Brave the Ulvenweald

by Silvermyr

4. Hunter’s Moon

The three ponies and the wolf stepped out of the forest. Or, rather, they stepped into a large glen. Twilight looked up and saw the last vestiges of evening breaking into night. The sun had already set and the stars were beginning to appear.

”Is this it?” Fluttershy asked, her voice still sharp with dislike. Something told Twilight she had not heard the last of Fluttershy’s complaints about hunting, and that it was going to be an unpleasant conversation.

”It is. Welcome to our village,” Trackhoof confirmed and gestured to the earthworks that had been thrown up in a loose ring with sharpened stakes of wood pointing outwards and upwards. The earthen ring itself was maybe twice as tall as Twilight, but the stakes made it appear much larger. The only interruption in the wall was a heavy wooden gate with two small platforms of wood on either side, presumably to let ponies in or out of the fortified town. She suddenly realized just how civilization could exist in the Weald. Nothing that could not fly would get past that barricade, and for a large animal to land without getting speared would require a lot of precision. She could not see much of what laid behind the defenses, but wisps of smoke were rising from a few places.

The wolf gave a happy bark and rushed up to the gates, soon followed by Trackhoof. Twilight and Fluttershy lingered slightly behind.

An earth pony appeared on one of the platforms with a bow held in his mouth. He stowed it away quickly when he saw Trackhoof. ”Welcome home! Any luck with your gathering? The competitions are just about to start.”

”I found enough death cap to last us for the celebration, and a few extra to save,” Trackhoof called up to the other pony. ”And two travelers who decided to take a stroll in the Weald without knowing what to do with a Hookclaw Recluse bite.”

”Then they were lucky,” the guard said heartily. ”You, travelers, feel free to join the festivities! When you come across Mayor Evermoon, introduce yourselves and she will set you up with a place to rest for the night.”

Before Twilight and Fluttershy even got to answer, the pony turned away and descended the platform, out of their line of sight. A few moments later the gate swung open. Twilight was surprised to see just the lone guard behind it. He must be very strong to open it all by himself. Once she got close she noticed that, just like Trackhoof, he was a muscular pony and nearly the head taller than her. The three ponies and the lone wolf went by him into the town.

Both Twilight and Fluttershy stopped in their tracks once they had gotten in, looking around curiously.

This town was not large by any standard. In front of them was an open square with a hole in the middle. In it laid a pile of wood, evidently for a bonfire. Huddled up nearby the earthworks were low houses, all of them built from thick wood logs with plaster in between them and roofs of dark slate. While the houses did not look nearly as homely as the thatched roof cottages of Ponyville, Twilight could see that they were steady and certainly held for the roughest of weather with their stabile foundation, low profile and sheltered place behind the earthwork wall.

Many ponies mingled about, most with a wolf nearby. There were no pegasi from what Twilight could see. Nopony was flying. ”So… now what?” Twilight asked. ”I’m actually pretty tired. Think we could get something to eat, find the mayor and hit the hay?” She had suddenly realized how hungry she was. They had been walking for hours and had not eaten since noon. The excitement in the evening had made her forget dinner.

”Yes. I want to give this mayor a piece of my mind,” Fluttershy said in a, for her, oddly firm voice.

Twilight would have preferred not picking a fight with the pony who they would have to ask for help tomorrow, but at the same time she knew this was important to Fluttershy. She could not ask her friend to let something like that just slide.

They slowly went towards one of the cooking fires, a bit apprehensive about all the foreign ponies around them. Now that they were closer, both Fluttershy and Twilight realized that all the ponies in this town were just as muscular and heavy as Trackhoof. Twilight blushed ever so slightly as many ponies turned to look after them. She could not deny she liked the attention from all these well sculptured ponies. Nopony made any attempt to speak to them though.

”Ehm… hello,” she said when she came to the circle of ponies around the fire.

Nopony took any notice of her. In fact, everypony around the fire was enraptured by the story a brown earth pony was telling. ”… and then I sicked Grey Mist on the beast from behind. Stupid bear gotta have been surprised, I tell ya. Thought he had me cornered when suddenly a wolf gets him right in the neck! The bear whirled and I jumped at him, put my hind hoof right at his skull and crushed his neck to gravel!” The ponies around the campfire nod approvingly.

”And what trophy did you take, eh?” A mare asked. ”A bear is no small feat. Gotta be something mighty impressive.”

The storyteller smirked and pulled out the bow he had stowed on his saddlebag. ”Got the fang on the handle. My lucky charm.”

”Ah, that’s nothing,” another stallion said. ”Let me tell you about the time me and Varg killed two boars and their piglets, using only one arrow! Now there's a story worth hearing!”

”STOP!” Fluttershy barked and flew into the ring of gathered ponies, angrier than Twilight had ever seen her. ”How can- how can you even-” she sputtered, wings quivering in rage. ”You should be ashamed!”

”Who the hay are you?” The pony with the bear story asked. ”Wait, when did we get a pegasus in our town?”

”And why is she so small,” the mare asked with a superior smirk. ”Bet she couldn’t even neck a fox!” The ponies around laughed.

Fluttershy’s eyes looked like they would plop out of her sockets. ”SHUT UP!!”

”Hah, that’s adorable,” the pony with the bear story said. ”The little filly is flustered! I know the mayor’s said that pegasi are weaker than us earth ponies, but I never thought it'd be this bad! Are really all pegasi this small?”

Fluttershy picked up the tankard the storyteller had at his side and threw the contents in the other pony’s face.

The laughter silenced. Twilight felt a powerful urge to dig into the ground and not come up for ten years of so.

”Hah, she’s got moxie, this one!” another stallion said. ”I like it!”

”About time someone did that to him,” The mare said. ”Pity it wasn’t me.”

”Seems there is more to you than meets the eye, little filly,” the now soaked storyteller said. ”You’ve got more guts than some of my best friends here. Good going!”

Fluttershy looked about, disoriented about the sudden turn of events. She even seemed to have forgotten her anger, though Twilight guessed it might be because her crippling shyness was drowning it out when she was suddenly the center of attention. Anyway, since Fluttershy’s outburst had gotten their attention, maybe now they could get something to eat.

”Hello, everypony,” Twilight said. ”The guard at the gates told us we could get something to eat.”

”Of course you shall,” the storyteller said heartily. ”I don’t know who you are, but I don’t wanna get on this filly’s bad side again.”

”If you do, I bet my bow that the newcomer’s gonna beat your flank,” The mare in the company said as somepony hoofed Fluttershy and Twilight a bowl of broth each. The broth was brown and smelt strongly of rosemary and juniper berries. Just a whiff told her it was unlike anything she had tried before, but it definitely smelt good and filling. She carefully took a sip. After Waxing and Waning’s prank she had learnt to be careful.

It tasted just as she had expected based on the smell, but the tastes were all more racy than practically anything she had ever had before. It was not at all a bad experience. She proceeded with vigor, every sip more delightful than the last.

”This is truly wonderful,” Twilight said to the pony who had given her the bowl. ”What’s in it?”

”Depends,” the storyteller said as he finished his own bowl. ”We put in whatever we find, so it’s never quite the same. Today it’s a feast, so everypony have been out collecting ingredients. I think it was portobello mushrooms, juniper, lingonberries, cranberries, some rosemary, garlic… some chanterelles maybe and venison from deer, moose, a little bit of bear… what am I missing, guys?”

”Pheasant, for one,” the mare said. ”And didn’t somepony get a lynx?”

Twilight had stopped listening. Her stomach revolted. Fast as lightning she ran towards the town gate. She was going to be sick! The moment she was outside she emptied her stomach in the grass. The acrid smell made her grimace. She spat repeatedly to get the horrible taste of her tongue. By the sounds of it, Fluttershy was suffering a similar fate nearby.

Twilight spat one last time before checking on her friend. ”How are you, Fluttershy?”

”I feel dirty,” she said with tears barely held back. ”I ate… I ate a…” she turned back and gagged again, though there was no food left to throw up.

”Hello? Is anypony here?”

Twilight wiped herself as best she could and looked towards the pony who stood in the doorway to the village. She was en elderly mare with sand colored coat and turbid, green eyes. At her side stood a lithe silvery wolf. ”Yes, we were just… uh…” Twilight did not know how to explain why she and Fluttershy had run as if their tails were on fire. ”Trying to find the little filly’s room…?”

”Inside the houses,” the sand colored mare said. ”But this at least gives me the opportunity to finally introduce myself. I am the mayor of this village. Name’s Evermoon.” The Mayor’s eyes narrowed. ”What… are you? Unicorns do not have wings…”

”I… am an alicorn,” Twilight said. ”Uh… a Princess, like Celestia and Luna.” She briefly wondered just how remote this place was if they did not even know the name of the alicon race.

”Alicorn… I have never heard that before. Sorry for not coming earlier, but the wolves too are distracted by the celebrations. They told me you were here just now. But you are still welcome here, of course. Come on in and we’ll get you something to eat-”

”Noooo…” Fluttershy moaned. ”Please no more…”

”Eh, my companion and I are tired,” Twilight said with a hopefully unconcerned smile. ”If you could just show us a place where we can rest, that’d be great.”

The mayor stared questioningly at Fluttershy’s still heaving form, then back to Twilight. ”I guess… If you don’t want to eat anything. But if you would be so kind, perhaps you could wait just ten minutes or so. I have an announcement to make.”

”Sure, we will wait,” Twilight said.

”Great, come on in! The foals and fillies of our village will be honored to have an alicorn to watch this!”

Twilight had really thought to stay outside, but she did not have the heart to disappoint the mayor’s eager look. Besides, she would have to sleep inside the village whether she wanted to or not. Fluttershy shambled up beside Twilight, and together they went back into the village. ”Mayor, this is when the foals get their wolves, right?” Twilight asked. ”Does that mean everypony has their own wolf here?”

”I wouldn’t say ’has’,” the mayor replied. ”That sounds so possessive. We are friends with our companions. We help our them because we want to, and they help us because they want to. Simple as that, and because everything is so simple, our bond is so strong. It is not from need but from want, a want that lasts all our lives. The bond with our wolves is … stronger than I can explain.” Her expression lifted into a bright smile. ”But this sure is a great day for our young.”

Twilight nodded absently and followed the mayor towards the now lit bonfire in the middle of the town. Everypony in town and their wolves were gravitating towards it. The mayor went up to the fire with a spring in her step.

”And now, what we all are here for!” she said loudly once she stood where everypony could see her. ”Will our youngest step forward?”

”Earlier, she said that the wolves had told her we were here,” Twilight said slowly. ”The pony we are looking for did coordinate an attack of wolves against Equestria. Whoever it was must have had the ability to speak with them. And if everypony has their own wolf here, that means they would be used to obeying orders from ponies. I think we might have found our cultist.”

”This place sure is vile enough for her to be a cultist,” Fluttershy said bitingly.

Twilight turned her attention back to the mayor and the three foals who had come up to her. Each one of them were dressed in fine leather stockings and had a simple knife at their sides. Aside from that, Twilight could see that each one carried something. According to Trackhoof, that would be something they had crafted tonight. Twilight could tell by the anxious looks and impatient trample of the foals’ hooves that they were all nervous.

”I am sure you all know what to do and what to expect!” The mayor called. ”You three will stand vigil tonight. Follow your instincts and you will meet your companion soon! We wish you luck! May you find a worthy companion, and may your companion find you worthy! The Hunter’s Moon has risen!” Her audience of foals jolted as if they had heard a starting shot and dashed towards the open gate, followed by the cheers of everypony in the village. For a few minutes, the entire village went up to the three foals to wish them luck, before the villagers made their way into their homes for sleep. Mayor Evermoon took Twilight and Fluttershy with her towards one of the low houses.

*****

Fluttershy groaned and sat up. It was pitch black in the small room she and Twilight had gotten to spend the night in, and there were no firefly lamps in this village. They had no fireflies. With no way to light up the room properly, she resorted to just feel herself carefully, still nauseated from the nasty broth she had eaten before.

She had awoken because of a nightmare, one that involved her Flutterbat persona going berserk among her animals back home. She was only thankful she had woken up before it got even worse. She did not need to ask herself where the nightmare came from. Even now, hours later, she felt impure and dirty.

And sick.

Fluttershy rose up from the bed. Hopefully the clean forest air could make her feel a little better; sleeping like this was out of the question. She snuck out of the room quietly as to not disturb her friend, who was still deep in Luna’s realm.

The air was cold and crisp, fresher and clearer than she had ever felt. In the middle of this ancient forest the world seemed strangely primordial. Here, ponies had not tamed the land and sky as they had back in Ponyville. Here, they lived off what the forest saw fit to give them, nothing more. While Fluttershy might despise the fact that they hunted animals, and never could imagine living like this herself, she could still respect that the ponies in this village had managed to carve out a small portion of this dangerous place and make it a home. If nothing else, she felt a little proud of it, for it was a powerful testament to ponykind’s ability to always find a way through any hardship.

She looked up to the stars. The clear air, far from any light sources, made her see stars and constellations she had only read about. Even the white stretch of stars called ”The Alicorn's Path” could be seen clear as day in this forest. In the middle of it all sat Luna’s moon. Large and pale and with a halo around it, white as the deepest winter, like a giant pearl in the sky.

Fluttershy looked up, mesmerized by the vastness of the night, until the chill made itself known. She trotted up to the pit where the large fire had been hours before and slowly made her way around it.

Something tugged at the back of her mind. Something made her look over the fire pit towards the large gate. It was still open. Maybe her cutie mark gave her the ability to sense that there was a small pack of wolves there, or maybe it was just random chance. Either way, she saw the five or so wolves quietly march out of the gates. Together with them went foals from earlier, two colts and a filly.

”Hello?” Fluttershy called to the strange group. ”Where are you going? Isn’t the forest dangerous at night?” The question sounded stupid even to herself. She knew perfectly well how dangerous the forest was.

One of the wolves stopped and turned to her. Her special talent kicked in. She instinctively knew to fly over the fire pit and approach, but not so much as to appear disrespectful. This wolf was stronger than her; it was the dominant party and she had to show proper respect. She fixated on the many signals it gave her. The ears, the tail, the small growls, snarls, sniffs and postures that made up the language of these beasts. While she could not put into words what the wolf told her, she understood the basic meaning:

No, the forest was not dangerous to them. No, she was not privy to know where they were going. No, she would not join the foals tonight.

The wolf turned and bounded out of the settlement and after the others, leaving her alone. She looked after the wolves and foals, torn about what to do. The wolf clearly did not want her in the forest, and she knew it was dangerous. This time she could not count on a pony to find her if she got in trouble. But the foals… she could not just leave them! The forest was not safe, no matter what the wolves said. Slightest mistake from the foals or the wolves could be deadly!

Fluttershy sighed, took wing and flew into the forest.

She had to keep them safe. She was Kindness. She could not let foals or wolves come to harm.