//------------------------------//
// Chapter 16 - Resolutions and Rest 
// Story: Survival of the Wolves 
// by JNKing 
//------------------------------//

Star had to admit, it was strange to stand at her own gravestone. 
In the Canterlot cemetery, Star found herself staring at a small plague of stone resting under the shade of a birch tree. The stone read:

In Honor of Star Wing;


She may have been born from night. 


But her kindness shined brighter than the sun.


Rest in Peace.


We’re Sorry.

Luna walked up next to Star, allowing her to notice the tombstones on either side of her grave. The one on the right:

In Honor of Princess Luna;


Defender of Equestria


Beloved Sister


Proud Mother


Rest in Peace

And the on the left:

Here lies Star Hunter;


Savior of Princess Luna


Prince of the Night.


Rest in Peace

“Celestia offered to have thy tombstone removed,” Luna noted quietly. “Since I wasn’t dead like the nobles believed I was…” she shook her head. “But I like to think that this is burying the side of me that lost hope. The side that became Nightmare Moon…”
“You didn’t become Nightmare Moon,” Star insisted, looking at her mother. “The nobles drove you crazy. You were just trying to look out for me.” 
Luna’s eyes shut. “That’s what I told myself,” she admitted. “While I was on the moon… it’s what I told myself… in order to convince myself that the ponies needed to be punished. That they needed to pay… for tearing us apart.” 
Star nuzzled up to her mother. “But they failed,” she noted, looking to the edge of the cemetery. Shiva stood, glaring at a chunk of stone that had been shoved haphazardly into the ground. Slowly, Star and Luna strode over to it, to see the clumsily written words, carved into the stone like they had been struck by a very angry carver:

Here Lies Lord Alter Ego,


Manipulator of Masses


Murderer of Wolves


Creator of Nightmare Moon


BURN IN TARTARUS

Star glanced over at Shiva, who looked like she was trying to summon some sort of heat vision to carve her own words into the stone. Even though she was over a thousand years old, Star got a sneaking suspicion that what Shiva wanted to write would be too inappropriate for even her. 
Luna looked over at Shiva, before returning her eyes to the grave. 
“Celestia told me he died in prison,” she noted. 
Shiva nodded. “She told us the same thing,” she said softly. 
Luna looked down. “After Star’s father and I began our affair,” Luna admitted. “Celestia grew closer to him and his companions. Part of me always wondered if… they may have been an item, as I had been with Hunter.” She shut her eyes in guilt. “It was why I never…” She lowered her head further. “It’s my fault, what happened to your pack, Shiva. If I had recognized the hold Ego had taken over my sister…”
“Stop,” Shiva said firmly. 
Despite herself, Luna went quiet. Star gave Shiva a curious look as Shiva stood, her eyes not leaving the tombstone. 
“He let fear justify cruelty,” Shiva growled. “He, and several others like him, burrowed into the heads of others like parasites.” She looked to Star. “They turned the majority against the likes of us, thinking that because they were afraid, that it justified the abuse we suffered through.” She returned her gaze to the stone. “They thought they were ensuring their own survival.” 
Star couldn't help but chuckle at the irony. “Yet, who’s still above ground, right?” she pointed out. 
A wicked smile spread across Shiva’s face. “Exactly, Star,” she agreed. She backed up from the grave. “I won’t pretend to know your reasons, Ego. Whether you were truly scared of what we could do… or just wanted to show off your power to cover your own insecurity.”
Star stepped up next to her. “What matters is that you failed,” Star noted with a grin. “The wolves are back. Mom’s back. And I’m alive.” 
Luna stepped up next to her. “And you’re rotting in the ground,” Luna growled. “A distant memory that we will be all too eager to erase from our minds.” 
Shiva frowned, her fur bristling. “My only regret,” she’d note. “Was that I didn’t get to see you die personally.” She spat on his grave, before turning away and leaving. 
Star and Luna watched her go, before giving the grave glowers of their own. 
“Let’s go, Mom,” Star said, following after Shiva. “We got better places to be.” 
Luna didn’t follow at first, glaring down at the grave. Finally, she gave a small spit of her own, before following her daughter and fellow alpha away from the cemetery. 

#

Luna took a slow breath from inside Ponyville’s Town Hall. Celestia pat her back with a wing, but it didn’t quell the Night Princesses’ worries.
“A-Are we certain they will accept her?” Luna asked. “It was already a lot for them to accept the wolves…”
“Ponyville has been home to some of the most tolerant ponies I know,” Celestia assured her sister. “They will accept her.”
“In a way,” Shiva noted. “They accepted her when they accepted us.” 
Luna sighed. “I suppose we’ll see soon enough.” 
Together, the three princesses walked out of Town Hall, finding the ponies gathered before them.
“My Little Ponies,” Celestia declared. “As you know, the Wolves of Equestria have returned from a thousand year exile. I am proud to see that you have welcomed them with open hooves. However, it is not just them that have returned.” 
Sounds of confusion emanated from the crowd, before Princess Luna stepped forward. 
“Before my transformation into Nightmare Moon,” she explained. “I fell in love with a thestral stallion named Star Hunter. He sadly passed on a few years after we… well.” She cleared her throat. “But before he passed, he left me someone.” 
Eyes widened and jaws dropped as the implications set in.
“Princess Luna,” Mayor Mare stammered. “Are you saying…”
Luna nodded. “I have a daughter. A daughter whom I thought was lost to me. But through the efforts of the Wolves of Equestria, Celestia’s student Twilight Sparkle, and the brave efforts of the ponies she befriended, she has been found alive and well.” 
Luna turned to Shiva. And as all eyes fell on the wolf, she let out a howl. 
A shadow fell over the sun. As the ponies looked up, they saw a silhouette dropping down towards them. One sparkling in spots like stars in a night sky. 
She hit the ground rolling, popping up in a heroic pose. And as Star Wing’s wings spread in triumph, she called out, “GOOOOD MORNING PONYVILLE!” She paused before glancing at Celestia. “It is morning, right?” 
A round of chuckles ran through the crowd. Star’s eyes twinkled as she stepped off the stage. 
“In all seriousness, it’s good to meet all of you. Alpha Shiva always held out hope that you guys were good, kind and decent. She also told me the value of one-on-one friendships. So, come on, get to know me, I don’t bite… unless you want me to.” 
As Star jumped into the crowd, shaking hooves and talking to everyone, Luna felt her eyes fill with tears. 
“She was once hated by every pony around her,” she noted, as Shiva and Celestia took to her side. “To see her so warmly welcomed and accepted by her fellow ponies…”
Shiva smiled. “You would have loved her first night with us. Our pups accepted her without a second thought.” To prove it, Shiva produced an image with a spell; Star Wing and the other pups, all sleeping together in a big fluffy bundle. Several mother wolves were grouped around them as well, one of the bigger ones giving Star a loving lick. 
Celestia hugged both alicorns. “I believe Star has found her real home: among Shiva’s wolves and the ponies of Ponyville.” 
“We found the princess after all?!” Pinkie cried in glee. “This calls for a 'Congratulations-on-reuniting-with-your-long-lost-foal-welcome-new-foal' party!" 

Star zipped up to Pinkie with a grin to match. "You had me at ‘party!’" she declared. Together, they began to sing Pinkie’s welcome song. 

Rainbow Dash grimaced, "But… What happened to the dad?" 

Star got a mournful look in her eyes before declaring, "Never mind that," and zipping over to Rainbow Dash. "Say, you look like a fancy flier."

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Fancy? I'm the fastest flier in Equestria!" 

"Oh-ho-ho," Wing would say, spreading her wings. "A challenge?" 

The two grinned each other down before taking off on a race. The group barely got to worry about where Wing had gone before she zipped right back to Applejack.

“Oh, but where are my manners? I can’t go without introducing myself to all you guys, right? How we doing?” She spun to Applejack. “You, I remember your sister! She’s doing okay, right?” 

“Just fine,” Applejack replied, shaking Wing’s hoof. “Mighty fine to meet ya as well.” 

"And mighty fine to meet you as well," Star replied. "Can I just say I absolutely love your voice?" 

"She means nothing by that," Shiva interjected.  

"Seriously," Star insisted. "I could listen to that voice for hours. It's so... wild and western! Like a cowboy hero!" 

Applejack chuckled, hiding her uncertainty on how to feel about Star’s words. "Well, ahm glad ya like it." 

Rarity drew closer, gazing in awe at Star’s spots. "Excuse me Princess… my name’s Rarity, and… can I just say I love the way your wings catch the night sky? It's almost like I'm looking at a portal into space."

Wing would chuckle, stretching into a pose. "Well, name’s Star Wing - in case you didn’t know, you know now… and I don't like bragging, but it's true. You can't replicate wings like these." 

Rarity got a glint in her eye. "Would you mind if I tried? Not that wings could be made, but I am a fashion designer. Perhaps I could make some sort of cloak for pegasi wings based on your own." 

Star sidled up to Rarity with a massive grin. "I'd be honored," she'd declare, before striking a pose. "So what pose would work? This one? This one? Or maybe this one?" 

As Star continued to pose and pose, Twilight tried to puzzle everything out.

"But, when was her father around?” Twilight asked. “Does her thestral heritage mix alright with the alicorn heritage. What about her genetic..."

“Twilight, relax,” Celestia tried to say, but Star cut her off, hugging Twilight with a gasp. 

"Your name's Twilight?" She'd ask. "So you're night-themed. I'm night-themed too! And we're technically cousins! We're destined to be best friends." She'd then notice Spike, and probably squee over his design. "And you have a baby dragon who's adorable! EEEEEE!" 

Spike might back up. "Um... my name's Spike," he'd introduce. 

She'd chuckle. "Is it wrong that I was hoping you'd say something like Spyro or something? He was a big hero in the comics I read." 

His eyes might light up. "You read comics?" 

She'd get equally excited. "Comics are still being made?!" 

“Indeed,” Twilight noted. “Have you read Daring Do? You might like…” 

Wing zipped right to Twilight's side. "I haven't, but now I must!" she'd insist. "Where is a copy?" 

Rainbow Dash would laugh. "Right this way!"

Just before they could leave, Wing noticed Fluttershy. 

"Well, hi!" Star said to a rather put off Fluttershy. "I almost didn't notice you there. Seriously, it's like you were trying to become part of the wall. Don't do that; become part of the party; come on! What's your name?" 

"F-Fluttershy..." she mumbled softly.

"Butterfly, got it," Star decided. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Butterfly."

Rainbow Dash might snicker. "No, it's Fluttershy. She's just... well..."

"Shy?" Star might note, before tsking and putting a wing over Fluttershy. "Don't you worry about a thing, my dear. You see, the Wolves of Equestria taught me how to be a hero. And that means I defend poor damsels like you."

Fluttershy grimaced. "I'm not a damsel..." 

"Trust me," Star said over her. "Your new Princess Star Wing is gonna be looking after you." 

As she frog-marched Fluttershy over to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, Twilight snuck over to Luna. "She... doesn't seem to be torn up about her father?" 

Luna might sigh. "Unfortunately, he was lost very early in her life. Part of me fears she doesn't fully understand what happened." 

"I don't know if she ever will," Shiva would add. "She's always tried to get away from her problems by burying them in happiness and laughter. It's not the worst coping mechanism I've seen, but I still worry sometimes." She'd nod at Luna. "I'm hopeful that having you back will help her a bit. Not that I want her to entirely lose her cheery demeanor..."

"But I think we can all appreciate it when her smiles are genuine," Pinkie would note, before noticing the others gaping in shock at her. "Oh, private conversation between princesses right? Sorry." She'd then dash back to where Star Wing and Rainbow Dash were having a hoof wrestling competition.