Blaze the Pony Tale

by Wolven5


135. Games Ponies Play - Part 4

“Mmm…” Ms. Honeywheat chewed studiously onto the treat Soarin had just bought for her.

“So how’s them crystal churros treating, you ma’am?” Soarin smiled expectantly. “The last time I visited, I tried one of these and couldn’t get enough!”

They stood in front of a food stand run by a crystal stallion, Ms. Honeywheat swallowing and replied, “Hmm, well, it’s harder than regular churros like the ones I’ve sampled in Mexicolt yet softer than rock candy, and as I chewed, it melted in my mouth, softening to a texture akin to ice cream… All the while, it maintains a pleasant crunch. A delightful treat indeed.”

Soarin couldn’t help but feel like a giddy colt, just barely keeping it in. Sure this wasn’t the Games Inspector but it still felt great to be a satisfying tour guide.

“But now I’m feeling rather parched,” Ms. Honeywheat cleared her throat.

“Well, there’s a café down the street,” Thunderlane suggested and Ms. Honeywheat nodded in agreement.

As the four of them walked down the street, they passed by the Crystal Castle. A door opened and out trotted Twilight.
“Hey Twi!” Soarin called, Twilight noticing and pausing.

“Hey Soarin, what’re you up to?”

“Well, we’re just giving a tourist a look around,” Soarin shrugged, “since you said we were unnecessary…”

“Oh Soarin, don’t take it the wrong way,” Twilight said apologetically, “I just felt the task would be harder with too much help! Now, I’m gonna go check on Blueblood and Rarity’s progress. They should’ve been done by now.”

She then noticed the other guys approach with Ms. Honeywheat, Twilight saying, “Hello there” before taking her leave.

“Hello yourself,” Ms. Honeywheat replied curtly but in a polite tone. Once Twilight was out of earshot, she asked, “Who was that?”

“Just a friend of ours running an errand,” Soarin waved it off. “Now, let’s get you that drink, miss.”

Twilight hummed as she entered the spa, only to get a face-to-face with a worried Blueblood.
Aah! Uh- What’re you doing here?!”

“We finished the welcome committee song and we just wanted to introduce Ms. Harshwhinny to-” Twilight explained only for Blueblood to shake his head.

“No, no, Twilight! Eh… Cady isn’t ready!” he groaned anxiously, “We’ve had a… well, a bit of a mishap, you could say.”

“I need to speak to your cousin,” Twilight insisted, trying to peer past Blueblood but the taller unicorn easily barred her gaze.

No! Absolutely not!” He vehemently refused. “She’s in the middle of a delicate conditioning rinse that can’t be interrupted if there is to be any hope for her hair!”

“Come on, how bad can it be?” Twilight tried to look past Blueblood again only for him to gently push her back a step with a look on his face.

“Imagine her mane after using a cactus for a comb…” he deadpanned as he used his magic to flare up Twilight’s mane into a style unattractive.

Eh…!” Twilight got the idea as her mane fell back into place when Blueblood spun her around and pushed her out of the spa.

“No need to worry! Rarity and I will raise her from the ashes of our error but you must buy us some more time! There’s no other way!!

Twilight frowned in worry as Blueblood slammed the door in her face.

Midnight left the stadium and decided to just walk around and see the empire for himself though he made sure to use a glamour spell to switch his colors around. He was then a black stallion with a mane and tail colored dark blue and sapphire, with a simple five-point star for a cutie-mark.

He checked out various sights, saw a jousting match, tried a crystal berry shake, he even took some time to look at the Crystal Heart. He gazed upon this most sacred artefact of the Crystal Empire and felt his horn resonate with its power as it did the last time he saw it and unwittingly used it to purge Sombra of the evil that had for so long controlled him.

He was fascinated by the Crystal Ponies. How they used crystals to channel their own magic, how they held sacred the concepts of love and hope and used the Heart to spread that across Equestria, and how integral the very natural material of crystal was to their way of life.

He recalled that Sombra created the empire using his special talent for crystal magic, and wondered, How could he have made something so bright and wonderful after having his heart broken…?

The thought dampened his mood and so he banished it from his mind. Regardless of what transpired, it was all in the past. Sombra had been more than redeemed, proven by his ascendance to divine rule, and had finally reunited with his special somepony, and Celestia had found closure from her mistakes. He knew that if anypony deserved to be together, it was them.

But then his mind turned to Sombra’s proposal, and he recalled Big Mac’s to Fluttershy. The latter engaged had yet to decide when to have their wedding though they were considering Autumn, the season when they first met as foals.

Then Midnight pondered the vision he’d been given, where he was married to Twilight, with a daughter and an unborn son, and the memory of it made him both happy and sad. He had felt so happy and loved, but he had not learned the name of his daughter in the vision. It made his heart hurt to think that she might only be a possibility, that she might never exist at all.

No! I won’t believe that! He furrowed his brows determinedly, I am the Element of Faith! One day, I will see my daughter and I will propose to-

Midnight blushed as he realized what he was about to think!

“You look like you have love on your mind.”

“Eep!” Midnight spun `round to see, “Fleet Mail?”

Fleet Mail had removed his messenger uniform and stood there naked except for his crystally-coat, and giving Midnight a smirk.

“Well- Uh… That is…” Midnight stumbled to save face when Fleet Mail smiled in an understanding way.

“Hey don’t be embarrassed about your feelings. Love should never be something to be embarrassed about.”

“No, it shouldn’t…” Midnight agreed, sighing at the reality of how love did tend to make one hesitate.

“By the way, you can drop the glamour,” Fleet Mail chuckled, Midnight gawking at him. “I know it’s you, Midnight Blaze, because for one thing, you’re the only unicorn from out of town who carries a trace of the Crystal Heart’s magic.”

Midnight allowed the glamour to fall away and gazed confusedly at Fleet.

“Walk with me,” he invited and walked down the street, Midnight hesitantly following.

For the first couple blocks, Fleet Mail said nothing, much to Midnight’s confusion, patience wearing thin. But then they arrived at what looked to be a public park and Fleet Mail sat down on a bench, sighing as he took a load off. Raising a brow, Midnight walked over and joined him.
“So… Is there a reason you asked me to follow you?”

“Take a look around, tell me what you see,” Fleet waved his hoof out, leaning his head back.

Midnight looked and throughout the park, he saw crystal ponies. Colts & fillies playing, some with their parents or older siblings, others with their friends, he saw a few groups having picnics, some couples cuddling with each other, all an’ all it was a very positive atmosphere.
“Uh… I see crystal ponies out and about enjoying themselves.”

“Is that all?” Fleet smirked, still relaxing.

Midnight looked again, seeing a crystal playground, trees and bushes, a pond with some foals feeding crystal berries to the swans, a father and his son flying a kite, then he saw what appeared to be a couple walking up a set of steps towards a high-placed gazebo.

“Just tell me already,” he sighed in frustration.

“Midnight Blaze, what you’re looking at is happiness,” Fleet sat up and looked happily at his fellow crystal ponies. “Look at my people, everyone is safe, happier than they’ve been in a thousand years ever since Sombra cursed the empire, entrapping us all within a singular moment and completely cutting us off from the world.”

“You know that wasn’t entirely his fault,” Midnight protested. “He was taken over-”

“By an evil entity that filled his head with lies, I know,” Fleet sighed. “Unfortunately, Midnight, the face we all feared was the Unicorn whose Heart was as Black as Night. Once, in very distant memory, Sombra was a good king, firm but concerned with the welfare of his little ponies. Then he changed, he became crueler, harsher, hid away our most sacred treasure, and enslaved us, forcing us to work in the crystal mines till we literally dropped dead on our hooves… Perhaps one day we may forgive but I don’t think any of us will ever truly forget.”

Midnight looked sadly on at the crystal ponies, wondering how they’d felt when Sombra had not only become an alicorn prince but successfully proposed to Celestia.

“But enough mopey stuff,” Fleet chuckled, “you seem to have the love bug.”

“Well… yes…” Midnight sighed. “But there’s more to it than that, like… having seen a vision of our future together.”

“Really? You can foresee the future?”

“Not exactly,” Midnight shook his head. “What I see are possibilities, what can be but not guaranteed to be.”

“So what’s this vision that’s got you so troubled?” Fleet asked, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No actually… I need to tell somepony,” Midnight sighed. “I’m just not sure if I should share it with… her.”

Fleet said nothing and Midnight told him, “I had a vision of where we’re married, we have a wonderful daughter, and we’re expecting our second foal, and she believed it was a son. We had a nice breakfast together, and we had plans to go see our friends and their foals for a playdate. But… the moment we stepped out the door, the vision ended. It was a beautiful vision, it made me happy, but then I realized something that broke my heart… I never learned my daughter’s name in the vision.”

“Hmm, that does sound depressing,” Fleet considered. “Well, Midnight, I gotta say, this sounds like a real problem. I mean, a vision of a happy family? That’s a new one, for sure! And you said you didn’t share it with this mare on your mind?”

“No… She’s one of those… facts & logic sorts of ponies,” Midnight chuckled humorlessly, “I’m not sure if she’d believe my vision, and I wouldn’t want to scare or confuse her by the knowledge that in it we were married.”

“Do you love her?” Fleet asked in a deep manner, and Midnight furrowed his brows as he met Fleet’s gaze.

“More than anything!”

“Well there you go,” Fleet Mail chuckled, Midnight tilting his head in confusion. “Midnight, if there’s one thing you can count on is that life is unpredictable, that it doesn’t always go the way you want it. All you can do is strive and hope. Who knows, maybe this vision of yours will come true, maybe it won’t, or maybe it won’t be as you foresaw it would be. The future is what you make it along with what comes at you and how you react to it. Tell you what, how long you here for?”

“`Till tomorrow, and then we catch the noon train home,” Midnight answered.

“Y’see that gazebo on that hill with all those steps?” Fleet pointed it out and Midnight saw the gazebo.

It was composed of wisteria-colored crystal, looking somewhat like a steeple, and within he saw a couple sharing a kiss.

“That there is called the Twilight’s Dawn,” Fleet explained, “old legend says that if a couple shares a kiss in that gazebo as the dawn arrives, they will be blessed by the morning light with eternal bliss and everlasting love.”

Midnight was intrigued as he looked at the gazebo when he noticed Fleet looking at him with a smirk and raised eyebrow and blushed as he got the idea.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

The both of them startled and looked around for the source of the sudden outburst..

“Was that…?” Midnight muttered and he facehooved in confirmation when he heard a…

“YEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!”

“Gotta go, thanks!” Midnight bolted in the direction of the voice, Fleet waving after him.

“Anytime, buddy! Anytime!”

He arrived on the other side of the park and saw the girls, along with Shining Armor, and a mare he didn’t know although she was clearly an earth pony.

“What happened, what’s going on?!” he yelled as he approached, only for Twilight to zoom up to him and grab him by the shoulders, on the verge of freaking out.

“Midnight! We-we- Ohh!!!” Twilight groaned and tried the calming technique Cadance taught her but it didn’t work so Midnight slapped her `cross the face and she muttered, “Thanks I needed that.”

“What’s going on?!” Midnight addressed the others with furrowed brows.

“We got the wrong pony!” Rainbow groaned in self-deprecation.

“You what?!!?!?” Midnight began to hyperventilate, only for Twilight to slap him back. “Thanks… But how did this happen?!”

“We’ll explain on the way,” Twilight replied, “To the train station!”

They arrived at the station quick enough, Midnight asking, “All you had to go on for the Inspector’s identity was she had floral print luggage?!”

“Okay, okay, so it wasn’t exactly the most reliable evidence,” Rainbow groaned as they all looked around for the type of luggage in question.
“Not that it matters! None of these ponies have that kind of luggage!”

“We’ve gotta find her before Cadance finds out what a mess we’ve made of things,” Twilight added.

“Okay, here’s what we do,” Rainbow decided, “We split the empire up into six sectors.”

“Each of us will search a sector-” Fluttershy added when Pinkie interrupted while she ordered something from a nearby snack bar.

“Well, except for the spa” – she nibbled on a cinnamon roll – “What’s the point of checking there? That’s where Cadance is, but if Ms. Harshwhinny is there, then game over! Right?”

The other gasped as they shared troubled looks in realization.

At that moment, Soarin, Big Macintosh, Thunderlane, and Ms. Honey wheat stopped in front of the spa.

“I must say, Café Cristal has quite an exquisite palate,” the mare said with a stoic manner. “I did so enjoy the crystal-mineral water, and the crystal pie was quite delicious. I’ll have to get some before I leave. Although I must leave you stallions now, for I have an appointment to see to, and a quick trip to the spa to make myself presentable is necessary.”

“Well, we hope you enjoyed yourself, ma’am,” Thunderlane replied, Big Mac grunting as he set the mare’s bag down and sighed in relief as he said, “Eeyup… hoo!”

“I just hope the girls are having as much luck with the Games Inspector as we did with you,” Soarin chuckled, Ms. Honeywheat raising a brow as she said, “Come again?”

“Oh! Our friends prepared a welcome committee for the Games Inspector,” Soarin explained, “but felt too many ponies would make the Inspector feel crowded when she arrived. We went to the train station to check on them if they needed help but by the time we got there, they were gone, and we guessed they must’ve met with the Inspector already. That’s when we met you.”

“Hmm…” Ms. Honeywheat pondered a moment before saying, “Well, if your friends did as well as you fine gentlecolts did for me, I have a feeling the ‘inspector’ will have received a good impression of the empire. Good day, gentlecolts.”

Ms. Honeywheat grabbed her bag and in she went, the guys all saying bye.

Stepping up to the receptionist, she asked, “A hooficure, if you don’t mind.”

“Right this way,” the mare invited.

Ms. Honeywheat pondered as she lied down on the chair, next to an earth pony mare with a light yellow coat, bright and lively green mane, and a chicken for a cutie-mark as she got a back massage.
“I take it you’ve arrived for a visit as well?”

“Darn tootin’,” the mare sighed in reply. “Ms. Peachbottom, just dropped in from Mustangia for a lil’ vacay!”

“Ms. Harshwhinny, Games Inspector.”

“What?! You’re Ms. Harshwhinny? Well shut mah mouth an’ paint me red!” Ms. Peachbottom giggled, “Ya won’t believe wha’ happened when Ah arrived! Some sweet girls met me at th’ station and mistook me for y’all!”

“You don’t say…” Ms. Harshwhinny couldn’t believe it! She’d gathered the welcome committee had gotten the wrong pony but she’d never expected to run into that pony! Small world.

“No lie! Though Ah gotta say,” Ms. Peachbottom said, “seems t’ me like y’all get quite the royal treatment ev’rywhere ya go!”

“Oh please, every city and empire wants to host the Equestria Games!” Ms. Harshwhinny groaned as she received her hooficure.
“So I have to go through all the big phony-baloney song and dance, though of course, normally I never get the real inside scoop.”

“Well golly Ah’ve been havin’ a swell time ever since Ah got here,” Ms. Peachbottom appraised, “Ah’m actually thinkin’ o’ extendin’ mah stay!”

“And what exactly has made your visit so special?” Ms. Harshwhinny paid close attention.

“Oh golly, where t’ start?” Ms. Peachbottom giggled.

Outside, Twilight, Midnight, Rainbow, Flutter, Pinkie, and Applejack had just arrived, and crowded at the window to peer in.
“There she is!” Rainbow whispered “We’re in luck, I don’t think either of them knows yet that the other’s here!”

“Hey everypony!”

They looked to see Big Mac, Thunderlane, and Soarin.
“Aren’t you supposed to be seeing to the inspector?” Soarin asked.

“Uh heh-heh, funny story actually…” Rainbow chuckled.
Midnight groaned impatiently, “The girls welcomed the wrong pony!”

What?!” the guys all gaped at the girls.
“All we had to go on to identify the inspector was that she had flower print luggage," admitted Twilight, "and we got the wrong pony because of that.”

Suddenly, realization dawned on the guys as they shared troubled looks, and looked into the window. They saw her! And another pony with similar flower print luggage.

“Well, everypony…” Midnight sighed, “Time to face the music.”

The bell rang as they opened the doors and walked in, feeling ashamed of their blunder.

“Hello everypony, wonderful news!” Blueblood welcomed them.
“Princess Cadance looks better than new!” declared Rarity.

Cadance stepped out and looked amazing! Her mane done up in the most intricate hairstyle they’d ever seen, crown braids, curls, crystals, a tiara, and a beautiful blue dress!

“Princess Cadance?!”

All eyes turned to Ms. Harshwhinny, who approached them, looking stern.
“So! This is where you’ve hiding. I’ll have you know, for the first time in my career as Games Inspector, never have I suffered such indignation!”

“Wha- I don’t understand!” Cadance worried, “What was wrong with your welcome?”

“There wasn’t one!” Ms. Harshwhinny snapped.

“What is going on?” Cadance addressed the girls and guys, wanting answers.

They all look crestfallen, Twilight stepping up to explain, only for Rainbow to take her place, “Princess, we gave our welcome to the wrong pony, left the right one waiting at the station! …And completely ruined everything.”

The others all looked down shamefully although Big Mac, Thunderlane, Soarin, Midnight, and Blueblood looked unsure of what to do, Pinkie trying to lighten the tension by offering a, “Cinnamon bun?”

“Princess,” Soarin stepped up, “When Dashie and I were little, we wanted to badly for Cloudsdale to host the games!”

“But it didn’t happen…” Rainbow added, “So I thought I could make up for that disappointment by helping the Crystal Empire win the chance to host the games. But… it looks like I just ruined your chances instead.”

“Now hold on a minute!” Soarin stepped up and glared at Ms. Harshwhinny, “I think you left a particular something out, Ms. Honeywheat!”

“Honeywheat?!” everypony echoed as Big Mac, Thunderlane, and even Ms. Peachbottom stepped up, and Ms. Harshwhinny nodded.

“Although I didn’t receive the proper welcome committee…” Ms. Harshwhinny acknowledged, “These fine gentlecolts, Soarin, Big Macintosh, and Thunderlane, treated me, somepony they didn’t know, to an impromptu tour of the empire. They were courteous, kind, helpful, and even treated me to a nice lunch at Café Cristal before politely escorting me here to the spa. And who should I meet but the very same pony who was mistaken for me! Ms. Peachbottom just regaled to me how she was treated to the warmest, finest, most fabulous reception she ever had.”

“Darn tootin’!” Ms. Peachbottom confirmed.

“Courtesy of these fine ponies right here," complimented Ms. Harshwhinny as she gestured to the girls. "Which, in my expert opinion, amounts to the first ever unvarnished, unrehearsed, and unbiased appraisal of a potential host of the Equestria Games. Which can mean only one thing…”

“The next host of the Equestria Games is…!” Cadance and Shining Armor announced on the balcony before all their little crystal ponies, “The Crystal Empire!”

Cheers roared, flags waved, and happiness spread, Shining Armor adding, “Congratulations, Crystal Ponies!”

The Crystal Ponies happiness empowered the Crystal Heart and spread it for all of Equestria to see!

Early the next morning, Twilight was roused from her sleep.
“Mm, what time is it…?”

“Get up, Twily!” answered a hushed voice.

She looked to see, “Midnight…? Aw, it’s not even sunup yet…”

“Exactly! Come on!” Midnight wouldn’t let up as he snooted Twilight’s head, “I’ve got a surprise for you!”

Sighing, Twilight got up from her bed and followed Midnight out of the guestroom Cadance and Shining Armor had let her use. Midnight led Twilight out of the Crystal Castle to the park, Twilight asking, “Midnight, what’s this about?”

“Come on!” he urged as he beckoned her towards some steps up to what looked like a gazebo. She sighed and climbed up the stairs after him until finally they stood within the gazebo and had a lovely view of the park around them, and she noticed the sky beginning to lighten as Celestia prepared to raise the sun. The morning light lit up the gazebo, creating a prismatic refraction of light dancing around them in colors of violet, orange, pink, magenta, yellow, and faint red.

“Midnight, this… this is… very beautiful!” said Twilight in awe, "It's like we're standing in a kaleidoscope!"

“Well... not as beautiful as you,” Midnight nuzzled her, which she was all-too happy to return. Then he looked into her eyes and said, “You know, this gazebo is actually quite special. It’s called… Twilight’s Dawn!”

Intrigued, Twilight listened as Midnight explained, “There’s a legend that if you share a kiss with your special somepony beneath this gazebo as the sun rises, you will be blessed with the bliss of everlasting love.”

Twilight smiled lovingly at her stallion as he invited her to sit down with him, and they waited. Soon the sun began to peek over the horizon, casting the sky above in a rainbow of gold, red, orange, and facing purples and pinks. It took Twilight’s breath away when she felt a nudge on her shoulder and met Midnight’s gaze.

She smiled… and their lips met.

As soon as they did, bathed in the break of dawn, they felt like a curtain of gossamer had fallen upon them and warmed their every fiber with their love, and they knew as they had the same though.
This is with whom I am meant to be.

Noon arrived, and the friends had all packed up to get ready to go home, as they stood on the train platform.
“Y’know, it feels good to help others get something you always wanted but never had,” Rainbow sighed in satisfaction.
“Almost as good as getting it yourself!” added Soarin.

Almost,” Rainbow emphasized all stony-faced until she felt Soarin steal a kiss, making her blush

“We’ll still be able to come back here and watch the games when they play,” Twilight noted.
“Watch nothing! I think I wanna compete!” stated Midnight with a cocky smile.

“Now there’s an idea!” Rainbow agreed as they all began to clamber aboard.

Fluttershy was last in line when she heard something and looked to see a pile of luggage fall out of the cart it was in.
“Oh my goodness!”

“All aboard!” called the conductor, making her gasp as she hurried aboard. She joined her friends and beau in the passenger cart, Rainbow saying, “Bummer Spike had to miss out on all this. He would’a had fun here.”

“More like he would’ve pigged out on all these high-quality crystals,” cracked Thunderlane and Blueblood couldn’t help laughing with him as they hoof-bumped.

“Well, I’m sure he’s having a great time watching all the critters back at home,” Twilight assured as she sat down next to Midnight.

“Think he’s got a handle on things?” Applejack asked, Twilight doing the calming technique.

“If he stays calm and collected, I bet he’s doing a terrific job as a leader,” Twilight said faithfully that Midnight couldn’t help but smile.

Then there was a growling sound, Applejack asking, “You all hear that?”

“Hmm, maybe somepony’s getting hungry,” Midnight suggested as he stood up. “I think I saw a snack cart, I’ll go get us some eats!”

Before long, the train arrived and everypony disembarked, Applejack saying, “Ah cain’t wait to scratch th’ belly on Winona!”

“That dragon better have taken care of Splendor’s tail…” Blueblood said tersely, only to get a goodnatured stink eye from Rarity.

“Oh I’m sure Spike had an interesting time with our critters…” Midnight said with a smirk.

“And I can’t wait to see Owlowiscious,” Twilight added as the train left.

“Hello!”

They all looked and saw, as the haze cleared, Spike and everypony’s pets, along with the Cutie-Mark Crusaders, the lot of them looking like they’d just been in a hurry.

“Thought we’d meet you at the station!” Spike announced, everypony running to their pets or younger brothers and sisters.

“So we could hear all about the Crystal Empire!” Sweetie Belle added as she ran up to hug Rarity and Blueblood, “And find out if you brought us one of the Crystal snow globes that they sell at the train station!”

“How did you know about the snow globes?” Rarity inquired with a raised brow, and for a moment the others thought Sweetie had blown it… only for a snow globe to levitate in front of her.

“Because I so happen to have one here for you, my dear Sweetie Belle!” offered Blueblood.

“Augh!” Sweetie hugged it and then hugged a smiling Blueblood, saying, “I can’t wait till you’re officially my big brother!”

Rarity just shrugged it off, gazing warmly at her stallion and little sister hugging.

“We’ve gotta hand it to you, Spike,” Twilight said as she held Owlowiscious on her hoof, Midnight petting Dreamer while adding, “It appears you did a good job taking care of the animals!”

“Oh Spike, Angel looks perfect!” Fluttershy admired Angel’s tail, saying, “You did such a good job fluffing his tail.”

“Yeah, well, we’re like this now,” Spike crossed his fingers, Owlowiscious hooting, “Hoo-hoo!”

“You know who…” Spike smirked at the owl who fluttered at him with his wing, and then held his pet phoenix chick Peewee, the little thing chirping affectionately.

At the library, Twilight and Owlowiscious hurried in, Twinken following, and Midnight, Dreamer, Spike, and Peewee brought up the rear.
“So Spike, nothing went wrong? Everything was cool?”

“As a cucumber,” Spike said proudly.

“Really? That’s not what Pony Joe told me…” Midnight gave him a knowing smirk, Spike’s eyes popping as he realized he was in hot water.

As they played outside with Winona, Applejack and Apple Bloom startled to hear, “WWWWWHHHHHHYYYYY?!?!?!”

Winona howled in response and they could hear Dreamer howling as well, to Spike’s lament.