Survival of the Wolves

by JNKing

Chapter 14: Welcome Home

It was finally time. As Shiva stood at the edge to the Ever-Free, awaiting Twilight or one of her friends, she tried to slow her rapidly beating heart. 
Star fluttered up next to her. “Are you sure about this,” she asked. “I-I don’t want to risk you guys. It’s like you told me; it’s not about the one, but the many.”
“It’s not just about you, Star,” Shiva assured her, gazing out at the town of Ponyville. “This used to be our home as well. Before the ponies drove us away from it.” Her voice darkened at the memory, and she shut her eyes as the face of her mate – an arrow in his head – flashed across her mind again. 
Star sensed her grievance. She hesitantly reached out, before thinking better of it, and backing up. Shiva, for her part, gave Star a small smile. 
“Go,” she said, nodding up to the trees. “I want you, Star Chaser, and the thestrals watching over us. Just in case this goes wrong.” 
“Come on, Mom,” Kodo said. “You already have us.” He grinned as his pack of wolves stepped up, weapons ready and fangs bared at the town. 
Star chuckled. “Don’t underestimate the wing speed of a thestral,” Star noted. “You guys run into trouble, we’ll be down there to help you like beans through a cockatrice.” 
“I bet I can take out twice as many ponies as you,” a red-furred pterolycus noted. 
Before Star could accept the challenge, Shiva gripped her nape and glared the red-furred wolf down. 
“No one is fighting unless absolutely necessary,” Shiva said firmly. “Some of you may not have been around when the ponies drove us away, but fighting them is nothing like hunting prey.” Her eyes shut, and her fur pulsed with a haunted light. “It was dark, brutal and terrifying. There is no glory in it, and there is no fun in it. Understand?”
The red-furred wolf and Star both looked down in guilt. Their guilt was broken up when Celine barked. 
“Alpha,” she called. “The pink mare approaches.” 
Shiva let out a slow breath. “Star,” she repeated. 
“Right,” Star agreed, re-donning her timber wolf mask and taking to the trees. Shiva gave one more look to Kodo and his soldiers. They nodded, weapons at the ready. Shiva turned to the entrance to the Ever-Free as Pinkie happily bounced towards them. 
“Alright,” she muttered. “Here we go.” 
            She strode out of the leaves and into Pinkie’s field of view. The pink mare gasped in delight upon seeing the wolf, and zipped to her side. 
“Hi there,” she greeted. “I’m Pinkie Pie. I’m sorry it took me so long to come back, but I had to make sure that my treats were perfect.”
She revealed a wagon she had been pulling along, displaying several cupcakes and doggy treats, all forming a smiling face bordered by the phrase, ‘Welcome to Ponyville.’ Pinkie Pie zipped back around, checking over the various treats. 
“I know chocolate can be kinda harmful for doggies,” she admitted. “So, I went on a really-really long road trip to find the perfect sugars and snacks for you guys. I wanted your welcome to Ponyville party to be the best party ever!” 
Shiva chuckled, even as her dogs watched the pink mare warily. “Thank you, Pinkie Pie,” she said. “You’re too kind. Though, if I may note…” she nodded at the town. “Ponyville stands on what used to be our home.” 
Pinkie Pie gasped. “In that case…” she pulled the wagon back, and pulled out a frosting bottle from her mane. Quickly making some adjustments, she pulled the wagon back, revealing that the ‘Welcome to Ponyville,’ had been changed to ‘Welcome ‘back’ to Ponyville.’
Shiva chuckled at the mare’s antics. “Well, we can’t really say we were welcomed ‘back,’ when we haven’t entered the town."
Pinkie Pie gasped in delight. “You really want to see the town?” she asked. 
Shiva nodded. Yipping in delight, Pinkie Pie raced back to town, pausing briefly to make sure the wolf was following. 
With all the air of walking into the ocean, Shiva left the safety of the forest that had been her home, and began crossing into Ponyville, followed by her bodyguards and children. Celine munched on one of the cakes Pinkie had offered, grinning when Kodo gave her an unsure look. 
“They’re actually really good,” Celine noted through a mouthful of cake. 
Kodo hummed, only for his glower to deepen when he noticed the red-furred wolf eating a treat as well. Sighing, he took one of the treats himself, holding it in his mouth like a cigarette. 
As Shiva followed Pinkie past the field of no-mare’s-land and into the town, she slowed briefly as the ponies in the town paused in their daily activities, staring at her in shock.  
“Is that…” someone asked. 
“I don’t believe it!” another one whispered. 
“After so long…”
“But I thought they were dead!” 
Shiva might have heard more shocked whispers, but they were quickly hidden as Pinkie pulled out another wagon, this one with some sort of stereo on it. Pinkie burst into song. 

Confetti burst into the air, and another cake popped out of the wagon. Pinkie handed the pastry to Shiva, who accepted it with a bow. At her bow, she noticed the awe and shocked looks fading into curiosity. Thankfully, she detected malice on none of them. 
It didn’t stop Kodo’s fur from bristling, or from him watching the ponies with bated breath. But the ponies did nothing to provoke his anger. They just watched, cautiously but patiently waiting for Shiva to make the first move. 
Until…
“A-Alpha Shiva!” Twilight’s voice cried. 
Shiva’s tail wagged as Twilight galloped to Pinkie Pie’s side. 
“But you… w-we kept your kind secret, I assure you it…”
“Calm,” Shiva assured the mare. “I figured it was time I stopped hiding in that forest.” She looked around. “This place used to be our home, after all.” She looked to Twilight. “And I want to know that I can trust you.” 
Twilight’s nervousness faded, and she nodded. “O-Of course,” she said, before motioning. “Please. I want to show you something.” 
Nodding, Shiva followed after the mare, Pinkie Pie trying to prance next to her before Kodo got between them with a glower. 
Despite his protectiveness, the ponies didn’t act with any hostility. As Shiva walked through the town, several even smiled and waved at her. From a cloud above, Rainbow Dash watched them carefully, though she did grin and salute when Shiva nodded up at her. 
“So,” Pinkie noted as they walked by. “That shop’s Quills and Sofas. What was it called back when you were in charge?” 
“It wasn’t called anything,” Shiva admitted. “It was a den; a house for one of my betas, named Caesar, and his wife and son; Cornelius and Brown Eye.” 
“Neat,” Pinkie Pie said, like the information was really amazing. She gasped and bounded over to Shiva’s other side, Kodo still trying to keep himself between them. “What about there; that’s Sugarcube Corner; where I make all my sweets. What was it like for you?”
“That was our old cleaning ground,” Shiva admitted.
“Oh, you took baths there?” Twilight asked. 
Shiva swallowed. “We, uh… cleaned our prey. You know? Skinned it and prepped it for eating?”
Twilight pursed her lips, her face turning a slight pale shade. Even Pinkie lost a bit of pep in her step, though she did try to keep her voice perky. 
“Interesting,” both of them decided.
As they walked through town, Star tried to keep an eye on them without exposing herself. Though in doing so, she nearly plummeted out of the tree before Chaser caught her.
“Easy now,” he warned her. 
“Thanks,” she replied. “It’s just gonna be difficult to jump in if anything happens.” 
Luckily, nothing did happen. The other members of the Mane Six approached, and said their hellos. And Shiva got to see more of her old grounds:
The place where her pack had gathered to eat and share stories was now the Golden Oaks library. The fields where they had hunted and gathered had become Sweet Apple Acres. And the birthing den where mothers brought their children into the world had been converted into a schoolhouse. 
But the biggest surprise remained for when Shiva found her original den. Instead of some new Ponyville building… she found a statue. 
A large statue of herself, sitting with a foreleg over the shoulders of one of her fenrirs, with a warg on her right sight and a pterolycus cradling a pup on her left. Under the statue was a large, brass plague. 
Twilight and the others said nothing as Shiva approached, reading with a curious air:

Below the plague was a list of names. Shiva’s ears flattened as she recognized all of the names:

They were all the members of her pack; all the ones that had died on that fateful day. 
Her head bent; her teeth clenched. Her paws dug into the ground. 
Kodo was the first forward, nuzzling against her with a concerned whimper. The Mane Six – who had joined Shiva on her tour – looked to each other with worry.
“A-Alpha Shiva?” Fluttershy asked, approaching carefully.
Shiva looked back at her, and the yellow pegasus moaned in sympathy at the tears shining in her eyes. Yet, despite the sorrow on Shiva’s face…
“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you for showing me this.” She turned back to the statue. “The others. They need to see this as well.” 
Twilight nodded. “Of course.”

A few minutes later, the wolves of Equestria had gathered to witness the sight of the statue. Star Wing was huddled among them, her timber wolf armor hiding her from any prying eyes. 
Star Wing watched on with a grimace as Shiva sat next to her statue. 
"It was as many of us hoped, my sisters and brothers," Shiva said. "Those we called enemies saw the true enemy Fear... even though it was too late to save all of us from its icy grip." She looked at Twilight and the others. "Let us learn from the mistakes of our ancestors. Let's never allow Fear to turn us on each other again." She'd gaze forlornly at the statue. "Let us ensure that the fallen didn't die in vain." 
Shiva stepped up to Twilight and offered her paw. Twilight thankfully took her paw, and they shook, eliciting a cheer from the ponies and even a few of the wolves.
Kodo stayed silent, as did his red-furred friend. And even though her heart leaped for the joy on Pinkie and Celine’s faces, Star found that she couldn’t join in. 
Not when Canterlot was still so easily in their sights. 
Would you react this way, Celestia? Star couldn’t help but wonder. Or would you let someone else decide whether this was okay or not?

As Twilight watched the partying crowd, she turned back to Shiva. 
“Alpha,” she said. “I appreciate your willingness to do this. But… does that mean you’re ready to tell us what happened to Princess Star Wing?” 
Shiva hummed, gazing out over the crowd. “I want to see how this pans out,” she admitted, before touching Twilight’s shoulder. “But rest assured, Element of Magic; the Princess is a lot closer than you think.” 
Shiva looked back over the crowd, and when Twilight followed her gaze, she caught sight of one wolf that didn’t look like the others. Slit-pupiled, electric green eyes sparkling underneath what looked like armor. Armor that Scootaloo was watching like she had seen it before. 
Twilight’s heart pattered in her chest: the wolves did have the Princess! And from the looks of it, she was unharmed. Better than unharmed; it looked like she had prospered. 
But Twilight forced herself to contain her excitement. This was all about developing a friendship unlike anything she had encountered before. And judging by what Shiva had told her, Star Wing needed assurance that Celestia had changed. 
Well, don’t you worry, Princess Star Wing, Twilight wished she could tell the disguised alicorn. Celestia is different. And one way or another. I’ll prove it.