The Girl Who Cried Wolf

by J3sterking

A Different View of Wolf

Luna's bedroom was decorated in shades of blue, and dark blue, and...darker blue. It certainly looked royal, but it also had a kind of sparse look to it, without much in the way of random items cluttering it up, or even work items.

Thinking about it, Rainbow wasn't quite sure what she exactly did as a princess...

A stool levitated from across the room, depositing itself in front of Rainbow Dash. "Sit," Luna commanded.

Rainbow obeyed wordlessly. She looked across the room, where Bon-Bon was sitting with Twilight. Lyra lay on the ground, snoring peacefully.

"What happened to her?" Rainbow asked.

"I dispelled the curse," Luna said. "It's easy under normal circumstances, especialy if it's recent. The curse is still recognized by the body as 'foreign', and your soul is trying to shake it off. For you, however, even if I could, I wouldn't."

"What? Why?" Rainbow fluttered her wings, before she cleared her throat, and added, "Um, Your Highness."

Luna arched an eyebrow, but rather than call her out, she answered the question. "Well, Miss Dash, it is no longer a collection of dark magic. Magic adapts, and in this case, rather than a 'curse', it is now its own creature. It sometimes does this for wolves who've lived for decades, but I suppose the Elements of Harmony assisted you. It might well lead to another sort of freedom."

"What?"

"It will let you be, not fully in control of your wolf, but without the possibility of your wolf deciding it wants to kill everyone you love. I can set it up so that you and the wolf can be more open with each other."

Rainbow stared at her, but Luna only stared back. "Which means...?"

"That you can talk to her," Luna explained patiently. "And that the two of you can make your positions quite known to the other."

Rainbow stared at her. "So, like, a split personality or something?" she asked. "That sounds..." She hesitated. "Weird, but awesome. I'll take it." She flashed the princess a wide grin. "Alright. How do I start?"

"I...am not sure," Luna admitted. "Lycanthropes in Equestria didn't tend to live long enough for me to be able to experiment to my liking."

"What?"

Luna smiled sadly. "In the earliest days of Equestria, my main job was to protect ponies during the night. Me and my Knights would fend off most of the monsters of darkness, and, unfortunately, the lycanthropes normally fell under such a descriptor. Whether they wanted to or not, the safety of the ponies came first."

The air was silent for a minute.

"Of course, I did eventually figure out how to work with my connection to the moon with them," she added. "Which was a bit easier to do from the moon, but, regardless..."

"What...?"

"...I will need a moment to figure this out." Luna pointed a hoof at Lyra. "Twilight, would you help get her to one of the guest rooms?"

"Of course," Twilight said. "Are you sure you don't need any help here?"

"If I did, I doubt you could accommodate me," Luna replied easily. "Fear not. I am more than up to the task at hoof." She placed one hoof over her chest as she said this.

"Alright," Twilight said with a nod. Her horn glowed, and she lifted Lyra up with her magic.

Spike jumped up onto Bon-Bon's back, but before he could say anything, she turned and glared at him. "Excuse me?"

"What? Twilight's carrying Lyra!" Spike shrugged.

Rainbow smirked. "I think she's mad because only Lyra's allowed to ride her."

Bon-Bon turned red as a beet, as Twilight's face wrinkled in confusion. "What? How does that work back in CHS--"

"SHUT UP!" Bon-Bon shouted. "RAINBOW DASH!"

Rainbow burst into a fit of laughter, falling from the stool and onto her back.

"I don't get it," Twilight admitted. "Is there something--"

"Don't ask!" Bon-Bon ordered. "And damn sure don't repeat anything she says! For fuck's sake, Dash!"

"Ahem," Luna said. "If you don't mind, I should like to get started on this now."

"Oh, right," Twilight said. "Come on, Bon-Bon, let's move on."

Bon-Bon shot one last look at Spike, before following Twilight out the door.

Sunset uncovered her muzzle, bursting into a fit of laughter. "Oh, that was bad, Rainbow."

Rainbow got up, dusting herself off. "Well, it just kind of popped out."

"In front of two members of royalty," Sunset pointed out.

Luna giggled. "Once I caught her meaning, I did find it quite enjoyable," she admitted.

Sunset grinned, but let it fade after a moment. "So, um, do you need me to go, too?"

"If Rainbow wishes it," Luna replied.

Rainbow shrugged. "It doesn't matter much to me, I guess."

"You shall have to change," Luna added.

"WHAT?" Rainbow burst into flight, wings fluttering. "In a confined space? With people nearby? Have you lost your tiny pony mind?"

Luna stared at her without emotion showing.

Rainbow gulped. "Um. I mean--"

"You meant what you said. Regardless, if my earlier comments didn't convey the message to you, let me explain--" She spread her wings, and her horn lit up. Despite the light from her horn, the room itself seemed to grow darker. And darker...and darker...

Rainbow looked left and right, eyes widening as the room fell into shadow. She bumped right in Sunset, who had quickly moved to stand in the only spot lit up in the room.

A rattling sound got Rainbow's attention. She turned to the ground, seeing glowing silver chains float on their own accord from the ground, twisting and writhing.

"I am one of the single most powerful beings in this entire world," Luna said casually. "I think, even in the worst case scenario, I can handle myself and as many other ponies that could fit in this room." She closed her eyes, and suddenly, the light returned to normal, the chains disappearing.

Rainbow turned to Sunset, meeting the unicorn's gaze. Both of them looked at their forehooves, which were wrapped around the other in a tight hug. Wordlessly, they broke apart, desperately trying to pretend that hadn't happened.

"Miss Rainbow," Luna said again.

Rainbow sighed. "Alright. But, uh, is there a private place we can do this? It can get...loud."

"I can manage a silence bubble," Sunset said. "So that no one outside can hear."

"Excellent. I will inform the guards that we are to have privacy until further notice." She stepped outside.

"Thanks," Sunset said.

"Don't thank me yet. Dad threw up while watching it, Sunset. I let you stay because you deserve forewarning," Rainbow said. "It hurts like hell, Sunset. If I scream, that's normal."

Sunset nodded, but she did look somewhat uncertain.

Luna closed the door. "When you are ready, Miss Rainbow," she said calmly.

Rainbow looked to Sunset, then nodded. Sunset's horn lit up, and a green bubble surrounded Rainbow Dash, tinting the world a light green.

"Is it on?" Rainbow asked.

Sunset's mouth moved, without making any sound. She shrugged with one hoof.

"I guess that's a yes," Rainbow said. She closed her eyes, calling upon her inner wolf. And...felt excitement?

Maybe it was what Luna had said, but she could have sworn she'd never felt anything like that before. She opened one eye. It was hard to tell, because of Sunset's magic, but she swore that Luna's horn was glowing.

As if on cue, she felt a rush of emotions from deep inside her. Emotions that weren't wholly hers.

The wolf liked Luna, apparently. Something about her calmed the wolf down. Calmed her down enough so that she wasn't gunning for Sunset's throat.

"Sunset's cool," Rainbow growled, as the change started. It didn't hurt quite as much as it normally did—she was already in the mostly right form, she supposed. That, and whatever Luna was doing.

The wolf sent back a snarl. She didn't trust Sunset. Sunset had hurt them both. She had hurt others. She had tried to kill Rainbow's friends. She had tried to kill Rainbow!

"Didn't Bon-Bon and Lyra have this discussion just yesterday?" Rainbow snapped. 'Less painful than normal' was an odd expression, really. "Over Sunset, too. She'd never hurt us now."

You'd have said the same about Soarin.

"Why are you complaining about God-damn Soarin?" Rainbow snarled. "If it wasn't for him, you wouldn't be here."

Better that than him hurting you like that.

"Well." Rainbow gasped, feeling her shoulders finally hunch into a more wolf-like shape. Bones popped, and she was distinctly aware that her shoulders were now much larger than they had been.

Much larger. Ponies were smaller than humans, and her wolf-form was quite large. She...admittedly wasn't sure if it was any larger than normal. She needed to read those manuals as soon as she got a chance.

Her mouth wasn't really capable of forming words at that moment, but she still managed to get her thoughts directed towards the wolf. "Look, I appreciate the thought, but it is what it is at this point. Soarin's long dead. You're here, now. We'll have to make do, right?"

A reluctant growl. Rainbow somehow felt that that was agreement.

"Well, I can live with that," she told the wolf. "I'm not sure if I could live with it if either of us killed Sunset."

A long, low growl echoed from inside, and then poured out through Rainbow's muzzle. The wolf didn't like that thought.

"You're threatening to kill and eat my best friend," Rainbow informed the wolf. "Do you think I like that?"

"No...but what if she hurts you?"

"She won't," Rainbow replied. "We can't let Soarin run our lives. If we treat every potential friend as if they were gonna be Soarin, we wouldn't have any friends. Even Applejack."

A memory flashed through her mind. Kicking a soccer ball into the air, mind numb, not really caring about anything. When, suddenly, Applejack appeared. Rainbow distinctly remembered her surprise, not expecting the cowgirl to suddenly show up and talk to her. But boy, was she glad.

Applejack had asked why she hadn't shown up to the bake sale. Then she told Rainbow the truth. That Sunset had faked the text messages.

"But she's changed now," Rainbow repeated. "Are you going to give her a chance?"

Rainbow's wolf feet stretched, the claws tapping on the ground. She shook herself, feeling that second entity loosely in control of her body.

Rainbow forced the wolf to look up, at Sunset.

Sunset was staring back at them, waiting.

"Fine," the wolf said. "But let her know that I'm keeping an eye on her."

Rainbow nodded. The green bubble popped, and Sunset wobbled. "See? That wasn't so bad," she said weakly. "I've seen worse in the R-rated movies I'd sneak into. Wasn't as bad as all that CGI gore...not...not at all..." She clamped one hoof to her mouth, rushed over to the window, and then vomitted outside.

"Quite stoic," Luna commented dryly. She seemed completely unperturbed. "Miss Dash, are the two of you reconciled?"

The wolf let out a yip. Rainbow made them nod, knowing Luna couldn't tell what that yip meant.

"That brings me relief," Luna said with a sigh. "I was, of course, slightly concerned that the dark magic might still run strong enough to make interacting with your wolf...less than ideal."

Rainbow's stomach rumbled.

"That is it's own problem," Luna mused. "I shall have to talk to the castle cooks about this one. Sunset, can I leave her in your--" She paused.

"I'll...be fine, give me a second," Sunset gasped. "I think I'm good."

"She doesn't sound like she wants it anymore," the wolf said, with a touch of amusement.

"Yeah, we'll deal with that later," Rainbow replied. "Luna said she'd handle food, and...oh, God, I hope she doesn't bring me hay. Please tell me she has more sense than that."

"We didn't bring anything for her to eat in wolf form," Sunset said.

"I am aware of her carnivorous diet," Luna muttered. "Several of the castle cooks know how to cook meat, for diplomats of some of the other species."

"I'm fine," Sunset said. "Just tell the guards we still don't want any company."

"Indeed. And I shall have to send someone to clean up the mess you made," Luna added, with a touch of amusement.

Sunset turned red, looking away. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"You were fairly warned, Sunset. But, I had thought I might have to take over the silence bubble for you. You have my respect for holding up for as long as you did."

"Thanks."

Luna stepped outside, letting the door swing closed behind herself.

Sunset wobbled over, using her magic to levitate a glass of water over, then proceeded to rinse her mouth out. She spat the water back into the cup, then shuddered.

"Wuss," the wolf scoffed.

"Hey!" Rainbow scolded.

"You're beautiful," Sunset whispered.

Rainbow felt the wolf preening. She herself definitely felt the praise, but she was human enough to find the comment slightly discomforting.

"I admit, I was kind of...'icked' out there, but...once I got over it..." She let out an appreciative whistle. The exact physics behind that were uncertain, but Sunset's grin told Rainbow Dash all she needed to know. "I didn't expect you to be so big, either," she added. "Though I suppose I'm missing a few feet of height, myself..." She looked down at one hoof, stretched out a head of her. "Are you smaller than you normally are? Right, can't talk." She tapped her chin with one hoof. "I suppose I can ask questions later, huh?"

Rainbow let out a lupine grunt.

"I'll take that as a yes," Sunset chuckled.

Comments

[Pete100]

Luna arched an eyebrow, but rather than call her out, she answered the question. "Well, Miss Dash, it is no longer a collection of dark magic. Magic adapts, and in this case, rather than a 'curse', it is now its own creature. It sometimes does this for wolves who've lived for decades, but I suppose the Elements of Harmony assisted you. It might well lead to another sort of freedom."

That’s pretty interesting. This makes want to know more about magic.

"I am one of the single most powerful beings in this entire world," Luna said casually. "I think, even in the worst case scenario, I can handle myself and as many other ponies that could fit in this room." She closed her eyes, and suddenly, the light returned to normal, the chains disappearing.

I always wondered how powerful alicorns were.

The wolf liked Luna, apparently. Something about her calmed the wolf down. Calmed her down enough so that she wasn't gunning for Sunset's throat.

It makes sense that it would like luna.

The wolf sent back a snarl. She didn't trust Sunset. Sunset had hurt them both. She had hurt others. She had tried to kill Rainbow's friends. She had tried to kill Rainbow!

That’s understandable.

"Fine, " the wolf said. " But let her know that I'm keeping an eye on her."

I would’ve liked it if it was more reluctant. The wolf strikes me as someone stubborn.

"That brings me relief," Luna said with a sigh. "I was, of course, slightly concerned that the dark magic might still run strong enough to make interacting with your wolf...less than ideal."

This makes me interested in dark magic.

[J3sterking]

11659751
Perhaps the wolf should have been more reluctant, I was on the last chapters and kinda just spit them out.
As far as alicorns go, we know from the v4 finale that four of them have the raw magical power of everypony else in equestria...plus discord.