Survival of the Wolves

by JNKing

Chapter 6: Fallout

Starswirl had hoped that by destroying the wolves, he was bringing peace back to Equestria. He believed that he’d return home to find every pony’s minds at ease.

He didn’t expect to return to a battlefield.

As he stepped through the ruined courtyard, his eyes wide with shock at the devastation, he saw his fellow Pillars entering the ruins, disbelief etched across their faces.

“My friends,” Starswirl called, joining them. “What happened?”

“No idea,” Rockhoof replied. “We just felt a dangerous presence in these woods, and we came to investigate, but...

“Wait,” Meadowbrook said, looking around. “Where’s Flash?”

Fear entered Starswirl’s old heart.

“Flash Magnus!” He barked, racing into the ruins. “Flash!”

Luckily, they found their fellow Pillar still alive. He knelt next to the ruined entrance to the throne room, gazing forlornly at an old portrait, his wings hanging loose on his sides and his helmet sitting next to him.
“Star Hunter, I’m sorry, so... so sorry. I failed, failed to keep that promise.”

“Flash?” Mistmane asked.

Flash choked back his sobs. His head lowered, allowing the others to see that the portrait was a photo of the Solar and Night Guards. Flash was posed at the front, alongside a grinning thestral. One the Pillars recognized as a Night Guardsman that had been Flash’s best friend and one Luna had been sweet on before he tragically fell in a battle with a rogue griffon flock protecting her.

Meadowbrook carefully placed a hoof on his shoulder, causing the Stallion to flinch at the touch but he didn’t pull away. Instead he lifted his head and turned to look at them, causing Meadowbrook and Somnambula to place a hoof over their mouths as Mistmane and Rockhoof gasped softly in shock.

Flash's eyes were almost entirely red from his crying and his nose was freely running, but that wasn't the cause of their reaction: It was the sheer brokenhearted look in his eyes which had deep dark circles under them, looking like he hadn't slept in days. None of the four had ever seen him like this, even in the face of the toughest opponents he had always been ready to face it with a smile and filled with hope and bravery. Here, it looked like all that same hope and bravery had been lost, drained out of him only leaving something akin to a shell.

The only time they had seen him anywhere even close to this state was when his best friend Star Hunter had passed.

Mistmane was the first to find her voice. "Flash?" She asked softly, "What's wrong?"

"I... I killed her." His tone sounded as broken as he looked.

"Who?" Somnambula asked gently, Flash choked back a sob as he turned fully to face his fellow Pillars.

"Star Wing. Hunter's filly."

“Princess Luna’s filly?” Starswirl asked. He looked around. “But… what happened to Luna?”

Flash shook his head. “The noble’s treatment of her caught up to us. She went insane… and Celestia…” He covered his face with a hoof.

“No…” Meadowbrook whispered. “But Luna… Luna was always so dedicated. So passionate! She…” She paused. “No… after what the nobles have been putting her through…”

“But what about Star Wing?” Somnabula asked. “What do you mean you killed her?”

Flash shook his head. “I couldn’t let the nobles have their way with her, now that Luna wasn’t around to protect her, I knew they would have killed her. So I took her to the edge of the forest, and told her to run.”

“But… couldn’t that be good?” Mistmane asked. “If she’s not in the castle, maybe we can find her and get her somewhere safe.”

Flash barked a humorless laugh. “Oh, I forgot one little detail, didn’t I?” He looked up in self-loathing. “The forest I just sent her into was the Everfree Forest!”

Rock Hoof gasped. “But that’s one of the most dangerous areas in Equestria!”

“I know!” Flash bemoaned. “But I wasn’t thinking straight! In my hurry to save her from the nobles I sent the filly I always saw as my niece to her death, trying to protect her and instead I killed her!” He covered his face with a wing. “She probably died thinking I had betrayed her and Hunter."

With that he buried his head into his hooves again along with his wings as his body shook with fresh sobs, the others hearing him mumble in between each. "Star Wing, Hunter... I'm so sorry."

The others looked at each other with sadness, while they didn't know Star Wing as well as he did, they did know of his bond with the alicorn filly. They had seen him play with her when off duty, read stories to her, and even share his lunch with her, and that was just to name a few things. Wordlessly, the four surround Flash and wrapped the brokenhearted Stallion in a group hug, trying to help him with his grief.

But Starswirl could not join them. Though he had found the little filly amusing, it was her mother that drew his true feelings. Whatever the cause, Luna had been his student; the closest thing he had to a daughter. Her own child’s fate was a tragedy, but Starswirl needed to know more about what had happened to Luna.

In the ruins of the throne room, he found what he hoped would be a better source of information: Lord Ego, a brace and several bandages adorning his sides, watching Princess Celestia as she sat before the two thrones, her head bowed in despair. He blinked, wasn’t Celestia’s mane and tail pink before he left? Now they were several colors, like a rainbow.

“Lord Ego,” Starswirl said, walking up to the injured noble. “The wolves have been disposed of.” He glanced at Celestia. “But… what has happened in my absence?”

Lord Ego glanced between them for a moment. Finally, he sighed. “Princess Luna… was forced into a corner. Our attempts to control her…”

“If you value the rest of your bones, ‘Lord’ Ego,” Celestia growled, rising up but not looking at either of the unicorns. “You would be wise to tread lightly.”

Lord Ego flinched, his brace creaking as he backed up. Starswirl blinked at the two in confusion.

“Celestia,” he said. “What is the meaning of all of this? What has Princess Luna done?”

Celestia was silent, before turning to Starswirl. The old unicorn gasped at the broken light in her eyes; the tears streaming down her face.

“She was corrupted,” Celestia whispered. “By envy and hate.” Her ears flattened as she looked down. “And I did nothing to help her.”

“Princess, please,” Lord Ego insisted. “You did everything you could have…”

“Did I?” Celestia demanded, her fur glowing as she whirled on the noble. “I let you burrow into my head with fearful accusations and conspiracies! I let you turn me against her! I let you convince me to stand by and do nothing while a child was arrested. A child!”

“N-Not really a child, Your Excellency” Lord Ego tried to justify. “A Moon Spawn. She…”

But he had said the wrong thing. His silver tongue had failed him. As Celestia flared up, her fur shimmered like she was becoming the sun itself.

Starswirl was forced to look away, the light searing into his eyes. He heard Lord Ego’s voice, frantic.

“N-No, please! Your Grace! YOUR MAJESTY! I WAS ONLY… WAIT! NOOO!”

Then the light faded. Starswirl opened his eyes.

Lord Ego was gone; a few magic sparkles fading away to ashes around where he stood. When Starswirl turned to Celestia, she was looking back at the throne, and at the setting moon.

“Celestia!” Starswirl protested. “What did you…?”

“I sent him to the dungeons,” Celestia replied. Her head lowered. “I should be down there myself, to be honest.”

Starswirl’s eyes softened. He walked up to her.

“Don’t think like that,” he insisted. “It’s… never easy being a protector of Equestria. Whatever Luna… may have done…”

He looked down, hesitation and sorrow halting him from saying more. Though, his hesitation was probably for the best; Celestia’s coat continued to shimmer as she struggled to hold back her tears.

“Tell me something else, Starswirl,” she whispered. “When you drove the wolves from our land… was there any evidence that they had been conspiring against me?”

Starswirl paused. Had there been any evidence? He had been focused on making sure the wolves wouldn’t be around to do anything, not to see whether it was justified or not. A villain was a villain, no matter what after all.

“Whether there was or wasn’t,” he declared. “The wolves will not be a problem for you. I’ve ensured it.”

Celestia didn’t reply. Her head just bowed lower, and her tears dripped onto the floor.

Starswirl grimaced at her grief, before glancing up at the moon again. Choosing not to press his luck as Lord Ego had done, Starswirl walked out of the room, leaving to find some pony else that would realize the good they had done. The loss of Princess Luna was tragic, but surely others would see that the destruction of the wolves was necessary. Now they could never hurt them again. This was a very good thing!

#

Despite Starswirl’s beliefs, the rest of the Royal Army felt nothing but disgust as they looked over the ruins of the wolves’ village.

“There’s nothing,” Sgt. Swift Winds, the same Pegasus that had fired the arrow that killed Shiva’s mate, Luke, reported. “No secret plans, no messages to the thestrals or Princess Luna…” He shook his head. “Mares and stallions, I do believe we have made a huge mistake.”

“Mistake?” one of the mares demanded, indicating one of the wolf bodies. “Do you think they’ll consider it a mistake?”

“I mean…” another unicorn noted. “They’re not around to say much about it anymore…”

“You think that matters?” Swift Winds barked back. “I’m glad you can live with the blood on your hooves, but I don’t know if I can!”

“Me neither!” the unicorn added. “I thought we were doing something good, but…” she retched as she noticed a very small wolf body. “Celestia have mercy on us… what did we do?”

Swift Winds could only shake his head, gazing in regret at the carnage. “We… followed our orders, I guess,” he said.

The unicorn glared up at him with tear-stricken eyes. “Then I don’t think I can follow another order like this again,” she replied. Taking off her helmet, she threw it to the ground, and walked away.

One by one, the other soldiers took off their helmet and armor, walking away from the site as well. After a moment of reflection, Swift Winds shed his own armor and joined them.

But even then, it wasn’t enough to lift the burden on his heart.

Swift tried in some way to alleviate it. He wandered into a nearby tavern, and drank until he couldn’t feel anything. But the problem with not feeling anything? He didn’t realize what he would say in that stupor.

#

“We called them the animals,” the former soldier grumbled darkly to his fellow drinkers. “Ha! We’re the real animals. All they did was look different, but that was enough for our superiors. ‘Kill them all,’ they said. ‘Kill them all, and make sure they never come back.’” He hiccupped, sloshing ale down his front. “And we did.” His head rolled. “Celestia have mercy on us, we did.”

As he bemoaned his situation, several ponies looked on with horror in their eyes. The youngest of the group - an earth pony named Apple Tart - left the tavern, heading to where the wolves had once stood.

As the young earth pony took in the carnage, she noticed other ponies starting to arrive as well, looking around in sadness. Apple Tart found herself regretting all those times she had seen the wolves and felt fear in her heart. Worry at what they might do to her; suspicion that one day, she’d be like those squirrels or rabbits that the wolves ran down.

Now it might never come to pass. And yet… it shouldn’t have had to come at this rate, not like this.

As the weeks passed, despair hung over Equestria like a dark storm cloud. Celestia’s grief at the loss of Princess Luna and Princess Star Wing infected the ponies like the flu. And with the former soldiers bemoaning the horrible things they had done to the wolves, it was hard to find joy or happiness in the land anymore.

So, some ponies tried something to alleviate the guilt. Weighed down with lilies, roses, orchids and other flowers, they followed the trail – stained red from blood – that the wolves had left as they fled into the Ever-Free. For fear of their own lives, the ponies didn’t venture any further than the entrance to the Ever-Free. But as Apple Tart set down the flowers, she gazed into the shadows, faint sparks or fireflies almost looking like eyes staring back at them.

“We’re sorry,” she whispered. “For all of this… we know you can’t forgive… but we’re all so sorry.”

Then, Apple Tart turned. And the ponies returned home, their hearts still burdened, but a small ember of hope igniting; hope that maybe somehow, the wolves would hear them.

#

They weren’t off the mark. For what they had mistook for fireflies actually were eyes. The eyes of Star, Celine and Myst.

Star stood ready, her horn glowing in preparation for an attack. However, as the ponies turned away, her horn’s light faded in confusion.

“Uh… what are they doing?” Star asked. “They show up, say some stuff and then leave?”

“Maybe it’s a trap,” Myst noted, glaring at the flowers. “Maybe they’re hoping those things will be poisonous.”

“Can’t be,” Celine insisted, peering at the plants. “Those are lilies, roses and orchids. Lilies… could be poisonous, but roses and orchids aren’t.”

“So, they’re planting some sort of trap,” Myst decided.

Celine sighed. “Look, whatever they’re doing, we can’t decide anything without Alpha Shiva.”

Star Wing nodded. “Well, you guys go ask her,” she offered, glaring at the forest. “If those ponies try to hurt you, I’ll show them just what kind of hero they missed out on having.”

Myst glowered at the filly’s boldness, before turning to Celine. “I’ll stay here,” she whispered. “Make sure this runt actually means what she said.”

Celine rolled her eyes. “Come on, Myst; you can trust her. She was rejected by the ponies just as we were, after all.”

Myst hummed, unable to refute that information, though she still kept an eye on the alicorn filly as Celine raced back into the forest.

Once again, she found Shiva handling another trio of lovers.

“I understand you two love each other,” she said to a pair. “But you have to understand we’re in a very trying time.” She’d indicate the two males. “This is not a time for you to be deciding on who’s the better lover, and this is really note a time for you,” she indicated the female, “To be feeling objectified.”

The female pouted. “Well, it really feels like my ability to breed is the only thing that matters about me,” she muttered.

Shiva sighed. “If you really want to contribute beyond motherhood, you’re free to go on hunts,” she decided. She indicated the two males. “But I want these two with you, and I want you to promise you’ll tell me if you need something. We’re not in a very good time, but I’m not going to force you into a role you don’t want.”

The trio of wolves bowed. “Thank you, Alpha Shiva.”

Nodding, Shiva sent them off, before her eyes brightened at the sight of her daughter.

“Ah, Celine,” she said. “What do you need?”

“We saw some ponies on the eastern border to the Ever-Free,” Celine explained.

Instantly, a growl started up at the mention of ‘ponies.’ Shiva calmed the wolves with a wave of her paws, but even her expression was stony.

“What were they doing?” she growled.

“They set lilies, roses and orchids at the entrance to the Ever-Free,” Celine explained. “Then they said… something we couldn’t hear, and left. Star Wing and Myst are watching the borders, but… I don’t think they wanted to hurt anyone.” She looked away. “If anything, they looked rather guilty.”

“Oh, guilty?” one of the wolves snarled. “They killed our friends and family, and they feel a little bad about it?”

“Screw all of them!” another wolf agreed. “When we’re ready, we should slaughter all of them, and then leave flowers at THEIR last sanctuary. See how they like it!”

“Why bother with flowers; we should…”

“ENOUGH!” Shiva boomed, silencing the surrounding wolves. “You all are missing the most important part: they left.

“But…”

“No,” Shiva insisted. “They returned to their own territory, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s the end of it.” Her eyes softened. “I’m not asking you to forgive them for the pain they put you through. I’m asking that you don’t risk what we’ve been building – are still building – for a few foals. Fear is the true enemy here. And we cannot let it overcome us as it overcame them.”

The other wolves grumbled and huffed, but they didn’t turn away. And Celine felt hope as she shared a small smile with her mother.

“Our strength is returning, my brothers and sisters,” Shiva assured them. “The ponies couldn’t kill us. And for now, the Ever-Free can’t either. Let’s make sure it stays that way.”

Celine nodded, the others following along grudgingly, and she returned to tell Star Wing and Myst. They had already survived one attempt at extinction. Celine was perfectly content with not having to go through another.

Comments

[Loganic]

Frick your guilt. It does nothing. Also I vote Luna says f u and just leaves when she returns.

[Okamiluver]

Hot damn an update *runs around with Pinkie energy* woo-hoo!!

[Totenkopfe]

*long sigh* the pain, the regrets, the sorrow, delicious it's absolutely delicious I can't wait for the update I must know where the story is going

[The_Chill_Author]

This is really good, I don't know what could be next.

[The_Chill_Author]

i.imgflip.com/5o8zll.jpg

[JNKing]

10990496
Nice.

[The_Chill_Author]

10990659
Thanks, it took me a long time to come up with an original joke.

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

I hope Shiva changes her mind. Because those Ponies still need to get karma on their asses. NO damn apology is gonna save them now.

[ARandomLonelyDude]

Violence is the answer. You just have to wait to give it.