//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: The Lunar Assembly - Part 1 // Story: Equestria Wolves: The Pack is Family, The Pack is Life // by Lord Shadow Eclipse //------------------------------// At Howler's Rock Twilight and her pack were amazed at being surrounded by all of these different wolves and predators from all over the land. But as they walked among the arrivals, they drew a fair bit of stares, especially from the other wolf packs. There were quite a few whispers about them, too. "Who are they?" "Where are they from?" "I don't recognize them". "Is that a Copperhide among them?" "Their pups are so cute!" Among the whispers came a voice familiar to Rarity and Pinkie. "Hey, Rarity! Pinkie!" A familiar white wolf pup sauntered up to Rarity and Pinkie. The two recognized the pup immediately. "Hey, Phantom! It's so ice to see you again without having to worry about territory!" Pinkie said nuzzling Phantom's head. "It is indeed great to see you again, darling! I hope you've been doing well," Rarity said. "I've been itching to see the new pack in the Kingdom ever since I first met you!" Phantom said. "Phantom! Where are you?" a female voice called from the crowd. Phantom bounced up more than Pinkie, which was surprising. Phantom was certainly energetic. "Over here!" she called back. A beautiful white wolf with a thin line of pale silver running down her back and bright golden eyes made her way over to Phantom and brought her head down to bring her in closer. "Phantom, you can't just go running off like that," the she-wolf said. "I don't want to lose you!" "I'm sorry, mom. I just wanted to see my new friends," Phantom said indicating the pack before her. "I'm sorry if my daughter caused you any trouble," the mother said. "My name is Spectra of the Snowfoot Pack. Pleasure to meet you". "Your daughter hasn't been any trouble, at all," Twilight said stepping forward. "In fact, she's a welcome sight. My name is Twilight, alpha of the Greenpaw Pack". Spectra's ears twitched. "Greenpaw? I'm sorry, but I've never heard of your pack before". "We recently came here to establish a territory just south of here," Twilight said. "Well, sounds like we have cause for celebration," Spectra said. Twilight introduced Phantom and Spectra to the rest of the pack. When she got to Starlight and Trixie, Phantom seemd to perk up even more. She ran up to them and gave them a play-bow with her wagging tail in the air. "Hey there! My name's Phantom! Do you wanna play?!" Phantom asked excitedly. Starlight and Trixie looked at each other and then to Phantom. They didn't seem sure about how to respond at first, but then Starlight mimicked Phantom's play-bow. Trixie did the same and then Phantom took off, wanting the pair of pups to chase her. Starlight, Trixie, and Phantom all joined several other young predators in play in what seemed like an area designated for them. Spectra left to keep an eye on her daughter. As the pack watched the youths frivolity, a new voice sounded. "Lora? Is that you?" the male voice said with an accent similar to Applejack's. The pack turned to see a coyote walking up to them. This coyote had the top part of his right ear missing, likely due to a fight. He walked up to them and smiled at Lora in particular. Lora smiled and looked away with her ears pinned back. "H-hey there, Bandit," Lora said. "You look well". "Things have been going good. I've recently found a good place to den in Redtail Territory," Bandit said. "They'll let me live there and scavenge from their kills". "That's great, Bandit!" Lora said. "Things have been going good for me, as well. I finally found a pack". Bandit seemed to acknowledge the other wolves for the first time. He gave a respectful bow to Twilight. "Pleasure to meet y'all. I'm Bandit, a coyote," Bandit greeted. "And may I say I am so happy to see that dear Lora has joined your pack. If you need anything, you need only ask". "Well, pleasure to meet you, too, Bandit," Twilight said. "Lora is more than welcome amongst us. And you're more than welcome to come to our territory". A loud growl seemed to instantly kill the jovial mood. A large male wolf with reddish fur like Lora's came into view, flanked by two similarly-colored wolves. He seemed to be singling Lora out specifically. Lora looked terrified, her ears down and tail between her legs. Bandit looked disgusted at the sight of the approaching wolves. "Hello, deviant," the apparent alpha said with a hateful tone. "I see you're doing well". The rude alpha looked to Bandit with a snarl. "And I see your deviant coyote has followed you here, too". "Eat a hornet, you rot-for-brains," Bandit said. One of the alpha's subordinates snapped at Bandit. Bandit didn't even flinch. "You watch what you say to the alpha of the Copperhide Pack!" she snarled. Twilight stepped forward and got between her and Bandit. "Is there something I can help you with, or are you just here to bother one of my packmates and a coyote?" The Copperhide alpha looked at Twilight and seemed to acknowledge her as a fellow alpha. He bowed his head slightly. "Greetings, dear alpha," he greeted. "I am Vilkas of the Copperhide Pack. I feel it important to inform you of the deviant wolf you've welcomed into your pack". "Deviant how?" Twilight asked. "Well, that wolf there has committed a great offense against our pack," Vilkas said. "And this offense being what?" Twilight asked. "She has indulged in a romantic relationship... with a coyote!" Vilkas said before pointing his muzzle to Bandit. "That coyote to be exact". Twilight tilted her head to the side in confusion. That was what Vilkas was so upset about? That was why he kicked Lora out of the pack? That would certainly explain how Lora and Bandit knew each other. As much as she wanted to bite Vilkas for kicking out one of his own for simply being in love with a coyote, she had to play the mediator in this scenario. "Listen, your pack may be against the idea of a wolf and a coyote being in love, but I have welcomed Lora into my pack. She is now under my protection, as is anyone she cares for, regardless of them being a coyote," Twilight said. Vilkas seemed perturbed. "Please, dear alpha, you must understand! A wolf-coyote union is a violation of the laws of nature!" Vilkas argued. "Vilkas, please. You don't really believe that a wolf being in a relationship with a coyote will destroy the world or something, do you?" Twilight asked. "I simply can't abide by such an abominable act! Such a thing should be destroyed!" Vilkas yelled. Okay, Twlight had absolutely had it by now. She snarled at Vilkas and the rest of her pack, excluding Lora, backed her up with an aggressive display. The other gathered predators seemed to be enjoying the drama unfolding before them. Twilight spoke with dangerous authority. "Now you listen here, Vilkas! I will only repeat this one more time," Twilight said. "Lora is with my pack now. And Bandit is more than welcome amongst us. Therefore, what becomes of them is no longer your business. But if you mess with them, you have to deal with us!" Surprisingly, Vilkas and his guards backed off. Vilkas silently turned and walked away with his guard-wolves in tow. Lora ran up to Twilight and nuzzled her neck in gratitude. "Thank you so much for standing up for me!" Lora said with tears in her eyes. Bandit seemed impressed. "That was pretty hardcore," he said. "You sure showed him!" Pinkie said. "Who does that walking sack of bones think he is?" Rainbow asked. "He's... my father," Lora said. "What?!" everyone asked. "Yeah. Vilkas is my father, though I'm sure he doesn't think I'm his daughter anymore," Lora said sadly. "Clearly. He didn't even say your name when he saw you," Bandit said. "That's cruel!" Rarity said. "It's even crueler what he did to Lora when he found out about us," Bandit said. "Had his wolves attack her, chase her out, and threatened to kill her if she ever returned to Copperhide Territory". "It's my fault. If I hadn't told him about us, you wouldn't have been attacked by him. Remember what he did to your ear?" Lora said, pointing to Bandit's deformed ear with her nose. Bandit put his paw on Lora's. "It's fine, really," Bandit said. "Compared to you, half of my ear is nothing". Lora put her head against Bandit's affectionately with a few whimpers. Twilight and the others giggled at seeing the two lovebirds. With the drama out of the way, Archimedes the Owl once again banged the rock in his talons against the rock beneath him. Everyone looked to him. "Okay, now!" he called. "Now that we're all gathered here, let us finally get down to business".