> My Little Wolf
>  by Autobot Lancewing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Shadows Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


My Little Wolf
Shadows
Chapter 1

In the middle of a forest close to a small town, there lived a large clan of wolves made up of smaller packs. They were led by a white wolf named Celestia, a wise, benevolent leader. Her sister Luna, her niece Cadence, and her daughter Wisteria led smaller packs of wolves. They have lived in perfect unity, but little do they know that enemies will rise and cause battles to rise. In addition, tensions will rise, tensions that will threaten to tear the clan apart.
Comet Tail, a beta ranked hunter, was closely watching a human family getting ready to go on some weird thing they called a ‘hike’, a lot of the wolves in the packs didn’t see the point of ‘hiking’, they had to walk great distances almost everyday, and that was NOT for fun.
Comet Tail’s brother-in-law, Shining Armor, was also watching the humans. “Do you enjoy this, Comet,” the white wolf asked.
“Well, I didn’t used too, but after Twilight and-”
Shining began to growl, scaring Comet.
“Are you ever gonna accept that me and Twilight are mates now?”
Shining’s growl deepened, and he inched closer to Comet.
“Hey look, they’re gone,” Lancer, the youngest of the group, pointed out.
Comet curled the left part of his lip into a smile, so that Shining couldn’t see. Shining grunted, and moved ahead to the house. “This is stupid,” he muttered.
“What is,” Comet asked.
“This is the girls’ job. We’re hunters, not gatherers.”
“It’s for the new guy, we can’t throw him into a hunt just yet.”
“Then why doesn’t he go with the girls on their gathering mission, WHICH IS EXACTLY LIKE THIS?”
“Celestia think he could learn more about hunting from boys than the girls.”
“Then why not put him through field training? That would work way better than doing this crud.”
“Well, what if we encountered a mountain lion?”
“How would watching humans help with mountain lions?”
“An excellent point,” Lancer pointed out.
“Shut it,” Comet Tail said, then through gritted teeth. “I’m trying to stick up for you.”
“Both of you are bickering like a married couple. And we’re in front of a human den to train me. Besides, you and I both know that this conversation has nothing to do with me.”
“You’ve got guts,” Shining sneered, “You’re first.”
“Well if you insist,” Lancer said jumping out of the bush. “Maybe I can practice my tracking skills.” He starts looking around.
Comet Tail rolled his eyes. ‘Tracking skills,’ he thought, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’
Shining pointed his paw toward the door, allowing Lancer to go first.
Lancer exhaled, and walked over to one of the windows. He found an open one on the side of the house, and managed to wriggle himself into the house. He landed on a basket of laundry. Lancer jumped out and began scanning the house.
Lancer could see several odd things in the human den, there was a large black rectangle, odd squares resting on leg-like things, and weird soft looking cubes. 'humans are weird' Lancer thought, while looking for something his pack could use. 'maybe even something for… her...'
Lancer began to pant as he thought of her; Bright Eyes.
---
Meanwhile, Bright Eyes is seen reading a book. Her aquamarine fur glistened off of the sunlight. She carefully turned the page of the book, careful not to let her claws rip the page. She read a scene where the human girl pressed her head to her boyfriends face, and kissed him on the lips, as her tongue began to-
Bright Eyes felt her cheeks grow hot, secretly imagining that she was the girl, putting herself close to Lancer and-
“Bright Eyes?”
Bright Eyes looked up to see a certain white wolf.
“Hey there Sweetheart,” She said, completely engrossed in her book.
"Watcha doin?"
"N-Nothing," Bright Eyes quickly tossed the book away.
Sweetheart saw the book but didn’t bother to ask her about it, though it was suspicious of her to toss it aside. 
“So, What are you up to?”
“Well, Patch and Clover were wondering if you’d like to join them in a game of soccer.”
Bright Eyes gave it some thought. She has already spent a few hours reading the book. Maybe it would be a good idea for her to stretch her legs. “I think I can.” She got up and gave her front legs a good stretch. “Lead the way.”
Sweetheart nods and begins running with Bright Eyes following close behind.
---
Lancer poked his head out of the window and dropped a case of chicken out.
Shining sniffed it. “At least he got something that’s easy to open.”
Comet Tail glared at Shining. “You are never going to let that one go, are you?”
He grinned. “No I am not.”
One time, Comet Tail grabbed something wrapped in tin foil. The tin foil was hard to unwrap and actually hurt some of the wolves’ teeth. It turned out that the item in the foil was a fruitcake. It tasted so repulsive that the wolves sent it to the mountain lions. They still have it, but it is being used as a warning to all gatherers. Ever since then, Shining Armor would never get off of Comet Tail’s tail about it.
Next, Lancer dropped off a package of Ham, which caused the two wolves to begin drooling at the scent. Their drooling grew as Lancer dropped off a couple packages of bacon.
'Kid's got taste,' Comet thought. The only thing that came close to his love of Twilight, was bacon.
Sweet, delicious, succulent, BACON.
Suddenly, the noise of human shoes walking across dirt.
“Shining did you-”
“Yup. Get outta there Lancer!”
Lancer responded from inside the house, “Okay, hold on! I’m trying to catch this funny running thing, it looks tas-” A loud yelp was heard when the cat swiped him in the nose. “Ow!”
Lancer stumbled out of the side window, a large cut on his nose. But he barely noticed the pain as he bolted off into the woods, with Comet and Shining following close behind.
“That was way too close,” Comet Tail said.
“No kidding,” Lancer replied, “And we put the girls through this?”
“It’s either that or fight a live caribou,” Comet answered.
Lancer thought about it for a minute. “Sounds like a good enough reason.”
"Will you two quit yapping? They'll hear us," Shining hushed.
---
Celestia was looking outside of the den. Luna was reported missing, leaving Eclipse to lead the pack in her place. 'Where are you, Lu-Lu?'
Celestia lay down in the den, resting her head on her forelegs.
It wasn’t solely because of her relationship with Luna that Celetia was distressed, but also because of the failing hunts and disorganized gatherings that she was worried.
Eclipse walked into the den folding his wings as he entered. Upon sitting, Celestia got to her paws. "Still nothing," Celestia asked.
Eclipse sighed, "No, I don't know what happened, I just woke up and she was- gone..."
Solaris got up and looked at his best friend. “We’ll find her, Eclipse. Don’t worry. How’s Lancer.”
“He’s doing fine, but he has yet to learn about it.”
“I see.”
“Yeah, I darted out to look for her before I could wake him.”
Just as he finished that sentence, Wisteria walked in. “I came as soon as I heard,” She said, “Everyone in my pack is looking for her now. I can’t believe this happened.”
Solaris nodded, "This is distressing. As soon as Shining Armor returns I'll see that he's on the job."
Eclipse nodded, “And what about Cadence?”
“I’ve already sent a messenger to her pack,” Celestia said, “I’m waiting for her response.”
“Thank you, because at this point, we’ll need all the help we can get.”
Before Celestia could reply, Shining Armor, Comet Tail, and Lancer entered the den. All bowing.
The three males dropped the various items that had been in their mouths, but looked up to see Celestia, a sad expression on her face.
Comet and Shining looked at each other, while Lancer scanned the faces. Celestia, Eclipse, Solaris, and Wisteria were present, but there was one face that was missing. He immediately thought, ‘Where’s Mom?’
Celestia saw the look of concern on her nephew's face, and asked that she and he be alone, except Eclipse. Everyone else understood and began to slowly exit the den.
> Shadows Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 2

Lancer looked at his Aunt, then to his father, then back to his Aunt. "M-mom is-"
"we don't what happened to her, Lancer, but we'll find her," Celestia leaned over gave Lancer a small lick between his eyes, "I promise."
Lancer could smell his father coming, and soon, Eclipse pulled his son close, allowing Lancer to feel his fathers soothing warmth.
He sat there for a few more minutes, then, "If it's ok, I'd like to go and see Bright Eyes."
"it's fine, Lancer," Eclipse replied.
Lancer gave his father a loving nuzzle, "Thank you."
Eclipse nods, “Take care.”
“You too.” With that, Lancer walks out.
---
The ball rolled a few inches before being kicked by Patch. The ball sailed through the air and Bright Eyes ran underneath, anticipating it’s landing position. As she suspected, it landed a few inches from her nose, she batted it with her right paw back to Patch.
Patch watched as the ball sailed through the air towards him. Unfortunately, she had run a little too quickly and the ball hit her in the ribs, she yelped as she rolled into a nearby tree- the ball was now free game.
The players-Bright Eyes, Patch, Clover, and Melody- as well as Sweetheart, who was watching the game, saw their friend hurt, so instead of leaping at the ball like a Black Friday special, the rushed to their friend. “Are you okay, Patch,” Bright Eyes called out.
“Uh...I think so…” Patch replied, shaking off a few fallen off leaves.
They all gave a sigh of relief. Bright Eyes helped Patch get to her paws. Patch immediately ran back toward the ball with the other three following.
“Careful Patch!” Bright Eyes called out.
“Bright Eyes?”
Bright Eyes looked behind to see who had called her; it was Lancer. 
“Lancer!” Bright Eyes pulled Lancer into a large hug. Bright Eyes felt Lancer’s wet nose nuzzle her neck. Bright Eyes could tell something was wrong with him. Bright Eyes looked at Lancer, she noticed the large cut on his nose. 
“Oh, what happened to your nose?”
“Oh...I forgot about that,” Lancer rubbed his snout, “I- Can I talk to you?”
“Um...sure, Lancer,” Bright Eyes looked to the others, who looked at her. Bright Eyes pointed to Lancer, and the others nodded. Lancer took her aside. Bright Eyes could feel something was wrong, Lancer was normally in a good mood, this was-strange.
Lancer sighed, he wasn't sure how to break this to to Bright Eyes, he began to run through in his mind, how to start. He soon found something that would work, and told her. "Bright Eyes...my mom's- she's missing."
Bright Eyes stared at Lancer, stunned. "She's-missing...how? She's the leader of our pack! Leaders don't do that! Is everyone looking for her?"
"Yes...I was hoping you'd go with me to help find her.”
Bright Eyes smiled, "Of course I will, Lancer." She put her paw on Lancer’s cheek.
Lancer began to blush. “Um…”
Bright Eyes giggled, she then pressed her nose to his. "Let me get you fixed up before we head out."
"Ok, but we need to hurry. There’s no telling what’s happened to her."
Bright Eyes nodded, breaking the loving embrace (if you call rubbing noses an embrace), and let Lancer lead the way back.
---
Twilight Sparkle was laying at the stream, watching as the water gently flowed over the rocks. She placed her paw in the water; the cool water felt refreshing to her.
She took her paw out, and lowered her head so she could lap up the water, it felt so refreshing to her.
Soon, she picked up on the scent of her mate. She looked behind to see him approaching her, a worried look on his face.
When he finally reached her, a smile spread on both their faces. Comet sat down next to Twilight. "How did it go," Twilight asked in a low, loving tone.
Comet laid down, "okay, Lancer did well..."
"Good," Twilight then rested her head on Comet’s paws, closing her eyes, "I missed you."
"I missed you, too," Comet lay his head on hers, trying to ease his stress. “How’s the little one?”
"She's got a lot of kick, that's for sure."
"She?"
“Maternal instinct, plus that was what I was hoping for.”
"Odd, I was too. And I imagined she'd be as pretty as you."
Twilight blushed, nuzzling Comet's chest.
“Twilight!”
Both Twilight and Comet Tail turned to see a purple and green mountain lion cub running towards them.
“Spike,” Twilight said as she stood up, “What’s wrong?”
“I just heard, Luna’s missing.”
“What?!”
---
Cadence was walking around the territory. Recently, she had spotted enemy wolves attempting to attack her pack. The only reason why they aren’t able to now is because of a barrier she set up as a precautionary measure. 'This is bad, really bad. Especially with Aunt Luna missing.'
Since Cadence had set up the barrier, she invited her aunts' and cousin’s packs into her den to discuss this new turn of events, so that Celestia wouldn't have to make a barrier herself. And because Wysteria wasn't able to. Eventually, the remaining three entered the barrier: Comet, who was looking kind of tired. Twilight, whose stomach was already beginning to grow due to the pup growing inside her. And Spike, the lion cub Twilight had taken under her proverbial wing when they were young.
Once everyone took a seat, Celestia began to explain the situation. “Thank you all for coming, in case you haven’t heard already, my sister, Luna, has disappeared.” By the time she was able to deliver her next thought, a commotion began to rise from every wolf present. One was even running in circles (of course, that was Minty, who was the entertainer of the group). 
Solaris didn’t want to see his pack in such a frenzied state. “Enough,” He barked, at the top of his lungs and began to glare at any wolf who dared make eye contact with him. 
“You’re all acting like a bunch of scared puppies, why not go out looking for Luna instead of running around wondering what we’ll do? Is this what she’d want?!”
Eclipse grunted, and returned to his place next to Celestia. “I agree with Solaris. We don’t know what happened to her nor if she is well, but the last thing we want to do is panic,” Celestia told them.
Shining Armor stood up, “I agree with both of them. We should head out and try and find Luna before nightfall.”
“Excellent, but I want all of you to travel in groups of two, this is hunting season for the humans, and I don’t want anyone to get hurt or worse,” Celestia said, “And don’t forget who we’re talking about here. Luna is not called the ‘Night Alpha’ for no reason.”
Comet looked over to Twilight to see if she’d be his search partner- but she was already over by Minty asking her. ‘Great, she’s mad at me.’
Comet looked to Spike, “Well, looks like it’s just you and me, kid.”
“Oh, uh, o-okay.”
“Something wrong?”
Spike shook his head.
“You can tell me.”
Same response.
“Cat got your tongue?”
Spike glared at Comet, obviously finding the phrase offensive.
“Sorry, but you’re gonna tell me sooner or later.”
“As long as you stop with the cat puns.”
“Deal.”
---
Lancer and Bright Eyes were already outside of wolf territory, trying to get back, but Bright Eyes saw the gathering. 
“What’s that about,” She asked.
“Probably about my mom’s disappearance and assembling search parties”
“Oh, well, we’ll start looking as soon as I get that nose fixed up.”
“I just hope she’s okay.”
“Me too,” Bright Eyes, gently nuzzled Lancer’s neck, hoping to give him some small comfort.
“Thanks,” 
“What are friends for?”
Lancer chuckled, “True, but- never mind.”
“What?”
“It’s nothing…” Suddenly, Lancer began to have visions in his head, visions of things he didn’t remember seeing. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, gaining a worried look from Bright Eyes. "Lancer?"
But Lancer couldn't hear her. He put a paw to his head in pain. The visions continued to flood his mind, making his head hurt in the process.
Bright Eyes called his name again. Still nothing. At this point, she didn't know what to do. "Lancer, I don't know what's wrong, but I want to-"
Suddenly, Lancer collapsed!
"LANCER," Bright Eyes yelled, she ran to him while howling for the others to come. In just seconds, other wolves began to gather around them.
When Eclipse finally broke through the crowd of wolves, his heart sank when he saw what they were looking at. "Lancer?!" Eclipse rushed to his side and carefully put him on his back. "Bright Eyes, I need you to get to Cadence's den, NOW!"
Bright Eyes nodded and darted off in that direction.
---
Celestia could see Bright Eyes towards the den, she ran over to her and asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Lancer! He just collapsed!”
“Oh goodness!” Celestia rushed over and saw her brother-in-law carrying Lancer on his back. “Do you need any help?”
“No, but if Twilight’s not here, I need her,” Eclipse explained.
Celestia nodded, “Understood,” Right before Celestia bolted off, she noticed Lancer, he looked so...weak. Celestia felt a twinge of fear go through her spine but looked away after remembering this wouldn’t do any good. 
‘Stay strong, Lancer, we need you.’
> Shadows Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Chapter 3

Twilight was carefully sniffing the ground. So far, she was not able to catch Luna’s scent. “Found anything, Twi?” Minty called from a few yards away.
“Nothing yet,” Twilight replied, “I wanted to believe that she left because she was sick, but I can’t pick up her scent.”
“But Eclipse said she was fine when they went to sleep,” Minty pointed out.
“Maybe, but I do remember waking up with a cold the next morning. If it could happen to me, it could happen to her. The lack of scent seems to suggest that she was flying, but that is the last thing you want to do when you’re not feeling well.”
“But you’re pregnant, which would explains your cold, wouldn’t it?”
“Side effects of pregnancy are nausea, mood swings, increased appetite, and exhaustion. Trust me, none of those are even close to a cold.”
“Okay. But maybe Luna’s pregnant with another pup?!”
“Luna’s never left the pack just because of pregnancy. There would have to be another reason for it.”
“Hmm…” Minty pressed her nose back to the ground, continuing to sniff for Luna’s scent, but then another thought occurred to her. “Sis?”
“Yes?”
“Are you sure you should be doing all this?”
“Yes I’m sure. I can’t just sit back and watch as the other wolves are looking for her. I can’t afford to let Celestia down just because I’m going to have a pup.”
“Well, okay.” Minty started sniffing, when yet again, another thought came to her. “Twi?”
“WHAT?!?!”
“I was just wondering why you chose me, and not Comet Tail.”
“I’m angry with him for withholding from me the important fact that Luna was missing. Now can we get back to work?!”
“Yeah, yeah, but tone it down, will ya?”
“Oh, was I being too loud?” A tear began forming in her eye, “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. I- I just-”
“Twilight. Get. A. Grip. You really need to get a hold of yourself.”
“I can’t help it! It’s not my fault Comet decided-”
“ENOUGH!” Minty stormed off.
“Wait!” Twilight began to run after her, but she suddenly heard a loud, metal click. That sound was soon followed by a painful snap in her right hind leg. This resulted in a painful yelp from Twilight. “What on earth-” Twilight looked at the leg and saw that a large bear trap had caught her, blood began to ooze from the sharp spikes in her leg. Knowing what was going to happen, she delivered a howl for help.
Minty immediately heard the cry and darted back. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates when she saw what had happened. “TWILIGHT!” She ran up to her and tried to pry the trap open. “Yow!” Minty yelled in pain, hurting her jaw on the large spikes.
“Minty, we need a large rock to keep the trap from closing if it should open; otherwise, you’ll get caught too.”
“Uh-ok, I’ll go get help,” Minty ran off, howling, leaving Twilight alone to struggle with the trap.
Twilight began looking at the mechanism of the trap, trying to see if maybe there were a way for it to open up. ‘This isn’t good, what if the human who put this here comes back?! And he- No! Stop! Minty’ll get help, and maybe someone heard me. And if you keep stressing, you might hurt the pup, so STOP freaking out!’
She began to hear footsteps. Unfortunately, those were too loud for another wolf. ‘No, no, no! This isn’t good THIS IS NOT GOOD. Please just be Spike? He’s big, right?’ Who was she kidding? Spike is still a cub, too small to make footsteps as loud as those. She suddenly felt a small pinch on her neck. ‘OW! What in the world...’ As seconds passed, she began to feel weird, as if she had too many fermented berries…
*****
“C’Mon, Spike! We’ve gotta get to her.” Comet yelled while rushing through the forest, with Spike following behind. Both of them heard Twilight’s yelp, and Comet instantly identified it as his mate.
“Can you please slow down," Spike yelled while panting heavily.
Comet ignored his adopted son while still trying to get to Twilight as fast as he could. ‘Please be alright, please be alright.’ He thought, ‘And please for goodness’ sake stay calm.’
He finally made it to the scene, only to see the empty bear trap with Twilight's blood. “No no no no no no!! No this isn’t happening this just isn’t happening!! So help me if she got caught by a human and they-” Comet growled and flared his nostrils. “I will KILL whoever did this.”
*****
Lancer began to wake up. His head was still hurting from what had transpired; therefore he couldn't bring himself to get up. He opened his eyes and saw that he was in Cadence's den. He could see her, Aunt Celestia, his father, and Bright Eyes all talking at the mouth of the den.
He let out a groan before saying, "Did we find her yet?"
Everyone suddenly turned to face him. Bright Eyes' face lit up.
"Lancer." she ran toward him and gave him a large hug. He groaned due to the pain. "Oh, sorry," Bright Eyes gave a little giggle as she released.
“Ow…  I have to admit, that is some grip. Anyway, did we find Mom?"
Celestia shook her head. “To make matters worse, Twilight was reported missing.”
Lancer’s eyes widened. “What?!” He grabbed his head. Obviously he should have stayed asleep.
"Lancer, you need to rest," Cadence cautioned.
Lancer wouldn’t hear it. "Do you think thats related to Mom’s disappearance?"
"Let's hope they're not," Eclipse stated.
Outside of the den, Shining Armor and Comet Tail could be heard arguing. ‘Great,’ Celestia thought as she rolled her eyes, ‘That’s all we need right now.’
“All I’m saying is that if you had actually tried to get there, Twilight would still be here,” Shining said.
“You didn’t think I would have thought of that,” Comet argued, “You were just as capable, were you not?”
“Now wait a minute, I was too far away to have made it in time.”
“So was I!”
“You were probably slowing down so that that cat could catch up.”
“Spike had nothing to do with this.”
“Well, the way I see it-”
Cadence finally barked, “Will you two just shut up already!” The two males looked at the normally calm Cadence. “Shining Armor, you and Comet have been at each other’s throats ever since he met Twilight, and I’m sick of it! We’re all sick of it! How Twilight can stand either of you I have no idea!"
Celestia was just as shocked as the wolves Cadence was yelling at, not to mention Bright Eyes and Lancer. Celestia went over to Cadence, "Cadence, you're tired, get some rest. We'll look for Luna and Twilight." She nodded, but was still irritated. " Don't worry, I'll deal with them myself."
Cadence sighed, "Yes Auntie." 
As Cadence proceeded to the back of the den, Celestia glared at the two. "Both of you come with me right now." Both followed her outside of the den where they were out of earshot of everyone else. Both wolves looked very upset, their heads and tails hung low. Celestia glared at them, “You two have been arguing since Comet met Twilight, and it got worse after the two became mates. This is ridiculous, you two need to STOP.” Celestia looked at Comet, “Comet, Shining is Twilight’s older brother, older brothers are generally protective of their little sisters, accept that.” Then she looked at Shining, “Shining, you are her older brother, but this is absurd. Twilight has a right to mate to a male, it’s been that way for thousands of years. Accept that. Do you BOTH understand?” They both nod. That wasn’t a good enough answer for her. “Say it.”
Comet Tail spoke first, “I understand.”
Shining Armor followed suit, “It won’t happen again.”
Celestia nodded. “Now, neither one of you are to blame for Twilight’s disappearance. Truth is that no one would have been able to help her. Minty explained what happened.”
“What happened?” Both asked in unison.
“As you know, she was caught in a trap, but it was impossible to open. After Minty ran off to get a rock as Twilight instructed, the human almost immediately appeared.”
“Human?!?!” They (again) asked in unison.
> Shadows Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 4

Lancer remained on the pile of leaves, trying to gather his thoughts on everything. His mom had disappeared, a friend of his had apparently been captured by humans, he had that strange vision, and these leaves were REALLY uncomfortable. He did have one compensation, however. After everyone had left, Bright Eyes remained behind, she lay on the leaves next to him, curled up in a ball, resting her head on Lancer’s back. Despite the throbbing pain in his head, Lancer found that this helped a lot, though it did make him wonder why she had stayed behind.
but at the same time, it hurt to think. Plus, when a beautiful girl is laying with you, you think a whole lot less about stuff like that.
“Bright Eyes…”
“Yes?”
“I need to tell you something, but you might think I’m crazy.”
"I doubt that."
“Okay… I had this weird dream that seemed real. There were black wolves that were taking over the pack and this one that I assume is the leader said that the night would live on forever. I didn’t see her face, but I just knew that she was an enemy. Sounds crazy, right?”
“It would be crazy if you said that it were a prediction.”
“I think it is, but I’m not sure yet. I just hope I’m wrong.”
"So do I," she said, nuzzling closer, "I don't want you to be crazy."
He gave a light chuckle.
******
Twilight was waking up. Her head was sore from what had happened before she blacked out, but not her leg. She looked at her leg to see that a long, metal stick was tied to her leg. It was cushioned by a soft substance, bandages wrapped around cotton. 'What on Earth?' She pulled on it, but that only hurt her leg.
“I wouldn’t do that again if I were you,” a voice said.
Twilight immediately stopped. She looked around and saw a metal fence on one side brick walls on the other three. Two of the three walls had openings that would have allowed her to walk in or out. She was laying in the middle of a hard, stone floor, but she was laying on a rather soft blanket. She asked as calmly as possible, “ Okay, whoever you are… Show yourself…” From one of the openings, a yellow wolf shyly walked through. Twilight could only stare at her. “Did they capture you too?”
“Um… N-no,” the wolf answered, “I was rescued…”
“Rescued? You call this being rescued?”
“Well… After you leg broke in half after getting caught in a bear trap…”
“Wait, how did you-”
“I overheard them say it.”
"Who’s 'them'?"
“The humans that saved you.”
"Humans saved-? That doesn't make any sense!"
“Well, not all humans are bad…”
"They planted the trap that stuck me in here."
“You must be thinking about those barbaric hunters,” another voice said.
Twilight’s ears perked up. “Who’s that?”
"Oh, that was Rarity."
“Rarity?” A white wolf then entered from where the yellow one had come, one thing Twilight noticed almost immediately was her large stomach. It was an obvious sign that she was pregnant as well, though seemed to be farther along than Twilight. “I take it you’re Rarity.”
“That would be right, Darling.”
"If you don't mind my asking, what brought you two here?"
“I- I was orphaned,” the yellow wolf answered.
“And I was the only survivor in my pack,” Rarity said.
“Oh… Wow.” And Twilight thought she had it rough.
“I had to be treated for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” Rarity added.
“M-my mom uh, abandoned me because I was the runt of the litter.” The yellow one explained.
‘Are they trying to make me feel bad?’ Twilight was about to say something, but…
“You’re awake!”
Twilight jumped when she heard yet another new voice. “Wh-Who was that?!”
“That was Pinkie Pie,” the yellow wolf answered.
Suddenly, a pink wolf popped up right in front of Twilight, their muzzles inches away from each other. “Hiya! Howareyoudoingmyname’sPinkiePiewhatsyours?Doyoulikeparties,that’sasillyquestionwhodoesn’tlikepartiesImean-”
“Slow down, darling, let her catch her breath.” Rarity told the pink wolf.
“Oh, ok! But can we throw a party?”
“Maybe later, sugarcube,” yet another voice answered.
‘Wow, how many wolves are there?’
This time, an orange wolf appeared, wearing a cowboy hat. “Rarity’s right, we need to give the poor gal some time.”
Twilight looked at the orange wolf, “And you are?”
“Name’s Applejack. Pleased to meet ya.”
“Likewise,” Twilight smiled. She looked at the yellow wolf. “And what’s your name?”

“F- Fluttershy…”
“Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy nodded.
"Well, reckon we oughta get Dashie out here," Applejack said, "If that's alright with ya."
“Oh. Sure,” Twilight answered.
Applejack led the way while the others followed outside. Twilight tried to get up, but instantly fell down. "Ow!" Twilight yelped.
The others turned to look. Applejack looked at her leg. “Oh… Sorry,” she said, “I forgot about that. Let me see if I can get her in here.”
“That would be a good idea.”
With that, Applejack walked outside.
******
Meanwhile, two wolves are seen looking in the forest. One was tan and is obviously an athlete. The other was maroon with black streaks of lightning going along his body. “Sniff either of ‘em yet,” The tan one asked, impatiently.
“Not yet, Ace,” the maroon one answered.
“Shoulda gone with Melody.” Ace mumbled.
“Huh?” The maroon one asked.
“Nothing…”
The maroon wolf was now curious. " I know you said something. Now spill it."
“It’s not of your business, Lightning.”
“Tell me right now.”
“No.”
"Tell me."
Ace was about to reply when he heard a noise. “What was that?”
"Beats me, maybe it's Luna or Twilight?!"
“Can’t be. The scents don’t match.”
"Oh yeah, then who-"
Just then, three black wolves jumped out at them. Ace and Lightning backed away. “Definitely not Luna or Twilight,” Lightning said.
Ace looked at the three wolves that were staring back at them. “Ya think?”
The two males backed away from the black wolves.
Lighting spread his wings.
“Lightning, what are you doing?”
“About to teach these wolves a lesson.” Without a second thought. Lightning took off to the sky with two of the wolves following, leaving one of them to Ace. "Why couldn't all of you follow?"
The wolf growled in response.
Ace gulped, then dashed off.
The wolf followed close behind.
******
Wind Whistler and Firefly, meanwhile, we're have having their own problems. "So you DON'T like singing," Wind Whistler asked her pink companion.
“Not really, especially when there’s more important things like out-playing the boys in everything,” Firefly explained.
“But you have such a pretty voice.”
“Whatever…” Firefly muttered, putting her nose back to the ground.
Wind Whistler wasn’t one to give up, however. “Can’t you sing a little?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“Yes!”
“Yes! finally!”
“No, not you! I got a scent!”
Wind Whistler sniffed the air, but... "That's not Twilight Sparkle or Luna."
“I know, but it smells like a human, and does this look like where a human would hang out?”
"It is illogical... Unless it's a hunter."
"Exactly, so maybe we should wrangle up the others?”
“Good idea.”
The two girls began howling a signal for the others to come.
******
“What did you find?” Celestia asked.
“We smelled a human, maybe the one that nabbed Twilight.” Firefly explained.
“A hunch?” Shining asked, questioningly.
“Maybe it’s a hunch. But it could be?” Wind Whistler hoped.
Just then, Ace burst in.
"Ace what's-"
"Run!"
The black wolf suddenly pinned Ace. Ace tried to wriggle free, but the black wolf was too strong.
Finally, Celestia used her magic to lift the wolf. She looked into its eyes before she slammed it against a rock, causing it to dissipate.
Ace stared at Celestia, amazed his leader did something so violent. "Um...Thank you."
Celestia ignored his gratitude. "Solaris, call everyone back."
"Why?"
"Just do it." Celestia barked.
"Ok...but what’s wrong?"
Celestia loosened a bit. "I will tell you later, my love. But for now I need everyone."
"Alright." Solaris briefly nuzzled Celestia's snout and began to call out to the remaining members of the pack.
Meanwhile, Celestia lay down, thinking. 'Please, let me be wrong.'
> Shadows Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 5

Lightning Thrash was in a cave chained to the wall. He was bruised on his hips, shoulders, and eye. He also had cuts and fractures. While some of those injuries resulted from his crash landing, a majority of them were the product of an interrogation. “I...still won’t...talk, ya know.”
The black wolf growled, and slapped Lightning. “You will talk. Now how is your pack’s security set up?”
“I told you, I don’t know!”
“Then I’m sure you want to take it up with my boss.”
“Does he have business cards?”
“A funny little omega, aren’t you?”
“I am not an omega…”
“Then what are you? Certainly not a Beta.”
“And obviously not an alpha. One more guess…”
“Lion chow…”
“Gamma. I am a gamma,” he said with a smirk.
“You’ll still be lion chow.”
“Meh, makes sense. I mean, lions would instantly spit you out.”
“Hey! I’ll have you know I’m very tasty!”
Lightning was now laughing. After the interrogator realized what had just happened, he smacks Lightning in his already fractured wing. Lightning yelps, immediately stopping the laughter. “I’ve just had about enough of you!”
Lightning panted. The pain was too great for him to handle; therefore, he collapsed. The interrogator suddenly bit Lightning’s neck.
“Ow!” Lightning yelped, “Can’t I get a break?”
“That was just for fun,” The interrogator sneered, a dab of blood dripping from his teeth. “Just be lucky that it didn’t kill you.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah...” He panted.
“Enough!” A male voice called. The wolf immediately stopped and sat down in an upright position. The male walks in. He was grey and black with scars all over his body.
“Let me guess, you’re Sombra.”
“That is King Sombra to you,” he snarled.
“Ego much?” 
Sombra growled, causing Lightning to whimper.
Sombra chuckled, “You know your place. Good. I hope you behave around my new bride. She doesn’t take well to the likes of you.”
“And your bride is… Chrysalis?”
“Never heard of her.”
“Well there goes that theory.”
“Silence! I see that the interrogator has failed his job.” He looked at the wolf who was now cowering. “I’ll make sure to fix that behavior.”
“Good luck. I tricked him into saying that he’s tasty.”
“Shut up,” the interrogator barked.
“Be gone,” Sombra told the interrogator, “I’ll handle him.”
“As you command…” The wolf walked out, leaving Lightning and Sombra in the cave alone.
“Now...Shall we begin?” Sombra sneered.
******
Lancer was looking outside the den. He had finally recovered and was ready to begin searching for Luna and Twilight. However, Celestia mentioned that there was something that needed to be addressed. He began to sniff for his aunt while trying to sniff for Twilight and Luna. 
Bright Eyes asked, “Anything?”
“No,” Lancer replied, “We just have to wait. Aunt Celestia said that there could be a development in what happened to Luna.”
“Maybe she was sick.”
“I don’t know. If she were sick and didn’t want anyone to catch what she has, don’t you think she would let us know somehow?”
"Perhaps, but how?"
“She normally writes something on the ground.”
"Ok, but would it be some place?"
“It’s normally in a den away from the pack.”
"Hmm...should we try to find one?"
“I’m sure Dad checked all of them.”
"Hmm...Maybe we should look by the river, hunters like putting traps there for beavers, maybe she got caught."
“Maybe… I mean, if it happened to Twilight, it could happen to Mom.”
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s.”
They start to walk out, but they see Celestia walk up to the den, with other wolves behind her. “Uh...hi,” Lancer greeted.
“Hello, Lancer. I assume you’re feeling better?”
“I am.” He looks past her. “What’s with the wolves behind you.”
“WHAT?!?!” Celestia looked behind and saw the same black wolves. “This just ISN’T my day.”
“No it isn’t!” One of the wolves sneered.
Lancer and Bright Eyes quickly gathered that they were enemies and instantly got into a defensive stance. “Get into the den, Aunt Celestia, I’ll hold them off.”
“No! I can’t ask you to do that!”
“If something happens to you, who’ll lead us?”
“You’re not ready to fight.”
“Are we really doing this now?”
“Yes. Go into the den, Lancer.”
“But-”
“Now!” She barked.
Lancer glared at Celestia, and bolted towards the black wolf. 
“Lancer!” Celestia yelled, but Lancer tuned her out as he bolted towards the intruder.
The wolf jumped at Lancer, but Lancer spread his wings and used them to jump over the wolf before pinning him. The wolf tried to bite Lancer’s throat, but Lancer quickly slammed his jaw down on the black wolf, causing him to yelp. He squirmed but Lancer managed to hold him down.
“Who are you?!” He demanded.
The wolf looked at him, then spat on Lancer. 
Lancer barked and bared his teeth, moving in so close their muzzles nearly touched. “Who are you?” The black wolf asked, slyly.
“I am Lancer, son of Eclipse and Luna. So who are you?”
“My name is not important. All you need to know is that we are going to be your destruction.”
Lancer froze for a second, not sure how to proceed. The wolf just stared at him, no expression on his face. 
Suddenly, both of them were absorbed in a yellow glow, and moved away from each other.
“Lancer, that wolf isn’t real,” Celestia said.
“What?”
“None of these wolves are. They were created using a spell. See?” Celestia threw the wolf at a rock with her magic, and it instantly turned to dust.
“Who created them?”
“Spells such as this can only be accomplished with black magic, something that my sister once possessed.”
“Um… What do you mean?”
Celestia sighed, “Before your mother and father met, she was rebellious, wanting to lead the entire group all by herself, I told her several times that she couldn’t, but she wouldn’t listen. She…” Celestia paused, trying to hold back the tears, “While she was in a rage, she killed Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle’s parents.”
Lancer’s eyes shot open as his jaw dropped. “She… what…?”
Celestia nodded, “They were both young; Twilight was still a pup. She doesn’t even remember them.”
Lancer shivered, his mother had killed someone? Someone close to a friend?! “Auntie...I-I need to lie down...I-” his stomach felt queasy, one of the two wolves he looked up to most in the world had-
BLEARGH!
Celestia jumped back when Lancer let loose the contents of his stomach! “I-I’m so-” 
BLEARGH!
Lancer froze, waiting to see if another wave was going to hit.
BLEARGH!
Yes, it did.
Lancer waited, hoping another wave wouldn’t hit. Finally he felt his stomach calm down, but he was shaking. “A-Aunt C-Celest-tia? I-I think I could use some wa-water.”
“Okay. Do you need me to go with you?”
“P-Please…”
Celestia gave Lancer a comforting nuzzle, before helping him make his way toward the nearby stream…
“O-One more th-thing…”
“I think it might be best if you leave that question to rest until you settle down.”
“O-Okay…”
******
Sombra backed away from the bruised and bleeding Lightning, “Now, THAT should keep you in line.”
“Sombra,” A feminine voice called.
Sombra turned to the source of the voice, a sinister smile spread across his face, “Hello, my love.”
“I trust the prisoner is under submission.”
“He won’t be going anywhere for a while, but he’s in line.”
“Good. Wouldn’t want anyone to cause an uprising now, would we?”
“No my darling, they need to learn respect,” Sombra glared at Lightning, who whimpered, backing away. “Anyway, why don’t you come in here and show him your face, Nightmare Moon.”
“With pleasure,” she said as she walked in.
Lightning stared at the new wolf. Her appearance and size said that she was Nightmare Moon, but her scent screamed…
“Luna!”
> Shadows Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Chapter 6

“Luna!”
“Silence! Do not speak that name in my presence.”
Lightning swallowed.
“The wolf that you once knew as Luna is now gone. In her place stands Nightmare Moon.”
“Huh? How?”
“Luna’s spirit is trapped within me, and as long as I live, I will overpower her.”
“But...Why? What’s the point?”
“Because Luna was the one who created me, and it is only through her that I exist to this day.”
“Wha- That doesn’t make any sense! Why would she-you- Luna make something like that?”
“Oh, you thought she was always the nice wolf she is now?”
“What do you mean?”
“She hated being overshadowed by her older sister. In fact, she enhanced her powers by creating me. In the process, she killed some wolves that opposed her, but her ultimate goal was to destroy Celestia.”
“B-but that doesn’t sound anything like Luna! She’s real nice and-”
“That was because she was convinced by another wolf to turn good, a wolf whose name still leaves a bad taste in my mouth: Eclipse.”
“Her mate…”
“If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have had to wait a thousand years to grow powerful enough to take control of her. She thought that she could cancel me through her repentance. Well she thought wrong…”
“But...why now?”
“Because I needed to catch her off guard and increase my power. What’s even worse for her is that she can see everything, but she cannot do anything about it. It’s a state that’s worse than death.”
“But why do you need me?”
“I didn’t need you to go off warning the others. Unfortunately, one of my other wolves failed in catching your friend and was discovered by Celestia.
“Thank goodness…” Lightning muttered.
“But the assault will still go on schedule, starting with the ones Luna values the most…”
‘I have to get out of here, warn everyone! But...how?’
******
“So, how long have you been pregnant, Twilight?” Rarity asked.
The remaining girls were trying to calm Twilight down while Applejack was looking for Rainbow Dash. 
Twilight looked at her stomach, thinking of the growing pup inside her. “Two months, I can’t wait.”
“Mm...I feel the same way, I miss my pack terribly, and I still have...moments…but without this pup I don’t know if I could make it…”
“I-I’d love to...maybe have a pup someday...if I could find someone…” Fluttershy added, softly.
“Ooh! Me too! Me too! How do you get one?” Pinkie asked, looking completely innocent.
Twilight gave Pinkie a strange look. “Um… Well… First you need to find a male who loves you, then…”
“Then what?”
“Might not want to say the next step in front of the pups, even though they aren’t born yet.” Rarity suggested.
“Yeah...maybe I’ll tell you later, Pinkie.” Twilight told the pink wolf.
“Pinkie promise?”
“...Huh?”
“Um...I’d be careful if I were you, Pinkie Promises aren’t something she takes lightly,” Fluttershy warned.
“Indeed,” Rarity noted.
“Howdy y’all, finally managed to rangle up Dashie,” Applejack greeted. There was a blue winged wolf behind her. She had a slightly irritated expression on her face.
“Which one of you is Twilight Sparkle,” the wolf asked.
Twilight stepped up. “I take it you’re Rainbow Dash.”
“Yeah, so can I go now, AJ?”
“Not just yet. Shouldn’t you get to know her first?”
Rainbow pointed at Twilight’s stomach. “I know that she’s pregnant.”
“Yeah, she was caught in a bear trap. She had to come here.”
“Okay, see ya.” With that, Rainbow Dash began to walked out.
“Okay, what’s up with your attitude,” Twilight asked.
“I’d rather not talk about it.” Dash muttered.
“Well, I guess I’ll have to respect your privacy, but try to at least be a little respectful of the rest of us.”
Rainbow shrugged and walked back outside.
“So, what’s her story.”
“Y’all said you would respect her privacy, right,” Applejack asked.
“Yeah… Why?”
“Well, she’s mainly upset with the day she was brought in here,” Rarity answered.
“Figures… So how did you get here, Applejack?”
“Well, my sister and I were out lookin’ for apples, um, my parents love apples, kinda explains our name.”
“Wait, sister?”
“Yeah, Applebloom, she’s the cutest lil’ pup-”
“I beg to differ, Applejack,” Rarity opposed, “I think Sweetie Belle’s VERY adorable.”
“Who?”
“My little sister, she was a little pup when my pack...I-” Rarity began to suddenly cower in fear for no reason.
“Shh...Calm down Rarity, I’m sorry.” Rarity inhaled hard, then exhaled hard, Applejack lightly nuzzled Rarity’s head. After Rarity calmed down for a bit, “Y’all right?”
“Yes, I think so...I just…”
“Just don’t worry about it. You’re safe here.”
"I-I know...it's-"
"Shh...quiet there, sugarcube, don't try and think about it. Why don’t ya think about your pup? Do ya want a boy or girl?"
“I think it would be a nice change if I were to have a boy.”
"Oh, that sounds nice," Fluttershy noted, "Have you decided on a name, yet? If you don't mind my asking, that is."
“I really don’t know. I think I might want to wait until I see his face.”
"Oh, I see. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful name for him." Fluttershy turned to Twilight, so as not to make her feel left out. "What kind are you hoping for, Twilight?"
“I KNOW that I’m going to have a girl,” Twilight smirked.
"Really?" Rarity questioned, "HOW do you KNOW?"
“Maternal instinct.”
"I see, but it could still be a boy."
"Ooh! Or maybe it's BOTH!" Pinkie squealed.
"Um... Pinkie." Twilight said, " I'm only having one. How can it be a boy and a girl?"
"That's what my mom said, before having all three of us at once!"
"I meant one pup, not one litter."
"Yup, just what mom said."
"Um...How would you-" Applejack started to ask, but, "On second thought, I don't wanna know."
"Okie dokie lokie!"
"So..." Applejack turned to Twilight. "Do you have a name picked out, yet?"
"Well, if I do get a girl, and I know I will, I think I'd name her Stargazer."
The other girls "Awww"-ed at Twilights response.
"That's a beautiful name," Rarity smiled.
"Thank you, my mate and I love Stargazing, so Stargazer just felt right to me."
"Mmm...sounds lovely," Rarity stood up, "I'm terribly sorry girls, but I'm afraid I have to go on to bed," Rarity chuckled, "The little darling hasn’t even been born yet and he's already tiring me out."
"Okay, take care."
Rarity stretched and carefully made her way out of the room.
“Anyway, Applejack, is there any way I could finish hearing your story,” Twilight asked.
"Sure, we were out gathering apples and-"
"Scootaloo! C'mon!" A young, female voice called.
“Oh come on,” Twilight groaned.
Three young wolves, one yellow, the other orange, and the third white, ran in. 
“There’s a new wolf,” the white one squeaked.
“Awesome,” the orange one squeed.
“And she’s gonna have a pup,” the yellow one exclaimed.
Twilight rolled her eyes. ‘Really? Is it THAT noticeable?’
“Not too bad, Twi.” Pinkie patted Twilight on the back.
“Gah!” Twilight jumped, “How did you know what I was thinking?!”
“Easy! I-”
“On second thought, please, DON’T tell me.” Twilight interrupted.
“Okay.” Pinkie Pie bounced toward the three girls.
“Pinkie! Who’s the new wolf? And is she having her pup soon?”
“Beats me! Maybe she knows! Ooh! I’m gonna ask her!” Pinkie bounced back to Twilight. “Twilight, are you going to have your puppy soon?”
“No… It’ll be another month.”
“Aw…” all four groaned.
“It’s okay, girls! Rarity’ll have hers soon!” The white one squeaked.
“Yay!”
“So...What are you girls’ names?” Twilight asked, her mood improving.
The yellow wolf was the first to speak, “Applebloom.”
Then the white wolf, “Sweetie Belle.”
“And I’m Scootaloo!” The orange one grinned.
“And I’m Pinkie Pie!”
“I know,” Twilight said, “you already told me that.”
“Oh. Right!”
“So… Sweetie Belle… as in Rarity’s sister?”
“Yup! Um…Where did she go?”
“She went on to bed, Sweetie,” Fluttershy explained.
“Aw…”
“She does need her rest, but maybe when she wakes up. That is if she doesn’t mind.”
“Oh...Do you think she’d mind if I could sleep with her?”
“I guess she won’t…”
“Yay! Um...Is she in her kennel?”
“Probably…”
“Okay, good night girls!”
“Good night,” Everyone answered.
Sweetie Belle went off in the direction that Rarity had. Twilight turned to Applejack. "Anyone other wolves I should know of," she asked.
Applejack thought for a moment. "Nah," was her reply.
"Good. Now, can we get on with the rest of the story?" Twilight asked while laying back down.
“Well, back when Applebloom and I were real young, we were gathering some apples, and when we came back, our entire pack was…” Applejack began to tear up, “They...they were bein’ taken by poachers…and...I...I yanked ‘Bloom and we ran outta there...But then one of the poachers found us and...knocked the both of us out…”
“How?”
“I don’t really know, but I felt like ah ate too many berries, and there was a pinch in mah neck.”
“That’s the same thing that happened to me!”
“Yeah, it was a tranquilizer, the humans use it to put us to sleep,” Fluttershy said. Everyone in the room looked at her. “W- Why is everyone staring at me?”
“Well, anyway, when I woke up I was in this… cage, Applebloom was nowhere to be seen, it smelled really bad, and there were animal skins everywhere.” That resulted in a gasp from everyone. Applejack continued, “but soon, a human girl took me out and she had Applebloom, I wasn’t quite sure about her, but before I realized what was happening, she gave us both a shot I got that same ‘ate too many berries’ stuff again.”
“Well, makes sense,” Fluttershy added, “I mean, she probably didn’t want you to be upset by the move.”
“...And that’s how I ended up here.”
“Wow...so your whole family was…?”
“I think so…
“Well, you don’t know for sure,” Twilight said.
“...Maybe someone’s still out there, but I doubt it...Still, I have ‘Bloom and the girls here, they’re like family ta me, though Fluttershy’s allowed out of the kennel every now and then. But she’s been here the longest, so I guess she trusts her.”
“Who’s this girl you keep talking about?”
“Her name’s Megan,” Fluttershy answered.
“Oh? So she goes around tranquilizing wolves and bringing them here?” Twilight cocked her head.
“Not all of them, just the ones that need help.”
“I see, but how long do wolves stay here?”
“Just until they are capable of living on their own again.”
“Oh, well I hope this leg heals quickly. One of our pack leaders is missing and everyone’s probably worried sick about me.” 
“Well, um, you may have to stay longer, sometimes Megan keeps animals here if they’re pregnant, and waits till after the pup old enough to walk out of the den.”
“Great…”
“Maybe she was brought in here?”
“My pack leader? I doubt it. If she were in here, I would have smelled her by now… But just in case, her name’s Luna.”
“Oh, then it wasn’t her, this gal...um...she’s a bit odd.”
“What does she look like?”
“Grey, and her eyes are...crooked…”
“Then that’s not her. She’s dark blue, with wings and a horn.”
“Wow! She’s an alicorn wolf?”
“Yes, in fact we have several.”
The girls’ jaws dropped. “That’s AWESOME!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“And one of them is my teacher.”
Scootaloo and Applebloom raised an eyebrow each. “You’re still being trained? Aren’t you a little old?” Applebloom asked.
“Applebloom!” Applejack began to scold, but-
“It’s alright, Applejack, I am older than most of Celestia’s students, but...well…” Twilight blushed, she didn’t want to say it was because her magic capabilities were significantly more powerful than most unicorn wolves, so she decided. “I’m just a slow learner.”
“How come?”
“Oh...that’s just the way I am.”
“Okay…”
Twilight looked outside and noticed how dark it had become. Almost immediately, she heard a howl. She jumped. “What was that?”
“Oh that was Rainbow Dash,” Applejack answered, “She always howls at night until she goes to sleep.”
“Why?”
“We don’t know. Whenever one of us asked her about it she always snaps and tells us it’s ‘none of our business’.”
“Well that’s uncalled for.”
“Well, maybe she justs needs her privacy.”
“Maybe, but there’s no excuse for acting like a big puppy.”
“Agreed.” Applejack looked up at the sky, “Well girls, I think we all oughta get some shut-eye, I’ll see ya in the morning.”
Everyone but Fluttershy and Twilight started to go their separate ways. “Um Fluttershy, aren’t you going to go to bed?”
“I will, I just don’t sleep here.”
“Oh? Where do you sleep?”
The door slowly opened. Twilight watched as a girl walked in with a leash in her hand. She walked over to Fluttershy and bent down. “Are you ready to go?” She asked in a sweet tone.
Fluttershy’s tail wagged as she went over to the human. The leash was clipped onto Fluttershy’s collar, a collar that Twilight never noticed before. Before she knew it, the girl and Fluttershy were out the door, leaving her in the room alone. She looked outside. She notices a dark cloud that is growing. ‘Oh no. Luna, where are you.’
---
Lancer walked along the stream alongside Celestia. He had managed to calm down, but was still shaken up about the revelation he was given. Just then, the sky grew dark, darker than it normally would. They both looked at the sky. “Let me guess,” Lancer said, “Nightmare Moon.”
“I’m afraid so,” Celestia replied, “head back to the den while you can.”
“I can’t do that, this is just as much my fight as it is yours.”
“This is a pack affair.”
“No, this is a family affair, and until the one who took my mother is brought down, I am not going to stand down any longer. You can tell me to leave as much as you like, but that won’t do any good. I know I don’t have much experience, but I can’t just sit on the sidelines and watch. Going after the pack is one thing, but using a member of my family is unforgivable.”
Celestia looked at Lancer. “And you feel this strongly about the matter?”
“I do.”
“Aww, isn’t that sweet,” Nightmare Moon’s voice said, “But unfortunately, puppies don’t survive in battle for long.”
“I am not a pup,” Lancer growled, “besides, you’re one to talk. Possessing my mom? Seriously?  You couldn’t think of anything better?”
“It was the only way I could gain a form. Now, I would like to destroy you, but Luna sees this another way. If you join us, not only will you be spared, but you will be given power beyond your comprehension. Complete with knowledge on how it works.”
“As tempting as it is, I’ll pass. As cliche as it sounds… I… want… my… mommy…”
“Then you shall share your pack’s fate!”
Nightmare Moon fires a beam at Lancer and Celestia. There was a flash of light before there was a patch of burnt grass, where Celestia and Lancer once stood…

TO BE CONTINUED...

> Nightmare Moon Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Nightmare Moon
Chapter 1

Bright Eyes couldn’t believe what she had witnessed. In a split second her leader's sister and her.... best friend were vaporized in the paws of a demon who had possessed her leader. Now all that remained in their place was burned grass. Nightmare Moon laughed as she changed into a dark mist and vanished.
Bright Eyes froze, she tried to think of what she should do; she wanted to cry her eyes out, but she knew she couldn't. It wouldn’t bring them back, nor would it stop this new villain. All she could do is run back to the pack and warn them…
******
Lightning Thrash was brought back to the cave he was interrogated in. He immediately laid down, thinking of how he was to escape just before a flash of light was seen. He covered his eyes in shock. As the light died down, he started to hear some groans followed by a male voice saying, “Are we dead?”
He looked to where the light was to see Lancer and Celestia. Lancer looked around to see that he was only in a cave. “Okay, that time, I probably should have listened.”
Celestia looked over at Lancer. Instead of a formal sentence, as she would normally give, she simply said, “Ya think?”
Lightning stood up and attempted to kneel, but stumbled. "I-I'm sorry about my...my.."
Celestia saw Lightning, "Lightning, what happened to you?"
"Interrogation with a crash landing. Not pretty."
“Let me guess, Nightmare Moon?” Lancer asked.
“Yeah...and King Sombra.”
“Sombra…” Celestia covered her face with her paw, “This...can this get any worse?”
“Please don’t jinx it,” Lancer said, “Every time someone asks if something could get worse, it usually does.”
Celestia sighed, “As long as Chrysalis and Discord don’t show up, we’ll be fine.”
“And the jinxing continues… Can we focus on something like -I don’t know- getting out of here?!”
“Well, unfortunately Nightmare Moon blocked my magic frequency, so I can’t use my magic.”
“Okay… Lightning, can you map out where you’ve been?”
“Okay, but I don’t know how that will help,” Lighting replied as he used one of his claws to draw on the ground. “Okay, we’re over here,” Lightning pointed at the cave they’re in, “and I was taken to the cave next to this one.” He pointed to the one to the left. “That’s where I saw Nightmare Moon for the first time.”
“Hm… Well, if I can remember my spells correctly, Nightmare Moon would have to have used a short-range teleportation spell for her to be able to block our magic, is that correct Aunt Celestia?”
“I believe so, unless she was somewhere else…”
“Okay, but in either case, that means that she must have set up her base near the pack.”
“Good, it shouldn’t be too much of an escape.
“Except we don’t exactly know where we are, plus…” Lancer picked up his chains. “It’s not like we can leave any time we want.”
“Well...You are wanting me to cheer up.”
“That’s where we need to really think. We need to find a way out of the chains and past the guards.”
“How did you know there were guards,” Lightning asked.
“What enemy team does not?”
“Oh, right,” Lightning blushed.
******
Solaris continued sniffing the ground, still on the lookout for Luna and Twilight, but suddenly, he heard panting. He looked up and saw Bright Eyes running toward him. He could see the tears that were streaming down her eyes. “Bright Eyes,” He asked, “What’s wrong?”
She was still panting heavily, but her message was still clear. “Lancer and Celestia… had a run-in… with Nightmare Moon…”
Those two words, Nightmare Moon, made his heart sink. “Bright Eyes, get to the main den, I’ll need you to tell everyone what happened, but I’ll gather them up.”
Bright Eyes nodded and ran towards the den. Solaris began to howl while running through the forest, fearing the worst.
******
Twilight woke up for the fifth time. She kept having nightmares, this last one being the worst. She had just given birth to her pup, and she was suddenly taken away by a large demon. Then another wolf appeared. This one had a gold aura about him. He had quickly taken down the demon, but it took another wolf’s body. That one was also defeated, but the demon made its way into the golden wolf, corrupting him. The newly formed monster lunged at Twilight, and that was when she woke up.
Twilight tried to shake the memory off; she felt sweaty, and her hurt leg ached. She began to pant, but her mouth was dry, she saw two bowls, which she learned had food and, more importantly, water. She walked over and...there was no water… ‘Oh yeah… I drank it all… Shoot!’
Twilight laid back down by the food bowls when she heard a loud shriek. Twilight’s ears perked up. She ran toward the sound of the shriek, looking for the source, she saw the several kennels, looking for the shrieker. Problem was...everyone was up… ’Ok...’
“You too, eh Twilight,” Applejack asked.
“Nightmares? Oh yeah.”
“It’s weird, everyone’s complainin’ about it, ‘Bloom dreamt about the two of us gettin’ skinned alive by them poachers.”
“Hmm...Strange,” Pinkie said, “nobody laughed at my jokes in my dream.”
“Ok,” Twilight took a deep breath, “Let’s get everyone rounded up.”
“Um, alright, let’s go.” Applejack jumped out and covered the southern part, while Twilight and Pinkie headed for the northern part.
******
Meanwhile, Fluttershy was going through her own nightmare. She was in the middle of a forest, and she was hearing voices.
“She’s worthless!”
“How could she have been so small?”
“She won’t last a day.”
“Maybe she would be better off if she wasn’t born at all!”
Those words kept burning their way into her head. She cowered into a small ball, “Please, stop,” she begged. That only resulted in laughter. 
“Maybe we should leave her to the mountain lions!”
“No, they’d see that as an insult.”
Fluttershy swallowed, “Please...stop…”
******
Fluttershy jolted as she woke up. ‘It was a dream?’ She found herself back in Megan’s room, in her small basket, shaking violently. She panted hard, she felt so lonely.
“Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy jumped, and saw Megan looking at her from her bed. Fluttershy responded by whimpering.
“Did you have a bad dream?”
Fluttershy nodded.
“I did too.” Megan motioned for Fluttershy to join her, “Wanna come up here?”
Fluttershy got up, stretched, and lept onto the bed. She nuzzled Megan’s chin, rested her head on Megan’s chest, and soon both drifted back to sleep, a single thought on both their minds: ‘I love you.’
> Nightmare Moon Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2
The wolves gathered in a single den, a commotion so loud it could wake the dead. Solaris and Eclipse were trying to calm the packs, but it was no use. Bright Eyes didn’t even give the news yet, which was going to make it even harder for her to give the news of Celestia and Lancer’s deaths.
Wisteria had finally reached her last straw when efforts to calm them have failed. “HEY,” she finally barked. That finally caused everyone to shut up. “Thank you.” She turned to Solaris. “They’re all yours, Dad.”
“Thank you, Wisteria,” Solaris nodded to his daughter, then turned to the pack. “Everyone, we have learned some news that is...most disturbing…” He took a deep breath, “Nightmare Moon has returned.”
This caused an eruption from the entire pack, this one even louder than before,
“HEY!!” Wisteria shouted again. Everyone stopped, again.
“Thank you again Wisteria.”
“You’re welcome, Dad.”
Solaris turned to the pack. “Now listen, I know she’s a threat to the pack, but she’s still, sorta, Luna, and if anyone sees her, please report her activity and we will do our best to change her back. The only bright side is that she hasn’t killed anyone yet.”
Bright Eyes finally spoke up, “That’s...not true…”
Solaris gave Bright Eyes a funny look, “What do you-”
“Lancer and Celestia were her first victims. She executed them on the spot.”
“What?!” Solaris and Eclipse’s mouths dropped.
The pack, once again, broke into an uproar.
“WILL YOU ALL JUST SHU-” Wisteria was interrupted by violent coughs. 
Solaris rushed over to his daughter and tried to see what was wrong, “Are you alright, Wisteria?” 
Wisteria nodded, but continued coughing. “I think I overdid it,” she said as her voice was failing her.
“Okay, just rest, sweetie,” Solaris whispered, giving her a light kiss, “I can handle this.”
“N-no, it’s my pack too, and if they see they’re leader like this- I have to stay.”
Solaris chuckled, “You’re definitely Tia’s daughter.”
“You know that’s true.”
“Yes, because I’m your father, and you were scaring the heck out of me when you first came into the world.”
“Huh?”
“You’ll understand when you’re a parent.”
“Okay, but shouldn’t you be calming the pack?”
Solaris looked back at the barking pack, “I guess you’re right. But only if you’ll rest, okay?”
“De-”
A loud howl from inside the den stopped the commotion. Everyone looked at the source of the howl, Bright Eyes. Her tail stood erect, showing a sign of authority. Every sign of worry in her eyes was replace by what alphas would see as a sign of leadership. She was unaware of what her body was doing, but it did stop the argument.
Before anyone could utter another word, she spoke, “Look at all of you! This is exactly why I was afraid of telling you any of this. After all, you did do this to us before when Luna was reported missing, so imagine how difficult it is for me to have to tell you that the alpha we were looking for has turned once again into her evil self and kill two of our most valued wolves. Arguing is not going to bring them back.”
The pack paused, before Ace spoke up, “She’s right, this isn’t doing them or us any good. Would Celestia want to see us this way? No! We need to prepare ourselves for the approaching evil, or we’ll end up just like Celestia and Lancer.”
“And where do you think it’ll stop? What if they spot another pack that they want to eliminate? Would they not want to attack that pack too? How far are they going to go? The answer is simple: as far as we’ll let them.”
The pack began to murmur, trying to decide if they should try to fight, or just roll over like a common mutt.
Dog: HEY!!!
Lancewing: Sorry, no offence intended.
Feeling they were more than civilian dogs-
Dog: SERIOUSLY?!
NotRamjet97: Sorry, it just came out.
They all decided to prepare for the eventual attack. 
Solaris walked up to Bright Eyes. Bright Eyes’ tail was still up until she noticed him. “Was I too loud?” Bright Eyes asked, tucking her tail between her legs.
Solaris chuckled, “No, you actually did a much better job than we did.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far. Besides, you’re not the only one who lost someone.”
“Still, I think maybe...you could be a potential leader.”
“I don’t know about that...I just saw a void, and I filled it.”
“Still, you did a good job. And we’ll need this void to be filled.”
"I'm honored, but I can't replace Luna."
“i’m not saying you would, but you’d make a good temporary fill-in.”
“Oh.” Bright Eyes blushed, “But I’m just a gatherer.”
“That didn’t stop you when you were reigning everyone in.
“Agreed, but still.”
“Trust me, you’ll be fine.”
“I...hope so….”
******
Twilight looked at the wolves that were in the room. She cleared her throat before, “Thank you all for coming. So, I assume we’re all here for the same reason.”
“If ya’ll mean those nightmares we’ve been havin’, then we are,” Applejack confirmed.
“Yeah, they took my muffins,” Derpy, a grey, derpy-eyed wolf, added.
“And then they came over and took my Cupcakes!” Pinkie Pie added, “Plus I was a pony! The pony part wasn’t so bad, but the cupcake theft was. And then I was a human high-”
“We get it, Pinkie,” Applejack interrupted.
“I...Was with my pack again,” Rarity began, “And...they were all being murdered again, even my m-” She froze up, and began hyperventilating. Everyone began to think she’d deliver the pup right now!
“Take it easy, Sugarcube,” Applejack said, “It was just a dream.”
“No… It was real… It happened…”
“I-I know, but we’re here, we’ll protect ya.” Applejack smiled.
“I didn’t have that nightmare,” Sweetie Belle said. “But I did dream of losing you, Rarity.”
Rarity wrapped her little sister in a large hug and pulled her close, “Sweetie Belle, I will do everything within my power to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Well, not as bad as an entire pack, but still,” Twilight said, “Where’s Rainbow Dash?”
“I’m back here,” Rainbow replied gruffly.
“Did you have any nightmares?” Twilight asked.
“Nope! Slept like a pup.”
“Then why are you still so grouchy?”
“Because someone woke me up.”
“I see…”
“I’m afraid I don’t buy it,” Applejack said, “because I heard you mumbling in your sleep.”
Rainbow shot Applejack a glare, “Are you calling me a liar?”
“Are you callin’ ME a liar?” Applejack shot back.
Rainbow huffed, “Look, whatever happens to me is none of your business, so just leave me alone!”
Applejack rubbed her forehead, “Then- Ugh! Never mind!”
******
Fluttershy woke up and looked for Megan. She wasn’t there. Fluttershy sighed and stretched, before jumping off the bed. She felt that her mouth was dry and decided to get some water. She saw the opened door and slipped through, heading toward the stairs. She walked down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. She found her water bowl by the refrigerator: full. She began to take a few refreshing swallows. 
When she had finished, she decided it was best to look for Megan. She sniffed the air for her scent. There were similar scents, but not hers. ‘Where is she?’ She asked. She finally decided to head into the family room to see if maybe one of the other members of the family knew where Megan was.
She saw Danny, Megan's younger brother, asleep on the couch. Since she didn’t want to wake him, she decided to look for someone else.
She heard some noise when she was about to pass the basement door. She looked through it to see a light and a figure moving a box. Hoping maybe Megan might be down there, she headed cautiously down the steps. She didn’t go down into the basement that often, it was too creepy when no one's down there. She looked around the corner and, sure enough, found Megan... with her grandmother? As far as Fluttershy remembered, the grandmother never ventured down there, so it was quite a surprise.
“Is it in this box, Grandma,” Megan asked.
“Well, it could be, but I haven’t been down here in so long-” Grandma made eye contact with Fluttershy, “Well, I think we have a new helper.”
Megan furrowed her brow, and looked over to see Fluttershy. “Oh, hey there girl! Did you sleep okay last night?” 
A little yip came from her mouth.
"We'll that's good to hear. Do think you can help us find something?"
Another yip followed, along with a wagging tail.
Megan smiled, “Good. Grandma, I think she'll need the key."
“Okay…” Grandma reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, gold key.
Fluttershy sniffed the key for a minute before examining the boxes. When she came across a box that she believed had the key, she pointed to it like a German pointer.
Megan and Grandma came over to the box. Megan gently rubbed Fluttershy’s ear, “Is that it, girl?”
Fluttershy nodded.
Grandma opened the box and, after rummaging through it a bit, she brought out a small wooden box. "This is it. This what we were looking for."
“Oh. So what’s in the box?” Megan asked.
“Something that has been in our family for generations." She opened it to reveal a silver, heart-shaped necklace.
Megan’s eyes widened, “Wow! It’s beautiful!”
“And it’s yours. Your mother wanted you to wear this when you reach the age of sixteen."
A quietness came over both of them. Fluttershy had heard a few times about...something happening to Megan's parents, but she never got the full details, not that she wanted .to hear what happened. She gave Megan a small nuzzle on her hand, hoping to comfort her.
Megan saw her and smiled, “Thanks, girl.”
Fluttershy smiled back.
“Why don’t you go ahead and put it on,” Grandma suggested.
“Sure, but is it going to dissolve in my hands? It looks pretty old.”
“Nonsense, they say that this thing has a magic power that has allowed it to last for centuries, waiting for the right user to possess it, though that is just folklore. I just say ‘good quality metal’.”
“Well...I’ll think about it…” Megan gave the box a look over. She noticed an inscription, but it was in Spanish. ‘What does this even mean?’ She sighed, she hadn’t taken Spanish in High School in favor of home economics. Maybe she could find out on her computer… “Grandma? Can I take this upstairs? I’m gonna see what this inscription means.”
“Okay, sweetie, I hope you enjoy it.”
“I know I will, Grandma,” Megan gave her grandma a hug, and headed upstairs, with Fluttershy following closely behind.
*****
While the pack was preparing for war, small search parties have been sent out to search for Twilight. Firefly and Wind Whistler were covering the human camps while Zecora, Kimono, and Minty covered the forest regions. Minty however, wasn’t doing well.
Kimono stopped Minty. “You alright, Minty,” she asked.
Minty shrugged.
“Do you need help with...something?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Well...you don’t seem fine…”
“With Kimono, I have to agree, for you do not seem very well to me,” Zecora commented.
“I-I’m fine! Alright?! I’m fine!” Minty snapped.
“There is no need to raise your voice,” Kimono said, “Need I remind you that we could be watched as we speak?”
“Well...maybe I don’t care!” And with that, Minty ran off.
Kimono started to run after her, but was stopped by Zecora. “I will see if she is alright. You keep an eye out for Twilight.”
“Yes, Zecora,” Kimono nodded.
Zecora ran after Minty. Minty paid no attention to what was behind her and kept running. She stopped when she accidentally hits another wolf. “Oh. Sorry. I-” Minty stopped and noticed that there was dust on her nose. ‘Wait...’ She looked at the wolf, who was just about ready to pounce her.
But suddenly, Zecora jumped in the way, and knocked the attacker out of the way. 
The wolf landed on all four paws, and snarled, “How dare you! I will rip you limb from limb!”
“To rip me limb from limb would be cruel, but that is the answer I would expect from a fool,” Zecora growled.
The black wolf growled and lunged at Zecora, but Zecora dodged the attack. She immediately pinned him before he could prepare for another attack. "I would urge you not to try that again, but instead run back to your den."
Another wolf knocked Zecora off of the attacker.
“I think you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.” The new wolf sneered.
Minty looked around and revealed saw several more wolves appear. They were surrounded!
******
“Okay, I think I translated half of it, but I still can’t make out the rest of it.” 
Fluttershy looked at Megan, ‘I wish I could help,’ She thought.
“I wish I could ask someone at school...but they’re kinda jerks.” She sighed, and scratched Fluttershy’s ear. “Or maybe you could tell me…” Megan sighed, and slipped the necklace on, examining it, it said something about wolves meeting humans, but what’s the rest of it?”
“I don’t know, I wish I knew.” Fluttershy said.
“Whoah!” Megan stared at Fluttershy, “Did you just-?”
“Just what?” Fluttershy looked at Megan.
“You talked!”
> Nightmare Moon Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 3

Lancer was chewing on his chain while trying to think of a way to break them. He, Lightning, and Celestia, were captured by Nightmare Moon. They were able to determine where they were, but with their magic blocked, they would have to find another way to break those chains. Granted, his teeth didn’t do any good, but at least ideas are flowing through his head. Soon however, his teeth began to ache.
“Lancer, would you stop chewing on that chain,” Celestia said, “You’re making my teeth hurt just watching you.”
“Ih heps me hink,” Lancer said still chewing the chain.
“How can that help?” Celestia asked.
Lancer shrugged and kept on chewing. “Phides, maybe I’ll guet trou.”
“Don’t bother...I’ve tried…” Lightning muttered.
Lancer shrugged, “Hany hother hideath?”
“Uh...Well…” Lightning thought for a moment. “I got nothing.”
Lancer continued to gnaw. He suddenly stopped when he started to feel a familiar pain… ‘Oh no, not again.’
“Lancer, please, what would your mom think?” Celestia questioned.
But Lancer could not answer because the pain in his head kept growing.
Celestia began to grow worried, “Lancer?”
Lancer’s response was, “It’s… Gnh… Happening agai-,” before he was cut off by a scream of pain.
“Lancer?! What-what’s happening again?!”
But there was no answer as he immediately passed out…
“LANCER!!!”
~~~~~~
Lancer woke up in a den. He surveyed his surroundings and realized that it was his own. “Okay, that wasn’t what I expected…”
“Lancerrrrr!” A voice called out.
“I’ll be right there.” He got up and walked out of the den.
“Lancerrrr!”
Lancer looked around for whoever was calling him.
“Lancer!” A different voice called, out, this one sounded like-
“Bright Eyes!” He saw Bright Eyes, laying on the ground. Something was different about her. While it was indeed Bright Eyes, she had the horn and wings of an alicorn wolf. He brushed it off and rushed over to her, “Are you okay?”
“Is anything wrong?”
“Actually, I thought I heard a strange voice.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Maybe I was just hearing things.”
"I hope so..." Bright Eyes sat up and gave Lancer's chest a nuzzle.
“So, she hasn’t been much trouble for you yesterday, has she?”
“She?”
“You know, little pup, brown fur, has your eyes, calls you ‘Daddy’.”
"Uh, sorry, ‘Daddy’?”
“Don’t you remember?”
"N-no..."
"Really? You don't remember our daughter? The only pup we have?”
"W-We have a pup?"
“Yes, don’t you remember?"
“No, I guess I must be going through a bit of amnesia.”
Bright Eyes looked at him, "Maybe I should look you over..."
“Maybe…”
The voice called again, “Lancerrrrr!”
Lancer jumped. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
“That voice.”
The voice called again, “Lancerrrrrr!”
“It’s getting closer…”
“What is?”
“I know I heard it...”
“Look, let’s get back to the den, I need to give you a look over,”
“Uh...okay, but could I see our pup?” Lancer asked, genuinely curious what a pup of his and Bright Eyes would look like.
“You’ll have plenty of time to see her once I know you’re okay.”
“Well...okay…” Lancer sighed.
“Lancerrrrr!”
“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”
Bright Eyes gave Lancer a concerned look, “Are you okay?”
“Oh, but I’m standing right in front of you.”
Lancer looked in front of him to see… “Nightmare Moon!”
Bright Eyes furrowed her brow, but her eyes widened when she saw the demon. She gasped, “What do you want?”
Nightmare Moon said nothing as she lunged at Lancer, turning into a dark mist.
Lancer braced himself, preparing for what was going to happen; but everything froze.
“Lancer,” another familiar voice said.
He looked at the source. “Mom?”
“Lancer, thank goodness you’re alright.”
“Yeah, but what just happened.”
“That was only a preview of what is yet to come. Unless Nightmare Moon is defeated for good, you will eventually fall to her.”
“So unless nothing changes, I’ll be one of her victims?”
“No, you’ll be a victim of darkness.”
He looked at Bright Eyes.
“You must stop Nightmare Moon before it is too late.”
“But how do I do it without hurting you?”
“You’ll know when the time comes. Right now, you are the only one who can stop her.” Her horn touched his, transferring a bit of her magic to him. “For now, this should give you what you need to get back to the pack.”
With that, Luna began to vanish.
“Wait! Come back!”
~~~~~~
Lancer jolted awake, standing up.
Celestia rushed to her nephew. “I was so worried about you, Lancer.”
Lancer said nothing, for he was still trying to process what he saw.
“Lancer?”
He put a paw to his head. “Wow, what a rush…”
"What happened?"
“I just had another weird dream.”
“Does it tell us how to get out of here,” Lightning asked.
Lancer chuckled, “I wish. Mom did give me some of her magic, but I don’t know what good that will do.”
Lightning shrugged, “Maybe it’ll get through that frequency jammer-thingy.”
“Hm… Aunt Celestia?”
Celestia thought for a moment, “Well, I don’t suppose it could hurt anything…”
“Except the chains if it works.” He closed his eyes and began to focus on breaking the magic barrier. In just a few seconds, his eyes shot open as they gave off a golden glow. His horn let off a yellow glow before a shock wave was emitted. “Did it work?”
They were gone! Lancer jumped back, not knowing what-
“We’re up here, Lancer,” Celestia said, from above, with Lightning floating next to her, engulfed in Celestia’s magic.
Lancer gave a sigh of relief. “Now let’s get out of here.”
Celestia floated down, and let Lightning down as well. “Yes, we must move swiftly.”
******
Megan stared at Fluttershy. No words were exchanged. They merely stared at each other, both their jaws open. The tension was so much that one could cut it with a knife. It was odd for the both of them to understand each other, they had both always wanted to know the other’s thoughts (Fluttershy could understand a lot of what Megan said, but there were some things she couldn’t understand).
At last Megan spoke, “How are you able to speak now?”
“I-I don’t know,” she replied, “This is new for me too. I mean, I’ve been talking my whole life, but for you to understand me now is new.”
Megan had to think for a minute. “Oh yeah, wolves don’t communicate the way humans do.”
“Um… Yeah…” Fluttershy laid down, “This feels so weird…”
“Tell me about it,” Megan laid down on the bed. Then something dawned on her. “Wait, have wolves always been able to understand humans?”
“No… I was able to learn how to understand humans after living with you, though there are still some things I don’t understand.”
“Oh?” Megan sat up on the bed, “Like what?”
“Um… Well… Why is it when it starts getting cold, you always leave for several hours, except for a couple days?”
“Uhh...Oh! You mean school?”
“School?”
“Umm… Yeah… Well, let’s see, I mainly go there to learn stuff like history, math, science-”
All of those words were Greek to Fluttershy. “Um, what is that? If you don’t mind my asking.”
“Uh...Well, history is about stuff that happened in the past, like the Revolutionary War or President Kennedy’s assassination, or-” Megan saw this was not registering with Fluttershy. “I’ll explain later.”
“Um, okay…”
“Say, do you happen to know the stories of the other wolves?”
“Well… Some of them.”
“Could you tell me one?”
“Well, Twilight, the one you just rescued, was looking for her pack leader when she was caught in a bear trap. Her sister was looking for help when you showed up.”
“Oh… I never saw her sister, or any other wolf for that matter, just her.”
“Oh… Maybe you’ll be able to get through to Rainbow Dash.”
“Which one is she?”
“She’s the blue wolf who howls every night.”
“Oh...her, yeah, I would like to find out what happened to her,”
“Me too…”
“So does everyone get along? Or do you fight a lot?”
“They get along just fine for the most part.”
“‘For the most part’,” Megan raised an eyebrow.
“Rainbow Dash doesn’t talk with us very much.”
“Ah, well, maybe we can fix that,” Megan grabbed her keys off the desk where the computer also resided, “Shall we?”
“Sure,” Fluttershy’s tail started wagging.
*****
“So what is this, Twilight?” Applejack finally asked.
Twilight looked up from what she was writing, gently laid the pencil down, and replied, “I have no idea, but for some reason, we all had nightmares last night.”
"No kidding."
Twilight sighed, “I know that doesn’t help, but there has to be a reason…”
“And what would that be?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ooh! Maybe it’s that food we ate last night! I knew it needed more frosting!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“I...don’t think so,” Twilight told the energetic pink wolf, “I think it might be something else…”
“Oh! It needed more CHOCOLATE!” Pinkie squealed. 
“But won’t that make ya sick,” Applejack asked.
“It’s true darling,” Rarity answered, “I heard one dog died after eating it.”
“Don’t you mean ‘wolf’,” Pinkie asked.
“No, it was a domestic breed of dog that ate a lot of chocolate.”
“Really? I ate a whole box of that stuff and didn’t feel sick.”
Everyone just stared at her in disbelief.
“What? It was when I was little. I’ve cut back since then.”
Rarity nearly fainted.
“Well…anyway, maybe Fluttershy can give us some answers,” Twilight turned to Applejack, “When does she usually come back?”
“Um...well, usually around-”
Applejack was interrupted by the metal door opening, and Fluttershy and Megan entered.
“Right now.”
“Um, hi everyone,” Fluttershy greeted, “Uh, Megan would like to tell you all something, if that’s okay with you.”
Twilight began to raise an eyebrow. “Tell us what?”
“That I can understand you,” Megan grinned.
Every wolf in the room gasped, everyone except Fluttershy that is.
“H-how is that, possible?!” Twilight asked.
“That was what I thought when I heard Fluttershy speak after I put this necklace on,” Megan said.
Twilight walked closer and looked up at the necklace, “Do you mind getting closer, so I can look at it better?”
“Oh. Sure.” She takes it off and holds it closer to Twilight. Twilight sniffed the necklace, and held it with her magic. “Please be careful with that. It’s very old.”
Twilight nodded, looking over the necklace. "Very interesting..."
“What,” Fluttershy asked.
"The design is really amazing."
Applejack rolled her eyes, while Rarity bolted up, “What did you say?”
"I said that it had an amazing design."
Rarity ran over, and looked over Twilight’s shoulder. “Oh...My!”
“What’s the big deal,” Rainbow muttered.
Applejack rolled her eyes, “Well, it’s makin Megan understand us, so that’s kind of a big deal.”
Rainbow “Hmm”-ed, and walked away.
“Could I have my necklace back now,” Megan asked.
Twilight gave Megan back the necklace.
She immediately put it back on. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“So what did you guys think?”
“I think it looks absolutely marvelous,” Rarity answered.
“Very nice craftsmanship,” Twilight added.
“Well, I know it’s pretty, but does it mean anything to any of you?”
“To be honest, no. Maybe Zecora would know, that is if I get out of here.”
“Zecora?”
“She’s one of our doctors, and knows potions and magic.”
“Oh, well, as much as I’d like to let you go and find out, you still need to heal, not to mention we should probably keep you here till your pup is born and can survive out in the world.”
“It’ll be a whole month before I have it. Even then, it still needs to grow to the point where I would allow it out of a den. Plus, my pack is probably worried sick.”
“I know, but it’s just to be safe, do you really want your pup born out in the wild?”
“What you call ‘out in the wild’, is our home, and I don’t know about your kind, but we’d rather have our offspring in our home with our families.”
“But if you stay here, we can make sure your pup’s healthy, isn’t that more important?”
“Oh yeah, I see,” a voice said annoyed. Everyone looked. It was Rainbow Dash. “It’s way more important to make sure a single pup is healthy instead of making sure that one wolf is with her family.”
“What do you mean by that?” Twilight glared.
“You know that pups are more vulnerable than we are,” Rarity added.
“Well what’s the point in having one if you can’t even see him?”
“What in tarnation are you talkin about, sugarcube?”
“I was taken from my mate and pup by a bunch of hunters,” Rainbow huffed.
‘She had a pup?’ Twilight thought.
“So trust me, I know how she feels.”
“Rainbow-” Applejack started, but was interrupted by Rainbow.
“What? Are you gonna tell me how you didn’t know, and that you’re sorry? Or maybe lecture me on how I shoulda told you all?”
“Rainb-” Rarity tried, but was interrupted.
“Well, I don’t want any apologies, alright?! I don’t want lectures either!” Tears began to form in the blue wolf’s eyes, “All I want is my family!” With that, Rainbow storms out.
> Nightmare Moon Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 4

Spike attempted to cover his face with his paws from the sunlight, maybe everyone else was up, but so what? He wasn’t a wolf like everyone else; what could he do? “Spike if you don’t wake up I’ll personally escort you to-” Before Comet Tail could finish, Spike bolted up.
“Happy?”
“No, but it might help me get happy.”
“Good.” He started to walk out of the den, “So why do you need me up so early?”
“We’re gonna search for Twilight.”
“Again? We already know that humans took her.”
“Yes, so I’m gonna have to go to their ‘town’.”
“WHAT?!?!”
“Look, I doubt you’ll understand, but I took a promise that I’d take care of her and protect her if necessary. That’s the whole point of being mates.”
“You’re going to get yourself killed.”
“Well, if I do it trying to get my Twilight back, then that’s perfectly fine with me. If you don’t wanna come, then you don’t need to come, I just…” Comet sighed, “You get the idea.”
“I’m going with you, I just wasn’t sure if you’d make it since you’re not as stealthy as me.”
“Please… I’m a wolf. We have our ways.”
“Still, it’s common knowledge cats are stealthier.”
“Please,” Comet rolled his eyes, “But let’s get going.”
“Let’s.”
“No you don’t,” A male voice called out.
Comet looked to his side and saw: “Shining…”
“As the alpha protector, I can’t let you go. However...as your...brother-in-law, I need to go with you.”
“Look, Shining, I really appreciate it, but just the two of us will have a hard time moving through the town unnoticed. Add another big, alpha wolf and we’ll be seen instantly!”
“But she’s MY sister!”
“Well she’s MY mate! I made a promise.”
Spike roared, “GUYS! Really? You’re fighting again?”
Both wolves shot each other glares.
“Let’s just go. I’m not even going to try to deal with this one.”
Both wolves huffed, and followed Spike.
******
Bright Eyes looked at herself in the stream. Just last night, she was trying to bring order to a pack that could not control themselves upon the recent news, but now… Bright Eyes carefully rest her head in the water, letting it flow over her muzzle. ‘I wish you were here Lancer,’ she thought.
Just then, she saw someone else’s reflection in the water. Bright Eyes sat up to see Eclipse.
“Oh, Eclipse.” She immediately bowed out of instinct.
“Bright Eyes, please don’t do that,” Eclipse said, “There’s no need for it.”
“Oh, right.” Bright Eyes immediately stood up.
“Bright Eyes… do you need to talk about what happened last night?”
“I already told everyone.”
“I didn’t mean tell me about it, I meant talk, it might feel good to get it off your chest.”
“Oh, right. I wanted to talk with Zecora about it, but it would just feel… weird.”
Eclipse chuckled, “Yeah, I know how that is.”
“But then talking to you would be just as weird…”
“Oh...I’m sorry,” Eclipse lightly blushed.
“It’s okay. Just… Something I need to get used to I guess.”
“Yeah…”
“It’s just happening all so fast. First Luna becomes Nightmare Moon, Twilight’s taken by humans, then Lancer and Celestia and are taken out by Nightmare Moon, and now…”
“I know, it was hard for me too after I became Luna’s mate.”
“I know.”
“To know that...monster has her is unbearable,” Eclipse bared his teeth.
“And then what she did to Lancer puts us in the same den.”
“Yeah.”
“But I can’t tell you enough that I wasn’t born as a leader. I was just thinking the ones we lost, knowing how they would react if they saw the madness that was going on inside that den.”
“Bright Eyes, it’s not that you can give orders that makes you a leader, it’s what you do with that power that counts.”
“I know, ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’ I heard that line before.
“I believe you’ll make a suitable replacement for Luna.”
“But I ca-”
“It’s not permanent, it’s just until we can change her back.”
Bright Eyes blushed. “Oh. Right.”
“ECLIPSE!”
Eclipse turned to the source of the voice. It was Kimono. “Kimono? What happened,” Eclipse inquired.
"Zecora and Minty have gone missing!”
Bright Eyes and Eclipse gave a distressed “What?!” in unison.
“Minty wasn’t feeling so well emotionally and ran away from us. Zecora went after her to try to comfort her, but when I went to look for them, they were nowhere to be found.”
"Great..." Bright Eyes muttered.
"Gather everyone up," Eclipse sighed, "I'll need Cadence to try and use a shield spell."
“Got it.” With that, Kimono darted off.
“Eclipse… I’m not going to sit here while everyone vanishes from our lives.”
"And you think I will? I need all the Alphas, if we're going to stop her we need to stop her with everyone available."
“I know. Just consider that sentence as my acceptance into that position.”
"Fine, but you'll need to stay here, I can't have the pack without a strong leader if we're..."
“I know. Right now, my mind is set on one thing and one thing alone: to free Luna and destroy Nightmare Moon.”
"All I want is my mate and my son's death avenged."
“Why do you think I’d add Nightmare Moon’s death to my list?”
"Who's going to lead the pack if we're gone?"
“I guess Eclipse, then Shining Armor and Cadence, and end with Wisteria. I hope they have good betas selected.”
"I'm going to need them all, which is why you need to stay."
“Got it.”
"Then let's go."
The two raced back toward the territory.
*****
Firefly and Wind Whistler, meanwhile, were now soaring toward an odd structure. "Think there's anything in there?" Wind Whistler asked.
"Only one way to find out," Firefly smirked. She increased her speed as she sped towards the structure. She attempted a double inside-out loop, but she lost control and spiraled downward, falling into a well.
“Firefly!” Wind Whistler dove down to the bottom of the well, but froze when she saw water. She took a deep breath, and dove into the water. The only problem is that everything was pitch black down there, and Firefly was nowhere to be found. Wind Whistler was underwater for almost a whole minute before she emerged. She breathed heavily as she frantically looked around. She didn’t notice the bubbles that were forming from behind her before Firefly emerged coughing violently. Wind Whistler used her wings to propel herself forward towards Firefly. She grabbed Firefly’s neck and tried to swim upward, but unfortunately, she wasn’t the strongest wolf in the pack, and Firefly was, making her heavier. ‘C’mon!’ Wind Whistler thought, ‘Why’s she out?’
Wind Whistler looked up. There was only a small bit of light that was allowed inside the well because the well was so deep. It doesn’t help that they can’t fly since they need to be out of the water in order to do that. Wind Whistler had no choice. She lifted her head and let out a long, loud howl.
******
Twilight’s ears perked up. “Wind Whistler?”
"Who," Megan asked.
"A member of my pack! Maybe I can get home!"
"Twilight, you remember our talk, don't you?"
Twilight gave a light growl, "But maybe I can be with Comet..."
Megan rubbed her head, "I tell ya what, how bout I go and see?"
"Fine, but I'm going with you."
"No! You need to rest."
"But how will you know it's Wind Whistler?"
Megan paused for a long time, before, "Fine! But you're staying IN the car."
Twilight huffed, "Fine… but if Comet's there, I don't think I can help myself…” 
“You’ll have to try.”
Twilight sighed, "I'll try, but I have to ask; what’s a car?”
*****
Celestia, Lancer, and Lightning were getting tired from their escape. They all laid down to rest knowing that they were far enough away from the territory. They would have been home by now, but Lancer got mixed up in the confusion and took them in the wrong direction by mistake.
"We can't rest for long, Nightmare Moon will realize that we are no longer in her prison,” Celestia said.
“I’m surprised that she doesn’t know right now,” Lancer replied. “After all, it was Mom who set us free.”
"That's why we have to keep going."
"Well, we would be home by now if SOMEONE didn't get us lost," Lightning said.
Lancer growled, "For the..." He stops to count with his paws. "Tenth time... It was an accident and I am sorry that happened. Move on!"
Lightning rolled his eyes, “Whatever… Hey, why don't you fly up there and find out where we are?"
"Because if I do that, I'll risk giving away our position, and that's the last thing we need right now."
“Well, can’t you teleport us home?”
"Long range teleportation has unpredictable effects, plus I need to know exactly where we are."
“But it’s better than being LOST.”
"Would you rather be inside-out?"
Lightning grunted, then. “Couldn’t we dig?”
"Now THAT is the most absurd idea  I have ever heard."
“Well, we’re wolves, aren’t we? And wolves are canines, and canines are known for being good diggers."
"But it does nothing to help us navigate!"
"ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!" Celestia was on her last nerve. “THIS ISN’T HELPING ANYONE!!”
They both stared at her in awkward silence.
Celestia took a deep breath, “I’m sorry, but with everything going on I’m…”
“I’m sorry, Aunt Celestia,” Lancer lowered his head and tail.
“It’s fine, Lancer, I’m just...stressed.”
Lancer gave his Aunt a gentle nuzzle, hoping to comfort her. Celestia started to smile as she nuzzled back.
"Um...can we get going now?" Lightning pleaded.
Suddenly, they heard a howl. They all perked their ears up and listened for it. Lancer looked at Celestia. "Is that..."
"Wind Whistler," Celestia confirmed. "She's in trouble."
"Now we really have a reason to get going," Lightning pointed out.
With that, all three wolves took off.
*****
Megan led Twilight and Fluttershy (who came to give Twilight some company) to her car, a blue station wagon, and opened the back door, letting them in, before Megan got in the driver's seat.
"What is this thing?" Twilight asked.
"Megan's car." Fluttershy replied.
"This thing?"
Fluttershy nodded and pulled the door closed behind her with her jaw while Megan started the car. Twilight jumped at the car’s engine began its work. "What was that?!"
"The engine; it makes the car move."
"Oh...okay."
Megan looked back to Fluttershy and Twilight, "Do you want the windows down?"
"Yes please." Fluttershy replied.
Megan pressed a button and the glass panels next to the two wolves slid away. "...What on Earth?"
“I was lowering the windows,” Megan answered.
"...Oh..."
Fluttershy rest her head on the place the window had been. Twilight did the same, while watching the car drive past the trees. She lifted her head and yawned, but as she did, a strange thing filled her body, it felt… good... She left her mouth open and-"Wow!"
Fluttershy gave Twilight a look, "What?"
"RHAS IS AMAHIN!!" Twilight replied...but it was difficult with her mouth hanging open.
Megan giggled. “I see you discovered why dogs like to stick their heads out of the window.”
“Huh?”
"Well, a lot of dogs like hanging their head out the window."
“Ah.”
> Nightmare Moon Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 5

Comet Tail, Shining Armor, and Spike were hugging the wall of a building while hiding under some tables. "How did you bring me into this?" Shining whispered.
“You tagged along,” Comet answered. “If you don’t like it, you know the way back.”
Shining was about to say something, but… “Don’t even,” Spike said, “Comet didn’t force you into it.” He was shushed by both wolves.
“Keep your voice down,” Comet said, “you’ll give us away.”
“The humans are louder than we are right now. I’m pretty sure we’re fine.”
“Yeah… Where are we anyways?”
“A restaurant, I think…” Spike noted.
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve read quite a few of those books you brought Twilight, Comet.”
“Oh…”
“Yeah. Also, she’d appreciate it if you stop giving her vampire books.”
“Well, unfortunately I can’t read, so it’s kinda hard to see the difference from those and science fiction.”
“Hm… Good point...”
“Yeah, but I’ll try to learn if I can get Twi back…”
“Might be a good idea. And hey, Cadence and Bright Eyes also read. Why don’t you ask one of them?”
“Um...cuz Twilight’s kinda cute when she’s in ‘teacher mode’.”
“Watch it…” Shining bumped Comet.
“Sorry, but it’s true…”
“Um… Do you guys think we should figure out an escape route?” Spike suggested.
“Oh, I’ve had a plan the whole time,” Comet said.
“WHAT?!?!?” Spike and Shining asked in unison.
“Yeah, I just didn’t want to rush it, after all, there’s,” Comet licked his chops, “Bacon…”
“SNAP OUT OF IT,” they both barked.
“Sorry...but…”
“Hey, what was that noise?” A human asked.
“Uh oh…” All three said in unison.
“It sounded like a dog,” another answered.
“Comet? Can you put that plan into effect, like, NOW!”
“Okay, hold on…” Comet closed his eyes, and his horn lit up…
*****
The trio teleported out of the restaurant, but they found themselves in another building. “Where are we now?” Shining asked.
Spike looked and saw a shelf that held boxes of… “Kitty litter?”
“Who’d put up a box of cat poop?” Comet asked.
“Maybe it’s valuable?” 
Both wolves looked at Spike.
“What? Human have had stranger things.”
“Like?”
“Like… Um… Hm… What about rubber bones?”
“Strange...but not as weird as cat dumpings.”
“Let’s just go,” Spike started to say, but he saw a certain white dog. “I-I-It’s Bolt!”
Both wolves asked, “Who?”
"You never heard of him? He was a hero among the humans!”
"Really? That short mutt?"
“Yeah! He keeps the world safe from the evil Doctor Calico while protecting his owner, Penny.”
“How?”
“Well, he has heat vision, enhanced strength, speed, and (best of all) his feared superbark!”
Comet and Shining looked at each other, "So why's he with a cat and a...thing in a ball?"
“Huh?” Spike looked again, and sure enough, there was a cat and a hamster in a ball. “Huh… Never heard of them. Maybe new sidekicks?”
“Maybe…”
“AH!!! WOLVES!” The wolves looked at the source of the voice. It was a frightened human. “AND AN OCELOT!”
“Mountain lion…” Spike muttered.
"I don't think they care!" Shining shouted.
“Someone call animal control!”
“I think you’re right, Shining. We gotta move,” Comet replied.
"Maybe teleport us somewhere NOT overrun with humans?"
“This way!”
“Huh? Who said that?” Shining heard a voice, but he couldn’t find the source.
“Hurry!”
“Okay who said that?”
“We don’t have time for this! Come on!”
“Let’s go!” Spike darted off in that direction.
“SPIKE! WAIT,” Shining called, but his efforts to bring Spike failed. Comet and Shining nodded at each other before chasing after him.
******
Wind Whistler was still trying to get Firefly and herself out if the well. Needless to say, she was having no success and was fatigued from the past thirty minutes of trying to scale the wall and even flap her wings. She thought In the end, however, she was forced to go with her logic and give up. There was no way out of that well, and she and her partner were doomed to die in a well… unknown to the rest of the pack…
Firefly began to notice that Wind Whistler was starting to stop. She asked, “We’re never getting out of here, are we?” 
“No, we’re not. There’s no way out of here. My wings are too wet, and I can’t get my claws to grip the walls.”
"Darn...and it's all my fault," Firefly sighed.
“Well, there is a time and place to show off, and this definitely wasn’t the time…”
“Well, since this is it, I guess I should tell you that I had a pup about a year or two ago.”
"You what?!"
“Yeah, but her father died trying to drive off a grizzly and my daugher met another wolf and started her own pack. Unfortunately, my pup… Well… Disappeared… She was taken by poachers.”
"Wow...I'm sorry...What was her name?"
Before she could answer, a voice called from up top "Hello? Is someone down there?"
Both wolves looked up. “Yes,” they both yelled
Firefly added, “We can’t get out.”
“Just stay calm, we’ll get you out of there,” another voice said. This one sounded very familiar…
“Twilight!!!”
Soon, a bucket was lowered to them, "I'm afraid I can only get one of you out at a time.”
"Wait, I have a better idea," Twilight said, "If you can put me on the edge of the well, I may be able to use my magic to levitate them out."
"But would that hurt your pup?"
"No, in fact using magic on occasion can soothe pups."
“And too much?”
“Can range from allergies to magic to a minor defect. Nothing serious.”
"Are you sure?"
“Yes.”
“Okay… Also, allergies to magic?”
“Yeah, a bit of irony to that.”
"Sometime today would be nice, girls." Firefly pointed out.
Twilight was helped to the edge of the well, and her horn began to glow. Soon, an aura of light embodied Firefly and Wind Whistler and they were lifted slowly out of the well. The were almost at the mouth of the well when…
“TWILIGHT!”
Twilight turned to the source of the voice to see Celestia, Lancer, and Lightning Thrash. “Celestia! Lancer!” She accidentally stopped the spell, causing Wind Whistler and Firefly to fall into the well again with long, loud screams. Twilight looked back in the well and blushed when she processed what happened. “Oops, sorry!”
She proceeded to try again, though the thought of seeing her mentor again was weighing upon her.
“Who’s down there right now,” Lancer asked.
“Wind Whistler and Firefly.” Twilight replied, trying not to lose focus.
“Ah. Allow me.” Lancer’s horn began to glow, and he was able to lift the two wolves out of the well.
“Thank you Twi-,” Wind Whistler started to say, but was interrupted when she noticed Celestia and Lancer. Firefly was just as surprised as Wind Whistler.
“What,” Lancer asked, “is there something on my fur?”
“No,” Wind Whistler replied, “It’s just that… We assumed you were deceased.”
“You thought we were dead? Who gave you that idea?”
“Bright Eyes saw Nightmare Moon vaporize you and Celestia.”
"What she saw was actually a teleportation spell,” Celestia answered, “She wanted you to believe that we had perished.”
"Why? Wouldn't it be easier to destroy you?"
“She was saving our deaths for last because she wanted us to suffer by watching you die. But either way, you would have been put into a state of chaos.”
"Yeah..."
"I wonder if-" Twilight winced in pain. Apparently the pup hadn't enjoyed the magic show.
“TWILIGHT!” There was concern in Celestia’s voice.
Twilight jumped at her name. “Yes?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just my pup reacting to my trying to get Wind Whistler and Firefly out.”
“You used magic, didn’t you?”
"Yes..."
Her tone then went from concerned to angry. “What were you thinking?!”
"I-I'm sorry, I was just trying to save them..." 
“You could have hurt your pup!”
“They could have drowned!”
“The human was willing to take them both up, why not let her?”
“Because it would be faster and it wouldn’t be as exhausting for her.”
“But at least your pup would be safe.”
Megan decided she should speak up, “If I may suggest something, I think-”
Celestia, along with every other wolf in the area (except Twilight and Fluttershy), gasped. “Did that human understand everything we said?”
“Yes, Celestia...she has a necklace that allows her to understand us, and vice versa.” Twilight explained.
“That’s odd, I’ve never heard of necklaces doing that,” Lancer looked to his Aunt, “Right?”
“Actually, I have heard of it,” Celestia said.
“Really?”
“Yes, but it only works on someone who truly has a heart for wolves.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone about this?”
“Because I didn’t think it would appear in their lifetimes, but your mother was going to tell you, but she was captured before she was given the chance.”
“Um...Excuse me?” Megan asked.
Celestia and Lancer looked at Megan.
“Well, if it’s possible, I could help to treat those wounds. After all, that is a pretty nasty gash on his shoulder.” She pointed to Lightning.
“It’s no big deal.”
“ I see, but what about that broken wing?”
“It’s not broken,” Lightning attempted to- “Ouch!”
“Really? Sure seems like it to me.”
Lightning’s cheeks turned a bright shade of red that even his black fur couldn’t hide. “I guess you should…”
*****
The trio finally made their way out of the pet store. They were panting heavily from all the excitement. “Thanks, whoever you are.” Comet panted.
“You’re welcome,” the voice said finally revealing himself to be…
“Bolt?!” Spike’s jaw dropped.
“Yup,” the small, white dog replied. “Now, what brings you to a pet store?”
“Um...we accidentally teleported here from a restaurant.”
“Why were you in a restaurant?”
“We’re looking for my mate, Twilight,” Comet explained, “I guess you haven’t seen her? She’s lavender and has a six pointed star on her hindquarters.”
“Oh. Well, I’m sorry, but I haven’t seen her.”
“I figured as much, thanks for saving us, anyway.”
“Anytime. It’s too bad my pups weren’t here, they would love to meet some real wolves...that aren’t at the zoo.”
“What’s a zoo?” Shining asked.
“It’s basically a place where humans take injured animals to recover before being released. It’s also a place for humans to learn about the animals there.”
“Hey! Maybe Twilight’s there!” Comet’s tail began to wag.
“Maybe. I didn’t see her there, but then again, it’s been a month since I’ve last been there.”
“So there’s hope.”
“And if she isn’t and we get caught again,” Shining asked.
Spike commented, “Then Bolt could get us out of there. He did it back there. Then again… Why didn’t he use his powers?”
“Powers,” Bolt asked.
“You know… The ones that the humans were reporting.”
“Oh, I see… Yeah, those ‘reports’ were actually episodes in a television show. They’re basically performances.”
"But I thought you were just fighting aliens a few months ago...."
"That's a replacement."
"Seriously?"
"Yup… Long story short, I accidentally got shipped across the country, found my way back, saw my replacement with Penny, walked away depressed, found out Penny was in danger, rescued her from a fire, and basically quit the show."
"Oh, that would make an interesting show."
“Well, at the time, before I got lost, I had no idea that what I was doing was for show. They made me believe that I actually was a superdog.”
"Really? That's weird."
“It was a little something they did to keep the ratings up because… well… I thought my owner was in danger constantly, and I was just doing my job to protect her.”
"Wait, dogs LIKE humans?" Shining asked.
“Yes. Well, most of them anyway.”
"Not sure how any canine can like a human."
“Humans are able to give dogs the home that they need as well as provide for them. Some of us like to return the favor in different ways. Mine… Well… You get the idea.”
“Yeah… But still, a human?”
Comet pushed Shining to the side. “Don’t mind him. He just doesn’t like humans.”
“Ah.”
"Can you blame me? They hunt us, kill us, skin us, and some even eat us!"
Bolt gagged at the idea. “Sometimes, dogs have that unfortunate bit of luck.. Some are even taken to labs.”
"See?"
“But not all of them are bad.”
"Hmmph."
“Bolt?”
Bolt’s ears perked up once he heard the new voice. “That’s Penny. I have to go, but good luck on finding your mate.”
"Yeah...thanks." Comet sighed.
“Hey, keep your chin up. You’ll find her. Just hang in there.”
“Alright…”
“See ya around!” Bolt ran back towards the pet store, leaving the trio to discuss their next move.
“So… Try to find out about this ‘zoo’,” Comet asked.
Shining sighed, “Might as well. I mean, what other option do we have?”
Shining’s horn began to light up, and with a brilliant flash of light, they were gone.
******
The trio found themselves in yet another area. They saw a large expanse of land surrounded by a stone wall. There were humans on top of that stone wall staring at them.
“So this is a zoo,” Spike said, “A little limiting, but not bad.”
“There are still humans staring at us,” Shining pointed out.
"Well right now I don't really care, I just want to find Twilight,” Comet said.
“Yeah, just stop nudging me, Comet,” Spike said.
“That wasn’t me…”
“Then who was it?”
They all looked back. An expression of shock was etched on their faces when they saw a herd of elephantsstanding over them. They were not happy that strange creatures had trespassed onto their territory. 
"Comet?"
"Yeah?"
"Who was the goofball that taught you teleportation?" 
"Your sister."
Shining froze in embarrassment while Comet and Spike stood in fear. How were they going to get out of this one?
> Nightmare Moon Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 6

Megan, Twilight, Fluttershy, Firefly, Wind Whistler, Lancer, Celestia, and Lightning were at the kennels. Megan had Lightning in her lap and was looking at Lightning’s wounds. 
“Okay, now hold still,” Megan said as she placed a plank of wood against Lightning’s fractured leg. She then took took some medical tape and wrapped it around the wood and his leg. Lightning winced in pain the more Megan tried to wrap the tape around the wood and his leg. “I’m sorry, but I can’t numb the pain.”
"Yeah...it's okay, I guess."
“So how long have you been protecting wolves,” Lancer asked.
“Ever since I was about ten years old. I had a thing about wolves at that age, and my parents found Fluttershy. She’s been by my side ever since.”
Fluttershy blushed, "You have too."
"Thank you."
Twilight looked to Celestia, "Celestia, is Comet Tail okay?"
“Last I saw him, he’s fine, but then Lancer and I were abducted,” Celestia answered, “We’ll have to find out when we get back.”
"Well, Twilight will have to stay here until her pup is old enough to go out there, safely."
“Um… No disrespect to your medical practices, but other wolves will be worried about her.” Celestia pointed out.
"I understand, but if she stays here, her pup has a greater chance of living."
"I see...but what does Twilight think?"
"I...want to stay, if it means my pup is safe, then that's all that matters." Twilight admitted.
“Is that what you really think?”
“Yes, but I do have one request.”
“Yes?”
“I want you to bring Comet here. Let him know that I’m okay.”
"I will, Twilight."
"And...I want you to be here, when I deliver the pup.”
"You...do?"
“Yes. It would be a great honor for her aunt to be here when it happens.”
Celestia smiled, "I would be honored, as well."
Twilight smiled.
Suddenly, a brilliant flash of light illuminated the kennels. Everyone shielded their eyes before it died down to reveal…
“Comet! Shining! Spike!” Twilight looked at them. She had to ask, “What happened to you three?”
“Don’t ask,” they said in unison.
Twilight looked at Comet, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks, "I missed you so much," she managed to squeak.
Tears began to stream down Comet’s cheeks before he nuzzled Twilight. “I missed you too…”
Shining looked at the scene, but glanced over to see… “Lancer? Celestia?”
"Hello, Shining," Celestia greeted.
"I- we thought you were dead!"
“What the witness saw was a teleportation spell.”
“Ah.”
“But my mom’s still Nightmare Moon,” Lancer said.
“I figured…”
“Can’t you use the thing you used to cure my mom the last time?”
“No… Once I had used them they disappeared.”
“Oh…”
“But just because I can’t, doesn’t mean someone else can’t.”
“But who could?”
“You.”
Lancer was taken aback by that statement. “Me? But how?”
“Do you have friends?”
“Yes, but…”
“That’s already a qualification.”
“It is? How is having friends a qualification?”
“Well...not only that, but it makes the device even more powerful.”
“Device?”
“Yes… The Elements of Harmony were what protected all wolves, but since Nightmare Moon’s last appearance, they’ve vanished.”
“Did she take them with her?”
“I don’t believe so, but it does seem suspicious…”
“Well… maybe mom knows…” Lancer muttered.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing, Auntie, I just need to be alone for a while.”
“Um...okay…”
"Wait a minute," Megan said, "is there any way you could contact her?"
"Well, theoretically, yes. I mean she contacted me in a dream."
"Then shouldn't the same be possible with you?"
"I guess..."
“Then why don’t you give it a try?”
“Too risky. Nightmare Moon could track us using my mom if I try to communicate with her.”
"Then could she come back to you?"
“Yeah, but it wouldn’t be just my mom. Remember she and Nightmare Moon are a packaged deal.”
"But if she warned you without Nightmare Moon, can't she come back?"
“Maybe, but at this point, we can’t take any chances. More than likely, she’s found out by now.”
"I see..."
******
Minty struggled to free herself from her bonds, but they were on too tight.
“To stop in this situation is not useless, it will save you the stress,” Zecora said not even trying to tamper with her chains.
“That’s easy for you to say, but we have to get out of here,” Minty yelled.
“The chains were made to hold the wolves they brought in, but doing so is quite the sin."
“Especially since these are a little rusty.”
“The rust is the least of your worries,” a voice said.
Both females stopped talking. They looked towards the source of the voice to reveal Sombra. "Whoah! Who are you supposed to be," Minty asked.
“I am Sombra, alpha of this pack."
"And what pack would that be?"
“We are the Shadow Pack."
"Really, how long did it take you to make that up?"
“It took the writers a few seconds.”
Lancewing: DUDE! DON’T BREAK THE FOURTH WALL!!!
Sombra: What? You made it up on the spot.
Lancewing: You do know we can write you out, right?
NotRamjet97: Yeah, and I bet we can call up The Fallen, I heard he's wanted a gig ever since Revenge of the Fallen was so poorly received.
Lancewing: Yeah, I can sympathise with him, but come on! That movie really was terrible! Wouldn’t spend a penny on it.
NotRamjet: I actually liked it... Especially the forest battle, and it was written during a writers strike.
Lancewing: Meh, that was pretty good, but unfortunately, the errors that occured made the movie irredeemable. But that’s for a later review (if I ever decide to do it).
NotRamjet: That would take a while. Dark of The Moon was cool though.
Lancewing: Oh yeah. Anyway, back to the story.
Zecora shook her head. “The name of your pack matters not, for you shall soon regret a lot."
“Not when you know that you have crushed the weak.”
"But what of the strong? For it will not take them long."
“Strong?” Sombra let out a laugh. “Celestia and Lancer are dead.”
"But Cadence and Twilight are still alive." Minty retorted.
"Pagh! An ex-Pegasus and an anti social unicorn? Is that your idea of strong?"
"Don't you talk about my sisters like that!" Minty snapped.
“And Eclipse has found Luna’s substitute. Your theory is in refute.”
“We shall see…”
******
Bright Eyes looked over the entire pack. In just hours, she was going to lead these wolves to war. She took a deep breath and prepared to stand before them. ‘This is for you, Lancer…’ She lowered her head before raising it, letting out a long, authoritative howl. The others turned to Bright Eyes and headed towards her.
"Thank you for coming," Bright Eyes greeted, “As you all know, both Celestia and Luna have been taken from us, as well as Lancer. I understand that some of you might hesitate with the decision that we are going to make, but we are about to go to this new pack and eliminate them once and for all.”
The others began to murmur. It had been centuries since the last war; why start a war now?
Bright Eyes continued. “I know it’s hard to believe, and I honestly didn’t think that would be coming out of my mouth, but even with the three wolves that I have mentioned gone, more wolves have vanished. How long will it be before this entire pack is erased from existence?”
More murmuring.
“I will not lie though, it will be dangerous, and some of you will perish. If you want to leace, you may do so, but even if I have to go myself, I will.”
Silence came over the pack. It lasted for several minutes until, "Will anyone allow this young she-wolf go out there alone," Eclipse asked.
Everyone stood there silent. Finally…
“No, we won’t,” Patch said.
Eclipse smiled. “Is anyone with this wolf?”
"I am," Solaris stepped forward.
"Me too." Cadence said.
"Ditto," Melody nodded.
“Anyone else?”
The entire pack let loose a loud, spiritual howl.
“Well, guess you won’t be going it alone,” Eclipse grinned.
“No, I will not,” Bright Eyes smiled back.
“I wish Lancer could see you, now.”
“I know he does.”
Eclipse grinned, “I’ll bet he’s proud of you.”
“Thank you. Now then… Let’s go to war…”
******
Firefly walked into Rainbow Dash’s kennel. She tapped on the cage door, “Hello?”
“Go away!”
“Well, ain’t you a sweetheart.”
“Yeah, if you’ve been through all the crud I’ve been through, you’d be in a bad mood, too.”
“Well, I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“Unless it’s Applewood or Phoenix, I’m not interested.”
“Even if it’s your own mother?”
“My mom died in a storm, if not she didn’t care about me.”
“But I do, Dashie.”
Rainbow didn’t respond.
“You were a gift, Dash, one I didn’t deserve, I know I must’ve been a terrible mother, and by the time I realized it, you were gone from my life. I spent weeks looking for you, I barely ate from my worry. I-I’m sorry…” Firefly lowered her head.
Rainbow Dash opened her kennel door and stepped out. She looked at her mother, she didn’t seem much older than herself, and her drooping wings looked strong, like hers, this HAD to be her mom. She gave the pink wolf a comforting nuzzle.
“I missed you so much…”
“I...missed you too, mom,” Rainbow gave Firefly a small kiss.
“So, who are Applewood and Phoenix?”
“Oh...Applewood is my mate, and Phoenix is our pup.”
“So...I’m a grandmother?”
“Yup.”
“Wow...and I’m only four.”
“Amazing, isn’t it?”
“Not as amazing as you.”

To be continued...

> Reunion Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Reunion
Chapter 1

Lancer laid on a bed curled up. Rarity offered to let Lancer lay in her bed, even though she should be resting herself. Lancer did all he could to resist, but he soon found himself in that position. Truth was that his mind isn’t in the kennel, it was with the pack, specifically a wolf who doesn’t even know he’s still alive. He knew that Luna could contact him, but is it possible that he could do the same with Bright Eyes. Granted, she can’t call him due to her not possessing any magical properties, but maybe she could work around it. She was Zecora’s apprentice after all.
“WHAT?!?!”
Lancer’s ears perked up. It was Twilight’s voice that he heard, but what was the cause of the outburst? He walked out of Rarity’s room and into Twilight’s. Twilight was panting frantically while Celestia looked like her heart went into her throat. Wind Whistler was staring at the ground. Shining was baring his teeth. Lancer walked over to Fluttershy, "What happened?"
Fluttershy jolted. “Oh, Lancer. I didn’t see you there."
"Oh, sorry. So what's with Twilight?"
“She just learned that her younger sister went missing.”
Lancer nearly collapsed. "Minty?"
Fluttershy nodded.
Lancer swallowed, "Not sure I wanna hang around here much longer."
“Why,” Fluttershy asked.
“Because everyone I care about will disappear if we don’t get back.”
Fluttershy gave Lancer a queer look.
Lancer sighed before adding, “Look, I don’t care what happens to me, as long as everyone I care about is safe, I have no regrets.”
“And if you die?”
“Like I said, if everyone’s safe, I have no regrets.”
"...What do you need to do?"
“I need to fight alongside the pack, but first, I need to try to contact someone."
"Who?"
“A friend. I want to try mental communication and ask what's happening."
“Oh, okay.”
“But here’s the twist, she’s an earth-type, meaning she has no magical properties at all.”
“Oh…”
“BUT she is an apprentice to a sage who can use potions at will. Maybe she can conjure something up that will allow her to communicate with me easily.”
"Maybe, but how would she know to?"
“I don’t know. So right now, I think I’ll just have to wing it.”
"Oh..."
“Yeah. Let me see if a theory of mine can work first.” His horn glows before he thinks, ‘Can you hear me now?’
Nothing.
“Fluttershy?”
Still nothing.
“Doggonit!”
All the wolves in the room turned to Lancer. He looked at them.
“Sorry, a little experiment that failed.”
"What experiment?" Celestia asked.
“Well… I’m trying to contact Bright Eyes to see if everything is okay over at the pack, and to let her know that I’m still alive.”
"But wouldn't it be easier to tell your father to tell her? Especially since he's an Alicorn."
Lancer’s eyes widened like dinner plates before he facepawed. “No…”
"I see..."
Lancer’s horn glowed again.
******
Eclipse was helping Bright Eyes prepare the army before…
‘Dad, can you hear me?’
Eclipse had to really pause and listen. For a moment, he thought he heard his son’s voice.
‘Dad?’
It was. ‘Lancer,’ Eclipse thought, ‘I thought you and Celestia died.’
‘Bright Eyes saw a teleportation spell. Firefly and Wind Whistler explained it to me.’
'Well, I'm glad you and Celestia are safe.'
‘Me too, but I have to ask. How’s the pack?’
'Well...they've been a bit concerned about you, but Bright Eyes is leading us well.'
‘Wait, she’s taking Mom’s place? Did I miss something?’
'Well, we were having some...discord...and she helped us resolve the issue.'
Lancer scratched his head. ‘And I take it she did really well?’
‘She would do your mother proud.’
‘Believe me, she’s already doing me proud.’
'Should I tell anyone you're alive?'
‘Tell only Bright Eyes. No one else should know. Not even Wisteria or Cadence.’
'What about Solaris?'
‘Not until I show up.’
'Very well...'
‘And be sure to let her know how proud I am of her. It would mean a lot to me.’
'I will. And Lancer...I love you.'
‘I love you too.’
Bright Eyes looked at Eclipse. She asked, “Eclipse? Are you okay?”
‘I have to go. Talk to you later.’
‘Okay. Bye.’
‘Bye.’
"Eclipse?"
“I’m okay Bright Eyes. I actually have some good news.”
"What?"
“Lancer and Celestia are alive.”
"WHAT?!?!"
Eclipse quickly covered her mouth. “Sorry, but Lancer requested that we be the only ones who know.”
Bright Eyes nodded. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.
“What’s wrong?”
"Nothing. I'm just happy."
Eclipse nuzzled Bright Eyes, “Me too.”
******
Minty gnawed at her chains. She knew it probably wouldn’t work, but she tried anyway. It felt like all she could do was to gnaw on chains.
Zecora's teeth were getting sore just from watching her. “Minty, I wish you would cease and desist, you will ruin your teeth if you persist.”
“Weh sowwy, ifh all I c’n do!”
Zecora shook her head and held a paw to her jaw.
Nightmare Moon watched from the opening of the den. Does she really need to torture them? Minty seems to be doing that herself. 
Yes. It was necessary, she needed Luna to feel helpless. Besides, Luna's jaw was already sore just watching. She could feel Luna do exactly what Zecora's doing. That’s what she got for helping her enemies flee.
"Having fun," Nightmare asked Luna.
"No, that was just being cruel. What was the point behind that?"
“Consequences. I know how much it would hurt you more to see members of your pack to endure pain than to just inflict it upon you.”
"You wouldn't dare..."
“Wouldn’t I?” Nightmare walked over to the two prisoners.
Zecora watched Nightmare Moon carefully, but Minty ignored her, continuing to chew. 
“What are you doing,” Nightmare asked Zecora.
"I am witnessing Minty chew on the chain while I hold my jaw in pain."
“I see… Would you like to be put out of such misery?”
Luna's voice could practically be heard when she whimpered, "Don't..."
“For a minor annoyance? It is barely a nuisance".
“Pity...I might have enjoyed it…”
“Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I’m sure you already knew.”
“Perhaps…” Nightmare Moon looked over to Minty, “Or I could kill her…”
Minty finally stopped chewing the chain and looked at Nightmare. Here eyes widened.
"NO," Luna barked.
"But first... A little fun." Nightmare slashed at Minty.
Minty managed to dodge, but she let out a painful yelp as a second attempt almost slashed her eye out.
"Leave her be! If you wish to hurt, choose me."
Nightmare turned to Zecora, "It isn't as fun when the tortured is willing to be."
"Then do me! I'm willing." Minty volunteered.
Zecora shook her head
"Well...if you insist..." Nightmare sent a pulse that tossed Minty to the wall.
Minty let out a loud yelp.
"Minty!" Luna wanted to escape, but there was nothing she could do.
"Are you still willing?"
Minty shook her head.
"That's what I thought." With that, Nightmare Moon left the two she-wolves.
Luna was virtually torn apart at this point, especially since the wolf Nightmare tortured was so young.
“Aw… Do you feel bad? Well the ride only goes downhill. I just learned where your son and sister are.”
Luna swallowed hard.
“And I believe it’s time we made our grand entrance.”
> Reunion Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 2

Lancer looked at Megan’s necklace trying to find some meaning to it, but he couldn't recognize anything. He asked, "So...you got this from your grandmother, correct?"
“Yes,” Megan answered, “It used to belong to my mother before she passed away.”
"Uh-huh.... Did she ever talk to wolves?"
“Not that I know of.”
"Hmm... Weird..."
“She said that only certain people could use it.”
"Well, guess its a good thing you can, huh? Someone else might abuse that gift."
“I’ll say.”
Lancer sighed, "Bright Eyes would love to talk with you.
"Who’s Bright Eyes?”
“Oh, she… um… she’s a friend of mine.”
"I see... Do you miss her?"
"Yeah...a lot..."
“I'm sorry, I hope she's okay..."
“Well, considering that she’s taking command while my Mom’s… well…”
"What?" Megan asked, scratching behind Lancer's ear.
“She beca-”
Suddenly, the sky began to grow dark. Megan looked outside. “What in the world?”
Lancer’s heart sank. “No… No, no, no, no, no… Not now…”
"What's wrong?"
“It’s Nightmare Moon. She found us.”
"Who?"
An eerie, dark blue mist began to appear before a flash of light covered the room. In its place stood Nightmare Moon. “I believe he was referring to me,” the new wolf replied.
"Wha-? How did she- What did she-?" Megan was dumbstruck.
Lancer was just as baffled, but then he remembered. “It was my telepathy spell, wasn’t it? You were able to trace my location using that, weren’t you?”
"Now, now, a magician never reveals her secrets..." Nightmare Moon sneered. "But that was a foolish thing to do, didn't you know it could potentially hurt your friends and loved ones?"
“Leave them out of this. It should be their choice whether or not to be involved, not some evil force who HAS POSSESSED MY MOTHER!”
Megan looked at Lancer, "This is your mom?"
“You’re only half right. The wolf you see before you is using my mother’s body as a host. Her soul is only capable of watching what happens.”
A shiver went through Megan's spine, it was like a horror film in the real world.
Lancer focused his attention back to Nightmare Moon. He lifted up his head and gave a long, loud howl.
"Stop that!" Nightmare Moon yelled in pain.
“Oh that’s your weakness? I was just calling for help.”
Suddenly, a yellow beam hit Nightmare Moon in the side, resulting in a yelp from the dark wolf.
"Gah!” Nightmare Moon exclaimed in pain.
Celestia emerged from the doorway, “How did you find us?” 
“Oh it was simple, someone tried a telepathy spell, I traced it, and I’m pretty sure you know the rest.”
Celestia shot a quick glare at Lancer, then looked at Nightmare Moon, “Why are you here? The majority of the pack is out there.”
“You’re here, and so is Lancer. I think you know why I am here.”I
“Give yourself up,” Lancer teased.
“No, I am here to eliminate you.”
“Well...it was worth a shot.” Suddenly, Lancer fired his own shot, but she blocked it.
“Does anyone else wish to oppose me?”
“I do,” another voice said.
Everyone looked to reveal…
“Twilight,” Celestia gasped, “Stay back! It’s too dangerous.”
Twilight ignored her leader, and fired a purple beam at Nightmare Moon’s chest.
Nightmare Moon fired her own beam, and it collided with Twilight’s. Both beams remained at a stand still, neither wolf faltering, it felt that way for hours. But then, Nightmare Moon’s beam began to grow larger, and began to push Twilight’s beam back! Twilight swallowed, she wasn’t sure how much more she could give.
She was about to give up when another beam was projected to strengthen her own. Twilight could feel that it was Comet’s magic. The combined force of the couple began to drive Nightmare Moon’s beam back! Slowly, but surely, the tag team worked. Their beam hit Nightmare Moon’s horn, knocking her against the wall.
Twilight looked up to see Nightmare Moon shoot her a glare, before vanishing in a flash of smoke. She let out a sigh of relief before she collapsed.
"TWILIGHT!" Everyone in the room cried.
Megan bolted to the lavender she-wolf, scooped her up, ran towards the medical room. She placed Twilight on the medical table and placed her hand on Twilight’s chest, feeling for a heartbeat.
It felt weak, but it WAS there. ‘Please hang on, Twilight’.
“What happened,” Comet demanded upon entering the room.
“I don’t know,” Megan snapped back, “Celestia said something earlier that using too much magic could hurt pup, but I don’t know why it would be affecting Twilight.”
Comet sighed, “Is there anything you can do for them?”
“I don’t know, I’m not a vet…”
“Well is there anyone that is?”
"No, not here."
Comet remained silent. Twilight on the other hand had something to say. "M- Megan..." Her voice was weak.
Megan bent down closer to Twilight and bent her ear towards her. “Is Celestia in here?”
“I’m right here, Twilight,” Celestia said as she walked up.
"I-I'm sorry..."
Celestia nuzzled her. “There was no other way. You did the right thing.”
"But...I killed my pup... Maybe I'm not meant to be a mother…”
“I’m afraid the pup isn’t the only one that didn’t pull through. The strain from using your magic in that moment was enough to kill you both.” 
Twilight sighed, "Can I talk to Comet?"
“I’m standing right here, you know,” Comet chuckled trying to lighten the moment.
"Comet? Promise me you'll find another mate? One that will be a good mate and mother to your pups, not like me."
“How can I find one that’s better than you?”
Twilight smiled, "You can... "
Lancer, Spike, and Shining rushed into the room only to find that the unthinkable was about to happen.
Comet paid them little mind, gazing into the large, purple eyes of his mate, "I can't do the impossible, Twilight. You will always be my mate."
Twilight wasn't sure what to say, tears streamed down her cheeks.
Comet nuzzled Twilight’s head, “I love you.”
“I love… you…”
Before another word could be uttered, she let out her last breath; her body went limp.

> Reunion Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 3

Everyone gathered around Twilight's lifeless body. A variety of emotions could be felt by the wolves; Shining was angry, Spike was upset, Comet was crushed, and Lancer was disappointed in himself.
Celestia merely stood there, looking over Twilight’s body, a lone tear streaking down her cheek. She had cared for her and her siblings after Nightmare Moon had killed their parents… Now her most faithful student is gone.
But…
Celestia looked to Shining, “Shining, I need everyone gone, even Comet.”
“Wh-”
“Now,” Celestia barked.
“Great, even when she’s dead, Shining’s kicking-”
“Comet!” Celestia glared at Comet, then whispered, “I know this is hard for you, but you NEED to trust me…”
Comet left the room, but glared at Celestia the whole way.
Lancer gave Celestia one last glance not knowing what she was planning. There was no telling what she had in mind, but he had to trust her now.
With every wolf gone, Celestia closed her eyes as her horn began to glow...
*****
Celestia found herself among the stars, or rather what looked like the stars. This was a realm where the souls of other wolves would go to receive their sentence concerning whether to rest in peace or agony. On rare occasions, however, an alicorn can go into the realm to bring a soul back to Earth.
The white wolf looked for Twilight. She thought that it would have been an easy task, but there was a crowd of souls in a single space. She groaned. 'This is going to be harder than I thought...'
******
Rarity watched Comet laying in Twilight’s old kennel. She had felt his pain in the past from losing not only her mate, but also an entire pack! Her only surviving relatives were her sister, Sweetie Belle, and her unborn pup.
She finally decided she couldn’t just watch him wallow in this pain alone any longer. She moved towards Comet. “Comet?”
“Leave me alone,” Comet muttered.
“Comet… I- I know how you feel…”
Comet gave Rarity a glance, but quickly looked away.
Rarity lay down by Comet, placing a paw on his own, “I lost my entire pack, except for my sister."
“But at least you have your pup…”
Rarity sighed, “True...but you can always find someone else, maybe-”
“Wait, is this some kind of attempt to get me interested in you?”
Rarity looked at Comet, stunned, “Do I seem like the kind of wolf that would try ‘something’ with a grieving widower?”
“I don’t know…”
“Look...I just wanted to say that I’m here for you…”
“Thank you… But unless you can bring Twilight AND my daughter back, I just want to be left alone.”
“I understand...but please...don’t do anything drastic…”
Comet didn’t reply. He just sighed.
*****
For what seemed like an hour, Celestia had been searching for Twilight. The thought had crossed her mind to give up, but when she remembered the sacrifice her young student made, she pressed on. She noticed a lavender wolf from a distance. Assuming it was Twilight, Celestia made her way there, only to find out that it was an earth wolf.
Just when she felt she couldn’t do anymore… “Celestia,” A voice asked.
Celestia turned around to see... “Twilight!” She bolted to her young student. “I was beginning to think I’d never find you.”
“Find me? Why were you looking for me? And...why are you here?”
“Everyone needs you back.”
Twilight looked at the ground and her tail fell between her legs, “Why would they need me? I’d just fail… Like with-”
Suddenly, a small dark blue unicorn pup revealed itself from behind Twilight. Celestia looked at the pup. “Is that…”
Twilight looked to see her pup standing behind her, “Yes, this is mine and Comet’s pup.”
“I see… What’s their name?”
“Her name is Stargazer. It seemed appropriate…”
Celestia smiled, “That’s a beautiful name. A beautiful name for a beautiful pup.”
“Thank you. I want Comet to see her right now, but I would much rather stay up here with her in order to keep her safe.” 
Celestia approached her student, “Twilight… I… I know a spell that can bring you back.”
“I know, but how would I be able to protect her if I couldn’t even protect myself?”
“Well…for one, you’ve learned your lesson, haven’t you?”
“Yes, but-”
“And for another, I have faith you can and WILL protect your daughter. Despite what you think, I believe you will make an amazing mother.”
“And what if I fail again?”
“I’ll tell you what, I’ll give you and your daughter something that will make you even more powerful.”
“But...what if I misuse it?”
“If I knew you were going to do that, then I would never have offered it to you.”
Twilight looked at her, then looked at her pup...who would never see her father nor know of the love he had for her… Never meet someone and start her own family…
Twilight looked to her teacher, “Celestia… I-I want it…”
“Are you sure?”
“I...I am.”
“Twilight...this gift… it has a horrible cost...are you sure you want it?”
“Will it hurt Stargazer.”
“Not directly.”
“Then I will accept the consequences.”
“Okay.” Celestia’s horn glowed yet again. This time, an aurora surrounded her, Twilight, and Stargazer.
******
Megan walked into the kennel and set some food and water in front of the wolves. Comet sniffed the bowl. He wasn't feeling particularly hungry. 
Megan noticed Comet's lack of an appetite and bent down to look him in the eye. "Is there anything I can get you?"
“Unless you can bring Twilight and my pup back, there isn’t.”
Lancer only heaved a sigh. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
Comet didn't say anything.
Lancer got up and walked into another room before he sat down. He was so depressed that he didn’t even notice Fluttershy walk in.
"Lancer," Fluttershy asked. There was no reaction. She got closer. “Lancer?”
Lancer looked. “Yes?”
"Are you okay?"
He shook his head.
"Is there anything I can do?"
Lancer shrugged.
"It's not your fault."
"How isn't it," Lancer snapped.
"You didn't know it would happen."
“But if I had only remembered that a telepathy spell could be traced I would not have done it in the first place. And instead of fighting Nightmare Moon, I just stood by the sidelines like a coward, because underneath Nightmare Moon is my mom."
"There's nothing wrong with not wanting to hurt your mother."
“But a friend of mine DIED because of it!”
"But you didn't know that."
“Hesitation kills, and look where that got us!”
"You might've died! Or Celestia! Then where would we be?!" Fluttershy didn't realize how loud she was getting.
Wind Whistler poked her head into the room. “Please keep your voice down,” she said with a flat expression.
Fluttershy looked at Wind Whistler, "Oh...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to shout..." 
Wind Whistler walked away from the room, leaving the two alone yet again.
******
Spike was sitting outside, watching everyone try and comfort everyone else through Twilight’s death… Except no one came to comfort him. What was he, chopped liver? He had known Twilight since he was a cub; she had been a mother to him, so she was very close to him and now these guys who barely knew her were getting help. Was he really that invisible? Or was it because he isn’t a wolf?
“You okay little guy,” a voice asked.
Spike looked behind himself to see Lightning. “What do you think, I lost my best friend, my mom, and a little brother or sister and no one cares about me.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“Please, no one’s even talked to me since she’s died. No one wants anything to do with me since I’m not a wolf.”
Lightning didn’t respond.
Just then, Celestia walked out. Everyone looked at her.
Celestia looked at Spike. “Spike, would you come with me?”
“Uh...I guess…” Spike followed Celestia into the medical room.
Celestia used her magic to close the door behind Spike, not entering herself. He looked and immediately saw Twilight alive and laying on a bed. However, there was something very different about her.
For starters, there was a small, dark blue pup resting at her front paws, but then there was one thing that was more noticeable: both the pup and the mother had large wings.
> Reunion Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 4


“T-TWILIGHT?!” Spike exclaimed a little too loudly.
Twilight giggled, “Surprised?” 
“Yeah… I mean… How?”
“She wasn’t...quite dead….and I managed to get her and the little one back…” Celestia explained.
“Oh…”
“You didn’t understand a word I said, did you?”
“No, I did not.”
“Do you want me to explain it?”
“Please.”
“Once Twilight slipped out of consciousness, she was really awaiting judgement to see which realm of the afterlife she would go to. I went into the judgement realm and pulled her and Stargazer out.”
“Okay...but how’d she...and Stargazer...get the wings?”
“That… I cannot explain.”
“Oh…”
“Yeah, but with the addition of the wings, they are both alicorns.”
“So now...they live a lot longer…?”
Celestia nodded.
Spike sighed, “I’m...happy for both of you…”
Twilight had a concerned look on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s..nothing.”
“Spike, I know that look on your face. I know something’s up.”
Spike remained silent.
“Spike...please tell me?”
“It’s just...what if you die...alone?”
Twilight thought about that for a minute. What if she died alone? And what about Stargazer? Would she suffer the same fate? Was that what Celestia was warning her about?
“Twilight?” Celestia asked, “Are you okay?”
Tears streamed down Twilight’s eyes. Celestia knew all too well what that could mean. She placed a wing over her and nuzzled her cheek.
“So when you said we wouldn’t be hurt directly, you were warning me that I would outlive all of my friends, right?”
“I was…”
“Even the ones I just met?”
“Yes…”
Immediately, Twilight started crying.
Celestia held her in an embrace hoping to comfort her.
Spike went over and laid a paw on Twilight's. He lay before her and attempted to give her a comforting smile.
Twilight's ears picked up a small cry. She looked over to see Stargazer sitting and whimpering. Twilight looked to Celestia. "Celestia, I...need to be left alone for a bit... I think Stargazer's hungry."
Celestia stood up. "I understand." She and Spike started to leave.
"Wait." 
Both stopped.
"Can...you tell everyone I'm alright?"
“We would be glad to.”
She smiled, “Thank you.”
*****
Bright Eyes and Eclipse stood with their army of wolves, waiting for their enemies. Eclipse glanced at Bright Eyes. “Are you ready?”
“I...think so…” Bright Eyes replied. “I’ve never had to kill another wolf…”
"None of us never want it to come to that, but we have no choice."
“I suppose…” Bright Eyes took a deep breath.
“And these wolves aren’t like you or me, they don’t have feelings, their sole purpose is to exterminate us.”
“But-”
“We’ll NEED to kill them.”
“Is the situation that bad? That we NEED to kill?”
Eclipse nodded. "They will show no mercy, so be on your guard."
Bright Eyes sighed. “I sure hope we can do this…”
“Me too…”
Suddenly, Ace and Teddy ran up towards Bright Eyes and Eclipse. “They’re coming!” Ace yelled.
"I need the front line to create a barrier should they attack. Do not let them through." Eclipse ordered.
"You got it." With that, both wolves darted off.
Eclipse sniffed the air. “They’re right, they’re coming.”
Bright Eyes sniffed the air, but soon wished she hadn’t. She put a paw over her nose, “Why do they stink so bad? Ugh.”
"Maybe because they use it as a means of defense."
"Maybe, but EW! I can feel my nose bleed."
“Apparently, an effective defense.”
"Let's just get this over with, and please don't tell me that all I will be doing is standing around."
“Trust me, you won’t.”
“Okay.”
From a distance, the wolves could see Sombra and Nightmare Moon with their army of shadow wolves. However, Bright Eyes was able to smell two familiar scents among the stench. 
The scents brought a certain anger Bright Eyes had felt before. “Eclipse.”
“What?”
“They brought Minty and Zecora.”
“They’re alive?!”
“Yes, and something tells me that they didn’t come here willingly.”
“But why would they bring their hostages with them?”
“Because they know that we won’t risk hurting our own. It’s a cowardly tactic.”
“But a good one.”
“Good? There is no honor in using other wolves like chess pieces!”
“Maybe, but with these wolves, there is no honor.”
Bright Eyes growled. “I’m half tempted to go down there and kill a few now.”
“Well, that’s what they want. They want you off your focus and they don’t want your head in the game.”
“Game? You call a battle over life and death a game?”
“It was a figure of speech. No, this is most certainly not a game.”
******
Nightmare Moon looked toward the pack she is about to face. “This will be too easy.”
“Especially with your little trump card,” Sombra replied.
“Yes… And without Celestia leading them, they will fall easily.”
“You’ll never get away with this,” Minty barked.
“Oh really,” Nightmare said, “You and I both know that your pack would do anything to keep you safe.”
“Which is why you will fail and our side will prevail.” Zecora answered.
“Wrong. You’ll see why.”
"I doubt that."
******
Bright Eyes saw Nightmare make a motion for her pack to stop marching. She knew that Nightmare was up to something. "What is she doing?" Bright Eyes thought aloud.
Sombra called out, “Now that we have your attention, we will now be proceeding into your territory. If you value these two wolves over there, you will let us pass.” He pointed to Zecora and Minty. “If there should be any resistance, then they shall be no more.”
"If we let you pass you'd probably kill them anyway."
“No we won’t, because as long as they are alive, you would do anything to let them stay that way.”
“How am I supposed to believe you? As far as I can tell, they’re as good as dead while they are under your paws. Meanwhile, I have the lives of several other pack members on my back.”
“So you do want them to die?”
“No.”
“Then choose… Life or death.”
Bright Eyes was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She didn’t want to see two wolves, one of them being her mentor, die, but then there are other wolves who could die should something go wrong or she refuse. She thought, ‘Lancer, please hurry…’
> Reunion Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 5

Twilight and Comet tail were curled up together cuddling their new puppy. "She has your eyes," Comet noted.
“That she does,” Twilight smiled.
"And she's beautiful like her mother."
“You know that’s right.”
Comet pressed his muzzle to Twilight's cheek. "I'm glad you're still alive. Both of you."
“Me too…”
"Not being with you...and knowing I never could see you again...it hurt me more than you can imagine..."
“I would imagine that.”
"Even if you died a second time… you will always be my mate."
“Then the feeling’s mutual.” Twilight followed that statement with a nuzzle.
Comet rest his head on Twilight's, and closed his eyes. He gave her a small kiss on the ear, and whispered, "I love you."
Twilight deepened her nuzzle and whispered back, "I love you, too."
Comet then looked Twilight over. "By the way, I love the wings. They look good on you.”
"Thank you, and I've already found a use for them."
"And what's that?"
Twilight placed a wing over Comet's back. "That."
Comet chuckled. “Yeah, that is a pretty good use.”
Their noses got closer as if they were about to do an eskimo kiss, but before they could, Twilight noticed Celestia out of the corner of her eye. She suddenly backed away and brought her wing back to her side. “How long have you been standing there?”
“I was just walking in,” Celestia said, “We’re about to leave to return to the territory. A war is about to break out.”
Twilight sighed, "Of course. We will be ready shortly."
“That won’t be necessary. Megan and I conferred on the matter and we decided that she will watch you until the matter has passed.”
"But Celestia, I'm feeling perfectly fine."
“But what about the pup? Would it be safe in the war?”
"I can leave her here with Comet."
“And if you die again?”
"I'll die a thousand times if I have to if it means Stargazer and Comet will be safe."
"Twilight..." Comet spoke up, "Please stay. I've already lost you once, don't make me endure losing you a second time."
Twilight remained silent. How could she have forgotten that. Besides, she might need to learn her magic all over again since it’s more powerful than it was when she was a unicorn wolf.
Suddenly, she felt something gently nip her wing. She looked to see Stargazer, valiantly pulling at her mother's wing trying to get her to stay. Twilight giggled at the sight. Stargazer couldn’t speak yet, but she seemed to know what they were talking about. “Okay, okay. I’ll stay.”
Stargazer let go of Twilight’s wing, and lay next to Twilight’s side, as if her job was done. Twilight sighed, she didn’t want to leave her pup...but she also didn’t want to sit around while her pack is forced to fight. But could she argue with a puppy?
Finally, “Fine...I’ll stay.”
Stargazer curled back up into a ball. Comet glanced at his pup, “I should probably go…”
“No, It would be best for you to stay with Twilight as well,” Celestia said.
“Well...I can’t complain…” Comet confessed.
“Guess I can’t either,” Twilight commented.
******
Rainbow Dash sat with Firefly out in the field, talking to each other about what had happened in the past years. Needless to say, both wolves had plenty to say. Firefly asked, “So...you met Applewood while you-?”
“Yes…he was a lone wolf and, well…”
“I see…”
“Yeah… it’s...real hard. But he is a nice wolf.”
“That’s good. I wouldn’t want you to marry some creep.”
“Me neither… I did have an...incident with one wolf…”
Firefly raised an eyebrow.
“Oh...maybe I shouldn’t’ve mentioned that…”
“Yeah… Because now I want to know what it is.”
Rainbow sighed, “His name was Citrus, and… Well… He kinda…  attacked me.”
Firefly’s eyes widened. “What exactly do you mean by ‘attack’?”
“He wanted to...mate with me, and I told him ‘no’, and he attacked me.”
Firefly gasped.
“Told you you didn’t want to know.”
“No kidding…”
“Well… Fortunately he didn’t… You know…”
“You fought him back? Good.”
“Yeah...a little ‘kiss’ on the neck persuaded him…”
“Do I need to ask which kiss?” Firefly asked with a smirk.
“I think you already know which one,” Rainbow grinned back.
Both wolves laughed.
Once they both calmed down, Firefly asked, “So you think they’re still out there?”
“You mean Applewood and Phoenix? I don’t know.”
“Well...they might, I certainly hope so…”
Just then, Wind Whistler flew up. “Hey Firefly...who’s this?”
“Wind Whistler, this is my daughter, Rainbow Dash.”
“Your...daughter? Since when did you have a kid? Since when did you have a mate?”
“A while back… He was killed by a wild bear…”
“Oh… I’m sorry for your loss…”
“Well...that was bad...but I’m real happy I found my little Dashie…”
“Well, you better hold onto her while you still can. You never know when she might disappear again.”
“Yeah...well…I’m glad you found her again.”
“Thanks, I am, too.”
“Anyway, we’re about to head back to the territory, Celestia needs all available paws to drive away Sombra and Nightmare Moon.”
“That creep that came by earlier and killed Twilight?”
“Yes.”
“Sounds hard.” Rainbow stood up and flexed her wings, “Let’s do it.”
“Are you sure?” Firefly asked.
“Why not? Sounds fun.”
“Dash...it’s a war...it’s not supposed to be fun.”
“...Maybe not...but it sounds a heck of a lot better than moping around.”
“Yeah...and if I’m gonna be kickin’ tail, I’d rather do it with my daughter.”
“Ditto, mom,” Rainbow grinned.
******
Lancer looked into the forest. He knew that there would would be an enemy pack ready to take over his home. Unfortunately, it would take a few hours to get there… By that time, the war would already be over. He could teleport, but if he used his magic too much, he could burn up his horn, or worse… himself. Surely Celestia has a way of bringing them back quickly, right?
Hmm…
“Lancer,” Celestia greeted.
Lancer turned to his aunt. “Yes, Aunt Celestia?”
“Are you ready to go?”
“I guess...I just hope no one…died. On our side, anyway.”
“I know what you mean.”
“Or...Bright Eyes…”
Celestia remained silent.
"If we both survive...I think...I want to tell her how I feel about her..."
"...Oh?"
"Yeah...or maybe I'm just scared of losing her...so I want to just blurt it out..."
"I wouldn't wait, Lancer...what if someone else gets her first?"
Lancer didn't reply.
"But at the same time...don't rush things."
“Right…” Lancer’s cheeks were noticeably red. "Aunt Celestia, do you approve of me and...an earth wolf?"
“Of course I do.”
"Would mom?"
“I know she would.”
"And the packs?"
“Some might disagree, but that’s not their business.”
"I guess, and as long as I have Bright Eyes's approval, then that's all I need."
"And I'm sure she will."
“Assuming she lives that is…”
"Don't think like that, Lancer..."
"I can't help it..."
Both wolves remained silent. Celestia sighed as she closed her eyes. Her horn immediately lit up, resulting in the opening of a portal. "I believe this will be easier on all of us than teleporting."
Lancer’s jaw dropped.
"Would you mind rounding everyone up?"
“Oh. Um… Yes. Anyone staying behind?”
"Twilight and Comet are staying with their new puppy.”
“Okay. Just needed to know.” And with that, Lancer ran to the shelter.
******
Bright Eyes looked at the pack she was about to face. Said pack looked back at her pack. They had it all planned out, they thought it would have been a swift win, they thought there would be no problems, but there was one trump card that Nightmare Moon had: Minty and Zecora. 
Bright Eyes swallowed hard. The odds had been against them before, but now that the enemy had two of their own wolves as prisoners… If she gave the order to attack now, they would be dead. A unicorn couldn't teleport and save them; that would be suicide. Flying in had the same issue. At this point, it was a stalemate.
Unless…
“Eclipse, I know of a way to buy Celestia and Lancer some time, but I’ll have to give myself up in order to do it,” she whispered.
"No. That's suicide. I can't allow you to do that." Eclipse whispered back.
“Any other options?”
"I can give myself up."
“And if Luna is restored, what will happen if she finds her mate dead?”
"And what if she finds her son crushed? Possibly dead by his own paw?"
“Right now, I’ll just have to take a gamble. If I should perish, it was a pleasure serving you.”
"Bright Eyes. Don't do this. The pack needs you. You are a strong leader, one that isn't an alicorn, I might add."
“And a leader would lay down her life if it is demanded of her as long as the pack is safe.”
"But that's just it. It wouldn't be safe."
“But it will buy the others time to get here, it will be worth it.”
"No it won't."
Bright Eyes stared at him for a few moments before saying, “If I should die, tell Lancer that we will one day meet again.” After she said that, she bolted for the other side.
“Bright Eyes, come back here right now! You’ll get yourself killed!”
But it was too late, Bright Eyes was already standing on the other side. It was even more frightening than she thought, but she had to do it. It was a good thing that she followed her instinct, because she noticed out of the corner of her eye a group of wolves walking up to the conflict. She looked and saw… them. 
There stood Celestia, Lancer, Lightning Thrash, Firefly, Wind Whistler, and Shining Armor, along with some new wolves that she had never seen before. Her eyes filled with glee when she turned to Eclipse and said, “I told you it would happen!” Unfortunately, what she did only opened herself to having Sombra pouncer her from behind and make a deep cut in her neck using one of his claw. To make matters worse, Sombra managed to cut an artery!
Lancer could barely hear himself as he started charging towards his dying friend yelling, “NO!”
He leapt towards Sombra, who was partly surprised, and Lancer managed to send a bolt of magic that was able to push Sombra and any shadow wolf around him away. He laid in front of Bright Eyes. "Bright Eyes… Please tell me you're okay? Please?"
“S-Sombra cut an artery. I don’t th-think I have much time.” She suddenly started coughing up blood.
“Just stay calm. We’ll get you some help, patched up no problem, right?”
“Lancer…” She tried to lift her head up. Luckily, Lancer’s head was low enough for her bloodstained lips to meet his. Lancer’s eyes widened at the sudden kiss, but he in turn accepted it. If only it could have lasted longer, but unfortunately… her body went limp, and Lancer could no longer feel her breath. For what seemed like an hour, Lancer cried into her fur.
> Reunion Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 6

About a few minutes passed, but to Lancer, it felt like hours. The one wolf that he truly loved was dead, killed by Sombra. Nothing would have been able to lift the sorrow from his shoulders. Not only that, but his friends… No, the entire pack would be forced to deal with this loss.
Soon, Lancer finally finished crying, he looked up at Sombra, who was...smiling.
Smiling?
Smiling?!
SMILING?!
Lancer’s sorrow was replaced with pure rage. It felt as if there was another side to him, but at this point, he didn’t care. There was no call for what Sombra did… He needed to pay. 
Without warning, Lancer leaped towards Sombra and sunk his claws deep in Sombra’s flesh. The force of Lancer’s jump managed to knock Sombra off his feet and Lancer stood on top of him. “What are you smiling at?! That was a life you killed! She did not deserve to die, and yet you took her life out of cold blood! Now you’re going to join her!”
“You don’t have the guts.” Sombra sneered.
Lancer snarled and placed his jaws at Sombra’s throat. “You won’t have any guts when I’m done with you.”
Just then, a blast of magic threw Lancer off of Sombra. Once Lancer had recovered, he looked up to see Nightmare Moon standing close to Sombra. “You will get no closer to him,” she said.
Lancer stood up, “I’ll deal with you later, demon. Sombra is mine.”
“Is that any way to talk to your mother?”
“You aren’t my mother; my mother is the wolf you possessed! I want you out of my life!”
“I’ll always be in your life, Lancer.”
Lancer had had enough; he charged his horn and fired a huge bolt at Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon was launched several yards backwards.  Lancer’s paws began to give off a gold aura. “What on earth…?” He questioned aloud.
Nightmare noticed that he was distracted and decided to take advantage of that opening. She approached Lancer quietly, and was about to leap, when Lancer leapt at her. He managed to scratch at Nightmare’s chest, resulting in a small bit of her fur falling off, almost as if it were a shell… “Is that the best you can-” Suddenly, another patch of fur fell off, then another, then another. “What in the world?”
Lancer then spread both of his wings and took to the skies. He blasted Nightmare Moon again. It sent her on back, and more scorched fur flew off. Then Lancer closed his eyes. He focused all of his emotion into one attack. Because of this, his fur was completely gold.  “Now you’ll PAY!”
Lancer’s horn gave of an incredibly bright light, sending a beam at Nightmare Moon. Nightmare tried to dodge it, but it was no use. Nightmare was consumed by the beam. As the beam started to recede, the gold glow that Lancer’s fur had changed back to blue. He started to feel tired, so tired that once he landed, he passed out.
******
Rarity was laying in her own bed with Fluttershy sitting close by. Rarity glanced at her Pegasus friend, "Fluttershy, have you ever thought about settling down with someone? And maybe...start a family?"
"Why do you ask?"
"You just seem like a wolf that would make for a wonderful mother."
Fluttershy blushed. "Thank you Rarity... To be honest, I would like a family of my own, pups to look after, a mate to be at my side...but I'm happy the way my life is now, too."
“But still, I hope you find someone.”
"Thank you… and I hope you find someone as well… especially with your pup on the way."
As if on cue, Rarity began to feel a sharp pain in her stomach. "Ooh! Bad choice of words darling…”
"Oh, I'm sorry..." Fluttershy blushed.
“Well don’t just stand there! Get Megan now!”
"Huh? Wait, the pup's-"
“Hurry!”
Fluttershy bolted in the direction she could smell Megan. Eventually she found her in the medical room, looking after Twilight and Comet. "Megan!" Fluttershy panted. "Rarity is going into labor!"
Megan shot up. “She has?!”
Fluttershy nodded.
Megan bolted out the door and ran towards Rarity’s room. She was obviously in pain. “Rarity, do you think you can hold it till we get to the medical room?”
“I think so,” Rarity answered.
Megan scooped her up and walked quickly back to the med room. Rarity was panting hard, but managed to ask, “Megan? I would like Fluttershy to stay. She’s done a lot for me and-” Rarity cringed from pain, “It only feels right, but only if she wants to.”
“Well...if you’re sure.”
“I am.” 
Megan finally arrived at the medical room. There, she set Rarity on a table and glanced at everyone there, “I’ll need you all to leave, except Fluttershy.”
Comet, Twilight, Spike, and Stargazer exited the room while Fluttershy remained behind. “Why do you want me to stay?”
“Because you’ve done so much for me,” Rarity managed to reply, “You were my best friend through my- Oh...my!” Rarity suddenly screamed.
“Easy Rarity,” Megan cautioned. “You’ll be okay. Take some deep breaths.”
Rarity did as Megan said, but she was in serious pain.
“That’s it…”
*****
Lancer found himself gazing into a dark void. ‘Am I dead?’ He asked mentally.
“No,” a feminine voice said.
Lancer looked for the feminine voice, and saw Nightmare Moon standing a few yards away from him. “Then what happened?”
“You forced my dark shell from Luna.” 
“You mean...my mom is okay?”
“For now, but when I return…”
“Then maybe I should make sure you don’t return.”
Nightmare gave a laugh. “Nothing you can do will ever get rid of me.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“Would you like it to be?” Nightmare Moon’s horn began to glow.
Lancer’s horn started to glow as well.
Both wolves charged at each other, and when they finally reached each other, Lancer directed his horn straight for his rival’s heart, but Nightmare Moon was ready, and pushed him away with her paw. “Is that the best you have?” Nightmare Moon scoffed.
Lancer growled and shot a beam at her. It hit her in the snout and sent her to the ground. “Is that the best you have?” Lancer asked, standing up.
Nightmare Moon growled, and charged at him again. Lancer spread his wings and flew up, dodging the attack. He then used his horn to fire another beam, but Nightmare Moon deflected it with her own blast, then fired another which hit Lancer and sent him to the ground. Once he recovered, he saw Nightmare Moon’s snarling face just before he felt a piercing pain in his neck. Lancer soon found himself beneath Nightmare Moon on his back, her paws pinning him to the ground. “Have you had enough now?” Nightmare Moon asked, out of breath.
“Not by a longshot,” Lancer replied. He lowered his head and blasted Nightmare Moon’s face with his horn, this sent Nightmare Moon onto her back. Lancer took advantage of the opportunity and pinned her to the floor, while also making sure to clamp down on her neck so she wouldn’t pull the same trick on him. Nightmare smiled. “You may have won in your dream, but you will never destroy me in the real world.” With that, Nightmare Moon vanished in a puff of smoke.
Lancer stood back up, and soon heard a voice calling him. It sounded a bit like Nightmare Moon, but calmer, and much more gentle. It also sounded...sad. “Lancer? Lancer please wake up. We all need you so much.”
It was his mom.
*****
Lancer awoke to see his mother looking over him. Her kind blue eyes were now filled with tears. But when she saw Lancer was awake, her eyes widened before she nuzzled his neck. “Oh Lancer, thank goodness you’re alright.”
“Ye- yeah…” Lancer said, “Did I…”
“You were knocked unconscious by Nightmare Moon… But I don't want to relive the past right now. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“I’m glad you’re okay, too Mom...but I just wish…”
“You wish what?”
“I wish Bright Eyes were still here.”
“About that…” Luna went away from Lancer for a few moments, then came back with another wolf. She was aquamarine, but there were a set of wings and a horn. She also had those same pink eyes as… No, it couldn’t be, could it?
“Hello, Lancer,” the wolf smiled.
Lancer bolted to his paws. He knew that voice anywhere. “Bright Eyes?”
She nodded.
“But...how?”
Bright Eyes cleared her throat- and spread her new wings. “You have your mother to thank for this.”
Lancer looked at his mother, “You revived her as an Alicorn?”
“I have. I figured that she had earned it.”
“So… you did the same thing that Celestia did for Twilight?”
Luna tilted her head.
“Aunt Celestia went into...some place...and brought Twilight and Stargazer back as an Alicorn after Nightmare Moon killed them.”
“I see… Well, that is what I did to get Bright Eyes back.”
Lancer smiled. “Thank you.”
“After seeing what you meant to each other… I couldn’t just let her die without trying.”
Lancer and Bright Eyes blushed.
“Would you like me to leave you two alone?” Luna asked.
“I think that would be nice,” Lancer said.
Luna nodded and left the two wolves alone.
“So… I heard from Eclipse that you lead in Mom’s place. Is that true?”
“Yes, Eclipse said that I was suitable enough after breaking up a huge argument during a meeting.”
“Wow, you did?”
“Yeah…” Bright Eyes blushed, “But now I’m glad your parents are in charge.”
“Maybe, but I wish I had been able to see you when you took Mom’s place.”
“Well...I doubt I did a good job.”
“I’m pretty sure you did.” Lancer grinned. “I mean the pack’s still alive. Surely you did something right.”
“Well...I guess… But I’m not sure I should run out and...get myself...killed...again… I never really thought I’d say that…”
“Well, at least you’ll have a few more tricks up your fur.”
“Maybe…” Bright Eyes pawed at the ground, “So...mind if I ask where you were while you were...well, ‘dead’?”
“Well… I was in a human shelter.”
“I see...and you found Twilight there?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
“Just now you mentioned someone named ‘Stargazer’...who’s that?”
“That’s Twilight’s pup. When she died, her pup came back with her.”
“Really? Where are they?”
“Twilight and Comet are back at the shelter taking care of Stargazer.”
“Oh… Do you think I could see them soon?”
“Maybe...I’d have to ask Celestia how she did that portal spell.”
“Okay.”
“But you have to meet Megan.”
“Is she a human?”
“Yes, but surprisingly, she’s the only one who can understand us.”
“She understands us?”
“Yup, it’s cuz she has this necklace that let’s her talk to us.”
“A necklace? Does it have some sort of magical properties?”
“Yes.”
“Huh… I think I’ll have to ask Zecora about it.”
“Okay. But Twilight looked at it and even she didn’t know what it was, and yet when Aunt Celestia looked at it...”
“What?”
“Nevermind. Maybe it’s just me.
“What is it?”
Lancer took a breath. “She seemed to know what it is.”
“Then maybe we should ask her.”
“We will, but right now, I would much rather rest.”
“Oh, okay, I understand. Do you want me to leave?”
“No, not yet.”
“I see...well…” Bright Eyes lay down next to Lancer, “May I rest with you?”
“You may. Oh and one more thing.”
“Yes?”
Without warning, Lancer kissed Bright Eyes. This caused Bright Eyes cheeks to burn red, and she smiled shyly, before she kissed him back. Lancer smiled, “Just wanted to return the favor.”
“Thank you.”
******
After a long half an hour of excruciating pain, Rarity’s pup had finally come into the world. He was a grey pegasus pup. Rarity nuzzled the pup lovingly. He was so small, but Rarity couldn’t help but love him. He looked so much like his father. If only he were here to see his son. 
“He’s really cute.”
Rarity suddenly looked up from her son to see Fluttershy hovering near her. “Oh, Fluttershy, I forgot you were here.”
“Oh, it’s alright. I can go if you want.”
“No…it’s alright. I just-” She glanced at her pup, “I never could have imagined how wonderful this all is.”
“Having a pup?”
“Yes… Don’t get me wrong, going through labor was one of the most painful things I’ve ever gone through, but it was definitely worth it.”
“Oh I’m sure it was. It would also be wonderful if he had a name.”
“Oh...yes… I had completely forgotten about that. I already had it picked out already after Brainstorm had died…”
“What is it?”
“Lionheart.”
Fluttershy gave Rarity an odd look.
“I have my reasons… Before I came here, a kind mountain lion helped me, he got me food, brought me into his pride and treated me as one of them. They even protected me from a bear attack.”
“Wow…”
“Yes… Not all lions are bad.”
“Hmm… That’s interesting.”
A small whimper could be heard from Lionheart. Rarity looked to her pup and knew what he wanted. “Excuse me Fluttershy, I-”
“I understand, I’ll leave you two alone.” Fluttershy smiled, then flew out of the room.
Rarity merely shook her head and laughed.
******
Celestia looked over her pack. Everyone was finally safe, but for how long will that peace last? Nightmare Moon is still out there looking for another host, someone angry, hurt, jealous, lustful, hurt...it would be far too easy. Even if Nightmare were out of the picture, there was still Sombra, and he was just as big of a threat if not more powerful. But for now, they all needed to rest and celebrate not only Luna’s return, but the birth of Twilight's daughter, Twilight’s ascension to beta, and the return of Firefly's daughter. What a day this has been!
> Education Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Education
Chapter 1


Bright Eyes looked up at the sky nervously. “I-I don’t know, Lancer… Maybe we should just go through the motions again.”

“But we’ve been through it six times,” Lancer pointed out, “I think you should be pretty familiar with the motions.”

“And if something goes wrong?”

“Then I’ll catch you.”

Bright Eyes blushed slightly, “Um… Well…”

“Just try to focus on getting off the ground,” Lancer suggested, “and landing on your paws.”

Bright Eyes swallowed, and flapped her new wings once- nothing.

“Try a running start. And be more confident about it.” Lancer motioned across the grassy clearing they were in to the other side, which was a good distance away.

“Um… O-okay…” Bright Eyes huffed, then started running, pumping her wings nervously as she did so. She continued running and flapping her wings.

Soon enough she finally built up enough courage to try. She jumped and started to feel herself rising above the ground. “Yes!” she barked, “I’m doing it! I’m-” She looked down and saw a yellow aura underneath her. She immediately glared at Lancer and stopped flapping her wings.

“What?” Lancer asked, taken aback. “I was just helping you out.”

“By lifting me with magic?”

“At least you’d be able to get the feel of it.”

“But how am I supposed to learn with your pushing me with magic?”

“Didn’t your parents use magic to help you walk?”

“Lancer, my parents were earth wolves. We didn’t use magic.”

Lancer bit his lip, “Oh, uh… I forgot…”

“Your parents used magic for you?”

“Pretty much…”

“Well you can’t just pamper me like this,” Bright Eyes barked harshly, “now will you let me down!”

Lancer sighed, “Fine,” He brought Bright Eyes down to the ground.

Bright Eyes didn’t say anything, but rather flicked her tail angrily as she left.

“Great…”

Luna was walking toward Lancer. She wanted to check up on the two wolves to see how the learning session was progressing, only to find Lancer standing there, alone. She sat by him and put a wing over his back. “Is everything alright, Lancer?” she asked softly.

“Not really… Do you think I blew it with Bright Eyes?”

“Well… I don’t know what you did…” Luna confessed.

“Oh… Well, I was teaching Bright Eyes flying, and when she got up there, I tried to help her using magic, you know, like dad and you did for me with-”

“Lancer… She didn’t grow up like you did; she was brought up differently.”

“I know that now, but she never grew up with wings either,” Lancer replied in a defeated voice.

“Yes, but she’s been learning how to do things on her own. You’ll just have to trust her.”

“But what if she gets hurt?”

“Then she’ll just be more careful the next time.”

“But I don’t want her to get hurt, I just-”

“Maybe someone else should teach Bright Eyes.”

“No, that’s not necessary.”

“Your feelings for her are clearly clouding your judgement.” Luna stood up. “I’ll see if Firefly would be willing to teach Bright Eyes.”

And with that, Luna walked off.

Lancer made a swipe at the ground. “Yup. I blew it.”

******

Bright Eyes walked through the forest to a stream Twilight had showed her some months back. Sometimes she’d find the older wolf at that peaceful spot, sometimes watching the stones in the river. She hoped that maybe Twilight would be there now.

Unfortunately, when she’d arrived, the normally warm rocks were devoid of the purple wolf, and by extension any other wolves. She went to the bank of the stream and sat down. She sighed. Twilight was probably looking after Stargazer or trying to figure out her new form, as well. Of course she wouldn’t be here.

Bright Eyes lay down and started thinking about Lancer. He had meant well, but he was treating her like a puppy, and not a full grown wolf. It’d be a good lesson for him to learn, she assured herself as she averted her gaze towards the rushing water. He needed to know she was perfectly capable of doing things without his aid.

“Howdy do, howdy do, HOWDEE doo. What’s up, my little wolf?”

Bright Eyes looked back and instantly tried to back away, falling into the stream in the process.  She quickly scrambled out and shook off before looking at the source of the voice. What she saw was a tall, scrawny human. He was wearing black pants, black shoes, a white button-up shirt, and a white lab coat. He had black hair with a white streak running through it. His goatee on the other hand was completely grey.

Of all the times she would have wanted to fly, this would be one of those times. She had this feeling about the human that was confronting her, something that she wanted to stay far away from. She half-expected a dart to knock her out, just as it did Twilight, but nothing happened. Still, her neck fur bristled threateningly. Her lips curled up to reveal her sharp teeth. She may not know how to control her wings or magic, but she was not going to let this human take her.

“Now is that any way to treat a visitor,” the human asked, “or do you wolves really have no manners?”

“Well, if some strange creature snuck up on you like that, you’d do the same thing,” Bright Eyes growled thinking that he wasn’t going to understand her. However…

“So you mean to tell me that I, Dr. Discord am a strange creature. Sounds to me like you’ve never seen a human before.”

Once again, Bright Eyes nearly collapsed. “Y-You can understand me?!” She heard about how Megan was able to understand the wolves, but it required a mystic necklace. So how was this guy able to understand her?

“Of course! Why, I’ve dedicated my life to studying animals, and talking to them, as well as understanding them, is my greatest achievement.”

“Still, why should I blindly trust you?”

“Wouldn’t you want the key to having wolves and humans get along with each other?”

“What makes you think I don’t already?”

“You know, a lot of humans can’t even stand the sight of wolves.”

“A lot, but not all.”

“But wouldn’t you like a lot to like you?”

“Yes, but-”

“Then what are you waiting for?”

“How can I know I can trust you?”

“How can you know you can’t?”

“You said it yourself: ‘Humans hate us’.”

“I did say that, didn’t I,” Discord said stroking his goatee, “But I don’t hate you.”

Bright Eyes sighed, he was able to talk to her, that didn’t mean he hated wolves, right? Maybe she should take him up on his offer. “I’ll think about it…”

The doctor sighed, “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, same time, same channel!”

“Huh?”

It was too late; he was already gone.

“Okay… that was odd…” Bright Eyes immediately started to walk back towards the pack. She was still mad at Lancer for what happened earlier. Besides, Zecora would probably be more suited to answer her questions...

******

Lightning Thrash was flying way towards Megan’s wolf shelter. He was going over to help escort some of the wolves to his pack. Some of the wolves decided that they wanted to go with Rainbow Dash, since they saw her as a friend. It was still pretty crazy that she is actually the daughter of one of the wolves in his pack, but still. 

It wasn’t going to be an easy escort, considering one of the wolves had a young pup, but as he landed near a small pile of rocks, he figured he could handle it. How hard could it be?

A sudden clap of thunder erupted above him. “Oh, great!” he spat as he sped up towards the shelter. So much for this being easy.

*****
Spike watched Rarity as she played with Lionheart from his point inside the shelter. He couldn’t admit it to anyone, he didn’t want to know how anyone would react. It was his darkest secret... 

He was a mountain lion, who had a crush on a wolf.

Both creatures were often at each other’s throats, how would a relationship work?

But… when he’d first seen her, despite being pregnant, she was elegant. And now that he was watching her play with her pup, she looked even more beautiful. Her smile... her eyes… It was just too much. And that said nothing of her generous heart and her beautiful voice...

CRA-BOOM!

All three jumped at the sound of lightning striking the ground. Lionheart gave a startled whimper as his face was buried in her chest. Rarity mouthed something to her pup before nuzzling his head. She quickly ran inside with Lionheart safe in her magic.

Spike, meanwhile, dealt with his neck fur spiking up. That thunder! The rain had come out of NOWHERE.

******

Fluttershy was laying on Megan’s bed. The storm outside and the fact that Megan wasn’t back were beginning to scare her. What if she was driving home and the car wrecked or something?! Or it broke down and she was standing out there in the rain?!

Or maybe she was just looking after her friends as they left for Twilight’s pack.

That’s probably all it was. She needed to stop worrying over every little thing. She jumped off the bed and went over to Megan’s window. She then got on her hind legs and peeked out the window to see if she could spot Megan’s car.

CRA-BOOM!

She immediately ducked under the bed. She started to whimper, “Why’d she have to go? She knew it was going to rain.” She sighed. Maybe she should just keep her mind off Megan. Just think about life… or something.

She slowly got out from underneath the bed and wandered downstairs. She could hear Danny and Molly watching TV, and smelled some nice food coming from the kitchen, most likely Megan’s grandmother making lunch. Among all of the other foods being cooked, there was bacon. She loved the rich smell of the stuff, but she knew that it would be a terrible idea to eat it. She could also smell lettuce, tomatoes, and bread, but they didn’t smell as appetizing.

She started to head back to Megan’s room, but she heard someone call her name. She glanced in the direction of the voice and saw Danny standing in the doorway. She began to cautiously walk towards Danny, but lightning struck again, causing her to yelp quietly.

“It’s alright, Fluttershy,” Danny said in an appeasing tone, approaching the frightened wolf, “You’ll be fine.”

Fluttershy looked at Danny. ‘Maybe he’s right...’

She moved closer to him, her feathers starting to close back up, though her fur was still standing on end. But when she reached him, Danny lay a hand on her back and started petting her. Fluttershy started to calm down, but the shock was still frightening…

Megan finally walked inside, shedding her raincoat upon entry. Fluttershy ran to Megan and jumped on her. “Whoa, easy Fluttershy,” Megan told the wolf.

Fluttershy jumped down, grinning sheepishly. “Oh, I’m sorry. I was just so worried about you in that storm.”

“Well, I’m here now, so there’s no need to worry.” Megan smiled and gave Fluttershy a quick scratch between her ears.

Fluttershy was unaware of how fast her tail was wagging, “Are the others doing alright?”

“They’re fine, but I think I’ll have to postpone letting them go to the pack because of the storm.”

“I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

“Yeah…” Megan rubbed the back of her neck, nervously.

Fluttershy sensed her uneasiness, “What’s wrong?”

“Oh nothing… Just can’t believe it’s time to let them go.”

“Yeah...I’ll really miss them…” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Me too.” Megan sighed, “But we can’t keep them forever, they need to be in their natural habitat.”

“Yeah… But there is this one thing that I’m still confused about.”

Megan raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“You say that all of the wolves need to be in their natural habitat, yet why do you keep me?”