Survival of the Wolves

by JNKing

Chapter 24: Send Off

For a moment, the group recovered.

“Man it felt good to do that,” Rainbow Dash noted.

“Friendship power rush!” Pinkie cheered. “Woo!”

Rarity looked down, gasping in glee as she found her necklace intact. “And the Elements. They didn’t disappear.”

“Maybe because we used them for healing instead of banishing,” Fluttershy offered.

“Speaking o’ which,” Applejack noted, pointing to where Star was recovering.

Shiva tended to the young alicorn, her face a mask of regret. “Star…” she mumbled. “Forgive me. I didn’t…”

Star managed to look up with a grin. “It’s okay, Alpha,” she promised. “We got through. We did it.” She looked to Stygian, who approached her as well. “You guys okay?”

Stygian looked down in regret, humming, before noticing Starswirl limping over.

“Stygian…” Starswirl said, his voice strong despite his pain. “Long ago… you needed my help. But instead of listening… I made the others turn their backs on you. Pride clouded my judgment. I owe you…” he looked at Shiva. “And many others an apology.”

Shiva’s ears flattened. She looked away. “An apology doesn’t take back the lives that were lost,” she said darkly.

The others ears flattened.

“But… Shiva?” Twilight said. “He just helped defeat the Pony of Shadows. He rescued you and…”

“Don’t give him credit he doesn’t deserve,” Shiva said. She looked to Star. “You saved us, Star. And for that, you have my undying gratitude.”

Star chuckled. “Just… doing my job as a pack mate,” she noted. She glanced at Starswirl. “But… are you sure you can’t let bygones be bygones?” She noted Kodo. “I mean, you did beat him to within an inch of his life already.”

Kodo bristled, but didn’t bark back. Shiva just glanced at him with a sigh.

“Working together on one mission - very poorly at that,” Shiva said. “Doesn’t fix our problems.” She pulled herself up before looking to Twilight. “Let us know if you need us again, Twilight Sparkle.” She looked to Stygian. “You especially, Stygian. Don’t ever think darkness is your only friend again.”

“Please,” Star insisted, looking to Stygian desperately. “There’s always going to be someone out there that understands you. Even if it doesn’t feel like it.”

Stygian smiled gently, and nodded. “Thank you both.”

With a final nod, Shiva barked, and the wolves dispersed. Giving Star one more thankful look, Stygian a nuzzle, and Starswirl an unreadable expression, Shiva left.

Starswirl watched her go, his eyes casting downward. “Something tells me I’m going to need to talk to her again.”

Twilight and Starlight exchanged a glance. “Maybe… it would be better to just leave her be for now,” Twilight suggested. “Take pride in what we accomplished now.”

Starswirl hummed, though his eyes didn’t leave Shiva until she was gone and out of his sight.

###

A few days passed; Starswirl got to meet back up with Celestia and Luna, and the Pillars got the chance to explore and really see Equestria and how it had changed.

However, as the other Pillars went off to explore and discover, Starswirl and Flash followed Star to the Ever-Free, where the wolves roamed.

“I gotta say, I’m excited to see this place,” Flash noted. “I was so worried that you were in danger here.”

“Oh, don’t you worry, Uncle Flash,” Star replied. “The wolves turned this place into the safest…”

She barely got to say another word before several spells blasted at Starswirl. If it hadn’t been for Star Wing and Flash reflecting them, it would have likely resulted in the old wizard getting blasted out of the forest.

“Alright, guys, ALRIGHT!” Star barked as growls sounded from within. “Just give him one minute.” She glanced back at Starswirl. “Better start talking.”

Starswirl nodded, before bowing his head low. “Wolves of Equestria,” he said. “I know you have little love in your hearts for me. After what I have done to you and your kind… I certainly deserve it.”

Several snorts sounded. “You think?!” one wolf barked.

Starswirl visibly bit back his retorts, and sighed. “I just want you to know that I regret the things I have done. I realize now that pride had clouded my judgment and I was… well, I was wrong.” He looked up. “You do not have to forgive me. But I only want you to know how much I regret my choices, and that I will do whatever I have to in order to make up for it.”

The wolves were silent at first, mulling over his words. Finally, Shiva strode out of the forest, her fur shimmering from unstable emotion, even as her brown eyes were narrowed and determined.

She paused in front of Starswirl, regarding him with an unreadable mixture of tension and curiosity.

“What are your plans going forward?” Shiva finally asked, her voice frighteningly casual.

Starswirl glanced at Star Wing, but the alicorn could only shrug.

“Well,” Starswirl mumbled. “I’m not exactly certain where I belong. I believe I’ll have a look around before I settle in any one place.”

Shiva nodded. “Well, you certainly don’t belong here,” she said. Her voice wasn’t accusatory or cruel; it was simple, like she was stating a fact.

Star deflated with a sigh, before she noticed Shiva hadn’t turned her back on him. As Starswirl looked down in shame, she lifted his head up to regard her.

“If you wish to really atone for what you did,” she said. “You will travel the world. You will look for the good in others. And you will never repeat what you did to us.”

Starswirl nodded. “Twilight Sparkle showed me how friendship and cooperation can be far more powerful than any magic I’ve known. And that in turning away from others, you hurt yourself as well.” He lowered his head. “I pray that a day comes when we will be able to work together again. And I can show you how I’ve changed.”

Shiva nodded as well. “I look forward to that day,” she replied.

Starswirl smiled gratefully, and then turned to leave. Star Wing watched him go before looking to Shiva.

“Are you…?” she mumbled, before considering. “I can’t really say ‘okay,’ can I?”

Shiva sighed. “I’ve had many years to come to terms with what that stallion did to my pack,” she mused. “I truly believed that I had managed to move on.” She sighed, before looking at Star. “But if you hadn’t interfered, I likely would have only made things worse.” She lowered her head. “I… understand if you’d rather stay in Canterlot after this incident.”

Star chuckled. “With the nobles? With Celestia? What made you think that I was over what they did?”

Shiva looked up in surprise. “But… how did you defeat the Pony of Shadows if you didn’t move on?”

“Because I didn’t let it control me,” Star said. “I’ve never let what happened in my past control me.” She shrugged. “Do I dislike the nobles? Heck yeah; I’m pretty sure you and some of the Mane Six dislike them too. Do I hate Celestia?” She paused. “Well, that’s more complicated; we’ll come back to that one.” She shook herself off. “But regardless of how I feel, I’ll still do what I can to protect them, along with the Mane Six, Spike, Ponyville, and all the other great things. Because without the bad parts… how else can the good parts of our world shine all the brighter?”

Shiva smiled and embraced her daughter. “You are wise, Star,” she noted. “I’d say wise beyond your years, but a thousand years is a long time to learn.”

Star chuckled. “Well, don’t make it too obvious,” she teased. “I kinda prefer being the perky genki girl over the wise, brooding sage. Leave that to Starswirl.”

Shiva chuckled, while Star grinned at Equestria.

“So,” Star noted. “What do we do now?”

Shiva smiled as the wolves slowly came out of the Ever-Free, several ponies and thestrals with them.

“We live,” she replied. “We live, we love and we prosper. Because we are more than the Wolves of Equestria.” She turned back to her people. “We ARE Equestria.”

“Equestria!” was chanted back.

Star and Flash smiled at each other, before Star led him in to the others.

From there, things went by in a flash; Star introduced Flash formally to Shiva and the others. Chaser got to show Flash the statue of him and Hunter, and how he had given them hope.

Flash gazed at the statue in awe. “I never realized I had this much of an impact on you guys,” he noted.

“Your friendship with Star Hunter gave us hope that the rest of ponykind could see us the same way,” Star Chaser replied. “And though the road has been difficult, I’d say it’s been worth it.”

The sight of Hunter immortalized in gold sparked a feeling in Flash, and after the visit, he made his way back to Hunter’s grave.

“Hey partner,” Flash noted. “Been a while, huh?” He sighed. “There’s a lot to talk about.”

He told him about what happened since the last time Flash visited. About the Pony of Shadows and how he had awoken to find Star alive and well.

"Things have gotten much better now Hunter, Star's alive and well thanks to Shiva and we Pillars are free to live our lives not that the Pony of Shadows is gone.” Flash nodded. “Yep. I think we’re just about done, my friend.”

“Says who?”

Flash turned, and for a moment, he thought he saw Hunter standing beside him. But then he noticed the slimmer figure, and understood; it was Star. The spitting image of her father, standing with pride beside him.

“There’s always going to be a new adventure on the horizon,” she noted. “And plenty of work to be done.” She flared her wings. “I heard about some yeti-like creatures making trouble on the borders. Wanna check it out?”

Flash grinned, and flared his own wings. “As long as we do it together,” he said.

Star took a moment to look at her father’s grave. “I’ll make you proud, Dad,” she said. “If I haven’t already.”

Flash pat her shoulder. “Now that’s impossible,” he said.

And to his credit, Star could feel… something. Something like someone was smiling down on her from above. She breathed deeply, before lifting into the air.

“Come on, Uncle Flash,” she said. “Let’s go exploring.”

Author's Note:

And so, that's going to be the end of 'Survival of the Wolves' for the time being.

I'm not sure when or if I'll come back to this, as I've got a couple of other projects that I want to try out. But until that time, thank you all for reading along and supporting Star's story.

Star was a character I had been quite eager to utilize, and I'm very happy at the reception she got. Thank you all for your feedback and support, and I look forward to entertaining you with more stories in the future.

Until next time,

Comments

[The_Chill_Author]

I enjoyed this, I like seeing Star not being tbe stereotypical kickass girl who doesn't connect with people on a personal level.

Shiva was awesome as always, and is it bad that I feel sorry for Starswirl? The only reason why, is because his balls were busted.

Anyway, I enjoyed the story, and I can't wait for more!

[JNKing]

11135408
Thank you so much for your support.

I'm glad you liked Star, and that her personality worked. I've always found the stereotypical kickass girl to be a little boring nowadays, so I wanted to give Star a little more spice to her.

And it makes sense to be sorry for Starswirl. I am a little worried Kodo got carried away, but hopefully, it means Starswirl is going to be a better person from here on.

Looking forward to sharing more in the future; whether it be this story or something new.

[Loganic]

👍

[lunawade]

Well I'm sorry the stories over but I really enjoyed it and I hope you write some more about this character

[JNKing]

11135866
Thank you very much.

I've got a few ideas lined up for her. I look forward to seeing what else she can get up to, even if it's not in this story in particular.

[Darksoul85]

Thank you for the great story and best of luck with your projects 😀

[JNKing]

11136122
Thank you.

[Alex80]

New chapters ????
How about star leading a revolution against the storm king

[Okamiluver]

Loving the other story you got going on, that did is there any new chappies coming to this one?

[JNKing]

11164502
Sorry, but no.

[Okamiluver]

11164516
Ok, just wanted to know since it was still marked incomplete, when I asked!

[JNKing]

11164518
Yeah, thanks for catching that. I realized I forgot to mark it as complete after I saw your comment, and adjusted it accordingly.

[Okamiluver]

11164520
Yeah, still I absolutely loved this story, my only complaint so far is that Star Swirls got off way too easily and that the story ended...

[Mystic Sunrise]

Is that Shiva and Star Wing in the cover art? Don't remember if I ever saw a description of what they look like. Besides being an alicorn and a she-wolf.

[JNKing]

11827130
It's meant to be them, yes.

Though, I'll admit, Star Wing is supposed to be way darker than the filly on the cover, but it was the best I could find on Google images.