//------------------------------// // The Bold Elementalist, The Quiet Druid // Story: My Little Mages: The Nightmare's Return // by BrassHeart //------------------------------// MY LITTLE MAGES: THE NIGHTMARE'S RETURN THE BOLD ELEMENTALIST ~~~~~~ “…Can’t believe I was so stupid. Don’t have time for friends. My studies are too important,” Twilight grumbled to herself as the Charon left Sweet Apple Cathedral in the distance. Spike looked at her worriedly. ‘Twilight, I’ve known you for my entire life, but I still don’t understand what you’ve got against having friends,’ He said. The Charon stopped abruptly, nearly launching Spike off Twilight’s shoulder. “Spike, what do friends do?” Twilight asked her familiar. ‘Um… they have fun? They… talk to each other, they spend time together, they…’ “…Waste time. Get in the way of studies,” Twilight said, finishing the sentence that Spike wasn’t about to say. Spike groaned. ‘Twilight, you are way too dedicated to studying,’ He said. ‘Taking some time off every now and then isn’t a bad thing.’ Twilight stomped her foot. “Spike, we just wasted an hour having lunch with a bunch of strangers. If I hadn’t done that, we could have kept on moving, and maybe even gotten this whole job finished a bit quicker. If we finish the job faster, we can spend more time studying. Knowledge is power, Spike. And when the Princess ends up needing help with Nightmare Moon, I am going to need power,” Twilight said with finality. ‘Twilight, the Princess already told you that Nightmare Moon is just a story,’ Spike said. “She's not a story! She’s real, and she’s…” Twilight groaned. “Let’s just get this over with. We’re wasting time.” She gripped the tiller so hard her knuckles turned white, and the Charon gained speed. “LOOK OUT!” The warning came far too late to be any help. A rainbow colored blur shot past the Charon’s bow, barely missing it. “Oh no,” Twilight said, realizing what was about to happen. The wind that was following in the wake of the rainbow blur slammed into the Charon like a brick wall, sending it careening out of control. Twilight quickly let go of the tiller, and grabbed the mast, holding on for her life. “That wasn’t my fault!” Twilight felt obligated to remind Spike, who was too busy screaming in her mind like a small girl to pay attention. After a few chaotic moments, the Charon settled down, and Twilight released her death grip on the mast. “What the hell was that?” She asked once her teeth unclenched. “Hey, you alright?” Twilight turned to face the owner of the new voice. It was a woman, around Twilight’s age, but a bit shorter and with a much more athletic build, hovering next to the Charon. Her multicolored hair was in a high ponytail, held in place by a clip decorated with a cloud and a three-colored lightning bolt. She was wearing light leather armor, feathered pauldrons, dark teal gauntlets with malachite stones on the back of the hand, and long, similarly colored boots. A pair of tiny, ethereal wings were floating next to her ankles, flapping rhythmically. “Sorry ‘bout that. I guess I was going a bit too fast. Anything broken?” She asked. “Are you insane?! I almost died!” Twilight snapped, standing up on shaking legs. “Looks like you survived to me,” The woman said nonchalantly. “Mostly because of dumb luck! Who are you? I should report you to the guard for flying so dangerously!” “Hey, easy, buddy,” The woman said, raising her hands defensively. “I said it was an accident. No need to tell the guards about this.” “You almost killed me! I should have you arrested!” Twilight threatened, getting as close to the woman as possible. “You can’t get me arrested because of one near-miss,” The woman said matter-of-factly. “I think I can,” Twilight said. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, personal apprentice of the Arch Mage, Princess Celestia, here on official business.” The woman’s face drained of color. “Oh hell. You aren’t bluffing,” She realized. “No, I’m not,” Twilight said, crossing her arms. The woman’s attitude changed in the time it would take to blink. One moment, she was floating next to the boat, and the next, she was at Twilight’s feet, nearly sobbing. “Pleeeeaase don’t tell the guards about this! It was an accident! I swear! If I go to prison, it’ll go on my record, and I’ll never be able to go big with that hanging over me!” The woman wailed. “I’m too awesome to be a weather controller for the rest of my life!” “Weather controller?” Twilight repeated. “Are you Rainbow Dash?” The woman’s attitude changed again. She stopped crying at Twilight’s feet and returned to floating in midair, sticking her chest out proudly. “The one and only,” She said. “I take it you’ve heard of me?” “I’ve heard that you’re in charge of Magiville’s weather, and that you’re good at your job. But now, I’m not so convinced,” Twilight said, motioning to the clouds all around them. “What, those?” Rainbow Dash said. “Eh, I’ll get to them later.” “…You’ll get to them later?” Twilight repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah. I mean, I was kinda in the middle of training,” Rainbow Dash said. “Training for what?” Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash looked at her like she was an idiot. “Well, I’m an Elementalist, so obviously I must be training to be Mystica’s next big musical sensation,” She said sarcastically. “What do you think I’m training for?” “The Wonderbolts?” Twilight guessed. “The Wonderbolts!” Rainbow Dash said. “The best fliers in Mystica! Only the best of the best are allowed to even lick their shoes! I’ve been dreaming of joining them since I became an Elementalist!” “Yeah, I’m sure the Wonderbolts would accept a reckless flier who doesn’t even have the drive to do her job on time,” Twilight said. Rainbow Dash stared at her through narrowed eyes. “Was that a challenge?” Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight smirked. “Maybe it is,” She said. “Let’s see how fast you can take out every cloud a quarter kilometer from this spot. Impress me, and maybe I won’t let the guards know about this little incident.” “Oh, I am going to knock your socks off, buddy,” Rainbow Dash said. Twilight winced at the word ‘buddy’. “I bet I can clear these skies…” She held up two fingers. “With two arrows.” “Then let’s see you do it,” Twilight said. Rainbow Dash flicked her hand, and a brown bow with white steel blades on the ends, like feathers, materialized in her grip. “You might want to move back,” She said, pointing off to the distance. “Way back.” Twilight grabbed the tiller and the Charon flew off. Rainbow Dash performed some basic stretches while Twilight moved away. “This should be over quickly,” Twilight said to Spike as she reached a safe distance and turned the Charon around to look at Rainbow Dash. “All these clouds, with two arrows? Impossible.” “One!” The speck in the distance that was Rainbow Dash shouted. The clouds beneath Rainbow Dash exploded outwards as the first arrow punched through them. But then, the clouds started to swirl, following the arrow’s path down to the ground. “No way,” Twilight said in disbelief. “A tornado?!” The new funnel of clouds started to pick up speed, swirling faster and faster. The trees were starting to groan and creak. All the nearby clouds were sucked into the tornado, and Twilight could see Rainbow Dash, hovering above it. “Two!” Rainbow Dash shouted. There was a crack of thunder as a lightning bolt shot from Rainbow Dash's bow, piercing straight down through the heart of the tornado. The clouds that had made up the tornado evaporated from the extreme heat of the magical lightning, leaving the skies as clear as pure water. Twilight’s jaw was still dropped as Rainbow Dash floated over to the Charon, a grin on her face. “Lemme guess, you’ve been rendered speechless?” Rainbow Dash asked, closing Twilight’s mouth. “That was… that was impressive. I honestly thought that…” “I was all bark and no bite?” Rainbow Dash finished her sentence. “I get that a lot for some reason.” “Well, a deal’s a deal,” Twilight said, defeated. “I won’t tell the guards that you nearly hit me. You’ll be able to take care of the rest of the skies before the Summer Sun Celebration, right?” “As soon as I finish training, yeah,” Rainbow Dash said. “That’s the best I’m going to get out of you, isn’t it?” Twilight asked, sighing. She pulled out the scroll and crossed ‘weather’ off. “By the way, can you tell me where I can find the Druid in charge of the Celebration’s music?” “You mean Fluttershy? Sure, she’s probably out in the woods, practicing,” Rainbow Dash said, pointing to the southeast. “If you’re really going to go talk to her, be careful. She’s really bad with meeting new people.” “I’ll be sure to remember that,” Twilight said. “Thank you for your time. And for not killing me.” “Any time, pal,” Rainbow Dash said, slapping Twilight on the back. “I gotta get back to training. See ya at the Celebration?” “Um, yes. Sure,” Twilight said. She repressed a groan. She’d been referred to as a friend again. “Great! Later!” Rainbow Dash said, leaping from the Charon and flying off. ‘That’s two friends…’ Spike remarked. Twilight rolled her eyes. “Spike, I don’t think that she counts as a friend for almost killing me,” Twilight said, making the Charon descend to the forest floor. “We’ll be going on foot from here. We might miss her if we’re in the air.” ~~~~~~ It was a point of pride that Mystica had a very, very low crime rate. There were occasional thieves, of course, but things like murder were very, very rare. In fact, there was only one prison in the nation that was equipped to hold hardcore criminals: the Stalingrad Penitentiary. But even there, there was only one prisoner whose crimes were so heinous she earned a life sentence. Her name was Nightshade, a former Wonderbolt. Nightshade lay on her bunk in her solitary cell, her hands behind her head. She was staring at the ceiling, which had the distinction of being the most interesting thing in the world at the moment. “Three hundred and seventy six,” Nightshade said, counting off the last of the tiny dots on the ceiling. She didn’t know what they were, only that they were starting to spread. Last time she’d counted, there were only three hundred and seventy four. “Maybe I miscounted,” Nightshade sighed. She closed her eyes. “Well, better start over.” She opened her eyes, and was decidedly unsurprised by the sudden presence of a strange, hooded man in black armor standing over her. What little could be seen of his face was wrinkled and scarred. “Hello, Nightshade,” The man said. “Hello, strange old fucker who somehow got into my cell,” Nightshade said. “Are you actually here or am I just dreaming?” “I’m very real, I assure you,” The old man said. “And I have an offer for you.” “Not even going to introduce yourself, huh?” “No. First off, what do you know about the Mage in the Moon?” The old man asked. Nightshade shrugged. “About as much as everyone else. Some mage tried to destroy the sun or some shit, I don’t remember, and got banished to the moon for her trouble, yeah? It’s a bedtime story. What about it?” “What if I told you that it wasn’t a bedtime story?” “Then I’d probably just laugh at you. Look, are you going to tell me what you want from me or not?” Nightshade asked impatiently. The old man grunted. “Long story short, there will be a drastic change in regime tonight. When the smoke clears, our new Queen wants to have people working for her who can perform certain duties without complaint. Due to your track record, we believe that you will be perfect for leading an elite team of flight-capable mages to…” “I swear, if the next words out of your mouth are ‘entertain the populace’, I will strangle you with my handcuffs.” “…To ensure that the populace doesn’t try and revolt against the new regime.” “Oh. Good,” Nightshade said. “So, we’d be like flying military police?” “I suppose it could be put that way.” “What’s the pay like?” “Straight to business, I see. You’ll receive a salary of…” Nightshade whistled at the number that the old man gave her. “Damn. You guys must really want me on your side,” She said. “As I said, you possess traits that we find desirable for the position,” The old man said. “You do know why I’m in here, right?” Nightshade asked. “My teamwork skills are a wee bit infamous.” “We’re fairly confident that the fact we will not be so merciful to criminals will keep you from going on a rampage and killing four of your teammates.” “And one janitor. Don’t forget the janitor.” “My point still stands. Have you come to a decision?” “Let me think…” Nightshade said. “I could either get out of this shithole and lead a team of flying badasses to uphold whatever laws you people are planning, which would probably involve me getting my hands dirty in the best possible way…” She looked back up at the ceiling. “Or, I could just sit here in this stupid cell for the rest of my life, counting those little dots on the ceiling. Tough choice.” “Well, when you finally make up your mind…” The old man dropped two items on Nightshade’s bunk. A ring of keys and a black bow. “…Here’s your first test. I’ll be waiting for you outside.” With that said, he stepped into the shadows and disappeared. Nightshade didn’t waste any time. She picked up the keyring and started testing the keys on her handcuffs. She found the right key on her third try, and the cuffs clicked open. Nightshade grinned as she felt the magical power the cuffs had been blocking off flow back into her. She felt complete for the first time in five years. She picked up the black bow next, getting a feel for its weight in her hands. It felt good. Very good. She looked between her bow, the iron bars, and the ring of keys. She could just use the keys on the door, and get out without tripping any alarms, or she could try out her new bow, alerting the guards to her escape, and have to fight her way out. Tough choice. A ray of fire formed on her fingertips. ~~~~~~ THE QUIET DRUID ~~~~~~ ‘Hey, Twilight, I’ve been wondering,’ Spike said as Twilight hiked through the underbrush. “About what?” Twilight asked, waving a hand to telekinetically move the branches of a bush out of the way. ‘When the Princess gave you that scroll earlier, you seemed surprised that there was a Druid in charge of the music. Why was that?’ “Because Druids aren’t typically very adept at playing instruments, I suppose,” Twilight said. “As a matter of fact, I’m pretty surprised that this town even has a Druid. Most Druids avoid human contact by living in pretty remote places, but I guess this Druid, what was her name? Shutterfly, that’s it, Shutterfly must be a bit more social than the common Druid.” ‘Rainbow Dash said her name was Fluttershy, didn’t she? Also, she said something about… wait,’ Spike lifted his head, darting out his tongue to sniff at the air. ‘I smell rabbit.’ “Spike, you know you’re not allowed to go hunting,” Twilight said. “Plus, haven’t you already had lunch?” ‘Yeah, but I’m hungry again! Please, Twilight? Just one little rabbit?’ Spike begged, pouting as best he could and making puppy-dog eyes. Twilight sighed. “Oh, fine. Just don’t go too far, alright?” She said. Spike’s face lit up, and he jumped down from Twilight’s shoulder to vanish in the underbrush. ‘I won’t! Don’t worry!’ He said. In moments, he was too far away for Twilight to feel his presence in her mind. Twilight shook her head at her familiar’s actions. “Dragons,” She said. “Always thinking with their stomachs.” A second later, there was a sound that Twilight never would have expected to hear in the middle of the woods. The opening notes of Mystica’s anthem, in birdsong. It was very faint, only on the edge of Twilight’s hearing, but it was unmistakable. Twilight continued on with renewed energy, certain that she had finally found the Druid. After a minute or so of blundering through the trees and bushes, Twilight finally came across a small clearing, occupied by one woman and a flock of singing birds in the lower branches of a tree situated in the center of the clearing. The woman had her back to Twilight, and was holding up an oaken, branchlike staff, the orb set in its gnarled tip aglow with pink light. Looking closely, Twilight noticed that the eyes of the singing birds were glowing with the same pink light. They were obviously being Enthralled. Twilight turned her attention to the woman, who was most likely the Druid she was looking for. She couldn’t see her face, but she could see that the woman had long, pink hair, and she was wearing a yellow robe with a short, green and blue cape, and a hood. She was also carrying a simple bag made out of what looked like wood fiber. All her attention was on the flock of songbirds perched in the low branches of a tree. Twilight listened in silence, amazed by both the quality of the music and the fact that this Druid was Enthralling such a large number of songbirds at once. Soon, the birds gave off one final series of chirps, and then they were silent. The Druid lowered her staff, letting out a breath. Twilight, recognizing her opportunity, stepped forward. “Okay, everyone,” The Druid said to her birds, still unaware of Twilight’s presence, “That was perfect. If you don’t mind, I’d like to give it another go from the top, so we can be ready for…” “Excuse me?” The Druid very nearly jumped out of her skin. The songbirds took to the air at the sound of her scream. The Druid turned on her heel to face Twilight, and tried to hide behind her staff. “Pleasedon’thurtme!” She squeaked, clenching her blue eyes shut. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Twilight said, trying her hardest to calm the Druid down. The Druid opened one of her eyes slightly, quickly scanning over Twilight. When she was convinced that Twilight was not going to hurt her, she opened both her eyes, but did not stop cowering. “Okay, maybe we got started on the wrong foot,” Twilight said. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, from the Royal Court in Camelot. You’re Fluttershy, the Druid in charge of the music for the celebration, correct?” “Um, mhm,” The Druid mumbled. “Good. I must say, I can see why they chose you for the music. I’ve never heard of a Druid being able to Enthrall so many animals at one time,” Twilight said with admiration. “It was… it was nothing,” Fluttershy muttered. “Nothing? You were just completely Enthralling almost four dozen songbirds! Most Druids would only be able to Enthrall a dozen, at best!” Twilight said. “Honestly, I’m surprised I haven’t heard about you before this. You might be one of the most powerful Druids in Mystica!” “Um, thanks…” Fluttershy mumbled, almost inaudibly. There was a moment of awkward silence. Fluttershy started kicking at the ground and fidgeting. “So…” Twilight said, trying to at least break the silence. She glanced up, noticing that the songbirds had returned to their branches. “It looks like your birds are back. I’ll let you get back to…” ‘TWILIGHT, SAVE ME!’ Spike screamed, bursting into the clearing at a run and scrambling up Twilight’s leg. He clutched onto her back, staring fearfully in the direction he had come running from. “Spike? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked, feeling that Spike was shuddering. “Um… what is…” Fluttershy began to ask. “Sorry, this is my familiar, Spike. I think something must have spooked him,” Twilight said. ‘Spooked me? It nearly KILLED me!’ Spike said. Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What nearly killed you?” She asked. Her question was answered a second later, when another animal burst out of the same bushes Spike had come out of, its pointed teeth bared. Its beady eyes were locked onto Spike, and it was hissing angrily. Also, it was a bunny. Twilight couldn’t help herself. She doubled over laughing. “A bunny?! Really, Spike? A bunny?” She said in between fits of laughter. “Um, that’s…” Fluttershy tried to speak up, but Twilight didn’t hear her. “This is what nearly killed you? This cute little bunny?” Twilight said, reaching down to pet it. ‘WAIT, NO!’ Spike screamed. “Um, you shouldn’t…” Fluttershy tried to warn Twilight, but it was too late. The bunny lashed out at Twilight’s hand, biting into it with surprisingly sharp teeth. Twilight shrieked. “GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!” She screamed, swinging her arm to try and throw off the vicious lagomorph. Unfortunately, the bunny’s jaws were strong. “Um, don’t… don’t scream! I can…” Fluttershy tried to approach Twilight, but was forced back when she was almost hit by the bunny. “THE TEETH! BY THE GODDESS, I THINK IT MIGHT BE PART WOLF!” Twilight screamed, swinging her arms like a windmill. The bunny was slightly dizzy, but still held on. “I’m trying to…” “SPIKE, ROAST IT! ROAST IT!” ‘I’m not pissing it off any more than I already have!’ “STOP!” Every blade of grass in the clearing, and every leaf on the nearby trees were blasted back as if there was a sudden wind emanating from the Druid. Twilight, acting on pure instinct, decided that it was a good idea to listen to Fluttershy. The bunny didn’t let go, but Twilight ignored the pain. When Fluttershy realized that she had just raised her voice, she ducked her head sheepishly. “I mean, if that’s okay with you…” She mumbled. “Um, Angel Bunny? Could you maybe, um, stop trying to bite her hand off?” The bunny growled (Twilight hadn’t even known bunnies could growl) and let go. It hopped off to sit at Fluttershy’s feet, and stared at Twilight, a disapproving scowl on its face. “I’m so sorry about Angel. Very, very sorry. He has…” Fluttershy lowered her voice slightly. “…Anger management issues.” “I never would have guessed,” Twilight said, looking at the blood on her hand from the bunny bite. Fluttershy quickly stepped forward and grabbed Twilight’s hand, covering the wound with her palm. Twilight’s hand began to feel warm, and slightly tingly. When Fluttershy released her hand, the wound was gone. “I’m sorry, I should have asked your permission before I did that, but it looked like…” “It’s alright. Thank you very much,” Twilight said, wiping away the blood. “I’ll just have to make sure that Spike doesn’t try to eat anything that can fight back.” Spike peeked over Twilight’s shoulder, looking warily at the bunny, who glared back with murderous intent. Fluttershy stared at Spike for a second before her eyes widened. “A baby dragon!” She gasped. Fluttershy seemingly vanished from Twilight’s vision, and Twilight could feel Spike being pulled off her back. She turned around to see Fluttershy, all traces of her former shyness gone, holding Spike and inspecting him thoroughly. “He can’t be any more than ten. Oh, his scales… he hasn’t been eating very many gems, has he? They're not treats, they're supposed to be a part of his diet. He should at least have a bit of quartz with every meal. It helps dragons grow, and it makes their scales shinier. What breed is he? Southern Jungle? No, his claws are too sharp. He could be an Eastern Forest, but his tail’s the wrong shape. Oh, I’ve got it! Western Mountains! Definitely Western Mountains!” Fluttershy decided, her words blurring together. ‘Talkative, isn’t she?’ The baby dragon said in Twilight’s mind. “He’s so cute,” Fluttershy cooed. "I'm sorry, it's just that this is the first time I've ever seen a baby dragon. You said his name is Spike?" "Y-yes," Twilight answered, still taken aback by Fluttershy's sudden lecture. "That's a very nice name," Fluttershy said, handing Spike back to Twilight. "Um, if you don't mind, could I ask you a few questions about what it's like raising a baby dragon?" "Uh, I'm sorry, but we're on a bit of a tight schedule at the moment. I have to head to Magiville to speak with the person in charge of decorations for the celebration, and I have no idea how long that could take," Twilight said, honestly just looking for an excuse to not waste time talking to Fluttershy. There was research to do, damn it. "I can walk with you into town, if you'd like. We could talk on the way there, and if I'm helping you with the bushes and things, getting there would be a lot quicker..." Fluttershy suggested. Twilight, unable to find any fault with her logic, sighed. “I suppose you have a point," She said, walking out of the clearing with Fluttershy on her heels. True to her word, Fluttershy's staff began to glow, and the bushes in Twilight's path moved themselves out of the way. "Alright, ask away." "Oh, I'd love to, but first, um, I don't know if you're doing this on purpose or not, and if you are, then I'm sure you have a perfectly good reason, but..." Fluttershy pointed over her shoulder. "Um, town is that way." Twilight turned around. "I knew that. I was just testing you. Congratulations, you passed," She said, walking past Fluttershy. Fluttershy grinned. "Yay!" She squealed, following Twilight like some sort of puppy. "Oh, wait, the questions. I don't have many, just some pretty basic things I wanted to know." "Such as?" Twilight asked, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. Fluttershy took a deep breath. "Before he hatched, how big was his egg? Did you keep the eggshells? What did he look like right after he hatched? How long until he..." Fluttershy kept rambling on as they walked, not even giving Twilight enough time to answer her questions. Twilight groaned inwardly. This was going to be a long walk. ~~~~~~ Deep in the Everfree Forest was a hole in the ground. The hole itself was not very special; it was what it led to that was more interesting. A deep expanse of tunnels and dens, belonging to the rulers of the Everfree: the werewolves. Wolves that had learned the art of magic, and gained the power of opposable thumbs. The only things separating them from humans were their coarse gray fur, their dog-like faces, and a slight lack of intelligence. They weren’t dumb, per se, just not entirely clever. When hunting, they were masters of strategy, but in other endeavors, such as reading, logic, and basic addition, they… were less than stellar. Take, for example, the current Alpha of the Everfree’s werewolf pack, the Diamond Dogs. He was standing outside the tunnels to the dens, and he was staring at the sun, as he had been for several minutes. It was an impressive show of willpower, however. His eyes were watering, but he did not care. The sight would probably be burned into his vision for the rest of the day, but he did not care. He was monologing, damn it. This was one of the things that you had to do when monologing. Stare at the object of your disdain. Even if said object was the sun. “Your time is coming, shining daystar,” He growled through a mouth of sharp teeth, holding up a furry claw as if he was grasping the sun. “Your lies are about to catch up with you. The true Queen shall return, and she shall…” “Uh, Roh-Ver?” A scratchy voice said from the hole. The Alpha’s eye began to twitch as he turned on his abnormally short subordinate. “Spaht! What have I told you about sneaking up on me when I’m monologing?!” Roh-Ver howled. Spaht scratched his chin for a second, giving the illusion of thought. “…Not to do it?” He guessed. Roh-Ver answered him by striking him on the head with a meaty paw, sending him back into the hole. “Yes! Now, unless somebody is bleeding everywhere, leave me be!” He yelled into the hole, then turned away, grumbling. He looked back up at the sun, fighting back his urge to squint as he tried to remember where he had been. “Ahem. The true Queen shall return, and she shall tear down the kingdom you have spent so long building, and a new kingdom will rise: a kingdom where…” “Roh-Ver, this is kinda important…” Spaht said from the hole. Roh-Ver groaned, and decided that if he didn’t deal with Spaht, he’d never get his monolog finished. “Fine! What is it?” He growled, turning to Spaht. “Fie-Doh stole my meat!” Spaht said. A paw almost as big as Spaht reached up from the hole and shoved Spaht aside, and the hulking Fie-Doh popped out of the hole. “Did not! I found it fair and square!” He said. “You found it in my paws, you liar!” Spaht said, struggling against Fie-Doh’s paw. The larger werewolf showed no signs of budging. “Enough! Spaht, are you so weak you had to come running to me to solve your problems?” Roh-Ver asked. Spaht opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted. “The answer is yes! You are that weak to be pushed around by Fie-Doh, and if you want some meat, you can go hunting yourself!” “But I did hunt for the meat! And I was cooking it myself!” Spaht said. “Fie-Doh saw me cooking it on the fire, so he just…” “You what?!” Roh-Ver howled. “You cooked your meat?!” “Um, yes?” Spaht said. Fie-Doh laughed, picking a few shreds of meat from his teeth. “If you can call that ‘cooking’,” He said. “I was saving that meat from your pathetic culinary attempts!” “I was experimenting, you buffoon! I seasoned it with these weird plants I found in the forest, then slow-roasted it to seal in the flavor and the juices, and I was almost done when you yanked it off the fire!” Spaht said. “You wouldn’t know proper roasting if it bit you in the leg! You have to turn the meat! You were just letting one side of it get turned to charcoal!” “Are you idiots?!” Roh-Ver finally screamed. Fie-Doh and Spaht looked at him, as if they had forgotten he was there. “You are Diamond Dogs! The greatest werewolves in the Everfree Forest! Servants to the Banished Queen! You do not cook your meat! You eat meat raw, bloody, and twitching.” If Fie-Doh and Spaht had any wisdom, they would have stayed silent. However, werewolves are not known for wisdom. “But if we eat meat raw, we could get salmonella!” Spaht pointed out. “Salmonella is from poultry, idiot! You were cooking venison!” Roh-Ver growled, closing his eyes as Spaht and Fie-Doh continued to argue. “Moon, grant me the strength that I may pummel these idiots,” He prayed. He pulled back his upper lip, baring his sharp fangs, and without making a sound, leapt on the arguing pair of werewolves. What followed was at least an hour of Roh-Ver, Spaht and Fie-Doh brawling throughout the tunnels. When the dust finally cleared, Roh-Ver was mostly uninjured, while Spaht and Fie-Doh were buried up to their necks in the floor. "Anything else you idiots want to say?" Roh-Ver growled. "How come there are so many tiny little birds down here...?" Fie-Doh asked woozily. Roh-Ver hit him on the head. "Ooh, now they're stars..." "Oh, shut up," Roh-Ver said, turning away from Spaht and Fie-Doh. "Get out of those holes and go lick your wounds. The Moon will need you at your best for tonight." "Yes, Alpha."