a little too close for his liking, so he tore the guy’s hand off along with the spear. Everyone behind me cringed or stepped back. I gritted my teeth and furrowed my brow but stood strong, something inside telling me not to show weakness to my enemy. “Ok, who’s bright idea was it to interrupt my perfect day?” Bob asked in a tone that oozed arrogance, stepping up into my personal space. He then eyed me up and down, grimacing. “What’s with those pathetic horns? And your face has seen better days. Was it the hot chick behind you who did it? Maybe after an awesome night of shoving your dick up her—” I interrupted him by slashing my claws across his own face, leaving a trail of blood and torn flesh across his eyes. “No.” He reeled back in shock, squeezing his eyes shut as he gasped. He managed to open one eye and glared at me but paid it no heed. “D-did you seriously just…” A wicked smile stretched his snout, splitting soon after in a mad cackle. “Ohohoh! I see, you want to ki—” “No.” My eyes narrowed, my mind already putting the jest of what he was going to say. His one good eye narrowed as well, his smirk vanishing. “Are you going to say anything else besides ‘no?’” “You plan to take over the world? It’s been done before. You plan to kill everyone who stands against you? It’s been done before. You have some magic McGuffin that’ll somehow defeat you and you stole it? It’s been done before. You have a big scary throne that you make everyone carry you on? It’s been done before. You have some evil fortress somewhere? It’s been done before.” “Is that all you’re going to do?! F***ing repeat yourself?! Shut the F*** up!! How dare you taking about me that way!! You want a sh**show?! I’ll give you the most spectacular sh**show you’ll ever see!!!” With that, his power burst. An explosion of red lightening skyrocketed, levitating rocks and dirt as he cackled madly. Poison pooled from between his teeth, the oozing green substance spilling over and scorching the ground. That could be a problem. Next was his roar, sending a hurricane force wind to push us back. But the Warg sisters clamped their wings shut as we Nahar dug our extending claws into the earth. With a twist of his head, Bob extracted a battle axe from his seemingly hammer-space pack. He then thrust his neck to the right and imbedded his axe in the ground, sending electrified cracks throughout the earth. “BERSERKER!!” Bob bellowed, yellow light shining from his fur as his muscle mass grew. “YOU’RE NOTHING! I’LL DESTROY YOU ALL!!!” “You’re nothing but a cheesy Saturday-morning villain.” I suddenly let my power pour forth, all 100% of it. The ground slit below our feet for about three miles ahead, swallowing one-fourth the army, leaving enough for the others to fight. Lava flowed up through the cracks and shifted into a pair of fiery wings on my back. The clouds gathered above me, sending a torrent of lightening around me as the ground vibrated and rumbled with the strikes. A circuit of multicolored fire erupted around my feet, the Six Chromas in full display. My eyes and maw lit with their usual red fire, my fur turned solid as lava slithered up my body, creating veins of molten rock that lead to my eyes. “Why should I bother with fighting something so mundane?” “SHUT UP AND DIE!” Bob shrieked, firing a flood of magical swords at us before retrieving his electrified axe. We dodged the maelstrom in our own ways. I however, chose to focus on Ward and let the assault hit me. They all bounced off as the yellow fire encased me, defecting my counterpart’s attack. “Rage Spell Construct!” With those words came a green fire that spread along my back, its shape taking on a pair of rotary guns aimed at my enemy. Bob shouted a command in his mounting panic, the army of Dimond Dogs sprinting to his aid. Fiery spinning barrels unleashed flaming red bullets, tearing through the rushing army. “Save some for us.” Luna scolded as she stepped up next to me, looking over my weapons in envy. I offered her a sidelong smirk. “Jealous?” “A little. You’ve demonstrated your power enough, let us show ours.” I nodded at her words, dissipating the guns as everyone rushed to meet the Dimond Dog army. I watched on with a blooming smile as the gang unleashed Tartarus on the enemy. I took a moment to think about what must be happening back at home, on our world, and my smile vanished. The government was no doubt in chaos, the Priests were running around freely, and Haven was alone. My hearts clenched at the thought of Haven scared and unaccompanied, hiding in her room and fending for herself. My jaw clenched as another thought accrued to me; those who wanted Celestia back and hated Luna, they could hurt Haven to get to Luna. An image of a bloodied and caged silver pup flashed before my mind’s eye, causing my blood to boil with the lava below me. We couldn’t leave her alone, not again. Not after the life we’d given her. A safe life, one without worry. One now filled with the fear of loneliness and abandonment. Our objective had always been to get back home, but now there was an urgency that pushed me forward. We wouldn’t leave Haven alone, not like her previous life. In the seconds it took me to think, a seething grunt from Bob brought me back to reality, I turned to face his scowl with my own. He then looked to me with pure murder in his eyes, his cheek twitching with every stomp toward me. “I will kill you.” Bob foamed, red lightening engulfing his eyes and wings. I didn’t bother with any cheesy lines. We had a battle to win and a world to get back to. There was no time for games, Luna and I had a daughter to protect. And we were going to raise Tartarus to the ground to get back, no matter the cost. Several earthshattering explosions erupted about the battle field as we waited for the other to make the next move. -=Meanwhile=- Queen Carapace nervously stood before Queen Chrysalis, the Emerald Queen watching her expectantly. Finally, after a long and awkward silence, Chrysalis grumbled to herself. “You don’t think I know how upset you still are about our dealings?” Now letting all her anger overflow, Carapace gritted her fangs. “You stole my daughter away from me, what else was I going to do?!” “I needed a reason for you to team up with the little Warg.” The spider-like Queen stated matter-of-factly. “Besides, didn’t you have your little drone act as Blueblood, keeping tabs on the dear boy?” “And that crappy memory spell?” “My drones are inexperienced with mental magic, but we got what we needed. And it warned us about that pathetic rescue team, pfft. Truly pathetic. But everything’s coming together, thanks to your… convenient cooperation.” “Only because you gave me no choice.” The red Queen spat, clenching her fists. “Only because I want my little treats all nice and stuffed.” “Only because you’re a fat glutton.” Came a voice from behind Chrysalis, making her gasp and bolt off her throne. Coming to stand next to her follow queen, she looked to see a tall and slender creature. It’s gloomy body covered in a black carapace and head adorned with a white four-horned mask, black soulless eyes glaring. With a set of mandibles twitching and curling in on themselves, the hideous creature was somehow able to speak. “A big and juicy impure to feed my hive… and more.” “W-who are you?!” Carapace screeched in terror, while Chrysalis glared menacingly at the thing. “W-what do you mean by ‘impure?’” “She means…” The two Queens whirled to see another monster shimmying down a pillar, yet its mask was different. Atop the head sat six horns, all branching out in a symmetrical tree. The new Queen popped her knuckles one by one, all four limbs coming to cross over her chest. “You are unfit to call yourselves Changelings. You are nothing but taint upon our kins’ name.” “But we are Changelings!” Snapped Chrysalis, glaring daggers and stepping forward on her many legs. A shrill laugh came from below the Emerald Queen, making her otherwise feral stance break as she leapt back in shock. “You are amalgams, nothing of note. Beasts made to serve a now dead master. Though I suspect with their plans, that may not be so very soon…” The other two pure breeds took one or more steps away, radiating the stench of fear. The two impures took notice and looked back to the new arrival with equal or more dread. “K-Kurr’ak, what are you doing here?!” Stuttered Tah’kor as she watched her occasional ally uproot herself. Kurr’ak was a Queen of short stature, standing at the height of the average pony, only her long and sharp mandibles outsized the other Changeling breeds. Five horns crowned her mask, the sharp edges sweeping backward to form a wicked crown of sorts. “Why, her Highness was so kind to give us a bountiful meal, I thought I’d come and thank her myself.” The short Queen seemed to smile, her three tongues slipping through her maw, dripping with the clear yoke of eggs. At seeing Chrysalis’ mixed emotions of rage and horror did Kurr’ak click her large mandibles in realization. “Oh? Your hive has no Link? No shared mind? Makes sense that you wouldn’t know ahead of time. I’m glad I could deliver the message.” “Y-You’re a monster!” Screamed Carapace, her slitted eyes twitching as she stumbled back. “And you aren’t? My brood roams and attacks hives every day, only hunting the young and eggs, knowing the Queen of the hive can always spawn more. We aren’t monsters, it’s our way of life. We are what the Great Weaver made us. We are all woven with a unique pattern, yet we all share the same fate, one way or another.” “Why did you come?” Asked the other pure Changeling Queen, her eyes narrowing and wings buzzing in irritation. Kurr’ak gestured with all four arms around her. “Why Gukr’a, if you’re going to storm a hive, it’s always best to invite the professionals!” The entire hive suddenly began shaking as a shrieking hiss slithered through the petite Queen’s throat, cracks spiderwebbing along the walls and floor. Hundreds… no, thousands of black limbs stretched and grasped at the air from below. Soon, the cracks widened as Kurr’ak’s complete horde stormed up the walls and across the floor, scuttling over and under one another to surround the five Queens. Lashing tongues, huge clicking mandibles, twitching antennae, and millions of voices filled the once great throne room. All those millions of eyes on the terrified Queens. “Good news, boys and girls… THEEEERRREEE HEEEEEERRRRRRRREEEEEEEEE!!!!!” Cackled Queen Kurr’ak, the Devourer of Hives.