//------------------------------// // A wolf's heart // Story: Supernatural Pony Tales. // by Alchemystudent //------------------------------//         The young stallion ran through the back alleys of Manehatten, a look of fear and dread on his face. Though his legs were tired and aching, his quickly beating heart told him to not stop running. He feared what was behind him, the things that took his friends and now... wanted him. He quickly looked over his shoulder to see if he was being followed. To his ever growing hope, he wasn’t. But, he chose to still keep running, hoping to escape his pursuers for just a little while. Soon, he made his way to an alleyway, thinking himself safe. As he let out a long breath, he felt something pierce his cold heart. Looking down, he saw the crossbow bolt poking through his chest, “N-no,” he groaned as he vanished into dust. Dean Whinnychester looked up from reloading his crossbow as his brother stood by his side, and smirked, “Miss us?”  What happened to their father on that day Sent two brothers on a quest for answers Now the hunters are on the hunt Searching for the things that go bump in the night To give the monsters, something to fear One brother is on the hunt to honor his mother The other to avenge his beloved One is destined for war The other for protection Supernatural Pony Tales: A Wolf’s Heart Dear Princess Celestia,         As per your request, I have been following the Whinnychesters for the past year. However, due to the way they moved and their odd traveling patterns, I found it hard for me to keep up with their whereabouts. I was only now able to catch up to them as they neared a small hamlet about 40 miles out of Vanhoover... Carmine smiled softly to herself as she laid on the grass away from the carriage. It was always nice to enjoy the calm and soothing air of the early afternoon while the boys- “Stupid AXLE!”- were always the boys. Two brothers, inseparable no matter what, even if they have the occasional fight. She turned to look at the two brothers as Dean, the one who yelled earlier, continued to hammer the axle to their carriage.         “DAMN IT! MOTHER-BUCKIN,” Dean ranted as he hammered another nail into the broken axle.         The other brother, his light brown coat covered in the shadow of the carriage as he held it up, shook his head, “Dean, this was your fault. You shouldn’t have told Carmine to drive over that giant log, just so you two could see how high she could jump!” “Why don’t you just-” Dean began, before letting out an annoyed grunt and went back to work. “I’m fine, by the way boys!” Carmine yelled before going back to graze on the onion rings that they had bought from the last fast food place they visited. Sam turned his head away from the angry brother and looked down at the newspaper he had brought with him, “Dean, don’t you find it weird?” “What, that we packed a small weapons depot in the back of the carriage, but we didn’t bring a DAMN SPARE AXLE WITH US!” cussed Dean, as he slammed his hammer against his forehoof, “OW!” “You ok, Dean?” Asked Sam, only to get a glare from the older Whinnychester in return. “Right, shutting up. You know, maybe you and Carmine should be more-” “Sam, I have a hammer, a nail, and a very short temper, don’t tempt me!” Dean yelled. Sam sighed, “Violence isn’t always the answer to when somepony disagrees with you.” In response, Sam heard a very mild swear from Dean. “You know, you’re calling your mom that too.” Dean shrugged off his younger brother’s retort and went back to work, “So you were saying something about weird?” “Well, its the attacks,” Sam said, reading the paper. “Four ponies have been found mutilated: hearts torn, limbs flayed, throats being ripped, and their faces clawed open.” It said a lot about Dean’s hunting career that he popped out from his work and calmly replied, “Thinking Lycan?” “Lycan,” Sam confirmed, turning the page. “But what’s interesting, is the way they have been flayed. Have you ever known Lycans to display their kills like trophies? It’s like they want somepony to see it.” Dean let out a large grunt as he hit the axle, “Probably just some teens having a contest with each other. “Maybe,” Sam said, reading it deep in thought. “Hey,” a voice yelled out to the three equines from across the road. “The weather team have been announcing a storm coming soon.” The mare then walked into view, her light black mane flowing in the soft breeze, “If you guys need someplace to hide out from the rain, my house isn’t too far from here.” “Sure,” Sam said as Dean pulled himself up from under the cart. “Got a place for me to work on the cart while it rains?” Dean asked. “Sure,” the  light brown mare said, turning around to walk to her home. “My name is Flower Smile, by the way.” “Sam Whinnychester, and that’s my older brother Dean,” Sam said as Dean hitched up the cart to Carmine, who levitated it with magic. “And your... rather large friend?” asked Flower. “The name’s Carmine,” the older Impala said, holding out a hoof. “ A pleasure.” “Please to meet you,” Flower said, shaking her hoof. The four equines traveled a short distance from the road to a medium sized farmhouse, where a small red earth pony filly came running out, “Momma’s home!” she squealed as she ran and nuzzled her mother’s neck. “Hello my little one, have you been keeping the house safe while I was gone?” Flower asked. “Un huh and I- Who are your new friends?” the filly asked running to walk alongside the trio of equines. “Those are Sam, Dean and Carmine. They are going to stay over while the storm passes,” Flower said, walking up to the door. “Oh, ok. I gotta run now,” the filly said, running behind the house. “That was my daughter, Snow fall,” Flower chuckled as Carmine put the cart into the hut so Dean could go to work. Sam, taking a look at the building, caught the small sight of a blue dog looking out from the window, “Do you keep dogs, mam?” “Huh,? N-no I don’t, not really,” Flower said, opening the door. “But, I do have some strays that come in from time to time. So, why did you come to this town?” “Me and Dean are animal control specialists. We came to investigate the information about the wolf attacks,” Sam said, finding a couch to sit in. “I’ve heard about those, weird. Most of the wolves I know are friendly,” Flower said, getting some tea from the kitchen. Walking to the den, she sat the plate and gave some to Sam and Carmine. As Carmine accepted the drink, she looked up to see a light blue colt looking on from the hallway, “Hey there! Don’t be,” before she could finish, she watched the colt hide quickly behind the frame, “shy.” “That would be my son, Rain shower,” Flower said, sitting down on the sofa. Back in the hut, Dean began to finish his work on the axle of the cart, grumbling to himself all the while, “Stupid, freaking, piece of s-” YIP YIP YIP! The tan stallion stopped his grumbling for the moment as he pulled out from under the cart to see a red puppy with a hammer and nails in front of her, “Oh, hey there, girl.” Slowly he walked to her and let the puppy sniff his hoof. Strangely, she did not seem to want to, instead, she ran right up to Dean and licked his face before running around him happily. “Excitable little thing ain’t ya?” Almost as she actually understood him, she nodded happily and began to jump in place. She then found a place to sit down and watch Dean intently. “So, do you live here alone with your kids, Flower?” Sam asked, looking at a photo of a fair haired stallion standing next to a pregnant Flower. Flower let out a sad sigh and place her tea down onto the table, “Yes, I do. “ It didn’t take long for Sam to guess the rest of that thought, “I am so sorry.” “It-it’s ok, it’s been long enough now that I can handle the pain a little bit,” the young mare looked back at the photo, and let out a cheerful chuckle while running a hoof through her short cut mane. “I lost him when Rain was only a little baby. It’s why I moved to the farm, it was easier to raise two kids here than in the city.” “I can understand,” Sam said, smiling in understanding. “I lost my dad too when I was a baby. The only thing I can remember is that Dean told me that he pulled me out of danger. Mom raised us ever since.” “With a little help from me,” Carmine added. “Nanny?” Flower asked. “Old friend of their mother’s,” Carmine said. Before their conversation could continue, Dean walked in, “Ok, the sun is shining and the axel’s fixed, so lets hit the road!” Sam slowly got up, “Thank you for your time, Flower.” “It was my pleasure,” Flower said as she heard her son and daughter talking. “Come on, Rain!” She complained. “B-but they,” Rain argued, shyly. “It’ll be FINE,” She growled, but then relaxed as she turned to face the brothers. “Sorry, but my brother can be too much of a wimp sometimes.” “I know the feeling,” Dean said as he and his brother left the house. “It was horrifying,” the mare said to Sam and Dean as she looked to the window. “My boyfriend heard some wolves howling and decided to check it out. Then they savagely attacked him. But, the weirdest part is... they talked.” “Talked?” Dean asked, trying to keep his game face on. He always found it hard to act completely oblivious to the supernatural things that happen around him. “Yes,” she responded plainly. “From the sound of it, it was like they were bragging about their kill.” “Is there anything else you can tell us?” Sam asked, looking at the mare with concern. “No, sorry,” the mare whimpered as she began to cry. Leaving the mare to cry for the moment, the boys walked out of the house and to the waiting cart, “Well, there you have it, Dean. Third victim, no leads,  these wolves are good. It’s like they just disappear.” “Well, if they are that interested in hiding from ponies, then why are they hanging up their kills for the world to see?!”  Dean demanded, his temper flaring up. “I don’t want another pony dying thanks to these sons of bitches!” “I know the feeling Dean, but what can we do without any clues?” asked Sam, looking down at the ground in disappointment. They then overheard a conversation. “Hey,” a cream colored mare said to a friend of hers. “Why do you look so frazzled?” “It’s Flower, I mean, I love her to death but those wolves won’t stop howling,” the yellow mare responded. “Wolves?” asked Sam, “but didn’t she say that she had-” “‘Strays’ my hoof!” Dean said as he got into the cart, “Carmine, drive!” “Got it, Dean!” she said, charging up her horns and racing off at high speed. “Dean, what are you thinking?” asked Sam as the cart sped along the road, coming up to Flower’s home. “I think our little ‘stray’ carer is right now holding a little den somewhere in her house,” Dean said as they pulled up to the house and walked out of the cart to grab his crossbow. Taking the time to make sure the bolts were tipped with silver, he walked to the front door. Standing with his back to the side of the frame, Dean opened the door. “Sam, Dean? What are you doing here and why are you armed with crossbows?” a sacred Flower asked, watching the two stomp into her house. “We’re doing some investigation, Flower. We think we might have found the wolves,” Sam said, standing next to her. “Where are your children?” “Snow and Rain are ok. You aren’t with the animal control, are you?” Flower asked, keeping an eye on a blue puppy walking in silence behind Dean. “No, we’re monster hunters,” Sam said. Dean, meanwhile, kept his mind focused, unsure if the wolves would find him first. Hearing a creaking sound, Dean spun around to face his target, but only found the red puppy from before looking at him with a curious look. She then leaned in to begin gnawing on Dean’s crossbow. Sam chuckled at this, but then began to think, “Wait, red dog...a blue one,” his eyes wide, he turned slowly to look at the photo of Flower and her children. This immediately sent the gears in his head turning, “Your children... they’re-” Flower let out a sogh and nodded, “Sun, Rain, you can detransform now. They’ve figured it out.” “Ok, momma,” said Snow as she turned into a little filly again, walking away from a surprised Dean. “P-please, mr. Whinnychester, don’t hurt momma,” Rain stuttered. “She was only trying to-” “We’re not killing anypony kid, not yet,” Dean said, putting down his crossbow and walked to his little brother. “How, long have they bitten?” Sam asked. “They’ve never been bitten,” Flower argued. She then looked down and smiled softly to herself, “He never would’ve hurt them or me.” “Wait, they were born like this? Half-Lycans? How?” asked Sam. Flower held back the urge to make the obvious joke about where babies came from and began, “About a few years ago, I was in a school to help perfect my special talent when I met this shy stallion. He seemed kind and sweet, and he was. I talked to him and soon we had hit it off, coming closer over the next few months. Then, one day, he took me out into a park under the moonlight to reveal his greatest secret to me.” “His Lycanthropy,” Sam said plainly. Flower nodded and went on, “He said that he came to the school so he could study and try and live normally. He just never expected to fall in love with me. That night, I figured since he had given me his biggest secret, I would give all of myself to him.” “That’s when you two banged like rabbits in heat?” Dean asked. As Sam nudged his brother for that as a deep red blush came to Flower’s muzzle, “Uh, yes, in so many words. 11 months later, while it snowed, I had Snow. Then one year later, I had Rain.” “One year apart?!” exclaimed Dean. “Truth be told, when I was in heat, me and my lover could barely keep our hooves off each other,” Flower chuckled before turning somber. “But, sadly, after Rain was born...my lover was killed by some hunters. Apparently, he went out to gather some food, wolf instincts you know, and was killed for it. They-They threw away his corpse like it was nothing, they didn’t even care about what they had left behind,” Flower teared up, as Sam placed comforting hoof onto Flower’s shoulder. “You aren’t going to do anything to my children, are you?” “Well, no, we just figure-” Sam was interrupted as Dean got off the couch and walked to the door. “Dean, what are you doing?” “To the cart to pick up some Wolfsbane,” Dean said, a determined look on his face. “I have a feeling what those Lycans want.” “What do they want?” asked Sam. Dean pointed a hoof to the two children, “Them. The way they have been showing off their kills, bragging about their speed? This is a recruitment drive,” he finished, looking at the two children. “They’re not touching my children!” Flower said, standing in front of the two pups. “And we won’t let them,” Sam said, getting off the couch to follow Dean out the door. “So, those kids... seem familiar Dean?” “No idea what you mean,” Dean denied as he got out the wolfsbane.   A few hours pass, and the dead of night washed over the small house. At a window, overlooking the field, sat Dean. Breathing softly, the hunter awaited for oncoming Lycans with his eyes focused on the area for all available kill-zones. His mother had always trained him to keep his eye on all surroundings while on the hunt, especially when dealing with Lycans. He let out a deep breath, thinking about the only problem he had with these type of waiting games-the unrelenting boredom that came with it. He almost wished that monsters would just invite them to their lairs, it would make the wait easier. Hearing hoofsteps, he turned his head to the sound, “Really think they’re coming?” Sam asked as he came up. “Remember what mom said about half-breeds?” Dean asked, taking a bite out of a tofu burger Flower had given him. Sam sat on the floor and leaned back against the wall in thought, “That they have the strength of the parents, but none of their weaknesses.” “Bingo, and these sunsofbitches are looking for the best of the new blood. And here they are,” Dean said, looking back out the window. After a few minutes,  a smirk came to Dean’s face, “Ah, here are the poor dogs now.” “Whelps! Come on out,” one of the bigger wolves. “It’s about time you decided to ditch that whore mother and get with us.” “Ignore him, how about going to our side little foals?” asked another, sneering. “Yeah, we got plenty for ya. Just ditch the bitch and we can show you all a gre-ack,” the Lycan’s dialogue was cut off by a crossbow bolt to the neck. “What? Who fired that?” asked one of the leaders. “Sharp, he isn’t breathing,” said one of the lesser wolves. Sharp looked at the arrow, seeing the glint of silver in the bolt, “A silver bolt? Who the hell has access to-”. Sam smiled as his bolt just barely missed the alpha, “Listen up! You packs have no right to take these kids away from this mare. So you better all just go on home now, before you all get killed.” The hunter then lowered his head to Dean, the gruff and serious features on his face becoming soft once more. “I count at least ten of them in two packs, and  I guess there are at least two alpha males. How many bolts do we have?” “Not including the two we fired?” Dean looked back at the load out, “five for each of us. Then we switch to blades.” “Twenty wolves, two of us. Even if we half that , we are still outnumbered,” Sam said. “One bite from them, and we’ll be Lycans forever.” “Hey,” Dean said, rubbing a comforting hoof along his brother’s side. “Don’t think about that. They’re just Lycans, we can take ‘em.” Sam smiled softly at his big brother, “Yeah, you’re right,” he then turned to look at the wolves gathering and narrowed his eyes in readiness. The sound of a door opening pulled him out of his concentration, “What the?” Outside of the house, Rain jumped over the wolfsbane and in front of the two packs, “Leave us alone!” he shouted, turning into his wolf form. Though this did not hide the shaking of his blue furred knees. “Look boys, the male whelp decided to join us,” Sharp said. “I’m not joining you! I just want you to leave,” he then looked from one male to the other. “I read a lot on wolf habits, and you two are the alphas right?” “Yeah, you could say that,” the other Lycan, Nail growled, circling Rain. “Then... if I take you both down, then I become the leader of both your packs, right?” Rain asked. Dean clenched his teeth, “The kid’s crazy, they’ll kill him.” “So, we’re going to jump in right?” Sam asked. Dean shook his head, “No. We wait.” “Why?” “Because if the kid wins, then those guys are gone. So, we just wait for the alphas to get sloppy. Then we kill them, and the kid comes out as the leader,” Dean said, smirking. “Clever,” Sam smirked, setting his crossbow for firing. Meanwhile, Rain leapt at Sharp, trying to bite his leg. The bigger wolf just simply swatted the young pup away. Dazed, Rain stood up once more and leapt at Nail, only to be clawed in the back by Nail and then thrown across the ground. Undeterred, the blue wolf got up again, and charged at Sharp and Nail. This time, the two alphas clawed and bitten into the young pup before throwing him to the ground, “Well, that was pointless. Kid, how about you just give it up and-” “BACK OFF FROM MY BROTHER!” howled a young feminine voice from the roof. The two alphas looked up in shock as they laid eyes on a red furred wolf bitch. Growling, Snow leapt from the roof and grabbed the wolfsbane. Turning human for a few seconds, she plunged the flower into Sharp’s mouth. She then leapt in her wolf form at Nail, clenching her teeth around his neck. Nail flailed and screamed as the young pup kept her teeth clenched around his neck. After a few moments of struggling, the large wolf fell to the ground dead, “Rain, you idiot! What were you doing?” Snow asked, helping her little brother up, licking his wounds. “I thought-” “No, Rain. You could’ve gotten yourself killed,” Snow said, hugging her little brother. Some footsteps caught their attention when Sharp walked towards them, only to fall over dead with a crossbow bolt in his side. “Don’t mess with my kids,” Flower said, holding Dean’s crossbow on hoof. “Now, all of you, go away and never come back. Just leave my kids alone.”         The wolves looked down at the two pups and then back to the mother before walking away. Snow turned into her pony mode and walked up to her mother, “But Mom, we could’ve had our own army. Think of all of the cool things we could do with them.”         “No, we can’t feed all of those wolves. You and Rain are enough,” Flower chuckled, nuzzling her daughter. Sam and Dean just watched this maternal scene and smiled to themselves. “Do you really have to go, Dean?” Snow asked as Dean began to walk to the door. “Can’t you stay for a little bit more and play with us. You could be my BBBFF!” “I have to kid,” Dean said, rubbing her mane with his hoof. He took a quick glance to where Sam was checking the supplies in the cart, “We hunters have always got to keep moving. Might be other kids like you for us to save.” “Oh, ok,” Snow said, looking down in disappointment. Dean smiled to himself as he looked to where Rain was being taken care of by Flower. “Dean, get your brother out. Save him,” Screamed Mary. “No matter what happens Dean, watch out for him,” the young mare said, hugging her son. “Hey, Snow?” asked Dean, looking at the young mare. “Do me a favor while I’m gone: Go easy on your little brother, got it? I know he can seem to be a big softy and a bit a wimp at times. But that is what he’s there for, for you to watch over him and inspire. Then, he can take all that you got and be just as good at it. After all, you only got one of him, and it’s a big sibling’s job to make sure that the little one is safe. Even if it seems like he isn’t worth it, just remind yourself of everything you love about him and you’ll see that he is.” “Ok Dean,” Snow said, smiling as she walked to her brother. Dean, on the other hand, walked out of the door and walked passed Carmine, “Does this look familiar Dean?” “I have no idea what you mean,” Dean said. A soft chuckle came from Carmine’s lips, “A single mother, two siblings. One older has to keep the younger and softer one safe? That doesn’t seem familiar to you? That the mother has to do everything she can to help keep the two siblings out of trouble.” Dean looked to the room, watching the two pups play and then back to Carmine, “A little.” “Only a little?” Carmine asked as she walked to the cart. “You’re lucky that me and Sam love you. I don’t think anyone else can handle your hard head.” Dean just shook his head and walked to Sam, “Hey Sam, let me help you with that.” ...This ends my latest finding of the two brothers. It amazes me how often these two rely on each other, despite their own differences. Although two sides of the coin, they need each other as much as anypony. I think that watching these pups helped to remind Dean of this. Your loyal subject Castiel. Somewhere in the city, a young colt walked into a magic store. A few minutes later, he walks out carrying a small puzzle box. “Next time on Supernatural Pony Tales: Sweets to the Sweet.