David Kessler has woken up to find himself no longer in London, but still cursed. Will the inhabitants of this new world be able to help, or will the curse spread to all of them?
It truly wasn't supposed to be like this. The curse was supposed to be gone, Jack was supposed to be freed, but it didn't happen that way. He had saved Alex by charging the police, but now David finds that he's not even in London anymore. he isn't dead, or at least he doesn't think he is. The one up thing, if it could be considered up, is that Jack is right there with him. his one hope is that perhaps someone in this new world will be able to help him. Perhaps they can find a way of stopping the curse, or at the very least find a way of containing him so he won't get out and hurt anyone.
Follow David as he enters Equestria and embarks on a strange new journey.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 1 – Well, this is new.
(London England – West End Alleyway – 1981)
“Please, David… It’s me… I want to help you,” Alex said.
Her slender frame walked closer toward the growling beast in the alleyway.
“Let me help,” she pleaded.
The creature let out a god awful howl and bared its fangs, but it wasn’t at the girl. Behind her was hundreds of police men. All of them armed to the teeth, and all of them ready to kill him and any poor soul that happened to be in the alley with him. He rushed forward, his large paw striking her on the side slightly pushing her out of the way as the bullets ripped into his fur. He howled in pain and fell. Moments later his body began to change. The large wolf began to morph back into the shape of a man.
The police sergeant on duty looked at the happening, shook his head, and walked toward the girl. He pulled his trench coat off and draped it around her shoulders.
“David no!!!!! God NO!” she cried.
(Equestria – Everfree Forest – Present Day)
“David! David! Damn it wake up!!!!” Jack shouted.
David groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He looked toward the rotting corpse of his now going on three month deceased friend Jack Goodman. If Jack’s face could still make a scowl it would be. The specter walked around the forest for a few minutes and then looked back at his friend.
“Okay, what in the holy hell happened?! I mean you went out in a blaze of unholy glory, so why am I still a walking, rotting, specter corpse thing?!” Jack shouted.
“I don’t know… Jack… what happened? Did… did I kill anyone else?” David asked.
“Kill anyone else? David, that entire group of people watching that porno were killed in less than three minutes. I’m fairly sure that you took out at least ten cops, and that’s not counting the ones that died because of traffic accidents,” Jack replied.
“So where are they?” he asked.
“That’s actually a pretty good question. They should be around here somewhere,” Jack said.
“Jack, where am I? This doesn’t look like London,” David said.
He stood, slowly. There was snow on the ground, but that wasn’t the only problem. Once again he found himself to be completely naked. A quick look around assured him that he wouldn’t have the chance to steal some balloons and cover himself. Instead, he was standing in ankle deep snow, in the middle of a dimly lit forest, with his undead friend for company. He looked around the area. There had to be some kind of sign of where he could be.
“David, just lay down and go to sleep,” Jack said.
“No, Jack it didn’t work before,” David replied.
David felt the cold biting into his skin. There had to be something he could do. In truth he would just about traded anything for his parka, jeans, and old gray NYU shirt. The feel of cold air blasted him again, and he began to shiver. He walked a little bit and rubbed his arms.
“Blue moon, you saw me standing alone,” he started to sing.
“Really? You’re going to sing that? I mean a werewolf singing about the moon?” Jack asked in a semi mocking tone.
“Damn it Jack I’ve got to keep moving,” he replied.
“Yeah, you got to keep moving. David, you know what’s going to happen soon don’t you? You’re going to change. I don’t know where you are, but if you kill anyone you’re going to make more people like me,” Jack said.
“I know… Maybe they can lock me up,” David said.
“That worked so well last time,” Jack said rolling his eyes.
“I don’t know… I mean I got shot, I should be dead,” David said.
“I know, and I don’t know why it didn’t work,” Jack replied.
The sound of woods began to pick up again and David noticed a little hut in the distance. He walked a few more steps, but everything was feeling numb. His legs had lost all feeling in them. He tried to step a few more steps forward and fell onto his face.
“Jesus, it’s cold…” he said.
“Sort of makes you miss the Slaughtered Lamb right?” Jack asked taking a seat beside him.
“Yeah, it was warm in there,” he replied.
“Plus you weren’t buck naked either. You know… I can see why Alex liked you so much. I guess that I’m lucky Debbie Kline never really got to know you too well,” Jack joked.
David shivered and tried to rub his arms, but they were just too cold.
“You’re still wasting all of that energy on someone with a mediocre mind and a fair body?” he asked.
“There was nothing mediocre about that body,” Jack said laughing.
“Jack… I’m going to die here aren’t I?” he asked.
“It looks that way buddy. It’s not so bad though. I mean you could have gotten torn apart by a werewolf. Trust me, that’s got to be one of the worst ways to go,” Jack said.
“I’m sorry Jack… I’m sorry for everything,” he said.
Jack turned toward him. The small patch of flesh on his face showing an arched eyebrow that looked like he was surprised. Well surprised and concerned.
“David, it’s not your fault. Hell, if I wouldn’t have carried on about that damned pentagram in the Slaughtered Lamb we wouldn’t be here,” Jack said.
“Why did you do that?” David asked.
“I was just being my normal smart-ass self. You know how I am man,” Jack replied.
He nodded. He knew exactly how Jack was, and it didn’t surprise him at all. His vision began to get darker. In truth, he wondered if he would ever really see anything again. Maybe this was the easiest way for it to end though. He would just go to sleep. His eyes closed and he could barely hear the sound of something walking through the snow.
“Maybe it’s not over yet buddy,” Jack whispered.
(Zecora’s hut – two hours later)
Zecora looked at Twilight who looked over the strange pink ape looking thing laying under a pile of blankets.
“What is it?” Twilight asked.
“Many strange things I’ve seen in the Everfree, but nothing so strange as he!” Zecora replied.
“Jack…” David moaned in his sleep.
“He speaks? I’ve heard creatures squawk and squeak, but I never expected to see something so strange speak,” Zecora said.
“We should get him to Ponyville. I don’t doubt that you could take care of him here Zecora, but we don’t know if he’s dangerous, and I wouldn’t want to leave you alone with him,” Twilight said.
Zecora nodded. The two of them looked at the strange creature before them. He looked peaceful enough while he was sleeping, but they did discover a small set of canine teeth in his maw. That was more than enough to decide that he was omnivore. It wasn’t a terrible thing, after all Griffins were omnivores as well, but it was a little unsettling. Twilight studied him a bit more intently. Knowing that he could talk, that he was capable of speech brought a whole new set of questions to the proverbial table.
She flexed her wings and studied the creature a little more.
“How heavy was he?” Twilight asked.
“Not so heavy was he, but long and odd to carry,” she answered.
“I think that I’ll get Applejack and Rainbow Dash to help us carry him into town, and then we’ll see about getting him into the hospital,” she said.
Zecora nodded and began working on a few potions.
“Alone with him fine I will be, have no fear, dear friend, for me,” Zecora said.
“Okay, I’ll be back in an hour at the most,” Twilight said as she opened the door and spread her wings. She lifted into the air and began to head toward Ponyville.
Zecora closed the door and looked at the sleeping creature again. She walked toward it and studied him a little more closely.
“Jack… I’m sorry…” he whimpered.
She listened as he talked in his sleep. It was mutterings, a few words of what had to be complex sentences. This creature was indeed intelligent. She walked over toward where her potions were and began mixing a few herbs together. As a paste they would help relieve him of the hypothermia he was suffering. She started to dab the paste on him when she felt a sudden chill in the air. She started to do it again, and the same chill appeared. She put her other hoof toward him and nothing happened, but when she moved to place the paste on him the chill reappeared. Her eyes narrowed and she walked toward the potions she had. She took out a book and studied it for a moment before mixing together a fine dust from a set of herbs. She blew the dust into the air and said a few words in her native language. For a moment nothing happened, and then an outline appeared.
She could see that it looked similar to the creature. The outline began to take shape, fill in where it had been transparent, and then it became fully in her view. She recoiled at it. The thing was rotting. It was like him, but there was no doubt in her mind that it was dead. This thing she was facing had to be dead for some time. Her eyes studied it for several seconds before it finally moved. It seemed to take note that she was following it and then it did something she didn’t expect. It laughed.
“Oh my God you can see me can’t you?!” it exclaimed.
“What are you, and what do you do?” she asked.
“My name is Jack Goodman, the guy lying in your bed is my good friend David Kessler. As for what do I do… I guess that right now I wait for David to die so the curse can be lifted,” Jack said.
She studied him and shook her head.
“It is you who keeps me from treating him, true?” she asked.
“That wouldn’t treat him. I don’t know how I know, but there’s wolf’s bane in there. If you use that it’s going to turn real ugly real quick,” he said.
“Wolf’s bane does not cause harm, there is no cause for alarm,” she said.
She studied him as he walked. His bones creaked and popped as he found a place to sit down. He shook his head and looked at David.
“For most things it doesn’t cause any harm, but for a werewolf… Oh, it unleashes the beast inside,” he said.
She looked at David again and then back at his friend. She shook her head and waved a fan in the air. The dust began to drift out and Jack began to disappear.
“Wait! No, it’s so boring without someone to talk to…” he said.
His voice trailed off to barely a whisper and then it was all but gone. She walked back to David and touched his forehead. If what that thing had said was true then they had bigger problems than finding out what to do with him. They had the problem of having a creature that had not been in anywhere in their world for several hundred years.
“If what he says is true, if the wolf is you, then my friend there may be nothing we can do,” she said.
(2 hours later – Zecora’s hut)
Applejack looked at Twilight as they neared the door. It opened slightly and there before them was Zecora who was busy making a collection of potions. They began to walk toward the creature before she stopped them.
“No, my friends, he may be dangerous in the end,” she said.
Twilight looked at her and then at the creature.
“He’s sleeping. How can he dangerous?”
At that moment David opened his eyes and groaned.
“Where am I?” he asked.
He slowly sat up. He had heard voices in the room a few moments ago. He looked to see where the voices were coming from and saw three different colored ponies and a zebra. His eyes widened at the sight.
“Sir, our friend found you out in the snow,” the purple one said.
He shook his head, looked at them again, and then fell back.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 2 – Night Terrors and Sweet Dreams
(Ponyville Hospital – Room 237 – Six hours later)
Nurse Redheart looked at the sleeping creature. From what she had heard it was intelligent, but it had become disoriented, confused, and attempted to escape from Zecora’s hut out in the Everfree before they brought it here. Zecora had created a mixture which knocked it out, and once it was unconscious they had brought the poor being here to be treated. So far it seemed that it had suffered a near fatal bout of hypothermia, but it seemed to be doing well. There were a few scars on its chest and face that resembled timber wolf attacks, but the strange circular scars on its chest were confusing. She had never seen anything like those before. She walked near it and gently touched its forehead.
“I bet you’ve been through a great deal huh?” she asked.
“Yeah, and right now I’m about ten minutes away from going home, so do me a favor and be good,” she whispered.
She looked up at the sky, the wintery weather was slowly picking up, blowing all around, and it looked like it was going to be a huge storm. It was a shame that they wouldn’t be able to see the moon tonight. That was one of the things she loved to see was the moon. Luna always went out of her way to make the moon beautiful. She sighed and began to walk out when the creature whimpered.
“No, Alex… run…” he moaned.
She raised an eyebrow and touched him again.
“Run… get away,” he moaned again.
She pressed the call button and a moment later the doctor walked in.
“What it is Nurse Redheart?” he asked.
“Doctor, he’s calling out in his sleep,” she said.
“hmmm, that’s not unusual, but our new Princess did say that if he said anything to call her. Go ahead and contact her. I’ll keep watch over him,” the Doctor said.
The doctor waited until Nurse Redheart was gone before he looked back at the creature.
“What kind of dreams is that you have?” he asked.
Unknown to the doctor, or anyone else inside of the hospital, David was facing something unspeakable. He watched as four demonic creatures gathered the creatures that had found him, and began ripping them to pieces. They screamed, but unlike last time there wasn’t anything holding him back. He ran forward and knocked one of the creatures away from the purple one. It howled and the other creatures stopped their attack and focused on him.
“No!” David shouted.
They began to circle him.
“Damn it I won’t let you hurt anyone again!” he screamed.
“They began to howl, and instead of walking on their hind legs they dropped to all four. Their faces were still horrifying parodies of what he assumed his wolf form must look like, but at least they were leaving these poor creatures alone.
“I won’t go through this again,” he said.
A figure walked out of the darkness from behind him. He felt it near him, stand next to him and finally he turned to see it. It was another horse or pony, but this one was the color of midnight. It’s mane and tail seemed to be composed of the night sky and it studied the creatures ahead of it.
“They’ve ran wild in thy dreams David,” she said.
“What are you? Where am I? What in the hell is going on?” he asked.
“I am Princess Luna and I am the one responsible for the rising of the moon, the night sky, and watching over my subjects' dreams. Thou are in Equestria, and as for what is going on.. It would appear that thou have the attention of thy other self,” she said.
It growled at her, but for the moment all four demonic wolves seemed to be resting on the floor. Suddenly the four creatures they attacked began screaming in pain. The purple one cried out as fangs began to grow in her maw. Her hooves began to break apart, bones and muscle began to grow out of them making paws instead of hooves.
“HELP ME!!!!” she screamed as her chest began to break apart and extend.
“Oh God no… Please God no…” he whispered.
“This is something thou fear isn’t it?” Luna asked.
He couldn’t answer. Instead all of these creatures, the same creatures that had helped him, were screaming in agonizing pain as they transformed into werewolves. He made himself watch the horror unfolding in front of him. He forced himself to see them decend into the same madness he went into when he transformed. The pain he felt, the absolute horror of having every bone break, rebuild and stretch to match the new form. He looked at the demonic wolves who were now sitting on their haunches watching the transformation with him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
The purple one looked at him. Her eyes looked frightened, pain filled, and uncertain. He took a step toward them. The demonic wolves growled, but they didn’t move. He heard the one that had been wearing the Stetson hat let out a long scream that turned into a vicious howl.
“This is my fault,” he said.
The demonic wolves moved toward him. They weren’t attacking, but instead they seemed to be circling him.
“It is not thy fault David,” Luna said.
He turned toward her.
“Look at this! Look at what’s happening to them! I brought this here!” he screamed.
“Yes, but it hasn’t happened. This hasn’t happened,” she said.
The hut disappeared along with the pony like creatures with it. He turned back toward the Princess and watched as something else formed. He could smell coffee brewing and looked around to see them in his home in New York. He looked to see the demonic wolves, but they weren’t here. Instead it was just his old home. He walked around for a moment before he focused on the counter. He walked over to it and found a mug. Without a second thought he poured a cup of coffee into it and took a drink.
It was harsh and hot. Basically, it meant his mother had made the coffee instead of his father. He took another drink and looked back at the Princess as she looked around the home.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I couldn’t stand to see my subjects going through that anymore. It may have only been a dream, but it was too vivid,” she said.
The sound of something banging on the door caught both of their attention. Luna turned toward it surprised. She had brought them out of the previous dream, and it appeared that something had followed them.
“Don’t answer it,” David said.
The words had barely left his mouth before the door burst open. He expected to see the demonic wolves in an almost human form, dressed as Nazis, rushing in and destroying everything. Instead it was the four creatures from the hut that had been turned. All of them were no longer the pony like creatures, but instead they had become wolves. It was odd that they still had the same coloring they had in the hut.
The purple one was still purple; the one that had worn the Stetson cowboy had was orange with blond on its head and its tail. The cyan one had a rainbow of color on its head and tail and then there was the zebra. They all growled and began walking toward both of them.
“This is not thy fault,” Luna said again.
He could tell the urgency in her voice.
“I brought this here,” he said again.
“Thou may have brought this here, but it has not happened yet! Thou have not harmed anyone, and thou wishes not to harm anyone! This is not thy fault!” she shouted.
He shook his head. He wanted to believe that he was blameless, but that wasn’t really true. Even if this hadn’t happened yet the potential was there. He had the potential of passing this curse on to other beings, and he didn’t want to do it. He didn’t want to curse anyone else to go through what he had already gone through.
“David, thou must realize this is not thy doing!” she shouted.
The cyan wolf howled and flexed its wings. He looked at it, and at the others. Before they could attack he walked toward them. He knelt down and looked at the purple one. She growled silently at him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want this to happen. I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” he said.
The expression on its face softened. The others in the room circled him and he stood up. He looked at them all as they seemed to study him.
“I will try to keep this from happening,” he said.
The four of them began to disappear and after a few seconds they were gone. Luna breathed out a sigh and walked toward him.
“What happens now is up to thou David,” she said.
He put a hand on her shoulder and she stopped. She looked back at him questioningly.
“Thank you, and if you really control the night… Do you have to make full moons?” he asked.
She laughed and smiled.
“They are needed. If they were not needed I would gladly keep them from appearing, but they help ensure certain things happen the way they must. David, take this dream and keep it close to thyself. It has revealed a great deal to thou, and perhaps thou can learn from it,” she said.
“Thank you for speaking to me as an equal,” he said.
She looked at him and sat on her haunches.
“How does thou know that?” she asked.
“I got my degree in English, and while creative writing as my main focus I did study old English. Thy and thou are common pronouns. It is what the commoners would use when talking to one another. They would only use you when talking to nobility. In truth most of the nobility only said you when it was a visiting member of a noble house there. Otherwise they used the common pronouns,” he said.
She laughed and smiled.
“I had given up hope that any of my subjects would ever realize that I was attempting to treat them with respect. By addressing them by the very words they once used for themselves I felt I was attempting to talk to them as any of them would talk to each other,” she said.
“It came off as a little pompous huh?” he asked.
She nodded.
“You must have been out of the loop for a long time to not notice the change,” he said.
“Thou has no idea,” she replied.
She started to get up and then stopped. She looked at him.
“I will put the full moon off for a week. It cannot be allowed to go past that, but I will keep it from being a full moon for an entire week. When that time is up it will rise. It is the best I can do,” she said.
“Thank you,” he replied.
He groaned as his eyes opened and he took in the room. The purple pony like creature was there again. She seemed to be studying him and right off he noticed that like Luna she had wings and a horn as well.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m not dreaming or hallucinating am I?” he asked.
She shook her head. He breathed out a sigh and looked up at the ceiling.
“Our friend Zecora said something about you. It can’t be true though,” she said.
“That depends on what she said,” he replied.
He could feel the question bubbling up. There was no doubt I was hanging in the air, and at any moment it was going to force itself out and be born. There was no doubt the question was. He was waiting for it. He waited for her to ask him if he was some kind of monster. For a moment it seemed as if she wouldn’t and then finally she cleared her throat.
“She said that you may be something that hasn’t existed here in nearly six hundred years. She said that you maybe a werebeast,” she stated.
It wasn’t a question, but it was what he was waiting on.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 3 – Hungry Heart
(Golden Oaks Library – Ponyville – two days later)
The sound of hooves trotting to and fro on the hardwood floor of the library caused David to look up and shake his head. It was hard to wrap his head around this, but then again how farfetched could this be? He was a werewolf, a monster that wasn’t supposed to exist, and now he was in a world with talking multicolored ponies. The purple one, whose name turned out to Twilight Sparkle, had offered her home to him while she tried to research a way of helping him. So far the most she had been able to do was nearly wear a path in the floor.
“So, you thinking of pulling a Bobby Boucher?” Jack asked.
“You really had to go there?” David asked.
“Hey, I’m not one to judge,” Jack said with a laugh.
David shook his head. The little road trip they had taken with their southern Louisiana friend had become something of legend back at NYU. Bobby had gotten insanely drunk, wondered out into a field and proceeded to mount a Shetland pony. They had watched as their drunken friend lost his cherry to a farm animal. Jack had ribbed him mercilessly for weeks after that, but Bobby had let it roll off of his back. The last he heard their friend headed back to South Louisiana with a girl he had met in college.
“David!” Jack shouted.
“Can’t I have two minutes to myself Jack?” David asked.
“Who in the hay are you talking to?” Spike asked as he neared David.
He looked at the small dragon. That as another thing he was getting used to. The fact that there was actual dragons here. It wasn’t some kind of stunt a rich nut job was trying to pull. This was a real dragon, baby dragon, but dragon none the less.
“Someone I wish could talk to someone else,” he said looking at Jack.
“Go ahead and tell the kid,” Jack said.
“Okay… So, seriously who are you talking to?” Spike asked.
“I’m talking to my friend Jack. I wish that any of you could hear him or see him,” David said.
“Hey, the zebra saw me. I actually got to talk to her for a few minutes. Hold on a second,” Jack said as he got up and walked up stairs.
“You know, they can’t see me but I bet that I could give them a scare,” Jack said.
A moment later Twilight let out a gasp and backed down the stairs. David watched as Jack carried a book down flapping it open and close the entire time. He shook his head and looked at the table.
“Real mature Jack,” David said.
He dropped the book and Twilight looked as it just fell the floor. She poked it with her hoof and then looked at David.
“Who’s Jack?” she asked.
“Jack’s my friend that was killed by the werewolf that turned me,” he said.
She looked at the book and then back at him.
“So, he can interact with the real world?” she asked.
“Of course I can,” Jack said before running his hand through her mane.
She darted her eyes where feeling had come from.
“Somewhat. I’ve noticed that the more he does it the longer he disappears for,” David said.
Jack shrugged his shoulders and came over to take a seat next to him.
“She’s a little bit of a bookworm. You know she reminds me of Tiffany. Remember? That girl that had us have breakfast at her place,” Jack said.
“Would you kindly tell your friend to stop messing with the books and with me?” Twilight asked.
“I’ll try, but he’s always kind of done things like this,” David said.
She raised an eyebrow at him.
“Yeah, exactly like Tiffany,” Jack said.
“Is he still here?” she asked.
David nodded.
A smile formed on her face. It wasn’t exactly a happy one, nor was it something he would go as far to call crazed, but instead it looked somewhat like a confident smirk.
“Spike, take down a letter for me,” she said.
The young dragon grabbed a parchment and quill and waited.
“Dear Princess Celestia: There is some news on the visitor to our world. It appears that along with being a werebeast, or as he specifies a werewolf, he has a friend who is not able to crossover. This friend is connected to him. I know that it is well within your power to help this poor soul, and I humbly ask that you would please see it in your heart to give him the aid he needs. Signed your faithful former student and fellow princess, Twilight Sparkle,” she said.
Spike finished writing, rolled it up, and breathed green fire on it. A moment later the parchment disappeared. Spike took two steps and then belched a belt of green flame. Another parchment appeared from nowhere and Twilight caught it with her magic. She opened it and let out a triumphant laugh.
“Dear Princess Twilight, Of course I will be glad to help the poor soul pass on. It does seem to me that I recall something similar to this happening some years ago in Equestria. I know it had to do with Star Swirl… It has been so many years since that time. Perhaps I should ask Luna, after all she may remember it clearer than I do. Regardless, I invite you, Spike, our visitor and his friend to the castle. Naturally if you believe that the other elements are needed they are invited as well. I’ve dispatched a train to pick you up. After all with the weather doing what it is doing there is no reason to try to travel outside of the warmth of a train car. I will see you when you arrive, Princess Celestia,” Twilight read.
“Great, we get to deal with another one,” Jack said.
“Wait, did she say Luna?” David asked.
Twilight nodded and looked at him.
“She did, why do you want to know?” she asked.
David looked at her unsure of what he should say. Twilight had been nothing but kind to him, a little obsessive about finding an answer sure, but kind none the less. He didn’t want to scare her with the dream he had. Finally he breathed out a long breath and tried to think about how he was going to explain this to her.
“The other night when I was in the hospital I had a nightmare. It was something I’ve more or less dreamed of since this has happened to me. These demonic looking wolves come in and try to destroy everything in their path. They busted into that hut we were in, and they attacked you, and the other three that was there. I talked them down, but not before they… They turned all of you. I watched as you each went through the transformation. It was horrible. There isn’t any other word to describe it except for horrible. I had brought this curse with me and unleashed it upon you all,” he said.
She looked at him, and to be honest he expected her to become distant from him, but instead she walked closer to him and he felt place a hoof on his hand.
“Hey, nothing has happened yet, and we’re going to find an answer before it has a chance to happen. Trust me I’m not going to give up, and I don’t want you to either,” she said.
He nodded.
“So, Princess Luna was in your dreams?” she asked.
“Yeah, she had to convince me that this wasn’t my fault,” he replied.
“She’s right. It was a dream, and even if it wasn’t it really wouldn’t be your fault. You can’t help what you are,” she said.
“And she'll tease you She'll unease you All the better just to please you She's precocious and she knows just What it takes to make a pro blush She got Greta Garbo stand off sighs She's got Bette Davis eyes,” Jack began to laughingly sing.
“Comeon Jack…” David said.
Twilight looked at him and shook her head.
“What did he say?” she asked.
“You don’t know want to know,” David replied.
“Yes, I do, tell me,” Twilight said.
“He sung a few lyrics to a song that was getting kind of big. He’s just being his normal smart-assed self,” David replied.
“Tell me,” she said.
“He sung ‘and she’ll tease you, she’ll unease you, all the better just to please you, she’s precocious and she knows…” David started to say before he stopped mid-sentence.
He noticed her eye twitching slightly before she took a seat on her haunches.
“Why do you have to be so mean?!” she cried out.
“Hey… I didn’t mean it. Seriously, David tell her I didn’t mean it man. I was just kidding. Damn it...” Jack said.
“He said he was just kidding,” David replied.
“No, he thinks that about me… He thinks that I’m some kind of loose mare who likes to get a rise out of stallions!” she cried.
“No seriously I… Okay I’m sorry, I’m really sorry… Dude, I can’t stand to see a girl cry. I’m going to go explore the town for a little bit,” Jack said as he disappeared.
“He really said he was sorry, and he even left,” David said.
Twilight stopped and gave a faux innocence smile.
“I have an older brother, and I know what it’s like to be teased a little bit. I might not be able to see him, but your friend Jack seems like someone who doesn’t really want to hurt anyponies feelings,” she said.
“No, he really doesn’t. I still don’t get how girls can do that,” he said.
“It must be something that is completely universal. In the mean time since he isn’t here to annoy us I think we should get to work on finding something to help you. The princess mentioned Star Swirl, and I do have an old tome of his here. Although I don’t remember anything in it about werebeasts,” she said as she opened it up.
David looked at the cover of it for a moment before he noticed a small bit of extra stitching. He touched it and found feel just the slightest outline of something under it.
“What about this?” he asked.
She closed the old book and looked at the golden stitching he was touching. Carefully using her magic she undid the stitching until it opened to reveal a hidden sleeve. A yellowing piece of parchment came out of it. She stitched the sleeve back up again and unfolded the parchment. She glanced over it for a moment and then her eyes widened…
“Oh my…” she said.
“What? What is it?” David asked.
“Star Swirl… he was in a relationship with a werebeast. This is two letters. One of them is from a pony named Dusty Rose, and the other is from Star Swirl… Dusty, from what I can gather, had been bitten by an afflicted Diamond Dog. The Diamond Dog had a similar curse as the one you have, with the except of it being a Timber Wolf, and it caused her to transform into one of them during the full moons,” she said before she lifted his letter and read from it, “Dusty, don’t be hasity. I am doing everything I can to find a cure for you. I know that it is hard, but my love I need you to hang on. Please, give me more time. I’ve gained audience with Princess Luna, and perhaps the two of us can come up with something. Until then please, don’t act out, and be safe.”
She looked up at him.
“Did he mention a cure?” David asked.
“He said he was working on one, but he didn’t say how close he was. Maybe Princess Luna will know more about this,” Twilight said.
David nodded. Luna had said she would extend out the time until the next full moon. That meant that she already knew something about werewolves anyway. Maybe she knew more about this situation than he guessed. He wondered if that was the case, and he wondered what she could or would do to help. The next few hours passed fairly uneventfully. David found himself surrounded by six talking ponies. All them seemed to be talking to each other, and occasionally one or two of them gave him a curious glance before going back to their conversations.
“Sort of reminds you of that trip down to Louisiana don’t it?” Jack asked.
“You mean that little town about three hours outside of Baton Rouge? Yeah, I remember, and I remember you getting into trouble there,” David said.
“I didn’t know she was the sheriff’s daughter,” Jack replied.
“Sure you didn’t Jack,” David said.
“Ummm, who are ya talkin’ to Sugarcube?” Applejack asked.
“Don’t worry girls… There really is somepony there. He’s part of the reason we’re taking a trip to Canterlot,” Twilight said.
“Are you serious? Because I’m not seeing anypony,” Rainbow Dash replied.
No sooner had she said that then she felt her tail jerk toward an empty part of the platform.
“Okay who did that?!” she exclaimed.
“That would be Jack,” Twilight replied.
“Who’s Jack?” Fluttershy asked.
“Someone we’re going to get the Princess to help, or at least we’re hoping she can,” Twilight said.
Applejack’s eyes widened and she jumped around to see an empty spot behind her.
“Okay Jack, who and whatever you are, no one goes to touching ma Flank without ma permission!” she shouted.
David watched Jack as he nearly doubled over laughing.
It didn’t take long for them to board the train, and once on it the pranks didn’t stop. Pinkie watched as a cupcake floated in midair, and then suddenly it began to disappear as if something was eating it. Rarity felt something pulling lightly on her perfectly prepared mane and she continued to swat in the air trying to hit the invisible arm attached to the hand doing it.
Applejack had her flank on a seat, and wasn’t moving it. She had been the victim of three pinches, and one light slap before they got on board. The entire time David was shaking his head. He could see Jack doing all of this. It was the kind of thing he would do when he was alive, but then he was careful since he had to worry about being caught. Now he was going to town on it.
“You know David, this is actually kind of fun…” Jack said.
David looked at him.
“I have a feeling it’s going to stop when we get to where we’re going,” David replied.
“It better!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
“Dash, don’t give that… rouge anymore reason to continue. Just ignore him,” Rarity said.
“That’s mighty easy for you to say Sugarcube. After all, you ain’t the one who’s been on the receiving end of having their flank played with,” Applejack said.
Twilight looked out the window and tried not to laugh. So far Jack hadn’t bothered her, and she knew the reason why. She had convinced him that he had hurt her feelings and she wasn’t about to let him know any different. She leaned back and enjoyed the sounds of her friends being lightly tormented for a couple of hours.
The trip itself seemed to go by fairly quickly, but once it was done they walked toward the castle. David followed them and noticed the huge doors that lead into every room. Most of the time the guard was there to let them in, and sometimes Twilight would open the doors with her magic. After a couple dozen of such doors they came to a long hallway and David could see Luna sitting on the right hand side.
He smiled at the pony that had helped him control his nightmares. She offered a smile back. They all walked together up to the thrones where everyone except for Jack, David, and Twilight bowed.
“Wow, they’re a little bigger… I bet that I could really get them,” Jack said.
“Jack… I wouldn’t,” David warned.
Jack waved him off as he walked up toward the thrones. He didn’t notice Celestia’s eyes following him, and it wasn’t until he right next to her that she turned toward him and smiled.
“Hello,” he said.
Jack fell onto his ass and David lost his composure and let a laugh out.
“Ha ha, real funny, it is to laugh,” Jack said, “Wait you can see me? There’s not any of that powder stuff floating in the air though.”
“I do not need soul powder to see a soul little one. Twilight has told me that you are trapped. I can do something for you, only one thing, and I will do it if you wish. I can grant you a life. It will not be the same one you had. After all your true body is not here, but it will be as one of my little ponies. If you want this I will give it to you gladly,” Celestia said.
“Are you serious?” Jack asked.
“Of course I am,” she said.
“Please… God please do it! It’s so boring not being able to talk to anyone else!” he exclaimed.
“Hold still for me,” he said.
Her horn glowed a brilliant white and slowly Jack’s ethereal body began to solidify. The sight of his rotten flesh and bones struck everyone, but then everything began to heal. Life began to pour into his body once again. He almost began to rejoice when a terrible pain hit him. He cried out as he hit the floor.
“Oh GOD IT HURTS!!!!” he screamed.
His bones began to reshape. His fingers drew into his hands and then his hands began to turn into black hooves. He felt his feet doing the same thing. His face began to expand creating a muzzle. His chest popped, broke, and reformed until it formed a barrel. After several moments the transformation was done and he was lying on the ground breathing hard.
His clothes that had been on him in ethereal were still on him, but they didn’t seem to fit as they once did. When he shakily stood his jeans fell to the ground. His dirty and bloody parka was still on his back. David noticed that his unkempt mop of dirty brown hair was still there, and for some reason his fur had turned into a bright yellow. It was the tattoo thing, Twilight had called it a cutie mark, that really stood out. There, plastered on his flank, was a picture of a joker card. It made perfect sense. He loved to pull pranks, to tell jokes and carry on. His talent was being the friend who helped you pull one over on someone.
“So, you like playing with a mare’s flank when she don’t give you permission huh?” Applejack asked.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 4 – Clothes make the Man
(Golden Oaks Library – Ponyville – a day later)
David felt the softness of the jeans and shirt he was wearing. Rarity had been kind enough to make a few sets of clothes for him, beyond the shirt, pants, and shoes he had worn to Canterlot yesterday. To be honest her clothes she had given him had been the one set he had been wearing, off and on, since he had gotten out of the hospital. He let out a sigh of relief as he walked around in the gray t-shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of shoes that felt similar to a pair of converse all-stars. The tan shoes fit well, but like an old pair of All Stars he had back home there wasn’t a whole lot of padding.
He didn’t mind though. He stretched and stood up. So far Twilight had been kind enough to let him stay here, but he needed to find a job and maybe get to work. He started to walk outside when he heard someone clear their throat. He turned around and saw Twilight standing at the top of the stairs.
“Where are you off to?” she asked.
He smiled and rubbed the back of his head.
“Well, I don’t really want to keep imposing…” he started before she trotted over to him and put her hoof on his hand.
“You and I still need to find a way to help you during your transformations,” she said. “We could just lock me up,” he said.
She looked at him like he had two heads for a moment.
“I suppose we could lock you up, but hmmm… do me a favor. You see that table over there?” she asked pointing to a large table sitting near the corner of the library.
He nodded.
“Would you mind moving it a little closer to the other side of the library?” she asked. He shrugged his shoulders and walked over to it. He expected it to be heavy. After all it looked like it could weigh a ton, but he found that when he could lift it with very little trouble. He walked it across the library and sat it down.
“Okay it’s moved,” he said.
“That’s why we can’t lock you up,” she said.
He looked at her strangely for a moment.
“Applejack and Big Macintosh had a hard time moving that table into the library for me. It was all they could do to keep from dropping it, and they only moved it from the cart outside to right inside of the library. You picked it up and carried it twice the distance, with no trouble, and didn’t break a sweat. There is no where we could lock you up, with the exception of the Canterlot dungeons, that would hold you,” she said.
“Then lock me in the dungeons,” he replied.
She shook her head.
“I won’t do that to you. I’ve seen pictures of the dungeons before. They’re terrible,” she said.
“Damn it I don’t want to hurt anyone,” he said.
“And if we can find a way of stopping the transformation or controlling it we might be able to keep you from transforming,” she replied.
He shook his head and took a seat near her.
“Twilight, you’ve heard everything I know about werewolves right? All of the stories that had been passed down, made into books, and the like right?” he asked.
“Sure,” she answered.
“In all of those stories, and we have to assume that some of them are true, no one was able to control the monster,” he said.
“No, there was that one. You told me about it. It was the Wolfman. You said that the man who was cursed was able to hold the monster back because it was someone he loved. He was able to control the wolf. David, we might be able to do the same,” she said.
David looked at her. The Wolfman had been a movie, but the script writer had claimed to have done research into the legend of werewolves before making it, or at least that was one of the legends about the old movie. If he really did do some research it was a possibility.
“I don’t want to risk anyone’s life on a possibility,” he said.
“I think it will work, and we can contact my brother and sister-in-law. Princess Candice has some of the most powerful love magic in the world, and I know that she would be willing to help,” Twilight said.
David looked at her. He wanted to argue that it wasn’t a good idea, but the memory of the dream, and of what Luna told him seemed to stick out in his mind. She had said to hold the dream close. He had managed to stop the demonic wolves in the dream, so maybe it wasn’t impossible to do the same to the wolf.
“How do we get in touch with her?” he asked.
Twilight floated a quill and parchment over and began writing out a letter. He watched as she wrote line after line to this other princess. When she was done she had not only filled out one piece of parchment, on both sides, but had actually managed to fill out six pieces of them. He followed her as she walked up stairs and shook the little dragon who was trying to sleep.
“Twilight… it’s my day off,” Spike said.
“I know Spike, and I promise I’ll let you get right back to sleep after you send Candice this letter for me,” she said.
He looked at her grumbled and held the letter up. Without a second thought he breathed a breath of green flame and the parchment disappeared. He waited for a few seconds, and it almost seemed like there wasn’t going to be a returned letter. Feeling satisfied that he had did a favor for his big sister he started to lie back down when he belched a huge green flame and out came a large roll of parchment.
“Thank you Spike,” she said.
“Uh huh,” he said sleepily.
She opened the roll and watched as it fell to the floor.
“Dear Twilight. From what you told me it does sound like an emergency that I could help with, and little sister I would if I was able. However, at the moment I have my hooves full with the Crystal Empire. Shining Armor and I are currently reestablishing a functioning guard and army here. It only makes sense to do so since the Empire needs to have such things in place. After all, if history teaches us nothing else it does teach us the benefits of being prepared,” Twilight read the letter and sighed.
She looked at David who shrugged his shoulders.
“I will however help you out if you can meet half way, so to speak. Shining and I have both wanted to see our little sister again, and it would fill us with no small amount of joy if you would go ahead and visit us here. If you do that I shall do what I can to help your friend. I am afraid I have very little experience with werebeasts, but Shining has assured me that he and our new guard will do everything to ensure that nothing will happen. I trust him, and I know that you do too. I hope to see you soon sister, Princess Cadence,” she finished reading.
David looked at her.
“Another trip?” he asked.
“It makes sense, and Cadence is right. They do need to have a guard and army in place for the Crystal Empire. If we leave now we should arrive about a full day before the full moon,” she said.
“Twilight… I really don’t want to hurt anyone,” he said.
“I know, but right now this seems like the best option. Besides, the Crystal Empire is amazingly strong. I know any of the rooms they have should be able to hold you if this doesn’t work,” she said.
He shook his head as he followed the small alicorn. The more he thought about this the less he liked it. He would be putting everyone in danger. That was something he just didn’t want to do.
“Twilight! Hey Miss Study McStudypants! I brought over some tea and cake!” Pinkie Pie shouted.
David looked at her, toward the door, and back at her.
“How did you get in here?” he asked.
“Sneaky, sneaky,” she said.
“Seriously, how did you get in here?” he asked.
“The same way I always do silly, say, you want one of these cakes? They’re supper, extra, awesomely good… Woah… Twitchy tail, blinky eye, stompy feet, chompy teeth, fat tongue… I’ve never had a Pinkie sense like this before… I wonder what it means…” she said as David grabbed a cup of tea.
He took a drink and let out a contented sigh. It tasted a little bitter, like it had a familiar bite to it. He tried to place it when his head began screaming in pain at him. He dropped the cup and felt his heart racing, and suddenly everything was feeling like it was on fire.
“God no… No… Run! Run now!!!” he screamed.
Pinkie looked at him as he fell to his knees. His hands began to stretch out, claws began sprouting from under his fingernails. She backed up away from him.
“Twilight!” she screamed.
Twilight ran downstairs and saw David as he was in the middle of his transformation. “Pinkie run!!!”she shouted.
She closed the door behind Pinkie and looked at David.
“It’s okay, I’m here with you. David fight it. You have to fight it,” she said.
“It hurts so bad… God why? Why?!!! Run! RUN NOW!” he screamed.
She watched as his face began to stretch out. His newly formed paws began clawing at his clothes and soon they were shredded. Within seconds there was nothing that even resembled David left. Instead there was a wolf sitting there growling.
“David… Please, it’s me…” she said.
A God awful how escaped him and he rammed the door. She watched as it gave way and he ran out of the library. Ponies everywhere began screaming and running for their homes and the closest businesses. She ran after him and watched as he started to run toward the country side. She kept up with him until he came to a house. It was something she had never seen before. The home looked run down, and if she was to take a guess she would have thought that it was deserted. He walked toward it and from inside she could hear someone yelling. She watched as David moved toward it. She could see his fur bristling as he got closer.
“Little flightless Pegasus… You’re going to make me a fortune. There’s a big market for little fillies around Las Pegasus,” a rough voice said.
“No… please…” a voice that sounded like Scootaloo whimpered.
“Go ahead and cry girlie. I don’t care. I’ve just got to break you in anyway, and you can get this crying business out of the way,” the voice said.
David howled and ran toward the house. Twilight followed him and saw him as he lunged at a griffin. It looked like a snowcap, a griffin similar to Gilda, but he looked rough, sort of underfed. The griffin tried to take off, but soon David had him by the throat.
“Call it off!” the griffin cried.
Twilight looked at Scootaloo who was lying crying on a mattress. Twilight untied her and brought her close to her.
“Did he hurt you?” she asked.
“Nuhuh,” she said.
“David… Don’t… Please,” she said.
David shook the griffin as if he was a ragdoll and tossed him into the wall. His paws held him down and drool began to drip onto the griffin.
“Buckin’ call this thing off! I’ll do anything!” the griffin cried.
Twilight put Scootaloo down and pushed her toward the door.
“Go find Rainbow Dash and stay with her,” Twilight said.
Scootaloo nodded and took off. She moved cautiously toward David.
“Please David… Don’t do this. You stopped him,” she said.
He turned toward her and his eyes seemed to be softer for a moment before a snarl crossed his features. She moved a little closer.
“Please… for me let him go,” She said.
He grabbed the griffin again and threw him hard into the wall. The sickening sound of something snapping could be heard and she knew the griffin had most likely broken his back. David turned toward her and pounced. She squeaked as he pinned her to the ground. Her eyes widened as she looked up at him.
“Please, David… You know me… It’s me Twilight… Don’t do this,” she pleaded. He shook his head, backed away and growled. She slowly got up.
“David…” she said before he turned and ran toward a window. She watched as he busted it out and took off.
She sat down and put her face into her hooves.
“Please don’t hurt anypony,” she whispered.
Hours later David groaned as he sat up. He looked around himself and saw what looked like busted up trees. He slowly stood and started walking. At first he had absolutely no idea where he was, but as he walked he noticed a farm ahead. He walked toward it and heard someone softly singing out in the orchard.
“Hello?” he called.
“Welcome to Sweet ap… Mother of Celestia!” Applejack said as he stood at her gate.
She hadn’t really seen him nude before. The last time she moved him he had been wrapped up in several of Zecora’s blankets. Now he was standing at her gate, trying to hide his nudity with his hands, and to be honest there was still a bit of it showing. She shook her head and walked toward the barn. She headed back with an old sheet and tossed it to him.
“Wrap up in that! Tarnation… Does Twilight know what you’re packing?!” she asked.
He raised an eyebrow at her.
“I guess not…” she said.
“Sis, did you hear? A big wolf thingy killed six timber wolves that had attacked Zecora! It tore them apart while she escaped!” Applebloom said as she came out of the Everfree forest.
“Now where did you hear that from Applebloom?” Applejack asked.
“From Zecora! She told me about it as I helped her mix up the potions she needed to spread on her wounds!” Applebloom said.
“Is that the thing that Twilight been messing with?” Applebloom asked.
“Hi,” David said.
“It can talk?!” she asked.
“Uh huh. Applebloom, why don’t you go ahead and get inside. I’m gonna walk him back to Twilight,” she said.
“So, care to tell me what happened?” Applejack asked.
“I don’t know… I drank some tea and then I sort of blacked out,” David said.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 5 – All you need is Love
(Candace’s Castle – Crystal Empire – the following day)
The train ride had been a bit faster than it had been before, although David supposed that Twilight explaining to the engineer that there was a werewolf on board who couldn’t be held responsible for his actions if they failed to reach the Crystal Empire before the rise of the moon may have helped. So now he stood in the grand hallway of a castle that looked similar to Ming’s castle in Flash Gordon. He remembered Jack insisting that he come along. Apparently Debbie Kline had a crush on one of the stars, and Jack was wanting to get into her good graces.
The movie was horrible, but the set designs were amazing. Ming’s castle had been an elaborate fortress made of marble and crystal. It was extremely ornate, but at the same time because of how it was built supposedly it could reflect and dispel laser fire. David could only guess that this castle could do something similar. A moment later he heard Twilight laughing.
“BBBFF!” she shouted.
“Twily! It’s good to see you. Is this your friend?” a white unicorn asked as he neared them.
“Shining, this is David,” Twilight said.
“How are you doing sir?” David asked.
“How I am is quite well, but from what I understand you have a problem that is going to be watched over, closely,” Shining said.
“BBBFF, what are you talking about?” Twilight asked.
“He has a point Twilight. We don’t know how much, if any, control I have when the transformation happens. They’re going to need to have someone there to stop me,” David replied.
“Good, I’m glad that you have realized that. We do not want to use lethal force; however, some of the research done by our information team tells us that normal pony lethal levels aren’t the same as werebeasts. Oh, they can be killed easily enough, but such things as poisons, or an overdose of sleeping potion won’t kill one. At best it may buy a couple hours,” Shining Armor said.
Twilight stood looking surprised and then shook her head.
“You can’t be serious!” she exclaimed.
“Twilight, I’m sorry, but my first responsibility is for the ponies here and all of Equestria. I have to ensure their safety,” he replied.
David knew what he was talking about. It was something he was trying to do when he tried to get arrested by the police in London. He wanted to be put away somewhere that he couldn’t hurt anyone. Shining Armor had actually had his people look into the history of the werebeasts of their world and learned a great deal about them. He looked at Twilight who looked upset.
“Twilight, your brother is doing what’s right. I don’t want to hurt anyone. I don’t want to cause anyone else pain, and if things don’t go according to plan I want to be put somewhere that I can’t hurt anyone else,” he said.
Shining Armor nodded and lead them into the castle. Twilight followed them and looked up at David. He wasn’t exactly what she would consider handsome. After all he was a completely different species, but he was kind and decent. She had even part of that in him when he became a wolf, which she needed to talk to Pinkie Pie about serving him Yin and Yang’s herbal tea. She had learned that it contained Wolf’s Bane, and that caused him to transform. Still, as she watched him she noticed something else about him. He was willing to put everypony else’s needs ahead of his own.
It made her look past the outer layer of who he was and instead into who he really was. A small dopey smile crossed her face and she quickly shook it off. She couldn’t be doing this right now. She was a princess, and she couldn’t be starting to really like him. She closed her eyes hard. She couldn’t be starting to feel this way about him. She tried to focus her thoughts onto helping him learn to control the wolf or the transformations. She ran into something and opened her eyes to see that she had ran into David’s blue jean cladded bottom.
“Twilight, you okay?” he asked.
“Y…yeah, I’m fine,” she said.
Candace smiled and trotted down from the throne to the floor.
“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves…” Candace began.
“and do a little shake!” Twilight said as they did a quick dance together.
David watched them. He had seen his own sister do something similar with her friends. He was surprised to see the slightly bigger pony walking toward him. She had a soft smile on her face as she neared him. He felt her place a hoof on his chest as she looked into his eyes.
“You’ve experienced so much loss haven’t you? I can see it there deep inside of you. It’s not just loss, but there’s been love, longing, all of it burns so bright inside of you,” she smiles and guides him toward the throne. She takes a seat and looks at him has he continues to stand.
“Wolves are interesting creatures. My husband has researched the threat all werebeasts pose. He has expressed to me different facts of what could happen if one was to run rampant throughout Equestria. I however have researched on what you are specifically. Werewolves are very much like normal wolves. An animal that I regret to say no longer exists in Equestria. Werewolves and normal wolves pick one mate. It is a single female that is their life mate, and they will never choose another,” she floated a cup that was sitting next to her throne up to her and took a drink, “If anything happens to this mate they never choose another. Often they go into seclusion and let themselves wither away.”
He looked at her trying to grasp what she was saying. Her gentle smile stayed in place as she motioned for him to come toward her.
“I see not only what you have experienced, but what your other self has experienced. There is violence, but I do not fault it. It has loved, and loved greatly. In truth before you came here it tried to save somepony it loved very dearly,” she said.
David nodded. He remember running away from Alex, trying to keep her finding him, trying to get locked up, trying anything to ensure that she would be safe. He couldn’t remember anything after the theater. It had went black, and he had felt any control he did have slip. Although, that wasn’t completely true. There was a brief image that he could see if he focused long enough. He could see Alex, standing in front of him, pleading with him to let her help him.
“The wolf inside you can be reached through love, and we’re going to try to reach it when you transform,” Candace said.
“Wait, is that a good idea? “ David asked.
“There will be several of us here to help make sure that you don’t act out,” Shining Armor said.
“I’m not so sure that would be a good idea. Jack had told me that I… I attacked and killed a lot of policemen back in London when I was turned. I don’t remember any of it, but I don’t want to do that here,” David replied.
“I’ll stay and help,” Twilight spoke up.
They looked at her.
“You listened to me last time. When you transformed you listened to me. You didn’t kill a griffin, and you didn’t kill me. You could have done either at any time, but you didn’t,” she said.
Candace cocked an eyebrow toward her sister-in-law and let out a little giggle.
“Oh? He listened to you did he?” she asked.
“It doesn’t mean that!” Twilight exclaimed.
Twilight felt her face blush. The truth was she wasn’t sure. She wasn’t completely sure why the wolf had listened to her. At first she thought it was because somewhere inside of it David had heard her and was trying to control it. If that was true then why did he hear her? She liked him as a friend, and he had proven himself to be extremely knowledgeable. The last few nights they had stayed up discussing literature, how something could be interpreted, and what the author may have meant.
It was so nice to have someone to talk to who had studied literature. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy talking to any of the others, but Rainbow Dash’s literature experience didn’t go past Daring Do. Rarity had been well read, but mainly in romance novels and fashion news. Applejack read western literature, and Fluttershy like reading well, she wasn’t sure what Fluttershy liked reading.
David was like a breath of fresh air. He challenged her, and he had the ability to look at every piece of literature through so many different theories and lenses. It made her readdress a few of her favorite books, but she didn’t think that it made him anything else than a good friend. She looked toward Candace who was beaming brightly.
“What?” Twilight asked.
“Nothing, but I agree that you should be here,” Candace said.
“Wait, are we certain about this?” Shining Armor asked.
Candace turned toward him and smiled.
“Of course we’re sure. Oh this is going to work so beautifully!” Candace exclaimed giddily.
“Am I missing something?” David asked.
Shining Armor shook his head and looked at David.
“No, I think we both are,” he said.
The next few hours seemed to pass by so slowly. David walked with Shining Armor down into a large circular room. He asked if there was something they could to do make sure he was withstrained. Shining nodded and pointed to a collection of crystal chains and cuffs. He began explaining how the chains and cuffs would be magically charged and that it would be hard pressed for anything to escape them.
David nodded and then cleared his throat.
“Not to mean anything but… I really don’t want to shred another suit of clothes, and being naked… While I’m getting more used to it running around naked is kind of a taboo where I’m from,” he said.
Shining looked at him and shook his head.
“I don’t know what to tell you then. It’s likely that you’ll shred your clothes when you change, so if you want to save them you’ll need to take them off,” Shining said.
“I know, I know, I just don’t know about being naked around Twilight. Where I’m from a man and a woman don’t really see each other naked unless they’re going to swap some genetic material,” David said.
“Okay, that’s not happening! You just need to get over this, and know that is not going to happen at all,” Shining said.
“I agree man…” David said.
“Twilight said that you’re called a human. I mean besides being a werewolf, but really, you humans are weird,” Shining said.
“I felt the same way about you ponies when I first arrived,” David replied.
“You’ve got about an hour before the moon rises. David, I respect your decision to want to protect everyone. I’ve got several guards ready to come down here and help make sure you don’t escape. I thought that I would let you know so you don’t have to worry,” he said.
“Send them down, but remind them not to get too close,” David said.
He nodded and trotted off. David took a breath and looked around himself. There was about an hour before the moon started to rise. The first time it happened the sky had darkened, and the moon was completely visible. He could only guess that the reason for this was because of the fact this was a curse. Twilight had told him that magic, all magic, had to have certain conditions that had to be met for them to work. This curse was magic. There was no getting around it. It wasn’t supposed to exist in his world, but it did. It was a piece of very old magic, and from what he gathered the moon had to be completely full, and it had to be visible.
He breathed out through his mouth and began to disrobe. The t-shirt slid off of his back easily enough and he tossed it toward the side. He then removed his new pair of shoes Rarity had made, his jeans, and finally he grabbed the waist band of his new boxers. He pulled them off and tossed them to the side as well. He had to admit that right now he felt more than just exposed. He felt vulnerable. He looked at the chains and began sliding them on. The sound of foot, or hoof rather, steps stopped him.
He looked up in time to see Twilight standing there. Before he could say a word, or cover himself, her jaw dropped. He could see her eyes bulge a little at what she saw.
“Wow,” she finally said.
He covered himself and looked at her.
“Sorry, sorry, I was just coming down to tell you that everyone is getting prepared… David, you’ve got nothing to be ashamed of there,” she said.
“Yeah, but I’ve got your brother to worry about,” he said.
She looked at him.
“Trust me I explained what it meant in our world for a man and woman to see each other undressed. It usually ended up with them getting to know each other in every way possible,” he said.
She blushed and looked away from him.
“It doesn’t quite work that way here…” she said.
He quickly pulled the other chains and cuffs on.
“Twilight… Promise me that if this starts to go south you will get out of here,” he said. She looked at him strangely.
“You’ve become a really good friend to me. I don’t want to lose another one, or make you end up like Jack was,” he said.
She walked toward him and touched his hand with her hoof. There was a sort of comforting smile on her face.
“You’ve become a good friend to me too, and I believe that you won’t hurt me. David, that other side of you didn’t hurt me,” she said.
He nodded and soon the sound of dozens of hooves trotting down the stairs could be heard. He looked up to see them all coming down. He knelt down and soon the chains and cuffs began to glow a bright purple. He could see Shining Armor charging it. The captain of the guard nodded to him and smiled.
He nodded and waited. For a moment there was nothing, and then there was pain. It was horrific, terrible pain that shot through him with more force than a thousand lightning bolts. He let out a terrible scream as his hands began to stretch out. Twilight looked at him and spoke softly.
“David, I’m right here. It’s going to be okay,” she said.
He fell to his knees as claws ripped through his fingernails. Some of the guards stepped back as his face began to stretch out into the form of a wolf. A few of them actually began to get sick as they heard the sound of his bones breaking, stretching, and reforming. Shining looked on horror as it continued. Finally when it was all said and done there was a large wolf like creature standing there.
It was larger than what normal wolves had been reported being, and it looked far different. It almost looked demonic. Candace let her horn glow blue and a bit of love magic charged as she directed it toward him. She let it float down to him and touch him.
At first it appeared that he was calming down. Or he was until one of the guard began nearing Twilight. He went from being withstrained to pulling hard against his bonds. He viciously growled and snarled at the guard.
The guard stepped back and he calmed down again.
Twilight neared him.
“David, do you hear me?” she asked.
The wolf tilted its head at her and finally it gave a nod.
Shining started to approach her and he growled at her. He stepped away from Twilight and the wolf stopped growling.
“I thought so… Twilight, sister, it would appear that you are his voice of reason,” she said.
Twilight looked to her and back at the wolf, at David who was sitting there looking at her. Suddenly her mind was filled with a thousand questions that she had no answer for.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 6 – Boneshaker
(Sweet Apple Acres – During David’s trip to the Crystal Empire)
Applejack looked at the yellow Stallion before her. He had finally gotten out of the Parka he had been wearing at the castle, but now he wore a similar green vest. Apparently it was something Rarity had made for him. She breathed out a sigh and looked at him.
“Let me get this right Sugarcube. You want to come to work fer me, and ma family,” she said.
“Well, to be honest it’s about the only thing I know that I can do with no problems. See, I was a theater major back in college, and I really didn’t see any place where an actor or stage hand would be needed,” he said.
“Stage hoof. It’s called a stage hoof, and naw y’alls right about there not being much call for a stage hoof or an actor. We have the annual friendship fair and play, but the only place that really has a lot of that kind of thing is Manehattan. So, what experience do you have with Apple farms?” she asked.
“My grandpa owned on. I went there every summer and helped clear the orchard. It was a lot of work, but usually Grams would have some apple brown betty made for us when we were through,” he said.
“So you have experience apple bucking?” she asked.
“Apple what now?” he asked.
“Apple Bucking,” she said as she walked toward a tree. She placed a tub at the base of the tree and gave it a good kick. The tree shook and then all of the snow fell into the tub, “Imagine that snow was ripe apples, and that’s apple bucking.”
“We picked the apples,” he said.
“Picked?” she asked.
“Grandpa would hire several migrant workers, and of course have us grandkids, to work the fields,” Jack said.
“Yeah, that sounds a tad too expensive, and not something we would do; however, if’n you are willing to learn ah suppose ah could hire you… But no playing with ma flank!” she exclaimed.
“In my defense I was just playing around,” he said.
“Uh huh, Jest ‘member that y’all’s are all solid now and ah don’t have a problem putting a stallion in his place,” she said as she walked off.
He shook his head as she began to walk back toward her barn. There was every reason in the world not to try and get under her skin. She had offered him a job, and she had even volunteered to teach him the finer points of it, but he couldn’t stand it. He followed her toward the barn and waited until she was inside. He then stepped in with her.
“Any reason y’all wanted to follow me into ma barn?” she asked.
He tried to smile innocently and then shook his head.
“Yeah, I was going to try and scare you,” he replied.
“Sugarcube, you ain’t as cute as you must think you are. Now, look I’ve got a whole lotta work to git done before Winter Wrapup starts. I’ve got to help Granny Smith git the perserves ready, and I’ve gotta git the dead trees surrounding the farm knocked down and chopped into firewood. So unless you got experience doing either of them things…” she started before he held up a hoof.
“I said before I worked on my Grandpa’s farm. I know a thing or two about dealing with dead trees,” he said.
“You do huh? Okay, how about we test that theory?” she asked.
He looked at her questioningly.
“We’ll both take an axe with us, and the first one who can fall the most trees gets treated to a drink of hard cider at Lucky’s,” she said.
Jack realized that he might have taken his foot, or hoof rather, and placed it squarely in his mouth. He had worked on the farm, but his grandpa had taught him to use a chainsaw. Sure, he had brought down a few trees with an axe, but it had left his arms numb and his hands blistered after about the sixth one. Not to mention that he didn’t have the use of his fore mentioned hands. He walked over to where she was digging around and watched as she pulled out two axes, one after the other, and handed one of them to Jack. She looked at him quizzingly as he stood there. Realizing that he was going to have to hold the tool in his mouth he opened his mouth, took a bite lower than her own and waited for her to drop it.
“Good, now Ah should warn ya that I’ve fell well over seven trees in half an hour by maself,” she said.
“Yep, I screwed myself over,” Jack thought.
He followed her out of the barn and toward the northern section of the farm. She grinned as she walked up to the first dead tree. Without a warning she began chopping away at it. He watched as she stopped after a moment and readjusted her mouth on the handle. Seeing what she was doing he did the same and found the axe went in surprisingly easy. He pulled back and swung his neck again. It hit with a loud thud and he looked down the axe handle to see the axe head nearly wedged halfway through. He pulled, but the axe wouldn’t move.
“Ha! Looks like it’s already over!” Applejack said as she went back to work on her tree.
He turned around and kicked his tree hard. There was a crack, a slight bend, and then the tree started to fall over. Applejack growled, pulled her axe out and did the same.
“I didn’t say a world to ya about bucking the trees!” she exclaimed.
“Hey, it worked,” he replied as he went to work on the next one.
Soon he found himself actually holding his own with the farmer. To his surprise he was enjoying the work, and while the competition wasn’t something he was too thrilled about he did like the fact that I reminded him of home. By the end of the hour the tally was done and Applejack had fell eight trees, and was well on the way of falling her ninth. They checked his over and he was in the middle of his eighth tree.
“Well, Ah reckon that was mighty close, but mighty close doesn’t quite cover being all of the way. So, let’s talk to Granny Smith about getting you to work on falling these dead trees, and then we’ll talk about pay. After that, we’ll head to Lucky’s, and you can buy me ma drink,” she said.
He laughed and nodded. There wasn’t any reason to upset about it. Hell, he was getting a date out of the thing. Well, at least he was buying a girl a drink, and it could be worse. He could be getting ribbed about it mercilessly from David. He followed her to the farm house and walked inside of the farm house. Although it looked more like what his Grams would have decorated it the place reminded him of his Grandpa’s farm.
He heard an old voice saying she would be down in a couple of minutes. The few minutes passed and an old looking green pony appeared. She walked toward them and eyed him for a moment before turning to Applejack.
“So, who’s this young’n?” Granny Smith asked.
“Granny Smith, this is Jack. He’s looking for work, and he has helped me clear a good seventeen dead trees already. Plus he said that he has some experience of working on a farm,” Applejack said.
Granny Smith eyed him again and nodded.
“We’ll take you on for a short spell. Ya earn your keep and I’ll go ahead and keep ya on. Right now we’re going to start ya out at fifteen bits a day,” she said.
“That sounds fair to me,” Jack said.
“Yer darn tootin’ it’s fair. Now ya’ll go ahead and finish clearing those trees out,” she said walking toward the kitchen.
Jack trotted back out toward the dead trees and got back to work. He laughed a little as he worked. He hadn’t thought about it before hand, but he had been carrying a hatchet in his bag when they ran onto that werewolf. If he would had brought it out there was a chance he could have killed the thing.
“Right, and maybe I could have talked my way right into Princess Diana’s panties too,” he thought as he went back to work.
“Hey, ah was a hollering at you!” AJ said as she caught up to him.
“Oh, sorry I was just ready to get back to work,” he said.
“Ah understand that Sugarcube, ah really do, but ah was trying to ask ya a question,” she replied.
“Oh, okay, what was the question?” he asked.
“Ah wanted to know if y’all had a place to stay at yet. Ah was asking ‘cause yer friend has been staying with Twilight, and ah know her place isn’t really set up for more than a couple of ponies,” she said.
“Well, actually I’ve been camping out at the train station. It’s not much different than when I had to camp out at the bus station when our financial aid was late. David and I stayed in that bus station for a good two weeks, walked to classes, and then finally the change checks came and they let us into the dorms,” he said.
“Ah don’t know about a bus station, but ah know that old train station only has hard benches to lay on. Why did ya ask one of us for a place to sleep?” she asked.
“Believe it or not I really don’t like to bum off of people, er ponies. Most of the time I want to make it on my own steam,” he said.
“That’s mighty understandable, but it’s also foolish. Look, I know Granny Smith won’t mind ya staying on here. She might not even deduct anything if y’alls willing to sleep in the barn. Ah would offer the house, but almost every room is being used, except for Ma and Pa’s… Ain’t been no one in that room since…” she stopped.
Jack looked at her and put a hoof on her shoulder.
“Hey, I know what it’s like. My Dad was killed in a car wreck when I was six. Mom had to raise me by herself, well me and my little shit of a brother Mikey. The one good thing was that he liked just about everything. Mom would always say, ‘look at Mikey try it, he likes everything.’ She was right too. He would eat about anything she brought home for dinner,” he said.
“Sounds to me like ya miss ‘im,” AJ said.
“I do. I miss them both. I miss them and I miss Grandpa and Grams. I got to see them at my funeral you know,” he said as he looked at her, “Remember I was undead before. Mikey cried his eyes out. I didn’t know he cared that much for me. As for mom… she completely lost it for a while. Mikey went to live with Grams and Grandpa. It might have been best for him.”
“Sounds like losing ya was hard on them all,” she whispered.
He nodded and bent down to lift the ax. He stopped and looked back at her.
“Look, I don’t know all of the family you got here. I really don’t, but a little bit of free advice from someone who has already been on the other side of life. Don’t ever take them for granted. Never think that there’s always going to be time to do something special for them, or that if you have a fight it will work out. Before I left home for college Mom and I had a fight. It was a pretty good one. She was angry that I wanted to major in theater. Looking back on it the entire thing was stupid, but I would give anything to go back and take everything I said to her back,” he said.
She sat down on her haunches and looked at him.
“Ah don’t think that ah take ma family for granted, but there are times ah go off with ma friends and leave them here alone,” she said.
“Just don’t take them for granted,” he said.
She nodded and got up near him. She picked up her ax, and then put it back down.
“If ya want we can make room in the house,” she said.
“The barn is fine. Trust me I’ve slept in worse,” he said.
“Tarnation, I’m offering ya a room, so ya better accept,” she replied.
“Okay, I accept,” he said.
“Good, now let’s finish this and then we’ll go to Lucky’s. I could really use a hard cider,” she said.
(Crystal Empire – The Crystal Castle – The following Morning)
David groaned as he stretched. He wasn’t chained up anymore, but instead he was in a bed. He looked around for a moment and then sat up. The bed was warm, soft, and to be honest it felt amazing. He felt the soft sheets touching him all over. The realization that he was still nude bothered him a little. It meant that once he transformed back they had moved him. The idea that several new ponies had an idea of what he looked like without clothes wasn’t sitting quite right.
He felt the bed shift and quickly turned to see a large lump in the bed. Unsure of how he missed that he gently touched it.
“Hmm?” a familiar voice asked.
“Twilight?” he asked.
She moved, looked up at him, and swallowed hard.
“Oh Celestia tell me we didn’t,” she said.
“I don’t think so,” he replied.
“No, you didn’t,” Princess Candace said.
They looked toward the door and saw the Princess of the Crystal Empire standing there. She had a bright smile on her face.
“Twilight came in her with you after you transformed back. You were moaning and she wanted to help make sure that you were able to rest. I know she fell asleep as well. Believe me, I could tell if something else happened,” she said.
David looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Love magic. Trust me I can see when love is shared,” she said.
Twilight got up and trotted over toward the door. She looked back to see David still sitting there.
“Aren’t you getting up?” she asked.
“I need to get dressed,” he said.
“Why? Everyone saw…” Candace started to say and noticed how bright red David’s face was turning.
“I take it that nudity is a taboo then. Very well, we’ll wait for you downstairs. Although I should tell you that our cook is quite good at making blueberry pancakes, and Shining does like to eat the largest bulk of them. So, if you like blueberry pancakes I suggest that you get dressed quickly,” she said.
The two of them left an embarrassed werewolf alone in the room to get dressed.
“So little sister, how close were you to taking the next step?” Candace asked.
“Candace! I… We’re just friends,” she said.
“I’ve seen what his other side feels Twilight, and you can lie to yourself all you want to, but there is an attraction between the two of you. After what all of my guards saw last night and this morning I wouldn’t be surprised if another mare tries to step in to gain his attention if you don’t,” Candace said.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 7 – Uncaged
(Golden Oaks Library – Ponyville – Three Days later)
Twilight watched as David paced the floor. He couldn’t sit still, he was constantly up, moving, having to keep busy. She had seen this kind of behavior before, and to be honest she had even experienced it. For them it usually happened during Hearts and Hooves day. Most mares and stallions would pace around until they found their special somepony. After that… well she didn’t any direct experience, but she knew enough about biology to understand why they calmed down.
“David, calm down a little bit,” she said.
He tried to sit still, and made it an entire five minutes before he began tapping his feet. She watched as he got up, shook his head, and continued pacing.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I… I really don’t want to talk about it,” he replied.
She walked toward him and stopped him mid stride. He looked at her and shook his head. His eyes mapped over her form for a moment before he shook it off. He felt her nudge him slightly and finally he found a seat. She took one next to him.
“Twilight, this… I don’t know how to explain it, but it happened before. It was after I changed, after the full moon,” he said as he wrung his hands together, “I woke up confused, naked, and inside of a wolf’s den in a zoo. I had no idea of what had happened, but I had never felt better in my life. I had a drive that was incredibly difficult to ignore. I got back to Alex’s apartment. Twilight, I tried, really tried, to talk Alex into forgetting about going to the hospital. I had every intention of… I’m not saying that I’m not forward. I have no problem being forward, but I’m not usually that forward.”
She nodded. She had thought that it could be the case and she was right. Candace had told them both about wolves, but she had talked to her privately about their habits. Or at least she had told her about the habits that had been documented. Those habits included uneasy pacing when they were without a mate, or trapped. The wolf inside of David was demanding something. She thought about him for a moment. Candace was right. She didn’t want to admit it at all, but she was right.
There was more here than friendship, but she didn’t want to act on it, or at least she didn’t think that she wanted to. Years of being called plain, bookworm, nerd, dork, and egghead had made her simply believe that she wasn’t really going to ever find a special somepony. She could demand a consort now if she wanted one, but that wasn’t how she wanted things to go. She didn’t want somepony to be assigned to her. She didn’t want a stallion that didn’t care for her, and who viewed any intimacy with her as part of his job. David wasn’t like that. He wasn’t off putting, and he didn’t view her as anything else other than a peer.
She wasn’t sure when the transitation from thinking became kissing. She didn’t have a clue how things changed this quickly. She noticed that his hands weren’t pushing her away, but rather they were pulling her closer. She felt one of them on the back of her head, fisted in her hair, and the other placed between her wings.
They had been lifted up, and she felt herself being held in the air. He pulled back and she lay her muzzle on his shoulder.
“I…if I’m not any good it’s because it’s my first time,” she said.
He stopped. She felt him hug her tighter against him. A sort of soft growl escaped him, but it seemed to disappear. He gently sat them down and continued to hold her.
“Twilight… I can’t. I can’t do this like this. I don’t want your memory of anything to be a violent display. It shouldn’t ever come to that,” he said.
“David,” she started but he shook his head.
“A candle lit dinner, a bouquet of roses, chocolates, dancing, everything to make a memorable evening should be before this,” he said.
He gently released her.
“You don’t think that I’m…” she began before he stopped her.
“I think that you’re brilliant, driven, and to be honest beautiful. I know that Jack teased me about this before, but this isn’t home, and I’m not exactly human anymore. I see things, hear things, smell things that I shouldn’t be able to. I’ve accepted that the wolf is part of me. That means there is a part of me that is very much animal, but I will be damned if I let it control how things are going to be. I won’t make you do anything that you’re not ready for or even want to do,” he said.
“But, I… David I… Maybe you’re right,” she said.
He nodded. Then he noticed her horn glowing a soft purple. He felt himself being lifted up into a standing position.
“But it’s not about me not wanting to, or being unwilling. It’s about you wanting to make sure that my first… time, let’s stick with that, something I can look back on fondly, so let’s get to it. Based on what you said, and what I always imagined I have a mental checklist that we can go through,” she said, “So, romantic dinner, the café will work. Dancing, hmmm… I think that Sweet Apple Acres has their annual winter barn dance today. You can buy a bouquet of roses from a vendor, and no pony makes better chocolate than the Cakes.”
He watched as she ran upstairs, and stood there waiting. He wasn’t sure what it was that just happened, but the idea that he may have uncaged an even more feral beast than the wolf came to mind. He heard the sound of something shuffling, moving, and after a few minutes Twilight came down in a dress that suited her. On someone else it might seem plain, but on her it actually suited her personality. She neared him, placed her hoof in his hand, and began leading him out of the library.
(Café – Same time)
Applejack looked at the hayfries in front of her. She hadn’t minded coming to lunch with Jack. Sure, he was a hoofful, but at least he was trying to be friendly. She bit into one of the fries and felt the hot grease as it exploded on her tongue. Normally she would just eat at home, but this was nice. She watched as Jack looked at his food and tried a little of everything.
“You know, I have to say this stuff isn’t bad. It’s better than that vegetarian goulash that Mom tried to shove down my throat. The nights she fixed that I tried to make sure that I was over at a friend’s house,” he said.
“What in tarnation is goulash?” she asked.
“It’s noodles, in tomato sauce, with about every kind of vegetable mixed in. The problem was that mom didn’t have it cooked all of the way through so it usually tasted pretty bad. She was great at everything else, but she couldn’t cook that stuff at all. This however… This is actually pretty good,” he said.
She smiled and then took another bite of her hayfries.
“Y’all been doing pretty good on the farm so far. We’ve got all of the dead trees cleared, and chopped into firewood. Plus you’ve taken to clearing the snow outta the trees with ease. I think that you’ll be fine at Apple bucking,” she said.
“Thanks and thanks for the room. It’s actually pretty comfortable… Say… Isn’t that David?” he asked.
Applejack turned and looked. She saw Twilight, dressed in her birthday dress from Rarity, and next to her was the critter they had carried back to Ponyville. She knew he was called a human. Hu-mane, it just didn’t sound right. She kind of wondered where they came up with that name from. They sat down and ordered something. They talked for a little bit and David seemed a little embarrassed. Twilight pointed toward his pockets. She watched him reach in, look up with surprise, and pull out a small bag.
“What is going on over there?” she quietly asked.
Jack looked and watched the two of them.
“I don’t know,” he said.
Twilight looked over and noticed that they were being watched. She blushed lightly. She felt David’s hand on her hoof and turned back toward him.
“Twilight, what is this?” he asked.
“It’s from Shining Armor. He… David, I told him and Candace about you, not what you were, but who you were. I told them that you had a degree in literature, and since the crystal ponies are getting back into the swing of things they wanted to know if you would consult with them on teaching,” she said.
He closed his eyes and tried to keep from laughing. Everyone had asked him if he planned on teaching when he finished his degree. There was a thousand other things he could have done, but in truth he did want to be a college professor. Now, the opportunity was being dropped into his lap. He smiled, and then stopped. Shining had offered this. Shining was a good enough guy, but he was all about the defense of his ponies. There had to be more to this.
“Did he want anything else?” he asked.
She looked at the table and slightly moved her hooves.
“He… He wants you to be an on call guard. David, he saw how strong you are. Shining is wanting to protect everypony, and I know what he’s thinking,” she said.
“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” he asked.
She studied him for a second.
“I’m serious Twilight. With me transforming is it really a good idea?” he asked.
She nodded.
“It is because of that reason. David, wolves are loyal. They’re amazingly loyal to their pack. The one inside of you isn’t any different. It had chance after chance to hurt me during our stay in the Crystal Empire. It never did. You never did. You even accepted Shining and Candace as well,” she said.
“He wants to use me as weapon doesn’t he?” David asked.
“No, no he wants to have you there to help them,” she said.
“And where does this leave where we were heading?” David asked.
She looked at him and gave a half smile. She should have known this question was coming. He wasn’t naïve nor was he somepony that just accepted things.
“I don’t know, but I haven’t felt like this before. Oh, I’ve saw a few colts here and there that caught my eye, but this is something different,” she said.
“Twilight… you’ve become one of my best friends here. I’m willing to take the next step with you, but I don’t want you to sugarcoat it,” he said.
“We’ll be apart for days and maybe weeks at a time. I don’t want it to be like that, but I’m assigned over Ponyville and the surrounding areas. It’s part of what I am to rule over, and protect. David, if you take this position you would be under my brother’s command. You would be a guardspony, well guardsman, and stationed at the Crystal Empire. There would be times that we could get together, but…” she stopped when he touched her hoof.
“But most of the time we would end up being apart wouldn’t we?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Twilight, how can you help control the other side of me if you are so far away?” he asked.
“I would make an effort to be there… David, this is important. I meant to talk to you earlier about it, but… I wasn’t sure how to address it. I never thought that I would be so opposed to doing what I am supposed to do,” she said.
He kissed her again. She leaned into it, and from across the café two sets of eyes watched with mouths agape.
“I think we still have items to knock off of that checklist,” he said.
She nodded as they enjoyed their food. They stood up and she looked at Applejack.
“The barn dance still happening tonight?” she asked.
“Uh huh, sure is,” she said.
“We’ll see you there,” Twilight said as they left.
“Okay, did you see what I just saw?” Applejack asked.
“Yeah, I saw it, and I’m still not sure I believe it,” Jack replied.
The night continued to move on. Twilight admired her roses, before she snacked on them, and they walked together through the softness of the night. The sights and sounds of the Apple’s barn dance delighted them both. They joined in where they could, enjoying the moments they had. David had motioned to Twilight and both watched as Jack danced with Applejack. Then they were a little more surprised when Lyra asked him to dance. Smiling they joined and they danced for a few hours and then later, they began walking home.
It was late, far too late for Spike who had already went to bed. Twilight walked with David not to her own bed, but rather the one they had fixed for him in the spare room of the library. She felt him embrace her, his hands soft, determined, and paying attention to her needs. Her dress was laid by the side. She felt his hands move down her, and soon she felt an experience she didn’t believe possible.
“If you don’t want to,” he said.
She shook her head.
“Please, I want to,”
They joined together. A quiet whimper of pain escaped her lips. That sound soon was replaced by soft moans of pleasure as the night continued toward its end. Unknown to them a white mare watched the library from across the street. She broke the pen she was holding. It had come back to her after he talked. After he said her name. She had tried to distance herself from it.
She had tried to forget that she had once had a daughter, and that her daughter had inherited a curse from her father, and that one night her daughter had mauled her in a fit of insanity caused by a drug her then husband had developed. She had tried to forget that once, her name had been Alex Price.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 8 – Free Bird
(Golden Oaks Library – David’s Room – The Following morning)
Twilight groaned as she woke up. A strange, but pleasant, ache rested between her thighs. She blushed lightly as she thought of the previous night. David had been gentle when he made a mare of her. He had moved at a tempo she was comfortable with until she showed she was ready to move faster and harder. She had begun matching his thrusts and from there the night exploded out into a wonderful, and amazing, display of what their bodies could do.
She felt David’s arm still around her. She began to move, but he didn’t relax his grip.
“You don’t have to get up right now,” he said.
“We both need to get up. Spike most likely is already up getting the Library ready for visitors, and I need to be out there,” she said.
“I can think of several good reasons why you don’t have to get up right now,” he said.
She let out a surprised squeak as his fingers found their way down to her sex. She purred and moaned as he began to massage her.
“That’s not fair,” she said as she leaned back against him.
He caught her in a kiss when the door came open. Twilight let out a surprised squeak, David stopped what he was doing, and together they looked at an embarrassed Spike.
“Hey buddy,” David said.
“What the hay… No, I don’t want to know. This is like walking in on your mom or sister… Actually this is walking in on your mom and sister!” he shouted as he walked back into the library.
“So, up?” David asked.
She nodded and slowly climbed out of bed herself. The first thing she noticed was that she was walking just a little bowlegged with her hindlegs. Another thought from last night brought a fresh blush. She waved it off and walked toward where Spike was at.
“Spike, I’m sorry that you saw us like that,” she said.
“You’re sorry? I’m the one that needs to burn that image of his head! I didn’t need to see… that!” he said.
David listened to the little dragon carry on for a few minutes while he got dressed. To be honest he couldn’t really fault him too much. He had been on the receiving end of that once with his own parents. He had woke up when he was seven years old, wondered into their room to ask for a glass of water, and found them happily making his little sister. He didn’t wonder out of his room after lights out until well after he turned fifteen.
He finished getting dressed and walked in where the little dragon was still carrying on.
“I know what it’s like, and we are sorry Spike,” David said.
“Yeah right!” Spike replied.
“No, really I know what it’s like. I’ve wondered in on my parents before. Trust me it’s an image that haunted me for a really long time. That said, I understand now that they were both very much in love with each other. Why don’t we have a talk, just you, me, and something from Sugarcube corner. How does that sound to you?” David asked.
“Okay,” Spike said.
David smiled at Twilight who nodded, and began reorganizing the shelves. Spike opened the door and David followed him out of the library into the street. The little dragon lead him toward the large cake looking building. They both walked in and found a table.
“Good morning!” Pinkie Pie said as she waved.
“Hi Pinkie,” Spike replied.
“So, what do you feel like having?” David asked.
“You really want me to choose?” Spike asked.
“Sure, it’s my treat, and whatever you choose I’ll try to eat as well,” he said.
“Pinkie, can we have two extra special small stacks of pancakes?” Spike asked.
“You sure? You want the really special, special ones right?!” She asked excitedly.
“That’s the ones,” Spike said.
“Yes!” Pinkie shouted as she hoof pumped.
“What did you just order us?” David asked.
“Something that is amazing,” Spike assured him, “So while she’s making our breakfast how about we talk about what it is you think that you’re doing with Twilight.”
“Glad to see that you get right to the point,” David said.
He leaned back and looked at the ceiling.
“I don’t know how to explain it, but we clicked. It was just something that seemed to feel right. It still feels right. I don’t want to be without her,” David said.
“So, you’re going to become her stallion?” Spike asked.
“I’m not sure what that means exactly, but if it means being with her, yeah,” he said.
“Don’t hurt her feelings. I’ve never seen her so caught up in anyone before. She respects Princess Celestia, and I know she also respects Princess Luna. She loves Both Shining Armor and Princess Candace, but she loves them the same way she loves me. She loves them like family. You’re different,” Spike said.
David knew what he was getting at. It was obvious that the young dragon picked up on the fact that Twilight thought of him different. He had ignored the signs of it himself for a while. It was true that he had really only been here for a little while, but things like this just seemed to happen fast, or at least they did since he was cursed. Maybe that was part of it. He didn’t want to think that the wolf was the reason for it all though.
He didn’t want to think it was the wolf even though it made perfect sense. There was something animalistic inside of him. It could feel it clawing at his waking hours. It wasn’t that he was a stranger to sex, or even casual sex, After all what was college if not a place to experiment and learn new things about yourself and your friends. His thoughts turned a little darker after that. His friends. Tiffany, Christine, Bobby, Jeff, Tony, William, Donna, and Mila were all still back home. He made himself stop thinking about it. Even if the possibility existed to where he could go back he wouldn’t, or rather he couldn’t He couldn’t because of the lack of control.
He heard Spike’s voice and grinned. He almost asked him what he said when he pieced it together from what he had heard. Spike was asking him what his intentions were toward Twilight.
“I want to be with her,” he said.
“You don’t want to leave?” Spike asked.
“Buddy, I might have to go to the Crystal Empire, but I don’t want to leave Twilight. Even if I have to move I’m not leaving her,” he said.
Spike looked at him and finally nodded.
“Okay, just don’t hurt her,” he said.
“I don’t plan on it,” David said.
The two of them enjoyed their breakfast, and neither of them saw the excited Pinkie Pie who had listened to their conversation. Without warning the pink mare was gone out of Sugarcube Corner. She ran down the street looking for the familiar tree when she ran into a Cyan Pegasus.
“Rainbow Dash, OhmygoshIjustheardthemostincrediblethingaboutTwilight!” she said as her words tried to come out faster than her mouth would move.
“Woah, Pinkie, slow down, and what about Twilight?” Dash asked.
“She’s got a coltfriend!” Pinkie said her eyes shining brightly.
“What?! She’s an egghead! Where did she get a coltfriend? Does she even know what to do with one?” Dash asked.
“The werewolf,” Pinkie said proud of herself.
“Wait… She’s dating him?! I’ve got to hear this from her!” Dash said.
The both of them began heading toward the library when Rarity stepped out from a vendor and caused them to trip over her. Rarity grumbled about some fabrics getting dirty when she looked at Rainbow Dash and Pinkie.
“Girls, good morning,” she said.
“Rarity, Twilight has a new Coltfriend!
He’sthewerewolfandhe’stalkingtoSpikeinSugarcubecornerrightnow!!!!” Pinkie said once again letting the words try to leave her faster than she could speak them.
“She’s got a what?!” Rarity asked.
“Yeah, I don’t really want to believe it either, but Pinkie said that it’s the werewolf,” Dash said.
Pinkie nodded vigorously.
“I am coming with you to find out about this,” she said.
The three of them arrived to the library to find Fluttershy already there. Their friend was talking to Twilight for a moment.
“Fluttershy, I don’t know how his wolf side would react to you trying to talk to him,” Twilight said.
“But, if I could maybe just talk to him a little I could find out so much about it. I might could even learn how to talk to the Timber Wolves,” she said.
“Different kind of wolf,” Twilight replied.
“I know, but just think about it. I could ask the Timber Wolves not to hurt anymore ponies. That would be really useful,” Fluttershy said.
“Yeah, about your friend… Or should I say Coltfriend,” Dash said.
Twilight turned toward her and lowered her ears.
“Ummmm…” she started.
“I knew it!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“Twilight you got a coltfriend and didn’t tell any of us?” Rarity asked looking hurt.
“Well… it didn’t really become official until last night,” Twilight said as she moved.
Pinkie watched her and then covered her mouth with her hoof.
“The both of you rutted!” she said.
“Ummmm… We… Well… It wasn’t quite…” Twilight tried to say.
“Woah, Twilight I’m surprised, and a little impressed. I wasn’t sure if you really knew what to do with a stallion. So, are the stories true?” Dash asked.
“You helped carry him!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Yeah, and he was covered up in blankets,” Dash replied.
“I can’t say from an excited state, but when I measured him for his clothes… it would appear to be true,” Rarity said.
Twilight facehooved and sat down. It was going to be one of those times, and she needed to get ready for it.
(Ponyville Train station – The following day)
Twilight stood up on her hind legs and hugged David hard. She felt his arms around her and they kissed deeply before the sound of the train arriving sounded. Neither of them stopped kissing and it was only when they heard a groan that they finally stopped. They turned to see Shining Armor standing there.
“I come to pick up my new recruit and find this,” he said.
“BBBFF!” Twilight shouted.
She hugged him tightly and he smiled. He watched as she stepped back and studied her. She didn’t look any different, but there was something about the way she was watching the werewolf. His eyes widened as he realized what it was and shook his head. Inwardly he wasn’t sure why he thought Candace would be wrong. Maybe it was because this was Twilight his little sister, but he had honestly hopped that she would have been wrong about this.
“So, you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you David. How do you feel about that?” he asked.
“I’m excited, but I have a reason to want to stay,” David said.
“For the love of Celestia… Look I know the both of you are… close. We’re going to leave it at close. Twilight is welcomed to come to the Crystal Empire when she wants. It’s her right as a Princess. You’ll be given a month pass once a year,” he said.
“Shining, I’m coming with him,” Twilight said.
“What about Ponyville?” Shining asked.
“I’ll be coming back to it, but there’s something I want to do when we get over there,” she said.
He shook his head and turned around.
“Why does she always have to be right? Can’t she be wrong just once?” he asked as he climbed back on the train.
(Golden Oaks Library – Same time)
The white mare with a red swiss cross on her flank walked up to the front door. She breathed out a sigh and pushed the flattened letter under the door. It had taken her nearly two days to decide what to do. Seeing him, realizing who he was, and who she was had made her question so much about herself and about what she wanted. Did she want to be with him again? In truth she did. She had missed David like the flowers missed the rain, but regardless of what his decision was she wanted him to know about Serafine. She needed to tell him about his daughter, that she found someone so much like her father, and that she found a way to remove her curse. She needed to tell him because it was something she had promised herself she would do when she crossed over.
“She’s the best of both of us David,” she said sadly.
Shining stood next to Candace and uncomfortably looked at his sister standing next to the werewolf. He knew its name, but somehow saying that name, thinking it, or even remotely thinking it gave him visions of being in a train car listening to his sister moaning that name over and over. He looked over at Candace who was practically beaming with excitement.
“So, little sister tell me, what brings you back to the Crystal Empire?” she asked.
“Candace, I want to talk to you about a few things, in private,” Twilight replied.
Candace smiled and nodded. She rose from the throne and motioned toward the hall. She and Twilight began to trot toward it before she stopped and looked back at Shining Armor.
“Shining, perhaps you would like to show David where his civilian and military work will be. I’m quite sure he would be interested in getting ready for both,” she said.
Shining nodded and waited until they were gone. He trotted down to David and shook his head.
“It had to be my sister. I wouldn’t have cared if it was another one of the elements, but why in all of Equestria did it have to be Twily?” Shining asked.
“I can’t explain it. We clicked,” David replied.
Shining shook his head as they walked.
“I’m not going to hurt her,” David said.
“It’s not you I’m worried about. I’m not even worried about the wolf. Twilight seems to be able to reach you when you’re in that state. The fact that she was able to get that part of you to accept us as pack members only speaks to the connection you both have. I’m worried because this is my little sister, and you are her first coltfriend,” Shining replied.
The thought stuck with David. He knew that Twilight had never done anything before they got together. She had admitted that the first night they actually became serious, but to know that she had never even dated seemed odd. She was beautiful. He couldn’t understand why someone, anyone, would pass her by.
“That’s hard to believe,” David said.
Shining raised an eyebrow at him.
“Not because of anything she’s done, but because of her. She’s incredible. I’ve known very few women who could match her in intelligence and beauty. I don’t know what else to tell you Shining. I’ve come to accept a few things about me. A few things that have changed since this… curse was placed on me. I’ve become more in touch with my animal side, but at the same time I feel deeper than I have before,” David said.
It was true. He did feel deeper than before. Before all of this he felt connections, love, desire, bonds, but it had been amplified so much after he was turned. His connection to Jack had went from a best friend to being a brother. Every time Jack appeared he was glad to see him. He was glad to see to see him even when all he was doing was warning him about becoming a werewolf. It hadn’t stopped there. His connection to Alex, then once they came here he began developing a connection with Twilight. Before he would have known her for a couple of months before they moved to this point.
The sad truth was that he wasn’t sure anymore where he began and the wolf ended. It was as if they had blurred into one being. Maybe knowing that made this entire thing easier to deal with. In a sense it did make sense that knowing he wasn’t really human was making it easier to deal with everything. It made it easier to deal with the fact that he wasn’t on Earth anymore. He stopped his train of thought when they walked into a large building. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was expecting, but an Ivy League school wasn’t exactly it.
The building was made of crystal, like most of the other buildings, but the growth of a crystal like ivy over its surface made him think of Harvard. The inside looked as if they had found crystal the color of wood, steel, and an off white crystal that ran the length of the ceiling. He heard the sounds of hooves clopping toward them and watched as a twinkling pony with a tight ruby red bun turned the corner. It was a mare, he was sure, and she was wearing a suit jacket that seemed to have a sharp v line. She stopped, looked at Shining Armor and then at him.
“I take it that we have our new Languages and Literature professor?” she asked.
“Shining, I thought that I was to be an advisor,” David said.
“No other pony here seems to know the literature theories that you do. Twilight has informed us of how advanced your theories are, and the University President here wants someone with that experience helping to design the class structure,” Shining said with an eyeroll.
“Captain Armor, although our part in the Empire may not be militant we are important. I would take it as a kindness if you please reframe from treating us as a secondary part of the whole of the Empire,” she said.
Shining nodded and followed her as she walked. David walked behind her and soon found himself in a large office. She took a seat behind a desk and indicated to them both to have a seat. They did as she instructed and she cleared her throat.
“Since we’ve been gone for a thousand years it has been difficult to catch up to the changing trends of the world. It has been brought to my attention that perhaps the best way to learn more about the world is to read its literature. Our Literature professors are distinguished stallions and mares, but unfortunately none of them have a clue on where to being with the new material. We need new blood. If the Crystal Empire is to become a great beacon of hope it once was we need to learn as much as we can about the world around us,” she sighed and leaned back against her chair, “Unfortunately I have no idea where to begin myself. Mr…” she looked confused.
“Kessler. My last name is Kessler. Trust me when I say that Human names are different,” David said.
“Mr. Kessler, you are the best chance we have. Other ponies are already engaged at various universities, and we do not want to have to specifically ask Canterlot for help. It isn’t that we don’t think they would send it, but we would like to do this on our own if possible,” she replied.
David let out a sigh. He was an English Scholar. He did focus on Literature and Literature Criticism, but this was going beyond what his bachelor’s degree demanded of him. He was thankful for the education classes he decided to take, at his professors suggestion, but even that was just barely going to give him any idea of what he needed to do. Then again, he was being given an opportunity here to really help.
“I’ll do what I can. The first thing I suggest is that you have all of your current professors talk to Princess Twilight Sparkle,” he noticed her scowl, “I’m suggesting it because she is a well learned mare, and because she has an extensive knowledge of popular literature. If you really want to learn about the world as it is then you need to start with the popular literature. Begin back as far as two hundred years ago, and work forward. There has been more, a lot more, but start then. That will give you a decent grasp of the society. The next thing we need to do is find out how the class structure is,” he said.
“It’s a basic eight hour structure. The students remain in one class room while the professors move from class to class,” she said.
He thought of his study of Japanese classes for his education class and shook his head.
“That’s something we need to work on. I’m not going to say it won’t work like that, but if you have the students go from class to class, and you arrange the classes on an alternating schedule it will allow you a few extra rooms for side projects or extra classes. It would allow more students, and beyond that you could open the school to other places beyond the Crystal Empire. Open it to students from around the world,” he suggested.
She looked at him and shook her head. The idea of what he had just said danced around in her head for several minutes.
“This is a major project,” she finally said.
“It is, but you’re bringing an entire university up to current standards. It’s the same as building one from the ground up. It’s going to take a massive amount of work, and a load of determination to get there, but it will be worth it,” he said.
She nodded and got up.
“I’ll inform our professors of the change in plans. Mr. Kessler, I do hope that we can make the Crystal University the beacon of learning it once was,” she said.
“I don’t doubt that we can,” he said.
Both he and Shining left the college and he followed the Captain toward a different building. This one almost looked as if it was made of Quartz. He walked inside to see a number of guards. One of the end guards watched him and nudged the one standing next to him. David felt the eyes on him and shook his head. It was something he had gotten somewhat used to, but he still didn’t like the gawking stares.
He noticed a look on one of the Pegasi guards face and it wasn’t a curious stare, but rather a hungry stare.
“So, what exactly are we doing here?” David asked.
Shining looked at the guards behind them, and he watched as they turned their attention back to each other instead of on him and David. He opened the door and the two of them walked into a different room. Once it was closed Shining breathed out a sigh.
“I need your help more than just as a part time guard,” Shining said.
“What are you talking about?” David asked.
Shining turned around and looked out the window.
“King Sombra has been gathering an army. They are creatures of horrific abilities and terrible destruction. Most are creatures that we believed to be long dead, and the others are the Changelings. He’s promised them all of the powerful emotions they could ever want from the ponies here. Our scout brought this information back, and it was the last thing he ever did. You have to understand that we are not prepared for this kind of attack,” Shining said.
“What can I do? I’m an English Scholar!” David exclaimed.
“No, you’re a werewolf. You have the ability to sniff out Changelings. You’re sense of smell is far better than any of ours, and there is the other option,” Shining said as he turned to face David.
“What other option?” David asked.
“If worse comes to worse we could allow some of our guards to become infected. If we need a chance to turn the tide so to speak,” Shining said.
“No. Sorry, but no. I won’t turn anyone. Trust me this isn’t something you want to become. It’s horrible. Every transformation hurts. It never gets any better. Imagine every bone in your body breaking, snapping in a dozen places and then reforming into a longer bone. Imagine your muscles stretching, ripping, all of your internal organs reshaping. Picture that for a moment and then realize what it is you’re asking me,” He said.
“I understand, but it may be a sacrifice that we may have to make! I won’t allow that tyrant to retake the Crystal Empire!” Shining exclaimed.
“Damn it you’re asking me to make more like me! The first night they turn they don’t have any control, none, they will kill anything and everything in front of them! Think about that for a minute. Hundreds of innocent lives lost, for no reason!” David shouted back.
Shining swallowed and took a seat.
“Not if they are already on the battlefield. All they will have is the enemy in front of them,’ he said.
“And then we run the risk of one of those things being turned into a werewolf,” David said.
“It’s not a complete answer, but for now it is what we have,” Shining said.
“This should be the point that I turn around and leave,” David replied.
“David, we’re talking about stopping a madstallion. We’re talking about stopping someone who would go from here to all over Equestria. He would hurt everyone, including Twilight,” Shining said.
“I’m not turning anyone,” David said.
“I won’t ask you to until there is no choice,” Shining replied.
(Same time – Sweet Apple Acres – Jack’s room)
A bleary eyed Jack slowly sat up. He held his head and tried to shake off the oncoming headache. Eight tall mugs of hard cider had been thrown back in a competition with Big Mac, and once the larger stallion finally drank him under the table he had been helped up to his room. He remembered that his help, Applejack, had been about as sober as he was. He moaned, touched the spot beside him and felt something other than bed. He turned to see a sleeping form under the quilt. He touched it again and felt it stirring.
“Yer touching ma flank,” a southern voice said.
“Applejack?” he asked.
She raised up, looked around, saw him and then looked at the situation. A sheepish smile crossed her lips.
“Granny! What does a hat on a doorknob mean?!” Applebloom shouted from outside of their room.
“It means that two young’ns are gonna have a talk with me!” Granny shouted back.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 10 – Battle Lines
(Sweet Apple Acres – three hours later)
Applejack sat on her haunches with her ears folded back. She had received a talking to from Granny Smith before, but this time the old Mare was pacing back and forth. She stopped, looked up at the two ponies and then shook her head. Applejack looked over at Jack who wasn’t showing any signs of being even the slightest bit afraid. She wondered if maybe he was a little touched in the head or something.
“How long y’all been doing this?” Granny Smith asked.
“Ma’am, first I’m going to be honest this entire thing is my fault. We went out drinking with Big Macintosh last night. I had a bit too much to drink, and so did your granddaughter. I should have had enough sense and wits about me, but I didn’t,” he said.
Granny Smith looked at him and cocked an eyebrow.
“So, yer taking all the reasonability of this huh?” she asked.
“Like I said, it’s my fault. I should have had more wits about me when we came home,” he said.
“Well, if’n yer gonna be responsible then I don’t see any other course of action…” she said turning around.
Neither of them could see her grin as she started to walk down the stairs.
“Welcome to the family son. Celestia help ya, ‘cause yer gonna need it. I expect you to make a honest mare of my granddaughter before the end of the season,” Granny Smith said.
“What?!” Applejack shouted.
Granny Smith turned around with a smile and looked at her granddaughter.
“Ah seen ya floating around like milk weed in the breeze around ‘im Applejack, so what has got you all riled up ‘bout this?” she asked.
“Ah… Ah… Ah hoped that we would date a little longer!” Applejack exclaimed.
Granny Smith’s expression became far more serious.
“Yer Momma and Daddy did this same stunt Applejack. In fact yer older brother came around ‘bout ten months after they pulled it. So, I want ya to be an honest mare before that can happen,” Granny Smith said.
Applejack looked at the floor for a second and then nodded.
“Besides, Ah want yer little sister to think that this only happens when two young’ns are planning on getting married,” Granny Smith said as she turned around and headed down the stairs.
Applejack turned toward Jack who sat there slack jawed. She began to giggle, and fell over laughing at his expression.
(Crystal Empire – The Castle – Main Hall)
“So Twilight, you seem, happier,” Candace said as they walked.
“I know that you know,” Twilight said.
Candace looked toward her and could see the slight blush on her younger sister-in-law. She grinned and nodded.
“Yes, I know what you’ve done, but I don’t know how it made you feel, what you feel right now, and how you view things to come,” she said.
Twilight smiled and looked toward her.
“I… I love him. Celestia help me I love him so much. He was so gentle, and it was… No book ever, ever had that it would feel like that in it,” she said.
“They wouldn’t. It’s different for everypony. What you experienced is something that belongs to you and you only, but that’s what makes it so special,” Candace said.
They shared a comfortable silence for a moment before Candace stopped in front of a large open archway. Twilight looked at the Archway and then at Candace who gave her a soft smile.
“I am uncertain of the time or day that you will want to go the next step with David, but I, and your brother, would be honored if you would allow us to hold the ceremony here,” she said.
Twilight looked at the splendor of the room. The way the sun hit the archway it appeared to give off nearly every single color of the rainbow. It was breathtaking, and Twilight marveled at it for a while.
“Thank you. I don’t know when we will, but I would love to have it here,” she said.
“You know, to part of him, if not all of him, you are already at that stage,” Candace said as they began to walk back.
Twilight looked at her questioningly.
“The wolf part of him mates for life Twilight. He mated with you. Gentle or not, he has accepted you as his mate,” she looked at her and gave a gentle smile, “Little sister I do not want to worry you by saying this. It’s not something that you should worry over.”
Twilight stopped and looked at Candace as the older Alicorn turned around.
“How do I keep him happy? What do I need to do in order to make sure that he made the right choice?” she asked.
“Simply be yourself. He choose you because of who you are Twilight,” Candace said.
They walked back into the throne room and noticed that both David and Shining Armor was still gone.
“Let us go and find them shall we?” Candace asked.
(The Guard’s building – Shining Armor’s office)
David looked at bits of cloth and held them up. He could smell something off. It smelled… sweet. It smelled like something had been eating massive amounts of sugar. It wasn’t just a few sweets from Sugarcube corner, but rather whatever this thing was had been eating nothing but sugar. He looked at Shining Armor and nodded.
“According to what intelligence we have King Sombra may have sent a changeling into the Crystal Empire already. If he has then we need to find them,” Shining Armor said.
“I understand, but there’s something else,” David said as he smelled the bits of cloth again.
It was off putting. He couldn’t explain it, but it smelled like something had been doused with oil or kerosene. He took a deeper breath and then the connection hit him. He had smelled it at the train station before. It wasn’t any normal oil. It was lamp oil that was coming off of the station lamps.
“Check the train station. Someone who is near the platform lamps, maybe working on them,” he said.
Shining looked at him questioningly, and David shook his head.
“If you were going to invade would you come in through the front door, or would you find a better way in?” he asked.
Shining thought about it and nodded.
“David, when the time comes, are you going to be willing to transform?” Shining asked.
He looked at the stallion and then at the door.
“To protect her, to protect all of you, I’ll do it, but don’t ask me again to infect anyone else,” he said.
“It may come to that,” Shining Armor said.
“No, it won’t,” David said.
“David, we may have no other choice. There is every chance that we will need to have more than just one werewolf. The fact that werebeasts are so difficult to kill, so resistant to normal methods death would make them invaluable on the battlefield. It could be the deciding factor between us and King Sombra,” Shining said.
“And at the same time you will be cursing several of your own ponies. They will have to live with the pain, and with seeing the undead they’ve made. Do you really want to do that to them? Is it worth that to you?” David asked.
“I do not want it to be that way, but the good of the many will outweigh the good of the few,” Shining said.
The door opened and Shining prepared to chew out the guard who opened it early when Twilight and Candace stepped through. He smiled and walked toward his wife, kissing her muzzle.
“Sweetheart, I thought you and Twily were visiting in the castle,” he said.
“We decided to see what the both of you were up to,” she replied.
Twilight walked over to David and smiled. She felt him pull her into a hug that she happily returned. The two of them held each other there for a while. Shining cleared his throat, but it didn’t seem to work.
“Leave them alone Shining,” Candace said.
He grumbled when the sound of the alarm horn sounded. His eyes shot open and he ran outside to see a crazed beast running through the streets. David walked out and smelled the air. His eyes widened as he realized what it was. It looked like a Timber Wolf, but it smelled like a Pony. The Timber Wolf looked toward them and howled. David looked at Twilight.
“Wolf’s bane,” he said.
She looked at him concerned, but focused her mind. For a moment nothing happened, and then a spark erupted from her horn and the air filled with electricity. When it cleared there was a small flower. David looked at the plant, the purest form of Wolf’s bane, deadly to humans and wolves, and he hoped that what Shining had discovered was true. He bit into one of the pettles of the flower and felt the headache start. It began spreading, moving faster than it had before. His claws shredded his clothes and he jumped out in front of them before he was completely transformed.
The two different kinds of wolves slammed into each other. The Timber Wolf growled and snapped at David, but his wolf form bit back grabbing the Timber Wolf by the back leg and slamming it hard into the building. It yelped out. Twilight watched as it jumped back and landed on David. The two of them fought hard, and she could see places where David was getting hurt. This thing wasn’t a mere animal. It was a pony. It could think abstractly and attack at weak spots.
But that wasn’t the only problem. Whoever this was had more experience fighting than David did. David was about speed and power. His attacks were completely from the wolf’s instinct. This other Timber Wolf seemed to know when to attack, and she could already see David slowing down.
“Shining help him!” Twilight shouted.
A multitude of crossbow wielding Pegasi began to exit out of the building.
“David throw it away from you!” Shining shouted.
The Timber Wolf jumped toward David and he fell on his back. When he did he kicked his legs up throwing the Timber over him. A moment later the twang of three dozen crossbows filled the air. The Timber Wolf whimpered and David slowly stood. He whined as he walked. Twilight ran to him as he collapsed. She touched his head and watched as he slowly began to turn back into his human form.
Once he was back to being in his natural form she could see hundreds of cuts and bruises on him. She gently stroked his hair as she held him.
“The Dark King will rise!” a green Earth Pony shouted.
Like David he was hurt, but his own wounds seemed to be healing differently. Shining looked at his guards and motioned toward the downed Earth Pony.
“Take her prisoner. We are going to find out everything she knows about Sombra,” he said.
He walked toward David and looked at the weakened werewolf.
“David, I’m sorry, but the second option may have to happen regardless,” he said.
“Shining, sweetheart?” Candace asked.
“I won’t fail my ponies. I won’t let anything in here to hurt them,” Shining said.
“Sir, what about him?” one of the Pegasi asked.
“Take him to the infirmary,” Shining said.
Twilight followed them as they carried David.
“What is the second option?” Candace asked.
“Candace..” he began before she glared at him.
He sighed and looked at her.
“We need to have guards and soldiers who have the strength to match werebeasts, and the only way that will happen is if..” he began before she shook her head.
“Shining no, you can’t be serious!” she exclaimed.
“I can think of no other way. We need superior strength, and this may be the only way to get it,” he said.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 11 – Making Monsters
(Crystal Empire – Castle – Infirmary)
Twilight looked at David as he lay in the bed. The doctors had begun treating his wounds the moment he was brought in, but his own natural healing process was making it appear that most of his wounds had already been treated. She touched his hand softly. He moaned in his sleep. She leaned up and kissed his forehead before nuzzling his cheek.
“Wake up. Please wake up for me David,” she whispered.
He moaned and she stayed close to him. Candace looked in on the two and hoped that he would wake up soon. She could see how taxing it was on Twilight to sit there not being able to do anything, being forced to deal with the fact that her beloved was in pain, and that only time to heal was the only thing that would help him.
She closed the door and walked away. Inside of the room Twilight went from nuzzling him to hugging herself close to him.
“I know how strong you are David, and I know that you can wake up, so please wake up for me. Show me that you’re going to be okay,” she said as she buried her face in his chest.
While she fought a war against the feeling of being so helpless David was caught in a different battle inside of his dreams. He stood near a small cottage, similar to the houses in Ponyville, and outside of it was a shed. He could sense something dark all around him, and the feeling only seemed to press down on him. He looked back toward the cottage, but whatever was filling the air with this feeling wasn’t coming from there. He put his hand down to his side and felt fur. He looked to see the demonic wolves standing by him. It seemed that each of them having accepted him as pack master. He walked a tentative steps toward the shed and felt the dark presence growing.
The wolves growled at the feeling and like him they slowly began making their way toward the shed. He reached it and could smell something horrible and rotting from within. He opened the door and looked to see a black and gray unicorn with a glowing red horn. It turned toward him and grinned. Behind the Unicorn was Twilight. She looked as if she had been beaten, tortured, and exposed to every perversion the unicorn could come up with.
“Get away from her!” he shouted.
The wolves began growling, snarling, and for the first time he could hear them talk.
“That is our mate! How dare you lay a single hoof upon our chosen mate!” their unified voices rang out.
David looked to see them pull together. No longer was it four different demonic wolves, but a single one far larger than any of the rest. The dark unicorn laughed and picked up a blade with his magic.
“I am the rightful ruler of this world, David, I am King Sombra! Your little harlot is of no consequence to me. She is powerful, but no so much that I need to fear her. You however, you have the potential to be a great thorn in my side. You could help create an army that would easily stand against my own,” he said.
“Get away from her,” both David and the wolf said.
They stepped forward and the knife pressed against her neck.
“One more step and the harlot will have a new hole. I am going to offer you something David. I offer this to you once, and once only. I offer you a place at my side. Come, join with me and you may even keep the harlot you have chosen as a mate. Help me take down the Crystal Empire, destroy Celestia’s hold on Equestria, and rule this world as it is meant to be ruled! It will have peace, harmony, and it will be kept at the end of my iron hoof!” Sombra shouted.
He looked at the two of them and grinned.
“And if you refuse,” he said as the knife glowed a brilliant red and then ripped into Twilight’s throat, “I will end her.”
At that both David and the wolf jumped toward the dark king. The wolf grabbed his foreleg and pulled hard. King Sombra laughed at them, at their attempt and then turned into smoke. He disappeared leaving them in a room with Twilight’s corpse. David walked toward her, hearing the wolf right behind him. The two of them touched her.
“My mate,” the wolf said.
“Twilight,” David whispered.
Her body glowed a dull purple and then she disappeared. The wolf turned toward him and snarled. It wasn’t meant for him. He could tell it wasn’t meant for him.
“He will not touch her. He will not get close to her! She will not be harmed like this!” the wolf howled.
David nodded and before he knew what was happening the Wolf ran toward him and latched onto his leg. Suddenly he felt its strength, power, cunning all coursing through him. He opened his eyes and looked down at Twilight. The memory of what happened was still there, but there was something else as well. There was a sense of relief that simply washed over his entire body.
“He won’t touch you,” David said.
She looked up at him and saw that his eyes looked like the wolf’s eyes instead of his own. For a moment they stayed like that until they slowly turned back to their normal state. She felt his hands snake up around her and pull her into a deep hug. She returned it and held on to him.
“He will never touch you. I won’t let him come near you,” David whispered.
“David… What are you talking about?” she asked.
“I saw him… He talked to me… He threatened you, he killed you… I won’t let him do it. He will never get the chance,” David said.
“David who? Who did this?” she asked.
“King Sombra,” David said.
She pulled back and looked at him. Her horn glowed a bright purple and she could see traces of Sombra’s magic on David’s wounds. She looked up at him and shook her head. He had faced down Sombra, and the dark king had shown him something horrible. She leaned forward and kissed him. He returned it, and while he did she gently began to weave a spell over him. As she did the traces of magic that Sombra had somehow gotten on him began to disappear. Once she was done she pulled back.
“Tell me everything,” she said.
He wanted to look away, but she touched his face softly.
“David, I need to know. I need to know so that I can help make sure we’re prepared,” she said.
He looked up at her and tried to fight back the words. He didn’t want to lay this on her. He didn’t want hurt her, but another voice spoke out.
“She is our mate, she is strong, tell her,” it said from deep within him.
He began to tell her. The cottage, the shed, and finding Sombra inside with her tied down. He explained what it looked like had happened to her, what Sombra had proposed, and he promised to do if he dared to stand against him. Twilight didn’t faulter, but once he was finished she called for Candace and Shining Armor.
“What is it Twily?” Shining asked.
“What have you learned from that Earth Pony Mare?” she asked.
“Only that she is Sombra’s chosen. She calls him her pack master,” Shining answered.
“Her attack was meant to arrange a meeting between David and Sombra,” she said.
Shining looked confused until Twilight relayed everything David had told her to him. He no longer looked confused, but instead he looked pissed. His eyes grew hard and he walked toward David.
“We have no other choice,” he said.
“They have to know. They have to know exactly what they are getting into,” David replied.
Shining nodded.
“I will tell the ones chosen what will happen, and any of them want out now is the time, but we have no other choice. If Sombra is afraid of you helping to create an army then we create that army. I will not allow him to hurt any pony!” Shining all but yelled.
He turned and walked out. Candace looked at David and then at Twilight.
“Twilight, call your friends, and I shall contact Celestia. I fear this is no longer just our problem. Sombra intends to enslave the world, and everyone should be aware of it,” Candace said.
(Crystal Empire – Train station)
A white mare with a red swiss cross climbed off of the train. She had worked at the hospital for a few years now, and she had never taken a vacation before. So, the doctors were more than happy to let her leave. A few questions about what happened to the library answered where David was at. He hadn’t been able to read the letter, and perhaps that was a good thing, but she needed to talk to him anyway. She wanted to tell him what was going on. Let him know what was happening. She walked toward the edge of the platform when something struck her in the side. She slammed against the crystal walkway and looked up to see a pony like thing with fangs. It began shifting its shape into hers and then formed a bag around her. She screamed as the bag filled with a green gel and then she began to grow silent.
“Everything you know, I will know, everything you are I will be… David… The werewolf… You had known him before… This will be interesting. The Queen will be pleased with my report,” the newly formed Nurse Redheart said.
(Sweet Apple Acres – barn)
Jack heard something behind him and turned to see a large red stallion. The large stallion walked in, closed the door to the barn and walked over to the tool box.
“How are you doing Big Macintosh?” Jack asked.
Big Mac pulled out a hammer, some nails, and a saw. He turned and looked at Jack.
“Ya rutted my sister, and ya better be ready to make an honest mare of her. ‘Cause I know where ya sleep,” Mac said before he walked outside.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 12 – When the Man comes Around
(Crystal Empire – Guard Building – three days later)
David looked at the group of mares and stallions standing around in the area. To be honest he was still stiff and sore from the fight with the weretimber wolf. He did his best to hide it as he followed Shining Armor toward a chair where a Nurse and Doctor were standing.
“They’ve been told what will happen?” David asked.
Shining nodded and looked at the ponies gathered there.
“Fillies and Colts this is the very last chance to back out. I will not force anyone to do this procedure. All of you saw what Mr. Kessler went through with his transformation,” he said.
A few of them looked nervous, but no one offered to leave.
“Let’s do this,” David said as he took a seat.
The doctor pressed a needle into his arm and began drawing out some blood. He continued until they had about six vials full of it. He then nodded and David walked over to the side and watched as the ponies began getting in line. The first was a Pegasus. She closed her eyes as the blood was introduced into her veins. She got up and they went through the entire list of them. Once it was done they had managed to get fifteen of them injected.
“We do not have the luxury of waiting for a full moon. Most of you in this room have been informed of the situation. You know that you have chosen because of your absolute loyalty and bravery. All of you will be given three days off for rest and then we will begin making the transformations happen. I want you prepared,” he said.
“Sir,” the first Pegasus mare said.
“What is it private?” Shining Armor asked.
“Sir, what can we expect?” she asked.
Shining turned to David who breathed in deeply.
“Any of you ever break a bone?” he asked.
A few of them nodded.
“Think about how that felt. That pain of breaking that bone, now imagine it happening everywhere on your body. Imagine being in so much pain that you can’t think straight. Now Imagine feeling nothing but pain, anger, and a savage hunger. That’s what the first time feels like. It’s horrible, and you will have no control. You will attack and kill anything that moves,” David said.
“That is why Mr. Kessler and I believe that the first transformation should be done in a place where you cannot hurt anyone. Those of you who are married, have colt or filly friends you need to inform them about this,” Shining Armor said.
“You’re also going to be experiencing some interesting things today,” David said. One of them looked at him oddly.
“What kind of interesting things?” one asked.
“I’ve heard about what all of you go through during heat. I understand, but know that this is going to make that seem like a walk through the park. It’s your wolf side attempting to find its mate. It’s natural, and it can’t be helped,” he answered and rubbed the back of his head, “That’s part of the reason for the three days off, and it’s also something that those of you who are married, or have mare and stallionfriends, need to talk to them. They are going to be a major help to you.”
Shining shot David a questioning glance. David looked back at him and nodded. He finally nodded and then looked at the group who was standing there in a sense of uncertainty.
“Express to your significant others that this information is not to travel outside of the two of you. The fact that you are a new part of the guard will come about soon enough. We don’t need everypony getting frightened at the idea of having a group of werewolves living among them,” Shining Armor said.
A different mare cleared her throat and looked at them.
“You said this would be similar to being in heat right?” she asked.
“All of your senses are going to be heightened. All of them, and it’s not going to get any better any time soon. You will learn to control them, but the wolf inside of you won’t be worried about you dealing with your new sense of smell or sight. It’s going to want to build a pack. Part of that is finding a mate,” David said.
“What… what if we don’t have anyone,” a stallion asked.
“Believe me when I say that you’ll find someone. Do not hurt them, do not act aggressively. The wolf might influence you, but at the end of the day you are in control until you transform. You make the decisions,” David replied.
“Mr. Kessler is correct. You are in control of your decisions, and I expect all of you to uphold the values and traditions we have strived for in the guard,” Shining Armor said.
The group of guardponies held a hoof to their chests and Shining Armor did the same.
“Dismissed,” he said.
The group left and David began walking out of the building next to Shining.
“I hope that this doesn’t come back to bite us,” David said.
“Sombra is afraid of us doing this, and that means it is something that should serve us well,” Shining said.
“Has Candace contacted Princess Celestia?” David asked.
“She has. Technically speaking I am the head of the royal guard for all of Equestria. The princesses typically allow me to run the guards as I see fit, but having her on notice has made things easier,” Shining said as he looked ahead and walked next to David, “Has Twilight contacted the other elements?”
“She sent them a letter while I was still in the infirmary,” David said.
“Have they contacted her back?” he asked.
“They said that they would be here in a couple of days without question. I don’t think that was what she was expecting. It seems that even Spike is coming,” David replied.
Shining nodded and stopped as they entered the hall of the castle. He looked directly at David.
“David, I would like to see you learn hoof to hoof combat,” Shining said.
“What? Why?” David asked.
“That weretimber wolf nearly killed you. She knew how to fight. That in and of itself speaks that the knowledge of fighting is something that is kept during transformations, and I feel that it would serve you to learn how to fight,” Shining Armor said.
David finally nodded and looked ahead.
“When do you plan on having someone instruct me?” he asked.
“Later this evening one of the instructors for guard will be coming over. He is a firm believer in the old ways of fighting. He is very rough, very direct. I wouldn’t have him do it, but since you can heal quickly, and because he has had nothing but stunning results, I felt it would be best to have you become his pupil,” Shining said.
Shining turned toward him and held his hoof out. David took it and shook it.
“I’ve business to attend to, take a couple of hours and get your mind clear,” Shining said.
David nodded and watched as the unicorn trotted off. He walked further into the castle and heard a voice he was searching for. She was bent over in the guest room they had taken over. He could see her searching through one of her saddle bags for something. He walked up behind her, quietly, and placed a hand on her cutie mark. She let out a small squeak of surprise and turned around to see him standing there. A smile crossed her face. She raised up on her hind legs and placed her hooves on his shoulders. She leaned forward and caught him in a kiss.
“Are you finished for the day?” she asked.
He shook his head and smiled.
“Not really. I’ve got training to do in a couple of hours, but I wanted to come and find you,” he said.
She grinned and lowered herself to the floor. She walked over to the bed and took a seat on it. He took a seat beside her and felt her hoof touch his hand. He took her hoof and brought it up to his lips. He kissed it gently and then leaned forward to kiss her. She leaned back as he kissed down her neck.
“David…” she moaned as he worked his way down her.
The room, and hall outside of it, filled with a chorus of moans for the next hour. Finally the two of them lay next to each other. Twilight’s mane was disheveled, but she was smiling happily. She felt David pull her gently closer to him and she obliged more than happily.
“I love you,” she said.
“I love you too,” he replied.
She felt his lips on the back of her neck.
“David, you’re going to be careful aren’t you?” she asked.
He rubbed her belly lightly and breathed out.
“I’ll be as careful as I can, but I won’t let him touch you. He won’t ever get the chance to,” he said.
She could hear the growl in his voice. Ever since the attack he had seemed more connected to the wolf. It was as if the two parts of him weren’t so disconnected anymore. Instead they were becoming one person. She didn’t mind too badly. The wolf could be scary, but it was part of him, and he was one of the gentlest souls she had ever known. He didn’t want to hurt anyone if he didn’t want to, but Sombra was different. Sombra had apparently made it a point to express what he would do if given a chance.
“Our friends are coming, and you know that they will do everything they can to make sure that Sombra never gets a chance to reclaim any power,” she said.
He nodded, but Sombra hadn’t seemed concerned about them. He seemed more worried about having to face an army of werewolves down. There must have been something he had in store for the others.
(Ponyville – Train station)
Applejack looked at Jack and shook her head.
“What in tarnation do you think you’re doing?” she asked.
“Coming with you,” he said.
“Jack, you can’t be just leaving the farm!” she said.
“Big Mac made me promise to come. Apparently this is something I’m supposed to get used to doing,” he said with a smile.
She shook her head and thought about her big brother. She already knew about how he threatened Jack, and Granny Smith had told them that they had better get used to the idea of getting hitched before too long. She shook at the thought. It wasn’t that she really minded the idea of being married, and she didn’t mind the idea of being married to Jack.
She just had figured that she wouldn’t really ever find a special somepony. Most of the stallions in Ponyville kept away from her. Some of them thought that their family was one of those really weird ones. There had even been the thought that Applebloom was her daughter and not her sister. That was wrong of course. Those that didn’t believe it was afraid of Big Mac, or they were imitated by her.
Jack however was oblivious to it all. She chalked it up to him being a little nuts. He wasn’t insane, but he waved off Big Mackintosh’s threat as a big brother speaking up for his sister and nothing else.
The train slowly rolled in and she watched as Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie get aboard it. She walked toward it and heard Jack singing slightly. They neared the train car and he took a seat near her.
“You never count your money when you’re sitting at the table, There will be time enough for counting when the dealing done,” he sung.
“What’s that?” Dash asked.
“Oh, it’s a song that was top of the charts a couple of years before David and I ended up here. I kind of liked listening to damned near everything, and it was something that had a pretty good beat to it,” he answered.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 13 – Darkness
(Crystal Empire – Train Station)
The train stopped and all of the riders slowly exited. Jack watched as a few of the folks from other cars walked out, and right off of the bat he noticed a rough looking Griffin. It wore a patch over one eye, one of its front legs had long since been crippled. It looked around with its one good eye and made its way off of the platform. Jack watched the creature for a few moments before he felt his tail being pulled.
“What?” he asked.
Applejack looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
“We’re heading to the castle, and ah figured that ya would want to join us,” she said.
He nodded and followed her. As they walked he couldn’t help but let his eyes wonder to her flank. She was the reason he had a job, and now was engaged to be married. There had been a whole hell of a lot happened since chasing after Debbie Kline. He thought of the girl he had chased after and chalked one up to David. His friend was right. There wasn’t much substance to Debbie. She was pretty, but so vain and two dimensional.
“What in tarnation was that?!” Applejack called out.
Jack looked up to see a stallion running for all he was worth. Right behind him was a Mare. She had a crazed look in her eye and without a second thought she jumped the stallion knocking him to the ground. They rolled for a moment before coming to a stop. David got ready to help separate the two, but instead of fighting the mare simply nuzzled into the stallion’s chest.
“Okay, what did I miss?” Jack asked.
“Ah don’t know… Ah mean I’ve never seen any mare act like that. Not even when we’re in heat,” Applejack replied.
The stallion wasn’t panicked, but rather he looked a little annoyed. He pet the mare’s mane and rolled his eyes. They walked past them to see this happening a few more times. Sometimes it was a mare, sometimes it was a stallion that was doing the chasing. The group moved past the strange public displays and soon found themselves in the castle.
“Candace, this was the only way I could think of to protect…” Shining started to say before Candace turned and glared at him.
“Shining, I love you, I love you deeply, and without question, but you have done something that has the potential of causing a bigger threat than we already face. Didn’t you stop to think about what you are doing? These ponies are going to be suffering because of your decision. Their loves will suffer because of what you have done,” she said before her voice softened and she touched his muzzle, “I don’t want to see any of them suffer because of this.” “Suffer because of what?” Jack asked.
The others looked at him as he trotted up toward them. Shining watched as this unknown stallion neared them. Everything about this stallion seemed natural and off at the same time. Shining studied his off yellow coat, unkempt brown mane, and green vest seemed normal enough, but there was the way he was carrying himself. It wasn’t military, or royalty, but instead there seemed to be a sense of equality.
“That is a question that has no baring for or against you,” Shining said.
“Really? Does it have to deal with my friend David? Because if it does I can give you all kinds of insight into what’s going on,” Jack stated.
Shining stared at him, but Candace gently smiled and motioned for all of them to come forward.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Jack Goodman, or that was my name before Celestia,” he stopped when he felt an elbow in his ribs from Applejack, “Princess Celestia allowed me to live again. I’m David’s friend, the one that was mauled and killed by the werewolf,” he answered.
Shining walked down to him and circled around him.
“What do you know about the werebeasts?” he asked.
“Werebeasts, not much, werewolves, I know a great deal, and from what I saw outside it reminded me of them quite a bit,” he said.
“Shining believed that infecting some of our guards would allow us to protect…”Candace began before Jack’s eyes widened.
“WHAT?!!! Are you out of your fucking mind?!” Jack exclaimed.
Shining glared at him. Before the bigger stallion could say a word Jack was pacing back and forth.
“Tell me David didn’t want to go through with this. Tell me that you forced him to do it!” he shouted.
“He didn’t want to at first, but after receiving a vision from King Sombra he decided that this may be the only way to protect everyone,” Shining said.
“This is bad, no, this is worse than bad… Do you really have any idea of what you’ve done? There is no cure for werewolfism. Well, none except for eating the heart of the werewolf that turned you. This is a huge fuckup. It’s a fuckup of epic proportions… Do you even know what’s going to happen to anyone they kill?” Jack asked.
“Jack, ya need to calm down,” Applejack said.
“AJ, I… I can’t. I can’t calm down because I know what happens on the other side of the fence. I know what it’s like not be able to interact with anyone except for the other undead, or the werewolf that killed you, and it gets worse,” he replied.
She looked at him and then at Shining Armor.
“We had no choice. Sombra is planning on invading, and to be honest the crystal heart won’t have any effect on the forces he is going to be using. He’s going to be using werebeasts. He made the first attack,” Shining said.
“Every war starts that way. Someone else punches someone and then it erupts into a fight. One guy draws a knife and then the other guy brings out a bigger knife,” Jack said.
“What would you have us do? Would you have me sacrifice the lives of all of the ponies I am sworn to protect? Would you have me sacrifice the mare standing next to you, or any of the others that came with you?” Shining asked.
“Did you even ask what kind of weapons David could have helped you make? We went to college, we had to study chemistry, and we both know how to make gunpowder,” Jack replied.
“Gun what?” Shining asked.
“It’s an explosive powder that ignites quickly. When it’s dumped together in a pile or contained inside of a sack it explodes. If you put shards of pottery, glass, crystals, or anything else in the sack with it they act like projectiles,” Jack replied.
Shining looked at him in surprise.
“He’s not even thinking right is he?” Jack asked, “David! David get out here! Damn it man I need to see you!”
A few minutes later David walked out toward them. Twilight was near him. She noticed her friends and ran toward them. David looked at Jack who shook his head.
“It’s that season for you isn’t it?” Jack asked.
David studied him, and finally he nodded.
“Shit… This is going to go really well,” Jack said as he rolled his eyes.
“Please, calm down and let us go and talk about this,” Candace said as she stood up.
Jack watched her, felt several eyes on him and looked at the group behind him. He could see someone whispering something to Twilight who’s face began to lose its smile and instead she shook her head.
“None of you can really be all right with this right?” Jack asked.
“Jack, it’s just we ain’t really used to someone speaking out against somepony who is in the royal guard,” Applejack said.
“Look, AJ is trying to be nice about it, but what the buck is your problem?!” Rainbow Dash asked.
“None of you realize what’s going to happen do you? The werewolves are going to have children. Those children are going to carry the curse. This is going to spread all over Equestria. I won’t be fifteen or twenty werewolves in a few dozen years. It’s going to be hundreds or thousands, and it will never stop. Most of them won’t be able to help themselves, and you can only imagine what’s going to happen,” he said.
“Maybe, maybe it won’t be so bad,” Fluttershy said.
“Maybe it won’t, but I wouldn’t bet on it,” Jack said as he turned.
Applejack noticed how he carried himself. He looked tired. He looked as if he had been out in a strange field all day doing the work of a dozen stallions, and then was told that he wouldn’t be paid for it. She walked near him and gently nuzzled his neck.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 14 – Fear
(A half a day’s walk from the Crystal Empire – Hidden Army Camp)
Queen Chrysalis bowed before the form composed of smoke and fog. Its horn glowed a brilliant red and in that instant the smoke and fog began to form into a solid being. She looked up at him as he became solid. A knowing smirk crossed his muzzle and he motioned for her to come forward.
“What news does your changeling have?” he asked.
“My subject has taken the form of a pony who had been connected to the werewolf in his previous world. Celestia’s generosity has come to haunt her,” Chrysalis replied.
“Have them study this werewolf. I’ve walked in his dream scape, but I do not think the human, nor the wolf, will abandon the one they’ve chosen as a mate,” Sombra said.
“Allow me to take her place. I will feed from his love for her until he is nothing more than a mere shell,” she said.
“You would abandon your place at my side?” Sombra asked.
She looked up at him and batted her eyelids.
“My king, my lover, I would never abandon you, but I would do this for you. I would kill werewolf without question,” she replied.
Sombra laughed and then lifted his left hoof. Trails of smoke seemed to be left behind as he moved it from one side to another. He touched her face and then pulled her against him. She let out a squeak of surprise he brought her up onto his lap. She let out a soft purring sound of pleasure as he held her and rubbed over her.
“I know you feed from love Chrysalis, and that is why our union is so perfect. I am so exquisitely empty. There is nothing inside of me that even remotely resembles anything other than desire,” he said.
She kissed his cheek. As she pulled back some of the smoke the composed him trailed after her. A sound from the front of the makeshift hall erupted and they looked to see a stallion walking in. The Stallion bowed before both of them.
“Sire, Lovely is still being held by the enemy. I humbly request permission to…” he stopped when Queen Chrysalis stood and walked toward him.
“You care so much for the mare don’t you? She means the world to you, all of that love that you have for someone who will never love you back. It must burn inside of you. Knowing that you can never touch her, never hold her, tell me stallion, what is your deepest desire?” she asked.
A green glow surrounded the stallion and his eyes turned green.
“I want to make Lovely my mare. I want us to have little weretimber wolves together, live in a place that accepts us, and not have to run from place to place out of fear of being hunted,” he said.
She turned to look at Sombra who nodded. With a smile she gleamed the image of the mare from his mind. Her form began to change. The blackness of her shell disappeared and soon she was covered with a rich green coat. Her face plumped some, she felt her flank become full, her eyes turned to a soft golden color, and her hair became the same color red as blood. She moved forward and kissed the stallion.
“Then I am yours,” she said.
“Lovely?” he asked.
“Yes, Gear, it’s me. Love me Gear, love me and make me your mare,” she said.
She pulled her into a deep hug, and she could feel the pure love rolling off of him. The kiss wasn’t the same as Sombra’s. It wasn’t that Sombra’s wasn’t passionate. It was, but Sombra’s kiss was about primal need. This was a lover’s kiss. She began to pull his love out. She felt him getting weaker as she did this. Soon his body wavered for a moment and he fell to the floor.
“Lovely… I’m so tired,” he said.
“Then sleep sweet Gear, sleep, and I will be here with you,” she replied.
He closed his eyes and she pulled the last of his love for Lovely out of him. Sombra watched the body for a moment and then both of them was amazed as he began to move slowly. Something inside of him crawling up, demanding to live, and without the moon or the herbs to transform Gear cried out as his bones began to stretch, his skin began to rip, and slowly he began to turn into a Timber Wolf. The creature looked at Chrysalis and growled. It backed away from the both of them and ran outside.
“Feeding from werebeasts is so much more interesting than a mere pony,” Chrysalis said as she returned to her form, “Is this why you wanted to convert the werewolf?” she asked.
“Partly,” he waved his hoof showing the smoke trail behind it, “I want a new body. Something powerful, and something worth having. As a mere unicorn I was defeated, but as a being from another world, and a werewolf as well… I would have all of the power I need, and I would basically be immortal. No more would I exist in this… pathetic form.”
“Wouldn’t you lose your magic?” Chrysalis asked.
“Nay, it will still be part of me,” he replied.
“What if he fights you?” she asked.
“Then I simply need to take another being’s body. The unicorn married to the Alicorn would be acceptable,” he replied.
“Yes,” Chrysalis licked her lips at the memory of Shining Armor, “Yes he would be acceptable.”
(Crystal Empire – Guard building – Training area)
Jack followed David as he walked into the building and shook his head. His friend was a little more than distracted, and on top of that he seemed to be losing himself. He didn’t know if that happened to the werewolf that attacked them, but some memories from his time on the other side sparked as he thought about it. It was a shared collection of memories that stretched out from one member of the undead to another. The first was that something had threatened the wolf and David.
David would have had to accept the fact that the wolf was part of him, but more to the fact the wolf would have had to accept David as the alpha. It was no longer a fight control himself. He had to wonder if it was good thing or a bad thing. Before his thoughts could continue the door opened and the old griffon he had seen before walked in.
The old griffon walked toward them and stretched out its wings. It let out a groan and then walked toward an event board sat on the other side of the room. Before anyone could say a word the griffon pulled the claws on its still working left arm across the blackboard.
“Now, that I have your attention we’re going to get down to business. My name is Ironclaw, Gild Ironclaw. Captain Armor has asked me to come in and take back up instructing new recruits, and advisors, in claw to hoof fighting. I will be using enough force to break bones, and I will make you bleed, but rest assured ladies I won’t kill you. No, that’s going to be your job when you realize how far into pony hell you truly are,” Gild said.
“Well, David, I’ll…” Jack started to say when Gild cut him off and tossed him back into the room.
“What is wrong with you?!” Jack exclaimed.
“If you are in this training area then you are a recruit. If you don’t want to be here then you can take a walk down washout lane after today. Until then your flank is mine!” Glid shouted.
“Hey, fuck you!” Jack shouted.
“That’s right little filly, get mad! What’s your name filly?!” Gild yelled. “It’s Jack asshole,” Jack said.
“Jack, Jack? That’s a toy’s name, and if you’re going to be a toy then you’ve got to work your way up to Jack. Right now you are filly fooler’s limp strapon. You’re less than nothing and it’s my job to make you into a lean, mean, fighting machine! When I’m through with you you’re gonna eat, sleep, shit, rut, and breathe like an Equestria royal guardpony. Do you understand what I’m saying to you?!” Gild shouted.
“Sure,” Jack said.
“I didn’t hear you!” Gild shouted.
“Sir, yes sir,” Jack said.
“I still don’t hear you! I believe you have a discipline problem! You know what we do to little fillies with discipline problems? We make them carry their weight on their back and run! Get to it! Hut! Hut! Hut! Hut!” Gild shouted.
“Hey, leave him alone,” David said.
“Oh, so the tall quite filly decided he wants to talk huh? Boy you are so ugly that I’m surprised your mama didn’t bash your head in and sell the milk!” Gild shouted.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 15 – Brand New Day
(Crystal Empire Castle – Infirmary)
Candace sat next to a recovering Shining Armor. Various cuts and bruises adorned him, but it was the bite mark, a final gift from David, that worried her. She touched his head and felt a fever which was slowly disappearing. His wounds were healing faster than they should, but what bothered her was knowing the price he, Twilight, David, and all of the weres paid for the safety of the Empire.
“I love you,” she said softly as she kissed her husband.
(Crystal Empire – Guard training room – three weeks earlier)
David picked himself up off of the floor. The old Griffin was tougher than he had thought. He hadn’t been lying when he said that there would be broken bones. He could feel cracked ribs already, and if his right arm wasn’t broken it was fractured. Silently he thanked whatever deity was available for being a werewolf. He could hear Jack groaning near him and saw his friend getting back to his feet, or hooves rather.
It surprised him that Jack was still going through with this. Of course during the last few days he noticed his friend putting on more muscle. He didn’t look like a lean pony anymore, but instead he was getting the build of a Clydesdale. Jack stood and rushed toward the griffin, got caught by the right foreleg, and was flipped over into the air and then into a wall.
“Congratulations to both of you. You’re no longer little fillies. You’ve both graduated to being colts. Be proud of that, but know that you’ve still got six months’ worth of work to do in a couple of weeks’ time,” Gild said.
They saluted, and he returned it. The old griffin began walking out and David followed behind him. He heard Jack walking out. He looked back to see his friend favoring his right hind leg.
“Trouble?” David asked.
“I think I over extended it. Maybe I can talk Applejack into giving me a massage later,” he replied.
“So, when did that happen?” David asked.
Jack smiled and rubbed the back of his head with a hoof.
“It started a few weeks ago, and don’t go pulling that acting like Bobby stuff with me. I’m a pony now, so it’s natural to me,” he replied.
David shook his head and soon the light of the sun began to shine on them. Jack took in a breath of air that didn’t smell like sweat and blood and let out a long sigh. He looked to see Applejack talking to Spike, who had been surprisingly quite the entire train trip, before she looked up to see him. She smiled and walked toward him. She nuzzled his neck and then pulled back a little.
“Not that I’m not used to the smell of sweat, but Sugarcube, you could use a bath,” she said.
David watched his friend as he walked off with his girlfriend. He walked toward the castle and could feel the bones in his arm already healing. Fracture, not broken, that was a relief. He got enough broken bones with the transformations. He walked his way into the castle and found himself on the receiving end of a tight hug. The healing ribs cracked again, but he held in the cry of pain. Instead he pulled Twilight into the same hug and squeezed her back.
“How’s training?” she asked once she let go.
“It’s going pretty well. Ironclaw has been trying to see what it takes to break bones, and teach us not to let those things happen,” he replied.
She looked at him, shook her head and then looked over her shoulder toward the throne room.
“I should go have a word with Shining about that,” she said.
“No, Twilight, Shining Armor was right. I need this training. Ironclaw isn’t using lethal force, but he is teaching Jack and I how to fight. I need to learn it,” David said as he grimaced slightly, “It’s teaching me to learn to read my opponents, and I have a feeling that’s something that I’ll need.”
She looked at him and reached her hoof up. He took it and she began to lead him away from the hall. He soon found himself in a large bathroom, larger than the one they had been using, and watched as she ran some hot water. He began to say something, but a soft look from her made him hold his tongue. Once the water was ran she turned to him and her horn began to glow purple. He felt his clothes, torn as they were, removing themselves, and laying down on the small table. He stepped out of his jeans and underwear, lifted his feet again for his socks, and then stood looking at the mare that meant so much to him.
“You need to get into the bath,” she said.
He walked forward, tentatively stepped into the water, and felt the warmth of it spread up through his legs. He slowly sat down into the water and felt his entire body relaxing. Once he was in it a washcloth appeared and began soaking up the water. It began to move around his exposed skin and he let out a satisfied moan. She washed him, every inch of him, and then he felt her magic crawl down his belly. He smiled as he felt her paying special attention to him. She was so lost in what she was doing that she didn’t notice him turning to her and catching her in a kiss. She let out a surprised yelp and the magic appendage disappeared.
He instead pulled her into the water with him. She splashed him for a moment, and he grinned at her. He felt her astride his waist. She began to lower herself, and then the wonderful warmth of her surrounded him.
He wasn’t complaining about her wanting to love him, or make love to him, but for an instant he wondered if he really deserved this, her, everything. He had been doing what he could to protect her, to protect those around him, but deep down the human part of him knew that he had killed in the past. It was hard to get past that. The fact remained that part of him, even if it was more animalistic, had sought out people to kill.
His mind stopped that train of thought when her back arched, her head leaned back and a throaty moan escaped her lips. He pulled her forward, feeling her front legs stretch over his shoulders and grasp onto him. She shivered as he felt his own desire filling her. A gentle kiss was laid on her muzzle, and she responded by kissing him back. He moved slightly and another shiver flowed through her. She gasped, trying to compose herself, and failed miserably. He felt her hips shift slightly and she lay against him, breathing hard.
“Still… going…” she said.
He felt the shivers and trembles slowly reside. Once they had she moved off of him. She climbed out of the tub and two towels floated over to where they were. He began drying as she did the same. A moment later another towel floated to her and she wrapped her mane in it. She walked with him to the bed and took a seat beside him.
“David, it’s taken me some time to realize a few things,” she said as she looked up at him, “I’ve come to realize that I can’t see a future without you in it. I know that not just your wolf side, but what you’ve said before about humans indicates that you prefer to mate for life. I want that. I want to be connected to you like that.”
He smiled at her and pulled her against him.
“It’s not the best time to do this, I know, but I can’t help what I feel, and I want to do this before anything else happens,” she said.
“I would love to marry you Twilight,” he replied.
She blushed and smiled brightly at the same time.
“I need to talk to Rarity, I know she’s going to want to make the clothes, or at least oversee it, and… There’s so much to do!” she exclaimed as she got up.
He watched as a piece of parchment and a quill floated to her. It began writing feverously across the parchment until the entire thing was finished. He waited until she was finished and watched as she read what she had written multiple times. Once it was done she smiled and looked at him.
“Okay, I have a wedding planning checklist made... I had thought reading those books over wedding planning would come in handy!” she squealed as she looked over the list.
“Uh huh, and what do I need to do?” he asked.
“Well, you have to find a best stallion, and you’ll need to find some groomsponies. I know Shining Armor wouldn’t mind filling any of those rolls,” she said.
He thought about it and while he knew some of the guards they weren’t exactly buddies. They respected his authority as an advisor, but none of them really wanted to be overly close to him, with the exception of the other werewolves, but even they kept their distance. Jack was an easy answer for best man. He would ask Shining Armor because he had become a friend, and because he was Twilight’s brother. He tried to think of another person, and while he wouldn’t call him a friend he would admit that he respected Gild Ironclaw. The old griffin had more than proven himself to be a capable instructor, and then there was Spike. He would gladly ask Spike to be in the wedding. Although, he had a feeling that Twilight would want Spike to be the ring bearer.
Once she was dry Twilight stood and looked back at him. She flashed him a happy smile and slowly walked out of the room. He quickly got dressed and followed her. Once out he could see her heading toward the Throne Room. It wouldn’t take her that long to talk to Candace, and he knew that he needed to talk to Shining Armor. It wasn’t just asking him to be the best man. Even if things didn’t work the same way here for everything he still felt that he needed her older brother’s consent.
He found Shining talking to one of the mares that had been infected. The mare had already went through the transformation once, and now she looked a little less stressed, but there was something else.
“Captain Shining… I’m sorry, I’m really sorry,” she said.
“Corporal Heart, there was no call for that behavior. I understand these new feelings, emotions, and desires that have been afflicting you and the other guards that we have selected for this, but there was absolutely no call for you to attack another guard!” he shouted, “And the reason for it… She was talking to your coltfriend, just talking to him.”
“No, I could smell the excitement on her!” she exclaimed before she backed down and looked at the floor.
“You are confined to barracks, you will not be given leave, and your coltfriend will be informed that you are not to have interaction with him until you are released. Do you understand me?” he asked.
“Sir… I’m sorry sir,” she said as she turned.
David watched as her wings spread and she lifted herself off of the ground. He knew the feeling all too well. It was hard to bite it down, but he had done it quite a bit. Twilight was a princess, she had to talk to all sorts of people, and on top of that she really was beautiful. He knew that she didn’t think of herself as beautiful, but the stallions that had talked to her thought differently. It had been a fight and a half with the wolf side to keep it in check. He knew that part of him was going to get riled up, but it was just part of who she was. These guards hadn’t had time to adjust to it yet, and it was showing. They just didn’t have the control needed to handle the primal drives and emotions. He couldn’t help but feel bad for any of them. His eyes finally went back to Shining Armor and he studied the captain.
“David,” Shining said looking in the direction the Pegasus guard had flown.
“Shining, I have something to ask you,” he said.
Shining turned around. His face wasn’t filled with anger, or regret, but rather there was a sense of understanding written across it. He walked toward David and nodded.
“I suspect you already know how I feel toward Twilight,” he said.
Shining grumbled, but nodded.
“Shining, one of the things we did where I am from is ask family for their blessing on marrying into their family. I’m asking for your blessing,” David said.
Shining looked at him, took in a deep breath, and let it out.
“It’s not really going to matter what I say at this point. She’s in love with you. Candace has known it for a long time, and I’ve finally accepted it. If you need my blessing then you can have it, but don’t hurt her. If I ever find out that you’ve hurt my baby sister I will find you, and I will make you pay for every, single, tear,” he said poking a hoof into David’s chest.
David nodded and then smiled.
“How do you feel about being a groomsman err.. Groomspony?” he asked.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 16 – Dead Days
(Crystal Empire Castle – Kitchen)
Applejack looked over the expansive kitchen before her. Finding out that Twilight was going to marry David hadn’t been a surprise, but when she wanted to marry him was. It seemed that she was determined to be his wedded mare in three days’ time. She could help make everything, but for a reception for royalty it needed to be expansive, and that meant she was going to need all of the help she could get. The kitchen staff stood ready.
“Okay y’all, I need everypony to get to work on the following things. We need the cake, it needs to be a large one, and I want hoof made minatures on top. We also need to make deserts. Apple fritters, apple pies, caramel apples, and chocolate,” she said.
She heard the door open and Jack walked in. He watched as she continued to tell them what they needed to do when he told her that one of David’s favorite foods from before had been pizza. She quickly added it to the list, kissed his cheek, and then promptly told him to go help make sure everything was ready from the groom’s end. He looked at her confused like.
“You’re the best stallion, that’s a big job Sugarcube. Ya’ve gotta arrange the bachelor party, make sure that he has the rings, and make sure that he is going to be presentable on the wedding day,” she said.
He nodded, walked out of the kitchen and let her get back to work. He looked back over his shoulder and smiled. It was a short walk down the hall, toward the guest rooms and from behind them he could hear the sounds of someone giggling. He stopped and leaned his head to the door.
“Twilight, this dress is going to be C’est très magnifique!” an excited Rarity exclaimed. Shaking his head Jack continued until he came to the room he was looking for. There in it was David, but to his surprise Gild was sitting across from him. The gruff instructor was drinking a cup of tea. He placed it down and looked at the werewolf across from him.
“I’d be honored to act as a groomspony,” he said as he placed the cup of tea on a table, “I know what it means to a werewolf to choose a mate. It’s a lifelong ordeal, something I can relate too. Trust me boy, she will always be a part of you.”
Jack stood there in awe as he listened to the normally gruff griffin sounding as if he was far more cultured, and caring, than he had ever seen him. He stood uncertain if he should even go into the room before the old griffin finally looked toward him.
“If you want to come in here, then come in here,” Gild said.
Jack nodded and trotted into the room. He wondered up to David and took a seat on his haunches.
“How goes the wedding planning?” Jack asked.
“Most of it being done by Twilight,” David replied.
“From what I heard your bride to be has a checklist for everything,” Jack joked. David looked at him and couldn’t help but let a laugh escape.
“She does, but that’s fine,” he replied as he picked up a cup of his own.
As Jack talked to him about what they needed to do, including the bachelor party Twilight was watching as Rarity went through the design of the dress. She knew her friend wanted to create something amazing, but still fitted to her own style. She finally felt the measuring tapes, and fabric, drift off of her and move toward a table.
“It will be glorious! Who would have ever guessed that I would get to make another wedding dress for royalty!” Rarity happily exclaimed.
Twilight smiled and then stepped down. She looked at the design and took it in. The dress was going to fit like a second skin. It would be difficult to get into, but that didn’t matter. A relaxed sigh escaped from her lips.
“Twilight, is Princess Celestia going to join us?” Rarity asked.
Twilight smiled as she looked at the design once more and then nodded.
“Both she and Princess Luna plan on coming. I believe they are going to be traveling by private train,” she said as she gave Rarity a quick hug, “And so are my parents. I’m actually so happy to know that they will both be here.”
Rarity grinned and then looked back at her.
“You know, you really should go ahead and talk to Rainbow Dash about the Sonic Rainboom. She would love to do that for your wedding as well,” Rarity suggested.
“I know, and I’m going to, but I’m thinking about also talking to Fluttershy about the music,” she said.
“Have you thought about asking her to work with some of the birds from here? I’ve heard them singing in the mornings, and they are quite beautiful,” Rarity suggested.
Twilight nodded and walked toward the door.
“Thanks Rarity. I mean it,” she said.
“Think nothing of it darling. Just go and get things together. Oh, do remember that your stallion to be is not to see you the day before the wedding,” she said.
Twilight smiled and walked out. She began to walk outside when she saw Shining Armor. Her brother had a mug of something in his hoof and was looking at it.
“BBBFF!” Twilight shouted.
“Hi Twily,” he replied.
“What’s wrong Shining?” she asked as she neared him.
“Nothing really. Well, besides the fact that you’re growing up. I had thought that you were going to be a silly filly for the rest of my life. A young girl that I watched over,” he said before he took a drink, “I guess that I’m not really ready to see this happen.”
She walked toward him and placed a hoof on his shoulder.
“Shining, I’m always going to be your little sister,” she said.
“I know, but in a couple of days you’re going to be a wife, and I have a feeling that sooner than later you’re going to be a mother,” he replied.
She hugged him and felt him return the hug.
“Hey, no matter what happens I’m always going to be your sister. Nothing will ever change that,” she said.
A small smile crossed his face. He kissed her forehead and nodded. She dropped to the floor and began to walk out. He waited until she was gone before he let out a sigh. What he told her was the truth. It was a small part of what was making him feel so melancholy, but it wasn’t the only thing. His decision to create the weres was already presenting itself as a bad idea. So far there had been only one fight, but there had been aggressive behavior presented more than normal. Those guards were determined to protect the Crystal Empire, but they were also being a little too aggressive toward some of the civilians.
He had been told that one of the guards were being a bit too overprotective of their special somepony. It had only been a growl, but that was it. It wasn’t the normal growl one of the guards would use. It was guttural, and powerful. It sounded like a wolf growling instead of a guard. He didn’t know how it was that David seemed to have so much control over the wolf, but then again he realized that David had been doing this or a little longer than the guards that had been infected.
“I just want to protect everypony. It’s what I’m supposed to do, and I know it’s the right thing to do, so why is it fighting me so much?” he wondered aloud.
“Because, you wanted to make sure that you were evenly matched, and you didn’t think about what the cost would be,” Candace answered.
He turned to see his wife walking out to him. She nuzzled his neck and grinned. “This wasn’t the wrong choice,” he said.
“Sweetheart, drop it. We both know this wasn’t the best choice. It was made out of fear, and for that reason alone it’s not the best choice,” she replied.
He looked at her. There was the desire to defend his decision, to explain this was the only way, and for a while it looked as if it truly was the only way they could protect everypony. Now, now options had become apparent, and he was having to deal with several of his guards battling the influence of the wolf, of a predator, inside of them.
“Twilight did say that David had talked to Luna. It was in a dream, but he talked to her, and she helped him. Perhaps she can help us as well,” he said.
Candace smiled at him and kissed his cheek.
“There’s the stallion I married,” she said.
“Even if we ask for her help we can’t depend solely on her. We need to help our guards learn to control this other half of themselves,” he replied.
“Have David teach them. He has had time to learn how to deal with his other self, and he seems to be in control,” Candace said.
“I think part of that comes from Twilight,” he replied.
“Yes, love has helped give him control, but he also desired to protect her, to protect all of us. Shining, I want you to arrange a meeting with the guards’ special someponies. I wish to address them and help them realize how important they are,” she said.
He looked at her and nodded.
“I can do that. I’ll send out the summons tonight,” he replied.
“Invitations. Summons sounds so harsh, but an invitation is far nicer,” she said.
She started to turn and walk back into the castle when she felt a hoof on her flank. She turned toward him and he moved toward her. He caught her in a kiss, and she responded. They had both been so busy the last few days that they had barely shared the same bed. A gentle moan escaped from her, and without a second thought she closed the door to the balcony they were on. She turned toward the rail, leaned against it, and looked back at him.
“Shining, please, tonight, for a few hours, let us not be the princess and the captain of the guard. Let us be husband and wife. Make me feel like a wanted mare,” she whispered.
He moved up behind her, his head dipping down, and she moaned as he began doing all he could to show her how much he loved her.
(Outside of the castle – the following morning)
Gild walked toward the guard’s training room. Despite feeling honored to be asked to be a groomspony he still needed to make sure everypony was ready for whatever may happen. He stopped when he saw two figures approaching. They were surrounded by guards and at the sight of one of them specifically he bowed. The congration stopped and looked at the elder griffin.
“Princess Luna, as a citizen of Marehoof, I humbly show respect to the Matriarch who inspired its ancestors to band together in order to defeat the Terror,” he said.
“Rise Gild Ironclaw. We are most pleased that thou wishes to bestow thy manners upon us. Please, stand before us,” Luna said.
He did as she asked and looked at her with his one good eye.
“We have wished many times that we could have been there with our subjects facing the beast which dared to devour thy courage. Thy ancestors say that they found inspiration from a prophet which spoke of our return. Know this our loyal subject. Whilst thou people have stood alone before, thou shalt not stand alone again. We shall be ready to stand beside thou should another threat immerge,” Luna said.
He nodded and bowed again.
“My thanks unto you my princess,” he said.
She watched as he gathered himself up and moved slowly toward the training room.
“We had said that not all of our subjects despised us,” Luna stated.
“Sister, nopony despised you. They feared Nightmare Moon, but they loved you. Marehoof turned to you, I even heard of some of them praying to you to ensure their safety,” Celestia said.
“We heard them. Even trapped in our nightmare we heard them. It was our fondest wish to drive the foul creature which plagued them back into void from whence it came,” Luna replied.
“It is trapped sister. The citizens ensured it was by collapsing a mountain around it. The Terror is buried, unable to return, and all of us should be glad for it,” Celestia said.
The two of them continued on to the castle neither knowing the events happening around them. Events which would match the horrors the Terror had bestowed on Marehoof. A mere half a day’s journey from where they walked an army gathered.
Queen Chrysalis looked over her changelings. She smiled as heard their reports. Various towns and cities had been infiltrated by them. They had begun to steal the life away from the beings living there. There had been a time when she would have wished to found another way to survive. At one time she actually wanted to live in peace with the ponies, but it could never happen. Learning what they had to do to survive was more than enough reason for anypony to hate them.
She felt the semisolid form of Sombra’s arms around her waist. She started to turn toward him when she felt something else. A knowing smile crossed her lips. She could enjoy the dance they shared. There was no love from it. Sombra did not lie when he said he was empty. He had long ago removed his heart.
It was not there to tease him with sentiment and love. It did not give him pause to doing unspeakable things to other beings. He was purely cold, logical, and determined to ensure the world would be in his image. He needed control from chaos. He wished to make a piece that would last thousands of years based upon fear, and she knew all of this. The only emotion within him was desire, and that was only the desire to rule.
“Tell me,” she said breathily.
She felt an almost phantom bite on her shoulder. A surge of desire filled her, and she threw her head back.
“TELL ME!” she screamed.
“You are my mare,” he whispered to her.
“I am the first,” she said.
“You are above all others I gather until me,” he replied.
She felt his semisolid form lose what consistency it had as he floated back toward the makeshift throne. She turned toward him and could see his expression. There was the knowing smirk she had come to admire, but there was something else. She could feel it, sense it, and now she could see it on him. It was a sort of insanity very few have ever possessed. A tyrant, years ago, long before her, had been like that. He had rallied all of the Pegasi together with the thought that they were better than the Earth Ponies, better than the Unicorns, and they had waged war on the other two races. He was stopped, but his insanity had driven some of the weaker willed Pegasi into doing terrible things. Dozens of Earth Pony mares had been captured, used for breeding stock, and when they were released the Cloudsdale Pegasi were born. They were the after effect of this demented soul’s desire to breed a master race.
She had heard of this, and for a while wondered if perhaps he was right. He was wrong about it being Ponies, but perhaps he was right about there being a species which simply had more of a right to exist. She looked at Sombra and grinned.
“When do we attack?” she asked.
“Tomorrow. Your changeling has announced that it is the wedding of the newest princess. We attack when they are deep within the borders of the Crystal Empire. When they try to come out and take us we will already have the upper hand,” he said.
She grinned and sauntered up to him.
“We shall take the Empire, and we shall watch them burn,” she said.
(The Crystal Empire – Early the next morning)
Twilight crawled out of the bed she shared with David. It was true that he wasn’t supposed to see her today. He truly wasn’t supposed to see her last night, but she couldn’t bare it. She had to be with him, make love to him, become one with him. It didn’t help that she was in heat. Still, he had been more than supportive and somehow she felt all was right now. She couldn’t explain how it was, but only that everything was as it should be.
She quietly left the room and headed toward the hall when she saw Spike. She had expected him to say something about her actions, but instead she watched as he finished scribbling a letter, lifted it, and set it ablaze. She studied his face as he looked at a picture.
It had been hard for him accept that Rarity, whom he had chased so hard, was simply not interested in him that way. She had been there when he cried over the rejection. She hated it because of how much she cared for him. He was her little brother, and to see him so crushed hurt her in so many ways. Still, she respected Rarity for explaining to him that she while she cared for him she didn’t care for him in a romantic sense.
But a secret letter, a picture, which he was still holding, and a dopey smile meant he had moved on. She neared him and looked at the picture of Scootaloo. She also noticed that the orange Pegasus had taken this picture alone, without her fellow cutie mark Crusaders, and was blowing a kiss.
A gentle smile crossed her lips. She was glad to see him involved with somepony who at least seemed interested in him as well. She snuck past him and headed toward the room Candace had set aside for Rarity to make the dresses.
“Rarity?” she asked.
The door opened and Twilight looked at the dresses on display. Her dress looked amazing. White, with a long v cut down the front. A split up the left side which showed her hind leg quite well, and the shoes were the crowning achievement. She marveled at the sapphire slippers. She walked toward it and Rarity beamed brightly.
“I couldn’t make a dress for you if it didn’t ‘Sparkle’ darling, so I made sure that it did,” she said.
Twilight watched as Rarity’s magic lit up the room and the dress, along with the shoes, gave off a gentle twinkling glow like a star.
“Rarity, thank you so much!” Twilight exclaimed in a near excited squee.
“We must get everyone else ready!” Rarity exclaimed.
Spike wondered toward the direction they were in and was handed several suits of clothes.
“I stayed up all night making those for the groom and groomsponies. Please be a dear and take them to them,” Rarity said.
“Sure,” he said.
Hours passed, and the music of the crystal birds filled the hall as the ceremony began. The melody was sweet, simple, and delighted the crowd. David stood at the front and looked at Jack who had a bright smile. Beside him Shining Armor, Gild, and Spike stood. They looked over at Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. The singing stopped and the doors to the hall opened to reveal two ponies coming toward them.
Shining Armor recognized his father, Night Light, walking beside his sister who wore her wedding veil. The two of them made it to the front, and Candace smiled at them. She looked to Celestia who stood and smiled at the entire room.
“Who gives this mare to the groom?” she asks.
“I her father, Night Light, give her to be married,” he said.
She nodded. Night Light released her, looked toward David and gave him a gentle nod. David returned it and watched as Twilight came to stand before him.
“We live in a world based on the ideals that love, truth, and honesty can do more than lead, that they can save everypony. I have watched as these ideals have been put to the test again, and again. Today we gather to watch as a couple who have embraced these ideals join together,” she said before she looked at David, “David Kessler, do you promise to love this mare, to trust her, to be with her through good times and bad? Do your swear to uphold the vows of your marriage and love her no matter what may come?”
“I do,” he said.
“Twilight Sparkle, do you swear to love this man? To hold to him, trust in him, love him, give of yourself unto him, and to be with him through good times and bad? Do you swear to uphold the vows of your marriage and love him no matter what may come?” she asked.
“I do,” she answered.
“Then by the power vested in me, by me, I pronounce you stallion and mare. You may kiss the bride,” she said.
David lifted her veil, and Twilight stood on her hind legs. She brought her muzzle to him and the two of them kissed deeply. As they kissed an explosion shook the castle. Everypony froze in place for a moment. At that moment Shining Armor heard the warning bells.
“No! No! Everypony battle stations! David, I am sorry brother, but we must cut this short!” Shining shouted.
Twilight followed them as they ran out of the castle. Once they were in the front there, inside of the now ruined gate was a multitude of creatures. Were-Timberwolves, changelings, and even Minotaurs stood battle ready. Toward the back of them two figures stood defiantly.
“I have come to reclaim my kingdom!” Sombra shouted.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 17 – Love, Honor, and Loyalty
(Crystal Empire – battle ground)
In less than an hour much of the northern side of the Crystal Empire had fell into a massive battle. The numbers Sombra had in his army was far more than the reports the scouts had brought back. What had fell on the Empire was nothing short of a massive army composed of hundreds of soldiers. Their core seemed to be the were-timberwolves and changelings. Still, the guards that had been infected were out there, fighting the horde, keeping them back.
“Comeon Fillies! Do you want to live forever?!” Gild shouted as he faced off against two weres.
One of the weres seemed to be lifted up into the air, and then slammed hard into a building. He turned to see several guards, and Princess Luna.
“We promised thou that we would not let thou or thy people fight alone again,” she said.
“My Princess, it is an honor,” he said before releasing a battle cry and heading into the fight.
Not far from them Celestia was helping fend off attackers from attempting to spread into the western and southern sides of the empire. Near her some of the Crystal Empire guards were attempting to help, and for the most part they were doing an admirable job. Shining Armor looked down at the changelings he was facing. They had each took new forms, but it was no longer ponies he knew, but instead they had taken on forms of large monsters. One of them swiped at him and he responded with a blast of magic knocking far back away from him. Still, at the back of the group King Sombra was laughing.
“Tear them down! Destroy their spirit, and then crush them!” he shouted.
The battle began to swell, the smell of blood, gore, and death began to build around, and for both Luna and Celestia this was a reminder of the wars that erupted across ancient Equestria. The sound of cries of pain echoed through the battle. Shining Armor began to see his guards and army taking massive hits and being forced back.
“Special guards Wolf bane!” he shouted.
Without question around twenty guards dug something out of their armor and ate it. Those same guards began screaming in pain, but the pain soon finished flooding over them. Once their cries of pain had finished the twenty multicolored demonic looking wolves growled at the oncoming army. They charged the oncoming army, taking down the Minotaurs first. The giant beasts fell before the wolves, and soon the other weres found themselves facing the ferocious wolves.
Like the special guard the Were-Timberwolves began transforming. Each normal wolf seemed to be outnumbered four to one. The groups ran forward, but an explosion erupted in front of the Were-Timberwolves. They stopped and on top of a building, armed with a modified Party Cannon, was Jack.
“Like I said, Gunpowder!” he yelled as he fired again.
Another cannon erupted and he looked toward Applejack and Pinkie Pie who was firing Pinkie’s spare party cannon. Instead of being filled with confetti and glitter the cannons were instead filled with crystal shards. The shards tore into the Were-Timberwolves. It didn’t kill them, but it slowed them down, causing the battlefield to be evened.
David hadn’t turned yet, but instead was helping make sure the eastern side was safe with Twilight beside him. He looked to see a were jumping for her. He slammed into its side knocking it back. She turned in time to see him grappling with the creature. His hand found its jaw and pulled hard.
“You aren’t going to hurt my wife!” he yelled.
A snapping sound erupted from the creature and its jaw hung limply. He had broken it causing the creature to retreat. He stood, reached into his pocket and felt the wolf’s bane. It was his only real choice at this moment. He took it out, bit into it and felt the transformation happening. He was going to protect her, protect everyone, and make sure that this never happened again. Within seconds he was completely transformed, but he wasn’t chasing the weres. Instead he was standing in front of Twilight, keeping the oncoming danger away as best he could.
Away from him, things were evening some, but it appeared that Sombra had grown tired of staying out of the fight. His horn began to glow a brilliant red and a powerful bit of magic shot toward Jack. Jack ducked as the magic neared him. It exploded over him dropping dozens of huge dark crystals around him. He jumped off of the roof and landed near Gild with the Party Cannon. It went off again blasting two changelings that had tried to sneak up on the griffin.
“It seems you’ve finally made your way back up to being a Jack,” Gild said.
“Great, so let’s show them what happens when you try to step on a jack,” he replied.
Gild nodded and helped him set the Party Cannon up on its wheels again. They loaded it and fired again. “Remove thyself from our presence!” Luna said in her royal Canterlot voice.
Gild turned to see Queen Chrysalis attempting to battle Princess Luna. He rushed toward the changeling queen and jumped onto her back. She bucked wildly, trying to dislodge him as he dug his claws into her back.
“You do not try to touch the matriarch of Marehoof you bucking bug!” Gild yelled.
Chrysalis slammed her back against a wall causing the Griffin to lose his grip. She turned around before he could regain his composure and rammed her horn into his chest.
“How dare you place your filthy misshapen claws upon my royal body! You are a filthy, disgusting, horrid little creature the world shall never miss, and it shall rejoice that you have fallen!” she yelled.
Before she could continue her monologue a powerful blast of magic rammed into her. She went tumbling into the line of fire of one of the cannons. Luna caught Gild as he fell. His old withered face looked up toward her.
“It has been a pleasure, and an honor, to serve the princess of the night,” he said in several gasps.
“Thou shalt be made a royal guard Gild Ironclaw. Thou shalt be given a place of honor among our royal guards and kept at the Canterlot Castle. There shalt be nothing thy need that shalt not be given to thou,” she whispered.
“That would have been a great honor…”he replied in a strained whisper before his head fell forward.
Luna pulled him forward into a hug. She held him for several seconds before lowering him to the ground. Her eyes filled with righteous rage as she looked toward Sombra.
“Foul Fiend! We shalt deliver thyself unto the netherworld!” she yelled.
He laughed and formed another blast of magic. A blast from a cannon caused his spell to deflate and he growled at the two ponies firing from the rooftop still. He looked toward them in time to get a kick to the face from a cyan Pegasus.
Dash had thought that the kick would have felt like kicking something solid, but instead her leg went through his head. She flew through him and landed on the ground. He reformed into the semisolid form he was then looked at her in anger.
“So, the little mare wants to play hero?” he asked.
Several tendrils came off of him. They shot toward her and wrapped around her legs lifting her into the air before him. He stepped toward her and forced her to look at him.
“I am going keep you alive through this wench. I want you to watch the fall of your princesses, the fall of this pathetic army, and the fall of your friends. I want you to watch it all, and then you will become my personal toy. When I have finally finished with you, and you’ve begged me for death a thousand times over, I will graciously give it to you,” he spat at her.
She felt her wings being spread out against her will. She tried to pull them back in only to feel a sharp pain near her tail. She screamed as the pain intensified a thousand times.
“There is a massive nerve center on the descendant of those Pegasi spawned from Fevered Speech’s desire to breed out the Earth Pony race. It’s been said that the amount of pain it causes is so great the one baring it begs to be killed. Tell me, is that what you want?” he asked.
“Buck you!” she yelled.
He slammed her hard onto the ground. She felt her teeth rattle as she hit. He flipped her over on her belly and she felt a massive hoof stepping between her hips.
“Scream for me,” he said before he pressed down.
Before she could get a word out there was a massive crack. Dash screamed as she felt her hips separate. He lifted her back up and slammed her into his throne. Chains wrapped around her tying her to the spot.
“As I promised, you will remain alive through this,” he said.
She felt herself slipping into the darkness.
Sombra moved forward into the fight. Although it appeared that he was immune to the fighting going on the truth was far from it. His body was taking a massive amount of damage from the strain of staying semisolid. It was causing him to focus his magic into a single point, and such concentration was hard to accomplish even in the best of climates. He neared David and Twilight. Before the now bleeding, but still standing werewolf, and its chosen mate, the self-proclaimed king of the Crystal Empire began to laugh.
“I offered you a place at my right side David. A place reserved for you, but you refused me. Do you remember what I told you before? If you will not join me I will end your harlot’s life,” Sombra said. A large knife floated from the ground. David growled at the unicorn as he hurled the knife toward Twilight.
Twilight formed a barrier around herself, but she didn’t even feel the knife hit that. Instead she heard a pain filled yelp. She dropped the barrier to see David with the knife sticking out between his ribs. Her eyes widened in fear as she looked at him. Rushing toward him and caught him as he fell on his side.
“This is your one chance David! Join with me and I will save you!” Sombra yelled.
Twilight felt David’s labored breathing. His head turned toward her and she saw not the wolf’s eyes, but David’s. They were soft, caring, and understanding. She hugged him tightly before she looked at Sombra.
Her eyes glowed a brilliant white, and the same brilliant white spread over her body. A massive amount of energy shot out toward Sombra and struck him. Once it was gone he was still standing there, but his body was no longer composed of smoke. He was instead whole. He laughed, readied himself to fire an attack back at her, but nothing happened. He tried again only for it to fail again. He touched his head only to realize that his horn was gone. He was nothing more than a plain Earth Pony.
“You worthless harlot! I shall split you open and make you view your insides!” he shouted.
Behind him the sounds of the battle began to slow. He turned to see his army, the army he had been so sure of, losing to the group. Twilight held David as he whimpered, but Sombra grabbed a dropped sword and lifted it. The sound of someone approaching from behind him gained his attention and he turned swiping the sword into Shining Armor. The Captain of the Guard tripped over himself as the sword bit into him, wounding him. David turned toward the fallen unicorn and could smell the blood. He pulled himself to Shining and before Shining could say a word he bit him on his leg. It wasn’t a hard bite, not something that was meant to do a lot of damage, but instead something that was meant to help him.
Shining looked toward him, and then fell back. Sombra prepared to take his vengeance out on them when a magical force grabbed him, slammed him hard into the ground, and then slammed him into the wall. He groaned as the force revealed itself. Luna looked into the ancient tyrant’s eyes and glared at him.
“Thou hast hurt our subjects, thou hast defiled the law of this land, and thou shalt pay. As much as we wish to be the ones to choose how thou shalt pay it is not our place. Twilight, thou hast more right than us,” Luna said.
“The dungeons, cast him into those and let him rot,” she seethed as she held David. He had grown quiet, his form transformed from that of a wolf into a man.
Luna could see his breathing being very shallow.
“Don’t leave me,” Twilight said.
“I don’t want to… I want to be here for you… for them…” he whispered.
She felt his body go limp and she wept into his shoulder.
(Crystal Empire – Infirmary – two weeks later)
Candace sat next to a recovering Shining Armor. Various cuts and bruises adorned him, but it was the bite mark, a final gift from David, that worried her. She touched his head and felt a fever which was slowly disappearing. His wounds were healing faster than they should, but what bothered her was knowing the price he, Twilight, David, and all of the weres paid for the safety of the Empire.
“I love you,” she said softly as she kissed her husband.
She felt him stir and finally his eyes opened. He looked toward her and then moved his hoof toward her own.
“I love you too,” he said in a whisper.
“Shining… Shining,” she said as she hugged him.
Outside the empire was repairing itself. The discovery that the Were-Timberwolves were only fighting along with Sombra because they had been promised a place to live in peace had caused Princess Celestia pause. She herself had once thought that the beasts in these ponies were unholy, but instead they simply wanted what any normal pony wanted. They wanted to live a life of peace with their special somepony and raise their foals.
She took this chance to work with the pack leaders of the Were-Timberwolves and helped them realize that they could do that very thing among other ponies. They would not be judged, and they would in fact get to live in peace. In exchange for that they agreed to be help defend Equestria from tyrants such as Sombra.
The Werewolves returned to their guard duty, but not all of them were fully capable of dealing directly with citizens. It seemed that being so new to the experience of being a were, unlike the Were-Timberwolves, or being an omnivore like David, they weren’t prepared for the effects of having a predator instinct inside of themselves. Instead these guards were given posts, with their special somepony, if that special somepony chose to do so, outside of the Empire. They were assigned to ensure all travelers were met and kept safe traveling into and out of the Empire.
Inside Shining Armor listed as Candace told him what Celestia had done. He listened as she explained what had happened, and then he finally looked at her.
An American Werewolf in Equestria Chapter 18 – Epilogue
(Ponyville – Sweet Apple Acres – six years later)
“Mama! Ambrosia said that ah can’t go with ya and Daddy!” a small white filly said as she ran up to her mother.
Applejack looked at the little filly and gently pulled her into an embrace. She smiled at her and leaned down to her.
“Of course ya’ll can go, but ya better tell Ambrosia that she’s gonna be in trouble if’n she keeps telling ya stories like that,” she said.
The little filly began trotting back toward where she came from. A slightly bigger off yellow filly stood in the distance looking at her.
“Mama said yer in trouble!” the smaller filly shouted. “Gala, yer a tattletail!” Ambrosia shouted.
“Nuhuh! Mama! Ambrosia said Ah was a tattletail!” Gala shouted.
Applejack rolled her eyes and walked into the barn. She saw Jack working on the wagon. She neared him and nuzzled his neck. He turned toward her and pulled her into a hug. She felt the cold metallic feel of his artificial leg. It was a stark reminder of his brief time serving as an honorary guard in the Crystal Empire. He kissed her and felt her return it with gusto.
“So, Mrs. Goodman, what do you have planned for tonight?” he asked.
“Never gonna get used to that,” she said.
“Get used to what?” he asked.
“It’s just weird that the place you came from did things like that. Ah mean I know some ponies who have. Like the ‘Mash’ family, but Ah didn’t think that Ah ever would,” she replied. “Sweetheart, I don’t care if you take my last name or not,” he said.
“Ya know that ya don’t have to keep yer human name anymore. Ya could take something else instead,” she said.
“Naw, I want to keep this. It helps me remember everything. There’s a lot I don’t want to forget,” he replied.
She saw the sadness spread over him. It had been so hard the first year. He had blamed himself for so much of what happened. She knew better, she knew he couldn’t have stopped it. In truth his idea with modifying Pinkie Pie’s party cannons, sending Rarity and Fluttershy off to make sure the foals and mares were safe inside of the castle had most likely saved a lot more ponies than if it hadn’t been done.
Still, in the end so much had happened. They had witnessed something only spoken about in the history books Twilight used to read. They had fought in a very real, and very bloody war. She felt him pull her close for another kiss, and she gave it willingly. She broke it and looked into his eyes.
“Ah don’t mind taking yer last name Jack. Ah’ll get used to it,” she said.
He smiled before he looked toward the wagon and then back at her.
“If we’re going to make it to the library before dark we better hurry,” he said.
She nodded and walked over to the door.
“Gala, Ambrosia ya’ll better get your little tails in gear! Yer Daddy and me is gettin’ ready ta leave!” she shouted.
Before another word could be said there was the sound of two fillies running as hard as they could toward the wagon.
“Is Big Mac and Cheerilee going to meet us over there?” Jack asked.
“Naw, little Bismarck’s got a cold. He said they’re gonna stay here and take care of him,” Applejack said.
“I knew the little guy wasn’t feeling too well. I’m sure some of Granny Smith’s soup will help,” he replied.
She nodded and soon she helped the two fillies up into the wagon. Jack attached it to his back and backed it out into the yard. Applejack looked at the old wagon, and the time Jack had put into it. The old worn seats had fresh plush velvet on them, the canopy was a crisp white again, and he had even sanded and painted the old wood back to the original deep red that Granny Smith had said it had once been. She heard her fillies arguing and turned around toward them.
“Ya’ll better behave or Ah’ll tell Daddy that we’re not gonna stop at Sugarcube Corner,” she warned.
Both of them quieted down and started to behave like a couple of angels. She smiled and at them and gently tussled their manes.
“That’s my good little fillies,” she said.
“Mama, why do we go over to aunt Twilight’s library every year on this day?” Ambrosia asked.
She smiled at her daughter and tried to think of how to say it, “Well, yer aunt Twi is a wonderful Mare, but sometimes she needs her friends around to remind her of all of the good things in her life. Ah know she’s got her two littleun’s, but sometimes it just takes knowing that she’s got a whole family worth of friends to help.”
“Ya mean like how we visit aunt Rainbow Dash?” asked Gala.
“Exactly Sugarcube. It’s just like that,” Applejack said.
“Mama, sometimes, when she doesn’t think we’re looking or listening, I hear aunt Twilight cry, and sometimes Twinkle says she thinks that she’s crying cause Junior,” Ambrosia replied.
A knowing look crossed Applejack’s face. Of course Twilight’s little filly didn’t understand why she was crying. She hadn’t gotten old enough yet to really understand it. Her little colt was another matter. He might have been the same age as his sister, but he was a lot more mature. He seemed to understand things better than somepony his age should.
“Sweetie, listen, Aunt Twilight misses someone very much. It’s not our place to pry into it, and we shouldn’t,” Jack said from up front.
“But Daddy how are we ‘post ta help ifn’ we don’t know what’s wrong?” Gala asked.
“I know it’s hard to understand sweetie, but you just need to know that there are some things that people need to keep to themselves. Sometimes they need that feeling, whatever it is, to remind them of what it is they’re missing. Because having that feeling sometimes is the closest thing to having what they need,” he replied.
“Ah don’t understand Daddy,” she replied.
“I know sweetness, I know you don’t, but one day you will,” he said.
They were quiet until they reached the Golden Oaks Library. From the other wagon, and royal carriage, present it was obvious they weren’t the first or only ones visiting. Jack stopped, unhooked himself from the wagon, set the breaks, and then helped Applejack and his daughters out of the wagon. They walked up to the door and knocked. Spike answered the door, and like most things do he had done some growing. He wasn’t the small dragon he was before. Instead now he easily stood as tall as any of the ponies. He could walk on his hindlegs, but it was obvious he enjoyed walking on all four instead.
“Jack, Applejack! It’s good to see you!” he exclaimed.
“Good to be seen,” Jack replied.
“Yeah… I still remember those jokes you pulled on me before,” Spike replied.
“If it makes you feel any better my jokes don’t include being invisible and dropping books anymore,” Jack said.
“Come on in,” he said.
They walked in and saw Princess Candace and Shining Armor at a table. Shining nuzzled Candace’s neck and she smiled at him. Down on the floor their three foals were playing with Twilight’s foals. Gala and Ambrosia ran into the room to play with their friends. Applejack looked to see Dash sitting with Soarin’ sitting together. Dash was holding their little filly and gently talking to her.
She nodded to Dash who nodded back. She walked into the room, acknowledged both Candace and Shining Armor before she opened the door to the back room. She saw her friend, with her back to her. She neared her and touched her shoulder. A few sniffles passed and then Twilight turned toward her. Applejack could see the red and puffy eyes of her friend. She gently nuzzled her friend and pulled her into a hug.
“I miss him so much AJ,” she whispered.
“Ah know Sugarcube, but ya got yer and his foals. He’d want ya to be strong for ‘em” she said.
“I have been… I’ve been nothing but strong for Twinkle and David Jr…” she said.
Applejack looked over her shoulder at Twilight’s foals. Both of them were slightly bigger than the other foals. They had gotten used to the idea that they had teeth like David did, and even gotten used to the idea that they had to eat fish or something of the like. It didn’t stop the little black and gray colt, or the little lavender filly from being two of the sweetest foals she knew. She turned back to Twilight and smiled for her friend.
“Ah know ya have been Sugarcube, and Ah know that ya’ve told them about their daddy,” she said.
“Yeah, but I haven’t told them everything. I don’t think I should… I… it was hard enough to learn about Nurse Redheart and who she used to be!” Twilight exclaimed.
Applejack nodded. Once they freed the nurse, learned that she had been the woman David had tried to protect in his world… and then learned that she had a foal, no Jack called them children, or a child, in that world had been trying. Twilight had taken it amazingly well, and she had even become friends with Nurse Redheart. Instead of returning to Ponyville the nurse had decided to stay in the Crystal Empire. Apparently she had fell in love with one of the wereguards. Applejack almost chuckled at that thought. She then looked at her friend and gave her another hug.
“He’d want ya ta be happy Twilight. Ah know he’d want ya ta be happy,” Applejack said.
Twilight nodded and followed her out. Slowly more and more of their friends began showing up. Applejack watched as the room became more lively, and she smiled at it. Things had changed, the world had changed some, but even with it changing things were still good. The world was still a beautiful place, and although the cost had been dear Loyalty, Generosity, Laugher, Kindness, Honesty, and Magic had proven to be greater than any tyrant in the world. She looked at Jack, walked toward him, and pulled him into a kiss. The sound of her two little fillies saying “Ewwwww.” Could be heard, but she didn’t mind. She didn’t mind because something else had been proven.
Buildings may burn, ponies may die, but real love is forever.
Jack listened to the sounds of the Jukebox in the corner. He looked at the unfinished hard cider in front of him and shook his head. It didn’t help any. He had hoped that drinking it would at least dull the memories. That he wouldn’t have to think about what happened; that he wouldn’t have to live with what happened, but instead every memory was there. He could still see David standing next to Twilight. The ceremony, the wedding day, and both of them excited to walk into the rest of their lives together.
It was gone now. There was no getting it back.
“Jack?” a questioning voice asked.
He looked behind him to see Applejack. She was just barely starting to show evidence of being pregnant. He almost chuckled at the words of Granny Smith. She wanted them to be married before the baby came.
“Hi Sweetheart,” he said.
“Yer not drunk?” she asked.
“I wanted to be, but it doesn’t work,” he replied.
She watched him put his head into his real and artificial hoof. She walked toward him and touched his shoulder.
“Sugarcube, this isn’t yer fault,” she said.
He shook his head.
“It is. I should have made them listen better. Two more cannons, just two more, would have been more than enough to stop that son of a bitch,” he said as he held his head in his hooves, “Two more would have done so much… Two more would have saved David… Just two more.”
She pulled him into a hug and felt him return it. She could feel him fighting to control his emotions. She had never really seen him cry yet, and to be honest she wasn’t sure she wanted to see it. Jack had proven himself to be so strong a thousand times over. The idea of something hurting him so bad that he would cry just hurt too much.
“It wouldn’t have mattered. Jack, ya can’t blame this on yerself. Ya did everything ya could to protect everypony. There are hundreds of foals and mares alive today that wouldn’t be if ya hadn’t been there,” she said.
“But… Applejack he was like a brother… He might as well of been my brother. We grew up together, hung out together… We even went to school and shared a dorm room together. He’s gone, and Twilight… she’s so lost. I can’t even stand to look her in the eyes because I know I failed her, and I failed David…” he said.
She pulled back a little and lifted his chin with her hoof.
“Sugarcube, this is not yer fault. It never will be yer fault. This was all Sombra’s doing, and right now that… that… Ah can’t say what he is if I wanna be ladylike. But ya know there was nothing else ya could’ve done,” she said.
(AN: I know that I could do this in the Author's box, but I figured that I would do it here. Obviously for those who have watched the movie An American Werewolf in London you've seen the transformation Scene. For those who haven't I figured that it's better late than never to give you a taste of what David was going through.
Rise of the Lycans An American Werewolf in Equestria Sequel Introduction ‘The Times are a Changing
The dark ancient powers of Equus that had long since been buried by history, forgotten by the modern pony, and certainly unknown to the current generation had long since started churning. The attack of King Somba against the Crystal Empire with the changelings, were Timberwolves, and other creatures fed the ancient powers.
Long locked away places like Mount Gloom began to see new life, and for an ancient evil his prison showed the first signs of strain. Laughing evilly he tested the ancient bars. Their magic, which had been formed from friendship and love, had begun to wear down. He pressed his massive bulk against them and the first creak and crack in well over three thousand years echoed.
“Majesty you were a fool to lock me away in here. Your beloved Twilight should have killed me when she had the chance,” he growled.
He pressed hard again. The bars were bending, but they were not breaking. Still, he had waited three thousand years, he could wait a little longer.
Unknown to him, miles away, another being was testing his attempts at freedom. David Jr growled as his mother chastised him for being so thoughtless. He backed away from her, trying to look anywhere other than her face. Finally he felt his muzzle grabbed by an invisible force and forced to look her directly in her eyes.
“What were you thinking?!” she yelled at him.
“I didn’t start it! They threated my pack!” he yelled back at her.
He found himself forced to the ground, looking up at a very angry mare.
“You don’t have a pack of your own right now. You’re too young for that, and what you did to Shinny bit was beyond terrible. That colt is still in the hospital because of you!” she seethed.
“He hit her! She’s part of my pack! I’m old enough to have a pack, and she’s part of it!” he yelled.
