//------------------------------// // History Repeats // Story: Night Fury's Lament // by JumpingShinyFrogs //------------------------------// I'm trailing behind, and at a lower altitude. Flying is a little bit difficult at the moment. Not only is my shoulder bruised, making each wingbeat painful, but I have no hydrogen in my gas bladders. I used it all in that last desperate fireball, and now staying airborne is difficult without it helping to keep me up. It'll refill in time, I suppose. Pen and Malachite offered to walk, but even at my slow pace, flying is still far faster. As we soar through the sky, I see various towns below. Travellers of all species, mules, cows, ponies and the occasional griffon walk along the roads. There aren't any Changelings. Apparently they're hated for some reason. There are a few small towns. One has a great apple orchard that rivals Applebloom's farm. Creatures resembling large, shaggy-haired cows trample through a cleared path in the trees. Ponies throw unidentifiable round objects at them as they pass. A blue pony with a purple hat and cape stands on a simple stage in another town, only to be jeered at and mocked. The crowd makes use of any and all ammunition at their disposal to remove her from the stage. I can't help but feel sorry for her. She's trying her best, but the ponies aren't giving her a chance. Eventually, she gives up and leaves. We're near Ponyville, according to Malachite. He's travelled this airspace many times before. We should be there by midday. Pen yawns. I feel a twinge of guilt, for insisting we leave so early, but Luna took the time to talk to me, and I will not ignore her advice. They don't have to come if they don't want to. A few hours later, Ponyville is within sight. Flying is a little easier now, though I still doubt that I could produce more than a spark of fire. I notice that Ponyville seems deserted. There aren't any ponies in sight, and the almost omnipresent sound of hooves clopping on the ground is not audible. Maybe they're still asleep? However, there are three ponies, rushing frantically through the streets. Namely Rainbow, Applejack and the white unicorn whose name I never learned. "Scootaloo!" calls Rainbow, flying around. She hasn't noticed us. "Scootaloo? Applebloom? Sweetie Belle!" she continues to call. My heart sinks as I recognise the names of my beloved Crusaders. "Sweetie Belle, darling, where are you? There is a Timberwolf warning in place, and we are so close to the Everfree..." yells the white unicorn. The hell is a Timberwolf? Whatever it is, it doesn't sound friendly. "Oh Applejack, what if something happened to them?" says the white unicorn. "Ah know yer worried, Rarity. Ah am too. But ah'm sure we'll find 'em in one piece. And if we don't, Rainbow Dash will spot 'em from above," replies Applejack, offering comfort to the distraught unicorn. The Crusaders are missing? With a warning in place? No way. I refuse to allow anything to happen to those three foals. I feel the warmth of my Crusader cape around my neck. It's seen better days, but the rearing filly emblem still shines out proudly. I look up at Pen and Malachite. "We're finding those three fillies." "Why? I thought you didn't like the ponies?" says Malachite. "I don't like some of the ponies. These three are different. We're finding them, and that's that." Pen shrugs and cracks his neck. "Where do you propose we start looking?" "How about the forest where my den is? That's where they were when I first saw them, and with that warning, there's a chance the ponies haven't looked there yet," I suggest. I beat my wings and lead the way to the forest. Rainbow gives an unintelligible shout. She's probably seen us. Whatever. I'll deal with her later. Right now, I've got fillies to rescue. We're within sight of the forest, when suddenly, a cacophonous howl erupts from within, followed by silence. I stop, and Malachite crashes into my back. I turn briefly to glare at him, when a shrill scream pierces the quiet. I whip round, to see a sight that makes my heart skip a beat. The Crusaders run out of the forest screeching, followed in hot pursuit by strange creatures indeed. Their bodies are composed of sticks, leaves, bark and other sorts of wood. They have the body shape of a wolf, with glowing, empty eyes. Their entire body is surrounded with a ghastly green glow. My companions react before I do. Powerful talons snatch Scootaloo into the air, and a buzz of green changeling magic lifts Sweetie Belle to safety. Which leaves only Applebloom. By now, Rainbow has caught up with us. She shouts some more obscenities at me, but I ignore her. Applejack and Rarity join the party on the ground. Rarity begins to scold Pen, obviously not enjoying having a Changeling so close to Sweetie Belle. Applejack stares at the Timberwolves, for I'm certain that this is what they are. The wolves have surrounded Applebloom in a tight circle. The filly is crying, curled up in a little ball, obviously waiting for her doom. Applejack leaps at one of the wolves, but it knocks her back with a lazy sweep of its claws. Rainbow ignores me, and instead dive bombs the wolves. They growl and snap at her, and she is forced to retreat. Applejack and Rainbow are helpless. Rarity is preoccupied, and even if she weren't she probably wouldn't be able to help too much. So that leaves only me. With an almighty roar, I stomp down on one of the wolves, smashing it into splinters instantly. I step towards Applebloom. She shies away from me, but I stick out my neck and show her the cape. Recognition dawns on her features, and she uncurls. I pick her up in my claws as gently as I can, and prepare to airlift her out. Pain spikes through my left wing. I turn, to see that a wolf has ripped a huge tear out of it. There is no way I'm going to be able to fly with that. I turn to escape through the gap only to be greeted by a sight that chills my blood. The remains of the wolf I destroyed glow with what appears to be magic. Within seconds it has reformed into a snarling monster. I move Applebloom to the only place where I know she'll be safe from being caught in the crossfire. I sequester her safely underneath me. The wolves will be hard pressed to reach her. I bare my teeth, whip my tail and prepare for battle. The Timberwolves don't hesitate. One of them launches itself at my face. I duck and whip it with my tail, growling as the wolf bites onto its tip. I shake my tail furiously to dislodge it, succeeding with the added bonus of sending it flying into another wolf. Neither breaks, but they are stunned. Two wolves charge at me, one on each side of my abdomen. I snap open my wings, the force of their powerful muscles knocking the two wolves away. I wince as the tear sends hot pain rippling through my wing, I lash out with my teeth. I catch one wolf by the tail, and, shake it furiously. The beast whimpers like a dog as sticks and branches come flying off of it. I throw its unmoving remains at another wolf, shattering the two of them. Hopefully the scattered parts will prevent it from reforming. I lash my tail and pin a wolf to the ground. I coil my tail around it, and smash it repeatedly into the ground, splintering it. I roar in pain as two wolves claw at my sides. Green dragon blood gushes from an open wound, forming a small puddle. The steady blood loss makes me dizzy for a moment, but I shake it off. I cannot allow wolves to claim another young life. I rear up and bring my claws down hard on two wolves in front of me. They both splinter, but unfortunately, the two fallen wolves regenerate themselves, rendering my effort pointless. I bring my tail down on another wolf, this time hard enough to break it instantly. I steal a quick glance at Applebloom. She appears to be in shock, staring at my dripping blood. I need to come up with a new plan of action. Another beast leaps at my face. It's too fast for me to react. I close my eyes for the impending blow. When it does not come, I open them again, to be treated with a very odd sight. The wolf is struggling in midair, suspended by a light blue aura of magic. The wolf is flung into two of its brethren. I turn to see Rarity, panting heavily. She smiles at me, and picks up another wolf. When it's in the air, Rainbow dives on it from above with a powerful kick, splintering it. Malachite swoops down and gathers some of the wood. I get it. By removing the wood, it probably can't regenerate. Pen fires a green beam at a wolf. The creature whines and runs off, smouldering. Applejack intercepts it, delivering a mighty buck that shatters it. My friends, and even some of my enemies...They are all helping me fight the Timberwolves. Whether they are helping me, or Applebloom, or both of us, it doesn't matter. They're making an effort, so I need to as well! With renewed energy, I spread my wings, to look as imposing and large as possible. I bring my claws, tail and teeth down hard. I pity any wolves who got in the way. I tear one apart with my teeth, smash another with my tail and eviscerate three more with my claws. With the aid of Rarity, Pen, Malachite, Rainbow and Applejack, every wolf lies broken around us. We wait cautiously for a few minutes. When nothin happens, Malachite gives a cheer. "We did it!" I open my mouth to say something, when Rarity gives a screech. I whip my head around, and watch in fascinated horror as the broken shards of wood all glow at the same time. Branches, sticks and tree bark from the forest are also pulled by the magic. All the wood comes together, to form a massive behemoth of a Timberwolf. The creature is five times the size of the ones we just bested. Pen attempts to fire a beam at it, but the beast merely shrugs it off. Rarity tries to pick it up, but her magic dies with a spark. Rainbow, Applejack and Malachite don't even bother. I wrack my brain for ideas. What can hurt a massive wolf composed of wood and magic? Then it hits me. Fire I suck in a breath. I gauge that I have only enough hydrogen for one shot. I have to make it count. The familiar ballistic whistle starts up. The wolf readies itself to pounce. My mouth glows, before a single ball of blue fire is loosed. It explodes on contact, lighting the colossal wolf up in a huge plume of flame. The beast shrieks, before succumbing to the flames. It collapses into scattered wood once more, now nothing more than a bonfire. It's finally over. We did it. Wordlessly, I reach down and pick up Applebloom gently in my teeth. I carry her over to Applejack, and place her on the ground. Applebloom opens her eyes and looks first at Applejack, then at me. Malachite and Pen smile at me. Rarity looks neutral, Rainbow looks a little bit unfriendly, but that's understandable. Applejack gazes down at her sister lovingly. I back away and lie down, panting. I'm quite dizzy from blood loss, and I'm hurting all over. I watch as Applejack and Applebloom nuzzle each other. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo emerge from their hiding place and rush over to hug the small filly. Applejack raises her head and looks at me. She walks forward. "Ah don't know if this can properly cover mah feelings, but...Ah thank ya with all of mah heart fer savin' mah sister." "It's not the first time!" chimes Applebloom. "Yeah!" agrees Scootaloo. "See the cape?" adds Sweetie Belle. "We were in the forest a while back, and a cockatrice came out ta get us! But somepony saved us..." says Applebloom. She's still shivering and curled up on the ground. I can tell she's putting on a brave face for her friends. "So we left them a cape to say thanks!" says Scootaloo. "And the dragon has the cape!" says Sweetie Belle. "So ya must have have been the one t' save us," concludes Applebloom. This is quite touching. I'd appreciate it more if I wasn't barely clinging on to consciousness... Applebloom gets up. She walks forward, slightly wobbly. "Fer then and fer now...Thank you!" She hugs me on my snout. It's a little painful, but I don't say anything. I just close my eyes and let her hug me. It's nice to be appreciated. "What's going on?" asks a familiar voice. I open my eyes. Fluttershy, Spike, the insane pink pony and Twilight are rushing up. "Umbra!" exclaim Spike and Fluttershy. Twilight turns to them, bewildered. Fear, apprehension and distrust are visible in her eyes. "What happened here? You all look like you went ten rounds with a pack of timberwolves! Oh but that would be really bad because Timberwolves are really mean and dangerous! I think it's because they have no friends. Hey, maybe I should throw the Timberwolves a party! Then they could make friends and they wouldn't be so mean anymore!" rambles the pink pony. "Pinkie, darling, that is almost precisely what happened," says Rarity with exasperation. "We saw the fire and came running," says Fluttershy. She notices me. "Oh my! You're hurt!" She rushes past everyone else, knocking over Twilight in the process. "My little ponies, what is going on?" asks a smooth, regal and motherly voice. All the ponies in the area, as well as Spike, Pen and Malachite, bow before the pony who descends from above. Folding her regal alabaster wings, a pure white alicorn with a flowing mane striped pink, blue and green, and a tail to match, gazes around. The sun glints off her crown and jewellery as she surveys the scene. I don't need to be told. Without a doubt, I've come face to face with Luna's elder sister. Princess Celestia.