//------------------------------// // Prophecy // Story: Canine Complications // by Wages of Sin //------------------------------// Deer tastes bucking fantastic. That was the only thought in Twilight's mind as she laid back, belly full for the first time in a week. "Are you done mistress?" Bark Back asked as he approached the sated Twilight. The haze of Twilight's mind was beginning to clear, and she was now beginning to recognize the shocked expressions across the faces of the surrounding pack. "Um..." she looked back to the remains of the deer. She felt like she was going to burst but it still looked so appetizing... "Yes, I'm done." "Very well." A wave from Bark Back brought the rest of the wolves leaping on the carcass. They ravenously dug into the meal. As Bark Back himself approached the feeding frenzy the other wolves showed him deference, leaving a path to the choice bits. Twilight watched as the remains of the deer were quickly consumed and the pack of wolves sated their hunger. She waited patiently until the pack had finished, but in her newly regained clarity, she remembered the real pressing question: what was the "burning one". When only the bones of the deer were left, the pack dispersed, forming a ring around the perimeter of the den. The ambient murmuring of the den immediately died down to silence as Bark Back rose to speak. "Mistress Burning One, we now fully accept your right to rule, and can now share with you the greatest prophesy of our kind: the prophecy of the Burning One!" "Finally!" Twilight thought, "What 'prophecy' is so important that they couldn't even tell it to ME! The one it's about!" As if to answer her unspoken question Bark Back continued, "We are sorry that we could not tell you of this sooner, but it is one of our kind's greatest secrets. You will soon understand why." Twilight was surprised by the reverence being given by even the littlest of the den cubs. Apparently this story really did hold a lot of weight amongst the pack. Bark Back began, “This prophescy has been passed down from the beginning. From when the first magic of our kind took form amongst the branches. You will doubtlessly have questions, I will answer them in time. For now I ask that you hold them; the prophecy is a short one. It goes as such: 'When the one who burns walks amongst the pack, The White Hunter shall return to her crusade. Forsake the past. Defend the den. Glow embracing essence. The White Hunter will be defeated, And within her cities shall the woodwolves feast eternal.'" He waited a moment letting the words sink in. "As you can imagine, we feared if the ponies knew of our destiny they would have hunted us to extinction far before we could fulfill it." Bark Back continued, "It was only by the careful protection of this secret, and avoidance of the Speakers, that we were able to defend it for so long." Twilight shook her head an opened her mouth to speak, but she closed it again without making a sound. She sat a minute and just stared ahead, like her mind was a million miles away. The pack watched their unmoving mistress with growing worry. Eventually she shook her head again and stood up. "I need some time to think about this." she said resolutely, walking into a deeper portion of the den where she knew the others would not follow. Some time passed before a cry from the den entrance brought her running back out to the main den area where the others had mostly taken to sleeping off their meal. "Mistress!" Twilight arrived to see two of the hunters, one of which was carrying a struggling pony in its teeth by the scruff of the neck. "Mistress, we found this one snooping around near the entrance to the den. What should we do with her?" the one who's mouth was not full of pony-fur asked. The pony's struggling stopped as she laid her eyes on Twilight. "Mistress!" This time it was not one of the hunters who spoke, "I've been looking everywhere for you!" "Put her down." Twilight told the wolf carrying the blue mare. The wolf obeyed, but kept close. "Mistress!" she happily cried as she ran up to flip onto her back before Twilight. The submissive greeting was awarded with a short rub before the mare flipped back on to her hooves. "I missed you so much mistress!" She exclaimed, hunching down, tail wagging, a playful bounce further conveying her excitement. "It's been so long! I thought you might have been caught or something!" Twilight couldn't help but smile at the all too foal-like admiration and pride shining in the mare's eyes. "No, I just had some problems back home and had to... "I know! After you disappeared leaving us inside the big tree, the colorful pony dragged me back to the kennel!" a shudder shook through her at the memory, "It felt like forever before he broke me out again..." "He? ...Catcher? He broke you out?" "Yeah! As soon as we were out I came looking for you... but I got... uh... lost in the woods... for a while..." No longer exuberant, now her tail was tucked and she was cursively glancing away. "Exactly how long were you lost? "Not long..." her head was almost facing the entirely opposite direction of Twilight by now. "Really? Then you won't mind that we have no food for you?" The tail, previously tucked away, fell droop-down as the rest of her froze. "...no..." she said meekly, "...I- I caught something to eat... In the forest..." Her attempted cover-up wasn't fooling anywolf, but just to make sure, her stomach growled loud enough that some of the elder hunters ducked fearing an ursa attack. "Well, if you're not hungry then what was-" "Alright!" she broke down begging on the floor, "I'm sorry I lied! I'm starving! I haven't eaten all day and I couldn't find anything in the forest! I thought I could find food and bring it to you, but I couldn't even find anything to eat myself! I'm a failure of a hunter! Please don't let me starve!" "Now calm down, I wouldn't let you go hungry..." Screw Loose’s ears perked up, "...but there is no food for you here, and we'll have to go near town to get it. They may think of us like animals, but that would only give Fluttershy more reason to feed you."