Chapter 2
The wolves gathered in a single den, a commotion so loud it could wake the dead. Solaris and Eclipse were trying to calm the packs, but it was no use. Bright Eyes didn’t even give the news yet, which was going to make it even harder for her to give the news of Celestia and Lancer’s deaths.
Wisteria had finally reached her last straw when efforts to calm them have failed. “HEY,” she finally barked. That finally caused everyone to shut up. “Thank you.” She turned to Solaris. “They’re all yours, Dad.”
“Thank you, Wisteria,” Solaris nodded to his daughter, then turned to the pack. “Everyone, we have learned some news that is...most disturbing…” He took a deep breath, “Nightmare Moon has returned.”
This caused an eruption from the entire pack, this one even louder than before,
“HEY!!” Wisteria shouted again. Everyone stopped, again.
“Thank you again Wisteria.”
“You’re welcome, Dad.”
Solaris turned to the pack. “Now listen, I know she’s a threat to the pack, but she’s still, sorta, Luna, and if anyone sees her, please report her activity and we will do our best to change her back. The only bright side is that she hasn’t killed anyone yet.”
Bright Eyes finally spoke up, “That’s...not true…”
Solaris gave Bright Eyes a funny look, “What do you-”
“Lancer and Celestia were her first victims. She executed them on the spot.”
“What?!” Solaris and Eclipse’s mouths dropped.
The pack, once again, broke into an uproar.
“WILL YOU ALL JUST SHU-” Wisteria was interrupted by violent coughs.
Solaris rushed over to his daughter and tried to see what was wrong, “Are you alright, Wisteria?”
Wisteria nodded, but continued coughing. “I think I overdid it,” she said as her voice was failing her.
“Okay, just rest, sweetie,” Solaris whispered, giving her a light kiss, “I can handle this.”
“N-no, it’s my pack too, and if they see they’re leader like this- I have to stay.”
Solaris chuckled, “You’re definitely Tia’s daughter.”
“You know that’s true.”
“Yes, because I’m your father, and you were scaring the heck out of me when you first came into the world.”
“Huh?”
“You’ll understand when you’re a parent.”
“Okay, but shouldn’t you be calming the pack?”
Solaris looked back at the barking pack, “I guess you’re right. But only if you’ll rest, okay?”
“De-”
A loud howl from inside the den stopped the commotion. Everyone looked at the source of the howl, Bright Eyes. Her tail stood erect, showing a sign of authority. Every sign of worry in her eyes was replace by what alphas would see as a sign of leadership. She was unaware of what her body was doing, but it did stop the argument.
Before anyone could utter another word, she spoke, “Look at all of you! This is exactly why I was afraid of telling you any of this. After all, you did do this to us before when Luna was reported missing, so imagine how difficult it is for me to have to tell you that the alpha we were looking for has turned once again into her evil self and kill two of our most valued wolves. Arguing is not going to bring them back.”
The pack paused, before Ace spoke up, “She’s right, this isn’t doing them or us any good. Would Celestia want to see us this way? No! We need to prepare ourselves for the approaching evil, or we’ll end up just like Celestia and Lancer.”
“And where do you think it’ll stop? What if they spot another pack that they want to eliminate? Would they not want to attack that pack too? How far are they going to go? The answer is simple: as far as we’ll let them.”
The pack began to murmur, trying to decide if they should try to fight, or just roll over like a common mutt.
Dog: HEY!!!
Lancewing: Sorry, no offence intended.
Feeling they were more than civilian dogs-
Dog: SERIOUSLY?!
NotRamjet97: Sorry, it just came out.
They all decided to prepare for the eventual attack.
Solaris walked up to Bright Eyes. Bright Eyes’ tail was still up until she noticed him. “Was I too loud?” Bright Eyes asked, tucking her tail between her legs.
Solaris chuckled, “No, you actually did a much better job than we did.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far. Besides, you’re not the only one who lost someone.”
“Still, I think maybe...you could be a potential leader.”
“I don’t know about that...I just saw a void, and I filled it.”
“Still, you did a good job. And we’ll need this void to be filled.”
"I'm honored, but I can't replace Luna."
“i’m not saying you would, but you’d make a good temporary fill-in.”
“Oh.” Bright Eyes blushed, “But I’m just a gatherer.”
“That didn’t stop you when you were reigning everyone in.
“Agreed, but still.”
“Trust me, you’ll be fine.”
“I...hope so….”
******
Twilight looked at the wolves that were in the room. She cleared her throat before, “Thank you all for coming. So, I assume we’re all here for the same reason.”
“If ya’ll mean those nightmares we’ve been havin’, then we are,” Applejack confirmed.
“Yeah, they took my muffins,” Derpy, a grey, derpy-eyed wolf, added.
“And then they came over and took my Cupcakes!” Pinkie Pie added, “Plus I was a pony! The pony part wasn’t so bad, but the cupcake theft was. And then I was a human high-”
“We get it, Pinkie,” Applejack interrupted.
“I...Was with my pack again,” Rarity began, “And...they were all being murdered again, even my m-” She froze up, and began hyperventilating. Everyone began to think she’d deliver the pup right now!
“Take it easy, Sugarcube,” Applejack said, “It was just a dream.”
“No… It was real… It happened…”
“I-I know, but we’re here, we’ll protect ya.” Applejack smiled.
“I didn’t have that nightmare,” Sweetie Belle said. “But I did dream of losing you, Rarity.”
Rarity wrapped her little sister in a large hug and pulled her close, “Sweetie Belle, I will do everything within my power to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Well, not as bad as an entire pack, but still,” Twilight said, “Where’s Rainbow Dash?”
“I’m back here,” Rainbow replied gruffly.
“Did you have any nightmares?” Twilight asked.
“Nope! Slept like a pup.”
“Then why are you still so grouchy?”
“Because someone woke me up.”
“I see…”
“I’m afraid I don’t buy it,” Applejack said, “because I heard you mumbling in your sleep.”
Rainbow shot Applejack a glare, “Are you calling me a liar?”
“Are you callin’ ME a liar?” Applejack shot back.
Rainbow huffed, “Look, whatever happens to me is none of your business, so just leave me alone!”
Applejack rubbed her forehead, “Then- Ugh! Never mind!”
******
Fluttershy woke up and looked for Megan. She wasn’t there. Fluttershy sighed and stretched, before jumping off the bed. She felt that her mouth was dry and decided to get some water. She saw the opened door and slipped through, heading toward the stairs. She walked down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. She found her water bowl by the refrigerator: full. She began to take a few refreshing swallows.
When she had finished, she decided it was best to look for Megan. She sniffed the air for her scent. There were similar scents, but not hers. ‘Where is she?’ She asked. She finally decided to head into the family room to see if maybe one of the other members of the family knew where Megan was.
She saw Danny, Megan's younger brother, asleep on the couch. Since she didn’t want to wake him, she decided to look for someone else.
She heard some noise when she was about to pass the basement door. She looked through it to see a light and a figure moving a box. Hoping maybe Megan might be down there, she headed cautiously down the steps. She didn’t go down into the basement that often, it was too creepy when no one's down there. She looked around the corner and, sure enough, found Megan... with her grandmother? As far as Fluttershy remembered, the grandmother never ventured down there, so it was quite a surprise.
“Is it in this box, Grandma,” Megan asked.
“Well, it could be, but I haven’t been down here in so long-” Grandma made eye contact with Fluttershy, “Well, I think we have a new helper.”
Megan furrowed her brow, and looked over to see Fluttershy. “Oh, hey there girl! Did you sleep okay last night?”
A little yip came from her mouth.
"We'll that's good to hear. Do think you can help us find something?"
Another yip followed, along with a wagging tail.
Megan smiled, “Good. Grandma, I think she'll need the key."
“Okay…” Grandma reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, gold key.
Fluttershy sniffed the key for a minute before examining the boxes. When she came across a box that she believed had the key, she pointed to it like a German pointer.
Megan and Grandma came over to the box. Megan gently rubbed Fluttershy’s ear, “Is that it, girl?”
Fluttershy nodded.
Grandma opened the box and, after rummaging through it a bit, she brought out a small wooden box. "This is it. This what we were looking for."
“Oh. So what’s in the box?” Megan asked.
“Something that has been in our family for generations." She opened it to reveal a silver, heart-shaped necklace.
Megan’s eyes widened, “Wow! It’s beautiful!”
“And it’s yours. Your mother wanted you to wear this when you reach the age of sixteen."
A quietness came over both of them. Fluttershy had heard a few times about...something happening to Megan's parents, but she never got the full details, not that she wanted .to hear what happened. She gave Megan a small nuzzle on her hand, hoping to comfort her.
Megan saw her and smiled, “Thanks, girl.”
Fluttershy smiled back.
“Why don’t you go ahead and put it on,” Grandma suggested.
“Sure, but is it going to dissolve in my hands? It looks pretty old.”
“Nonsense, they say that this thing has a magic power that has allowed it to last for centuries, waiting for the right user to possess it, though that is just folklore. I just say ‘good quality metal’.”
“Well...I’ll think about it…” Megan gave the box a look over. She noticed an inscription, but it was in Spanish. ‘What does this even mean?’ She sighed, she hadn’t taken Spanish in High School in favor of home economics. Maybe she could find out on her computer… “Grandma? Can I take this upstairs? I’m gonna see what this inscription means.”
“Okay, sweetie, I hope you enjoy it.”
“I know I will, Grandma,” Megan gave her grandma a hug, and headed upstairs, with Fluttershy following closely behind.
*****
While the pack was preparing for war, small search parties have been sent out to search for Twilight. Firefly and Wind Whistler were covering the human camps while Zecora, Kimono, and Minty covered the forest regions. Minty however, wasn’t doing well.
Kimono stopped Minty. “You alright, Minty,” she asked.
Minty shrugged.
“Do you need help with...something?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Well...you don’t seem fine…”
“With Kimono, I have to agree, for you do not seem very well to me,” Zecora commented.
“I-I’m fine! Alright?! I’m fine!” Minty snapped.
“There is no need to raise your voice,” Kimono said, “Need I remind you that we could be watched as we speak?”
“Well...maybe I don’t care!” And with that, Minty ran off.
Kimono started to run after her, but was stopped by Zecora. “I will see if she is alright. You keep an eye out for Twilight.”
“Yes, Zecora,” Kimono nodded.
Zecora ran after Minty. Minty paid no attention to what was behind her and kept running. She stopped when she accidentally hits another wolf. “Oh. Sorry. I-” Minty stopped and noticed that there was dust on her nose. ‘Wait...’ She looked at the wolf, who was just about ready to pounce her.
But suddenly, Zecora jumped in the way, and knocked the attacker out of the way.
The wolf landed on all four paws, and snarled, “How dare you! I will rip you limb from limb!”
“To rip me limb from limb would be cruel, but that is the answer I would expect from a fool,” Zecora growled.
The black wolf growled and lunged at Zecora, but Zecora dodged the attack. She immediately pinned him before he could prepare for another attack. "I would urge you not to try that again, but instead run back to your den."
Another wolf knocked Zecora off of the attacker.
“I think you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.” The new wolf sneered.
Minty looked around and revealed saw several more wolves appear. They were surrounded!
******
“Okay, I think I translated half of it, but I still can’t make out the rest of it.”
Fluttershy looked at Megan, ‘I wish I could help,’ She thought.
“I wish I could ask someone at school...but they’re kinda jerks.” She sighed, and scratched Fluttershy’s ear. “Or maybe you could tell me…” Megan sighed, and slipped the necklace on, examining it, it said something about wolves meeting humans, but what’s the rest of it?”
“I don’t know, I wish I knew.” Fluttershy said.
“Whoah!” Megan stared at Fluttershy, “Did you just-?”
“Just what?” Fluttershy looked at Megan.
“You talked!”