Kick about! Los Lobos!

by Dirty Bit

Capitulo Veintiseis

Time flew by as everypony in town mended all they could around Ponyville. Thankfully, they were nearly done with making the town good as new by the end of the day. As they went to retire, Dinky and Lilynette said their goodbyes to their friends before they all retired to their respective homes.

Derpy opened the door to the Hooves' household and let her daughters inside as she took a deep breath, an accomplished look in her criss-crossed eyes "Doesn't it feel nice to get Ponyville looking great again?"

"We weren't even done yet." Lilynette and Sparkler deadpanned.

Dinky smiled "We did work hard though, didn't we, Mommy?"

Derpy giggled and nuzzled Dinky "We sure did, my little muffin! We'll be sure to do it just as much by tomorrow." She rose her head and went towards the fridge, sifting through its contents while her daughters sat at the table "It's a good thing Mayor Mare and Twilight worked out sleeping arrangements for the ponies that lost their homes. I feel bad for them, but at least they'll have more spiffier homes to live in."

Sparkler resisted the urge to gag at Derpy's optimism 'Spare me the heartfelt banter...' She smiled to herself as she rubbed her chin 'The Alicorn Amulet...So close, and yet so far from my reach. There must be a way for me to acquire it without any trouble from those worthless hicks. First thing's first though...' Sparkler turned to Derpy, who began fishing out some leftovers, including daisy salad and hay fries "Say, why don't we go visit Starrk tomorrow and see how he's doing?"

Derpy beamed at Sparkler "That's a great idea! We owe him that much after what he's been through." She turned to Lilynette, who appeared to be deep in thought "What do you say, Lily? Wanna go visit Starrky in the Everfree Forest tomorrow?"

Lilynette snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Derpy "Huh? Oh, sure..." She mumbled before thinking to herself again. The red filly ignored the food being placed on the table by Derpy.

Dinky blinked at Lilynette before she thought back to her time with Pipsqueak. She smiled when she caught her sister sitting closer to Pipsqueak, but felt that their interaction overall could've went better. Dinky looked at her mother with a smile "Do you think he's doing okay at the Everfree Forest, Mommy?"

Derpy nodded "Of course. He's the same pony that saved the town!" She took a seat at the table with the others "We can do it first thing tomorrow. In the meantime, eat up, everypony." She said as the Hooves' family dug into their food.

Little did they know that Sparkler inwardly smiled to herself when she had an idea.
_____

Later that night, the ponies went to bed in their own rooms, each one sleeping contently while tucked in their blankets. However, while all of Ponyville rested, there was only one pony who managed to stay up all night. She made sure to observe her family's activity while she was wide awake.

"What luck...They're asleep." Sparkler whispered to herself with a devious grin. She carefully tiptoed towards the front door and slowly opened it, exiting the house before closing it afterwards. The evening air was chilling her fur, but she didn't mind it when her objective was clear.

Sparkler trotted at a leisurely pace towards the edge of town near Fluttershy's cottage, where the Everfree Forest lied straight ahead. The amethyst unicorn grinned evilly as she continued to trot, stepping past the entrance into the dangerous woods. She looked around at the unending darkness that covered the forest, finding nostalgic comfort from its appearance. But now wasn't the time to dwell on the matter.

Stepping further inside, Sparkler carefully peered her eyes around for anything useful 'If I'm going to acquire the amulet without anypony noticing, I'll need another distraction in the form of a giant monster. But by going in deeper into this forest, I'll only risk both my host's condition and my discovery. Therefore, I'll need to implement a mind control spell to give me a worthy distraction that could provoke said monster...'

Before she could decide, a light was seen in the corner of her eye, and Sparkler noticed what appeared to be a pair of green lights at a far distance on her left shining ahead at a pack of sleeping timberwolves curled up in their own resting positions; there was another figure amongst the timberwolves, but it was hard for her to distinguish it.

She shook her head at the thought of controlling timberwolves; Sparkler needed something smaller and more agile that could do the trick. If there was anything she had learned, it was that the tiniest insect can pose the biggest problem to a massive beast. She rubbed her head until she heard the sound of screeching above her. Looking up, she noticed a set of bats flying around her in a group. They had a good appearance and were always agile hunters despite their small size.

Small and agile.

Sparkler grinned at the sight of her targets as she planted her hooves and pointed her horn up at them 'They're perfect...the best part is that I won't have to worry about straining myself with their puny minds..' Her horn charged and let off another black and green aura that shot up and engulfed the entire group of bats, making them stop and hover in one spot.

Their eyes were all glowing green as they looked down in a somnambulistic fashion. Sparkler chuckled quietly as she looked up, channeling her horn as she communicated with her new pets telepathically 'Hear me, my servants...I've a task suited for your tastes, but you're to obey my command when the time comes. I want you all to find me...' Sparkler hesitated in her thoughts, thinking of a good choice for a monster. Then she remembered the terror that was the Ursa Major, grinning at the prospect of such a massive beast giving her the distraction she desired. Looking back up at the group of hypnotized bats, she resumed her telepathy 'An Ursa Major...You're to seek out one of their caves and antagonize them into a state of pure ire. When I give the signal, you will perform this task for me. Understand?' She was rewarded with a simultaneous nod from her servants before she grinned ear-to-ear 'Wonderful...You may disperse...'

When the bats flew away, Sparkler tried not to laugh diabolically as she galloped out of the forest and made a beeline to her house, making sure to enter as quietly as she left. After doing so, she went to her room and tucked herself in, sleeping contently with a smile on her face.
_____

The next day, the sun shined through the window in Derpy's bedroom, the sunlight hitting her head and waking her from her slumber as she rubbed her eyes and mumbled groggily. She slunk off of her bed and stretched her limbs before she trotted out of her room to wake the children.

Once she quietly entered their room, Derpy lightly nudged Dinky and Lilynette from their sleep, the latter grumbling in protest before she woke up. When they made their way out of the room, they noticed Sparkler was trotting out of her own room wide awake, a thin smile on her face and a pink and white striped scarf wrapped over her neck "Good morning." She said to the others.

Derpy smiled back at Sparkler as her eyes rotated slowly "Morning, Sparkler. I see you slept well..." She finally caught on to the piece of clothing on her daughter's body and pointed a foreleg "What's with the scarf? It's the middle of spring."

Sparkler innocently looked down at the scarf "Oh, this? Well, I decided that I should try something new today, and I haven't worn this scarf in so long..."

Dinky tilted her head with a puzzled expression "Are you actually taking Ms. Rarity's fashion advice? I thought you barely listen to what she says sometimes."

Sparkler cleared her throat "Well, if you must know, I've decided to wear this scarf of my own accord; Rarity had nothing to do with this. Besides, doesn't anypony else usually wear scarves during the spring?"

Derpy hummed pensively with her tongue stuck out before she nodded in agreement "Good point." She then smiled "The look suits you actually."

Lilynette rubbed her uncovered eye "So, when are we gonna eat? I wanna get some food before we go see Starrk." She murmured.

Derpy patted Lilynette's head as she trotted away from her daughters "Don't you worry, girls, leave breakfast to me. Do eggs sound good to you all?"

Dinky grinned "Yes please." She replied happily "Can we have toast and jam with them as well?"

Derpy looked back at Dinky as she trotted "Sure thing, sweetie. That's also go-" She was cut off as she bumped into a wall, rubbing her head as her eyes rotated slightly faster. The mailmare giggled before she looked ahead and resumed her trail "Clumsy me..." She said jokingly.

Lilynette blinked at Derpy's sudden blunder, but said nothing since she was eager to fix her and her sisters a meal. They were led to the dining room table, where Derpy fired up the stove and cooked their morning meal with ease.

As they finished their breakfast, the Hooves family rose from their seats and exited the house from the front door with Derpy taking the lead with a bright smile on her face "Alright, family, time to go see-"

"Princess Luna!"

"Princess Lu-Hey, wait a minute!" Derpy said with her muzzle scrunched in irritation "We were gonna see Starrky!" She looked over at a murmuring crowd gathering a small distance from her house. The family traded glances before they decided to swim through the crowd and grab a better look at what was grabbing the ponies' attention.

After they reached the front, they saw that at the center was yet another alicorn, only she was smaller than Princess Celestia and had a darker blue in contrast to her pure white coat. Her mane and tail were similar to the solar princess, but they were all covered in stars and her regalia made up of an onyx breastplate and tiara with ice blue shoes. She was seen standing next to a small platoon of batlike ponies with grey coats and black armor, their eyes yellow and catlike, reminding them of a certain espada; the element bearers were seen as well, though they were as nervous as the rest of the crowd.

She regarded the crowd with a serious gaze, namely towards the ponies that supposedly drove Starrk into leaving "Be not afraid, dear subjects. We only wish to find the location of the one pony known as 'Coyote Starrk'." She said in a leveled tone "Once we find them we'll sort out this matter ourselves."

One of the ponies in the crowd, an acne-ridden stallion with glasses and a robot cutie mark frowned nervously "But we don't know where he is right now. We never really remembered him leaving Ponyville." He quickly bowed submissively and shivered, his eyes clenched shut as if he were about to be struck "Please don't be angry with us!"

Twilight held up a hoof "Princess Luna, there's no need to worry about this. We can lead you to him and clear this whole issue up. We're telling you he isn't directly responsible for this situation."

Luna directed her serious gaze down at Twilight "I cannot simply ignore somepony who was the source of fear for other ponies, dreams or otherwise." She looked down at the ground as her eyes narrowed "Especially if it was triggered through dark magic...Dispelling their fear was the first step, but we must seize him at once if he is as strong as my sister claims..."

With her family, Sparkler almost shown her displeasure, but was quick to hide it 'Curses! I've grown careless in the past thousand years! Of course I've forgotten about that wench's ability to peer into ponies dreams and detect magical presences.' She held a thin smile 'No matter...My prize is just within reach. All I have to do is bide my time and expect the next opportunity to present itself.'

Pinkie spread her forelegs "Of course he's strong, but Starrky would never hurt a fly!" She then gestured her forehooves "Well, he DID beat up Cerberus with his cero thingy, but that was it." She grinned despite the situation.

Rainbow Dash nodded "That's right!" She pointed at the crowd Luna faced earlier, her eyes narrowed "We know it was these jerks that made him leave because they were suddenly afraid of him."

Luna frowned "I'm aware; Be that as it may, I cannot take any chances and leave this Coyote Starrk unattended. Will you take me to him?"

"Wait, Princess!"

The group of ponies looked over to see the Hooves family approach them, Derpy bowing quickly before looking at Luna with her crossed eyes "We were just about to go see him, too. He really isn't as bad as you think. Right now, he's staying with Zecora in the Everfree forest."

Lilynette looked up at Luna "You're Princess Luna? Does that mean you're the one that moves the moon?"

Luna looked down at Lilynette with a calculating eye "Indeed. I've heard about you as well, Lilynette Gingerback. You seem to be rather brash for a filly so powerful. I wonder why you're not with your other half at the moment..."

Lilynette growled, feeling that Luna had touched on a vital issue "That's none of your business. Stuff happened is all, so I don't wanna hear it from you right now." The ponies in the crowd gasped at Lilynette's harsh response.

Luna's eyes narrowed at the red filly's defiant behavior "I must warn you to be more mindful of what you say next time, child. I'm already on edge with this Coyote Starrk character causing unrest upon my subjects, and you would only worsen the matter." She said in a low tone.

Lilynette snorted "Big whoop! You know he wasn't the real reason everypony made him leave! They forced him into leaving on his own while they just continued to shake in their boots! If I would've done something about this, I'd probably knock those losers sensele-" She was swooped up by a prismatic blur and struggled in the grasp of Rainbow Dash, who clasped a hoof over the red filly's mouth.

Rainbow Dash looked at Luna with a frown "Sorry, princess. I know she can talk trash, but she's right. This situation's affected her the most since her and Starrk are like two of the same pony."

Derpy looked saddened "I didn't wanna see him go, but we were lucky to leave him with Zecora. You came at a good time, since we were gonna bring him back to us once all of this blew over."

Applejack trotted up next to Derpy and nodded to Luna "Her story checks out, yer majesty. Coyote's been livin' with them fer a couple o' days now an' he ain't no enemy. We can take ya to 'im so y'all can see fer yerself."

Luna hummed before looking around "If I can place my trust in you, then we can pursue Coyote Starrk together. However..." She turned to her guards, who instantly saluted when they were noticed "I wish for you all to stay here and protect Ponyville while we're gone. Patrol the town at your leisure, and be sure to remain vigilant for any threats that would show themselves."

After a resounding 'Yes, your majesty!' from her guards, Luna turned to Derpy expectantly, and the mailmare decided to lead her family, the Elements of Harmony, and Princess Luna into the Everfree Forest. Lilynette broke away from Rainbow Dash in a huff as she joined the group herself, agitated by the cyan pegasus' effort to break her rant.

As they trotted inside, Derpy trotted up next to Twilight and leaned her head close to her "Hey, Twilight. Did Princess Luna really get rid of the dark magic in those ponies back there?"

Twilight nodded "It's true, but you're aware that she sees Coyote as a threat from what was gathered in their dreams." She whispered back "I'm sure her opinion will change once she sees him up close for herself."

Derpy sighed in relief "I'm counting on that myself. This is all becoming so crazy. First Cerberus leveling Ponyville, now dark magic..." She gave a quiet gasp "You don't think the same thing could've possibly happened with Cerberus...could it?"

Twilight was silent; Derpy had a point with Cerberus' unusual behavior, especially when the guardian of Tartarus saw fit to not only wreck buildings, but even try to harm innocent ponies as well. It was only after Starrk defeated Cerberus that they were more docile and unlike their previously aggresive state. She let off a sigh "I'm not sure, but you may be onto something. If somepony out there has studied dark magic as well and has caused this much problems for us so far, we'll need to be ready for anything."

In her trot, Rarity looked over at Sparkler and perked up when she noticed the article of clothing on her neck "Why Sparkler, you're wearing the scarf I made for you last year." She said as she inched over and examined it up close "But as I recall, I've specifically made that for winter. Whatever compelled you to wear it now of all times? Do you want to look more presentable when you wished to visit Starrk?" She asked curiously.

Sparkler looked away from Rarity "Well, essentially. I decided to wear this simply because I felt like it. I don't really have much else to work with, as you can tell." She said flatly.

Rarity huffed at the statement "Well, I can't let you just make a fashion faux pas when you're reuniting with somepony close to you. Perhaps you can stop by my boutique sometime and I can whip you up a more season-appropriate scarf."

Sparkler gave Rarity a fixed smile "I'll look into it when I have the time." She replied with feigned sincerity.

Next to Rarity, Fluttershy looked back at Lilynette's angered expression "I hope Lilynette feels better once she's around Starrk again. I feel bad that she had to go through with all of this."

When the group reached Zecora's hut, Derpy felt obligated to rap on the door and wait for a response. The door opened to reveal the same zebra mare regarding the group with a surprised glance when she noticed Princess Luna.

"So many ponies, and one happens to be
Princess Luna herself. But why come to me?"

Luna approached Zecora with regal poise and cleared her throat "Miss Zecora, I've been informed that a Coyote Starrk has taken refuge in your abode. Would you have him come out and converse with us?" Zecora blinked before she shook her head.

"Coyote left from my hut just a moment ago.
He barely stops by as he moves to and fro."

Twilight approached Zecora with a baffled look in her eyes "What? But we specifically wanted him to stay with you for the time being. Why would he just leave you like that?" Zecora merely smiled at Twilight's question.

"He did not forsake my hospitality,
Instead he wanders, and often visits me.
He's more attuned to the forest than I,
And finds refuge there beneath the open sky."

Lilynette was next to approach Zecora "Wait a minute. You mean that idiot's just somewhere in this stupid forest and we have to find him?" She said angrily "As if he had to make things more complicated." The red filly snarled.

Pinkie raised a hoof "Oh! Oh! I think I know where he is!" Everypony turned to the party pony as she smiled "I can try and lead us to Starrky if he's anywhere near Zecora's hut."

Rainbow Dash stared at Pinkie and pointed a foreleg at her "Wait a minute...How exactly do you know where Starrk is?"

Pinkie shifted her eyes "Ummm...Another hunch?" She said with a shrug and a wide toothy grin.

Luna nodded "If it means finding Coyote Starrk without too much problems, then I propose we follow Pinkie Pie and seek him out with her guidance. Shall we be off?"

Twilight shook her head at the random turn of events, but nonetheless bowed to Zecora politely "Thank you for letting us know about Coyote, Zecora. It's very important that we find him." Zecora nodded solemnly and waved a hoof.

"In that case, I leave the search to you,
I hope you may see his problem through."

Rainbow Dash smirked "We will. There's nothing we can't do!" She said as she puffed her chest out. Zecora shook her head in amusement before she retired back into her hut and shut the door behind her.

Sparkler saw a small snippet of a chest inside of Zecora's home and felt a surge of power radiate from inside. The very sensation led her to visibly shudder; the location of her desired item was indeed confirmed. All she had to do was linger with these cretins for a while longer until their backs are turned, and everything will come to fruition.

"Umm...Sparkler?"

The amethyst unicorn turned to a confused Fluttershy "Are you cold? I just noticed you shivering."

Before Sparkler could reply, Pinkie zipped in between the mares "Ponyfeathers! We know Sparkler's not cold since she's wearing a scarf!" She turned to Sparkler with a smile "Smart thinking, by the way." Pinkie then trotted away "We gotta go find Starrky and fast. Onward!" She commanded as she took point with a determined gaze in her eyes.

Rainbow Dash shook her head as she followed "Pinkie Pie, you are so random..." She murmured.

While everypony else were focused on following Pinkie, Sparkler lagged behind, seeing this as a quick chance to enact her plan. She quickly channeled dark energy and closed her eyes 'Now. Go now and seek out an Ursa Major at once!' Sparkler then canceled her magic and caught up with the rest of the group.

In her wake, a collective of green eyes were found high in the trees.
_____

The path that Pinkie had taken turned out to be shrouded with brushes which were lucky to be moved thanks to the help of Twilight, Rarity, and Luna. Up ahead was an uninhabited clearing. Pinkie sniffed at the ground until she grinned "Yup! This is the place!"

Derpy looked around "But Starrky's nowhere to be found. You think he left again?"

Dinky frowned "He probably left again. Where could he have gone now?" She noticed a bush rustling ahead and squealed as she hid behind Derpy. Lilynette instantly trotted ahead and took a defensive stance after seeing her sister cower in fear, her horn glowing "Come out and show yourself!"

From the bush, a wolf made of wood jumped out and growled at the group of ponies. Soon enough, more began to show themselves as well, causing some the group to feel uneasy. Luna stared down the creatures "This is unfortunate. We've only come across a pack of timberwolves."

Fluttershy hid behind her friends as she shivered "Oh no...What do we do now?"

Pinkie smiled, not bothered by the fearsome creatures in front of her and remained silent. The timberwolves continued to growl, but their aggressiveness lessened as they backed away. Some of them moved away to show a path that was being traveled by a certain pegasus stallion, his usual laidback stare bringing comfort to the ponies in front of him. Pinkie instantly grinned "Starrky! We found you!"

Lilynette was surprised before she looked annoyed again "There you are! We almost thought we were running in circles!" She said as she neared Starrk.

Starrk's eyes widened slightly "You're all here?" He looked over at Luna, her solemn gaze catching his attention "Who are you?"

Luna placed a hoof on her chest "I am Princess Luna, and I've heard a great deal of you from my sister, Coyote Starrk."

Twilight approached Starrk and Lilynette, sighing in relief "Thank Celestia we found you. We found out what caused the spontaneous fear that made you leave town the other day; somepony's been using dark magic to manipulate their minds and make you seem like a threat to Equestria." She looked over at Luna "Princess Luna was able to dispel the magic, so everypony that was affected is back to normal now."

Starrk looked over at Luna's turquoise eyes and hummed to himself before trotting up and giving a curt bow "Thanks for your help back there. I only left because I didn't wanna make things worse on them."

Luna rubbed her chin "I see...Forgive me for considering you as a threat earlier; the many nightmares I've witnessed combined with my sister's explanation on how you handled Cerberus made me wonder if it were right to just leave you unchecked."

Starrk scratched his mane "Well, yesterday's situation wasn't all bad for me." Everypony's curious glances beckoned for an answer as he looked back at the timberwolves "Thanks to my leave, I was able to make another pack. These wolves have kept me company for the time being."

Fluttershy's eyes were instantly full of wonder "You mean...you're able to communicate with them?" She asked in a hushed and awed voice.

Starrk waved a hoof as he closed his eyes "Sort of; I've made more friends while I was out-" He opened his eyes and found himself face-to-face with Fluttershy, who was smiling widely as Pinkie "...here..." He finished flatly, already feeling uncomfortable with the timid pegasus' sudden mood shift. Are all mares like this?

Rainbow Dash stared slackjawed at the next mare that happened to have fallen for Starrk. She facehooved at the unexpected turn of events.

Twilight grunted at Fluttershy's advancement before she forced a smile "Why don't we go back into town so we can try to figure this out?"

Starrk sighed "It kinda sucks leaving my new pack behind like this, but I guess I can visit them now and then." He looked back at the timberwolves, who continued to act tame in his presence "Then again, I wonder if I can bring them with m-"

"Nononononononono, that won't be necessary." Twilight quickly said with a nervous smile "You're gonna leave a genuinely bad impression by bringing back a pack of timberwolves."

Applejack nodded "Yeah, an' besides, these critters 're already home here. We jus' wanted t' bring ya back with us." She said matter-of-factly.

Lilynette scowled up at Starrk "You heard her. Let's go home, Starrk!"

Starrk sighed as he went to follow the others. What stopped them was a deafening roar that was heard deeper in the forest. Rarity shivered "What in Equestria was that!?" She asked in shock.

Luna saw fit to fly up into the air past the gnarling branches in the forest's trees and flew over the Everfree forest to catch a glimpse of what was headed towards them. Her eyes widened and her heart buckled when she caught the form of a creature larger than Cerberus that happened to look ethereal as her mane in appearance, albeit a shade of luminescent purple. It gave off another angered roar as she hovered "This isn't good..."