First Howl

Princess Celestia, origin of all that is good and mother to us all...

Whoops, wrong introduction. Let me start over.

Princess Celestia, immortal ruler of Equestria and she who raises the sun, calmly sipped from a cup of tea as she considered the stacks of paper in front her. The stacks were considered for only several seconds more before the spiralling ivory horn atop her head lit up with a beautiful yellow glow and the hapless piles of parchment vanished, whisked away to be poured upon by dozens of bureaucrats and secretaries -- the latter being the ones who did all the actual work -- before they were appropriately sorted into their proper places.

It didn't matter to her. She didn't need to read them to know what they said, as the smile that graced her lips showed. Equestria -- no, the entire world -- was entering an unquestionable Golden Age. The dozens upon dozens of papers she had pushed aside would only corroborate that.

The miasma that had threatened the minotaur's food supply had been destroyed. The monsters that prowled the lands where the buffalo roamed had been wiped out. The foul -- or fowl -- darkness that had threatened the gryphons had been purified. Even the changelings, long enemies of Equestria, had been saved from the horrible corruption that had threatened to wipe them out. Celestia certainly hadn't expected it when the Queen of the changelings, still recovering from the poisoned love that had nearly taken her life, had immediately turned around and had helped to save Equestria in return, though Celestia was forever grateful that she had. If it hadn't been for her brave actions, Celestia might have been forced to kill her own sister on that dark day.

The sound of crunching bone ripped through Celestia's melancholic thoughts before she could delve into more self-recriminations regarding what a near thing it had all been. Taking another sip of her tea in order to steady her nerves, Celestia glanced in the direction of the noise. In particular, she stared at the large white wolf that sat in the middle of her working room, happily crushing a large golden bone into shreds with its powerful jaws.

Most ordinary citizens would only see a fairly ordinary wolf when they looked at the large, powerful predator. True, wolves were a rare sight in Equestria, and white ones were almost unheard of, but other than that, there didn't appear to be anything particularly special about the wolf. However, Celestia was one of only a small group of individuals capable of piercing the illusion that surrounded the wolf and seeing her for what she really was. She could see the red markings that patterned the wolf's entire body, and the strange fur that flowed on her back and sides much as Celestia's own mane and tail appeared to flow in an ethereal breeze. Most of all, Celestia could see the large mirror that lay on the wolf's back. Despite its normally mundane use, the mirror was a mighty weapon in the wolf's paws and Celestia had seen her use it as such. However, it wasn't the wolf's only weapon. Celestia had also seen the wolf swap out her mirror for a dexterous set of beads or a devastating sword in less time than it took for her to blink.

Most of the castle staff thought of the wolf as a strange sort of pet of Celestia's and endured the carnivore's presence with only a slight shuddering of fear whenever they witnessed the wolf's mighty jaws crushing bone into tiny shards. Celestia had a sneaking suspicion the wolf was aware of this and always made a point to eat her meals in places where they would disturb the most ponies possible. They believed the wolf was just a ferocious animal kept on a carefully-controlled leash and that if it weren't for the presence of the Princesses, they might wake one night to the sight of a slavering beast standing over them, ready and prepared to tear their throat out.

They couldn't have been more wrong.

If anything, Celestia suspected her citizens might actually be safer around the wolf than they were around Celestia herself. Most ponies thought the wolf a simple beast, and nothing more. What they didn't know was that the wolf actually possessed incredible magic; magic, in fact, stronger than that of both Celestia and her sister combined. If the wolf desired it, she could easily take over Equestria and the surrounding lands and lay claim to anything she wanted.

At the moment, it was clear that the only thing the wolf wanted was the sweet marrow locked away inside the bone she held.

"Ah, my friend," Celestia said with a smile, raising her teacup in front of her face. "If only you could talk, I wonder what stories you could tell."

At the sound of Celestia's voice, the wolf poked her head up and looked at the pony sun goddess. She stared at the other, taller white being in the room for several seconds before her head tilted to the left. "Wurf?"

-------------------

If only I could talk, huh?

I could, once. I wasn't always a wolf.

Ah, but I suppose that's a story there. And all a story needs is a teller and an audience.

In that case, I suppose the best place to start would be at the beginning.

------------------

Where... am I?

I gradually regained consciousness. My mind felt muddled and heavy, like someone had packed several pounds of cotton in my skull. My memories were slow in returning to me and came to me in pieces. That said, it wasn't like I was even able to make any sense of them once they had all returned.

"Are you ready yet, Samantha?" Amanda yells at me through the open door before she pokes her head in. The faux-gold crown on her head nearly falls off and she quickly reaches up with a white-gloved hand to catch it. "We're already running late."

"Well, excuuuuuse me, Princess," I blithely reply. My hand blindly fumbles at a spot directly above my tailbone in a futile attempt to attach a pure white tail with a heavy black tip to the sash tied around my waist. After a few seconds, I release the tail... and it instantly drops to the floor. "Damn it!"

Amanda chuckles, ruefully shaking her head as she steps into my bedroom. Her large pink dress flows with every careful step she makes, the hem resting only an inch or two above the ground. "Wrong Princess. And is the poor wittle puppy having twouble getting weady?" she adds in an irritating baby-talk.

"Oh, go get kidnapped by a koopa," I grumble, bending down to scoop up the fallen tail. She just laughs as she takes the noncompliant clump of fur before she crouched down behind me and started fiddling with my watashi or whatever the sash was called.

A few months ago, my girlfriend Amanda had told me about this costume convention she had been to a few times and asked if I wanted to go with her. She even said she'd help me make my costume if I wanted to dress up, so I really had no reason for saying no. I had never gone to one of these events before, so I decided I'd dress up as one of my favourite player characters ever, Amaterasu from the PS2/Wii game Ōkami. If you've never heard of Ōkami before: A) the hell is wrong with you, B) it's like Zelda, only more awesome in every way except for some of the suckier sidequests and the lackluster final dungeon, C) Ammy is the greatest silent protagonist ever (even better than shapeshifting Mario), and D) the hell is wrong with you?

Seriously, the sidequests suck hardcore. Blockhead Grande and the stupid beehive can die in a fire.

Amanda had chosen to dress up as Princess Peach for the convention. She even had a little Toad plushy hanging off her waist. When I asked her why she wanted to dress up as the world's quintessential kidnapping victim, she just said that she 'liked the dress.' And to be fair, she does look good in it. Her homemade dress hugs at her body, nicely showing off the curves while also hiding the taut muscles that I know are there. You wouldn't know it by seeing her in the fancy outfit she's wearing now, but she's actually a fan of boxing and wrestling and she's pretty good at both. She's even forced me to learn how to fight just so she could have a sparring partner whenever she wanted one. Not that I minded too much. I wasn't a fan of the fighting itself, but Amanda always knew how to make it up to me afterwards.

In comparison to Amanda's costume, mine had actually been a little tricky to put together. Since Amaterasu is a wolf -- something I am not -- I had instead dressed up as a bipedal, or anthro version of the character. We had even gone out and bought me a white kimono and some wolf ears for me to wear. I had even gone as far as to dye my hair white. My skin was given a pale appearance thanks the judicious application of some make-up, which made the red markings that patterned my body like some native-american warpaint stand out all the more. The only object that had needed to be hand-made was the tail, since it had the most specific requirements.

And, naturally, the tail absolutely refused to stay on.

"And done," Amanda suddenly says, patting my butt as she stands up. In order to test the security of the tail, I wave my hips from side to side as she moves away, knowing it will only last for a second at most before it drops off just like it had all the times when I had tried it. The tail wags from side to side, but does not fall off. Glaring at it like it had personally betrayed me, I start shaking even harder in an attempt to dislodge the furry appendage.

"Not that I don't enjoy the show," Amanda drolly said, instantly bringing a blush to my cheeks as I realize how silly I must look, "we really should get going."

"Go!" I snap, suddenly eager to leave. I quickly head for the door, pointedly not looking at the smug smile that's present on Amanda's face. "Yes, let's go!" I hurriedly put my shoes on while Amanda follows me at a more sedate pace, her smile unchanging. "Come on, Amanda, we don't want to be late!"

I tear the front door open and step outside. The instant the sun's rays touches me, I suddenly start to feel light headed. The feeling of wooziness persists until I collapse and everything goes white.

That was it. The last thing I remember.

After getting my confused thoughts into something resembling order, if a jumbled sort of order, my awareness starts to extend to the area around me. I have the sensation of opening my eyes, though it wasn't until afterwards that I realized I didn't even have eyes anymore.

The first thing that instantly drew my gaze was the large planet spread out below me. I mean, how would I have missed it? It's a friggin' planet!

Buh... Huh? Bwa? Not the most comprehensible of thoughts, I'll admit, but I'd say my confusion was justified. Last thing I remember was heading to a convention with my girlfriend. Next thing I know, I'm in space. There's a bit of a slight gap between those two events.

Where am I? Well, space. I'd think that's pretty obvious, past-me.

What happened to my clothes? Clothes? Seriously? That's your next question?

Amanda! Oh my god, Amanda! Where are you?

Yeaaah, I'm going to interrupt here. It just gets sad from here on out. Lots of tears. Anyway, after a few hours crying and begging for someone -- preferably Amanda -- to come save me, I managed to pull my mind together enough to get a better idea of my situation. At first, I wondered how I was breathing in space without a spacesuit. I mean, I wasn't Superman. Or Batman. What? Batman can breathe in space. True fact.

Where was I? Right, breathing in space. Well, suffice to say I figured out the answer to that question when I realized I wasn't actually breathing any more. Mostly because I didn't have lungs. Or a body. Or... much of anything else, really. No, instead, I had somehow or another been transformed into the sun itself.

Aaaaaand... that was it. That was the point when my brain broke. I don't know how many years passed before I recovered enough to think comprehensible thoughts again. Thousands? Millions? Several millions, at least. Enough time for life to begin to develop and even flourish on the planet below me.

It was actually watching these animals that helped me pull my shattered psyche back together. Despite the distance between us, I was able to see them as clearly as if I was right there next to them. 'Anywhere the light touches' may seemed like a bit of a cliché, but in my case, that's an accurate description.

I watched as the animals grew and developed, eventually forming societies and cultures of their own. They weren't humans, but it didn't matter to me. I witnessed their successes, their failures, their triumphs, and their tragedies. I grew to love them, these creatures below me.

Many years passed while I watched, until the time when I felt something brush up against me. It was a warm feeling, a tender embrace; almost like a daughter holding their mother for the first time. My attention was drawn down to a specific spot on the surface far below me, to a small young pony-like creature with both a horn and wings. It -- no, she -- she had white fur covering her body along with a pink mane and tail. Her expression showed immense satisfaction, and, as I watched, her flank suddenly lit up and developed a stylized image of the sun on it.

From that point on, I took special interest in watching the white pony. I watched as both her and her sister grew from a pair of young fillies to two very beautiful mares. I didn't see when the sister gained an image of the moon on her flank, but I suppose it happened during the night when I was blind to the events occurring on the surface of the planet. The pair lived on despite the marching years, only becoming larger and more beautiful as the others around them aged and died.

I observed as the pair grew to become leaders among their people, rulers of a wide-spread country that had almost been destroyed before it could start. I wanted to be there, down there with them. I tried to reach out to help them when they fought a strange creature that looked like an amalgam of several other creatures. My non-existent heart ached for them when they fought a cruel centaur capable of stealing away the magical energy of other creatures. I could do nothing but watch as they fought against a twisted unicorn using foul magic in order to save a city made of crystal, and I would have cried if I was able when they were unable to save the city and it disappeared into thin air. And I shared in their pain when the younger of the two sister succumbed to dark powers and the elder was forced to banish her to the moon in order to save the world.

For the next nine hundred years, I tried to reach out to the pony that had been banished to the moon. But restricted in the sun as I was, I was unable to penetrate the vast expanse of space and eventually had to give up. There was a moment, about eight hundred and sixty-two years in, when I thought I had finally managed to reach her. For the space of a split second, I managed to establish a connection with her. For that one glorious, heart-stopping instant, I could feel her emotions and sense the touch of another's mind on my own. But then the moment was gone, and the bond shattered to pieces before I could strengthen it. I was never able to contact her again. In time I gave up trying.

For the next hundred years, I returned to my pastime of silently watching the many creatures and species on the world below. This was how it continued on, with no sign of changing, until the day when everything changed.

The day had started much like any other day. I had been floating in the vast empty void of space, silently watching the creatures on the surface of the planet going about their lives. The large white pony had appeared tense about something, but I figured it didn't concern me and that I would eventually find out what had her so worried.

I was right about the latter, but oh, so very wrong about the former.

Just as I was expecting for the white pony to go through her daily ritual of grabbing me with her magic and guiding me across the sky, I was distracted by something happening that completely broke the regular, day-to-day pattern. The moon started to glow.

I watched with amazement as the shackles that had held the younger sister for so many years suddenly shattered. The powerful forces breaking her free followed the bond connecting us together -- the bond that I had thought broken. In hindsight, I suppose that even once something is broken, that's different from it having never been there in the first place.

The potent forces reached me, and everything went white.

------------

I woke up to the pleasant sensation of a throbbing headache. My ears twitched irritably at the sound of tweeting birdsong around me, and I raised a paw over my eyes in a desperate attempt to make the noisy animals go away.

Wait.

Hold up.

Ears? Birdsong? Paw?

Ignoring the feeling in my head that felt like my brain was trying to tunnel its way through my skull and set off for new lands on its own, I stood up for the first time in uncounted millennia. And after doing so, I froze.

I was in a forest. Not merely watching it from thousands of kilometers away, but actually in a forest. I tried to take a step forward but, unused as I was to controlling a body, I stumbled and nearly fell over. During my little almost-tumble, I happened to glance down and the ground in front of me. Where I thought my hands were, and that I was resting on my hands and knees, I instead saw a pair of pure white paws. Looking over my body, I realized what had happened.

Somehow, I had been turned into Amaterasu from Ōkami. My human body was gone, and I had instead been transformed into a four-legged white wolf. And you know what? I was in way too good a mood about finally having a body of my own to care or question it in the slightest.

I looked up in the sky, at the sun that had been both my prison and my home for so long hanging high in the air above me. I could feel something growing deep inside me at the sight of the glowing orb. A sensation that built and built, until it finally demanded to be set free.

I released it.

Holding nothing back, I threw back my head and howled to the heavens.

Addendum: Items and Abilities

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After my great howl, I decided to take the opportunity to try and understand my situation. Moving on all fours like a wolf felt natural to me, far more natural than standing up on my rear paws ever could. When an attempt at standing on my hind legs made me flip over, landing on my back with my paws up in the air and feeling distinctly like a upended turtle, I decided to remain down on all fours like nature intended.

I scratched at an ear with a hind leg as I considered what I remembered from the game. If I was down on the world that I had observed for millions of years, then it wouldn't be a good idea for me to go anywhere without the ability to protect myself. Most of the land was completely safe, safe enough that a ten-year old with a bag of money could safely walk from one end of the country without any troubles whatsoever. Other areas, well...

Let me put it this way: I was extremely grateful I hadn't dressed up as an rpg character to that convention that was so long ago, I barely remember it anymore. Most of the world, it's like: slime, slime, imp, slime. Pathetic enemies that are barely worth the effort of killing. But take like twenty steps in the wrong direction and you'll be assaulted by the fucking Ultima Weapon or Warmech or something like that with zero warning. The place is the definition of bullshit difficulty curve. Dark Souls got nothing on some of the beasties here.

Speaking of, I take a moment to look at the area around me. If I'm recognizing it correctly, and I'm pretty sure I am, then I think I'm standing in the forest that borders the land ruled by the two large winged and horned ponies. Two? Is it still two? I look up at the sun and a concerned whine escapes me. I hope it's still two. I really came to care for both of them over the years, even if they would have no idea who I am.

Well, now I have an objective. Find out if both of those two are still alive and what has become of them. For some reason, my eyes drift to a point directly on my muzzle and it takes me a moment to realize what I'm doing. I'm watching my nose, as if I'm expecting for some inch-tall individual to suddenly appear on it and start bouncing away, all while explaining to me what I'm supposed to be doing. Like Navi, only with an affixation to breasts and a tiny little sword he's always eager to use. So, an awesome version of Navi.

Several seconds pass in awkward silence before I realize that there is going to be no Issun for me and I sigh in disappointment. Shame. Issun had some of the best moments in the game. Whether it was hiding in Sakuya's clothes at the very beginning, getting batted around like some sort of toy by Ammy and Kabegami (that's the cat god), giving Amaterasu the much more memorably name of 'Ammy' and constantly mocking Waka, or that utter spectacular moment of greatness at the very end, Issun was always a joy whenever he was around. Heck, most of the dialogue in the game was between Issun and other characters while Ammy usually napped in the background, totally uninterested in what everyone else was talking about.

Heehee. Ammy was great.

But I suppose it's going to be solo adventure for this wolf-goddess. With a momentary thought, I pull open my inventory and take a look at what items I possess. This reaches only a momentarily stumbling block when I realize I have no idea how I pulled my inventory open or where I could be storing all these items, but I quickly push the thought aside. If Twilight Princess Link can get away with holding a giant heavy ball and chain in his hat or wherever he keeps it without it affecting him so long as he doesn't have it pulled out, surely I can have this. Or Ocarina of Time Link with his iron boots in the water temple. If they're on, he sinks. If not, he floats.

Physics!

Anyway, a quick investigation of my inventory (... don'tthinkaboutit, don'tthinkaboutit...) revealed to me that I had ninety-nine of every item in the game. Or at least, I thought I did. As I watched, the numbers seemed to shimmer and shift, going from ninety-nine to the infinity symbol and back again. Curious as to what this could mean, I selected a Holy Bone S, the most basic of healing items. To my joy and wonderment, the air in front of me starts to shimmer and swirl for just a second before a small white bone with a blue stripe running down the center and a pair of exorcism tags hanging off the middle.

My stomach grumbles, and I realize with some shock how long it's been since I've eaten a proper meal. Well, I don't actually know how long it's been, but at least a couple million years. I'd honestly prefer a burger or something but I somehow feel like the bone in front of me is the best option I'm going to get.

With a wolfish shrug, I grab the bone in my paws and try to hold it so I can bite into it. It takes a little bit of effort, but I eventually manage to wrap my mouth around the large, hard bone. As I'm enjoying my tasty treat, I pull open the inventory once more and I'm only slightly surprised by what I see. The number for Small Bone S hasn't changed in the slightest. It's still slowly jumping back and forth between ninety-nine and infinite.

I contemplate what that means as the solid bone in my mouth suddenly twitches under my ministrations and a rich and powerful taste suddenly floods my mouth. Could I really have an infinite number of all my consumable items? What's the catch?

I suppose it might seem like I'm taking this more calmly then I should, but that's not unexpected. After spending several million years as a sun, there's really not that much that can surprise me anymore.

While I continue to examine my inventory, I should take the chance to explain what consumable items I have. First on the list --since I've already mentioned one of them -- are Holy Bone S, Holy Bone M, and Holy Bone L. Those are the small, medium, and large healing items respectively. Pretty simple.

The next group are the feedbags. That's Feedbag (seeds), Feedbag (Herbs) Feedbag (Meat), and Feedbag (Fish). All these items are used to feed creatures that eat that type of food. Again, pretty straightforward.

After that, there's Exorcism Slip S, Exorcism Slip M, and Exorcism Slip L. These do damage to enemies in an area around Ammy. If you need me to tell you which one does the least damage and which does the most, you're clearly not old enough to be allowed outside on your own. On a similar bent, there's the Vengeance Slip, which temporarily reflects damage back to enemies.

Next, we have some of my favourite items. The first is the Inkfinity Stone. In Ōkami, ink is basically mana and allows you to cast spells, or Celestial Brush Techniques. We'll get to those in a minute. The Inkfinity Stone temporarily gives you infinite ink, which is exactly as much fun as it sounds.

Next in my list of 'items that are awesome', we have the Traveler's Charm and the Godly Charm. The Traveler's Charm increases Ammy's Godhood by one, while the Godly Charm increases Godhood to max. Godhood is like... hmm... well... Actually, I can't think of a suitable example from any other game. I suppose Godhood would be best described as a protective shield. As Ammy attacks her enemies and increases her combo, her Godhood steadily stacks up to the max rank of three. If Ammy is hit by an attack and she has a least one level of Godhood, the Godhood takes the blow instead and Ammy is left completely unharmed. She doesn't even flinch. It is completely badass. The blow can be anything from a sissy little minion punch to a meteor to the face. Doesn't matter. Ammy just 'Nopes' the damage and walks it off. Godhood drops a rank whenever she gets hit, naturally, and she'll take the blow in full if she's hit without any Godhood to protect her, so it's not a perfect defense.

Moving down the list, we have Steel Fist Sake and Steel Soul Sake. These items temporarily increase Ammy's attack and defense, respectively. You're reading that right. Ammy is a big badass friendly wolf that drinks booze to become more powerful. I don't think she could be any more awesome.

Next there's Gold Dust, which permanently increases one weapon's attack power. A weapon can only be boosted once, so having a ton of these isn't as overpowered as it could be.

Running out of items here. We then have the Mermaid Coin, which allows Ammy to teleport between Mermaid Springs. Unfortunately, I don't think this world has Mermaid Springs so I'm not sure how useful these could be.

Finally, we end off the list with the mighty Golden Peach. A Golden Peach fills one Astral Pouch when used. The Astral Pouch is basically Ammy's stomach and is slowly filled up by eating food she finds around the world. She can have a maximum of four. Don't think about it too hard. I guess wolf-goddesses are like cows. However, a Golden Peach skips the slow build-up and instantly fills the Astral Pouch. A full Astral Pouch is like a bottled fairy from most any Legend of Zelda game only better. If Ammy runs out of health and dies at any time that she has a full Astral Pouch, the Astral Pouch is emptied and Ammy returns to life at full health.

It was at this point that I noticed that the Holy Bone S in my mouth had stopped giving off any flavour. I glanced down at the bone and realized that I had long since sucked the bone clean of its sweet marrow, leaving behind only an empty shell. I discarded the remnants of my meal and tapped a spot on the inventory screen, this time summoning a Holy Bone L. Fitting the much larger bone into my mouth took some effort, and I nearly choked on it when I underestimated its size and accidentally triggered my gag reflex, but I eventually managed to get everything under control and continued my perusal.

After that, I reached the key items. Most of them were simply things related to plot progression, so let's skip the basic ones and instead focus on the ones that grant me special abilities.

And there certainly is none more special than the Lucky Mallet. This nifty little magic item shrinks the one its used on down to a single inch tall. Another hit restores the target back to normal size. Unlike the rest of my items, it's not restricted to me, so I could theoretically use it on someone else if I needed to bring them with me for whatever reason. It's an excellent item for getting into new places or sneaking past guards. Only problem is that spiders turn into terrifying monstrosities and ordinary people suddenly turn into Colossi. And me without my bow and infinite quiver of arrows.

And that's all the Key Items that are likely to help me in any way. Yay! I mean, I suppose I could use the mask or something, but if someone's looking for a white wolf and they happen to bump into a white wolf wearing a piece of paper on its face, I somehow doubt they'll shrug the event off and go look elsewhere. That only works against Yokai.

Then we have the weapons, but let's skip those for now. I'll jaw about them another time, maybe in combat when they actually become important. For now, all you need to know is that Ammy's weapon of choice, and my current weapon which even now rests on my back, is the Divine Retribution. It's a Reflector and it looks like a green disk that is constantly emitting flames.

Next, we have the really special stuff. This is what I've been looking forwards to ever since I opened up my inventory in the first place. The Holy Artifacts. As you might guess by the name, these little tools are awesome. The only problem is that only three can be equipped at a time, but that's a small trade off.

The first item is the Golden Lucky Cat, which draws items to me. It's probably the least useful of all the Holy Artifacts and I doubt I'll ever use it. Next!

Then there's the Peace Bell, which prevents Demon Scrolls from chasing after Ammy. If Ammy touches a Demon Scroll, she's jumped by a group of Yokai. These are the game's common enemies, and can range from fairly difficult to trash mobs. However, I've never seen a Demon Scroll on this world in all the years I've been watching it, nor am I likely to. Useless.

Here's something that I can actually use. The Wood Mat. By sleeping on it, I can exchange Yen in order to recover health. But I don't have any Yen. What I do have is an infinite supply of Holy Bones, which are the health recovery item. So I can't use it after all. This has just been one string of disappointments after another.

There's the Fog Pot, which I can use once in order to learn the Celestial Brush Technique Mist Warp. But I already know this ability, so this item doesn't help me at all.

The Golden Ink Pot is next. Finally, something I can use! The Golden Ink Pot increases the rate at which I regenerate Ink. Ink recovers three times as fast, meaning that I'll be able to use Celestial Brush Techniques that much faster. True, I could dip into my infinite number of Inkfinity Stones, but that feels like more effort than it's worth outside of pitched battles. Equipped.

Then we have what is arguably the second best item in the entire game; the Thief's Glove. With the Thief's Glove, Ammy could use Issun to steal items away from enemies. Even better, Issun deals damage when this ability is used, with the amount of damage increasing with practice to the point where he is capable of taking out all but the strongest enemies with one swing. But I don't have Issun. Sigh.

Here's something fun. The Fire Tablet. Basically, it makes me immune to fire. That's it. Someone's breathing fire at me? No problem. Need to swim through lava? Pshhht. Need to swim up a lava geyser? Who do you think I am? So very equipped.

Ah, something else that's good. The Water Tablet. With this, I can walk on water. Yes, I am your god. Equipped.

Finally, we reach the unquestionable greatest item in the game, and possible one of the greatest items in all of gaming. The String of Beads. Made from 100 Stray Beads gathered throughout the game -- many of which require accomplishing some difficult sidequests to obtain -- the String of Beads takes any semblance of difficulty the game might have and promptly breaks it in half. The String of Beads makes you immortal. No ifs, ands, or buts. Ammy just plain stops taking damage. No matter how the enemies may try, no matter what sort of forces they might try to bring against her, she'll shrug it all off and keep powering through. She still recoils if something hits her, but her health remains undamaged. As if that's not enough, she has infinite ink with the String of Beads equipped and deals ten times as much damage as normal with every hit, which is more than enough to instantly kill most enemies. Truly, the String of Beads turns Ammy into an absolutely unstoppable force of nature.

Which is why I shouldn't be surprised that there is a big empty hole in my inventory where the String of Beads is supposed to go.

Doing a little poking around in my inventory, I manage to find where it tells me how many Stray Beads I currently possess. Care to make a guess? I need a hundred to create the String of Beads. I have ninety-nine. Someone's having a laugh.

Finally reaching the end of the inventory, I come to the Celestial Brush Techniques. These are the Ammy's signature abilities and they are something truly special. With the press of a button, Ammy transforms the world into a painting and then uses her tail as a paintbrush in order to affect the world as she needs to. Or just wants to. Most of the abilities are locked to her at the beginning of the game, and she has to travel the world and find the other gods in order to relearn the Celestial Brush Techniques.

Why am I not surprised that I've already got all of them unlocked, including the secret Techniques?

The first ability Ammy gets, which she starts the game with, is Sunrise. Fitting considering her title of Sun Goddess. By drawing a circle in the sky, she can summon the sun and turn night to day instantly. Perfect for dispelling the darkness, prolonging the day, and drying off wet laundry.

The first ability Ammy relearns, taught by the dragon god Yomigami, is Rejuvination. This ability repairs missing or broken parts of objects. Unfortunately, it's a very situational ability and likely the least used in the entire game.

Following the least useful Celestial Brush Technique, we have possibly the most useful; the Power Slash, taught by the rat god Tachigami. By drawing a straight line across her painting, Ammy creates a powerful slash capable of slicing through weak objects. And by weak, I mean it can be upgraded to slice through diamonds. It can also be used to reflect enemy projectiles back at them, which is never a bad thing.

Then we have the three Greenspout abilities, which are taught by the three Hanagami, the monkey gods. Their uses and abilities are varied enough that I'll speak of them separately.

First is Bloom, taught by Sakigami. By drawing a circle around withered trees, wilted clovers, or closed flower buds, Ammy can rejuvenate trees, restore nature, and cause flower buds to blossom. A fun use of the ability that has no effect on anything is to draw circles around NPCs, which makes most of them run over to pet Amaterasu. It also forces shapeshifters to change shape. Finally, by placing a single dot on the ground, Bloom can make full-sized trees suddenly sprout out of nowhere.

The next Greenspout ability is Water Lily, taught by Hasugami. By drawing a circle on the water surface, Ammy creates a lily pad strong enough to support her weight. This is good, because Ammy can only dog paddle, and she's not very good at it. There's something horribly embarrassing about the origin of all that is good and mother to us all drowning in a pond that's not even ten feet across. However, the Water Tablet renders this ability mostly obsolete, so I doubt I'll get much use of it.

The last Greenspout ability is Vine, taught by Tsutagami. By drawing a line from a Konohana blossom to something else, Ammy can make a vine lash out and tie around that something. If it's Ammy herself, then the vine instantly pulls her to the blossom. If it's an enemy, then the enemy is tied up for a few seconds until they break free. I haven't seen any Konohana blossoms in this world while I've been watching it, but there are some plants that I hope work just as well. I'll have to test it and see.

Moving away from Greenspout, we then come to Cherry Bomb, taught by the boar god Bakugami. By drawing a circle with a line going through it, similar in appearance to a Q, Ammy can summon a powerful explosive capable of blowing through cracked walls or floors. By upgrading the ability, Ammy can summon two or three bombs at the same time. Very nice, but about as subtle as an avalanche.

Next is Waterspout, taught by the snake god Nuregami. When near a body of water, Ammy can draw a line from that body of water to another object in order to make the water douse whatever she has chosen. Or, in areas where the power of water is especially strong, Ammy can draw a line straight up to create a geyser that can then be ridden up.

Waterspout has two upgraded abilities. The first is Fountain, which allows Ammy to transport between Mermaid Springs without spending Mermaid Coins by drawing a circle or a swirl over them. Again, no Mermaid Springs, so... The other upgrade is Deluge. By drawing a pair of vertical lines next to each other, Ammy can create a rainstorm.

Back to the basic Celestial Brush Techniques, we have Crescent, taught by the rabbit god Yumigami. By drawing a crescent in the sky, Ammy can summon the moon and instantly turn day into night. It's the exact opposite of Amaterasu's own trademark brush technique, Sunrise.

After that is Galestorm, taught by the horse god Kazegami. By drawing a loop in the air, Amaterasu can summon a strong gust of wind to assist her. It's upgraded form is Whirlwind, which is performed by drawing three horizontal lines. It creates a tornado around Amaterasu which is capable of blowing enemies away.

The next ability is Inferno, taught by the phoenix god Moegami. When near a source of open flames, Ammy can draw a line from those flames to somewhere else in order to burn her target. It's as much fun as it sounds.

However, sometimes you won't have access to an open fire pit. For this, you have the upgraded ability, Fireburst. By drawing an infinity symbol, Ammy can create massive spheres of fire wherever she pleases.

After a heavily offensive ability, the next one is much more defensive; Veil of Mist, taught by the sheep god Kasugami. By drawing a pair of horizontal lines, Ammy covers the area in thick fog that temporarily slows down time. I'm not exactly sure how fog equals time control, but I'm not going to argue with a goddess. Especially not one that might run off with and bury my shoes if I annoy her.

The upgraded form of Veil of Mist is Mist Warp, which I had mentioned in passing before. By drawing an X over an Ultimate Origin Mirror -- which are special save points -- Ammy can warp to any other Ultimate Origin Mirror in areas she has already visited. But just like the problem with Mermaid Springs, this world seems to lack Ultimate Origin Mirrors.

Then is Catwalk, taught by the -- surprise! -- cat god Kabegami. When near statues of Kabegami, Ammy can draw a line on a nearby wall in order to create a trail of glowing pawprints that she can then stick to, allowing her to scale the wall with ease. No Kabegami statues here, blah, blah, blah.

Nearing the end, we come to Thunderstorm, taught by the tiger god Gekigami. When in the presence of lightning, Ammy can draw a line from the lightning bolt to something else in order to redirect the lightning and shock her unfortunate target.

Thunderstorm's upgraded ability is Thunderbolt. By drawing a lightning symbol (Ϟ), Ammy can summon a lightning bolt at any time she pleases, even during a sunny day without a cloud in the sky. Heck, she can even do it underground! Gods don't care about your petty rules.

The final Celestial Brush Technique, taught by the ox god Itegami, is the powerful Blizzard ability. Much like Waterspout, Inferno, and Thunderstorm, when near a source of ice, Ammy can draw a line from it to somewhere else in order to freeze that target.

And much like Waterspout, Inferno, and Thunderstorm, Blizzard also has an upgraded ability: Icestorm. By drawing an X with a horizontal strike through it (Ӿ), Ammy can summon a flurry of snowflakes and icicles capable of freezing anything unfortunate enough to be nearby.

Whew! That was quite a list! I suck out the last traces of meat within my Holy Bone before putting it aside. Feeling much better than I had when I had first awoken, I haul myself upright. Somehow feeling like I should be looking for some sort of checkpoint to save my progress, I push the feeling aside and instead consider the wall of trees all around me. Figuring one direction was as good as any other, I picked a random direction and started walking.

And walk I did. And walked. And walked.

Second Howl

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I walked through the woods, constantly trying to make a mental map of the area around me. While I may have a fairly good idea of the topography of the world on a grand scale, I was fairly clueless when it came to the finer details. I didn't bother sneaking through the woods, instead practicing moving both quickly and regally. The first reason I chose not to worry about stealth was because I was fairly confident in my ability to chase off or simply escape from any monsters that might attack me. The other reason is because my pelt is white. I'm not going to be able to hide from anything worth a damn. It'd be like trying to hide the sun, which I suppose is a fitting analogy.

Walking through the forest felt normal to me, despite my long absence from the world. Maybe it was an instinct instilled in me because of my changed form? That would also explain how I had been able to open my inventory or how I knew how to use my Celestial Brush Techniques without any training. I walked for hours before I heard what sounded like the muffled sound of someone scraping steel. The sound was inconsistent, coming in short bursts followed by a short silence and another scrape.

My ears twitched in the direction of the sound, confused about the unnatural noise. I relaxed when I realized it was the noise of a whetstone, used to sharpen weapons and other tools. While my first thought was that someone was sharpening a sword or something, I reminded myself that that might not be the case. Whetstones could also be used to sharpen other tools, including hoes and shovels.

Naturally, I went to investigate the strange and unfamiliar sound. As interesting and exciting as this forest was, what I really wanted to meet were the species that lived around here. The noise continued in its erratic bursts and I followed my ears to the source. The forest floor was covered in thick bushes that would have been almost impossible to wade through, but as I approached the foliage, I was treated to the strange sight of it actually moving out of the way to let me pass. After following the path that had been set out for me, I happened to glance back and realized that the trail had closed behind me as the plants had moved back into place.

I stared at the strange moving plants in befuddlement for several seconds before continuing to seek for the source of the noise. That wasn't an ability I remembered from the game. Not that I'm complaining. Using Power Slash to cut a path for myself isn't exactly something that seems fitting for a goddess of nature.

I stumble and nearly topple over as the weight of that last thought hits me full-force. Knowing that I was in Amatarasu's body had raised my suspicion, but seeing the plants moving out of my way was what really made me realize it. Was I really a Goddess now? If so, what did that mean for me? I had long since accepted that I would never return home, and I had already said goodbye to my family and Amanda. What else would I be saying goodbye to? My humanity? My personality? My identity?

A lack of an answer presented itself, and I could only continue to move forward. I decided to think about it another time and instead focus on finding out what was causing the noise. I had almost reached it, passing through the space the plants opened up for me, when the plant in front of me didn't move. This was such an incongruous event compared to the rest of the bushes that I actually stopped short to stare at the stock still plant. And what does it say about my life, I wonder, that I'm surprised when a bush doesn't hasten to get out of my way?

Before I can figure out how I feel about the stationary plant, I happen to glance beyond it and see a bipedal creature sitting in front of an entrance to a cave. Moving on instinct alone, I silently squat down behind the bush so I can observe the creature without being spotted. While I would love to just rush out there and lick the creature in greeting, I have no idea how it might react to that.

The creature was covered in a thick coat of grey fur, which looked like it had been cropped away near its paw-hands. It held a hoe and a whetstone in its paw-hands, which was what was making the scraping sound as it sharpened the farming implement. Around its neck it wore a thick black collar, which was interspaced with spikes going all around it. I couldn't see a practical use for the collar, so I assumed it was for fashion. It also wore a bright red jacket, finishing off the entire look. No pants though, leaving me with the distinct feeling I was looking at a half-dressed cartoon animal.

As for the creature itself, it looked like a dog. A large, ungroomed, bipedal dog, sure, but still a dog. In fact, it was a dog. I could remember watching as its ancestors split away from the ordinary race of canines and started to evolve in their own direction. I remember thinking that the process of the evolution had seemed really fast, as if there had been something driving the species to evolve in a certain direction. Either way, this confirmed it for me: I was definitely on the surface of that planet I had watched for so long.

As for the dog in front of me, I soaked in its appearance as I continued to watch it, observing and memorizing its features. Its ears were long and droopy, and nearly covered its eyes. Its short little stubby dog tail poked out from its bare behind, and as I watched I could see the tail twitch. Heavy jowls hung from the sides of the dog's mouth. Its front paws were large and heavily developed, far more so then its hind paws.

As I continued to consider the dog, I almost didn't notice as its mouth opened up, revealing a row of sharp pointy teeth. "This one knows you're there," it suddenly said with a masculine voice, swinging its hoe around to point directly where I was hiding. Rather, where I was failing to hide. "Stop skulking around and come where this one can see you."

I blinked in surprise as I heard the words. No, that's not quite a proper explanation. I didn't 'hear' any words at all. When the dog spoke, I heard growls and whines coming from its mouth, certainly not something that I could recognize as a language. At the same time, I also heard a second voice inside my head, which spoke what I could only assume was a translation of what the dog was saying.

I realized that I had been standing there for a few seconds and the bipedal dog was still pointing its hoe directly at me. Not seeing any way out of the situation, other than to turn and flee into the woods, I stepped forward and walked into his line of sight, the bush that had stopped me before moving out of my way without hesitation.

The dog raised an eye as I strode into his line of sight. He stared at me for a moment before he switched his attention to the bushes behind me, looking as if it couldn't quite believe what he had seen. After a moment, he shrugged it off and calmly went back to sharpening his hoe. "Wolf," he greeted me with a disinterested grunt in that strange language of barks and whines. "Hello, white wolf."

I tilted my head at him before turning to look at my own body. I'm not saying I wasn't a white wolf, but that's not the first thing that I would say if I were to suddenly see me in the woods. Thick red lines patterned my entire body, especially my face and shoulders, which the dog couldn't fail to see from where he was. My fur stuck up in unusual swirls at my ankles and shoulders, and that wasn't even getting into the large burning mirror that I wore on my back. My confusion lasted until I remembered that Amaterasu simply looked like an ordinary white wolf to the vast majority of people. Only people who strongly believed in the gods were able to see Amaterasu's true form.

Well, if I had needed any further proof that I was now Amaterasu, that I was now a God, it had just knocked on the door and decided to say hello. I felt my emotions start to swell and surge inside me but I hastily bottled the feelings away, determined to save the oncoming panic attack for a time when I was alone.

The bipedal dog didn't respond as I took a seat next to him, watching as he continue to sharpen his hoe. After several minutes more, he appeared to be satisfied with his work and placed the whetstone down on the ground. Hefting the hoe over one shoulder, he reached over and absentmindedly scratched at my ears with his unoccupied paw-hand for a couple seconds before he turned and silently disappeared into the dark cave.

Not having anything better to do, I stood up and decided to follow after the bipedal dog. Walking into the entrance way, my eyes took a moment to become used to the change of light as I stepped into the heavy shadows. Once I was able to see again, I saw that the bipedal dog had stopped at the back of the cave and was staring at me with an inscrutable expression on his face. Once he saw that my eyes had adjusted to the change in light, he turned without a word and slipped into an entrance to a small tunnel at the back of the cave. I could see entrances to several tunnels at the back of the cave, so if the dog hadn't shown me which way to go it would have been nearly impossible for me to find him again.

After experimentally sniffing at the entrance to the small tunnel, I climbed in and followed after the much larger canine. I was smaller than he was, so I was able to travel the tunnel without too much difficulty. As I felt the weight of the millions of tons of rocks above my head, I took a moment to thank any gods that might be listening that I was not claustrophobic.

After a few minutes of blindly crawling through the twisting tunnel, it suddenly widened above my head before spitting me out into a much wider area. I still couldn't see a blasted thing, of course, and an unwilling whine escaped my throat as I tried to peer through the impenetrable darkness. I was just about to bark for my guide when I heard the distinct sound of stone striking stone, followed by a tiny flash of light. The light flared brightly for an instant before puttering out, leaving me in absolute darkness once more.

The sound repeated itself once more, only this time the light flared even brighter and didn't immediately vanish. By the sudden illumination, I could see the bipedal dog crouched in front of me, holding a stone in each of his paw-hands. A burning torch was on the ground in front of him, and it was that flame that was the source of light. Dropping the two stones on the, he picked up the burning brand and stood up before walking over to one side of the room. There, he lifted the torch and touched it to another torch that had been carefully set on the side of the wall. The hanging torch caught instantly and the dog started to walk the perimeter of the entire cave, stopping three more times to light up more torches installed on the walls.

After the last torch had been lit, illuminating the entire room, I looked around at exactly what the light had revealed to me. An entire underground garden was spread out in front of me, filled with all sorts of plants I couldn't even hope to identify. The ground where the plants grew looked like it had been carefully tilled and was clearly the product of many hours of hard work. A small trickle of water poured out of one of the walls and swirled a small creek around the tiny garden before disappearing into a drain on the other side of the room.

I felt a presence next to me and looked up to see the bipedal dog looking down at me. "This Rocky's private garden," he said to me, his voice remaining at a carefully level monotone, as if he somehow expected to be kicked at any moment. "So... What you think?"

I sniffed once and the smell of the dog's tension filled the air, so strong that I nearly choked on it. For some reason, the dog -- who I'm assuming is named Rocky -- seems to be worried about what my thoughts may be. Rather than making him wait on my impression, I look up at him with an impressed bark. The tight lines on his face that I hadn't even noticed before suddenly soften at my bark and I get the feeling I did the right thing.

"Rocky is glad you think so," the dog says, confirming that my assumption about his name was correct. "Rocky's pack was not nearly so understanding." His hand traces a spot on his stomach and I whine when I notice a large ugly scar visible underneath the fur. The dog seems to be grateful for my concern, because he smiles and places a paw-hand on my head. "It was a long time ago. Rocky is living just fine on his own."

My tail sadly wags once before going still. I want to know more, but if he doesn't want to talk about it, I won't pry. Instead, I meaningfully look at the tiny garden before looking back at him with a curious huff. He correctly interprets my question and a small reminiscent smile appears on his face. "Rocky learned about growing plants while watching nearby pony settlement. Very good plants. Useful. Some good for stomach, others good for treating wounds." He laughs in a self-recriminating manner before giving a rueful shrug. "Others just smell bad. Good for keeping ticks out of fur."

I reach up with a paw and scratch at an ear with a small whine. I haven't had any trouble with ticks, mosquitoes, flies, or any other type of insect so far, but I can certainly understand where he's coming from. I don't know why I haven't been bothered by any bugs so far. Maybe they sense the power of the Sun in me and are unable to get too close?

The dog sits down next to me and scratches at my ears again. Despite his efforts to put up a brave front, I can sense the loneliness and the longing for company in him. Unable to say anything, I lean over and press my head against his chest, silently cursing my own powerlessness. Here I am, with the powers of a literal God, and I can't do anything to help the very first individual to show me kindness?

It just isn't fair.

We sat in silence for hours, me leaning against his warm chest and his paw-hand resting on my furry head, until sleep washed over me and pulled me down into a sweet slumber.

Third Howl

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Upon waking up, I quickly realized that was that I was alone.

Pushing myself to a four-legged standing position with a surprising amount of ease considering I still mentally considered myself as a biped, I felt something slide off my back and craned my head around to look at it. A raggedy old blanket was hanging off my haunches, half on me and half in a pile on the floor. Moving carefully so as not to rip any more holes in the ratty old fabric with my sharp fangs, I folded up the blanket as carefully as I could and put it aside against the tunnel wall. There was a faint light source in the underground burrow coming from a nearby tunnel.

Seeking out the source of the light, I found the bipedal dog standing over a cookfire. He was stirring some sort of substance that was bubbling away inside a rusted and dented pot. "Oh, white wolf," he greeted me as he saw me approach him. "Good morning to you, white wolf. Did you sleep well?"

I barked once at him in response and the bipedal dog smiled as he filled a bowl with the mysterious substance and placed it in front of me. "Eat up, breakfast is ready. You Rocky's guest, so Rocky will feed you."

I bent down and took a dainty sniff of the substance that had been placed before me. To be honest, I wasn't all that hungry and the mystery substance certainly wasn't doing anything to provoke my stomach. However, not wanting to come across as rude and silently promising myself a Holy Bone later, I stuck my muzzle into the bowl and took a bite.

The substance was thick and heavy on my tongue, and carried with it the distinctive taste of burnt food. It was obvious even from a single bite that my host wasn't much of a cook. But my body didn't immediately reject the questionable food, so I swallowed it down and warily took another bite. I ate fastidiously, not spilling so much as a single drop. It wasn't easy with my unfamiliar mouth, requirement to eat slowly and 'enjoy' my food.

Seeing me apparently enjoying my meal -- or at the very least, eating it -- Rocky scooped out a bowl for himself and took a seat on the floor next to me. I twitched an ear towards him in acknowledgement but didn't say anything, as my mouth was full of food. In short order, his mouth was also full of food and we ate in silence.

After several minutes, we put our bowls aside -- both of us having cleaned them out with our doggy tongues -- and Rocky looked down at me with a sad expression on his canine face. "Rocky has enjoyed your company, white wolf. Rocky will miss you when you're gone."

I look at him curiously, a tiny threatening growl escaping me. My first thought was about how ominous that sounded, but I quickly stop that train of thought before it can force me to do anything I might regret. If Rocky wanted to hurt me, he could have done so at any minute when I was asleep. Regardless, I minutely lift the tip of my tail just a little bit, prepared to use the power of my Celestial Brush Techniques if he should happen to give me reason.

Rocky seems to understand why my entire body has gone tense, because he hastily raises his paw-hands in front of him and scootches away from me. "That not what Rocky meant! Though he admits he said that wrong..." Seeing his expression of genuine contriteness and smelling the sincerity coming off of him, I lower my tail back down and allow my body to relax.

Rocky sighs in relief now that I no longer look like I'm about to leap for his jugular, though he keeps his hands protectively raised in front of him. "All Rocky meant was that you wouldn't be staying here. White wolf is a creature of the open air and the forest, while Rocky lives underground in the dirt. Rocky's home not good for white wolf."

My head tilts to the side as I consider Rocky's words. Though I am loathe to admit it, he has a point. I can feel the open air calling for me. The sky. The winds. The trees. And most of all... the sun. I don't think I would be able to be happy down here, not for long.

I sag in defeat, acknowledging the truth in what Rocky said. A paw-hand finds its way among my wolfish ears and I glance over as it gives me a reassuring scratch. Claws that can carve through dirt and stone without worry are surprisingly gentle as they scratch at my scalp. "It's not that bad," he tells me with a smile on his canine features. "If you ever have need for Rocky's help, just howl and Rocky will come running if he hears you."

Howl? My left ear twitches as Rocky pulls his arm away and I look at the pulled back paw-hand with disappointment. Those scratches are really distracting. Rocky waves for me to stand up and I just look at him curiously. "Go on," he tells me. "Howl. So Rocky will be able to identify your howl when you need him."

Oh. Ohhhhhh. That makes sense. Standing up, I feel the familiar sensation building up inside of me. Throwing my head back, I release my howl to the world. The sound is crisp and clear as it ring out, echoing like a bell in the small cave we're in. The melodic noise reverberates harmoniously for several seconds before it fades away, leaving only silence behind.

A faint satisfied smile pulling at my muzzle, I look over to where Rocky was. The smile fades away as I see that Rocky has pressed himself up against the farthest wall in this tiny room and is now staring at me with wide open eyes. "Y-you," he gasps out, raising a shaking paw-hand to point at me. "What are you?"

I whine at him and tilt my head to the right in a puzzled manner, not really sure what he's talking about. After a few seconds of staring, Rocky blinks once and raises an arm to rub at his eyes. He stares at me and blinks again. After a few more seconds, he shakes his head and stands up, leaning against the wall to support his trembling form. "No," he mumbles, not looking at me. "It nothing."

Externally, I only whine at him again, but internally, my mind is a blur. What could he have seen? Could he have seen my true form? Was he able to see past the illusion of a regular wolf, and recognize me for the god I apparently am? If so, how? How could he have seen me? What could have done it?

The howl! That's the only option that makes sense! Is it possible that my howl pierces the illusion that covers me and allows anyone to see for who I am? Or could it possibly be the other way around? When I howl, could my own godly strength become too much for the illusion to hide, and it falls because of that?

Regardless, I'll have to be careful about when I howl from now on. Rocky fires one last confused look in my direction before he shakes his head and wanders off. He waves for me to follow him and I do exactly that, quickly falling into his stride beside him. That's what I am doing. I am falling into stride. I am not 'heeling'.

"Smart wolf," Rocky says as he sees me walking beside him. "Good wolf. Even if you cannot stay with Rocky, perhaps you would be able to live with nearby village." I woof out a query and he quickly moves to explain. "Village of ponies nearby. That where Rocky learned how to grow plants and cook. Watching ponies."

It's also probably where he got the beaten-up pot he used to make breakfast. Probably scrounged it out of the garbage or something.

God damn, do I want to help him somehow.

Wrapped up as I am in my own thoughts, I fail to notice as the light around us becomes steadily brighter and brighter until there's suddenly a bright light shining in my eyes and I raise a paw to shield my
face. When I'm able to see again, I realize that we've completely left the dark caverns and have stepped out into the lush forest.

"Well, this is goodbye." I look back to see Rocky standing behind me, still standing in the shadow of his cave. His arms are crossed and he's leaning against one of the walls with an odd smile on his canine face, and I know I have no chance of convincing him to come with me. Instead of saying anything, I pad up to him and -- rearing up on my hind legs -- give him a fond lick on the jaw.

His arms come around me and pull me into a tight hug for a few seconds before he releases me and I drop to the ground. "Go on," he tells me, nodding his head towards the forest.

Privately promising myself that I will find some way to repay him for his kindness, I barked one final farewell at him before taking off into the forest at a full lope.

---------------

I walked through the woods for hours, simply enjoying the presence of the forest all around me. At several points during my walk, small birds would fly down from the tree branches in order to perch on my back. They would ride upon me for several minutes before taking off into the canopy once more.

The sun steadily moved through the sky as I walked, giving me an idea of how much time was passing. It was when the sun was low in the sky when I heard growling and snarling coming from a direction off to my left. My curiosity piqued, I turned and headed in the direction of the animalistic noises.

The growls and snarls become louder and louder as I get closer to whatever is causing them, until I walk past a large tree and suddenly spot the cause. There's a large lion-like creature with a pair of batlike wings and a scorpion tail. It's pressed up against the side of a cliff, looking into an small hole and occasionally reaching a paw in for several second before pulling it out again. I'm assuming it's got something pinned in that alcove but it just can't reach whatever it may be.

I feel a faint twinge coming from within me at the sight of the large beast. Well, far be it for me to walk away and ignore what I see before me. Gently rolling my shoulder, I feel the weight of my Divine Retribution resting on my back as I approach the carnivore several times my size. Coming to a stop directly behind the large predator, I barked at him.

--------------

Fluttershy was not having a good day.

"Oh, no worries, Twilight," she had told her friend when Twilight had offered to come with her. "I won't be going deep into the Everfree. I've done it before. I've just got some critters I want to check on. I raised most of them myself, you know. It's not too deep and nothing dangerous ever goes that way. I'll be completely safe."

She was regretting turning down the offer of help now as she pushed herself back into the alcove as far as she could to avoid a large paw that reached for her. The manticore's claws scraped at her skin and snagged in her mane. She felt the tug pulling at her scalp before several hairs were torn out by the roots with enough force to bring tears to her eyes.

A pain-filled whimper escaped her mouth as she tried to make herself as small as possible. If the manticore had been injured, or angry, or upset, or simply aggravated, then she was certain she would have been able to calm it down. If there was one thing she took pride in, it was her ability to deal with animals. However, the manticore wasn't any of those things.

It was hungry. And she was prey.

No amount of skilled handling would be able to make that fact go away. She knew some animals were predators and that they needed to eat other animals to live. It was simply a part of the nature she loved so much. Many of the animals she kept in her cottage were predators, but she had made it very clear that her home was a no-hunting zone. Despite this, she knew the danger. She knew how fearsome the animals she loved so much were. She had long since accepted the possibility that she might one day be killed by the very animals that filled such a large portion of her heart.

That didn't mean she was looking forward to it.

As she continued to shrink away from the hungry manticore, she heard a different sound coming from outside. It sounded like the bark of a dog. It wasn't a bark she recognized, and it certainly wasn't one of her animal friends, so she didn't hold much hope that rescue had come. If anything, the newcomer might fight with the manticore for the right to eat her, but that didn't help her situation at all.

She pre-emptively flinched as she expected to hear snaps and snarls from the two animals outside. Instead, all she could hear was... silence. She couldn't hear the sounds of fighting. She couldn't even hear the growls of the manticore anymore. After several minutes passed in complete silence, she eventually managed to gather enough courage to poke her head out into the open air.

What she saw was not something she could have expected.

The manticore that had come so close to eating her was sitting on the ground, happily digging in to a large pile of meat. Opposite the manticore sat an unusual animal Fluttershy had never seen the like of before. It was a white wolf, only slightly larger in size than Fluttershy herself and completely dwarfed by the manticore before it. Even stranger to Fluttershy's eyes, the wolf seemed to have no interest in helping itself to any of the meat and was content to patiently watch as the manticore devoured its meal.

Something about the serene atmosphere between the two carnivores put Fluttershy at ease. She didn't know why, but she felt like the danger had passed and it was safe to leave her little hidey hole. Moving slowly and keeping her head submissively lowered in order to avoid accidentally provoking the two dominant predators present, she slowly climbed out of the small alcove. Her limbs were stiff and tense as she moved, ready to leap back to safety in a moment's notice if either of the two carnivores made a sudden move in her direction.

The manticore glanced sidelong at her and she froze, barely even daring to breathe as she felt the weight of his appraisal on her shoulders. The tableau lasted for several seconds before it grunted once, uninterested, and returned to its meal. Fluttershy sighed in relief before freezing up again as she realized she had been so focused on the manticore, she had completely failed to notice as the white wolf had walked right up to her.

Fluttershy didn't dare to move as the wolf stuck its nose in her mane and took a deep whiff of her scent. She stood, petrified, as the white wolf walked a complete circuit around her before taking a seat and looking directly into her eyes.

"Um, hello?" she nervously said as the wolf stared at her, not sure how it might react. Her many years as a animal caretaker had given her a sort of sixth sense on how animals were likely to respond to her actions. However, for some reason, she was completely unable to read the white wolf. It might be sizing her up for a meal, and she would have no idea until it was too late.

The seconds ticked inexorably on and Fluttershy felt her tension steadily increase until it reached a breaking point. She was just about to open her mouth and scream when she saw the wolf's tail wag. That was a clear and obvious gesture, and she felt much of the stress on her nerves instantly slip away at the familiar gesture, though now she was a little confused. Typically, wolves only wagged their tails when they were excited, wanting to play, or greeting a member of their pack.

Any uncertainty Fluttershy felt about the unusual wolf vanished with a squeak as a large shadow fell over them. She realized with no small amount of panic that the manticore had finished its meal and was now looming directly overhead. Glancing back at the alcove behind her, she felt dismayed as she realized her small area of safety was too far away for her to reach in time. The white wolf, however, silently stared up at the manticore without making any other movements.

Fluttershy squeaked as the manticore suddenly leaned forwards, terrified that maybe she hadn't managed to escape being its meal after all. Her instinctive dash away was brought to a screeching halt as the manticore nuzzled the white wolf before it gave one final glance in her direction. Giving her a half-hearted apologetic huff, the manticore turned and walked away, quickly disappearing into the surrounding forest.

Fluttershy watched the manticore walk away, still in a slight amount of shock and not quite fully processing the idea that she had managed to get out of that situation alive. She jumped in surprise when she felt something warm and wet stroke her cheek, but smiled when she realized that the wolf had only licked her and was looking at her with was undoubtedly concern.

"Thank you for saving me," Fluttershy gratefully told the wolf. Somehow, something about the unusual wolf put her at ease and made her feel completely safe. And, despite the fact that it was a predator, she felt like all her friends would be safe around it as well. "Would you like to come back home with me?" Normally, she wouldn't invite a carnivore into her house unless she was absolutely certain the animals that already lived at her house would be completely safe, no matter what might happen. But there was something about the wolf that made her believe everything would be alright.

The white wolf barked once. Fluttershy assumed that meant 'yes', and gave the wolf a thankful smile. She wasn't very familiar with wolves and looked forward to the opportunity to learn more. Her smile faded away as she looked at the forest around them and realized the shadows had moved and were becoming heavier in the deep woods. "Oh no," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. Seeing the wolf looking at her with confusion clear across its lupine features, Fluttershy hastened to explain. " I must have been trapped longer than I thought. The Everfree Forest is really dangerous at night. Oh, what are we going to... do...?"

Fluttershy blinked. Then once more. Then once more again. She raised a hoof to rub at her eyes, then looked up at the sky once more. What she saw didn't change. It was no illusion. Somehow, the sun was now in the center of the sky, as if it was the middle of the day. It didn't even look as if it had been moved there. It had just jumped from its position on the horizon to directly overhead.

"Oh," Fluttershy mumbled, not sure how she should feel about what she had just witnessed. "Well, that's... lucky?" She looked over at the wolf. "I don't suppose you know how that happened, do you?"

The wolf tilted its head at her and whined in confusion.

Fluttershy sighed. "No, I didn't think you would. Come on, my home's this way."

------------------

My tongue lolls out of my mouth as I followed after the adorable little yellow pegasus. As she led me back to her home, I considered what I had done. When she had told me that the forest was too dangerous at night, I hadn't even thought about what I was doing. I had just reacted.

With the merest thought, the entire world had seemed to freeze in front of me. A large scroll had suddenly unrolled itself in front of my eyes. Strangely, it had shown on it exactly what I had been looking at; an image of the evening sky above the forest. It was greyed out and faded, and looked like it had been painted in watercolour.

My entire body had been frozen, with the singular exception of my tail. Curious about what would happen, I pressed the black tip of my tail against the painting and was rewarded as I felt something faintly drain away from inside me. When I pulled my tail away, I saw that my tail had left a single splotch of ink where it had touched the painting. That draining sensation I had felt must have been me drawing ink from myself.

Feeling more confident about myself now, I had used my paintbrush of a tail to draw a circle in the sky before dismissing the painting completely. The painting vanished into the nothing from which it had came, but the circle remained. Faster than I could blink, the circle had instantly transformed itself into the sun high in the sky.

The yellow pegasus -- actually, hold that thought; she needs a name. I can't just keep calling her 'the yellow pegasus' forever. Maybe something to do with her coat colour? It's yellow, so maybe Butters? That doesn't feel like enough, so what else could I use? She's a pegasus, she has wings, so... Fly? Butterfly?

My brain immediately tries to revolt at the astoundingly lazy name. She's got a trio of butterflies as her mark on her flank, so that name is right out for reasons of simple decency. Well, she doesn't look like's a very strong flier, so maybe something that a butterfly would do? Flitter? No, doesn't sound quite right...

With a mental shrug, I throw my imaginary hands in the air and give up in disgust. Screw it. Flutters.

Anyway, Flutters continues to lead me through the thick woods. She constantly cringes whenever she hears a sudden noise from around us, and I worry for the mental stability of my guide. I can smell the fear pouring off of her in waves, which, combined with her constant flinching, immediately makes me conclude that she is a terrible coward.

That conclusion lasts all the way until the pertinent question occurs to me: if she's such a coward, what is she doing in this forest when she's obviously so afraid of it?

I'm unable to come up with an answer, and a wolfish grin spreads across my muzzle as I further consider my guide. Only the second individual I've met after being freed from the sun, and she's already this interesting? I hope this bears well for my time on this planet.

I realize that Flutters is looking back at me with me with a nervous expression on her face and I hurriedly avert my gaze elsewhere. She turns her head forward after several seconds, though she continues to look back at me several times. I suppose if I were in her position, I certainly wouldn't feel safe about being followed back to my home by a predator larger then myself, especially not if it was staring directly at me with bared fangs.

Not wanting to terrify Flutters any further, I spend the remainder of the trip watching the tree branches passing above us.

---------------

Fluttershy breathed a quiet sigh of relief as they managed to escape the Everfree Forest without any further incidents. Glancing behind her, she saw that the strange white wolf had indeed followed her all the way home. "Oh, you came. Um," she gestured towards her little cottage with a hoof. "Feel free to make yourself at home, but, um, please don't hurt any of the others. I know that you need to eat meat, but let me take care of that for you."

The white wolf stared at her for several seconds, long enough that Fluttershy started to feel a bit nervous about how it was going to react. Eventually, it moved, taking a step towards her. Fluttershy cringed at the unexpected movement, and was already preparing to run when the wolf calmly walked up to her and gently licked one of her ears. Fluttershy squeaked and blushed at the unexpected contact, but before she could stammer out a reply the wolf had already walked past her and was heading for her home.

Fluttershy nervously followed after the wolf, her worried mind envisioning all sorts of terrible scenarios that might happen. Maybe the wolf was only biding its time, and the instant it opened the door, it would pounce on as many of her friends as it could and tear them to shreds before she could do a thing to stop it? Or maybe it would be the other way around? Maybe the animals she already had living in her house would refuse to accept the presence of the new predator, and they would be the ones to attack the instant the door was open?

Before she could do anything to stop it, the wolf reached the front door of her house and pushed it open with a nudge from its nose. Fluttershy cringed and closed her eyes, dreading the violence that she felt certain was about to happen. But much to her surprise, there was nothing. She peeked an eye open and realized that the wolf and already entered her house. With a steady sense of worry building in her gut, she scurried after the white wolf.

Poking her head in through her doorway, Fluttershy blinked at what she say. The wolf was slowly, almost regally, striding to the center of the house, its tail held high in a clear display of dominance. It -- no, she, Fluttershy realized with a blush. She could very clearly tell the wolf was a she from this angle -- was making no aggressive movements towards the other animals already in the cottage, and nor were the other animals present making any aggressive movements towards her.

Even the animals that Fluttershy would have expected to take offense to another animal coming in and proclaiming dominance -- including Angel Bunny and Barry the Bear -- only watched the wolf in silence. Eventually, the wolf reached the very center of the main room and sat down, slowly turning to look at all the animals around it. There wasn't a single pair of eyes inside the building that wasn't securely locked on the newcomer.

The wolf sat almost perfectly still as it passed its discerning gaze over the gathered animals. If it wasn't for the steady panning of its head and the subtle inflating and deflating of its chest as it breathed, Fluttershy might have thought that it had been turned into a statue since it entered her house.

After several minutes that seemed to stretch on for hours, it was one of the gathered animals who made the first move. A small field mouse -- a young male by the name of Taro -- cautiously detached from his huddled group of friends and approached the wolf, and Fluttershy held her breath as the wolf bent down to meet it. In fact, the entire building seemed to be holding its breath, waiting to see what the wolf would do.

Moving slowly, the wolf moved her muzzle closer and closer to the tiny field mouse. From where Fluttershy stood, she could clearly see that the field mouse was shaking like a leaf, clearly regretting his decision to approach the mysterious wolf.

Everyone watched with bated breath as the wolf pressed her nose against Taro's, and... moved away. The confusion in the cottage was almost palpable as everyone stared at the grinning wolf. After several more silent seconds, a large red-breasted robin flew down from the rafters and flew in front of the wolf's face. When the wolf didn't move to chase the robin away, it cautiously alit on the top of the wolf's head, directly between the ears. The wolf grunted in evident amusement as it looked up at the robin on her head before wagging her tail in greeting. Seeing that two of their number had approached the strange wolf without being harmed, several more animals moved to approach the wolf, followed by several more. The wolf silently greeted every animal that got close enough to her, either by pressing her nose up against theirs or by nuzzling them with the side of her muzzle.

Outside, Fluttershy sagged in relief as her animals greeted the newcomer with no sign of violence from either party. She hadn't been certain what she would have done if the wolf had suddenly attacked. Feeling many of her worries start to fade away, Fluttershy stepped into her house, one hoof crossing the threshold-

"FLUTTERSHY!"

-And she immediately leapt straight up into the air, banging her head against the doorframe before she collapsed in a pained heap. Moaning in pain, she looked up at Twilight, who had suddenly teleported in behind the unaware pegasus. Twilight at least had the good grace to look sheepish as she looked at the pained pile of pony.

"Er, sorry about that," Twilight said as she helped Fluttershy stand up. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," Fluttershy replied, rubbing the growing bump on her head. It hurt, but there wasn't any blood on her hoof when she pulled it away. Resolving to put some ice on it later, she looked over at her unicorn friend. "Was there something that you wanted, Twilight?"

Reminded of her reasons for appearing so suddenly, Twilight suddenly gasped in shock. "Right! Can't believe I forgot! You need to come down to the Library right away! I just got an urgent message from Princess Celestia, and-" Twilight's steadily-growing rant came to a swift and untimely end as the unicorn blinked and stared at a point directly over Fluttershy's shoulder. "Who's your friend?"

Confused by the sudden and unexpected shift in Twilight's apparent train of thought, Fluttershy turned to see what she was looking at and was immediately brought muzzle-to-muzzle with the strange white wolf. Behind the wolf, she could see all the animals of her cottage staring at her and Twilight.

"I found this wolf a few hours ago," Fluttershy told Twilight. The wolf panted directly in Fluttershy's face, showing off a full row of pearly-white -- and more importantly, sharp -- fangs. She would have expected the wolf's breath to carry the stench of rotting meat, just like any other carnivore's, but instead her nostrils were filled the pleasant smell of flowers and earth. Choking it up as another oddity of the strange white wolf, she continued to tell Twilight what little she actually knew about the wolf. Not wanting to worry her friend by telling her how she had nearly been eaten by a hungry manticore, she decided to gloss over that portion of the story. "She followed me home after that. I still haven't had time to arrange a place for her yet or even figure out a name for her."

"Huh," Twilight said, clearly not that interested. She only flinched slightly as the wolf suddenly stuck its nose in her mane and deeply inhaled her scent. Ignoring the strange wolf as it continued to sniff at her, she continued her conversation with Fluttershy. "Anyway, you need to come back the Library with me right away. Everypony else should already be waiting for us by now."

While she was talking, Twilight was continuing to show off her impressive mental fortitude by ignoring the large predator with no concepts of personal space as its roaming nose began traveling over her body. She ignored the wolf as it sniffed at her mane. She ignored it as it moved to her sides. She continued to ignore it as it sniffed at her cutie mark. And even then, she still continued to ignore it, right up to the point where she couldn't ignore it anymore.

"YEEEK!" Twilight shrieked, leaping high into the air as she felt a cold wet nose stick itself in a place where no cold wet nose had any right to be.

"Oh, no," Fluttershy said, chiding the suddenly shamed-faced wolf. "You shouldn't sniff ponies there. It's not right. Now, say you're sorry." The wolf whined in a contrite manner, which seemed to satisfy Fluttershy. The pegasus gave the unicorn an apologetic smile. "She says she's sorry."

"Peachy," Twilight grumbled, keeping her flanks lowered and tucking her tail in between her legs. "Just keep her away from me."

---------------

Whoops. My instincts are showing.

---------------

Apparently deciding to put what had just happened in the past and then never speak of it again, Twilight looked up at the sun that was still in the sky high above them before turning to look at Fluttershy. "Anyway, let's go. We shouldn't keep the others waiting too long."

"No, of course not," Fluttershy quietly agreed. Turning her head slightly, she spoke to the white wolf. "Now, I want to you to stay here until I get back, okay? We'll look for a place for you to sleep then." The wolf's clear bark rung out, and Fluttershy smiled as she took a step towards her unicorn friend. "Lead the way, Twilight."

Twilight looked from Fluttershy over to the white wolf. "Uh..." she intoned, her expression carefully blank.

Fluttershy blinked in confusion before looking in the direction that Twilight was staring to see the white wolf had matched her step and was still standing beside her. "Oh no," Fluttershy said, gently pushing the white wolf's head away. "You can't come with me. You have to stay here."

The wolf grunted and ducked underneath Fluttershy's reaching hooves, quickly slinking to the pegasus's other side. Seeing this, Twilight rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she grumbled, almost dancing with impatience. "We don't have time for this. What Princess Celestia wants to tell us is too important. If she wants to come along, she can."

The wolf barked victoriously while happily wagging her tail. Fluttershy was less certain, but Twilight had lost all patience and took off in the direction of Ponyville without another word. The wolf barked once more and took off in pursuit.

"Oh dear," Fluttershy muttered to herself at seeing the fair-sized predator chasing the slightly smaller herbivore into a town that was almost completely populated with similar herbivores. "This won't end well." Only hesitating long enough to close the door to her cottage behind her, Fluttershy ran off after the other two.

Fourth Howl

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There was a feeling of nervousness in the air as the large white wolf entered the town flanked by two well-known ponies. It seemed to be the norm that whenever something went wrong in Ponyville, it was almost always something of either world-shaking proportions or something that would 'merely' ravage the town. With that in mind, it was no wonder why most of the citizens had their 'fight or flight' response permanently locked on 'flight'.

However, one of the two ponies with the wolf was Fluttershy, who was easily the best animal caretaker in the entire town. If she was with the wolf, then it was probably safe. As a result, most ponies only felt a mild twinge of nervousness upon looking at the trio as opposed to the full-blown panic they would have experienced had the wolf entered town alone.

Twilight didn't notice the feeling permeating the air, so focused was she on returning to the library. If anything, it made it easier for her as the citizens of the town moved out of their way to let them pass, even going so far as to move to the other side of the road or duck into nearby buildings to avoid being near the large wolf.

Thanks to a combination of the crowds moving out of the way to let them pass and Twilight's own unending drive, they reached the front door of the Golden Oaks Library within minutes. Twilight raised a hoof to push the door open, but stopped and craned her head around to look at the white wolf. The wolf stared back at her as Twilight shifted her raised hoof so it was pointed directly at the wolf's nose.

"You better be housebroken," Twilight warned. The wolf barked at that, sounding like she was offended at the insinuation that she wasn't. Twilight stared into the wolf's eyes for several tense seconds, until the unicorn mare was the one to break eye contact and look away. "Fine," Twilight conceded, pushing the wooden door open. "But if you aren't or, worse, if you chew on one of my books, I'll... Well, I don't know what I'll do, but it'll be bad."

As the white wolf stared after the unicorn mare as she disappeared into the library with a bemused expression on its face, Fluttershy leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Oh, don't be mad at her," Fluttershy softly requested. "She doesn't mean it, she's just a little-"

"GET IN HERE!" Twilight's shouted voice came out at them through the opened doorway.

Fluttershy smiled sheepishly. "-Stressed," she finished lamely.

The wolf opened its mouth wide and an odd coughing noise emitted from it, which Fluttershy recognized as a wolfish laugh. The wolf entered the library with a flick of its black-tipped tail, Fluttershy following close behind.

The instant they entered the small building, the wolf immediately walked over to one of the windows -- in particular, one with a good angle of the sun -- and laid down in a bright pool of sunlight. It didn't even bother to look at the other ponies who had assembled before its eyes slid shut and it looked all the world like it was fast asleep.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity had all frozen up at the sudden and unexpected appearance of the white carnivore. That fear had only shifted into confusion as the wolf had appeared completely uninterested in them.

"Huh," Applejack intoned. "Well, that happened." Seeing Fluttershy standing behind the wolf, Applejack lit up with a bright smile. "Well, howdy, Fluttershy. Friend o' yours?"

"Oh, yes," Fluttershy nodded as she gently shut the door behind her with a soft click. "She wanted to come with us. I think she was curious about the town."

Applejack cocked an eyebrow at the snoozing wolf. "Izzat so? Sure doesn't look curious ta me."

"Maybe she's just tired?" Fluttershy suggested with an uncertain shrug.

There was a sound of protest and a rainbow suddenly flashed across the room before coming to a stop directly above the white wolf. Rainbow Dash hovered just above the wolf before reaching down with a hoof to flick at one of the wolf's pointed ears. The ear twitched at the contact, but there was no other response. "How can she be tired?" the colourful pegasus protested. "It's still the middle of the day! I mean, I guess it's also evening, but it's also mid-afternoon... AUGH! Twilight, explain this to me!"

"Yes, Twilight, please explain," Rarity added, her refined voice interjecting itself into the conversation. "We did some talking while you went to fetch dear Fluttershy, and we all saw what had happened with the sun. Is that what we're here for?"

"Forget THAT!" Pinkie abruptly shouted, zipping over to where the white wolf was sleeping and grabbing its head. "What's with the cool doggie? Oh, you're such a wonderful looking doggie, aren't you? I bet you'd be a great friend for Gummy. OH! You know what you should do? You should come to one of our pet gatherings! I bet you'd be able to make so many wonderful friends with other animals just like you!"

The wolf whined in confusion at both the unexpected marehandling and the steady deluge of words before Fluttershy hastened to intervene. "Um, actually, Pinkie, that's a wolf. Not a dog. Sorry."

Pinkie gasped at the revelation, leaping away from the even more bewildered wolf. "That's even BETTER!" Pinkie proclaimed as she rushed back at the wolf, which stumbled over its own legs in a futile attempt to escape the clearly crazy mare. "What's your name? Is it Wolfie? Can I call you Wolfie? Okay, Wolfie, it's so great to meet you!"

Pinkie was suddenly held in a shimmering magic glow, which lifted her up into the air and floated her away from the wolf. "No, Pinkie," Twilight said, dropping the excitable pink mare on the ground next to her. "We're not here about the wolf. You, go back to sleep." This last was shot at the wolf in question, which did as she asked, though not without one last uncertain look in Pinkie Pie's direction. Seeing the white wolf lay her head back down on her paws, Twilight pulled a roll of parchment off of one of the nearby bookshelves.

"After the sun appeared to jump back to mid-day," Twilight said, unrolling the parchment on the floor where everypony could see it, "I sent a letter to Princess Celestia asking about what had happened. This is what she said."

The five other ponies crowded around the piece of paper, curious as to what could be written there. It didn't take them long to read it, though what they read raised only more questions than answers.

In Princess Celestia's immaculate horn-writing, there was only a single, short phrase: Investigating the situation. Will get back to you when I know more.

"Well," Applejack said eventually, breaking the confused silence that had formed in the library. "That's certainly... short."

"Sweetie Belle would probably call it succinct," Rarity added with one last look at the letter. "But Applejack has a point. I don't think I've even seen Princess Celestia write such a short letter to you before."

"She hasn't!" Twilight shouted. Her horn lit up and a large wooden chest floated in to the library from one of the neighboring rooms. The chest landed on the floor with a heavy thud and popped open to reveal that it was filled to the brim with letters. Letters from Princess Celestia to Twilight. "Look at this!" Twilight shouted, picking up a letter at random and opening it. "She's always written a minimum of two hundred words! Normally she averages three hundred and seventy-five!"

"The fact that you know that off the top of your head scares me," Rainbow Dash said drolly before playfully winking at Twilight. "Egghead," she added, taking any of the sting off her previous words.

"Alright, so Princess Celestia doesn't know what did this," Applejack said, looking up at the sun. "You don't think it was Discord, do you?"

At Dash's words, there was an explosion of pink smoke beginning from the center of the room. Bright and cheerful music filled the room for several seconds before the smoke cleared away, leaving behind the draconequus in question. He wore a garish red sombrero on his head and held a pair of maracas in each hand, one of which sounded like a ukulele while the other sounded like a bagpipe when he shook it. "You rang?"

"Dang it, Applejack," Rainbow grumbled with a glance over at the shamed-faced farmpony.

"Sorry," Applejack replied, pulling her hat down low over her face.

"Oh, there's no need for such hostility," Discord said with a cheerful grin on his face, tossing his maracas over his shoulders. The maracas turned into a flock of doves the instant before they hit the ground and vanished out a nearby open with a flurry of feathers. "Not when I've gone through so much effort to bring you a message from your precious Princess."

"You have a message from Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked sceptically. "Then why didn't she just send a message through Spike?"

"Maybe I was talking about Princess Luna?" Discord suggested with a grin that was just a touch too large to be considered friendly. "Ooh, but what is this?" he added, spotting the white wolf lying alone in a corner of the room. "Did you make a new friend without me?" He reached out his taloned hand to touch the wolf's head. "That seems a little- HEY!" His talon pulled back just in time to avoid a set of sharp fangs snapping closed where his hand had been less than a second before. A low growl emanated from the white wolf, her hackles starting to raise as she stared up at Discord without standing up.

"That wolf has good taste," Rainbow Dash said approvingly to Applejack in a stage whisper that could clearly be heard by everyone in the room while Fluttershy hastened to the wolf's side in order to prevent further violence.

"I don't know about that, but it sure looked to me like she was tryin' to get a good taste," Applejack commented back at equal volume.

"You two are hilarious," Discord grumbled as he rubbed at his talon while Fluttershy attempted to sooth and calm the growling wolf. Losing interest in the violent carnivore, Discord turned to the others before he shrugged and took a seat in mid-air, pulling up his feet so they were resting on his knees. "I've got a message from both the Princesses, actually. We decided it was better to be safe. Without knowing what could have taken control of the sun away from Celestia, we're not going to take any chances. Celestia would have come herself if she was able."

"'If she was able?'" Rarity repeated curiously. "What do you mean by that? Was there something preventing her from coming?"

"Sort of," Discord replied with a unsuitably cheery smirk. "Canterlot is Celestia's Place of Power, so she's working on recreating her bond with the sun."

Twilight made an "Ah" of understanding but, seeing that her friends all wore confused expression on their faces, she quickly explained. "All magic users of Archmage rank or higher are able to develop connections to the land in certain areas. These areas are known as their Places of Power and the magic user's magic is exponentially amplified simply by being near it."

"Bingo," Discord replied, pointing his finger directly at her. "And Celestia is drawing from her own Place of Power in order to amplify her of magic abilities. Right now, she's probably about fifteen times stronger than usual. Still not up to my level, of course, but we're not going to hold that little flaw against her."

"Fiftee-" Twilight started before shaking her head in disbelief. Princess Celestia's magical ability completely eclipsed her even on a good day. The idea of her going even farther than that... It was frankly, scary. "Does that mean she's planning something?"

"Plan?" Discord choked out a bitter laugh and his ever-present grin shifted into something sour. "We don't have a plan. Even I've never heard of something capable of this before."

"That can't be right," Applejack protested with a frown, pushing her hat back so she could look Discord in the eyes. "Didn't you yerself move the sun and the moon for a while there?"

"That's different." Discord held his hands out before him, palms up, before jerking one up like he was throwing a ball. At the same time, the sun suddenly rose at a speedy pace before falling again. Discord's other hand came up, and suddenly the moon flew across the sky. His hands started to move in an intricate dance as if he was juggling something while, outside, the sun and the moon matched his movements. "Even I can't simply force the sun and moon to appear and disappear at will. I can move them, sure, but making it simply jump to a point in the sky? That's a little harder."

"Alright!" Twilight suddenly shouted, her mane starting to fray at the edges as she stared at the sun and moon dancing across the sky. She imagined what sort of panic must be spreading across Equestria at Discord's little display of power and she felt the icy cold fangs of panic start to bite into her. "We get it! It wasn't you! Just stop it, please!"

As Twilight's desperate plea faded from hearing, the sun suddenly froze in its place in the sky. The moon also disappeared and did not make a reappearance. Seeing that everything was back to normal, Twilight took several deep breathes, going through the breathing exercises her old foalsitter Cadance had taught her. "Thank you," Twilight said with a small smile at Discord. After quickly combing her frazzled mane back into order, she turned to look at the other mares. "Alright, girls, we-"

"It wasn't me."

Twilight stumbled at the unexpected words that came from Discord's mouth. "What?" she asked, looking up at him. Everypony else also turned their heads to look up at the draconequus among them, confused by what he could possibly mean

"It wasn't me," Discord reiterated as he stared out the open window with an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face. He flexed his taloned claw in the direction of the sun, but absolutely nothing happened. He tried it again, his arm shaking from the force exerted on it, but once again, nothing changed. "Don't you get it?" he asked, turning to look at the ponies who were still staring at him with their questions clear on their faces. "Something stole the sun from me. Whatever did this is strong enough to be more than a match for even my own chaos powers. I need to tell Celestia. Now." And with that, he disappeared.

The mares were so dismayed at the news that whatever had stolen control of the sun away from Celestia had even been able to overpower Discord without any trouble at all that they completely failed to notice as a black-tipped tail beat itself against the floor several times in a self-satisfied manner, the owner of said tail lying in a pool of sunlight that had been disturbed by Discord's little juggling act.

Fifth Howl

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While I might have appeared to be asleep, I was actually carefully watching the gathered ponies from under lowered eyelids. Just like what had happened with Rocky, there was an odd sort of overlay to their words whenever they spoke. I assume it's because of the difference in their species and that most of the individual species throughout the world will have their own individual language and lifestyle. I don't know why I'm able to understand their words but I am grateful that I can. If I couldn't, I would have no idea of what they were talking about.

Whenever they speak, I can hear neighs and whinnies overlaying words. I suppose that makes sense, what with them being ponies and all. The purple one by the name of Twilight seems to be the leader of the group. It sounds as if she has a close relationship with someone called Princess Celestia. Celestia. Princess. Hmm. Ever since the dark one's banishment, the only individual that would qualify as the leader of these ponies would be the white one with both wings and a horn. That must be her. I'm glad to hear that she's doing well.

As the mares continued to talk, I kept my ears perked up and listed to the flow of the conversation. Seems like they're talking about when I moved the sun back into the sky so it would be easier for myself and Fluttershy to pass through that forest. Whoops. I'll have to remember that my actions can have unexpected consequences. I don't want anyone to realize what I am just yet; not until I've had enough time to ascertain my own abilities.

When that chimera showed up, I came far closer to testing out my cherry bomb technique on him than I would care to admit. The ponies seem to have accepted him as a friend, but I remember him. I remember watching what he's done. Sinking my fangs into his jugular would be a kindness compared to some of the things he's done. I'll be watching him.

That said, I am surprised to see him out and about. When I was still in the sun, he was still imprisoned in his stone statue that the two large ponies had sealed him in. But now he's out and about, apparently as free as a bird. I had thought that I had appeared in the forest almost immediately after being freed from the sun, but I see now that was not the case.

How much time passed before my awakening? I wonder.

Well, it doesn't really matter. I'm here now and I don't intend to leave.

Oop, it looks like they're still talking.

"This is bad. This is really, really bad." Twilight is muttering to herself as she paces back and forth. Her mane is beginning to fray and hairs are sticking up in every direction. "This is really, really, really, really bad."

I get the feeling she would be doing that all day if someone didn't intervene. Thankfully, the white one with a horn and the coiffed mane interjects to stop her. I admit, I'm jealous of that mane. Back in my old body, I could never manage to get my hair to come close to even resembling anything that could be called 'fancy'. The blasted stuff had the consistency of hay.

"Now Twilight, calm down," the white one says. What was her name again? Shoot, it's on the tip of my tongue.

"Calm down?!" Twilight exclaims. "Rarity, how in the hay am I supposed to calm down?!" Oh, so her name is Rarity!

I was gonna get it eventually.

"It's okay, Twilight," Rarity sooths, reaching out with a hoof to brush down Twilight's frayed mane. "Nothing bad has happened yet. Maybe whatever is doing this isn't actually something evil." She smiles weakly, as if she doesn't hold much hope in what she's saying but is just saying it to try and calm her friend down.

"Hah! Yeah right," the flying one with a rainbow mane exclaims, swooping down beside Rarity. I think her name was Rainbow? And if it wasn't, I don't care. Her name is now Rainbow. "As far as I'm concerned, anything that thinks it can steal the sun away from the Princess is nothing more than the worst kind of evil monster and we should show it what it means to mess with us."

...I swear, I am going to crap all over your bed. Brown Rage everywhere.

Rarity huffs as she looks sidelong at Rainbow. "Rainbow Dash, you are not helping." Huh. I got it right. Well, I suppose Dash fits her a little better anyways.

"Yeah, but isn't she right?" the one wearing the absolutely adorable Stetson on her head asks. I just want to lick you over and over before running off with your hat, you adorably silly looking pony, you. "Whatever did this, it seems ta be stronger than even Discord. If it really is a threat, we shouldn't hold back."

Rarity sighs. "I'm not saying that, but we shouldn't assume the worst of something we haven't even met yet." Hi! I'm in the room! "If nothing else, we should give it a chance to explain itself."

Yeah, let me try that right now.

Applejack glances over at me. "Fluttershy, why did yer wolf just bark? Is it hungry?"

"Oh, are you?" Fluttershy quietly asks, hovering over me and rubbing at my back with her hooves. "I'm sorry, I didn't even think about that. Could you please wait until we get back to my place? I've got some yummy kibble for you to enjoy."

Sigh. I rest my head back on my paws with a disgruntled huff. Can't say I didn't see that coming. Fluttershy's massage does feel good, though... Mmm...

"Forget the wolf," Twilight complains. "This is actually important." Right after Rainbow, your bed is next. "How are we supposed to take on something capable of overpowering even Discord?"

As if waiting for his cue, Discord flashes back into the room at that very moment. Under his arm, he's holding an odd, elaborate box. "Special delivery," he proclaims, dropping the box on Twilight's head. And just like that, he's gone again.

"Oww," Twilight complains, rubbing at the growing bump on her head. "What was that about?"

"Oh, is it cupcakes?" the pink one asks, bouncing up beside Twilight and nosing the box. "I really, really, really hope its cupcakes."

Stetson Pony reaches out with her mouth and bites the pink one's tail, pulling her away from the box. "Somehow, I don't think it's cupcakes Pinkie," she says, spitting out the mass of hair. She waves at the strange box. "Go on, Twi. Give it a look."

Twilight nods her head before a glow surrounds her horn and the box floats up into the air. She swallows once and I surreptitiously lean forward, curious to see what might be in the box as it pops open.

Six artifacts sit nestled within the box's confines, glowing internally with a strange and mysterious light. Five of the objects look like necklaces, each one matching the mark that sits on the flank of one of the ponies in this room. The sixth looks like a tiara and its design matches up with Twilight's own mark.

As the artifacts came into view, I felt a strange sensation of calm washing over me. Simply looking at them, I can tell these things contain great power within them. Better yet, I can tell that they are a strong force for good. I feel a connection with them. As their light washes over me, I close my eyes and take a moment to revel in their soothing warmth.

Hmm? That's odd? I can feel the warmth coming from the artifacts, but isn't there a sensation that's missing? What happened to Fluttershy's massage?

Curious, I open my eyes and look up to see Fluttershy flying several body lengths away from me and staring at me with wide eyes. My gaze starts to go around the room to stare at the rest of the ponies, and I realize that each and every one of them is staring directly at me with expressions of shock on their faces.

Afraid of what I'm going to see, I look down at my own body to see that my body has undergone some rather disconcerting changes. There's a glow that's now coming off of my own body and the spiky and flowing nature of my fur has now intensified. In some way, I reacted to the mere presence of those objects. Instead of looking like base Amaterasu, I now look like she did at the very end of the game, when she beat Yami.

Aaaaand, going by all these stares I'm getting, I'm guessing that was enough to pierce through the illusion that surrounds me. You know, the one that makes me look like an ordinary wolf.

Aw, hells.

---------------

Twilight couldn't believe it.

The instant she had opened the box containing the Elements of Harmony, the strange white wolf had seemed to... transform.

The way it looked now, Twilight couldn't believe she had ever been fooled into thinking it was nothing more than a regular wolf. Thick red markings covered the wolf's entire body, giving it a vicious, almost threatening look. White tendrils streamed from its back, filling the room and Twilight flinched as the very tips of one of the tendrils flowed past her face. There was even an odd disk floating directly above the wolf's back that burned like a roaring inferno.

But worst of all, and it was what convinced her that what she was seeing was no illusion, was the sensation of power. The wolf positively radiated magic, more than she had ever felt from a living being before. The only thing that could possibly compare were the Elements of Harmony themselves.

"W-well girls," Twilight managed to force out through chattering teeth as she stared at the wolf in shock. "I think we've found our culprit."

"Uh-huh," Rainbow Dash agreed. It was a measure of how overwhelmingly powerful the force rolling off of the wolf was that Rainbow hadn't already rushed it. "Yay us. Now what?"

Before Twilight could respond, the wolf moved. It was a small movement, as it did nothing more threatening than stand up. However, Twilight's nerves, already frayed to the limit by the unexpected appearance of such a powerful being out of nowhere, abruptly snapped. A powerful purple beam shot from her horn directly towards where the wolf lay.

The white wolf leapt out of the way of her attack and rushed towards the window. Grabbing the flaming mirror on its back in its teeth, it smashed the window open and vanished outside. Terrified screams from outside filled the air, the sound breaking Twilight out of her stupor.

"We have to hurry!" Twilight snapped out, grabbing the elements and floating them towards her friends before jamming the last one on her head. "After that wolf!"

---------------

Well, that could have gone better.

This is my thought as I run through the formerly quiet town of Ponyville, dodging through all the running and screaming ponies that filled the streets. What had once been a serene country town has transformed in an instant to a scene that wouldn't be out of place in a Godzilla movie. Well, if Tokyo was populated by candy-coloured equines, that is.

My considerations on the nature of the greatest thing ever is brought to a screeching halt as I hear a loud voice over the general din. "Hey!" it screams. "Where do you think you're going?" I look behind me to see that Rainbow is chasing me. She's fast. Too fast. I won't be able to escape, or evade her.

So I don't.

Bunching up the muscles in my legs, I leap as high as I can into the air, turning my body so that I'm facing the oncoming pegasus. Seeing what I'm doing, she corrects her flight path and flies directly at me. Unfortunately for her, that's exactly what I want. Once she's too close to dodge, I pull out my reflector in front of me and she flies face first into it to the sound of someone hitting a gong.

While she's still dazed, I reach out and grab the scruff of her neck in my teeth. Holding tightly enough to prevent her from escaping but not tightly enough to draw blood, we drop back towards the ground. Despite her struggles, she cannot escape and I slam her into the dirt. She gasps as the wind is knocked out of her and I let go. She's coughing, trying to catch her breath, but she doesn't look too badly hurt.

Deciding she'll be fine, I turn and run off. This is probably a good moment to go over my weapons, which I skipped before. The one I'm currently wielding, as well as Ammy's main and signature weapon, is the reflector. The reflector takes on the appearance of a mirror and is based off of one of the Imperial Regalia of Japan, the Yata no Kagami.

When used in battle, the reflectors can either be equipped as the main or the sub weapon. When used as the main weapon, it can be used to defeat foes through the wonderful power of bashing them into submission. However, its true power comes when it is equipped as a sub weapon. Like this, it can be used to block enemy attacks just like a shield. If Ammy manages to block a direct physical attack with perfect timing, she will grab onto her foe before flinging them high into the air and slamming them down against the ground, much like I just did to Rainbow Dash. I held back, though. She'll be fine. Probably.

If a reflector is equipped into both the main slot and the sub slot, and the ability Wailing Mirror is known, then the amount of time the mirror can be used to block attacks will be increased. As an added bonus, the attacks from the mirror will also deal increased damage. Very nice.

A flicker of movement catches my attention and I dodge to the side just in time to avoid a lasso landing where I was standing a moment ago. Looks like the others caught up while I was distracted by Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy immediately rushes up to where Rainbow lies and begins fussing over her. Rainbow tries to push her away while assuring her she's fine but Fluttershy is remaining adamant. Unfortunately, I can't watch this interplay any longer because my attention is being drawn to somewhere else. With a snap of her tail, the Stetson Pony pulls the lasso back to her and, in a single motion, loops it back up.

Alright, you want to play? Let's play.

The Stetson pony lashes her tail towards me and the lasso flies straight at me in what is an admittedly impressive display of control. Seriously, if she wasn't determined to be my enemy, I bet I could spend hours just watching her performing whatever tricks she knows with that rope.

Another time, perhaps.

The reflector on my back disappears, and is replaced by a long string of yellow beads. I lash out with the beads, and they end up getting tangled up with the incoming lasso. With a loud bark, I yank back on the beads as hard as I can. The Stetson Pony yelps in surprise as the rope is torn out of her grasp and ends up falling in a messy pile next to me.

This is Amaterasu's second weapon: the Rosary. Simultaneously the longest and fastest weapon in Ammy's arsenal, the Rosary is capable of hitting an enemy multiple times with a single swing at a long distance and represents the Yasakani no Magatama of the Imperial Regalia of Japan. When equipped as a sub weapon, the Rosary can be used to fire off beads like bullets before needing a small cooldown time prior to being fired again. The beads can either be fired one after another like a submachine gun or all at once in a spray like a shotgun, depending on which Rosary is equipped.

If the ability Bead String is known and a Rosary is equipped into both the main and sub weapon slots, then there is no cooldown time needed before firing the beads again.

Stetson Pony stares from me to the rope on the ground beside me in stunned disbelief. Her mouth moves, but no noise comes from it for several seconds before she manages to forces something out. "How in the hay...?"

"Applejack!" Twilight shouts, her horn lighting up. Aww. I liked Stetson Pony. "Get out of the way!"

Twilight's horn flares brightly and a shimmering purple force field comes into being all around me, trapping me in a bubble. I whine curiously before reaching out to touch the bubble with my nose. It's solid, without any give to it, and feels oddly cool to the touch. My nose tingles from touching it, and I recoil away from the force field, sneezing like I just inhaled a bug.

"Alright, girls," Twilight says, coming to stand in front of me. "Get in formation! Let's hit it with the Elements while it's still trapped!"

Oh? Trapped, am I? Hit me with Elements, will you?

Yoda I am not, hmmhmmmhmmhmmmmmmmmmm.

As the mares clump together to do something, I switch out my Rosary for Amaterasu's third and final weapon, the Glaive, which is based off of the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi sword from the Imperial Regalia of Japan. The Glaive is Ammy's strongest weapon, but also the hardest to use. It requires a charge up time before it can reach its full power, during which Ammy is unable to move or defend herself.

As a Sub Weapon, the Glaive can be used to pull off different attacks. However, they still require charging to reach their full power. If the skill Sword Dance is known and a Glaive is equipped into both the Main and Sub weapon slots, both weapons get a damage boost and their charge speed increases.

There is just enough space in the force field to pull out my blue sword and hold it high above my head. Energy begins to gather around it almost instantly and the blade starts to glow.

"Twiliiiiiiiight," Pinkie says with a nervous ring to her voice as she bounces beside Twilight. "Wolfie's doing somethiiiiiiiiiing."

"Don't worry, Pinkie," Twilight reassures Pinkie as her horn glows even brighter. "I've reinforced the barrier. No way it's getting through there now."

Good enough! With a restrain howl, muffled by the hilt in my mouth, I swing down the Glaive as hard as I can. The sound of a bell rings out as my sword slams into Twilight's shield. There's only a momentary hesitation before my sword continues on its path, slicing through Twilight's force field as if it wasn't there.

As my swing comes to an end, the barrier around me begins to shimmer and shake before fading out of sight entirely. Twilight and the rest all stare at me in shock.

"How..." Twilight gasps out. Close your mouth, girl! You look like a beached fish! "How... How do you keep blocking everything we do!?"

Whoops, I think I made her mad. Twilight's horn flares brightly one more time, and she unleashes a blast of power at me, just like she had back at her home.

This time, I'm prepared.

With the merest thought, the world fades away. Colours mute, lines blur, and everything freezes. Twilight's attack lies frozen in time, unable to do anything more then sit there, awaiting whatever I may choose to do to it.

With a single movement of my tail, I draw a single, straight line across Twilight's attack.

Power Slash.

The world comes back into being with the echoing sound of something being cut. Twilight gapes as her attack dissipates, fading away as if it had never been, to which I just pant mockingly.

Then Twilight jumps in surprise as a tree loudly crashes to the ground behind her. Followed by another one. And another one. Then the ground itself begins to shudder and quake as a house behind Twilight starts to fall apart with a clear line sliced horizontally through it.

And...

Um...

Err...

Well... This is awkward.

No one was using that mountain, right?

----------------

Twilight couldn't believe it. Whatever she had been expecting when she saw the sun jump back up to mid-day, it certainly hadn't been this. She had no idea how the wolf did it. It must have used some sort of magic, but she just couldn't figure out what it could have done. She hadn't even seen it move. One second, she had been about to hit the wolf with a strong paralytic spell. The next, her spell had vanished and trees were collapsing down all around her.

In the distance, Twilight could do nothing but stare in stunned silence as the top of a distant mountain was sliced off and began a slow slide to the ground far below.

Twilight turned her head to look at the incredibly powerful wolf, expecting a mocking grin or a dismissive smirk. Instead, the wolf wasn't paying her any attention, only staring at the cut-off tip of the mountain with an expression that mirrored Twilight's own.

Twilight didn't know what was going on with the wolf, but she wasn't about to miss this opportunity. "Girls," she whispered quietly, not wanting to draw the wolf's attention. When there was no response, she whispered again, more loudly. "Girls!"

"Huh? Wh-what, is it, Twilight?" Rarity asked, tearing her attention away from the mountain.

"Elements. Now." At her command, the large purple star atop Twilight's head began to glow. The glow passed from one mare's artifact to another until all the Elements were lit up. The power began to lift the girls up into the air, and Twilight opened her glowing eyes to stare at the unmoving wolf.

The wolf still didn't move even as the power of the Elements hit it full-force.

Sixth Howl

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Oh, my aching head...

A pained groan escapes from me as my awareness returns. Unfortunately, awareness is a cruel bitch and has brought her good friends misery and pain. My head is throbbing and I swear I can feel the blood pulsating through my temples. Keeping my eyes squeezed tight, I bring my hand up to the side of my head and start massaging my temples with my fingers in an attempt to alleviate the pain.

...

Hang on...

I open my eyelids a single crack and almost immediately slam them close again with a miserable whimper. Curiosity can wait. I feel like I've got the worst hangover in the world, combined with someone shining a strobe light into my face, all while Dragonforce is performing Through the Fire and Flames inside of my ears.

In short, I don't feel very good.

Is that coming across?

I don't feel very good!

"I'm sorry," I hear a gentle, soothing voice quietly say. "Let me ease some of that pain for you."

I feel something touching the side of my head and a soothing warmness spreads out from the point of impact. I feel like someone's dipped my body in a warm, refreshing hot spring and I am finally able to open my eyes more than a crack.

I am greeted with the surprising sight of absolutely nothing at all. There is absolutely nothing for as far as I can see. I am floating in the middle of a empty void. The void is filled with a gentle white light, giving it a subtle warm feeling. Well, as subtle as absolute nothingness can be, I guess.

I sigh, slumping my shoulders. "Was I sealed away again?" I ask, craning my head from side to side. "At least when I was the sun, I had something to watch."

There's a quiet cough coming from behind me and I freeze in the process of cracking my neck. "I'm afraid I can't answer that," the voice from before speaks out from a point directly above and behind my head. "What is going to happen here is completely dependent on you."

Trained instincts come back to me in a second, and I reflexively find myself rolling away from the voice and springing to my feet before I even realize what I'm doing. I whirl around, holding my hands up defensively in front of me, and get my first good look at just who was standing behind me.

It's another one of those ponies and she blinks in surprise at my sudden action, giving me time to get a good look at her. Her coat is off eggshell-white and she has a somewhat unkempt rusted red mane and tail. Her horn is long and sharp and two large wings are held up tightly against her sides. I'm able to see the mark on her flank, and I see that it is the image of a quill dipped into an inkpot.

The pony raises a hoof to her mouth and giggles. "Oh. I suppose you haven't noticed yet, have you?"

A displeased frown spreads across my face as I crack my knuckles. "Notice what?" I growl out. In response, she waves her hoof towards my body and I glance down.

An undignified squeak escapes me as I realize that I don't have any clothes on and my arms snap to cover my breasts and crotch as the pony loses her fight to contain her laughter. I glare at her in impotent anger at the pony's mirth rings out loud and clear in the void.

"Oh, oh, that's too funny," the pony's giggle taper off as she finally gets her laughter under control. "I can see why she loves humans so much."

"Glad to be of service," I snarl out, turning my body away from the quite frankly rude pony. "Now who are you? What do you want? Why am I here?"

The pony's final lingering laughter cuts off as if someone had thrown a switch and I can feel a chill running up my spine as she looks at me seriously. I'm pinned under the gaze of her large blue eyes and my entire body locks up. I can't move. I don't dare to move. I'm afraid of what might happen if I move.

The pony then turns her head so she is no longer looking at me and I go limp with relief as I am no longer under the pinning gaze of the suddenly intimidating mare. "My name," she says at a level barely above a whisper that I can nonetheless hear as clearly as if she was speaking it into my ear. "Is Faust. Billions of years ago, I created this world."

I tilt my head in confusion at the pony's confession. "Excuse me?"

But Faust doesn't react as if she's heard me and her story continues on unabated. "But even with the world created, no life would form on it. There was nothing. I needed something more. A spark, that would one day spread to cover the entire world. A source of hope and light that would serve as a beacon for any who needed succor. I needed a sun."

"Wait. Wait. Waitwaitwaitwait," I say, waving my hands in front of me. "Back up for a second. You're God?"

The pony turns her head so that she is looking directly at me. In her eyes, I can see an indescribable range of emotions. Love more pure than crystal. Rage so fierce it would tear the world down low. Joy greater than any child. Sadness more bitter than that of any bereaved lovers.

And in that seething storm of emotions, she opens her mouth and speaks out one single word: "Yes."

I drop to my knees, my legs no longer having the strength to hold me up. My neck bends and my head lowers in a sign of submission. "I am unworthy," I mutter out.

"No one is," She replies. "Raise your head, child." When I don't move, She reaches out with her hoof and presses it against my chin, gently pushing up until I am once again looking Her in the eye. "I am sorry," She says, Her mouth turned in a sorrowful frown. "But there is something I must ask of you."

"Name it," I whisper out, barely even daring to breathe lest I should somehow displease Her.

She shakes Her head as She takes a step back and away from me. "No. Not like this. Stand up. This is too important."

Moving slowly and keeping my eyes locked on Her for any signs of possible displeasure, I force my still-shaking knees straight and somehow manage to stand up. "Why me?" I ask through dry lips. "Why did you choose me?"

She lowers Her head and closes Her eyes. "I didn't," She quietly admits before waving Her hoof at a spot directly behind me. "She did."

I turn around to look at the empty scenery behind me and my breath catches in my throat at what I behold. There, where there was nothing before, is a figure I recognize well. There, sitting down and staring directly at me, is a pure, white, wolf.

"Amaterasu." I have no idea if I said it, or if I merely thought it. I must have said it, because the instant the thought escapes me, the wolf stands up. While I'm frozen, She walks towards me, every pawpad seeing to have the weight of the world behind it.

After what feels like far, far too long, She stops in front of me. Her eyes lock with mine for the merest instant before she leans forward, her muzzle reaching towards my hand. I nearly flinch but barely manage to lock my reflexes in place. If she intends to punish me, running away would only make it worse. I squeeze my eyes shut, awaiting what is about to happen. Is she mad at me? At the me who stole her form? Why wouldn't she be?

As my eyes are squeezed shut and my entire body is tensed so much that I'm trembling in terrified anticipation for my divine punishment, I nearly shriek in surprise as a warm, wet tongue runs up my hand. My eyes snap open in shock, and I look down to see Amaterasu looking back up at me. A worried whine escapes her before she licks my fingers again and nuzzles her head against my hand.

With my brain currently shut down, my body begins to react in accordance with long-ingrained reflexes. That is to say, my fingers begin to act of their own accord and start doing the natural thing when something warm and furry presses up against them: they start-a'scratchin.

I'm horrified by the actions of my treacherous fingers and my brain finally manages to break free of its paralysis, but a wagging tail stops me from stopping what my fingers are doing.

A deep, throaty chuckle reminds me of the third individual present and prevents me from staring in stunned disbelief at the white wolf for eternity. "It looks like you get along well," Faust says as I turn around to look at her, Amaterasu moving with me so my fingers never detach from her skull. "That's good. It will make this request of mine all the easier."

Facing the godly pony, I can't help but swallow nervously. "What do you mean? Why am I here?"

She sighs, and her eyes take on a far-off look. "You stand at a crossroads. Depending on what you choose here, your fate will go in drastically different ways. We are currently able to speak with you because you took a hit from the Elements of Harmony. Do you remember that?"

"I- Yes!" I exclaim, memories rushing back through the still present pain in my head. "Yes I do!"

Faust's wings rustles and it takes her a moment to bring them under control. "The Elements of Harmony stand as the world's main defence against dark forces and foreign threats. They hold an aspect of my nature within them and serve to protect the world from anything that doesn't belong here, in this world. Unfortunately..." She closes her eyes, as if she can no longer bear to look at me. "You don't belong here."

"I... what?" Amaterasu whines as my scratching fingers stop and I resume scratching. "What does that mean?"

"It means you have a choice." Through Faust's closed eyes, I can see a single tear beginning to poke through. "You can choose to let the power of the Elements seal you away. You will be sealed away for several hundred years. When you finally manage to escape, you will challenge the darkness and defeat it, bringing light and hope to the world. You will be praised as a God."

"Or..." The tear that I had spotted before finally breaks free, rolling down Faust's face before falling into the never-ending void. "You can allow Amaterasu to take over your body and allow her to break you both free of the power of the Elements. However, a mortal mind was never meant to contain an immortal one. Amaterasu will be free, but you, Samantha, will not be able to hold onto yourself. Aspects of your personality will remain, but you, your soul... You will die."

"I see..." I muse. I feel Amaterasu leaning her head against my bare thigh and I look down at her. Look down at the individual offering to kill me. "There's more to it, isn't there?" I ask Amaterasu, but my words are really aimed at Faust. "What aren't you telling me? You mentioned darkness before. Does it have anything to do with that?"

"...Yes," Faust manages to squeeze out in a voice filled with pain. "A powerful darkness is now threatening the entire world. The Elements of Harmony will try their best, but they too will fall. The darkness will overwhelm the world for the next several hundred years until you are brought back to combat it."

I chuckle, my laughter rich and throaty and holding nothing back. "So it's one life held against countless billions. That's not even a question."

“I was afraid you'd chose that,” Faust quietly whispers. Her head comes up and She looks directly into my eyes, never looking away as she approaches me. “Are you certain you understand what you are agreeing to? You might call it an easy decision, but someone’s life should never be so easily thrown away. And even if you do let Amaterasu walk the world, that doesn’t mean she will win. The darkness will be stronger now than it would be if you waited.”

Impossibly, imperceptibly, an almost insignificant downwards twitch occurs at the corner of my mouth. The twitch spreads and solidifies, until I am frowning at Faust. My fingers that are entwined in Amaterasu’s fur clench in a manner that must be painful for the white wolf, but Amaterasu make no noise of complaint. “Understand?” I ask, my voice remaining nothing but level. “I only need to understand one thing. These people that live on this planet, that are being threatened by the darkness you are telling me about? I love them. I love them with all my heart. If I can give my life to shield them from something that would force them to suffer, then I only regret that I can only do it once.”

When Faust doesn’t say anything more, I turn away from the large white pony. Instead, I get down on my knees before Amaterasu and, grabbing both of her shoulders, I look the white wolf dead in the eyes.

"I don't have the strength to save them," I tell the wolf-goddess I had once foolishly thought myself. "I couldn't even do anything to help one dog that had offered me kindness. But you do. You can save them. I am begging you to save them. I offer whatever you need, and I offer it freely, just please. Please save them."

Amaterasu stares deeply into my eyes, neither of us moving. I don't know how long the tableau lasts for, but eventually, at long last, Amaterasu is the one to make the first move. Her lips begin to draw back, revealing a large row of sharp, dagger-like teeth.

Amaterasu moves and, in the end, the teeth are the last thing I see.

...

Dying to ignite the hope of the world...

Not a bad... way... to go...

...

I'm coming...

Amanda...

...

===============

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as the light from the Elements faded away. "Whew," she breathed out, wiping her hoof across her forehead. "That was close." Thinking about how the wolf had so easily overcome everything she had done, that could have been a lot worse, all things considered. "Is everypony okay?"

Applejack was the first to reply as the farmpony stood up on unsteady legs. "Yeah, Ah'm alright, and- LOOK OUT!"

Twilight's head snapped around just in time to see something white speed past her. She has only a moment to recognize it as the wolf before it is already speeding away.

"Wha-bu-huh?" Twilight sputters out before her brain manages to catch up with her mouth. "WAIT!" She tries to chase after the escaping wolf but a thick fog comes out of nowhere and instantly covers the town. Despite the loss of vision, Twilight nonetheless tries to determinedly power her way through but the bizarre fog clings to her, slowing her every step to a crawl.

"What the hay is the stuff?" Rainbow Dash yells out, letting Twilight know that she was not the only one so afflicted. "It's like trying to swim through soup!"

Twilight ignited her horn in order to blow away the strange fog, but before she can even properly decide what spell to use, the fog begins to dissipate all on its own. Within seconds, the fog had faded away completely, revealing to them all that the wolf was long gone.

"What just happened?" Twilight asks nopony in particular.

-----------------

Amaterasu climbs to the top of the tallest cliff she can find and gradually slows down to a stop. Deep inside her, she could feel it. The warmth of the human soul who allowed her to enter this world still continued to flicker. However, its flame burned like a candle, and all too soon it would be consumed by the magnificent blinding sun that was Amaterasu's own soul.

As she surveys the wide-spread land before her, her thoughts remain elsewhere. Reasons like this were why she loved humans so much. That girl hadn't even hesitated. There had been fear in her eyes, naturally. Fear, doubt, and uncertainty. The girl was scared. No, she was terrified. Terrified of death. But she hadn't hesitated. As soon as she had realized what was at stake, she had willingly sacrificed her life. Just as Queen Himiko once had, so long ago.

Humans were amazing.

A breeze brought the scent of fresh grass to Amaterasu's nose, and the wolf's thoughts turned to focus on the present. Nippon might have been saved from the evil that had threatened it, but the darkness still continued to exist and threaten other lands.

Throwing her head back, Amaterasu released a long and lonely howl. It was a mournful cry, grieving the passing of a friend. And yet, it was simultaneously a triumphant cry, celebrating a hero's difficult choice.

The sun flared brightly, more brightly than it ever had before in Equus, as Amaterasu's howl spread far and wide.

The darkness was officially warned.

Author's Notes:

Boom.

Alright, before the comments start rolling in, there's a few things I feel I should say.

First, before there's accusations that I am a weak-willed writer who succumbed to the various comments about my story choices, this twist was my intention from the very beginning. I even spelled out this very occurrence in the short synopsis.

When planning the story, I wanted to write a crossover but I wanted to put my own little spin on it as well. The decision I came to was to write a story that would appear like a fairly basic, generic Displaced story before it suddenly changed and went in a completely different direction. I even chose to add some intentionally bad writing (the boring game blather) to make the shift all the more abrupt.

Incidentally, two of my favourite games other than Okami are original Bioshock and Spec Ops: The Line. I'm nowhere near as good a writer as the people who made these masterpieces, but I'll try my best.

Yes, the story will now follow Ammy.

Yes, it will still hold some connection to its Displaced roots.

No, I have no idea what I'm doing.

On a sad note, this was the last chapter I had written out in advance. From this point on, the release schedule will slow down. I'm sorry.

By the Light of the Sun

by DevoidofCreativity

First Howl

Addendum: Items and Abilities

Second Howl

Third Howl

Fourth Howl

Fifth Howl

Sixth Howl