//------------------------------// // Arctic Wolf // Story: The Wolves of Equestria // by FenrisianBrony //------------------------------// I awoke as I felt the beast above me moved slightly, shifting its weight slightly and trapping my tail beneath its weight. Instantly I was alert, wrenching myself out from underneath the beast and grabbing the axe head, readying myself to face the creature that had somehow survived. However, after watching its chest for several moments, I saw no rising or falling to indicate that it was breathing, nor did it have any sort of body heat to speak of. Yet it was still moving, and as I watched one of its paws slowly rose from the ice, before falling back to the ground. “I shivered, and not just because of the light snow fall all around me. Was this creature moving after death on its own power? Was this one of the terrifying ice Daemons that the Sagateller’s had told us of long ago? They had been vanquished by the gods decades ago according to legends, but nothing could stop their influence up here in the north. With a roar, I jumped forward, stabbing the axe head down, before rolling the creature over, checking to see if it reacted in any way to the sudden attack. Instead, the creature just flopped around in the way only a corpse could, revealing the ground beneath it, and the tiny bundle of fur that had been hiding beneath the wolf. At first glance I simply assumed it was fur from the dead wolf, before the fur began to uncurl itself, revealing something that made me pause. The creature was a tiny wolf, barely bigger than a new-born colt, and twice as fluffy, its fur not yet having grown to the more wiry texture of the older arctic wolves. It was by no means defenceless, and as it yawned, I caught sight of rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth, as well as tiny claws on the ends of its paws. “What are you doing here?” I asked softly, watching the creature as it yawned once more, opening its mouth wide, before looking around with two beady eyes. Slowly, the pup got to its feet and began to walk over to the dead wolf I had killed the night before, nuzzling its fur in what looked like an attempt to wake the corpse up. “Woof!” it barked, making me jump slightly at the suddenness of it. “Woof woof!” it barked again, softly nipping one of the dead wolfs ears before bounding away, wagging its tail as it waited for the larger wolf to get up and play with it. Of course, the corpse didn’t stir, and the young wolf slowly began to walk back towards it, as I began to take in more about my prey from the night before. Apart from being injured, the wolf was lacking certain features that made a stallion a stallion, and with a soft gasp, I realised that not only was this wolf a female, but it had a child as well. My world suddenly came crashing to a halt as I stared at the pup nuzzling its dead mother, whining softly as it attempted to wake her from her eternal slumber, and in that instant, I felt like the lowest piece of life on this world. The she-wolf may have been trying to kill me the night before, but taking a mother from its child, that was something that made me sick. The pup was openly crying now, nuzzling its mother as tears began to fall from its eyes, its tiny wails cutting deep into my heart. What was I supposed to do in this situation? I know what some of the others would do, and could already hear Grimskull’s words echoing in my head to push my emotions aside and finish the mission. It was tempting, and I sub-consciously picked up the head of my axe, raising it above the pup. It would be kinder this way. It wouldn’t survive out here alone, and death by the axe was a lot quicker than death by starvation. I began to bring the axe head down, before the pup turned and looked at me, its eyes wide and filled with tears. In that instant, I knew that I couldn’t kill such an innocent creature, and with a sigh, I allowed the axe head to fall to the floor, before sitting down heavily. As I sat down in the snow, the wolf pup made its way forward, slowly nuzzling my side, before wiggling its way underneath my cloak, its head just poking out from the top as it sighed happily. “What am I going to do with you?” I asked softly, looking down at the wolf. “Aroo?” it seemed to ask, tilting its head to one side as it looked at me. “Yeah, you,” I chuckled. “I can’t leave you out here can I? I guess…I guess I could take you back to the Aesir with me. I don’t know what the Arctic Wolves would say if they saw you.” “Ruff,” the wolf barked happily, nuzzling my side as it smiled. “Oh so you like that idea do you?” I smiled. “I guess I’m the reason you’re in this situation after all. So, you want to come with me, eh boy?” “Woof woof!” the pup barked happily, sticking its tongue out and licking my cheek. Its tongue was coarse, and I could feel the saliva beginning to harden on my cheek as the near freezing temperatures began to set to work on it, but somehow, I could help but smile. “Alright fine, you can come with me,” I smiled, getting to my hooves. “Aroo?” the wolf whined, looking up at me with its big puppy dog eyes. “Oh alright fine,” I rolled my eyes in exasperation, before bending down and grabbing the wolf with my teeth, picking it up by the scruff of its neck before depositing it on my back. “Happy now?” “Woof,” the wolf smiled, nuzzling into my mane as it yawned once again. “I guess you’ll need a name won’t you boy?” I asked, before glancing over to its dead mother, then back to my latest charge. “Hmmm, what about Caleb? You like that?” “Ruff,” the wolf barked semi-aggressively. “Alright fine, not Caleb then,” I chuckled. “What about Bardolf? That’s a nice name eh?” The pup yawned, before sighing happily as it rested on my back, looking like it was slowly going to drift off to sleep. “Bardolf it is then,” I smiled, looking at the pup now snoring softly on my back. “Sleep well pup, I’ll have us home and in the warmth soon. I quickly adjusted my cloak so it was covering both me and Bardolf, and well as my flanks, before walking towards his mother. Sighing, I grabbed her tail in my mouth and began to pull, dragging the corpse towards the highest peak I could see, and hopefully towards the Aesir. I just hoped that Bardolf wouldn’t wake up to see me dragging his mother’s corpse around with me. It took me many hours to finally reach the mountains, but I quickly found a pass that lead towards the highest peak in the mountain range, and began to trudge down it, dragging the corpse behind me, while simultaneously making sure that Bardolf was covered up by my cloak. I didn’t know how the Arctic Wolves would react to it, but I wasn’t overly eager to find out. Eventually, I caught sight of something that hadn’t been formed by natural means, and my eyes went wide as a massive structure of metal and black stone rose out of the fog in front of me. The fortress was massive and imposing, projecting an ominous sense of awe from every surface. The Aesir was an amazing sight, but I was too tired to properly take in its glory. Now that the end was in sight, I could feel by bones beginning to ache, but I forced myself onwards, reaching the massive set of oak doors and pounding a hoof against it again and again, before stepping back and waiting. The doors were quickly thrown open, and in an instant I was surrounded by four Arctic Wolves, their axes raised as they stared at me. “Who are you?” one of the warriors asked. “Hoarfrost,” I said softly, spitting the tail of the wolf from my mouth and standing up straight. “Blood Hoof, returning from my final trial. Victoriously.” “Hoarfrost?” a voice boomed, and I saw the familiar sight of Sergeant Grimskull making his way towards me, pushing the warriors out of his way as he stared down at me. “Well colour me impressed pup, I didn’t think you’d make it.” “Well I did,” I nodded. “What about the others?” “You were a good batch, you all made it back,” Grimskull looked behind him as he spoke. “Come, the Rune Priests will already know of your arrival, they’ll have organised the others in the main chamber.” Sighing, I grabbed the wolf tail again and began to follow Grimskull inside, the heavy doors swinging closed behind me with a loud boom. “That is a very impressive kill Hoarfrost,” Grimskull complimented as he walked. “A lot more than I would have expected from somepony of your size.” “You can call me a runt sir,” I sighed. “It’s not an insult anymore.” “Maybe, but today’s not the day for insults pup now is it?” “You tell me sir,” “No,” Grimskull shook his head, opening the door into a large hall. “The Rune Priests and Wolf Priests will tell you Hoarfrost, I will simply be watching from the shadows.” With that, Grimskull strode off into the room, standing at the end beside a natural unicorn who I assumed was a Rune Priest, and Wolf Priest Aegis. The rest of the room was empty, save for Gale, Summit and Grafter, each one standing over their own kill, and I allowed myself to smirk as I looked at the pathetic kill that Grafter had managed to drag in. Still smirking, I dragged my own kill in, dropping it beside Gale’s as I looked at the three ponies not from our Hoof. “What happened to your axe?” Gale hissed softly, her eyes falling to the broken weapon I had let fall onto my kill. “Grafter found me in the ice fields,” I hissed back. “I’m going to kill that…” “Ponies of the North!” the unicorn bellowed, cutting me off. “Blood Hoof’s, warriors! I am Rune Priest Raven Eyes, I have watched as you fought in the snow, watched as you overcame trials and encountered foes, and how you overcame each one.” The unicorn slowly began to walk towards me being on the end of the line, looking me up and down before proceeding. “Almost all of you have shown your true worth in your trial. You have proved yourself more than common ponies, more than what you were born to be. All but one of you.” As he spoke, he stopped in front of Grafter, staring at the pony as Grafter grinned, his chest puffing out with pride. “I know, I know, an impressive kill,” he bragged. “It’s shit,” Raven Eyes deadpanned. “What did you say?” Grafter growled. “I said it’s shit!” Raven Eyes roared, bearing down on Grafter. “Just like you! You got a problem with that?!” “I passed the test!” Grafter snarled. “I killed a wolf!” “You killed a pathetic creature!” Raven Eyes snapped. “But more than that, you broke the one unspoken rule we have! You attacked Hoarfrost!” “I didn’t do…” Grafter began. “I was watching!” Raven Eyes bellowed. “We scrye on all the aspirants on their trials, and I watched as you cowardly attacked Hoarfrost. The fact that you thought you’d get away with it shows how little you know in that think skull of yours.” “You didn’t say we couldn’t attack each other!” Grafter snarled, shooting me a death glare. “He is your brother in arms!” Raven Eye shouted. “I don’t care who you are before, I will not have ponies who can’t lay aside past grudges in this legion!” “What are you saying?” Grafter asked softly, shaking with rage. “Do I have to spell it out for you you moron?” Raven Eyes laughed. “You’re through, you are no more, I will not allow you to proceed further in this Legion. You, have, failed.” “You can’t do that,” Grafter snarled. “I’m the strongest pony in this Hoof.” “Strength means nothing without the proper attitude to use it,” Raven Eyes scoffed. “We are a unit, a single mind made up of multiple entities, working towards a common goal. You can’t do that, you’re out.” “I’ll do better,” Grafter said softly. “I’ll do…” “You’ll do nothing,” Raven Eyes shot back, his voice holding an air of finality. “This was your final test. If you haven’t learnt that survival only happens when you work together by now, you’ll never learn it.” “You can’t do this!” Grafter roared, his voice quivering. “I already have,” Raven eyes shot back, before his horn lit up, pulling the cloak, crossbows and axe from Grafter, leaving his as bare as the day he was born. “Leave, and never come back.” “I won’t!” Grafter roared, diving for his weapons, only to be caught in a magical aura as Raven Eyes gave him a deadpan look, before removing the headset around his forehead. “Please.” “No,” Raven Eyes deadpanned, before walking towards the entrance of the Aesir, Grafter struggling in his magical grip, but not able to do anything about it. Gale, Summit and I exchanged nervous glances, before hurrying after Raven Eyes, Grimskull and Aegis following behind us. Raven Eyes quickly got to the entrance to the fortress, the door flying open as he approached, before he deposited Grafter in the snow. Struggling to get to his hooves, Grafter turned back to face Raven Eyes, trying to get back inside out of the cold, only to be thrown back once again. “Please,” he whispered, tears forming in his eyes as his teeth began to chatter. “I-It’s freezing. You can’t d-d-do this.” “Can’t I?” Raven Eyes asked, cocking his head to one side. “I have discussed this with the Wolf Lord, both Aegis and Grimskull agree with me, tell me why I can’t.” “I’ll die out here!” Grafter roared with a heavy sob. “I’ll freeze without the cloak!” “So I should care about you dying in the snow?” Raven Eyes smirked. “I seem to remember that yesterday you were set to let Hoarfrost die in the snow without a weapon. Why should you get compassion when you didn’t give him any?” “Just…please,” Grafter sobbed. “No,” Raven Eyes shook his head, before beginning to close the doors. “No! Please!” Grafter yelled, trying to get to the door again, but it was too late. The last thing I saw of Grafter, my childhood bully and biggest nemesis, was a broken Stallion, tears covering his face as snow landed on his body, before the door slammed shut, sealing him out in the freezing cold wasteland of the Aesir pass. I stared at the door as Raven Eyes turned back to face us, still not quite being able to process the fact that Grafter was gone, just like that. One moment he had been cockily sneering that he had bagged a got kill, the next he was stripped of everything and thrown out into the snow. I didn’t know much about the terrain surrounding the fortress, but I hadn’t seen many places to shelter, save for the ruins of Fitjar, and that was a long way off. For a pony who was tired, without weapons and with no cloak to protect him from the weather, Raven Eyes had just past a death sentence. I thought I would feel elation at this thought, gleeful that he had got what he deserved for him trying something yesterday, but I felt nothing. There was no anger left in me towards him, no pity either. I was too tired to feel anything for anypony at the moment. Shaking my head, I turned from the door, subtly checking that all the shouting and raging hadn’t woken Bardolf, before following Raven Eyes and the others back to the central hall. “The Legion is strong not only because we are strong, but because we work together,” Raven Eyes explained as he walked. “On your own, even the mightiest warrior will fall, but together, we can overcome anything. A warrior who cannot set aside old grudges has no place within the legion, and must be cast out. If Grafter survives, then he shall never forget what he learnt here today, he will be a better pony for it. If he doesn’t he’ll be a corpse, and will feed the arctic wolves.” Raven Eyes stopped suddenly, turning and staring straight at me. “Speaking of wolves, is there something you would like to show me Hoarfrost?” “S-show you?” I stammered, glancing back at the bulge in my cloak. “What would I have to show you?” “Hoarfrost, I am a Rune Priest. I see all that happens when I wish to, and I know when a lie is told,” Raven Eyes explained. “Now, remove your cloak.” Sighing, I slowly removed my cloak, makings sure I wasn’t going to push Bardolf from my back, before turning and allowing everypony to see what was on my back, as well as what was on my flank. “Hoarfrost,” Gale gasped, looking at my warrior mark. “Is…is that a wolf pup?” Summit asked in disbelief. “You better have a good excuse for this pup,” Grimskull shot, advancing towards me until her was standing right beside me, glaring down at Bardolf. “We sent you out there to kill a wolf, not start a petting zoo.” “I did kill a wolf,” I snapped, turning away from Grimskull, before pointing to the corpse of the she-wolf. “Right there, one dead wolf mother. I couldn’t leave a defenceless pup on the ice.” “An arctic wolf is not a pet,” Grimskull warned me. “No, but Bardolf is still my responsibility,” I insisted. “Fine,” Grimskull relented. “You want to keep it? That means you have to feed it, clean up after it, bury it when it dies, and if it makes any trouble, you will be held accountable.” “I understand,” I nodded firmly. “Well then, if we are quite finished admiring the pup, I believe I have something to show the three of you,” Aegis cut in, before gesturing towards a door. “Please follow me.” Aegis lead Summit, Gale and I through the door, heading down one of the many hallways that lined the Aesir, passing by numerous Arctic Wolves who hurriedly got out of the Wolf Priests way. “Hoarfrost?” Gale asked, catching up and walking beside me, eyeing the wolf pup on my back as he looked around in interest. “Gale,” I nodded. “Well done in your hunt.” “Yeah I managed to kill a wolf, but what happened to you? You…you have your warriors mark.” Chuckling, I twisted my neck to get a better look at my flank. “Yeah, I guess whatever I did out there was my special talent. Who would have thought that it would have something to do with a wolf and the moon?” “Well you do seem to have picked up one of the little guys,” Gale chuckled, gently stroking the pup with a wing. “Aroo?” Bardolf tilted his head back as he enjoyed the feeling of Gale’s wing. “Can…can you believe what happened to Grafter?” she asked after a second, looking around nervously as if talking about it would bring down Raven Eyes wrath on her. “It all happened so fast,” I shook my head. “I mean, I wanted the guy dead, but quickly, like a warrior. He deserved that if nothing else. Being thrown out into the snow to freeze, it just doesn’t seem right.” “I know. He was an ass, but…he was still from Fitjar,” Gale sighed, before shaking her head. “Come on, we don’t want to fall behind.” Nodding, I quickly picked up the pace, Gale following me as the pair of us reached a small room, the walls lined with anvils and furnaces, clearly marking this as some sort of forge. Scores of ponies were already hard at work, and the sound of hammers shaping armour and weapons and the hiss of water touching red hot metal was almost deafening. Quickly hurrying over to Raven Eye, I saw that he was deep in conversation with a large burly earth pony, as well as three assistants. Eventually however, he finished his conversation, turning back to the three of us. “The smiths have completed their work, and are ready for you,” he announced. “You arrived as pups, clothed only in your thin cloaks. Now, the smiths will clad you in our Iron Skins, I will teach you the ways of the Legion, and you shall become truly one of us. Members of the Arctic Wolves.” With a silent signal, the smiths moved aside, revealing three empty suits of heavy metal armour. Each one oozed violence and strength, and would cover the entire body from neck to hoof in its strong embrace. “This is the Mark two ‘Teutonic’ pattern armour, issued to us by her eminence Empress Celestia,” the head smith announced, walking towards one of the suits of armour and laying his hoof on it. “Stronger and lighter than the Mark one ‘Centurion’ pattern, it’s all around more efficient. After today, the maintenance of your armour will be your responsibility. If you need it repaired or altered, it is up to you to bring it to the forges. Now, step forward.” Nodding, Gale, Summit and I stepped towards a suit of armour each, standing before it as some of the smiths began to disassemble it from the mannequin, beginning to place it on our bodies, altering it in small places to make sure there was a snug fit. As the smiths approached me, Bardolf let out a low growl, before being lifted from my back by Raven Eyes. “Ah the youth of wolves,” he mused, before looking at me. “He will get big, but then again I am sure you know that. Train him properly, and he’ll fight alongside you.” “I know sir,” I nodded, bowing my head slightly. “Indeed. Now, you will need to empty your mind, this may feel slightly strange,” Raven Eyes said softly, still holding Bardolf in his magical grip, before touching his horn to my forehead. It was like having freezing cold water poured directly onto my brain, and my entire body tensed up involuntarily. I could feel something poking around in my mind just as the smiths were poking around with the armour, before the icy feeling rescinded, and then the knowledge came. Not only in the forms of words and memories, but also of sounds and pictures and emotions. My mind reeled as it was suddenly bombarded by the knowledge, but at the same time it felt like I had always known the things it was telling me. In an instant, I knew that the world was not just a ball of ice and snow, but spread out further than I could ever imagine. In the south were hot deserts, places that neither new of the cold nor had ever seen snow, while elsewhere still there were jungles and rainforests, grass and cities dominated by massive buildings. I saw the very first Legions, watching as the first Arctic Wolves stood side by side with Drakeguard and Plainsrunners. Thousands upon thousands of warriors, armoured in skins similar to the one I was wearing now clashed with vile beasts I instinctively knew were called Diamond Dogs, turning back far superior numbers through courage and strength. I learned of the history of the country I was in, a place called Equestria, and how it was formed by three tribes. I learnt that Discord, the immortal trickster god, had been sealed away in stone by the goddesses of the sun and moon, and more than that, I learnt of a love for the two goddesses who walked amongst us as our leaders, as the Empress of Equestria and her faithful Warmistress. They would lead the Legions across the planet, pacifying threats and advancing the bounds of ponykind. And like that I knew that with them at our helm, Equestria would be secured for millennia to come. Everything made sense now, everything that Grimskull had forced on us during training had the purpose of training us to be the best of the Empresses warriors, her finest Legion. The armour we were being fitted with was there to protect us from harm, so that we may continue to serve the Legion for the glory of all ponykind. The feeling of ice suddenly returned, before disappearing as Raven Eyes drew back, looking at me curiously. All the memories I had just had seemed to be flowing away like water, and more a moment I was terrified that everything I had just learnt would soon be forgotten. My fears were unfounded however, and as the memories finally stopped moving, I struggled to remember which ones I had before the ritual and which ones were just imparted to me. Panting, I looked across at the others, a Rune Priest standing in front of each of them as they panted as well, clearly just having gone through the same ritual as I had. With a flick of his head, Raven Eyes dismissed the other priests, before allowing the head smith to take his place in front of us. As the priest left, I felt a tiny weight press down on my already laden back, and turned my head awkwardly to see Bardolf again. “You’re armour is fitted, move around, get used to the weight,” he ordered, “If there is any discomfort, let the smiths know.” Nodding, I took an unsteady step forward, my entire body feeling unbelievably heavy as the armour weighed me down. After a few minutes though, and a quick adjustment on my hind legs, I was moving around at a normal pace once more, grinning as my metal shod hooves made loud clangs as they hit the stone floor. Eventually, I returned to stand beside Gale and Summit as the head smith looked at us all, before grasping hold of three sets of weapons, holding them out with his headsets magical field. “These are your own personal weapons,” the pony explained. “You are responsible for them. Each has been stamped with your rune-sign so you will know them, and we will be able to identify them in the event of your death.” I slowly reached out to grab the weapons floating in front of me, inspecting them in awe. Just like back at the training village, there was an axe and a crossbow. However, comparing those weapons to these ones would have been like comparing a baby lamb to an alpha wolf. The crossbow was easily double the size of the tiny one we had use in training, while the axe was a much more deadly looking weapon with a much bigger cutting head and a forged metal handle. I smiled as I felt the strength of the weapon, chuckling as I imagined Grafter trying to break this axe. Slipping the weapons into the holsters we had also been provided with, I watched as three pelts were dragged in, each one held out to us by a smith. “These are the pelts of the wolves you killed,” the smith explained. “You have passed the trials, and you have earned the right to wear our name sake. I felt the cloak being draped over my back, Bardolf wriggling out from underneath it and resting on top of the soft surface as it was bolted to my armour, ensuring that my cloak wouldn’t fly off in the wind. I felt kind of bad for Bardolf, laying on the skinned remains of his mother, but in all honesty, the little pup didn’t look like he was worried in the slightest. Maybe the lingering smell reminded him of his mother enough to make up for the fact that she was no longer here. “You’re done here,” the smith finally spoke, turning his back on us. “Grimskull will show you to your new accommodation in the Aesir.” As he spoke, I saw Grimskull enter the room, and turned to face him, catching sight of Aegis as well. “Not you Hoarfrost,” Aegis shook his head, putting a hoof out in front of me as I tried to follow the others. “You’re coming with me first.” Looking perplexed, and drawing a concerned look from Gale as she walked off down the corridor, I nervously followed the Wolf Priest, stomping along behind him as I tried to get used to me new armour. “Aroo,” Bardolf whined from my back, placing his paws over his ears to try and shut out the sound. “I know boy, but I guess you’ll get used to it,” I sympathised with the young wolf, but there wasn’t exactly much I could do about it. “An odd relationship, considering your past experiences with wolves,” Aegis pointed out. “Maybe,” I nodded. “But I still killed its mother, and I know what it’s like to be alone in the world.” “Indeed,” Aegis nodded, before stopping in front of a large oak door and pushing it open. “Well? Aren’t you going to go inside?” I looked at Aegis hesitantly, before walking forward into the dark room, instantly catching sight of a large pony standing at the far end, his back to me. “Do you recognise this?” he asked in a low voice, a tiny cloak levitating towards me. Snatching the cloak out of the air, I inspected it closely, before nodding slowly. “I do sir,” I nodded. “It’s mine, a wolf skin cloak. My…my father made it after he killed a lone wolf on his own.” “Yes, I remember,” the pony nodded slowly. “You remember?” I asked in confusion. “Do you know who I am Hoarfrost?” the pony asked. “No sir,” I shook my head. “Then allow me to introduce myself to you,” he smiled, turning to face me, revealing a long grey mane and a matching beard. My jaw instantly dropped to the floor as I stared at the pony, my eyes darting across his familiar features as I took them all in, just like I had done so long ago. It had been so long since I had seen him, but I still remembered everything about him, every little detail about his face, and now that face was staring at me with a soft smile. “I am the Wolf Lord of this Great Company,” he announced, walking forward. “Wolf Lord Umbrage to be precise. I will not give you any special treatment Hoarfrost, and I want you to remember that. But just this once, in this room, I’ll allow you to forgo the usual terms of address to a superior officer. Just this once, you may call me father.”