//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9: The Next Step 
// Story: Survival of the Wolves 
// by JNKing 
//------------------------------//

Luna had awoken from a nightmare, and arisen into a dream. 
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, others were… cheering for her. Her sister was happy to see her. No more nobles constantly following her around, forcing ugly and cruel words into her mouth. Instead, there were only ponies partying. Glad to have her back; celebrating the return of the Lunar Princess. Granted, there were still some second looks being shot her way, but Luna couldn’t blame them. 
Not if what had happened was true. That she had apparently lost herself to some… ‘darker’ persona. 
Nightmare Moon…oh, how that name would haunt her dreams and waking hours. The fact that she had ignored her own daughter’s advice… given into her primal anger like an animal…
Luna paused. My daughter! 
She looked to Celestia, who seemed to be letting the festivities wash over her like a soothing shower. 
“Sister,” she whispered to Celestia. “My daughter… is she…?”
Celestia paused, her posture straightening. Looking around at the partying ponies, she motioned for Luna to follow.
Luna obeyed, but she could still feel her heart shivering in terror. There’s no way… Luna wanted to protest. I-I swear I saw her. But… did I? Things were so fuzzy as Nightmare Moon. She couldn’t tell what had been real and what had been madness; madness brought on by isolation and anger.
Eventually, however, the two reached a secluded spot. And Luna watched for what felt like the first time in eternity as Celestia let her royal persona drop. Gone with the royal princess of the sun. In her place was her older sister. Tired and weary, eyes shining with love… and sorrow.
“Luna,” she began hesitantly. “I’m so sorry…”
Luna shook her head before Celestia could continue. “No… I saw her!” she looked back. “Or… I thought I saw her. Nightmare… she made things so fuzzy.” She clutched her head. “I had no idea what was real and what was not.”
Celestia draped a wing over Luna’s shoulders. “My poor sister,” Celestia whispered. “I’m truly sorry for how I treated you and her. And it breaks my heart to tell you this, but… after, well… everything… Star disappeared. Flash Magnus told me that she had fled into the Ever-Free to escape the nobles. And…” her head bowed. “We never saw her again.”
Luna turned hopefully towards the Ever-Free. “But… if she fled into the Ever-Free… maybe… I swear to Faust, Celestia, I saw her! She was older… wiser… T-There was a Wolf of Equestria with her.”
Celestia blinked, shaking her head. “Impossible,” she whispered. “The wolves have been extinct for a thousand years. Star Wing has been gone for just as long. Are you sure you weren’t speaking to timber wolves or something like that?”
“I…” Luna paused, clutching her head. Had she just been talking to timber wolves? Had her time as Nightmare Moon maddened her that much? Was she safe to be around others? 
Or… tears began to fill her eyes. What if Lord Ego was right about me? What if I am a monster that needs to be kept in chains?
Celestia’s ears flattened at her sister’s inner turmoil. She embraced Luna, hushing her as Luna began to weep. 
“I just… want her back,” Luna cried. “My beloved Star… why…?” 
“Sh,” Celestia whispered. “It’s alright.” She wiped the tears from her sister’s eyes. “Let’s get you settled, Luna. You need to rest and recover; it’s been a long thousand years.” 
Luna nodded, too exhausted and wearied by emotions to speak. Yet, as she gazed towards the Ever-Free one last time, she missed Celestia gazing at the wild forest with a thoughtful expression. All that mattered to Luna at that moment was that her daughter might be gone. Truly gone. 
If she is, Luna noted in resignation, then maybe I deserve to be haunted by her.

#

Meanwhile, in the woods, Star was restrained by Shiva, desperately yearning towards the town.
“Let me go!” Star was insisting. “Alpha, with all due respect, let me go!”
“I can’t do that, Wing,” Shiva insisted. “You need to approach this with a level head.”
“Level head?!” Star demanded with a high-pitched cackle. “How much more level-headed can I be right now? My mom is back! She’s alive! But now she’s being held by that puppet Celestia!” She turned back towards the town. “Who knows what they’re going to do to her! W-What if they…?”
“Believe me, I share your worry,” Shiva insisted, cupping Star’s head. “Truly I do. But rushing in like a timber wolf isn’t going to help your mother at all.”
“You’re right,” Kodo growled, stepping up. “We need to be much more careful than that.”
Celine glared at Kodo’s posture. “Kodo, I really don’t like how you phrased that,” she warned. 
“Why not?” Kodo demanded. “This is what we prepared for, right?” He looked back to Shiva. “Isn’t this what we worked for, Mother? The ponies would not find malnourished, quivering pups?” He waved his paw at the camp; which had seamlessly become one with the forests. “We beat the spell that rendered us barren,” Kodo insisted. “We’ve taken the forest for our own; cockatrices now serve as our food! We could easily roll over the ponies with one smartly planned out attack.”
“But what if the ponies don’t deserve it?” Celine insisted. “Haven’t you ever seen the ponies? Every year – on the very same day we were attacked – at least five or twenty ponies would go to that exact same spot the first group did and plant flowers.” She looked to Shiva. “What if they actually feel bad about what happened? What if we’d be attacking the wrong people?”
Shiva grimaced, seeing both of their points, but Star growled in frustration.
“This is getting us nowhere!” she insisted. “Every minute we spend talking is another minute Celestia gets to torment Mother!” 
“Then calm down and think about it!” Celine snapped.
Star, Shiva and even Kodo paused; it was rare for Celine to snap at anyone; she was normally so docile. 
Celine breathed. “Star. Just think of this like your stories,” Celine offered. “When Sombra enslaved the Crystal Empire, did your mother or your aunt just run in and fight him?”
“Well…” Star started to say.
“They had their armies,” Celine insisted. “They planned it out, and they used strategy. That’s what we have to use now.” 
“The question is what strategy?” Kodo noted. “I’m all for taking down these ponies.”
“But if we use violence,” Shiva insisted. “We’d just be proving the nobles right about us.” She hummed, scratching her chin. “We need another approach.” She turned away. “The three of you… go find something to hunt. Keep yourselves busy; you will be the first to know when I come up with something.” 
Kodo and Celine glared at each other, while Star fidgeted, struggling to keep herself calm. Nevertheless, they still obeyed Shiva, and left to their own devices. 
Star delved deeper into the forest than usual, her timber wolf armor hiding the glare that was struggling to shine on her face. 
Why couldn’t Shiva understand? Wouldn’t she want to save her own mother if she could? Why did it feel like no one understood her? 
Because you’re a pony and they’re wolves and the two sides are never going to understand each other? A dark voice offered. 
Star paused. Where had that come from? In her moment of hesitation, she ran across Celine. 
“Hey Wing.”
Star forced herself to grin. “Hey, Celly,” she replied. “So… Alpha Shiva’s probably gonna go for peace, right?”
Celine sighed. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “My dad lost his life in the raid. Even though Shiva talked to us about not letting fear control us, I saw the look in her eyes. She wanted revenge, just as much if not more so than Kodo. If he convinces her it’s for the best…” she let the sentence hang, but Star knew how it would probably finish. 
And why shouldn’t it?That dark voice asked. After everything the ponies did to you – what they’re probably doing to Mother – why shouldn’t we show them what kind of beast they’ve been dealing with?
Because that’s not how a hero works! A stronger voice refuted in Star’s head. A hero stands up for the people, no matter how difficult they make it. Mother couldn’t keep herself tall… so I have to.
Star nodded to herself, trying to strengthen her resolve. But even as her determination flared… she was snapped out of her thoughts by Celine’s gasp.
She launched into action before she could think. Tearing down into the foliage, Star tackled into something soft, rolling it to its back and baring her fangs at it.
“Star, stop!” Celine cried. 
Star froze, grateful that she was wearing her timber wolf mask. What looked like a pony was staring up at her in shock and fear, strong blue eyes wide with surprise. 
Yet… something was off about her. Her coat was white with black stripes. She had a large Mohawk and several golden rings around her neck. She was also slightly more muscular than most ponies Star had seen. 
It clicked; this creature wasn’t a pony, but a zebra. 
Star clambered off her, as Celine raced to her side. The zebra’s eyes darted between the two, shock changing to awe. 
“Wolves of Equestria, Shiva’s Spawn,” the zebra whispered. “It was my belief that all of you were gone.” 
Celine and Star exchanged a look – Star’s disguise seemed to be keeping the zebra from knowing who she was. Celine chuckled. “Not quite,” she admitted. She peered at the zebra. “Um… who are you?”
“Zecora,” the zebra replied with a bow. “A pleasure to meet you. Now, if may I ask, who are you?” 
“Celine,” the golden wolf introduced. She chanced a glance at Star before saying. “This is… Wing. My pack mate.” 
“And bodyguard,” Star added. “Which makes me curious what your intentions are.”
“To simply survive and prosper,” Zecora replied. “As is the goal of all in nature’s roster.” 
Celine hummed, scratching her chin in intrigue. “A goal that would be easier to obtain… if we were to work together.” 
Star tilted her head at Celine. “Uh… what are you doing?” she asked. 
“Planning,” Celine replied. She turned brightly to Zecora. “Zecora… I think I have a deal that will work out for both of us. Can you come with me to meet my Alpha?” 
Zecora gave Star a small look. “If I say no,” she noted. “Will your bodyguard make me go?” 
Celine waved Star off. “That was just her being affectionate,” she replied. 
Rolling with her claim, Star struck a pose with a grin. "She ain't lying," Star noted, causing the zebra to chuckle. 
Smiling at Star’s antic, Celine crossed her heart. “I swear on my mother’s life, no harm will befall you.”
Zecora hummed, glancing between the two with intrigue. Eventually, however, she nodded. And together, the three returned to the camp. 
At first, the wolves growled as Zecora entered their midst. But as they saw her stripes and rings, their growls turned to confused murmurings. 
“Wait… that’s not a pony…”
“I think it’s a zebra.”
“A zebra?! I thought they didn’t live around here.”
Keeping her eyes forward, Celine led Zecora to Shiva, who was looking over several plans that Kodo seemed to be drawing out, several warriors behind him. 
“If we hit the town from these angles,” Kodo was saying. “We can disable any pegasi and earth pony defenses. My wargs have also been working on magic disabling spells; we’ll be able to…”
“Before you get too far ahead with that plan,” Celine said. “I think I’ve got a better alternative.”
Shiva turned, tilting her head at Zecora. 
“My name is Zecora; a pleasure to meet you,” the zebra said with a bow. “Your Beta Celine, wished for me to meet you.” 
Leaving Kodo’s plans behind, Shiva peered at Zecora with intrigue. “And why would that be, my daughter?” Shiva asked. 
“Zecora lives out here in the forest,” Celine said. “I was thinking… maybe she could help us.” 
Shiva tilted her head, a hum of intrigue escaping her. “That is the way of the wolf…” she mused, before nodding. “Very well. Celine, I want you to find out what Zecora knows, and how we can help her in exchange.” She grinned at Zecora. “I’d rather find a situation that works out best for both of us.” 
“As would I,” Zecora agreed. “It would be most welcome to have a new ally.” 
“And just think,” Celine noted before escorting Zecora to the healers. “If we can work something out with a zebra… why not a pony?”
Kodo bristled, and his warriors growled, but Star saw the light of curiosity working in Shiva’s mind. And the disguised alicorn found herself praying that whatever Celine and Shiva came up with… it allowed her to meet her mother sooner rather than later. 

#

At the same time, in Ponyville, Twilight received a letter from Princess Celestia.
“My faithful student,” Twilight read. “You have done far more than I could have ever asked for. Thanks to you, my sister is returned home safe, and the Elements of Harmony have been restored. My gratitude and love for you is endless. However, it pains me to say, but I would like to ask more of you.” 
Spike sighed. “Come on,” he muttered. 
“Spike,” Twilight chastised. “If the Princess needs me to do something else, I’ll do it.” She looked back at the letter and continued. “’Before Luna’s banishment, she had a daughter – Princess Star Wing – who vanished into the Ever-Free. My beloved sister believes that she saw the young alicorn in the forest somewhere. I would rather you not take too many risks, but if you and your new friends could investigate the Ever-Free, and discover if there is any truth to her claim, her gratitude would be as endless as mine. Your dear teacher and friend, Princess Celestia.’” Twilight sat back for a moment. “You know… there was something off about those timber wolves we met.”
Spike blanched. “You’re not thinking of going back in there so soon, are you?”
“Of course not, Spike,” Twilight replied. “Traversing a forest like that again with no plan? What do I look like, Rainbow Dash?” 
“HA!”
Twilight winced. Rainbow Dash had appeared in the window. 
“You’re funny, Twi,” Rainbow Dash mused, before opening the window. “But what was this about going back into the Ever-Free to search for a missing princess?”

#

As Twilight explained the situation to Rainbow Dash, however, they were unaware of an orange pegasus filly listening in. 
“Rescuing a missing princess?” Scootaloo whispered giddily. “Oh-ho… there’s got to be a cutie mark in doing that.” She raced away. “And even then… maybe it’ll make Rainbow Dash proud of me.” 
With all that in mind, Scootaloo zoomed away to plan her own rescue.