//------------------------------// // The Timberwolves are a'howlin! // Story: Secret of Five // by Yugimotou //------------------------------// Twilight and Sea Breeze woke to the sound of chaos in the town outside. The two rushed from bed and into the town, which was in total disarray. Twilight spotted them first. A pack of Timberwolves had seemingly left the forest and come into town to hunt. Twilight took charge first, amplifying her voice with a spell. "EVERYONE, PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR HOMES AND KEEP EVERYTHING LOCKED UP. IF YOU'RE TOO FAR FROM HOME, COME INTO THE LIBRARY AND WE WILL KEEP YOU SAFE HERE." The two hardly had time to get out of the doorway as the stampede of ponies tore into the library, with two Timberwolves close in tow. Sea and Twilight slammed the door as the last pony entered the library, just barely managing to cut off the Timberwolves close behind. The two turned to the babbling, traumatized mass of ponies now standing in the library lobby. Sea stood forward, clearing his throat. "Do any of you know why the Timberwolves have attacked? Did anything happen?" He asked, not expecting a coherent response. A small colt waddled forward, his legs trembling. It was Pipsqueak. "I saw it, I did! A strange looking fellow in a robe! He did something and the Timberwolves all came tearing outta the forest and into town!" He whimpered. Twilight offered a hoof out to him, hugging his trembling frame close. Responding to the warmth, Pipsqueak began to calm down. Twilight looked to Sea, a dead seriousness in her eyes. "My friends are still out there. I need to make sure they're okay." She said, her voice unwavering and strong. Sea returned her gaze. "I'll go find them. You stay here and make sure the Timberwolves don't get in." "Good luck!" Twilight said with a forced smile and a nod. Sea looked out the front windows, making sure the coast was clear before quietly slipping from the library and into the desolate town beyond. There were no signs of violence, it looked like all the ponies had been able to escape the wolves. Sea decided that his first objective should be Sugar Cube Corner. He began to slink through the town, hiding behind fruit stalls and street lamps, and was managing to avoid the wolves quite well. Until... "Shouldn't you be hiding like the rest of your kind?" A cold voice jarred through the silence. Sea looked around hurriedly, sure that he was simply hearing things. "I'm talking to you, runt." This time, Sea was able to ascertain where the voice was coming from. Looking up, he saw a robed figure standing on the rooftops just across the street. The figure removed his hood, revealing a seemingly normal face. Sea couldn't pin down what was strange about it, until he settled on the Scleras. This Pony's scleras were pitch black. Sea, whilst unnerved, could still find the courage to speak. "You're the guy that brought the wolves here. Why would you do this to us?" He stuttered. "Don't play coy with me. Hiding your mark won't protect you from me." The pony above smirked. "What are you talking about? Why am I playing coy? What mark are we talking about?" Sea managed to force out. The pony above seemed genuinely surprised. "We've waited thousands of years for this day. And you're telling me the Prophets don't even know what role they're meant to play?" He muttered irritably. "What's a 'Prophet'"? Sea asked. "Fine!" The pony above yelled. "I'll give you the introduction. I am a false prophet. It is my destiny, my god given right to bring this world into the shroud of darkness for this cycle. You are a Prophet, and you're supposed to be trying to stop me. But your mark isn't even visible. You're nowhere near prepared." Sea blinked. He'd heard some strange crocks in his time, but this one was pretty highly ranked. "What's a cycle? What's a mark? Who are you?" he asked. The pony roared. "I'll answer those questions, they'll be the last answers you hear for a long time, so listen well. The cycle is a period of Ten thousand years, of which is either spent in darkness and disarray or happiness and joy. The marks are your identification as a Prophet, and the means to which you summon your Eidolon. And my name is Greed. I am one of the five False Prophets, and I will seal you for this cycle just as you have so many times before in previous incarnation!" The pony screamed, clutching a hand to his arm. His arm erupted with a purple light, a gigantic glyph appearing in the sky overhead. "Come to me, Blight! Let us burn this town in the chilling flames of retribution!" The glyph shattered. a pitch black figure shot down from the distortion, coming to rest behind its master. Sea recognized the creature from stories that Green used to tell him. It was a leviathan. Greed pointed towards the library, the leviathan rearing up and preparing to strike. Sea looked desperately, hoping to Celestia that... "Don't insult me, boy. I know all about your life. I know what you value, what you hold closest to your heart. And I'll take it away from you, right before your very eyes! Blight! Attack!" A beam of pure ice erupted from the leviathan's mouth, shooting towards the library. Greed laughed, and Sea could only watch. "What's happening? Why? How?" He monologued to himself, tears filling his eyes. "Pssh. Don't tell me you learned NOTHING from hanging out with me on that stinking boat?" Said a familiar voice. Sea looked up, to see a feathery wall stopping the Ice dead in its tracks. Greed angrily turned to Sea. "Blight! Kill him, Kill him now!" "If you could step this way, please!" With that, Sea was gone. Greed looked around furiously. Sea looked down on the scene, a prickling sensation filling his left arm. He looked around. It appeared he was being carried by a large orange creature. With a sharp dive, Sea was on the ground again. A familiar Golden stallion jumped down in front of him, a long orange scarf trailing from his neck. The stallion turned to face the stupefied colt. "Hey, I know. The scarf is flashy, but try not to explode from sheer awe. Good to see you again!" Gold Rush patted Sea on the shoulder, beaming broadly. "I know. This is a lot to take in, trust me. We're still getting over it ourselves. But here's what you need to know." Gold said, grabbing Sea's left arm and bringing it up to view. On the forearm was a peculiar mark. The mark of a Phoenix's tail. Sea gawked. "So this is what the crazy stallion was talking about?" Sea asked. Gold nodded. "We'll explain all that as soon as everyone is safe." Gold said empathetically, turning to face the Timberwolves that were sprinting towards them. "You need to take that mark in. It can manifest either when you're extremely distressed, or when you ask it to. Given the fact that you're calm all the time, I would imagine you'd be better off asking." Gold muttered, turning to the draconic creature standing at his side. "Can Tinderwolves burn? I bet they can burn." Gold said, pointing towards the approaching horde. With a roar, the creature began to breathe searing hot fire in a wide arc before them. Sea was taken aback, the heat was unlike anything he had felt before. As the wolves crackled and whined, Gold turned back to his friend sitting in the dirt. "Hey, are you gonna help or what? Wish on the mark, pal!" Gold urged. Sea looked at the mark. He wished, he wished as hard as he could. He wanted to survive. He wanted everyone to survive. A chill jolted down his spine, engulfing his consciousness with a cool clarity he'd never experienced before. Holding the mark above his head, Sea bellowed just like Green would. "All hands on deck! Let's do this!" A clear blue glyph appeared in the sky above, shattering as quickly as it had appeared. An icy blue figure rocketed down, taking position behind Sea. Sea already knew what it was, it was the second he'd seen today. He'd called a leviathan. Sea turned to Gold, his turn to take charge. "Gold, I'm going to help Shiny protect the townsponies. Please, drive off the Timberwolves!" he pleaded. "Well, since you asked so nicely..." Gold said slyly, jumping onto his steed. "Let's take to the skies!" He exclaimed, his steed taking off at incredible speed, spewing fire down at the Timberwolves prowling the streets.