Light Without Shadow
Well, here you go. Sorry for the wait, but this is a long one, so there's that, at least... enjoy.
A Light Without Shadow
It didn’t make sense, not at all. She couldn’t wrap her head around what had just happened. Why would Princess Celestia decide to allow a remorseless killer anywhere near her and her friends? What in the name of Equestria could Fenrir have said to convince her to do this? Fenrir was an ancient supernatural beast; Celestia had locked him away herself before, so why was he given a free pass now, especially if he had escaped from Tartarus?
“So, I take it we’re still guarding you, then?” Regal Poise asked, raising a hoof and quirking a brow at the situation. Twilight looked up from her contemplations of Fenrir’s nature and saw all the guard ponies staring at her. “Celestia put you in charge of tending to Fenrir, so by extension, you’re the pony that decides whether we’re needed here, or not.”
“Oh…” Twilight paused. She knew that she wanted for there to be additional security with Fenrir around, but how would her friends react to her still suspecting Fenrir, when Celestia was ready to give him a chance? Well, he hadn’t denied having a darker side and his lack of control over it had already been proven by his sudden day-long hunting trip. The fact that she had knock him out to stop him from shredding her guards apart should have been reason enough to lock him away again. Valor instigating the attack only weighed in the matter fractionally; he had been completely within his rights to assume a wolf drenched in blood would be hostile.
“Well, he did kill a dragon, so I think it would be better if you stuck around, just in case. Once word spreads about that in Ponyville, your presence will calm the populace. The townponies have proven to be easily frightened.” That was true, with the whole town practically shutting down when a zebra moved into the neighborhood.
The guards simply nodded and went back to their assigned charges. The pegasi hurried over to watch over Fluttershy, who had trotted off to check on Fenrir’s bandages without any of them noticing. Fenrir was flexing his right back leg carefully as Fluttershy hovered next to him. Most of the blood had washed out of his fur, but he was still tinted red in some places. How could they just accept someone who took pleasure in killing among them? Fluttershy and Rarity hadn’t seen the snarling beast Fenrir had turned into when his hunger set in. The only reason he hadn’t killed a pony that day was because Sweetie Belle had been able to get through to his rational side, somehow.
Why hadn’t the Princess listened to her? Why had she just taken the wolf at his word? None of it made sense; she should have at least listened to what she had to say, before rolling the responsibility of taking care of a nearly feral carnivore onto her and her friends. It was all very strange of the benevolent monarch, but Princess Celestia had given her an assignment and she was not planning on letting her mentor down.
“I still think he’s lying to us…” Twilight muttered aloud. The unicorns huddled around her turned to look at Fenrir jogging circles around Fluttershy, with his seemingly already healed leg. Twilight hadn’t seen the Princess cast any healing magic on him. So far the rate of his healing was the only thing that made him more than an overgrown wolf, with the possible exception of having the power to take down a dragon. It might just have been his size and the element of surprise, but she had seen the dragon in the Everfree forest and found it unlikely.
It was the fact he insisted on their company that bothered her. He knew things about them that he shouldn’t have, if his story was true. Sure, she and her friends were the Elements of Harmony of their generation and bordered on being national heroes and celebrities, but there was no plausible way for Fenrir to have known that Twilight Sparkle was Princess Celestia’s protégé and that she was in Ponyville. He would at least have to have talked to a pony to find even one of those things out, if he had been locked away in Tartarus until recently.
“I’m having fun and you can’t stop me!” The strangely energetic Fenrir exclaimed as he jumped around Fluttershy’s yard. The timid Pegasus was trying to stop the wolf from opening his stitches, but he was clearly not listening. That was until Fluttershy circled around the bouncing wolf and leveled an intense glare straight at the wolf’s yellow eyes. Fenrir skidded to a stop right in front of Fluttershy, as their eyes locked. “Ooh… You have really big eyes…”
At least Fluttershy’s Stare was able to stop him. Fluttershy kept her glare constant and Fenrir sat his hindquarters down on the ground, with his tail brushing the ground and smacking the small animals that had been frozen by Fluttershy’s Stare. His tongue lolled out and he started to pant like a tired and happy dog as they stared each other in the eye. They stayed like that for a moment, until Fluttershy blinked and whatever her Stare did stopped. Fenrir shook his head and drew his tongue back into his mouth, but stayed in place.
“So, that’s what that feels like…” Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but Fenrir raised a paw to stop her. “If you were going to apologize, please don’t. It just feels wrong when I was the one acting like an idiot.”
“I didn’t want you opening your stitches, running around like that.” Fluttershy admitted, still somehow making it sound like an apology. Fenrir rolled his eyes and glanced around him, as if to get his bearings. He turned his eyes back to Fluttershy and wiped at his nose with a paw before talking.
“So, you don’t mind if I hunt on the other side of that mountain over there?” Fenrir tilted his head toward the mountain that the dragon of Everfree had his cave in. It was the same mountain Fluttershy had driven the sleeping dragon out of a few years back. “I mean, the critters and things beyond that aren’t under your protection?”
“Oh, I… I don’t really know… the animals usually come to me, but the burrows beyond the mountain are not under my jurisdiction…” Fenrir nodded at this and they fell into an uncomfortable silence again.
“I don’t think I thanked you for saving my life…” Fenrir’s tail stopped wagging his tail as their conversation veered into subjects he was not comfortable speaking about. It was hard for pony stallions to mention their moments of weakness, so Twilight could only imagine how unsettling it was for someone like Fenrir. “So, uh… Thank you…”
“No, it was no trouble, really. Caring for animals is my job, after all...” Fluttershy landed in front of Fenrir, not even slightly intimidated by Fenrir’s size as she trotted to check on the stitches Fenrir had been straining with his moving around. “Uhm… This looks like it’s healed, but…”
“Well, I’m pretty sure the Royal Glowing Horse didn’t heal it, so it must be because I ate the heart of a dragon. It’s quite strong stuff, I hear.” Fenrir turned his head down to his side, bending his neck to look at the stitches Fluttershy was gently prodding. “I have the urge to rip out the stitches, but I believe that is not the right way to do this.”
“Oh, you can’t do that, the wound would get infected. I wouldn’t have used such a strong thread if I knew you healed so fast. Thank Celestia we were able to set the bone before it healed crooked…” Fluttershy commented before flying into her house to fetch the things to get the stitches out properly. Fenrir lay down on the ground, basking in Celestia’s sun, in spite of seemingly hating her.
“Fenrir, could I trouble with a question?” Rarity said in a jovial tone as she trotted over to Fenrir. Twilight followed close behind her friend, trying to think of spells that could stop Fenrir, when Valor’s stun spell had only made the wolf angry. She would have to try and go for his eyes, since anything she thought could stop him took longer to charge up than she would have hoped. She didn’t want Fenrir to see it coming from seeing her horn glow.
“Ask me anything, Miss Rarity.” Fenrir growled out as he rolled his head to look at Rarity. The fact he looked extremely relaxed annoyed Twilight to no end. Just because Celestia hadn’t sent him right back to Tartarus didn’t mean he was not under suspicion.
“Why did you insist on reaching Ponyville? I mean, there must have been other settlements between here and the gate to Tartarus.” Rarity asked, still in her sing-song way of speaking, but you could hear the seriousness in her voice. Fenrir straightened himself to look Rarity level in the eye before answering in his low rumble.
“The simplest answer I can give would be; Twilight Sparkle. The long version involves the Elements of Harmony, your close knit group of friends and the high chance that you would try and deal with me yourselves before informing Celestia. I really don’t want to end up back in Tartarus.” Fenrir said this in a low, melancholic growl, as his eyes unfocused and turned away from Rarity. Rarity laid a hoof on the side of his muzzle, but he shook it off and turned his head away from the mare.
Twilight didn’t buy it. It was a little too predictable and cliché for her to just believe it by his word. At least it was clear Fenrir was busy either playing a role, or really trying to work around the trauma left behind by his imprisonment. She dragged Valor off to the bridge connecting Fluttershy’s cabin to the road to Ponyville and glanced around for anypony listening in on them. She was especially looking for any hint of a pink mane or coat, since Pinkie would just blurt out whatever she was going to say for Fenrir to hear. She cast a quick spell to muffle the sounds around her to anypony that could still be trying to listen and leaned closer to Valor.
“Is there any way you could have someone follow Fenrir around and find out what he’s really after. I hate doubting my friends like this, but I have to either prove his sincerity, or prove him a liar.” Twilight was about to open her mouth to further explain her doubts, but Valor raised a hoof to silence her.
“I understand your concern perfectly. What he claims to be seems a little too… neat, for it to be true. Granted, it could just be him embellishing some details for dramatic effect, but I believe we should make sure if that is the case, or not, before trusting him at his word.” Valor glanced from side to side before talking in an even lower voice. “You would be better off talking to Kamos about tailing Fenrir. It’s his specialty, after all.”
“Kamos? Who’s that?” Twilight asked incredulously, but as soon as she asked, the answer became abundantly clear.
“Kamos is the one responsible for guarding the Element of Laughter. I’m not surprised you haven’t seen hide nor hair of him, actually, I doubt your friend has either.” Valor chuckled at this pony’s apparent stealthy nature, but Twilight could only chuckle back, when she thought about somepony new to Ponyville trying to hide from the town’s resident party pony.
There was impossible and then there was Pinkie Pie. It was something she had come to simply accept, but she wasn’t so sure if whoever had been tasked with guarding the pink mare would feel the same.
Kamos
The pink pony was insane, absolutely and unmistakably out of her mind. There was no way someone with a stable mind could be so erratic and hard to predict. It was that, or the tales of her precognitive abilities were true, but Kamos was not going to accept that a mare as ludicrous as the one he was keeping an eye on had such a power. Precognitive abilities were preserved for deities and great sages, not two-bit bakers in a backwater village like Ponyville, Element of Laughter or not. He just refused to acknowledge such a ridiculous concept.
Yet, it had been this painfully cheerful and pink pony that had forced him to sit down on a bale of hay. It had been the same irreversibly mentally ill pony that was able to sneak up on him and drag him down from the roof he had been watching the insane mare from. Even the act of the pink mare getting behind him so quickly and without making any discernible sound was a physical impossibility in his mind. He had a very specific set of skills, especially suited to discern the impossibility of the mare’s actions, since he took great pride in being able to do things nearly as impossible as this mare.
“Okay, everypony! The guest of honor is not a pony! Actually, he’s not even an equine, but that’s okay!” The pink menace hollered from atop something that shouldn’t be able to support her weight. He didn’t want to be surprised that it did, but everything this mare did warred with his view of reality.
“Sugarcube, I ain’t that sure Fenrir will be joining us…” The Element of Honesty pointed out. He preferred this mare to the one he had promised to safeguard. She at least had the decency to not break his perception of reality.
“Are we talking about the same Fenrir that walked into town and scared all of us half to death? Why are we having a party for that beast?” A stallion asked from the crowd gathered at the plaza they had gathered at the pink witch’s insistence. Kamos was certain that he should try and keep some distance to Fenrir, if he was as large as he had been told. He had nothing that could immediately stop something like the beast Fenrir had been described as, but his poisons would take him down, only with time. He would use them if he had enough time and distance to use them safely.
“Don’t worry about it; he’s super-duper nice once you get to know him!” Pinkie answered in her overtly excited manner and a carefree smile on her face. Kamos decided to take the chance and slip away as the pink menace to his sanity was addressing the crowd. He would have to find a good vantage point, so he could use his poisons on the wolf, if he showed any signs of hostility. He slunk into the shadows and found a good spot on the roof of a building overlooking the plaza. He laid flat on the opposing ridge of the roof and set his blowgun next to him.
“My little poneeeh, my little poneeh! Aaa-haa-aaa!” An incredibly gruff voice growled out down the road leading to the Everfree forest and the wolf’s last known location, the Element of Kindness’ residence. Kamos dropped down from his vantage point and hid behind some barrels in a back alley to avoid meeting the owner of this voice eye-to-eye. It was more than likely that the owner of the voice was the humongous wolf he had been sent to keep an eye on. “Come on, everypony now, you know the words!”
The reports of the wolf’s size had obviously been faulty, as the thing that was leisurely walking toward the town was more than twice as tall as anypony he’d ever seen, including the Princesses. The wolf looked lanky and lean, but Kamos knew not to trust appearances too much. He never should have taken pony intelligence as fact, anyways. He still had enough poison to take the beast down, but he would have to tweak the amount of sedatives in his darts when he had the chance.
“My little pony, I used to wonder what friendship could be!” A bemused sounding voice sung out from the wolf’s back. Kamos only noticed the yellow coated pegasus sitting between Fenrir’s shoulder-blades as she raised her head to sing the strange song. For some unknown reason the Element of Kindness was hitching a ride on the monstrous predator. He retreated deeper into the shadows as three pegasi guards passed by him, following the jogging wolf down the road to town.
“My little pony, until you all shared its magic with me!” The wolf howled out in a scarily cheery tone and turned its head to the side to glance behind him. Kamos leaned forward to see a group of unicorns following the wolf and pegasi. He spotted the Element of Generosity and Magic among six unicorn guards. He would have liked to believe that the guards were escorting the wolf with the Elements help, but the situation really didn’t support that claim.
“Big adventure, tons of fun!” One of the white-coated unicorn guards sung out merrily. He couldn’t be sure, but it sounded an awful a lot like the annoyingly exuberant PR stallion, Regal Poise. He was definitely the type that would participate in a sing-along with a dangerous predator, especially if mares were involved.
“A beautiful heart, faithful and strong!” Another voice joined in on the song, the mare singing actually attempting to stay in tune. Kamos couldn’t see the speaker, but from the way the voice carried it had to be one of the unicorns. Twilight Sparkle was a bookworm and a perfectionist and Rarity was obsessed with what she considered proper form, so it could be either of the two.
“Sharing kindness, it’s an easy feat!” Fluttershy sung again, they didn’t seem to have any kind of order as to who sung the next part of the song. Fenrir and the ponies around him were about to pass his little nook in the shadows, so Kamos slid further back into the darkness. He could only hope the herbs hid his scent well enough to successfully elude the predator’s senses. He could hear the wolf’s claws scraping along the road toward the pink mare’s little ambush, along with the hooves of his entourage. He let out a sigh of relief at succeeding in remaining undetected yet again. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to use his other area of expertise during this mission.
“… Go on, Twilight, it’s your turn!” The voice of a certain white unicorn mare said in her sing-song way of speaking. Seemingly there was some kind of order to the singing, but Kamos couldn’t figure it out. It was obvious that she was enjoying the wolf’s zany antics and that the wolf had been able to entice the shy animal-lover to sing with them, but what of the introverted bookworm? Kamos was genuinely intrigued when it came to Twilight Sparkle’s position on the matter, since she was clearly the most intelligent out of the Elements.
“And magic makes it all complete!” A disgruntled voice that had to be Twilight Sparkle muttered out loudly. Kamos grinned as he hopped up to climb back up on his vantage point. It was relieving to see that not everyone out of the Elements could be won over by an extroverted personality and a way with words.
“You have My Little Pony!” The wolf howled out again, this time not stretching out the word “pony” like before, but putting a strange emphasis on the last three words.
“Don’t you know, you’re my very best friends!” An overtly chipper squeaking screech of a voice sung out just as Kamos made it on the roof overlooking the pink mare’s ambush. He witnessed the pink mare popping out of a barrel as she screeched out the next part of the song. He also saw Fenrir yelp at the mare’s surprising appearance and hunch down, but then the wolf disappeared out of his view. The dirt in the spot where Fenrir had been a second before was unsettled and the ponies were looking up, or rubbing the dirt out of their eyes. He realized what had happened only when he heard the Element of Kindness screaming somewhere above him.
He barely had enough time to roll off the edge of the roof before Fenrir crashed on top of it. Kamos crashed down on the barrels he had hid behind before and looked up to see Fenrir’s panting form crouching on the roof he had just vacated. Fenrir’s yellow eyes were staring down at him and his right front paw’s claws were imbedded where his head had been only a second ago. The wolf turned its head back to the group of ponies down the road after a sharp exhale through his muzzle at the pitiful sight.
“You scared the bajeesus out of me, Pinkie!” The frighteningly large wolf growled out, in a tone that conveyed only his amusement at the situation, not the attempted murder he had just committed. The carnivore chuckled in his low growl as he hopped down from the roof. He glanced at the still form of the shaken up Kamos as he jogged back to where he had leapt from. The wolf’s exceptional jumping power had not been in the pony intelligence either. He never should have trusted it in the first place, especially when they were so blind to Fenrir’s true nature.
“If you’re going to apologize to someone, Pinkie, then apologize to Fluttershy. She was on my back when I jumped and I can still feel her quivering.” The wolf nonchalantly chatted with the ponies Kamos had been asked to protect. Fenrir was a worthy adversary; despite his beastly appearance he was intelligent enough to fool most of The Elements of Harmony and to surprise him during a mission. His herbal salves clearly did not mask his scent well enough, since the wolf hadn’t even glanced in his direction before trying to kill him. His keen predatory senses were a problem he would have to work around. He was confident enough in his ability of moving quietly to rule out the wolf hearing him.
“I’m sorry, Fluttershy. I just couldn’t resist joining you guys in song!” The mare he had been told to guard said as he picked himself up from the pile of refuse he had fallen in. Why would any business in Ponyville use barrels to hold their garbage? He should probably wash himself thoroughly as soon as possible, there had to be a reason for such a practice.
Kamos shook himself somewhat clean and lowered his hood before climbing back onto the roof to check on his blowgun. The hood limiting his range of vision had already nearly cost him his life, so he would rather not risk it with Fenrir around. He might have not liked the looks ponies gave him about his mohawk, but he would rather the unpleasant attention to being impaled by Fenrir’s claws. Fenrir, along with the group of ponies moving with him, had joined the other ponies gathered at the plaza. Kamos couldn’t make out any individual voices from the general chatter the wolf’s appearance had caused.
He couldn’t say he was surprised to see his blowgun broken, but he had hoped he could still fix it. Fenrir’s weight had squashed the bamboo shoot and broken it into many pieces, even some of the small metal parts had been bent beyond repair. He salvaged what he could and made a mental note to visit the resident zebra, Zecora. He had heard she was a shaman and a potion maker, but she was a zebra and most likely to have what he needed to fix his favored weapon. It wouldn’t hurt to see if the shaman had ways to make his poisons work faster on a large beast like Fenrir, either. She had access to many ingredients that were rare and potent, living in the Everfree, as she did. It would also be a welcome change to hear his native tongue again.
George
He really couldn’t understand why the rainbow-maned Pegasus was the Element of Loyalty.
She must have been the most selfish pony he’d ever met and a lazy lay-about to boot. She actually ordered him and his subordinates to clear the skies with her, and then had the nerve to try and use the chance to sneak away to take a nap. He had never met a pegasus that resembled a cat so much. The mare was constantly sleeping wherever she liked, but was incredibly fast and dexterous when she actually did do anything.
Still, she didn’t act anything like the Element she was supposed to represent. She was selfish and took any and every chance to dodge responsibility in her job. She was good at it, sure, but the way she left everything to the last minute aggravated the dutiful guard. He had expected the Element of Loyalty to at least be a good example of what she was supposed to represent. Also, trying to keep up with the young athlete in his bronze armor wasn’t fun. He would have been a wheezing and sweating mess if it wasn’t for the enchantment making him look more presentable, cast on his helmet. At least the appearance of being able to keep up with the extraordinarily fast pegasus without breaking a sweat drained some of her enthusiasm.
“Sir, Fenrir has been sighted in town. He is accompanied by the Elements of Laughter, Magic and Kindness and is in close vicinity to the Elements of Generosity and Honesty. How should we proceed?” A messenger working to relay messages between the assigned guards asked as he materialized out from the cloud next to him. He had conditioned himself to their presence enough not to flinch at the pegasi’s sudden appearance, but he really hated that Kamos had trained them to be so stealthy.
“What did Kamos order for you to do?” George asked the stealthy scout. Kamos was a creepy son of a bitch without an official place in the guard, but he had to admit the zebra had an eye for situations like this.
“We are to observe and avoid lethal measures.” The pegasus dead-panned. He really didn’t like the dark blue outfits pegasi working under Kamos wore to stay out of sight. The masks they all wore muffled their voice enough for him to be unable to identify them by voice, their eyes were also enchanted to look like pits of pure black to make identification nearly impossible. Kamos had once admitted that the number of actual guards working under him would surprise him. He couldn’t figure out if he had meant that he employed ponies outside of the royal guard, or if he had operatives working for him in other divisions. He never even dreamed it could mean both.
“Did you say Fenrir is in Ponyville? He actually showed up for Pinkie’s party?” Rainbow Dash asked after rolling off the cloud she had been pretending to be sleeping on. George had seen her ear twitch when Kamos’ subordinate appeared.
“Yes.” The pegasus glad in dark cloth simply answered while keeping his head pointed toward George. There was no way to know where his eyes were looking exactly, with the mask and its enchantment. George was the commanding officer on scene, but he had to wonder if Kamos had sent one of his subordinates to him, just to let Rainbow Dash know where Fenrir was. The zebra had a habit of using other ponies to gather information and Rainbow Dash was definitely the type to be easily manipulated.
“Do what Kamos tells you to, he knows where you’re needed better than me. Dismissed.” George ordered and the pegasus let himself fall through the cloud he was standing on without even a salute. George didn’t know if it was another enchantment, or if it came from training, but he hated when they did it regardless. It caused him not to trust the clouds he stood on; even though they always did it without disturbing the cloud formation they passed through, somehow.
George hopped off from his cloud and motioned for his subordinates to follow him. He was sure Rainbow Dash wanted to get to where the huge wolf was, as well, but he had no obligation to stay with the mare if she decided to stay sleeping in her home. The mare didn’t disappoint as she raced past him and rushed toward a part of town where a large number of ponies had gathered. They heard upbeat music blaring out of a gramophone as they swooped down, but only noticed the great wolf as they landed.
“Chug, chug, chug, chug!” Fenrir chanted, along with most of the crowd of gathered ponies. George and his subordinates joined Cerulean Wing and her two subordinates in the air. He was glad to see she was not one of the ponies chanting with the great wolf. Cerulean Wing raised a hoof at her superior and pointed toward the center of the group for an explanation. She was clearly finding the situation amusing as well, but George didn’t like how Fenrir had been able to win over a group of ponies so easily.
“Oh, the member of your esteemed guard seems a little unsteady on his hooves. Can it be that this humble village takes yet another victory over the Canterlot elite?” He flapped his wings to gather altitude and peered over to the great wolf and the forms of two ponies standing on opposite sides of a sturdy wooden table, which was probably borrowed from some shop in town for their little game. The empty tankards between both of the participants told him enough about the nature of the event Fenrir was spearheading.
“I’m from Baltimare, ya dum’ dog!” A large earth pony wearing royal guard armor slurred out as he stumbled in place, his head lolling around every which way as the alcohol laid waste to his sense of balance. The stallion standing more steadily across from him didn’t comment on the guard’s obvious loss, as you might expect in a contest like the one they were involved in.
“Meh, same difference… Tell you what; you win if you pass one final test. Is that okay with you?” The wolf growled out, laying down attentively on the other side of the table from George’s perspective. As the commanding officer he should be putting a stop to this because a guard participating in a drinking contest while still in uniform was definitely against several regulations, even a few laws. It was damn sure no other pony from the guard was going to participate, but breaking up their fun right now would only bring the party to a grinding halt and possibly aggravate a predator powerful enough to take down a dragon.
“Bring it! I’ll take you all down if I –“
“PICKLEBARREL!” Fenrir suddenly barked out and jutted his head toward the guardpony. The maroon stallion on the opposite side of the table stumbled back, but was able to stay on his hooves, even with the massive yoke on his neck setting him off balance. The guardpony was not as steady on his hooves and fell to the ground with a clatter of empty tankards, as he had tried to lean on the table to stay standing. He was too dizzy to get back up again and ultimately lay still on the ground with his armor sticky with apple cider. Fenrir raised himself from the ground and jumped over to the side of the maroon stallion before turning to address the crowd.
“Mares and gentlecolts, it is my honor and privilege to present you the champion of the first annual Ponyville “Drink-a-ton-of-stuff-with-alcohol-in-it” drinking competition, Big Macintosh!” Fenrir reared up as he called the stallion’s name and jumped back to present the crowd with the slightly swaying stallion at his side. George had never heard louder hoof stomping at the end of a drinking competition, but he was pretty sure the announcer being a talking wolf had something to do with the popularity. “Now let’s make sure we get some food into the colt and keep him drinking water for the rest of the evening!”
“So… you’re feeling alright, then? You’re not going to go all crazy on us again?” Rainbow Dash asked as she hovered in the air in front of the bemused Fenrir. Fenrir was pawing at a barrel of apple cider, most likely with the intention of drinking it. His claws sunk into the wood, but the lid of the barrel was refusing to come off cleanly. The wolf paused in his efforts to answer the mare’s question.
“I was feeling perfectly fine even then, Blue Insufferable Pony. What you saw as insanity then was simply my growing aggravation at you, couple that with my ravenous hunger and you get one very unhappy wolf. I am rather proud of my restraint, considering the circumstances.” The wolf growled out, maintaining stable eye contact with the mare as he told his rather unsettling explanation. From everything George had heard about the event they were talking about, the wolf was sincere. He had lost control and instead of denying it, he was fighting to overcome it. George could respect that, but it was nothing that made them trust the wolf any more than they already did, but it didn’t make them distrust him either.
“Oh, cheer up, Dashie! Fenrir’s been such a nice wolf to everypony and he even taught us a new game to play!” The Element of Laughter popped out from Fenrir’s fur and caused the wolf to flinch.
“An’ he’s been apologizing about scarin’ tha three fillies every chance he got. It’s been getting kinda embarrassing now… They all but forgave you when they got that ride on your back, anyways, big fella.” Now the Element of Honesty was there, no doubt to fetch one member of her assigned guard from the ground. George decided to at least try and apologize for his subordinate’s poor conduct. The mare flinched a little as he landed in front of her.
“Miss AppleJack, I must apologize for my subordinate’s poor conduct in your presence –“
“Now hold on an apple-buckin’ minute! Yer subordinate didn’t show no poor conduct to nopony. An’ even if he did, I don’t want him being punished for havin’ fun at a party. Tha’s just silly talk, I tell ya.”
“Besides, I was the one who threatened to gut him if he didn’t participate.” Fenrir casually threw in. The surprised looks on the faces of the ponies that had most likely been present told him that he was lying yet again. “Put that in your report about his misconduct, I’m sure your Queen of Light will believe it.”
“Ya’ll better stop doing that, Fenrir! Ya almost had me going there for a minute.” Applejack turned toward the large wolf with a stern look in her eyes. It did make sense that lying would strike a chord with the Element of Honesty. “If ya’re gonna keep going on like that, you’re gonna end up like the colt that cried wo-“
“Oh, do go on; the colt who cried… what?” Fenrir had a grin plastered on his face that would be insufferable on a pony, but with him and his fangs, it was terrifying. George didn’t like seeing the wolf heckle somepony he considered a national hero, but he had to admit that Applejack had trotted right into that one.
“Oh nothing really, it’s just a stupid old saying!” Even for an element representing the virtue of honesty, Applejack was a terrible liar. She was also totally incapable of reading people, since George was 100% sure that Fenrir already knew how the saying went.
“But Applejack, I am here to learn about your culture. I must insist on finding out what you were going to say, it is for the good of science and understanding.” The wolf was throwing in big words to pressure the mare into giving him an answer. George didn’t know if Fenrir was lying about being there to learn about their culture, but he didn’t like the wolf’s approach to it regardless.
“The saying goes ‘The colt who cried wolf’, Fenrir. I believe Miss Applejack was only trying to spare you from feeling uncomfortable about the part your kind plays in the old folktale.” George stepped closer to the wolf as he talked. Fenrir reluctantly shifted his attention from the uncomfortable mare and locked eyes with the confrontational pegasus guard. “The story teaches a valuable lesson about the weight of lies, and how dangerous wolves are.”
“So, I take it you’re the pony in charge?” Fenrir asked, the tone of his frightening voice staying conversational, but the glee in his eyes dimming. The wolf didn’t like being questioned or confronted about his nonchalant use of lies, it seemed. His comment also hinted toward a problem with authority, but George couldn’t be sure about it.
“Yes, I am the commanding officer on scene.” Fenrir might have been just making small talk, but George was sure the proud wolf couldn’t let his comment go without a retort.
“The tale also taught you to fear the Dark, to shy away from those hunting in it and conditioned you to cling to your Light for solace. It is not wrong to fear us, but I hold no ill will toward you. I can choose not to follow my instincts. You would be wise to follow the wisdom of those before you, officer." Fenrir grinned as the ponies took a step back at his sudden chilly tone. Even Pinkie’s overabundant cheer stilled at the wolf’s tone. The wolf’s smile and glee returned at their reaction and Fenrir pulled his head back to laugh. “Times have certainly changed, haven’t they? For one of Celestia’s Light and a child of Dark to converse like this. I certainly did not see it in the cards!”
“You’re not a child of dark, silly.” Pinkie Pie chimed in, leaning down to look deep into Fenrir’s eyes, causing him to look at the pony cross-eyed humorously. “The other one is.”
“You enjoy scaring us, don’t you? I don’t like that. I recommend you consider the consequences your actions may bring. You are still an escaped convict, in my opinion and in the eyes of the law.” George said, deciding to ignore the pink mare’s comment. The reports suggested she was prone to violent bouts of depression and frequent delusions. Anything she said should be taken with a grain of salt and now she wasn’t even making any sense.
“Hmph! A sense of humor and leadership really do repel each other…” Fenrir’s grin faded at George’s answer and he finally gave up on opening the barrel of apple cider between his paws. He grabbed the barrel in his jaws instead and raised himself into a sitting position. He flicked his neck a few times to set the barrel firmly between his jaws and then crushed the wooden barrel while craning his neck back. George could smell the quantity of apple cider that was soaked into his fur from where he was standing. The crushed mess of splintered wood and bent metal rings was dropped right in front of George. Before he could ask if he was supposed to be intimidated Rainbow Dash cut into the conversation.
“Yeah, George, lighten up!” Rainbow Dash commented, now hovering in place with a tankard of apple cider she had procured while he had been busy arguing with a giant wolf. He winced as the mare nonchalantly let everypony around them know about his unusual name. Applejack gave Rainbow Dash a look, as if to make sure she wasn’t kidding, but didn’t comment on it. It was good to see somepony knew it was not good manners to laugh at somepony’s name. As a stark opposite to the courteous mare, Fenrir immediately roared into laughter at the mention of his name.
“Are you serious? Oh, dear Lord…” The ground shook as Fenrir fell to his side, gasping for air between bouts of laughter. Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared at George’s side, laying a comforting hoof on his shoulder, surprisingly not laughing along with the wolf. It took a second for him to realize that the pink mare had been poking her head out of Fenrir’s fur just seconds before. Maybe she was more mature than he had given her credit for, but the way she moved was still impossible. “Please, Rainbow Dash, tell me that the big pony in charge of everything is named George! It would make my year.”
“Yeah, but it’s not really a name; it’s more like a sound you make, right? I knew it was funny!” Rainbow Dash beamed at the recognition of her sense of humor. George was the first to admit his name was strange for a pony, but really didn’t see the humor in it.
“Oh, oh! George, do you have another name? Does it happen to be Curious? If you say yes, you’re best pony from here on ‘till eternity.” Fenrir raised his head and was able to pause his laughter long enough to listen to his answer.
“It’s none of your business, Fenrir.” He was not going to humor the insufferable wolf, even if admitting to the wolf’s delusion would bring the matter to a close faster. The humongous wolf and rainbow-colored mare kept on laughing in tandem, but George had a feeling they weren’t laughing at the same joke.
There was nothing George liked about Fenrir, despite the wolf’s surprising intelligence. Not only did Fenrir have an abrasive personality, but he used his size and frightening appearance to milk reactions out of the ponies around him, just to satiate his twisted sense of humor. If Fenrir would have been a pony, his condescending attitude and snide remarks would have gotten him in more than a few fights. Everypony was afraid to cross the great wolf and he would continue to berate and make fun of the ponies around him if nopony ponied up and confronted the wolf about it.
“Now, Fenrir, it’s not very nice to laugh at somepony like that.” A distinctively meek voice called from the crowd of ponies gathered to wonder what the pegasus mare and wolf were laughing about. Her voice barely registered in George’s ears, but Fenrir’s ears swiveled toward the voice immediately and he rolled over to look for the pony who uttered them. The crowd parted as the wolf leveled his eyes toward the yellow-coated mare and the Element of Kindness fluttered over to Fenrir’s muzzle. “You could hurt somepony’s feelings, you know.”
“Oh, Fluttershy, I hope my lack of decorum hasn’t ruined your good time. You have enjoyed the party so far, right?” The wolf hadn’t even stopped to ponder the mare’s words and that irritated George even more. The wolf had been expecting Fluttershy’s interruption and had admitted to knowing that George didn’t appreciate being made fun of by mentioning his lack of decorum. It was infuriating how easily the wolf was able to get under his skin, but if your special talent was reading ponies, then it was especially easy. He missed none of the nuances of Fenrir’s inconsiderate humor and it pained him to see ponies around him staying ignorant to most of it.
“Oh, yes, the little fillies and colts really liked that song you taught them, even the little animals peeked out to join in when we sang it.” Fluttershy beamed at the large wolf while fidgeting with her front hooves, but only because of her awkward social skills, not because she was frightened by the large canine. There was definitely more to the Element of Kindness than met the eye, but as a depressing contrast the Element of Loyalty was still laughing at the pony responsible for protecting her.
“Actually, the fillies and colts would like to ask if you would give them a ride on your back, but only if it isn’t too much trouble, of course! This is your party after all and it would not be right of us to ask you to do something you don’t want to…” Fluttershy fidgeted in the air as Fenrir leaned his head to the side to look at the crowd Fluttershy had emerged from again. George had taken note of the overabundance of foals in it earlier, but had thought the cause to be a child’s curiosity at the laughing mare and wolf. It was unbelievable that any parent would let their child ride on the back of a huge wolf, but it seemed the wolf had done it once already without incident, so he saw no reason to intervene.
“Of course I will, but they’ll have to sing the song.” Fenrir laid his body down on the ground and flicked his head to call the foals over. There had to be more than a dozen foals climbing on his back and still they fit on it, without any of them clinging to his sides. It had taken a fight with a fully grown dragon and the Element of Magic to bring him down before. George didn’t want to think what it would take to do it again. It would be easier to just believe in his reformed visage, but he didn’t have the benefit of such optimism, he had a duty to prepare for the worst. “MC Pinkamena Diane Pie, do the honors.”
“Please keep your hooves on top of the wolf at all times. Emergency exits are located at the rear end of the canine, along and at the tip of the tail. Please twist a tuft of fur around at least one of your hooves to avoid tumbling off of Fenrir, like this.” Pinkie Pie had suddenly popped up from the thick fur around Fenrir’s neck and was rambling out a speech that sounded practiced, but made little to no sense. Fenrir raised his body steadily when the last of the foals settled down and started jogging down the road out of town. ”We thank you for choosing Fenrir as your mode of transport. My mane and tail can be used as a flotation device, in case of water emergency.”
“Now, take a deep breath, everypony!” George cringed and brought his hooves to his ears as all the foals, along with Fenrir and Pinkie Pie took a deep breath. He looked around to see most of the adults around doing the same thing. Applejack and Rainbow Dash being a strange exception.
“AU-WOO-O! AU-WOO-O!” Fenrir’s howls drowned out any noise the fillies and one mare made in its place, but he gratefully lowered his volume to sing the next part of the song. “This ain’t a song for the broken hearted! AU-WOO-O!”
“No silent prayer for the faith departed! AU-WOO-O!” The foals were clearly enjoying the energy in the song, as they pumped their hooves in the air in rhythm with Fenrir’s howls. “And I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd! You're gonna hear my voice when I shout it out loud! AU-WOO-O!”
Fenrir had jogged a considerable distance away from George, but with the combined volume of an excited group of foals and a huge wolf it was still easy to hear the next line of the song.
“IT’S MY LIFE! AU-WOO-O!” The wolf and his passengers sung out as Fenrir hunched down to speed up to a full run. George couldn’t make out the rest of the lyrics of the song as the wolf sped into the distance. He could only hear the fading sounds of the foals delighted screams back and Fenrir’s howling. The wolf might have been insufferable, but that didn’t mean that he should be locked away in Tartarus again.
“He’s definitely not what you’d expect from a huge wolf, is he?” Applejack mused as she stepped next to George, tipping her hat forward to protect her eyes from the setting sun. Applejack might have thought the way the wolf acted was endearing, but George thought it to be suspicious. Fenrir had gone from a beast that killed a dragon and tore open its chest, into a cynical jokester that taught songs and games to foals. George had met many griffons and even considered a few his friends, and all the griffons he’d met were gruff and silent by pony standards.
“Yes, it’s not something you would expect out of such a large carnivore.” George answered the farm mare and flew off to join Cerulean Wind at the outskirts of the party. Applejack was a pleasant mare and he would have liked to converse with her more, but he had to focus on his job. The mare saluted him diligently and luckily seemed to be perfectly sober, despite the party going on around her.
“So, what did you think of Fenrir? This was your first time meeting him muzzle to muzzle, wasn’t it?” Cerulean asked while motioning between their muzzles with her hoof. He didn’t like the way she kept trying to throw him off by exaggerating her mannerisms, but had learned not to mention it. She would just become conscious of it and do it even more vehemently, effectively making it seem like she was screaming at him.
“Yes, the Element of Loyalty has kept herself busy on other matters, so I hadn’t had the pleasure to meet him… ” George trailed off as a shadow against the setting sun caught his attention. He saw the outline of Fenrir’s body twisting in the air as he did an aerial somersault to get several cheers of excitement from the foals on his back. Clearly Fenrir was not only powerful, he was also surprisingly agile for his size. He dreaded the possibility that he could be forced to go against the beast in battle.
“So, what do you think, lieutenant?” He had known Cerulean Wind for a long time and she was aware of his special talent. She knew that he could pick up on things other ponies missed or read wrong. Fenrir was not a pony, or a member of any other species he’d conversed with, so he couldn’t read his physical mannerisms effectively just yet, but he had enough to work with just with how he had acted during their short conversation and the knowledge of what he’d done.
“I don’t buy it, he’s straining to have everypony like him and I have to wonder why he’s so insistent on that fact. Also, don’t you think it’s strange for a mythological beast, as old as the princesses, to speak like he does? You have heard the way Princess Luna speaks, haven’t you? Actually, it’s strange that he can speak at all, translation spell or not.” George explained, choosing to leave out the things he wasn’t so sure about. He voiced his questions because Cerulean Wind had been on the scene when Fenrir and Princess Celestia had met and might have known things outside the report he’d been given.
“Well, the spell was cast by the Element of Magic herself and messing with it made him speak in different languages, so it might not be as simple as you think.” Cerulean rubbed a hoof to her chin and gazed up at a small cloud lazily drifting along in the sky as she sorted through her thoughts to answer his questions. “Also, Regal Poise happened to accidentally cast a hearing enhancing spell on himself and overheard Fenrir mentioning Discord, from what he understood Discord gave him a mind with a conscience as a joke.”
“I see…” George mulled over what he’d learned from Regal Poise’s disrespect for the privacy of Equestria’s most influential diarch. “How unfortunate for us that Discord has been turned back into a statue and there’s no way to confirm his story.”
“Are you saying that Fenrir lied to the Princess?” Cerulean’s wings flinched at the possibility of Fenrir being able to lie to a being that controlled the sun and get away with it, but she stopped herself before she was obvious enough for other ponies to take interest in their conversation. George glanced at the setting sun and saw Fenrir’s form speeding back toward town at frightening velocity. The group of excited foals and one pink mare held on for dear life as Fenrir’s shoulders heaved up and down.
“I’m saying that as lies go, his story is about the only lie he could get away with, but it could also be true. I wouldn’t put it past Discord to do something like this; it seems about as senseless as anything else he did when he was out and about.” George shrugged at the idea, even if it was just to stop Cerulean Wind from freaking out and gossiping about Fenrir lying to Celestia. If it was true and Fenrir caught onto the guards suspecting him, George didn’t know what the wolf would choose to do.
“LIKE FRANKIE SAID; ‘I DID IT MY WAY!’” The high-pitched voices of excited foals screeched as Fenrir was close enough to Ponyville for their voices to carry. Fenrir was too preoccupied by running as fast as he could to sing with them. George remembered hearing about how Fenrir had turned feral while running like that before, so he started getting anxious about the approaching wolf. Nopony else seemed concerned at all and Fenrir had done this before, but could he really trust that? “I JUST WANNA LIVE WHILE I’M ALIVE!”
“Calm down already, he’s done this once before.” Cerulean Wind commented and nudged him in the side with a hoof. Yes, the foals had gone to Fluttershy to have the wolf do it again. He’d done it once without losing control, so it should be okay this time, as well. George dared a glance at his subordinates and saw them all giving small nods to confirm Cerulean’s words. He turned back toward Fenrir and found the wolf’s eyes locked onto him, burning with an intensity he really didn’t like.
He fought to stay stoic and stand his ground, since he already knew how Fenrir enjoyed scaring the ponies around him, presumably to prove his dominance. He set his jaw and decided that he would not give Fenrir the pleasure, not this time. Fenrir kept on getting closer and closer to where George had decided to stand his ground, yellow eyes never leaving George’s blue ones. When George could feel the rumble of the great wolf’s paws hitting the ground, Fenrir opened his jaw and George could see his glistening and sharp fangs. He thought he only blinked, but when he opened his eyes again, the wolf had already disappeared, his form obscured by the rim of George’s helmet, much in the same way Kamos’ hood had made the zebra lose sight of the wolf earlier in the day.
“IT’S MY LIFE!” Fenrir howled out as he landed behind George. George spun around in time to see the wolf launching into the air again. The foals on his back squealed in glee as the wolf flipped backwards in the air in an impressive display of dexterity. The height of the wolf’s jump and the speed he had been running in told leagues about the strength in the wolf’s long limbs and barrel-shaped torso. Fenrir’s body leveled and he extended his legs downward before he fell beyond the buildings on the other side of the plaza. The noisy splash and the sound of laughing and cheering foals suggested that Fenrir had purposefully landed in the pond of Ponyville’s park. George flew over to check the damage, along with pretty much every pegasi in the crowd.
“That was awesome!” An orange filly with a purple mane squealed out. George noticed that she was one of the few foals with enough sense to be wearing a helmet. ”Let’s do it again!”
“No.” Fenrir rumbled out and climbed out of the water, along with about half of the foals still clinging onto his back, both terrified and excited by the ride they’d gone through.
“Aww...”George presumed that the three fillies that were wearing helmets were the three fillies Fenrir had scared when he went feral last time. The resemblance with two bearers of the elements was obvious with the light yellow earth pony and the natural white unicorn, but who was this orange pegasus, then?
“Night is falling and runts such as yourselves are meant to sleep through the Dark.” Fenrir said cryptically and lowered himself on the drenched grass to allow the foals to climb off of him safely. George had taken note of how Fenrir put emphasis on the words “Light” and “Dark”, as if they meant something other than what George thought. The wolf had called him “one of Light” and designated himself as a “child of Dark”. George didn’t like the sound of that, it was like the wolf was already setting them against each other.
“Those were some pretty slick moves, for someone without wings, that is.” Rainbow Dash zipped over to Fenrir and landed right in front of his muzzle. Fenrir grinned at the comment, showing more sharp fangs than George was comfortable with. There was no way Fenrir hadn’t realized how much it bothered ponies. He was definitely just doing it on purpose.
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash. That means a lot, coming from one of Equestria’s most talented fliers.” Rainbow Dash visibly inflated at the obvious compliment. Fenrir had not moved from his spot in the grass. It was probably because of all the foals and their parents and caretakers swarming around him, gathering up their charges one by one. Any movement from the wolf could bump a foal into the crowd. George was impressed by the wolf’s consideration; if that was the reason he was staying still to begin with. He was annoyed enough by the wolf’s mind games to doubt the wolf's capacity for even such minimal altruism.
“Oh, I’m not a wonderbolt just yet, but I’ll have to admit, I am pretty awesome!” Rainbow Dash’s wings popped out and she started to hover in front of Fenrir, waiting for the wolf to compliment her more. George wasn’t surprised by the fact that Rainbow Dash was so self-centered; he was more surprised how unaware she was of it. The way she would literally pat herself on the back was both tragic and comedic.
“Now settle down, sugarcube, that’s more than tootin’ yer own horn.” Applejack trotted into the scene and immediately recognized the rainbow-maned mare basking in her own glory, imagined or not. George’s opinion of this mare just kept on getting higher the more he knew about her. “Applebloom, get out of there, we gotta get up on home, ‘fore dinner gets cold!”
“Blue Egoistical Pony’s transgressions aside, I have something to ask of you, Applejack.” Fenrir growled out, drowning out the yellow-coated filly’s complaints with his low growl of a voice.
“Aha! You just called Applejack by name! I knew you were just messing with me!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed and fluttered dangerously close to Fenrir’s fangs. Fenrir didn’t even spare the noisy pegasus a glance.
“I am wondering if I am still welcome at your farm, Applejack. With all that’s happened after you extended that kindness to me before, I would understand if I am not welcome.” George scoffed at the manipulative way Fenrir worded his query. Fenrir had just given the orange mare’s little sister a ride on his back and the small filly probably still thought the world of the entertaining wolf. There were little to no chances of Applejack refusing him under these circumstances. The only reason George didn’t intervene was because if Fenrir stayed on the farm, he was easier to keep track of.
“Of course ya are, big fella! Everypony makes mistakes and you’ve shown that you regret yours. Besides, you’re a big help on the farm and giving you a place to sleep is the least I can do.” Applejack waved off the wolf’s gloomy attitude with a hoof and a smile, without the slightest hint of hesitation. It seemed like no other pony had caught onto the wolf’s manipulative ways. George couldn’t say he was surprised, but he had held a small sliver of hope about the Elements being smarter than the common pony.
“Hey, I’m talking to you, chump!” George flared his wings out in alarm as Rainbow Dash aggressively shoved herself in front of Fenrir’s muzzle. The mare’s impulsive nature would get her killed, but George would have preferred that it didn’t happen on his watch. Fenrir growled low in his throat, but forced his snarl down after a quick glance at the two pegasi guards on either side of Rainbow Dash, hooves at the ready on their spears.
“I have made it abundantly clear that I dislike you, Rainbow Dash. I do not need any other reason to ridicule you, but doing so also alleviates some of my displeasure without resorting to violence. Please, do not test my self-restraint further, Blue Oblivious Pony.” Fenrir growled out his words deliberately to drive the point home. George couldn’t fault the wolf for thinking Rainbow Dash was annoying, but the wolf’s flippant temper concerned him even further. George had to wonder if he had misinterpreted the weight of what it meant when Fenrir growled and snarled. Fenrir was from a different time, a time where he probably had no other way to employ dominance, other than aggression. It would take time to deprogram that instinct, to teach him that he didn’t have to strive for dominance, not anymore. George ordered his subordinates to stand down with a wave of a wing and Fenrir visibly relaxed at the gesture.
“You don’t have to be angry anymore.” And just like that, everypony jumped as they noticed the pink mare standing among them. Pinkie Pie had been standing right next to George and he had not noticed the bright-colored mare until she spoke. She was looking the wolf in the eyes with a seriousness George hadn’t expected the mare to be capable of. Her hair still had its usual flair, so at least this wasn’t one of her bouts of depression. “The Dark can be forgiven.”
George glanced back at Fenrir to see how he would react to the mare’s cryptic statement. Fenrir wasn’t snarling, growling, or acting aggressive in any way, but George still flinched back. Fenrir was glaring right at the pink mare. Nopony else was reacting to the unbridled fury in that glare, but George’s special talent was noticing things other ponies didn’t. The anger disappeared when Fenrir blinked and George didn’t know if he should feel lucky to have caught it. He had seen a glimpse of the thing that could tear apart a dragon and bathe in its blood. The fact Fenrir was hiding it so well disturbed him.
“I am not angry, only annoyed. I can see how that can be hard to distinguish, with my frightening appearance and all.” Fenrir stood back up, as the crowd around him had dispersed enough for him to move freely. He started walking away from them without giving them another glance. Pinkie’s comment had hit home somehow and he was not hiding it very well. “I wish you a good night, Shadow hide you.”
Fenrir walked out of the park and disappeared into the darkening day, leaving behind a group of confused ponies.
“Pinkie, what in the hay was that all about?” Rainbow Dash asked, forever the inconsiderate one of their little group of heroes. “He bolted right after hearing your weird mumbo-jumbo about the ‘Dark’ he was going on about. Where in the wide, wide world of Equestria did you hear about that?”
Rainbow Dash was waving both of her hooves in front of her to get the point across. Such flamboyant body language aggravated George and he chose not to look directly at the mare. It was like she was screaming out every word.
“He doesn’t know how to cry… Please, don’t hate him.” Pinkie Pie nearly whispered to the hovering Rainbow Dash. The gathered ponies fell silent and felt a shiver run down their spines when they noticed the distant gaze in Pinkie’s eyes as she turned to address the colorful mare directly. George had heard the pink mare’s precognizant abilities were only limited to weird quirks in her body, not actual prophecies. If she wasn’t doing this just to freak them out for a joke, then what was happening just now proved that to be wrong. Pinkie then simply walked away. She didn’t hop, or skip, or disappear behind a puff of smoke. She just trotted off in a brisk pace, but still with that serious and distant look to her eyes. Nopony even thought to stop her.
“Sis, are we going home or not?” Applebloom piped in, having missed most of the drama while saying goodbye to her friends. She thought the sour mood was strange, considering the fun she’d had that day.
Fenrir
Why had he reacted so violently to Pinkie’s words? He’d been throwing around the bullshit phrases hinting toward an old religion the ancient Fenrir could have followed, so why did Pinkie Pie using those words cause him to feel so angry? The words had just come to him when he talked, but that couldn’t mean there was any truth to them, right?
The “Shadow hide you” line was ripped from the Elder Scrolls games he’d played while he had been human. The members of the Dark Brotherhood had used it as a phrase to wish each other luck. The whole “Dark” thing was from Dark Souls, it had been the chaotic evil ending to the game to bring about true Dark to the world. He knew exactly why the things he said were bullshit, so why was he so mad when Pinkie Pie borrowed his terminology?
Had he really been thinking about where the phrases came from as he said them? Had they really been so fresh in his mind that he would use them in conversation? He couldn’t even remember his own name, so why would he remember where he’d heard those specific phrases?
Fermented apples. Disgusting.
Fenrir felt his stomach lurch and immediately jolted to the side of the road and started to furiously claw at the ground. Oh, that apple cider really wasn’t sitting well with him. He could taste the stomach acid in his throat and fought to keep it in. As soon as the hole was deep enough he stopped holding back the torrent of foul-smelling vomit. He retched a few times to make sure he had gotten all of the apple cider out of his system, before quickly filling the hole back up again.
He really should have learnt his lesson with the apples at Sweet Apple Acres. His body didn’t process plants at all. He had to hunt and kill for his food now. He couldn’t even indulge in alcohol to try and wash out the disturbingly sweet taste of blood out. He was a carnivore now and he didn’t know how he should feel about that. His whole body was specifically designed to kill and digest other living things. He didn’t like the way that restricted his choices. Every HiE fic he’d read, the human at least had a choice to go the vegan route, but he had no such luxury. He was a monster among pacifist ponies taking care of cleaning up wild animal’s burrows.
Sleep.
Fenrir yawned wide and with conviction. Running around with a group of foals and an over-active mare on your back several times per day really took the strength out of you. He would have to try and find out if he had any reason to appear in Equestria at this point in time. The whole world he was in was a fabrication in his own reality, so the appearance of a new surprising character probably meant a new story arc. He would just have to figure out his place in it and hopefully he’d be done and get sent back to the human world. He’d killed a dragon already; he could probably handle anything this world threw at him and the Elements of Harmony.
He ran back to Sweet Apple Acres and snuck into the barn to catch some Z’s. Applejack would come by later with a heavily intoxicated Big Macintosh and explain to granny Smith that he was sleeping in the barn another night. He would rather not disturb the old mare, when she still thought he was a menace. He circled around for a few laps and then settled onto the dent he’d dug into the barn’s floor.
Necessary for survival, yet so useless.
Fenrir opened his eyes and perked his ears to catch any sounds around him. No ponies, a few small pests hiding within the structure and a call in the night, reminiscent of old times. Fenrir straightened his body out fluidly and slunk out into the dusk, staying low and eerily quiet.
The other one hadn’t even heard it. Fenrir followed the call into the Everfree forest, sneaking from one shadow to the next. The great wolf snuck through the forest, until he came across a clearing deep in the forest the ponies feared. There was a cloaked figure at the center of the clearing, half-obscured by tall grass, but still visible to the wolf’s tall form. Fenrir retreated back into the forest’s shadow and circled around to be down-wind from the figure. It took him a moment, but he could recognize the scent of the pony sitting there, calling him.
“Luna.” Fenrir said to get the mare’s attention, as she had not heard him walking over to her. Using the words felt strange, they slipped out of his throat with no effort of his own. He knew them, yet he did not remember learning them. Treacherous magic, perverting his nature… he still needed the words, he needed the Liar.
“Fenrir, we wish you would refrain from surprising us in such fashion.” The mare of the moon frightened and retreated away from him. All the words he wanted to say were of hate, so he did not use them. Watching her was too much, so Fenrir laid himself down. The night was falling; the Dark would obscure the hated weakness of the mare in front of him. “We have come to inquire why thou hath upset our sister in such a manner.”
“Resentment.” The word came to him, escaping his throat through magic. The Liar used more words, conversed with the weak ponies. Prodded, inquired and manipulated them through their meaning. It was not his way, not something one of Dark would do.
“We do not approve of the way you speak of our sister! She rules over these lands as much as I do and you will show us respect!” The mare attempted to sound authoritative, yet he could smell her fear, her hesitation.
“You hold no power over me.” The mare with stars in her mane flared her wings and rose up on her hind legs to state her business. Her stupid theatrics fell short with a simple push of his muzzle. “Theatrics will not hide your weakness.”
“This is outrageous! You will pay for such -”
“No.” The word was simple and the mare was struck speechless by it. His words still had power, even without the Liar. Her silence did not last long.
“You recognize yourself as a creature of the night and yet you go against me?”
“The night is not yours.”
“I am the Princess of the Moon, I rule over the night sky, as my sister rules over the day! You would do well to remember this!” The mare was infuriating in her insistence. The truth was obvious, yet the words did not form. Luna had cast away the Dark and thought to lord over the Night with only her pale Light?
“Your Light does not rule the night.” Could the mare have forgotten her true nature? Had the Liar’s words rung true? The mare huffed and tried calm herself, the stars in her mane blinking and flashing. “Have you forgotten your true nature?”
“Neigh, I have regained it! Nightmare Moon was a deviance of character, brought on by petty jealousy. I hoped you would have understood that, Fenrir. I cannot fault you for your loyalty, but please let go of your groundless hate.” The mare was irate at the truth, obviously under the impression she was right. His power was not the way to convince her of the truth.
He needed the Liar’s words.
“Look around you, Luna. Tell me what you see.” Fenrir asked while starting to circle the princess of the night in a leisurely pace. Fenrir didn’t know it, but Luna noticed how the look in his eyes changed, became more animated, intelligent. “Is it your Light that governs the land?”
Luna hesitated, but then set her eyes on the forest around her. Her moon was bright and high in the sky, giving the clouds partly obscuring it a silvery sheen; her stars were majestic and distant around her majestic moon, everything was at it should be. Fenrir passed in front of her; obscuring her view of the sky and tearing her focus back down to the forest floor. She turned her head to and fro and saw the moonlit clearing they were in. Fenrir could also see the mare turning her eyes away from the ever darkening shadows of the forest. There had been some truth to the Liar’s words, she had forgotten the truth.
“They have forgotten you. They only revere you as a diarchic figure of power, the lesser of their two benevolent rulers. Your sister is revered as a goddess; she has temples built in her name, while you are an old mare’s tale, used to frighten little foals.”
“My moon and stars have inspired countless scientist, poets and artists, Fenrir. My sister’s overabundant light gives life, but I call out ponies’ talent, allow them dreams of inspiration and wonder.” Ponies, she was so focused on talking about ponies when conversing with him.
“Tell me, Princess Luna, how many ponies call your name in their prayers? How many remember to ask for the night’s protection? How many still call for Celestia in the night?” Fenrir questioned Luna, purposefully keeping his tone calm and slow, despite his seething anger at the mare’s weakness and insistence. “How many thank you for their inspiration?”
“It will take time for ponies to trust me again, I am aware of that. You cannot goad me with petty jealousy, I’ve learned from my mistake.” Luna turned her head side to side, trying to keep the wolf in her line of vision without turning her body around.
“Ponies can dream during the day, artists paint sunny fields and work in your sister’s Light. Dreams are not your power, they are not why you are the Princess of the Night.” Fenrir stopped his circling and sat in front of Luna, his tall form obscuring the moon’s light from Luna. “Poor little alicorn, you don’t even know who you are. Do you really believe you are meant to be a pale reflection of your sister? That the pale light your moon reflects is your power?” Fenrir leaned closer to Luna, as the Liar’s foreign instincts suggested.
“The moon’s light is not about power, it brings hope to ponies, they gaze up in awe at my night sky.” Luna countered Fenrir’s questions. Fenrir felt a jab of intense anger at Luna’s insistence. This was hopeless, the mare was convinced her place was in the Light. Fenrir snarled and barely fought down the urge to tear the mare’s throat out. The Liar’s influence beat that urge down as it intensified.
“The moon’s light gives us a shadow to hide in, grants the prey light, where we can see them. You Light is the one to feed the Dark, whether you have forgotten that or not.” The Liar’s games were useless. There was no clever way to manipulate Luna into believing in the truth. He would tell her and be done with it. “You adopted the Dark as your own, we were born in it, molded by it. We rose to fight by you, all of us. Everything with teeth and a hunger, from the Dark in the realm.”
“No, that’s not how it -” The alicorn was retreating, nearly stumbling on her cloak as Fenrir kept on telling her of a truth she’d forgotten.
“I worshipped a being that shrouded her form in shadow and wielded darkness as her weapon, I revered what you once were, Luna. I swore my loyalty to the deity that understood our hunger and the power we signified.” Fenrir took a step toward Luna, making her take a panicked step back. His words were rattling something inside her, he was sure of it. “ You have been reduced to a Light without Shadow. You hold no power over the Dark in your current state and Celestia’s ponies will always favor her Light to your pale reflection of it.”
“No! You are wrong! I...” The mare straightened her posture and Fenrir was surprised to see sadness in the alicorn’s eyes, rather than the expected confusion or anger. The mare bowed, presenting her neck to him. She was prostrating herself in front of him, apologizing for what she thought to be her sin. “I am sorry if that is what you thought of me, but I only cared for my own selfish goals as Nightmare Moon. I am so sorry using you and your people in such a way.”
“You dare apologize for her greatness!? YOU ARE THE WEAKNESS OF MY MISTRESS, YOU DO NOT HAVE THAT RIGHT!” A red mist descended upon his vision and all he could think about was breaking this disgusting pile of weak flesh for disrespecting his goddess.
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MAUAHAHH A BSB SONDLK CMWDKMC WEL,C LW;E, PLWE ITS HERE
1254769
I am glad you didn't go for "FIRST!"
1254796 Psh i'm not a douche, and i hate how selfish twilight is being, so what being superstitous is normal but not to the level she is taking it, worse shit has happened in ponyville but she goes all out on this bullshit even when he is friendly? thats stupid -10 respect for twilight
I think it's pretty much confirmed at this point that nameless-human here has fused with the mind of the real Fenrir. He's not just being guided by his spirit, he's not just getting into the role. He is Fenrir.
Waaait how long has he been in Equestrian?? You make him sound like he's been there for at least a thousand years.
1254796 It's glorious.
assets.diylol.com/hfs/4b8/053/e42/resized/kidding-me-meme-generator-you-have-got-to-be-fucking-kidding-me-5f813a.jpg?1320121715.jpg
1254934
he is probably inhabiting the body of the real Fenrir and dosent even know it. Fenrir's personality and memories are just messing with him. unless...
*acquires tinfoil hat*
he is the real fenrir and tatarus is really our earth.
Egoistical - Egotistical?
1255061
Oh silly filly you
But just incase.. could I borrow some tinfoil?? And dual personalities? Or maybe he's sharing the body of the real Fenrir because SOMEBODY(author) decided to through a hypothetical monkey wrench(otherwise known as a plot twist) into the clock-like gears of logic and reason. 
.....
Epic.....
1255097
?
I may or may not have an absurdly large stash of tinfoil... how much do you need
also, the human just jumped through the nearest plothole to land in the body of an elderich abomination. no biggie.
Love IT
Another story where a Brony goes to Equestria and doesn't become a Pony or stay Human? I usually avoid these because Diamond Dogs/Gryphons/Dragons all suck, but seeing as this Brony gets turned into an animal and still gets to interact with the Mane 6.... I shall like it.... because pure OC stories suck, and this is not that.
Awwwww yeah can't wait for next update
I'm also really curious about how the brony is going to deal with his split personality, here's hoping for a reasonably happy ending.
boo cliffhanger
I demand the next chapter by tomorrow :)
or else i'll cry
1254838 Is that Cannon Twilight or CL's fannon Twilight?
1255124
A lot... and dammit! We warned Pinkie to stop being so careless and leaving her rips in time/space/and our security firewall open!! We code named it.... the Fourth Wall.. but somehow she keeps breaking it!! DAMN YOU PINKIIIIEEEEE!!!!
desmond.imageshack.us/Himg830/scaled.php?server=830&filename=pinkiepiesomepony.png&res=landing
1255222
retreat to the fifth wall and try to hold out there.
all hope is lost.
1255221 canon i believe
WE CANT WIN OUR SECURITY SUCKS!!! THEY COULDN'T HIT THE SIDE OF A DEATH STAR!!
images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb57524/starwars/images/4/46/RhenVarClones.jpg
After re-reading the luna part i figured out The liar.... is the human part of Fenrir!
1255233 Why though?
This is just CL's version of Twilight. What CL believes is Twilight, not who Twilight is actually.
(By the way, Just in case,
Cannon = What the creator says she is.
Fannon/Head Cannon = What people believe she is.)
So much win in this chapter!
1255331 Well seeming how he nailed every other characters actions and speeches, it very much seems like it is based off what the creator made them to be.
1255389 Still, this isn't MLP: FiM Universe, it's 'Predator' Universe.
We don't know how everypony would react to Fenrir appearing in Ponyville, because it hasn't happened.
(PS: On an unrelated note, your name is amasing +1point from me
)
Hmmm, interesting developments, lets see where this goes.
“I wish you a good night, Shadow hide you.”
...Does... Does this mean Pinkie... That Pinkie is part of the Dark Ponyhood? This is kind of scary... BUT! It also excites me to see Pinkie in later chapters.
Damnit Fenrir! You are getting over worked by a non existant religion!
Holy crap the Human is inhabiting the Fenrir from Equestria and the original Fenrir is regaining Dominance.............................he's becoming feral
And the plot thickens! Great chapter!
Fenrisulfr is best
ponyevil, monster, creatureMOAR!
Fenrisulfr, god alongside his great wife Tor. Fenris is the god of the Sun (YES) and Tor is the moon goddess. "Fenris is howling today!" is commonly exclaimed by wolves when it is really hot out. Tor and Fenris created Dammam, the First Wolf, and set him upon the fertile Earth. Then, seeing that he was lonely, they fashioned him Va, the First She-Wolf, out of one of his fangs. Dammam and Va loved each other immediately, and in time Va gave Dammam her first litter, consisting of an astonishing thirty-three pups; and they consisted of every kind of wolf in the world, the red and the gray, the chanco and the arctic. But there was a great pup, the gray Fren, who was Tor's favorite...
1256314
DAT WHEEL OF TIME REFERENCE.
images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100104012757/wot/images/c/c9/Wolf-icon.svg
1257386
Where the fuck is that from? I know it could be you just making up names and an awesome backstory for Fenrir, but I have a feeling I've heard it before... or maybe it was about dragons...
1257403
wut?
1255053
Whatever do you mean?
1255140
I don't know if I agree with you. I just think Stephen King novels don't translate well into film. It was fine and scary if you watched it after dark in your preteens, but now it's just ridiculous. I believe the Nostalgia Critic summed it up pretty well.
Wait, we are talking about Stephen King's IT, right? I thought the book to be just general Stephen King stuff, but the TV adaptation doesn't do it justice.
1257406
The Sight by David Clement-Davies.
i.chzbgr.com/completestore/2012/3/29/c492ec6c-5024-4de2-8539-7bb0262863e6.gif
PSI, wolves, an ancient prophecy, great things in motion, a good read.
1257409
Sinners repent, for The Last Hunt is nigh!
i.chzbgr.com/completestore/12/9/6/sy4JDnfDGkCdy0d3QKNixA2.gif
Shai'Tan falls that day.
1257564
Have at me then Dark One. My people existed in the Planes before "His Magnificence" ever thought to terrorize creatures, heck before the Abyss existed. He rightly fears us and hates us. Let him come, I FEAR NOT THE TOUCH OF THIS YOUNG ONE.
Video somewhat related.
1257598
Remember how people used to say, thanks to this one comic panel, that no one can tell you're a dog on the Internet? Well, no one call tell you're an Utahraptor either...
Here's your Ice Age mammals.
It's interesting how Fenrir is actually becoming the character. I'm beginning to wonder if he just was inserted into Fenrir's body. That could lead to some troubles.
1257626
yes.
1257627
Erm, yes.
1257627
I picture Fenris having minions; leucrottas. Like these fine gents!
wizards.com/dnd/images/mof_gallery/MonFaePG63b.jpg
1257644
How about everything with a hunger and fangs in the Dark, aka; the nocturnal predators?
1257683
How I imagine a scene:
I called out, "Who stare back at me!"
They answered, "Your servants, your Highness."
I replied, "The correct answer was the Abyss, but your answer is better."
2.bp.blogspot.com/_Q6Fx3P-z0uE/SP65lAI1OlI/AAAAAAAAABA/d8jP7j77_4Y/s400/IMG_3328.JPG
Meh I still want a physical confrontation between the human wolf and Fenrir wolf even though they seem to share the same body.
1257772
Well, I'm jonesing for a Klonddike bar, but I don't have one. We don't always get what we want...
I will say, however, that the two will not agree on certain things and shit will be going down.
CURIOUS GEORGE THE GUARD