Twilight hadn’t moved since Nick gave her a hug. Part of her was shocked by the display of affection, but another part of her was also elated that he did so. It wasn’t just the hug that had her heart rapidly pacing, it was the fact that he stroked her mane as well. She didn’t want to jump to any conclusions, but it seemed the wolf had feelings for her. The prospect made her heart beat faster.
Not a soul knew that of all the books she read, it was the cheesy romance novels that she truly cherished. The idea of a stallion sweeping her off her hooves was one of her secret fantasies. However, as she grew older, Twilight realized that there were more important things than romance, like improving her magical powers. Even though she had this revelation, it didn’t mean that she gave up on romance all together. Despite Rarity’s multiple blind dates, each stallion fell short of her expectations. While he was definitely not a stallion, Nick did have a lot of the qualities she was looking for.
First of all, he was really a gallant hero, risking his life for a species that was not his own. There was no reward mentioned, he simply accepted what he was asked of and was working hard to make sure he didn’t fail. Secondly, while he mostly kept to himself, he still was kind and friendly to everypony. She heard from many of the townsponies of how he would always ask if there was anything he could help with. Why did he do it? To show his good will and hopefully earn their trust.
There was also his intellect that was attractive. Whenever they took a break from their training, they talked about his research and education, the only things from his past he was willing to talk about. He went to the best schools he could so that he could work on biological research, focusing on the microscopic aspect. It was fascinating to listen to the wolf talk about being able to regrow limbs from cells or finding new ways to strengthen the body by manipulating certain genes that coded for specific proteins. The talking wasn’t one sided, as Nick gladly listened to her talk about magic theory, and not only listen, but actually understood some of the concepts that she had explained.
They didn’t always talk about science on their breaks, using more intimate topics, such as how they had been, Twilight’s exploits that lead to her becoming a princess. While Twilight was more than happy to relive some of the events in her past ,Nick always changed the subject whenever Twilight had tried to ask about his. It didn’t help when he said that his past had too many things he didn’t want to remember, as it only piqued her curiosity more. Still, she knew that if he didn’t want to talk about it, then it would be best if she didn’t try to pry for each session.
As she thought about bringing up her discovery to Nick, three scenarios ran through her head. One had Nick admitting his attraction, which would lead to Twilight confessing her mutual feelings and they cuddle afterwards. The second scenario had Nick nicely telling her that she was mistaken, and while flattered, didn’t feel the same towards her. While both embarrassed and a little saddened, at least they would remain friends if this happened. Then lastly, and to her seemed most unlikely to transpire, Nick would shake his head in disgust and yell at her for thinking that an interspecies relationship would work, and him leaving, saying that it would be best for the both of them to stop training together if she was becoming too attached to him.
That last scenario scared her the most, even though it didn’t seem to match Nick’s personality at all. What scared her though, was that she couldn’t plan for his reaction if she told him. She could try to predict which scenario would occur, but that’s the best she could do. She could always ask her sister-in-law what she should do, but that would mean bothering Cadence when her foal was due any day now. Plus there was the chance that her BBBFF would see the letter and get all protective over her.
What should I do?
Nick wandered towards his home, not really paying attention to his surroundings. Normally he would never drop his guard, but having this painful memory surface was too hard to ignore. He was actually on the verge of tears, holding onto the grief for so long. While his parents offered to pay for counseling, he declined. Talking about his feelings wasn’t going to bring his friend back. He stopped walking and stood on the path, taking deep breaths and taking control of his emotions.
“Now is not the time to start feeling sorry for myself. These ponies have much more to lose if I fail. As long as I live and breathe, they won’t have to lose anything,” he vowed, filled with determination. “I will not stop until Tirek, Chrysalis and Sombra are annihilated. I don’t care if I die, as long as I can prevent any more pain.”
Just as he was about to leave, he heard a growl behind him. He was mad at himself for dropping his guard. Sensing that he was going to be forced into a fight, he quickly removed his satchel and got into his first combat stance.
“I’m getting really sick and tired of you wolves chasing after me. I mean you’re made of wood for crying out loud, why would you need to eat me?!”
His words fell on deaf ears, since the wolves started to close in on him.
“Fine, it’s your funeral,” he said, charging up a fireball.
The wolf was definitely glad he had sparred with Princess Luna, since he had never been in a fight before. They hadn’t practiced taking on multiple foes, but he would figure something out.
First, he needed to quickly assess the situation. The wolves were, for what he could guess the same ones that chased him through the forest yesterday. They had surrounded him on each side, so there would be no running away this time.
Guess I’ll have to take them out one by one since I only know single attacks.
The fireball ready to throw, he launched it at the first one, incinerating it to ash. The other two lunged at him, which he was able to dodge pretty easily.
One down, two to go.
He launched a second fireball, only for the wolf to dodge it, learning from his buddy’s deadly mistake.
Guess they aren’t as dumb as I thought. Melee combat it is then.
He engulfed his paws in flame and charged towards the wolves, but missed them as they both jumped out of the way. They countered and he felt pain ripping on both sides of his body. The wolves had raked their claws into him and he was now bleeding. Anger overshadowed the pain. After promising Twilight that he would be safe, he was now injured. Instead of trying to strike and get countered again, he had to wait for the wolves to attack.
“I’m going to make both of you dumb pile of sticks pay for that!”
They both lunged at him, but he was ready. Jumping to the side to avoid one of their claws, he threw his paw out at the other wolf, coming into contact with its jaw. The wolf yelped in pain as part of its face caught on fire and it reeled back. Nick saw this opportunity and charged at his target, bringing his other paw into an uppercut, throwing the wolf on his back. Quickly charging up a giant fireball, he lobbed it at the wolf, catching its entire body on fire. Nick smiled as the wolf writhed in pain. However, while he was finishing off the wolf he felt a surge of pain shoot up his hind leg. The other wolf had clamped its jaws down on it, not letting go. Nick’s adrenaline numbed the pain, allowing him to focus more on his anger.
“GET… OFF… MY… LEG!” he shouted, creating a huge ball of fire and slamming it into the wolf. He was fortunate that the flame didn’t catch him on fire, with the fireball lightly singeing his fur. It hit the timberwolf, causing it to let go. Nick threw another fireball, this one actually igniting the wolf. The yowl of pain continued to ring in his ears as he watched as the flame died out, leaving a pile of ash.
Panting, Nick looked around to see if there were any more timberwolves. As his adrenaline dropped, his mind became clearer, which led him to a shocking revelation. He had killed the three wolves by himself. Sure he had taken some damage, but he still came out on top. What was even more shocking was that he actually enjoyed it. Sure, he had killed his fair share of pests, but this was different somehow. He could actually see the pain his opponents felt and he was happy that he had caused it. Afterall, they were the ones that picked a fight with him.
Princess Celestia was right. Humans are great at killing.
He decided not to think about that thought any longer. Making sure the immediate threat was eliminated and there weren’t any more dangers about, he assessed his wounds. His sides were still bleeding, but it wasn’t too deep of a wound. The bite on his leg however, had dug in pretty deep. All his bones were intact thankfully, he just had some torn flesh. Remembering that he could use healing magic, he decided that now would be as good a time as any to try it. He went through what Twilight had showed him and held a paw over each wound. His magic gently moved from his paw to the wound, and before his eyes they sealed.
“That’s pretty amazing,” he said in awe, touching the wound to test it. It still hurt, but it felt like he had gotten punched, not scratched with sharp claws. Just to be safe, he took a leaf and wrapped it around the wound, creating a makeshift bandage. Thanks to the wound on his leg, it would definitely be night when he arrived at the castle, but at least he still felt like he had enough energy to defend himself if he needed to. Picking up his satchel, which for whatever reason wasn’t damaged, the wolf continued walking home. As he walked, he noticed the pain in his leg lessen a bit. Then he remembered what the tree had told him.
“With every enemy you defeat, you will be able to gain its power.”
Thanks to Twilight he knew that timberwolves were able to regenerate their body had all the pieces been broken, which was why he used his fire attacks. Hard to regenerate when you’re a pile of ash.
“Now I have regenerative powers, sweet!” he cheered. He wasn’t too sure how fast the regeneration would take, but he figured that with the wound he sustained, what could have taken a week to fully heal was shortened to a couple of days.
The trip back was uneventful, thankfully, but Nick never dropped his guard, even after crossing the bridge. When he reached the doors, he breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s good to be back home.”
Opening the door, he laid down his bag and proceeded to make a fire. For some reason he wasn’t hungry, which was odd considering he had just fought his first fight. So instead of cooking whatever he had bought today, he sat by the fire and stared at the flame. He was still thinking about his “battle” he had earlier. It was pretty much a reality check of what he had been tasked to do. Sparring with Luna didn’t even come close to the feeling he had felt. Her purpose wasn’t to kill, only train and Nick knew she pulled some attacks as to not rough him up too badly. These wolves didn’t care, he was their next prey and they were going to do everything they could to make sure he was dinner.
The thought of death made him think about Alex again. He changed his gaze to the stars, admiring their endless beauty. He wondered if heaven existed in this place. If so, he wondered if Alex was watching him, wondering what he would do in if he were in Nick’s position. Then Nick did something that always comforted himself, even when he had lost Alex. Sing.
And watch me as I go,
And help me to be wise, in times when I don’t know.
“Alex would’ve known what to do, he always did,” shedding a tear as he thought about his friend.
Let this be my prayer, when I lose my way
Lead me to a place, guide me with your grace, to a place where I’ll be safe
At the end of the second verse, Nick let out an involuntary howl. It shocked him at first, but then he remembered that he was a wolf now, so what he just did was probably normal. Howling did feel comforting as well, so he continued for at least a few minutes before he continued singing, falling asleep as the soft sound of wings descended towards him.
Luna was in her room, preparing for her sparring session with Nick when she heard a wolf howling. It sounded like it was either hurt, or in distress. Normally she would ignore it since it’s owner was most likely a timberwolf, but she knew that it could also be coming from a wolf that she cared about.
While she wasn’t sure if it was more than just friendship that she wanted with Nick, she definitely knew that she did care about him. If that howling was coming from him, then she needed to check on him right away. Stars forbid that he was seriously injured.
Without a moment’s hesitation, she trotted to her balcony and took flight, heading towards her old castle. Flying over the Everfree Forest, Nick stopped howling, causing Luna to worry even more. She was about to pick up her pace when Nick continued his singing.
I ask that life be kind
And watch us from above
I hope each soul will find, another soul to love
Let this be my prayer, just like every child
Needs to find a place, guide them with your grace, to a place where they’ll be safe
The alicorn’s jaw dropped in awe. She never took Nick to be a singer, let alone have such a melodic voice. She slowed down her pace, realizing that the wolf was alright. Just as he finished singing, she was above the ruins. Slowly entering through the roof, she found him asleep in her old throne. The moonlight allowed her to see that indeed Nick had been injured, bandaged around his torso and leg.
Carefully opening each one up, she noticed quite a bit of blood, but no wounds. Then she remembered how Nick had told her he learned basic healing magic from Twilight. She wondered if she should clean him up so that he wasn’t lying in his own blood. There was also the chance that the scent of blood could attract other creatures from the forest, leaving Nick exposed.
I can’t leave him in this state. I’m sure he won’t mind if I wash him up. I can just teleport back to my room to draw less attention. First let me place a deep sleeping spell on him before I do anything.
She effortlessly cast the spell, and gently poked him to see if it had worked. Once she was certain Nick wasn’t going to wake up anytime soon, she floated him onto her back and teleported them to her balcony. Luckily for Luna, although the wolf was bigger than her, she could carry him across the room and into her bathroom. She turned on the lights and found a washcloth she could use.
Drawing up some warm water, she soaked the cloth and added some soap. Removing the bandage around his torso, she set to work, carefully scrubbing his fur. Every now and then the wolf would squirm from her scrubbing a bad spot, but for the most part he was a good patient. Now that his torso was done, she moved on to his leg. The blood was thicker here and covered most of his thigh. As she pushed back his fur, she could see a huge bite mark on his skin, making her shake her head.
“So you fought those pesky timberwolves I see. I know that I said you were ready to explore the Everfree, but that didn’t mean you had to go find trouble. Thankfully it seems that you weren’t maimed, but I am concerned about your leg. Even with healing magic there is still a scar, signalling that the wolf must have dug in deep. I sure hope it’s not infected.”
She continued cleaning his wound in silence, shifting her gaze to his head. He had a big grin on his muzzle and was murmuring something.
I wish I could enter his dream to see what’s making him so happy. I did promise him that I wouldn’t do that without his permission, even if it was a bad dream. Something about how he didn’t want me to experience his past.
“I … love … you,” Nick whispered softly, causing Luna’s ears to perk up.
Luna shook her head, all that worry about him was causing her to hear things. That was until she heard him say something again. Nick was looking directly at her with his eyes closed.
“Luna ... Twilight, I need to tell you both something important. I … I love both of you. I’ll understand if you two don’t feel the same, but I felt you both needed to know before … “
“Before?! Before what Nick!?” Luna asked the wolf. It was useless however, as Nick’s head rolled back to the ground, his breathing slowing back to a sleeping pace. Although she wouldn’t know what was going to happen she did know one thing.
Twilight and her needed to talk.