//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 : Alone No More // Story: At The Precipice // by Teh dr3am3r //------------------------------// Chapter 4 : Alone No More The gentle caress of the winds brought the smells of the party back to Fenrir’s nose as he neared the edge of the forest, on his own four paws. Looking up to the sky, he could faintly see his brothers, side by side as they chased the sun alongside the moon. A pang of loneliness struck a chord in his heart, but was quickly washed away by the friendships he had experienced. The wind picked up violently as Hati suddenly leapt at the moon and the orb vanished from the blue. Skoll snapped again, but missed but a hair’s breadth from the sun's edge. “Soon my brothers, we will be together again.” The wolf did not need to bid them hurry, for two hunters are better than one. He could envision it in his mind, the beauty of the scene made his heart pump harder in her chest. While Skoll continued to chase the sun, Hati would race around it and trap it. That moment of fear would be everything Skoll needed to finally make the kill. Then, they would be together again. Fenrir felt like howling to cheer them on, but decided against it. Howling was for loneliness, and he did not feel like that. Instead, he resumed his pace with renewed vigor and made it to the forest’s edge in little less than a few minutes. The brush welcomed him back like family and embraced him into its shadows. The wolf turned to the direction of his prison and set off at a brisk pace. That was where they would be reunited. As he trotted amongst the trees, a raucous “CRRRAAAGH!!” stung his ears, forcing him to stop and look up. A familiar black raven was perched in the boughs of a birch, leering down at Fenrir with distaste. A throaty growl spooked the accursed bird higher into the tree, and he cawed at the wolf again. “Go away Hugin, I want none of your games.” The bird ruffled his feathers and hacked up a pellet of fur and bones. His beak spat the wastes at Fenrir, but he dodged the solid vomit easily, though his pride was less fortunate. “Damn bird! Get away from me, Hugin!” The bird gave some semblance of a croaky laugh, and flew up to a higher branch in the tree. “A twin I am but not that twin. How is the doggy-doggy hmm? Glad to be free from momma’s grave, hmm?” “Fine, be that way. I’ll have no business with you either, Munin. Your riddles are unwelcome.” He trotted away with a huff. The flapping of wings reached his ears and he was sure the old crone was following him. “Ah, but that is the point doggy-doggy; unwelcome is there whether you like or not. I like to be unwelcome, it lets you see the things that cannot be seen.” He hacked again, and the slime splattered across the wolf’s face. With a growl, he spun and barked at the thorn. “Ooh! Doggy-doggy is angry! Come bite that which sees.” Munin taunted. Without a thought, Fenrir leaped up and snapped at the crow, barely missing by a fraction of an inch. The bird flew away and perched in a tree, cackling and taunting him. “Doggy-doggy lost his kill, to hate the voice, in his ear to shrill!” he sang. Fenrir rammed the tree he was in and the wood groaned and creaked under the force. Again he slammed his shoulder into the trunk and a resounding crack split the air, and interrupted the raven’s rough tune. With another growl, the wolf reared on his hind legs and slammed against the trunk with his front paws. Creaking and groaning, the tree began to topple. Munin took flight, but a fell branch slammed into his chest and threw him to the ground with a small thump. Taking the opportunity, Fenrir leaped from the falling tree and pounced on Munin. The raven scrambled away in a panic, barely avoiding the wolf’s massive paw. The second paw hit home and slammed down on the black bird’s wing. A shriek of pain battered at Fenrir’s ears as his prey screamed in agony and fear. The wolf lowered his snout to Munin’s squirming head. “I know you can hear me Odin, I have not forgotten you.” he whispered quietly. Munin stopped struggling, and cawed in his face. “You will lose. Odin-” His words were cut short by the paw pressed over his chest pressed down on the fragile bones. A sickening crunch wetted Fenrir’s pads with a spray of sticky gore as the lifeblood ebbed from the accursed bird. Gleaning some small satisfaction from the kill, Fenrir rose from his crouch and tossed the carcass away. “Still just as brutal I see.” <> “Oh, buck.” “Was is it my king?” Celestia asked, breaking from her conversation with Twilight. “Munin... Munin has been-” The raven on his head interrupted him with a loud screech. At his call everypony knew what Odin had been about to say. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty.” “Spare us.” he growled, “Fenrir somehow killed him and his last thought was of Hati’s voice. Munin was the only one who knew both wolves and now all We have is Hugin.” “So Hati is back?” “It would seem so, yes. This bodes ill, Skoll will not be far behind and We fear we stand little chance against the both of them, especially if Fenrir is there as well. It is imperative that we stop Skoll from coming back.” For the first time, Twilight spoke to Odin. “How?” “By keeping the sun from his maw. Helia did well for the time Fenrir was buried. But this time, I fear we may have more difficulty keeping the sun moving.” “But I just don’t get it, how could the moon be eaten?” Odin chuckled and gave her a knowing smile. Celestia shuffled her hooves nervously, something Twilight had never thought she would see. “He did not consume the body itself, but its essence, its soul. It will slowly decay until it is nothing but dust in the cosmos.” Celestia had explained the book and the mythology to Twilight, and though she could hardly believe even Celestia, the moon’s “soul” being eaten was the straw that broke the horse’s back. “But that doesn’t even make sense. How can a massive hunk of rock have a soul?” “Ye misunderstand Twilight Sparkle. Think back on thine studies on magic: all things have magic, and aura if thou will. From the tiniest seed, to the largest welknyd stone, to an alicorn like thyself. Stretch out thine senses and ye can tell the air from the stones of this castle. This is the essence of which We speak.” Twilight could barely stomach what he was saying, but she remembered the test results very well. Her examinations had found magical potential in soil and in earth-ponies. Her discoveries had helped produce what was called a “tractor,” a device that could power itself with the magic in the soil and had nearly quadrupled food production. “So, what is going to happen?” Odin chuckled and whispered something to Hugin, who then flew off with a screech and a flap of his wings. He nodded to Celestia, who stood from the cushions she was sitting on. Her mane flared up to its fiery splendor, forcing Twilight to step back from the heat. The flames did not stop at Celestia’s neck however, instead they continues to spread over her body like a wildfire. Twilight panicked, fearing the worst for her teacher and frantically tried to cast a spell to stop the flames. She could hear Odin burst out laughing like a hyena at her spell, but she ignored him and continued to pour magic into her spell. But whenever the magic touched the flames, it dissipated like vapor. Suddenly, Celestia vanished in a puff of smoke and scared Twilight off her hooves. The alicorn scrambled up and stared at the laughing sleipnir, lost in his mirth. “What the buck is going on?!” Between his fits of laughter he sputtered, “She-she has... gone to get the.. others! Ye thought- Oh, hahaha!” After several minutes of laughing to the point of tears, he straightened up and resumed a royal posture. “That was extremely amusing, but the time for jokes and merriment must be put aside for later, for the doom of the world is upon us Twilight Sparkle, and it is likely that we will lose.” <> At the familiar voice, Fenrir stood paralyzed by the horrible memories that came washing down like a tidal flood. A small chuckle broke him from his reverie and Hati’s silver fur came into view. Fenrir struggled to turn his head and look at his brother’s toothy grin. His fur was even more silver than before, and small points of light could faintly be seen shifting and dancing across his shoulders. Nearly twice his size, Fenrir felt like a pup again. “Cat got your tongue? I remember a pup that never shut up, shooting questions about every little thing.” His mind was reeling with questions, but his tongue refused to work along his sluggish mind. He took a step forward, and the footfall sounded like a clap of thunder in the awkward silence. “Hati...” The name sounded like clear bells as it rolled off his tongue and shattered the glaze over his mind like glass. “Hati... you’re... back.” “Took long enough. Running in space is like running through tree sap.” “You’re back.” The simple words were all his brain could produce through his shock and euphoria. “You already said that. Skoll will be back by the week’s end. You had best hunt down Odin. There are many things that need to be done little brother, and we cannot afford any loose ends.” “I-I don’t know... where he...is.” “The mountain-city. Being in the stars has its advantages in omniscience. But, even from down here I can see the sun has renewed its vigor. It would be wise on your part to eliminate Odin, then and only then will Skoll return.” “Hati, I... Did mother really die of old age? Like Loki told us?” “It does not matter my little wolves, I bring you the revenge you seek.” Hati calmly turned towards the voice. “Ah, Hel. It has been a while, you come to aid us again?” From the bushes a scaly snout poked out, followed by the head and neck of a massive lizard. A single horn like a moose’s protruded from its forehead and two sharp tusks jutted out under scaly lips. Mottled brown scales somehow glinted in the sunlight as a breath of smoke poured from the dragon’s nostrils. “That’s my Niddhogg, I’m over here.” the voice said from behind them, they turned simultaneously and saw a tall, skeleton-of-a-mare with bat-wings and a snow-white mane. Her figure looked no more than skin and bones and a curved beak replaced her mouth. Fires burned where eyeballs should have been, dripping liquid magma from the little infernos. “Haha, don’t looked so disgusted, I can be very beautiful if I wish. I merely think this is a look befitting the upcoming battle. And I assure you, there will be a battle.” “A battle?” She turned to Fenrir with a merry gleam in her eye. “Yes little pup, and you are instrumental in our little plan. Jotun’s are prepared in the north and this Niddhogg I brought with me is one of the many that will fight with us. Odin Allfather must be eliminated if we are to have any hope of victory and it is your task to... take care of him.” His mind shifted to the last image of Odin he had in his memory and his hatred and anger returned to him in a flash. “If Odin is killed, will Skoll come back?” Hel laughed, a sound somewhat akin to a vulture dying. “One variable of the equation little wolf.” “Then he will die.” he growled. He turned towards the mountain and bolted off through the trees. His legs pounded against the ground, throwing himself forward almost too fast to keep balance. Like a streak of lightning out of a blue sky, he exploded from the foliage and raced across the open ground beyond, completely humbling any creature that walked the earth with hi speed. His hatred fueled his racing limbs, pouring energy into the muscles like dry grass to a wildfire. Within the hour, he stood just a few miles from the mountain. In the distance, tall ivory spires stood erect behind the massive walls around the pony-city. Nestled behind the walls, the citadel and castle were visible, beckoning him forward with the hunger for vengeance. A loud rumble reached his ears and he looked to see a huge machine billowing smoke that traveled toward the city. HIs eyes found ponies in the metal carriage and guessed that it was some kind of transport. With one last look at the walls, he raced after the train. It took him little more than a minute to reach the rumbling train. Running alongside it, he sprang upward in a mighty leap and landed atop one of the cars. The train shifted under his weight, but quickly settled back down on its rails. Laying down, he was content to rest until the train reached its destination, it would save him the trouble of getting past the outer walls. That is, if it was even going to the city. The billowing smoke bothered his nose and blocked out all other smells and scents, but he was sure it would hide his black pelt inside the ashen fumes. He buried his nose under his paws to try and block some of the acrid burning in his lungs. Time seemed to drag on along with the slow vehicle. Distance he could run in a few minutes took nearly an hour with the rocking train. After laying down for a while, the gentle rocking pushed a creeping tiredness over his body as the muscles relaxed. Suddenly feeling the exhaustion of over a thousand years of insomnia, his eyelids drifted closed and the world of dream embraced him for the first time in a millennium. Dry mist permeated the air, clogging his nostrils and choking away his most precious sense. Dark rainclouds unleashed their fury on the earth, drenching his coat and chilling him to the bone. He couldn’t really see anything, and his useless nose left him feeling empty and alone. Trotting forward, he delved into the heavy fog that made the air feel like he was breathing water. He padded forward for centuries, years upon years dragged by as the world remained in a dreary stasis. Time vanished in the fog, the unchanging landscape made his weary mind forget how long he had been moving and soon, everything melded together into a misty hell. He started to run, terrified by the standstill of time. He ran blindly, but nothing seemed to get in his way so he pushed his legs even faster through the dense fog. A bolt of lightning struck the ground mere inches from his nose and a powerful gust of wind threw him off his paws. The mist vanished with the wind and the wolf found himself in some kind of graveyard. Tombstones went on for forever, eventually vanishing over the horizon like a massive army of stone. His nose still refused to work, but the darkness did little to hinder his vision. Small inscriptions were carved into the face of each headstone and upon reading them, he realized they were names. Every grave had a name, and though he didn’t know any of them, he pitied each and every one of them. He was immortal, the passage of a thousand years buried in his own tomb had made that obvious, but what did these names do to deserve to die? As he continued down the rows, he noticed other inscriptions under each name. He didn’t know what they were, but they all said the same thing : April 23, year 1007 after Harmony. Whatever an April was, he didn’t know, nor did he understand the ‘after Harmony’ part of the saying. He continued down the rows, reading each and every name until a few of them struck a familiar tone in his mind. “Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, I know these names.” But his mind refused to cooperate, try as he could, he couldn’t remember where he knew those names from. The memories teased him from afar and refused to come to him. With a shrug he continued on down the row, still reading names off. Suddenly, the tombstones halted, leaving a huge open area before a tall mausoleum made entirely of marble. The wolf could just pick out inscriptions and names on the walls of the structure and padded up to read them without a thought. “Twilight Spark-” The name rang like a gong in his head, shutting off all his senses and forcing him to his belly. Struggling to look up, more names became visible on the marble wall : Odin, Freyja, Helia, Thor, Forsetti, Selene, Loki, Baldr, Bragi, Njord, Tyr... “Tyr.” An image of a decapitated hoof, resting before his nose and filling his heart with hatred and malice. In rage, he leaped up to his paws and slammed against the mausoleum. His claws butchered and cut up the marble like hot knives through butter. Slamming his shoulder against the wall and unleashing all his rage and fury on the accursed memorial. The pillars creaked and groaned under the weight of the hurricane of hate. With a crack that split the earth, the structure toppled and revealed a dark room behind the wall. Roaring into the darkness, the wolf lunged in to destroy whatever else remained, but something shot out of the darkness and jerked his paw to the side, toppling him like the mausoleum. Cold fingers squeezed around his ankle and he clawed at the bones that clung to him. With a mighty jerk, he wrenched the skeletal hand from him and stood. All around the wolf, tall skeletons of ponies stood watching him. In his mind he knew who they were. A growl left his lips and the ground shook under its ferocity, but the skeletons remained impassive. Hel stepped out from the darkness with a cruel smile played across her fleshless beak. “Is it not beautiful my little wolf?” She slowly walked over to one of the standing skeletons, claws clicking against the stone, and traced the skull of one like she would a lover. “Death is beautiful, hatred like sweet nectar. My brothers and sisters hated me because I was different. They hated me because of my duties, but someone had to do their dirty work, so I took up that mantle and they despised me for it. That is why I waged this little war.” She continued stroking the dry skull, cooing over it softly like a baby. “And you,” she whispered, looking at Fenrir darkly, “I couldn’t have done it without you.” With a roar, Fenrir burst out of sleep. Panting and sweating rivers under his fur, he struggled to gain a bearing on his surroundings. He seemed to be in some kind of warehouse. Train cars lined the interior of the building along with the one he was currently laying on. Shaking away the dream, he leaped down from the car onto the cold concrete below. His nose found the smells of the air outside and he followed the scent to an open window. Fenrir easily jumped through the opening and quietly landed in a close alleyway. The black sky told it was either night time or he had slept longer than he intended and Skoll was already back. He peeked around the corner and was relieved to find the streets mostly abandoned. In the distance, he could see the citadel walls towering over the surrounding buildings, a looming protector of the city. The wolf retreated back into the shadows of the alley and lightly jumped onto the roof with ease. His claws slipped on the shingles and he nearly fell off, but he planted his pads to stop his fall. Regaining his balance, he crept across the roof silently until another alley stood between his and another building. With a strong jump, he sailed through the air and landed on the other roof. With a burst of speed and agility he made short work of the rooftop and was soon traversing the city like a frog on lily pads. Within a few minutes, he reached the towering walls and returned to the street. In a low crouch, Fenrir crept up to the wall and searched for a weakness, a way around the ivory stones. The stones met the street seamlessly, providing nothing that he might use to sneak in. The walls stood near to a hundred feet high, too high for even such a mighty beast as he to jump over. He could smell guards in the towers, with more down farther down the street. He headed in the direction of the gathering soldiers and soon found the gatehouse, the entrance to the castle blocked by a massive steel portcullis. Hiding in the dense shadows, his black figure wasn’t seen by the soldiers at their posts under the gate. I have to get them to open the gate somehow. If one of the guards were attacked, they would send out more to try to kill him, possibly opening the entrance and providing a way for him to get in. With a low growl, he caught the attention of one of the guards, who lowered his spear in Fenrir’s direction and slowly crept forward. “Did you hear that Razor? Sounded like something in the bushes.” “Probably nothing. I’m telling you, these new guard posts and drafts are drills. Who in the hay would go to war on Canterlot? And it’s not like some wild animal could get all the way up here, it wouldn’t be able to get past the outer gate.” The first guard raised his spear and began to shuffle back to his post, accepting the argument of his comrade. Now’s my chance. Fenrir dashed out of the darkness and pounced on the guard, throwing him to the ground and knocking him out. The other soldier stood stunned before being thrown to the ground as well by a powerful paw to the temple. Above him, Fenrir could hear the alarm being sounded and a loud clunk. The portcullis trembled and slowly began to rise. Hardly able to repress his grin of victory, the wolf vanished under the gate before he had to attack any more guards. Hiding in the nearby bushes, he looked on at the rushing guards as they retrieved their fallen comrades from the ground and dragged them away. Content to wait for them to settle down, he lay against the ground and silently spied on the panicked soldiers. He lay immobile for little more than a few minutes until the guards were replaced things settled down. Standing in the darkness, he began to walk in the direction of the castle. “My my, what a naughty boy. Sneaking into the castle are we?” Fenrir whirled on the speaker and lowered himself into an attack stance, growling fiercely. He remembered this valkyrie, Reinlief, the captain of their kind. She was leaning casually against her spear, but Fenrir remembered well just how fast she could move that pointy stick. She shook her auburn mane and laughed at him. “You thought you could get in that easily? Unseen? I have hunted many wolves and magical or not, you all do the same things when avoiding somepony. Hide in the shadows. It was all too easy to lie in wait for you.” “Out of my way valkyrie, I have no business with you.’ She chuckled again. “But I have business with you. We protect Odin and I’m afraid we cannot let you harm him. We are all here, ready to fight to the death if need be.” “Then there is a need.” Without warning his sprang at her throat, teeth bared to end her pathetic life. Spots flashed before his eyes as the spear was spun around and slammed across his cheek, throwing him clear across the courtyard. He nimbly landed on his feet and began to circle the now ready bird-pony. The knight held her spear aloft, keeping it with a few feet of the encircling wolf’s face as he searched for an opening. With a growl, he lunged and swatted the spear-point away with a paw, but the other end whistled through the air and swatted him down across his shoulder faster than the blink of an eye. He rolled out of the way of the steel point as she drove it almost entirely into the dirt. The tip stuck in the ground for a fraction of a second too long and the wolf snapped it in two with a fierce bite. Not skipping a beat, he tackled Reinlief to the ground and held her firm with his paws, trapping her right wing under his back paw. Her fragile wing under pressure completely immobilized the captain against the ground with a feral wolf atop her. A fierce head-butt knocked her unconscious and the wolf crawled off of her prone form. My grief is with Odin, I will not kill anyone until he is slain. <> Odin sat at ease in the quarters given him, reclining on the massive bed with a large book on Nhorse Mythology in his telekinetic grip. His foremost hooves were shuffling restlessly whilst his middle hooves idly played with a ball of molten metal held aloft in a sphere of magic. He found good amusement at the myths surrounding him and his reign, though some were pretty close to the way things actually happened. He came across the passage dealing with Fenrir’s imprisonment and was pleased that the story had not wandered too far. He felt a pang of regret in reading that particular instance, had he not buried the wolf he may not be feeling so nervous about his return. Being nervous was an emotion almost alien for him, he had always been sure of himself but now, Fenrir was not one to be toyed with. Munin’s foolishness and love for games had reminded Odin of his ferocity and just how dangerous the wolf was. “And that is exactly why We bound him.” he grumbled to himself. He confessed only to himself that he had been afraid of that wolf, he had something his other brothers didn’t and that made him doubly as dangerous: he blamed the gods for his mother’s death, not the sun and moon. And he wasn’t far off, Loki and his games had brought the end to the mother dog. His musings were interrupted by a knock on the door. “Come in.” Selene cautiously poked her head through the door before fully entering in her battle armor. The old sleipnir had to admit she looked stunning in the cold iron about her body, her cuirass was perfectly toned and her greaves complimented her flank rather... well. “Your Highness, the guards found Reinlief’s body unconscious in the courtyard below. This is the work of Fenrir sire and he could be anywhere.” Odin extinguished the ball of fire and set the book down. Holding the hunk of steel in his telekinetic grasp, he rose from the bed and walked to where the valkyrie stood. He forced down the sudden bout of fear that struck him to the core of his being, determined to not look weak in front of one of his personal guard. “Fear not young Selene, We have defeated him before and this time he will not live to hunt us again.” “Sire, last time we tricked him. He didn’t know we wished to defeat him.” “That makes little difference.” he said dryly as he brought over his golden helmet and firmly placed it on his head, covering his empty, scarred eye socket. “Lets us be off.” He commanded as he led Selene from his room. As he started off down the hallway to the war room, Selene stopped him with a protest. “Let me lead Sire, should Fenrir be hiding about the corner he would strike at the first one he sees.” “You insult me Selene. I may have only one eye, but I can still fight!” Her ears shrank at his tone and she backed away with a bow. Odin considered that he may have been too harsh, but he brushed the thought away. An apology would look weak, and that was what his subjects did not need. The walk was thankfully uneventful, only one or two passing servants ever caught sight of him, and they quickly hid their faces and scampered away. Helia was already there alongside Freyja at the large round table, poring over what looked to be maps and plans. Against the wall, poor Twilight Sparkle was passed out from exhaustion on several cushions. Freyja noticed Odin enter from between her blonde locks and quickly stood at attention. Helia followed suit until the king waved them away. “So what is this about Fenrir?” “He tricked the guards into opening the gate and snuck in. Reinlief caught him, but it would seem his skills have advanced somewhat.” Helia began. “I have an old detection spell over the entirety of the castle, so we can see exactly where he is on this map.” She slid over a map of the citadel which show paw prints racing down hallways. “As long as you are in here Mi’lord you should be safe. He is obviously tracking your scent, so we set up a barrier over the entrance and closed the door. Even if he is led here, he still won’t be able to find you.” “So he is in the East Wing?” “Yes, but it is only a matter of time until he comes here. I have a few plans-” “We do not fret over his power, should We meet the wolf We will fight him and destroy him. Bother us not with these details, but instead show us what our plans for war are. Hugin has confirmed that Hel has betrayed us and sides with the wolves in the form of Nightmare Moon. Hugin is wiser and listened to their plans from afar; they have an army of Jotuns in the north ready for preliminary strikes. Hel said something about Niddhogs before Hugin was discovered, so it is safe to assume we will be fighting many dragons in this war.” Celestia looked over the maps and Freyja remained silent, as she so often did. Finally after several minutes of silence, she quietly asked Odin if she could see Cadence. “Now is not the time for that, this takes precedence.” “Go Freyja, I will take over here.” came a deep, silky voice. Baldr stepped from the shadows and waved the goddess away. She smiled gratefully and left the room. “Ah, Baldr. It is about time you got here.” The stallion shuffled his wings and brushed aside his auburn mane. “War between the Changelings and the Southlings. I am the war god after all, ‘tis mine duty.” Odin couldn’t hold back a smile at the alicorn’s sense of honor. He wouldn’t hurt a fly unless it was honorable to his name. “The Jotuns have sounded their wars drums and assemble together, this is true. The Niddhog clan are also marshaling a unit, some seventeen dragons, but this is not the only offense against us.” His hoof pointed to a lone mountain to the north. “The mountain giants are also assembling, a storm esper at their head. The esper is controlled directly by Hel, who is most certainly not in the form of Nightmare. She is in her divine form.” he said with a shudder. Odin dropped his royal speech in distaste, “Our armies will be swept aside in fear if she fights like that. I can barely stand the sight of her, I only do so out of courtesy.” “I do not believe she intends to join the battle Your Highness, she plans to bring Skoll back.” “But I’m holding the sun out of his grasp as we speak.” Celestia interjected. “Unless you doubt my ability to control it. I held it out of his reach for a millennium and I shall not falter now.” “Not at all, dear Tia. If war consumes us, then your attention will not be on the sun, but the battle at hand. That is not much, but it is enough for the wolf, and should the three brothers be arrayed against us... I fear there will be no hope, and the world will be destroyed.” They all looked down at the map, searching for anything they could do to win, if they survived. The lives of million rested on their shoulders, and that responsibility weighed heavily on their hearts. The desire to live plagued them all, but they each knew from the bottom of their hearts that this could easily cost them their lives. “A friend of mine once showed me something.” Twilight’s voice shattered the silence and tension, ripping them from their thoughts. “Back when we converted Discord to do good, Fluttershy once showed me that friendship really is magical. I showed Fenrir what friendship was, is it too much to believe that the same sort of thing could-” “It is not that we doubt the validity of your proposal Princess, but Loki is a fickle being. He never had camaraderie at any time in his life, but Fenrir however, has that sense of family again in the form of Hati’s return.” The young princess felt maimed at his rebuttal. How could he doubt so easily? True, she had doubted in the beginning, but the power of friendship had been demonstrated several times since she had met her friends. She failed to voice her objections, instead she only nodded her head sadly and left the gods to their endless planning. She could feel their eyes on the back of her head as her hooves carried her out the door with a mind of their own. “She is so very young,” she head Odin’s voice say. “It is a pity this had been thrown on her shoulders, should this fail-” the dull thud of the bookcase resealing itself cut off his distant words, but Twilight didn’t want to hear what else he had to say. When she looked back, the familiar titles of magic theory books stared back at her. In some sense, she missed the feeling of the old paper and parchment in her hooves as she pored over the words within. She wished she could just go back to her studies under Celestia’s tutelage, ignorant of the doomed world. Envy beset her, jealousy of the innocent lives of millions made her wish she could be one, not the princess that failed to keep the world in order after her predecessor vanished. Obscurity seemed such a sweet thing then. “Stop it.” she commanded herself. A pouty mood wouldn’t fix things. Sulking wouldn’t save the world. “We meet again little princess.” The gravelly voice shocked her awake and she found the shadow of a wolf, hidden deep in the darkness. His warm emerald eyes were really the only discernible part of him in the dense shadows beside a vague outline. But judging from his figure, he was ready for a fight. He hummed in his throat, a sound of amusement, and silently padded into the light of the torches lining the walls. He looked awful in comparison to their last encounter. His eye was black and swollen, a bar of dripping blood trickling from the burst hematoma. His snout was curled into a wolfy grin despite the obvious beating he had received. “You don’t look so good.” “You should see my opponent, she was a bit worse off.” “Did you kill her?” The massive wolf looked out the window and watched the stars in the sky. “No. My fight is with Odin for now, unless death benefits my hunt I have no intention of taking a life. He won’t come out because I killed some valkyrie, so I let her live.” A very different perspective since their first encounter. Twilight’s horn was still sore from the fight, perhaps... perhaps this was the beginning of the transformation Discord went through. If he was less volatile and dangerous then before, perhaps he was softening somewhat. “What do you plan to do now?” He sighed then took a deep breath of air, smelling unknown scents before looking straight at the wall. “Your gods underestimate a wolf’s nose, I can still smell his divine magics on the bookcase. It will be a simple matter to reach him.” “Could I convince you to allow him to live?” “No!” he suddenly bellowed, knocking Twilight on her rump with the sheer power of his voice. Barely a second later he stood over her once again, mighty paw on her young wings. A gasp of surprise and pain broke from her lips, drawing a fierce glare from the massive wolf. “Skoll and Hati believed that Loki creature, but I did not. For me, the situation was too coincidental. I hunted Loki for centuries after my brothers left and found Odin with him after almost a thousand years later. Terrified, he tricked me and bound me and buried me in the heart of the earth.” He growled and pressed his other paw against the alicorn’s throat, cutting off her breath. “I have sworn vengeance, and I will have it little princess. I should kill you now, you seem to only wish to hold me back, but you did me a favor and I will let you live. Pray we do not meet again.” With another growl, he leaped off her body and vanished around the corner like a bolt of lightning. “Buck.” She slowly shuffled back to her hooves and looked down the hall where the wolf had vanished. He was headed straight for the library, and with a heavy heart, she vanished with a bright flash of light.