//------------------------------//
// Reunion Chapter 4 
// Story: My Little Wolf 
// by Autobot Lancewing 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 4


“T-TWILIGHT?!” Spike exclaimed a little too loudly.
Twilight giggled, “Surprised?” 
“Yeah… I mean… How?”
“She wasn’t...quite dead….and I managed to get her and the little one back…” Celestia explained.
“Oh…”
“You didn’t understand a word I said, did you?”
“No, I did not.”
“Do you want me to explain it?”
“Please.”
“Once Twilight slipped out of consciousness, she was really awaiting judgement to see which realm of the afterlife she would go to. I went into the judgement realm and pulled her and Stargazer out.”
“Okay...but how’d she...and Stargazer...get the wings?”
“That… I cannot explain.”
“Oh…”
“Yeah, but with the addition of the wings, they are both alicorns.”
“So now...they live a lot longer…?”
Celestia nodded.
Spike sighed, “I’m...happy for both of you…”
Twilight had a concerned look on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s..nothing.”
“Spike, I know that look on your face. I know something’s up.”
Spike remained silent.
“Spike...please tell me?”
“It’s just...what if you die...alone?”
Twilight thought about that for a minute. What if she died alone? And what about Stargazer? Would she suffer the same fate? Was that what Celestia was warning her about?
“Twilight?” Celestia asked, “Are you okay?”
Tears streamed down Twilight’s eyes. Celestia knew all too well what that could mean. She placed a wing over her and nuzzled her cheek.
“So when you said we wouldn’t be hurt directly, you were warning me that I would outlive all of my friends, right?”
“I was…”
“Even the ones I just met?”
“Yes…”
Immediately, Twilight started crying.
Celestia held her in an embrace hoping to comfort her.
Spike went over and laid a paw on Twilight's. He lay before her and attempted to give her a comforting smile.
Twilight's ears picked up a small cry. She looked over to see Stargazer sitting and whimpering. Twilight looked to Celestia. "Celestia, I...need to be left alone for a bit... I think Stargazer's hungry."
Celestia stood up. "I understand." She and Spike started to leave.
"Wait." 
Both stopped.
"Can...you tell everyone I'm alright?"
“We would be glad to.”
She smiled, “Thank you.”
*****
Bright Eyes and Eclipse stood with their army of wolves, waiting for their enemies. Eclipse glanced at Bright Eyes. “Are you ready?”
“I...think so…” Bright Eyes replied. “I’ve never had to kill another wolf…”
"None of us never want it to come to that, but we have no choice."
“I suppose…” Bright Eyes took a deep breath.
“And these wolves aren’t like you or me, they don’t have feelings, their sole purpose is to exterminate us.”
“But-”
“We’ll NEED to kill them.”
“Is the situation that bad? That we NEED to kill?”
Eclipse nodded. "They will show no mercy, so be on your guard."
Bright Eyes sighed. “I sure hope we can do this…”
“Me too…”
Suddenly, Ace and Teddy ran up towards Bright Eyes and Eclipse. “They’re coming!” Ace yelled.
"I need the front line to create a barrier should they attack. Do not let them through." Eclipse ordered.
"You got it." With that, both wolves darted off.
Eclipse sniffed the air. “They’re right, they’re coming.”
Bright Eyes sniffed the air, but soon wished she hadn’t. She put a paw over her nose, “Why do they stink so bad? Ugh.”
"Maybe because they use it as a means of defense."
"Maybe, but EW! I can feel my nose bleed."
“Apparently, an effective defense.”
"Let's just get this over with, and please don't tell me that all I will be doing is standing around."
“Trust me, you won’t.”
“Okay.”
From a distance, the wolves could see Sombra and Nightmare Moon with their army of shadow wolves. However, Bright Eyes was able to smell two familiar scents among the stench. 
The scents brought a certain anger Bright Eyes had felt before. “Eclipse.”
“What?”
“They brought Minty and Zecora.”
“They’re alive?!”
“Yes, and something tells me that they didn’t come here willingly.”
“But why would they bring their hostages with them?”
“Because they know that we won’t risk hurting our own. It’s a cowardly tactic.”
“But a good one.”
“Good? There is no honor in using other wolves like chess pieces!”
“Maybe, but with these wolves, there is no honor.”
Bright Eyes growled. “I’m half tempted to go down there and kill a few now.”
“Well, that’s what they want. They want you off your focus and they don’t want your head in the game.”
“Game? You call a battle over life and death a game?”
“It was a figure of speech. No, this is most certainly not a game.”
******
Nightmare Moon looked toward the pack she is about to face. “This will be too easy.”
“Especially with your little trump card,” Sombra replied.
“Yes… And without Celestia leading them, they will fall easily.”
“You’ll never get away with this,” Minty barked.
“Oh really,” Nightmare said, “You and I both know that your pack would do anything to keep you safe.”
“Which is why you will fail and our side will prevail.” Zecora answered.
“Wrong. You’ll see why.”
"I doubt that."
******
Bright Eyes saw Nightmare make a motion for her pack to stop marching. She knew that Nightmare was up to something. "What is she doing?" Bright Eyes thought aloud.
Sombra called out, “Now that we have your attention, we will now be proceeding into your territory. If you value these two wolves over there, you will let us pass.” He pointed to Zecora and Minty. “If there should be any resistance, then they shall be no more.”
"If we let you pass you'd probably kill them anyway."
“No we won’t, because as long as they are alive, you would do anything to let them stay that way.”
“How am I supposed to believe you? As far as I can tell, they’re as good as dead while they are under your paws. Meanwhile, I have the lives of several other pack members on my back.”
“So you do want them to die?”
“No.”
“Then choose… Life or death.”
Bright Eyes was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She didn’t want to see two wolves, one of them being her mentor, die, but then there are other wolves who could die should something go wrong or she refuse. She thought, ‘Lancer, please hurry…’