The Carnivore Council

by CreativeOverflow

Chapter 11

The sun dipped low in the sky, but Faolan walked ahead, his head even lower. His ears pulled flat against his head in a deep sulk. Behind him three ponies walked in a close huddle. Sunny and Trade flanked Remedy, laughing and listening intently to the tale she was waxing most saccharin.

“There he was with three of the cutest little orphan foals nestled between his paws, all crying into his chest,” she regaled loudly with considerable pomp and drama, reveling in the visible discomfort it was causing their resident predator, “and then with the most gentle touch he leant down and licked their tears away.”

“D’Awwww, that’s so adorable,” Sunny cooed, holding her own cheeks. Her eyes were misty from the sweet tale.

“I think you’ve been sold out boy.” Trade chuckled, somewhat sympathetic to the vicious ribbing Remedy was delivering.

The light blush on Faolan’s coat was becoming obvious. He turned and barked angrily back at the trio, “I was just curious what they tasted like!” His excuse felt weak even to him.

Sunny flinched at the angry wolf, but Remedy saw through his feeble display. She cackled like a mad witch. “Oh he’s trying to act all tough and savage but I know this old dog better than that! Even the mightiest of carnivores falls prey to the adorableness of foals.”

All three ponies laughed.

“I could see what YOU taste like,” grumbled Faolan, under his breath.

Tradewind wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and looked up at the darkening hues of evening. “We should probably setup camp before nightfall”.

The others agreed.

The pony trio got to work, clearing a spot beside the road. Trade gathered firewood while Sunny and Remedy set about preparing a ring of stones for the fire and setting up tents.

“Where’s he going?” Sunny asked, nodding towards Faolan who wordlessly sulked into the surrounding woodlands.

“Oh, let him be,” replied Remedy as she continued to arrange stones in a circle for the fire, “he’s probably still a bit sore from my teasing earlier. No doubt he’s off to find his lost inner beast.”

“What if he actually gets lost?” Tradewind fluttered over, his forelegs wrapped around a large bundle of sticks.

“Well he’d be a pretty poor wolf indeed if he can’t track his way back, and due for more teasing.” Remedy chuckled to herself.

“Aren’t you worried you’re teasing him too much?” Tradewind said as he stacked his lumber within the circle of stones.

Remedy smiled reassuringly, “It’s all harmless fun, I’m sure he knows that.”

Trade smiled back nervously, “I hope you’re right.”

---

The burning wood gave a sharp crack and released a flurry of glowing embers that raced up into the night. All three sat quietly around the fire, munching on some fresh apples.

Sunny suddenly let out an unexpected burp and covered her mouth to hide an embarrassed giggle. “‘Scuse me.”

Tradewind chuckled, then stood and stretched like a cat. He adjusted his position to warm a different flank. Trade looked out over the darkened landscape. “Faolan isn’t back yet and it’s getting quite late. Should we be worried?”

Remedy stared vacantly into the glowing coals. “You probably don’t want to find him right now.” The thin smile on her face was fractured by the firelight, like shadows in broken glass, and betrayed a medley of darker emotions that swirled in her unblinking eyes.

“What... what do you mean?” Sunny looked around at the surrounding woodlands.

Remedy blinked. “We’ve had a lot of fun today, but don’t forget he’s still a wolf. A carnivore, a predator."

Tradewind walked over and sat beside her. “What are you saying?”

Remedy smiled apologetically at her companions. “He hasn’t eaten for at least two days. He is probably very hungry.”

Realisation hit Sunny like the friendship express. “You mean he’s… hunting!?” she gasped.

Remedy held Sunny’s hoof. “Probably. That’s why I said you don’t want to find him right now.”

Sunny slumped to her haunches. Her eyes widened as a flurry of conjured horrors played out in her mind. “So he’s going to k-kill some poor innocent animal. What if it’s a little birdy, or a cute little squirrel?” she stuttered, her voice hitching as the imagery intensified.

Remedy pulled Sunny into a hug. Memories of her first night in the forest flooded her mind. The firelight’s dim golden hues bathed her coat deep crimson and its crackle sounded just like the splintering of bone in her ears. Tradewind joined the firelight vigil, staring deep in thought into the flickering coals.

Remedy gave an involuntary shudder and held Sunny tighter. “It’s hard, I know. But you have to realise, he’s not some fluffy puppy dog. He’s a wild wolf. A stalker of prey. A hunter, a killer. And he is hungry… they were all so hungry.” Remedy’s eyes unfocused as hidden scenes played out behind them.

Tradewind placed his arms around both the girls. “But he’s not so bad, he wouldn’t hurt US right? So let’s forget about this awful business for the night. Look I have a little something special I bought in town.”

He hovered over to his saddlebags.

Sunny shivered and shook the thoughts from her head. “What did you get?”

Trade rummaged into the bag and pulled out a large dark green bottle. “Who’s up for some cider? Sweet Apple Special Reserve,” he said, holding it up proudly.

“Oooh,” the girls marveled in delight.

An impish grin slithered onto Sunny’s face. “Imagine that, two mares - alone - out in the middle of nowhere, escorted by a charming young stallion, and he offers us special reserve.”

Sunny curled around behind Remedy in a distinctly snake-like fashion. She turned her head down and looked up at Trade with large innocent limpid-pool eyes.

“Mr. Tradewind, you wouldn’t have any ulterior motives would you? I’m still very naive.” She pouted.

Trade rolled his eyes, and the comment earned Sunny a quick smack upside the head from Remedy. Sunny giggled with her tongue poking out and one eye closed as she rubbed the new sore spot on the back of her head. “Just kidding, I know it’s Remedy you’re trying to get tipsy.” Sunny laughed as she ducked another painful rebuke, fluttering away out of reach and giggling all the while.

Trade took the teasing in stride, not easily addled by such simple assaults of character. “It’s true, my devastating charm is a burden I bear, but I assure you both: my intent is nought but honourable.” He spoke with forced elegance and held his head high in a most dignified repose.

“Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for ours...” A new voice suddenly rang through the clearing. Trade almost dropped the reserve in surprise. They all spun towards the voice at the edge of the campsite.

An imposing brown and tan earth stallion stood on a large boulder bordering the clearing. He wore a once dignified looking pinstripe vest with an accompanying dirty red tie, and a black trilby with matching red trim circling its crown.

From the bushes behind, three more ponies emerged. Two male pegasi and a female earth pony.

The stallion on the boulder grew confident in his posture, satisfied that the entrance of his little troupe was sufficiently dramatic. “Now if you’d be so kind, please drop all your gear, and lie down with your faces to the ground. We’ll do this nice and easy, and nopony needs to get hurt.”

Stunned; Remedy, Sunny and Tradewind just stood mute, staring.

“Well whaddya know, bandits,” Sunny mused.

Like a well choreographed dance, the trio spun and dove into their nearby bags and pulled out their weapons. Remedy bared the keen, wicked looking sickle. Trade hovered in the air and locked the talon blades to his foreleg with a twist. Then with a flick and a ring of metal like a tuning fork, the twin blades snapped open and locked in place giving him a long pair of claw-like blades on his right hoof. Sunny pulled out a comically small fruit knife.

The bandit leader stumbled on his boulder, his previous bravado wilting. “Who are you ponies?”

---

A small white rabbit chewed the last of a verdant stem. Behind her the sun quickly slid behind the distant horizon, and the moonrise began. She licked her paws and wiped her whiskers and face, taking special care to comb her long ears.

She arched her back, stretched out a long hind leg and endured a big wide yawn. She hopped a few paces, then stood motionless. Her little nose twitched, sniffing the air and sampling a new unfamiliar scent. Like an electric shock, a primal fear rushed through her body. She squeaked and leapt forward in a desperate panic. From the bush behind her a silver toothy snout snapped forward, the jaws twisting in an instant to flank her tiny body before they crushed together with a sickening crunch. The only struggle was a short, strangled squeal.

Faolan waited a moment, as if expecting an army of horrified ponies to suddenly sprout from the ground. In the forest this was a slow Tuesday, but here he couldn’t shrug a lingering feeling of indiscretion. Like he had just desecrated a holy shrine.

Considering it best to make short work of the meagre meal, he tore into the rabbit savagely. It was only a small meal, but at least he didn’t have to share it. One consolation for foregoing the strength of the pack. It should sate his hunger for a day or two.

In truth, being a predator carries with it no small measure of risk. Your daily bread involved life and death struggles, and in order to feed the clan you often targeted prey easily your match or better. And even though you attack with the whole pack, and your odds of success are high, all it takes is one errant antler, tusk or kick from a hoof and your life is over in an instant. No struggle, no second chance.

By comparison, this rabbit was practically tame. It struck Faolan curious, how much the creatures in the pony lands had forgotten their survival instincts. In the forest, no such creatures would be out after dark, certainly not alone. Of course, in the forest no natural creature would hunt a grown wolf either.

The wet sounds of tearing flesh and the brittle crunch of bones crushed in molars progressed at a frantic pace. The last thing he wanted was a pony to witness him in the act. This was a peace mission after all. Faolan was so focused on his task, that he didn’t even notice the thin grey ring of light that circled around him. Before he could react, the ring burst into a wall of cold grey flame that arched over his head, forming a solid dome. Faolan yelped and looked around frantically. He raced up to the barrier, and tentatively slapped the field with a paw. The magic fizzled, and made his paw tingle but did not budge. As firm as any stone.

A fizzling crackle of arcane tearing sizzled from the opposite side of the dome, and a tan stallion walked through the rippling magical wall. He was wearing a wide brim hat and an even wider grin. Several pointy teeth were stitched to the crown of the hat. The stallion gave an impressed whistle as he sized up the wolf.

“What a beauty,” he whispered, slowly stalking along the edge.

Faolan jumped against the barrier, scratching uselessly against the boiling magic.

“Calm down there mate, you’re in the dome now. We’re not going anywhere until one of us yields. Two wills enter, one will leaves,” the stallion crooned, slowly walking along the perimeter. “You’re in luck you know. If you were caught by guards they’d likely put you down. Still, I’m going to need to tie you up a bit. For our safety you understand.”

Faolan turned and faced down the stallion. A low threatening growl reverberated from deep in his throat.

The pony shifted his stance low and his eyes narrowed. He licked his lips and the smirk never left his face. “We can do it that way too. That’s fine with me.”

He reached into his saddle bags and drew a length of rope.

Faolan’s hackles bristled and his icy blue eyes blazed. The low growl continued and a confident menace poured off him in clouds of thick brilliant blues, it filled the dome and surrounded them both. It was the same atmosphere the whole hunting pack had telegraphed when they first met Remedy.

The normal response to the aura the wolf was displaying would be the familiar deep purple scents of fear, panic and dread. Perhaps some bright red tones of defiance if the prey was protecting someone. But the semblance this pony was exuding, however, was completely unexpected and entirely familiar. Faolan glanced around, shocked, his was not the only blue. The pony was oozing an infallible confidence woven with ribbons of bright pink and yellow. Faolan’s aura bruised. HE was the prey, HE was being hunted, and the pony, was delighted.

Faolan hesitated and took a step back.

The pony reacted immediately. He was fast. The stallion charged and devoured the distance between them. Faolan recovered from his shock just in time. Panic triggered his instincts and he dodged sideways. His jaws snapped at the pony hunter as he bolted past. The pony didn’t break stride, galloping through before turning to face the wolf once more. Faolan narrowed his eyes; no pony would fool him twice. He squared off and waited for his moment to strike. The pair slowly circled each other for a moment. The pony grinned unnervingly, unphased by the menace pouring from the wolf.

The stallion charged. He whipped his head around and unleashed the rope, repeatedly striking at Faolan like a viper. One of the lashes wrapped around a paw, and pulled it out from underneath him. Faolan rolled sideways, freeing himself from the binding mid motion. A second rope whipped towards Faolan’s face, drawn in the midst of battle. Faolan ducked, squirming backwards. Another lash for his head, but this time he was ready. Faolan snatched the rope from the air, drawing it taut between the two hunters.

For a moment, a tug-of-war played out between the clenched teeth. Faolan stared bloody murder down the rope at the pony. The stallion fiercely gazed back, unshaken. Then he grinned. With a glow from under his hat, he let go of his end. Faolan stumbled backwards, the rope still in his jaws. A magical glow coated the tail of his rope and before he could react the rope coiled like a snake around his muzzle and tightened, clamping his jaws shut. Faolan raked at the binding with his paws in a mad panic. The stallion gave no quarter, and blindsided the wolf with a slide kick, knocking him to the ground with a heavy thud. Without a moment's reprieve a second body blow knocked the wind from Faolan's lungs as the pony landed bodily on him, pinning a leg. In but a second, more magical aura gathered the second rope and bound three of Faolan's legs together. The pony maintained his weight down on Faolan's side, seriously compromising the thought of further struggle.

“Easy there big fellah, all over now. Just breathe,” the pony whispered softly, breathless but happy, “everything is going to be alright.”

Faolan flicked his ear in irritation at the soothing platitudes being crooned. He growled and struggled against the bindings with all his strength, but with only one free leg he could not find purchase. The stallion, unconcerned with what meagre scratches he could land. The bindings held fast.

“Ah-ah, calm down mate, everything’s going to be fine. You’re safe now.” the stallion ran a soothing hoof over the bristled fur on the back of Faolan’s neck.

Faolan ceased his struggles, exhausted from the effort and still hungry. The bonds on his muzzle and feet were strong. Faolan just lay there breathing for a moment. His head swimming in contradictions. The stallions weight, never leaving.

“Good boy, good boy. That’s it, nice and calm. Just submit.”

Quiet descended back into the woodlands. Only the high pitched thaumaturgical tinkle and the sound of slow breathing remained. The adrenaline slowly abated and only a simmering embarrassment remained. Faolan took a hard look at the pony through one eye. The hunters face was confident and calm, and completely devoid of fear or malice. A normal hunter would have a healthy respect of his prey and would naturally fear injury, but this pony’s face betrayed a dangerously obsessive fascination.

Faolan let his body relax and his head fall to the grass as the strange pony continued to soothe. He hated it, but he had to admit he was bested.

The shield gave an audible pop like pressure equalising. It fractured and splintered into a thousand glistening shards and dissipated.

The dim twilight of the woodlands returned around them. Further ahead, two more ponies stepped from the shadows.

A corpulent unicorn stallion with a large top hat and long red coat tails. A multi coloured tent clearly visible on his flank. The other was a blue and silver earth pony mare, a vine-covered flute adorned her side. She wore a large red scarf around her neck, and looked with disgust at the wolf.

“Well well well, what do we have here?” The top hat stepped forward, a greedy grin stretched over his face. “You’re a long way from home.”

Faolan snorted in defiance.

The fat pony looked past Faolan at the bloody corpse forgotten behind. A practised look of concern temporarily displaced the greedy smile and the stallion clicked his tongue in disappointment.

“Tsk, tsk. Look at this poor little bunny. What have you done? Here in Equestria, this is a pretty serious crime you’ve committed.”

Faolan whimpered slightly, a small measure of guilt overtaking him.

“Now, now, don’t you worry. We’ll take reeeal good care of you. We’ll ignore this little incident, even feed you. All you have to do in return is a little performance or two for the little fillies and colts. You like those don’t you? Don’t lie now, we saw you in town earlier.”

Faolan writhed and bucked, snarling through the restraints. The mare retreated from the thrashing wolf. The top hatted stallion just smirked.

The hunter pushed his weight back down on the wolf. “Easy now, settle.” He snapped at the smirking stallion, “Stop bloody teasing him and finish it.”

The big unicorn turned and gave a nod to the mare. “Soul Song, play a little tune here for our friend to calm his temperament.” He looked back at Faolan with an almost pitying look. “We’ll talk some more after you’ve considered our little… arrangement.”

Faolan continued to thrash, but the ropes were no looser, and every time he thought he could buck the stallion off, the tan pony expertly reasserted himself.

The mare walked forward, lifting a bulbous, disfigured instrument to her lips. A ruby coloured gemstone was embedded in its gullet and glinted in the starlight as if it faintly glowed.

A sad bittersweet note rang softly through the still night air and silenced all the ambient nightlife in its entrancing embrace. A slow, beautiful, melody born of melancholy and sorrow swirled around the clearing. The notes struck a chord in Faolan’s heart, and although his deepest instincts screamed against it, his heart only heard the melody of the mare. In its lilting tune he heard the rustle of wind through his beloved forest’s canopy. Its resonance carried the cool burbling of brooks that tumbled through the undergrowth and soared on a chorus of crickets, cicadas and frogs. Visions of the warm dappled sunlight on the glades as beetles and dragonflies danced and battled among the grasses. The splash of midnight fish leaping for the ethereal flickering of fireflies that skated across dark pools of perfectly reflected starlight. He saw his brothers and sisters strong, proud and happy around the den. Beautiful Karena, her own song a perfect harmony within the melody. He saw Marrok, his father, kind-hearted and strong; honoured by the clan in days of old. It spoke of loving days spent carefree playing with his brother, Lowe, while his mother watched lovingly from the hilltop above. As the song built each image was torn like a broken dream from his mind. Tears of anguish filled his eyes. With the final crescendo he closed his eyes and as the darkness took his mind, a mournful whimper escaped, unbidden, from his mouth.

“Remedy, help.”

Author's Note:

Inspiration for Soul Song's Melody: Flowers in a Riot of Colour

Thanks to Jay Tarrant for proof-reading.

Comments

[Dr Freaky]

Talk about a twist of events...

[TheGrandNil]

Oh shit, I first though that Remmy and the gang were going to get caught by bandits, and Falon, being the strong, proud, honorable, brave wolf that he is, was going to save her, demonstrating again what a fine specimen of male he is.

However, it seems the tables are turned, and it's remmy's turn to save him.

Ps. Sorry I didn't comment sooner, I have to check on your story MANUALLY because I don't get notifications, so I just end up checking every-other-day.