//------------------------------//
// Invisible Ties 
// Story: Lone Wolf No More 
// by Melody Silverpaw 
//------------------------------//

	"You live in a tree?" The wolf asked, intrigued.
"Yup!" Twilight pulled open the door with her magic. "Feel free to make yourself at home. I'm off to get more quills and parchment. I'll be back soon!"
"Okay, Twilight." Sharlina smiled as the alicorn left. Spying a staircase, she wandered up it curiously.
Nightlight spoke. "Twilight, do you have a moment? I— AAAAAHHH!!!" Nightlight screamed as he caught sight of the wolf in the room.
Sharlina's eyes widened. Nightlight was a unique sight to her; she could've sworn by his voice that he was male, and yet... he was so pretty. "I've never seen a pony like you before..." Her voice flowed like the wind, gentle and breathy.
Nightlight shook, afraid of the new arrival. "Y-you can talk?" he managed to speak.
"Yes..." Sharlina approached Nightlight carefully, stopping mere inches away from the royal-blue-furred pony. She placed a paw gently at his side. "It's okay, I won't hurt you." Sharlina's bright green eyes searched Nightlight's with thoughtful exploration. Nearly the same hue as mine...
"Wh-where's Twilight?" Having the wolf's claws on his fur put him on edge, so Nightlight shook the wolf's paw off him.
Mischief glowed in Sharlina's eyes. "I... ate her!!" she exclaimed, then laughed maniacally. 
"Wh-what? How could you?! Twilight was the best pony I ever—!"
Sharlina's laughter became friendly. "You ponies are so gullible!" She snickered. "I-I can't believe...! You actually thought...!" she managed to speak through stifled giggles. Though she was laughing, she was slightly hurt by the fact that the pony had actually believed her.
"So Twilight's safe?" asked Nightlight worriedly.
"As a cub in the womb!" Sharlina smiled brightly.
Nightlight tilted his head. Such an odd phrase... "So... why are you here?"
"Twilight said I could stay here. I didn't know there was another pony here, too."
"Oh." Nightlight stared at the floor, silence dulling the conversation.
Just then, Sharlina's stomach growled violently, and she smiled sheepishly. "Heh, sorry. I haven't had anything to eat for a couple days. Do you have any food around here?"
Don't eat me! Nightlight silently prayed, but to his relief, the wolf was looking around instead of at him.
"W-we have some apples in the kitchen..."
"Apples?" Sharlina tilted her head. "What are those?"
"They're a type of fruit."
"Ooh, like berries? I love berries!" At this point, Sharlina was smiling broadly and wagging her tail rapidly.
"Um, no... Here, just try one. You might like it." He used his magic to levitate an apple in front of the wolf, who eyed it like a curious cat. She's kinda cute. Nightlight thought, allowing himself to smile.
Sharlina sank her teeth into the red, roundish fruit, and when she did, her green eyes lit up. "Mmm! Yum! Best thing I've ever tasted!" She tore the apple apart within seconds, savoring its juicy taste.
Nightlight desperately hoped he'd never have to suffer the same fate as that poor apple had. The wolf had mercilessly devoured the entire thing, including the core. He shivered a bit, his instincts telling him to escape while he still could.
"Hey, pony boy. You okay?" The wolf's paw was on the blue unicorn again, her eyes full of concern.
"I-I'm fine..."
Sharlina saw right through his ruse. "No you're not! You're shivering, and..." The wolf trailed off. "...You're afraid of me... aren't you?" It wasn't a question. It was said with the soft voice of someone solving a problem with an answer they knew to be true.
Nightlight nodded meekly in response.
"Oh..." Just like the ponies back at the Crystal Empire; she was always greeted with fear, never trust. As each terrible memory replayed itself through her mind, tears welled up in her eyes, and before she knew it, her face was buried in her forelegs, and she was crying.
"Sh-Sharlina?" Nightlight spoke her name tenderly, almost as if he was afraid to say it. "Please, don't cry."
Sharlina glanced up, and pulled Nightlight close. She spoke softly. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to make friends when you're a wolf?" she asked, tears gleaming in her eyes and slipping down her furry cheeks.
Nightlight shook his head in response, not sure what to say. He dropped down to the floor to meet Sharlina's eyes.
"I'll be your friend," he found himself speak.
"Y-you will?" Sharlina wiped away her tears. "Thank you..." She nuzzled Nightlight's face, smiling. Nightlight blushed. The wolf's fur was warm...



Sharlina licked Nightlight affectionately, causing Nightlight to laugh. He has such a cute laugh.
"You two seem to be getting along well."
Sharlina blushed, turning to face Twilight, who'd just arrived back home. "I-I hope you don't mind..."
Twilight chortled softly. "I don't. I think it's cute," she confessed, causing Sharlina's blush to deepen. Twilight took down notes on her newly-purchased parchment. Wolf is docile and affectionate.
"Is Sharlina really staying here?" Nightlight asked excitedly. It warmed Sharlina's heart that this pony had taken such a liking to her already.
"She is." Twilight smiled, happy to see that her number one assistant was overjoyed about the situation.
"Yay!" Nightlight hugged Sharlina, who embraced him with open arms, nuzzling him affectionately. So warm... He sighed, content.
"Well..." Twilight's voice became uncertain. "that is, if Princess Celestia approves. I need to notify her straightaway about all this."
Sharlina stiffened. "Princess Celestia?" Her voice was deep, cold.
Twilight backed away a bit. "Um, yes? I-is that a problem?" The question was asked in a worried tone, not a provoking one.
Sharlina looked at the ground. "Yes," she curtly replied before carrying on. "This 'princess' of yours drove my people to exile! They starved, froze, and..." Sharlina sighed. "Frankly, the events that took place are unspeakable."
"What?" Twilight was dumbfounded. "Why would the princess do that? There must be a reasonable explanation..."
"The only thing I think reasonable is that the pony princess deserves every ounce of my hatred 'til the day I execute her."
"You can't execute princess Celestia!" Twilight was panicked by this point. "Look, if you want to stay here, you have to promise me you won't harm the princess. We can work this out peacefully."
"If that wretch is in the conversation, I don't believe we can," Sharlina replied coldly. She made her way to the door, her fur bristled and ears alert. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back by nightfall."
"Oh, no you don't!" Twilight held her tail back with her magic.
"Ouch!!" Sharlina rubbed her tail with her paws gently, glowering at Twilight.
"How do I know you're not out to hurt the princess?"
The wolf sighed, seeing her point. "In that case, do you have any books I could read?"
"You can read?" Twilight tilted her head. This fact had caught her by surprise, making her temporarily forget her anger.
"Yes. My people prided literacy above nearly all else."



Nightlight trotted up to Sharlina, apprehensive, wondering if it was safe to approach her at the moment. "Hey, um... Whatcha readin'?"
Sharlina shrugged. "A fantasy novel. It's actually quite interesting." Even if the characters are despicable pony-spawn.
Nightlight smiled. "I like to read fantasy too. In fact, I do write some myself sometimes..."
That caught Sharlina's attention. The wolves she remembered growing up with never approved of fantasy. It was nice to have someone around who was on the same page as her. She turned to face him. "You write stories?" She smiled. "You'll have to show me sometime."
"I-I don't know... I mean, I haven't even shown Twilight before... Which reminds me: you'd better be careful. Twilight's considering kicking you out."
Sharlina sighed. "That figures..."
"Can you promise not to hurt the princess? At least for the time being? I don't want you to leave." Nightlight looked at the wolf with large, puppy-dog eyes.
"I... suppose so..." Sharlina reluctantly agreed, ruffling the pony's hair and smiling a little. "I shall give this diplomacy thing a try, but if it doesn't work, there are no guarantees I will hold myself back."
"That's okay. That's all we needed to hear." Nightlight smiled.
Sharlina smiled back. "I like you." She nuzzled his cheek, causing Nightlight to blush.
"Okay!" Twilight announced. "The letter has been sent, and the princess seeks audience with us tomorrow morning. I trust you'll be attending, Sharlina." Twilight's eyes narrowed. She had grown wary of this wolf.
"Of course," Sharlina replied, forcing herself to be polite so as to keep from being kicked out.
"Twilight, Sharlina has agreed to our terms. She... um, she will be staying then, yes?"
Twilight's gaze did not lighten or move from the silver wolf. "For now. Though if the princess approves, we'll be sending her off to Fluttershy's cottage instead."
Nightlight's gaze fell. "But, Twilight—"
"I don't want to hear it. Now, I'm going to be upstairs studying until bed. You can fetch dinner for yourselves." And with that, Twilight trotted quietly up the stairs, slamming the door to her bedroom.
Sharlina wagged her tail when Twilight was gone. "Can you show me your stories now?" she asked, her eyes bright.
Nightlight grinned. "Maybe a little..."



"Aww, I didn't know you were a hopeless romantic!" Sharlina said adoringly.
Nightlight blushed. "Yeah, well..."
And so the two fawned over Nightlight's notebook until they became too tired to read any longer. Then they fell asleep, side-by-side, each unconsciously cuddling the other.