After three long years of being a Wolfpony (werewolf), Fullmoon finally finds a way to rid himself of his curse. Or is it more trouble than meets the eye?
It's tough being a Wolfpony (werewolf). The constant need to hunt, the pain and suffering that happens to both the cursed and the ones around them, and worst of all: the guilt that sets upon them whenever they learn of their deeds as a monster.
For Fullmoon, this has been his life for three years. While he has kept his curse under wraps for that amount of time, the poor colt constantly struggles with keeping it in check. But once he finds an ancient spell book all about Wolfponies, he leaps at the opportunity to finally get himself a cure, and save both himself and the denizens of Ponyville. Will the spell finally save him, or will it cause more trouble than if he had never found it in the first place?
(Warning: Translations are not 100% accurate, so take the translations with a grain of salt.)
(Thank you to RudyPaTutti for the cover art! Really well done dude!)
(And thanks to EverfreePony for helping me edit this! Without you I dunno if my story would be up to par on anything!)
“Moon, are ya sure this is a good idea?” Apple Bloom asked, nervously scanning the dark bushes and shadowed corners of the Everfree Forest. Two other fillies followed behind her, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle acted the same, cautiously looking around dozens of times. Scootaloo, on the other hoof, had a bright smile on her face. Her wings fluttered in excitement.
Ahead of the three fillies was a grey-coated pegasus colt named Fullmoon. His expression had more determination than the other three. His amethyst-colored eyes stared dead set ahead of him. He donned a brown and ragged cloak on his back, which covered his wings completely. His ears twitched slightly with every sound echoing in the general vicinity. The slight breeze that slipped through the gaps of the thick leaves made his red mane sway back and forth gently.
“There isn’t any other way, Apple Bloom,” he replied, looking back for a second before locking himself back to his previous stance. “If there’s a way to cure me of this… thing, then I’ll do anything to get it.” He ducked under a branch, Scootaloo immediately getting hit by it. She shrugged it off, continuing the trot with the other ponies.
“We couldn’t have sent a search party for it instead?” Sweetie Belle inquired.
“Yes, find somepony else to get a spell book that they could potentially sell off instead, then tell us that they simply could not find it. Great idea,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“I was just suggesting,” she whined, lowering her ears in shame. Fullmoon reached into his saddlebag, gingerly pulling out a worn out map. He halted, the three fillies bumping into each other. He unfolded the map. “The monument should be around here somewhere…” He began muttering to himself, scanning the piece of parchment for the tiniest detail that he could’ve missed.
“Maybe it just doesn’t exist?” Scootaloo suggested, looking in every direction. Sure enough, there was no monument to speak of. Just bushes, trees, and unrecognizable flora. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement. Fullmoon’s face contorted in desperation. His eyes wandered around the map more.
“No, it has to be!” he shouted. “This can’t all be for nothing… can it?” His ears drooped downwards. He stood up, taking the map in his hooves and putting it back into his saddlebag. “This way,” he stated, pointing to the left and heading in that direction. The group of fillies followed with worried glances.
“You’re really scaring me, Fullmoon,” Sweetie Belle confided, catching up to trot next to him. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo followed suit.
“Yeah, ya haven’t been like this before. What makes this one so special outta all the other times we’ve scoured the world?” Apple Bloom questioned, narrowly avoiding a bug nearly the size of her own head. Fullmoon let out a heavy-hearted sigh, stopping their trek. He turned to face them.
“Three years,” he began, staring at the trio, “I have been like this for three years. So much pain. So much torment. All because of a stupid mistake I’ve made back then. After all of these years, I may finally have a true lead on something that could cure me. That could set me free from this… this… monster inside of me.” His hooves tensed up, the colt thinking of every time he transformed. All the lives he had taken. “If there’s a way to finally end all of this, then I’m willing to do anything to get it done.”
“What makes this all so different though?” Scootaloo asked.
“This map, specifically.” He once more pulled out the chart, laying it flat on the ground. “It has to be decades, maybe even centuries old.” He pointed out the many stitched tears and dry stains on the parchment. “It seems to go all the way back to the ancient times, when wolfponies were a lot more common.”
He slowly traced a couple of the pathways labeled on the map with his hoof. “Some of these trails don’t even exist anymore.” He folded it back up and slotted it into his saddlebag. “That’s why this is more important than anything right now. I might finally have a chance to rid myself of this curse.” He gazed at the three fillies with a look of assurance. “Trust me, we finally have something in our hooves.”
“Ah sure hope yer right,” Apple Bloom said, following him as he trotted through a bush. The two other fillies followed close behind.
Hours. At least that’s what it felt like. Hours upon hours of trotting across what seemed to be the same ground. The group’s hooves felt like they would fall off at any moment. And still no sign of what they were looking for. Their spirits had been drained almost completely. Any moment they would all break. Scootaloo finally piped up.
“Ugh, we aren’t getting anywhere!” she shouted, falling onto her back. “We should just go back before it gets too dark!” The other two fillies nodded in agreement.
“B-But we’re so close!” Fullmoon whined.
“Moon, we ain’t close. Ya oughta’ know this by now. Ya’ve said the same ol’ thing, over and over. Every single time,” Apple Bloom said. “We can continue our search tomorra’.”
“Maybe…” Fullmoon whispered, turning to face them. “Maybe you’re all right.” He placed a hoof on the side of his head. “I’ve been going on and on about these ruins, which may not even exist anymore. Maybe they never existed in the first place.” He let out a sigh. “We’ll search for a tiny bit longer. Then we’ll head back home.” The trio seemed to agree with that notion, nodding their heads in unison.
“Finally! I thought we’d never get a chance to go home,” Sweetie Belle admitted, chuckling with a smile. Fullmoon turned back around, heading through another one of the bushes. They walked close behind.
“So, Ah was thinkin’, what if we…” Apple Bloom spoke on and on, talking about plans to renovate the clubhouse and about helping some of their ‘clients’, as Sweetie Belle called them. Scootaloo didn’t listen to any of it either way. Rather, she was slowing down her trotting, eventually coming to a stop completely. Her orange ears began to twitch somewhat. She swore she heard… a faint whisper. As if something was talking to her.
“Uh, guys…” Scootaloo began. They turned back to face her.
“What’s wrong?” Sweetie Belle asked, running back to her.
“Do any of you hear that?” she replied, her ears rising up as the whispers grew louder. Wherever it was coming from, and whoever it was, it seemed to be speaking in some sort of unintelligible gibberish. None of the four foals could understand it anyway. Fullmoon suddenly turned to the left, growling in that direction.
“T-this way…” he muttered between growls, beginning to walk towards the source of the whispers. The others hesitated, but soon trailed behind him as he sniffed the air. He picked up the scent of something… evil and corrupted. He followed it nonetheless, undeterred by the ominous utterances. Eventually he reached a clearing.
In the clearing stood many stone pillars; some destroyed; others half-fallen. Chips and cracks of various sizes laced the form of each pillar. A rock path, which had also been ragged by time, lead to a pedestal standing proudly in the center of the clearing. Water surrounded the base of the structure, reflecting anything that dared to pass it.
A dark green mist had risen from the pedestal. The sheer sight of it sent a chill down Fullmoon’s spine. Evil energy radiated from the area, powerful enough to give even the bravest of ponies a slight scare. The Crusaders soon arrived from the underbrush, trotting next to him. Their faces contorted at the sight of the area.
“W-Woah… this is odd…” Sweetie Belle said, interrupting the silence.
“T-this--” he stuttered, pulling out the chart. In the middle of it was a pedestal. A green swirl drawn roughly on the parchment swirled around the object, very close to the real thing. “This is it!” He threw the paper on the ground, repeatedly poking at the drawing, hoofmarks stamped into the paper as he did. Anxious and disturbed by his behavior, the Crusaders followed behind.
“After all these years…” he mumbled, slowly treading up the rugged steps to his salvation. As he continued to rise up, the green smog that surrounded the area seemed to diminish around the relic.
An average-sized book floated perpetually above the monument. A circle of moon phases decorated the leather cover, the spine of the tome lined with expertly woven black fur. An expertly carved fang, seemingly from a wolfpony, hung on a string and acting as a bookmark. The same mist escaped hastily from between the worn pages.
His eyes widened at the sight of it. “Finally…” he mused out loud, stepping gingerly towards the ancient artifact. “I-I’ll be cured! I won’t hurt anypony anymore!” he sputtered, standing directly in front of the pedestal.
“Hurry, Moon! Ah don’t like it here…” Apple Bloom begged. Echoes and whispers began to surround the area.
“Y-Yeah! There’s something off about this place!” Sweetie Belle added, standing back to back with her two friends. Wolfish eyes appeared out of the shadows, one by one. More and more appeared, staring intently at the three fillies. The mist seemed to intensify.
Their pleas didn’t reach Fullmoon’s ears. All he could hear were the thoughts scrambling in his head. My saving grace lies right in this book. I just need to grab it. He slowly reached out to it. As he did, the mist began to thicken even more. A plethora of mysterious eyes continued to stare at the Crusaders.
“M-Moon, hurry!” Scootaloo called, only to have her shout fall on deaf ears as his hoof touched the book. They shrieked as they watched what happened next.
The tome swung open. A beam of bright green light enveloped the area, blinding anything and everything that dared to look at it. Fullmoon stumbled backwards, the book within his hooves, and fell down the steps. He landed on his back with a loud thump, yelping loudly. The eyes watching the quadrio changed to a bright teal, with black pupils shifting onto the colt. The blue eyes became figures, a mix of wolves large and small, black and brown. They charged at Fullmoon with tenacity, circling around him. Their irises stared at him as if he was a snack.
“Fullmoon!” the three fillies cried. Sweetie Belle’s horn glowed, her attempting to stampede into the furred barrier. She only succeeded in getting knocked back, slammed against one of the broken pillars.
“Sweetie Belle!” Apple Bloom shrieked, both her and Scootaloo trotting to her aid. Sweetie Belle groaned as a sharp pain throbbed at the top of her head. She held the spot with her forehooves.
“I-I’m fine… b-but Moon!” Sweetie Belle managed through the pain.
Moon, with the book in hooves, tried to escape. However, the wolves weren’t letting up. No escape in sight. He tried to fly up, but only made it a couple of feet before a shock went through his wings. He fell to the ground with a whimper, stretching his wings out. A purple bruise slowly formed it, must’ve been from when he toppled onto the rocky path. He stood up cautiously, tightly holding the tome under his foreleg.
“Wait…” Fullmoon opened the book hastily. An index of many different types of spells was listed on its worn down pages. “There’s gotta be something in here!” He scanned the rough parchment, sweat dripping down his face as he read for his life.
There were many different spells in the spellbook, all involving wolfponies and related races. Spells about cursing individuals, ancient medicines thought to treat the symptoms of Lycanthropy, and spells to protect the user and others against the savage beasts. He swiped through each page with desperation, starting to breathe erratically as the wolves began to converge.
“Come on, come on…” he whispered under his breath.
“Head’s up!” Scootaloo called, running across one of the fallen pillars and leaping off into the fray. She was immediately deflected backwards, landing harshly on her back. She groaned in pain, shakily standing herself back up.
“On my shoulders, now!” Apple Bloom commanded, standing on her hind legs. Sweetie Belle climbed up her friend, with Scootaloo following suit. They angled themselves, trying to throw Scootaloo into the middle of the pack. Instead, they lost balance, falling over backwards with a loud thud. The three fillies winced as they hit the hard ground, before standing back up again.
“Maybe uhm… Sweetie Belle!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, the aforementioned filly cringing at the sound of her name.
“Why me again!? Didn’t you see what happened to me just a few minutes ago?!” the marshmallow pony whined, ducking her head down. A small red lump was visible on the top of her head. The other two fillies winced.
“Do you have a spell that could get them away from Moon? You’ve been practicing with Princess Twilight, haven’t you?” Scootaloo asked.
“Uh… maybe?” She spun around, facing toward the pack of hungry beasts. Her horn began to charge up, emanating a bright green glow. Her front hoof scuffed against the ground like a bull, ready to let loose her magic at any moment.
Fullmoon continued to peruse the book. His gasping for air sped up swiftly, the wolves forming a tight and cramped circle around him. “H-Here!” He slammed his hoof down onto the page, right under the name of the spell etched in ink. ‘Lupus Sanguine Imperium’ it read. He began to read aloud. “Qui habet. Regere Sanguine Lupum!” His voice echoed with the last word muttered.
The circling stampede of wolves came to a screeching halt, their scleras turning from teal to a luminous green. Moon’s did the same, however his pupils shifted from a deep purple to a wolfish yellow. The effect only lasted for a second, before the group’s eyes turned back to normal. The monsters began to whimper before running off back into the depths of the forest. Moon, on the other hoof, fell over and slumped into a heap. The tome in his hooves sunk to the ground, slamming shut.
“Fire--Wait!” Apple Bloom shouted, but it was too late. Sweetie Belle expelled a burst of green magic, aimed directly at the weary colt. The spell narrowly missed, scuffing his red mane. She nearly fainted from what had almost happened, the three fillies rushing over to their friend’s aid.
“Are you okay!?” Scootaloo asked. “How many hooves am I holding up?!” She raised her right hoof.
“Uhn…” Fullmoon groaned, opening his amethyst eyes. “W-What happened?” he asked, standing onto his hooves with a struggle.
“We don’t know.” Apple Bloom confided, suddenly pulling him into a tight but warm hug. “We’re just so glad yer safe!” The other two soon joined in, nearly choking him. His frown turned into a smile, wrapping his forelegs around the three of them.
“What was that all about anyway?” Sweetie Belle questioned, splitting from the hug. The other separated along with her. “You grabbed the book and all of a sudden wolves show up?”
“Maybe they’re like… guardians of it or something?” Fullmoon let out a small gasp, staring down at the ground. At his hooves was the object in question. A pale green glow came from inside. He plucked it from the ground quickly, opening it once more. The words he spoke previously let out a radiance of light, before slowly returning back to their black colored ink. “The spell…” he muttered, closing the book.
“Huh? What do ya mean?” Apple Bloom raised a hoof to her chin.
“This is what we were looking for the whole time! The key to the cure! It’s all here, in this one book!” He squealed excitedly, holding the book to his chest. “We’ve got to get to Twilight! She’ll know more I bet!” He lifted the book with his wing, sliding it gently into his saddlebags.
“We better hurry then. It’s getting really late!” Scootaloo pointed out, staring at the sky. The previously azure colored skies were now a dull orange, bathing the land in a dim light.
“Right! Let’s go!” Fullmoon commanded, galloping away from the ruins and into the forest itself. The three fillies soon followed, the little daylight they had slowly dwindling.
The warm air soon grew chiller as the sun set behind the trees of the Everfree Forest. The orange sky turned to a darker shade of blue, emphasizing the time spent in the dangerous woodlands. The light and innocent chirping of birds was replaced with eerie hoots of owls. Their low-toned orchestra filled the town. Other than their noises, there was nothing but dead silence.
The serene stillness was interrupted by the gasps and pants of the trio of fillies. The Cutie Mark Crusaders rushed out of the woods and into the plains that sprawled out in front of them. Sweetie Belle was the first to collapse, desperately choking for air.
“Free...d-dom…” she managed to say, placing a white hoof on her chest. Fullmoon soon followed behind them, trotting at a gentle pace. In his saddlebag bounced the book they recently procured. He didn’t seem to be tired at all, taking in the fresh air with a deep breath.
“You… gotta be kidding...” Scootaloo sputtered, falling on the ground and onto her belly. “You aren’t… tired at all?” She planted her face on the ground, sighing as she relaxed.
“Well, you were the ones who sprinted all the way here,” Fullmoon replied. He proceeded to stare at the darkened sapphire sky for a few moments, before flipping his hood over his head. Luna’s luminescent moon already replaced Celestia’s bright sun as it began to rise over the horizon. “We need to get to Twilight’s Castle. I can read a little Latin, but I can’t read much.” He walked gingerly over to the trio of fillies, poking their sides as if they were corpses.
“Giv... Give us a minute okay?” Apple Bloom puffed, her ears drooping in exhaustion. Fullmoon huffed, but obliged nonetheless as he found a nice tree to sit under. The book suddenly began to emit a faint glow in his saddlebag. A hint of curiosity slowly swelled up within him. He stared off in different directions, struggling to take his mind off of it. Finally, he bit the bullet, hastily gripping the cover as he held it in front of him.
“After all of this time…” he thought aloud. “All of that torment; all of the pain; it has led to this.” His grasp on the book tightened slightly. He flipped the covering open, once more going through the index. Strangely, the index was in completely legible Ponish, however the rest of the book was in Latin. This fact nagged him for a bit, but eventually subsided as he ran his hooves down the rough pages, reading each and every word of the contents.
The tome had way more than just spells. In its contents was an apparent history of the wolfponies, however just like the rest of the book, it was in Latin. Also contained within was the anatomy of a wolfpony, and the different ways to drive off or kill the creature. His curiosity peaked as he switched to the spell section of the book. All these different incantations and rituals used by wolfponies and other races of old made him anxious.
What if we do the wrong spell? He shuddered at the thought, shutting the book slowly as he held it to his chest. He gazed up at the dusk sky, spotting the moon rising above the landscape. Despite how beautiful he may have thought it was, the white sphere in the sky still tortured him. All because of what he was. He continued to ruminate, lying back against the tree. He slowly drifted off, his eyes clasping shut as his sight dissipated into a void of blackness.
“Moon? Moooon? Moon!” Sweetie Belle called, shaking the exhausted colt. He slowly snapped out of his sleep-induced trance, staring at her.
He groaned groggily, opening his baggy eyes. Standing in front of him was the filly in question, along with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.
“Did you doze off?” Scootaloo asked, staring down at the book in his hooves. “I can see why. You were reading.” She faked a gag, before Apple Bloom elbowed her lightly in the chest.
“Shut it, Scoots,” Apple Bloom scolded. The orange filly rubbed the back of her head.
“Yeah… I-I guess I did doze off.” He stood up, looking up at the sky. It had gone from a deep blue to a pure black with white stars dotting it here and there. “How long was I out?”
“An hour, maybe. We fell asleep too. If it wasn’t fer Sweetie Belle waking up, Ah dunno if we would’ve woken up fer a while,” Apple Bloom said. “Keep yer hood on. Don’t want a wolf runnin’ ‘round, now do we?” Fullmoon nodded, swiftly flipping the hood of his cloak over his head. He gripped the book with his wing, slipping it into his saddlebag.
“We’re burning time, let’s go before Princess Twilight falls asleep!” Scootaloo exclaimed, turning tail and running towards the quiet town of Ponyville. The other three foals dashed behind.
The streets of the small town were barren; not a single soul in sight, as expected at this time of night. Everypony in their identical-looking houses slept, some more quietly than others, through the night. The only sound that populated the area was the flowing water within the fountain at town square.
The quadrio trotted swiftly through the twisting and turning path. Despite wearing his cloak, Fullmoon dashed through the shadows close by, ducking under any place devoid of moonlight.
“Wish we could go faster…” he muttered, running under a slightly wilted tree.
“We’re going as fast as we can, Moon. We’re also trying to stay close together just in case anything happens,” Sweetie Belle replied. Fullmoon sighed, slowly walking out of the shade. Nothing happened as he did. After another sigh, he followed the Crusaders as they trotted ahead.
It felt like forever as they journeyed on. Ache and pains throbbed in their tired hooves. For a while it felt like they were going in complete circles. Finally, however, they arrived at their destination: Twilight’s Castle.
The palace looked like it was almost entirely made of crystals. It shined underneath the luminescent moonlight. The building stood tall above them, Fullmoon staggering backwards just by looking at its sheer size.
“Would it be polite to go in here at this hour?” Fullmoon asked, picking himself back up from the ground. They stepped up the stairway up to the front door.
“I’m sure Twilight wouldn’t mind,” Scootaloo answered. “We always go to her for help, why would tonight be any different?” She trotted into the castle nonchalantly. The other two fillies shrugged before following suit. Fullmoon hesitated, but quickly accompanied his friends.
The interior of the castle was even more impressive. Judging by the outside of the castle, it seemed that the inside of it would be smaller base wise, however it averted expectations heavily. In the main room stood six tall thrones, each of the Mane 6’s cutie marks on the respective chairs. At the center sat a large table; the Cutie Map. Four emerald colored doors were sculpted in the back, leading to expansive hallways.
Fullmoon gawked at the sheer size of the castle. “Wow… I’ve never been here before.” He stared up at the tree root chandelier dangling high above the circular table. Blue, yellow, and green lights hung from strings wrapped around the roots, illuminating the room.
“Impressive, huh? That’s what we all thought too when this first appeared,” Scootaloo commented, fluttering her wings.
“W-Well… which way are we supposed to go?” Fullmoon asked, staring at each of the diverting paths. Just thinking about how big the castle was gave him a massive headache.
“This way!” Apple Bloom shouted, pointing at the left-most hallway.
“No, this way!” Sweetie Belle refuted, pointing at the right-most hallway.
“You’re both wrong!” Scootaloo butted in. “It’s this way!” She pointed at the left-center hallway.
“Yer wrong!”
“No you’re wrong!”
“I’m right!”
“No, I am!”
On and on did the three argue, leaving Fullmoon to his own devices. He decided to leave them behind for now, trotting into the only doorway they hadn’t chosen: the right-center path.
He slowly traveled through the hallway. Doors upon doors upon doors lined the walls as he walked past. He checked every one. Bathroom, study room, bathroom, science lab, bathroom…
Why does somepony need this many bathrooms? Fullmoon thought, continuing to explore every room in the castle. As he passed by one particular door though, he heard a faint snoring. His ears twitched at the sound, his hooves slowly stepping back to the entrance in question. He opened the door with a light creak, peeking his head inside.
The room was dark. Very dark. A pink and purple dresser with a large mirror stood in the back of the room. In its reflection was a queen-sized bed, along with two bedside tables with two storage cabinets in each of them. A golden candelabra stood proudly on each of them, their wicks unlit. In the blankets of the bed was a small lump, slowly moving up and down in rhythm. Snores came from the lump along with a soft breathing noise.
“Whatcha doin’?” Apple Bloom asked, causing Fullmoon to fall backwards right on top of her in fright. He yelped, rolling off of her. She giggled profusely.
“D-Don’t do that!” he yelled softly, looking at the room he was peeking in. “I was looking for Twilight while you three were arguing about which way to go!” He smirked. “All three of you were wrong, by the way,” he said snarkily, before being punched in the foreleg. He whimpered, rubbing the punched spot.
“Shush, you,” Apple Bloom replied.
“Where are the other two anyway?” he questioned, looking for them for a moment.
“They’re probably still arguin’ over which way to go.”
“No, we’re not! We’re right here!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shouted in unison. They trotted up to the farmer filly and wolf colt, miffed looks on their faces.
“Way to leave us behind, you two!” Sweetie Belle scolded. Fullmoon’s cheeks flushed a bright pink, while Apple Bloom sneered at the marshmallow pony.
“I found Twilight though, I-I think,” he said, cracking the door slightly more agape. Each of their heads poked through the hole, spying across the room. Carefully they moved in, tip-hoofing their way to the edge of the bed. A lavender-coated mare lay on the bed, sleeping soundly under the plain purple blankets. Her mane was a deep purple, with stripes of light purple and dark pink splitting the middle of it. She breathed softly, turning over in her bed. The mattress creaked as she did. Slowly but surely, the four made their way to the side of her bed.
“Yup, that’s Twilight alright,” Apple Bloom confirmed, poking the princess’ cheek with her hoof. “Hey, Twilight, wake up,” she whispered. Scootaloo stepped back slightly.
“Hey, Twilight, we need you for something,” Sweetie Belle murmured, shaking her slightly. The orange filly took a deep breath.
“E-Excuse me, miss, could you wake up please?” Fullmoon muttered.
“Hey Twilight! Wake up!” Scootaloo suddenly shouted, startling the poor ponies. Twilight shot up out of bed, flying up into the air with her large wings. She slammed her head on the ceiling with a loud BONK, falling back down onto the mattress. The princess bounced slightly as she gathered herself. She sat up, staring at the four foals. Fullmoon hid behind the Crusaders, afraid of the princess’ wrath.
“Wh-Wh-Why did you do that?!” Twilight chastised. She stared tiredly at the Crusaders. “There better be a good explanation for this!”
“T-There is!” Scootaloo said, before pushing Apple Bloom in front of her. “You tell her!”
“Me?! Why does it have ta’ be me!?” Apple Bloom sputtered, shoving Sweetie Belle in front of her. “You tell her.” Sweetie Belle gulped, before taking a deep breath.
“Our friend Fullmoon took us out on an adventure into the Everfree for this book about wolfponies so he can cure himself but the book is in this odd language that we can’t translate so we were wondering if you could help us so that he can be normal!” Sweetie Belle spouted, fainting backwards as she gasped heavily.
“...what?” Twilight rubbed her eyes, before locking her stare onto the colt standing behind the fillies. “Who might you be, little one?” Fullmoon’s eyes shrunk, the colt stepping backwards slightly.
“This is Fullmoon! Fullmoon, Princess Twilight!” Scootaloo introduced, moving him to the front of the mare. He kneeled down shakily.
“I-It’s an honor...Y-Your Majesty…” he stuttered, swallowing the lump in his throat as he stared up at Twilight.
“Oh, there’s no need for formalities!” she responded, pressing a hoof against his chin, making him rise. “What did you say you needed me for?” Her horn lit up, and each of the wicks on the candelabras lit aflame with a soft fire, breathing life into the bedroom.
“Well, w-we found this in the Everfree Forest. I need it to cure me of this… curse that I have. It’s in Latin that I cannot understand, and we thought you could help?” he asked softly, backing away from the princess, intimidated.
“But I just said that!” Sweetie Belle shouted, rising up from the ground.
“Oh, of course! What kind of book is it?” Twilight asked, sitting down on her mattress, pen and paper enveloped in her magic. Fullmoon reached into his saddlebag and pulled out the tome in question. Twilight’s mouth opened wide, her magic wearing off. The notepad and writing utensil fell to the ground as she gawked at the cover of the tome.
“This. It’s a spellbook,” he stated. She suddenly took the book with her purplish-pink magic, checking it from every angle.
“T-This is…” Twilight began, speechless. “T-This is one of Taxus’ Tomes!” she spouted, rising from the bed proudly. She beamed, a bright toothy smile plastered all over her face.
“Taxus?” Apple Bloom said confusedly. Twilight nodded quickly, grabbing one of the candelabras with her magic and trotting out the door.
“Follow me, you four,” Twilight said with her face beaming, walking out into the hallway. They followed eagerly.
“What is Taxus?” Scootaloo questioned, strolling next to the princess. Twilight shook her head.
“You mean who is Taxus,” she corrected, excitedly giggling to herself. “He was an amazing author of so many spellbooks hundreds of years ago! Said to even be one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria!” She giddily tapped her hooves. “Of course, that’s all superstition, but still exciting!”
“What happened to him?” Fullmoon asked.
“Time got to him, like to everypony else. Nopony knows where he is buried, but it was said that he hid a few ancient spellbooks across Equestria. I never expected anypony, no less foals like you four, to find one! This is so exciting!” Twilight shrieked happily, fluttering her wings.
“Ya seem… really ecstatic about this, Twi’. What’s so special about it?” Apple Bloom wondered, before Twilight stopped in her tracks.
“What’s so special about it?!” Twilight gasped in shock. “Apple Bloom, this is one of the rarest spellbooks out there! All about wolfponies! So much research must be stocked in this one book! Imagine all of the discoveries Taxus made about it! Anatomy, spells, history, everything!” Apple Bloom simply nodded as Twilight began walking again.
“So could it cure me?” Fullmoon asked.
“Oh, I bet it could! Taxus was very--” Once more, Twilight stopped mid-walk. “Wait… cure you?” Fullmoon nervously nodded, sweat dripping down his face. “You’re a wolfpony?!”
“A-A nice one, we swear!” Apple Bloom stood in front of him, with the other two fillies backing her up. “He hasn’t hurt anypony intentionally! He’s stayed up night and day, suffering so much just to try and cure himself!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle nodded.
“You really want to help him, don’t you?” Twilight questioned, before sighing. “Alright, I’ll help you,” she paused, “despite my best judgement. Come on.” She quickly stampeded down the hallway and to a ginormous door. It had the same pattern as all of the other doors, however a huge metal door knocker hung at the center of the door.
“What’s in here?” Scootaloo asked.
“My library of course!” Twilight announced, slamming the door open with her potent magic.
Shelves upon shelves upon shelves of books stood tall and proud in the cavernous room. A sign with a letter written in calligraphy hung over each large section of bookcases, separating them in alphabetical order. Many desks lined the central corridor of the library, each with its own table lamp. Twilight smiled brightly, trotting up a staircase with a red carpet.
“Wow! I’ve never seen so many… books!” Fullmoon smiled, following the alicorn.
“Thanks! It’s no comparison to the Crystal Empire’s library, but it’s definitely massive!” Twilight gloated, trotting through each tight corridor of bookshelves. “R… S… T! Here it is!” She levitated another tome from in between two other books. “Over here.” She pointed to one of the bigger desks, sitting down one of the table stools. The foals followed suit.
“What’s that?” Sweetie Belle pondered, laying her head on the wooden table. “Looks old.”
“Taxus wrote a guide to his tomes if one was to ever find one of them. Lucky us, you did!” Twilight flipped open the book, right to one of its middle pages. “Including a full translation guide! That book you found isn’t just written in Latin. It’s written in a mix of old Ponish and Latin!” She squealed giddily like a schoolgirl. “This is so exciting! Fullmoon, would you please hoof me the book?” Fullmoon complied, about to slide it across the table, before Apple Bloom stopped him.
“Before we do,” Apple Bloom began, “can ya explain what happened back in the Everfree Forest?”
“What do you mean, Apple Bloom?” Twilight responded.
“Well… we kinda ran into a large pack o’ wolves when Moon tried ta’ grab the book. He cast a spell from it and all of a sudden their eyes glowed a bright green. It only lasted a second, but it was odd! They ran away after that, and he collapsed,” she explained. Fullmoon whimpered.
“Wait, he cast a spell? How? He doesn’t even have a horn,” Twilight questioned, grabbing a notepad and pen.
“He chanted some sort of odd sentence. I think it went something like…” Sweetie Belle drifted off in her speech, racking her thoughts.
“Qui habet. Regere Sanguine Lupum? Like that?” Scootaloo blurted out. Just like last time, Moon’s scleras turned from a white color to a bright green. He stared at Scootaloo dizzily, standing from the stool and trotting to the orange filly. Afterwards… he just stood there. Inanimate and almost lifeless, aside from the occasional breath he took.
“Moon… are you okay?” Sweetie Belle asked worriedly, sitting up and waving a hoof in front of his face. No response. Apple Bloom rose from her seat, pacing over to him.
“Moon, snap out of it!” the apple farmer shouted, slapping his cheek. While the spot began to blemish a dark red, he did not respond.
“Apple Bloom, why did you do that?!” Sweetie Belle scolded, her voice reaching ranges higher than thought possible. Twilight was scribbling down notes furiously.
“Interesting… no response, green eyes, the ability to cast a spell without a horn…” Twilight suddenly piped up, trotting to them. “It’s a mind control spell!”
“What?” the Crusaders said in unison, dumbfounded.
“Yep!” They yelped slightly as a bright green glow peeked through the book’s pages. Twilight shuffled through to the page. Just like before, the words in the book glowed before dimming down. “Interesting, very interesting!”
“Well, how do we get him back to normal?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Roll over, Moon!” Scootaloo commanded. He nodded ditzily, before rolling over just like a puppy. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo giggled.
“Will you two cut that out?” Apple Bloom chastised, staring at them furiously. Their cheeks flushed a bright pink.
“Sorry…” they both said, hanging their heads in shame.
“Just say the spell again and it should fix itself. However it has to be chanted by the pony who originally enchanted him.” Twilight stared at Scootaloo.
“Oh, right!” Scootaloo faced the spellbound pony, staring into his green eyes deeply. “Qui habet. Regere Sanguine Lupum.”
“Mnnh… hmm?” Fullmoon groaned, his eyes fading back to their normal white color. “What?”
“Oh, thank Celestia,” Sweetie Belle huffed, letting out bated breath.
“Thank her for what? What’s going on?” Fullmoon wondered, his eyes flopping downwards.
“I sorta accidentally maybe cast a spell on you… u-unintentionally!” Scootaloo admitted, rubbing the back of her head.
“What spell?” he asked, tilting his head sideways just a tad.
“Nevermind that.” Scootaloo chuckled nervously. “So this book contains spells that anypony can cast! Neat!”
“Fascinating. Taxus must’ve been a powerful unicorn to create something like this.” Twilight smiled brightly, enveloping the book in her magic. “I can’t imagine the amount of research that’s in this! Hours and days and months of testing!” She flapped up into the air swiftly, her wings swishing up and down at a fast pace, as if she was under a sugar high. The four foals stared up at her with looks of confusion and slight fright. She slowly lowered herself back to reality, her hooves clacking against the ground. Her lavender cheeks flushed a bright pink. “S-Sorry…”
“Anyway… could you translate the book for us?” Fullmoon asked desperately. “I-I’ll pay if needed.”
“Oh no no! There’s no need to pay! Research like this comes once in a lifetime! I’ll notify you four once I have it done! I’ll even cast the spell for you if needed!” Twilight excitedly replied, her face beaming as she flipped to each page. “I’d estimate it would take a few days; two if I rush it. In the meantime, you all should get some rest. I’ll let you sleep here tonight; it’s too late for fillies and colts to be out right now.”
“Really?! Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!” Fullmoon giddily squealed, bouncing in front of the princess as his wings fluttered. Twilight giggled at his sudden excitement. The Crusaders yawned.
“Some sleep finally?” Scootaloo groggily said between yawns. “Where are we gonna sleep?”
“I have a few guest rooms for occasions like this one. Just never thought an occasion like… well, housing a wolfpony would come around. You should find your rooms just after the main throne room,” Twilight explained, trotting off into the depths of the library. Her nose dipped into the book, the mare immediately losing herself in it.
“So uh…” Fullmoon began, looking at the Crusaders. “How do we get out of here?” He stared up at the labyrinth of shelves and aisles.
It took a while for everypony to orient themselves inside Twilight’s Castle, but after what felt like half an hour of walking in circles, the quadrio of foals finally made it to the guest rooms. They stood adjacent from each other, two on one side of the hallway, and two on the opposite. The rooms themselves were identical; a bed in the back with two bedside cabinets, a dresser, and a mirror. No windows, however. Fullmoon sighed in relief at that fact.
“Ah would say goodnight, but considerin’ how much time we’ve wasted, we’re probably gonna sleep through a lot of the day,” Apple Bloom said, a yawn escaping her.
“That just means it’ll give Twilight more time to translate that book. I just hope she goes as fast as she can,” Fullmoon replied, gently opening the door to his room adjacent to Scootaloo’s. “I’ll see you three sometime tomorrow, hopefully. If I’m not up and you are, please come wake me up.” He waved gently before disappearing into the darkness of the room. The door slammed shut behind him.
“It’s nice to see him calm again,” Scootaloo admitted, sighing.
“I dunno, guys. Am I the only one that gets the heebie-jeebies from that tome? There’s something off about it that I just can’t put my hoof on,” Sweetie Belle stated, her face contorting in thought.
“Ah dunno. Ah get the same feelin’ too. Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom turned to the orange pegasus, “are ya feelin’ the same way too?”
“I hate to admit it, but yeah, I do,” Scootaloo answered, rubbing her dry eyes. “I don’t want to bring it up with Fullmoon because he seems genuinely convinced that this will help him.”
“Let’s all keep an eye out just in case something happens, agreed?” Sweetie Belle proposed, reaching her hoof out in front of her. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo did the same. They nodded in unison.
“Agreed,” Apple Bloom said, grinning with determination.
“Agreed,” Scootaloo added, looking at Fullmoon’s door. “Now let’s get some sleep. If we want to watch him, we need to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.” The Cutie Mark Crusaders deconverged, strolling to their respective rooms.
“Goodnight, everypony,” all three said in unison, fading into the depths of their rooms.
Fullmoon lay flatly on the soft mattress, staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom. Every now and then he would stir slightly, but other than that, he was immersed in thought. No moment was wasted. He sighed heavily, finally shifting onto his side.
What am I gonna do after this? he pondered, gripping his pillow tightly. What’s my life’s purpose? These thoughts constantly nagged at him. Every second just gave him more and more to ruminate. And the more he did, the more his head pounded.
“Maybe I just need some fresh air,” he said, rolling off of the bed and onto his hooves. He navigated his way across the dark room, exiting it and entering the hallways. Everything was quiet, as expected. Listening closely, he could hear the light sighs and snores of his friends. He draped his hood over his head, travelling through the corridors and into the main throne room.
Sat in the throne with a big purple star was none other than Twilight. She was situated there with two books; the Taxus’ Tome they had found earlier and the guide to translating it. Constantly her head swayed from side to side, viewing each book for a couple of seconds before writing down something in a notepad with her magic. She definitely looked worse for wear as well, her eyes having bags under them. Every now and then they would close shut, before she flinched and continued with her work.
“Twilight?” Fullmoon asked quietly, sitting down on the throne just by her.
“Hmmn?” Twilight groaned groggily, staring him down with tired eyes. “Oh… greetings, Fullmoon.” She waved rather slowly. “Why aren’t you asleep?”
“I could ask you the same, but judging by what’s in front of you, I can already guess the answer,” he replied, pointing at the two books. Twilight let out a soft chuckle, following it up with an exhausted sigh.
“Maybe doing this so late at night wasn’t a very good idea…” she conceded. Her head leaned on the armrest of the throne. Just the thought of a few seconds of shut-eye appealed to her desires. “This might take longer than I imagined…”
“Twilight… can I ask you something?” Fullmoon requested. His question was soon replied with a gentle nod. “What’s my purpose in life?”
The alicorn jerked up in shock. “What?” She blurted out, tilting her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“Well… all this time I’ve strived for a cure. Something to finally rid both me and all of Ponyville of this monster inside of me. I’ve never really thought of what I’d do with my life afterwards, you know?” He stared down at his hooves, a soft sigh escaping him.
“Hmm… how long has it been since you’ve been cursed?” Twilight inquired.
“I wanna say three years, but time goes by way too quickly to remember,” he replied. Twilight’s eyes opened wide with her mouth agape.
“Th-Th-Three years?!” she exclaimed, her wings popping out in surprise. “How did you survive this long?!”
“I… had my friends. Those three fillies are the reason why I kept going. They’ve covered for me for so long. I had a place to live. I had somepony to talk to. I didn’t have to fear anything whenever I was around them. WIthout them I’d be thrown in a dungeon by now.” He leaned back on the throne, taking in a deep breath. “Maybe even worse, now that I think about it.”
“Then why don’t you ask them?” she asked. “If I was having trouble with anything, I’d ask my friends to help me out. With you, it should be no different.”
“With you being a princess and all, I thought you would’ve had it all figured out by now,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Fullmoon, I’m the Princess of Friendship, not the Princess of Life Advice.” She chuckled before clearing her throat. “But I can tell you that if you truly trust your friends, you’ll have no issue asking them for help.” He turned to her with eyes of desperation. She looked back with a gaze of sureness. Fullmoon’s small smile turned to a big grin.
“Thanks, Twilight… that means a lot.” He bowed his head to her. Twilight reached a hoof to his chin, being forced to face her.
“Just know that I’m always open for conversation if need be,” Twilight assured, nodding to him. He did the same, standing up swiftly from the throne.
“I need to get some sleep. Make sure you do too. I doubt that you’ll be able to translate that while half-asleep,” he teased, giggling. She laughed back, closing both of the books.
“You’re right. I’ll see you in the morning, Fullmoon.” Twilight waved him goodnight, before disappearing into one of the long hallways.
He trotted back to his room as quietly as possible. Although it was slower, it was better than waking up any of the crusaders. He reached for the doorknob.
“Whatcha doin’ up?” Apple Bloom suddenly asked, standing right behind him.
He yelped, hopping upwards slightly before landing back on the cold floor. “A-Apple Bloom!” He turned around in shock, his heart beating out of his chest. “W-Why aren’t you asleep?”
“Better question, why aren’t you asleep?” she snarkily questioned, giggling lightly. He huffed, feeling quite annoyed.
“Just go back to bed. I-I was just talking to Twilight, is all,” he nervously said, opening the door to his room.
“Alright alright, Ah’ll go.” She walked over to her room, gently shutting the door behind her. He rolled his eyes, slamming the door behind him.
Apple Bloom tapped her back hoof in frustration.
“Ugh!” She pouted. “This is gettin’ ridiculous! How long is he gonna sleep!?”
“Well, he did say to wake him up if all three of us were up before him, so…” Scootaloo reminded. All three of them smirked, sneaking into Fullmoon’s bedroom. It took no time for them to find the snoozing colt. There he was, in plain sight, snuggled up in his bed and sleeping the morning away. His mane was ruffled, hair strands poking out in all directions. His face also seemed a bit pale. Sweetie Belle was first to take notice of this.
“Uh, is it just me, or does Fullmoon look a little worse for wear?” the marshmallow filly asked, pointing at his mane.
“Oh come on, Sweetie Belle! You’re just saying he has a bed-head,” Scootaloo replied.
“You missed a spot when you brushed yer hair by the way,” Apple Bloom teased, pointing at the back of her head.
“What? Where?!” Sweetie Belle squealed, patting down the back of her mane. Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo laughed hysterically. “That isn’t funny!” she huffed, her cheeks flushing a deep red.
“Come on, let’s wake him up,” Scootaloo said, trotting up to his bedside along with her friends. The trio took a deep breath, before…
“Good evening, Fullmoon!”
“Graah!” he shrieked, rolling off the side of the bed and onto the floor with a loud thud. He opened his eyes begrudgingly. The first thing he saw was a leg of the bedside table. He stood himself up gradually, yawning groggily before staring at the trio. “G-Good… evening, I think?” he stated. Now that he was actually up, it was easier to see him in the light. He looked downright sickly, his eyes missing some color to them. His mane seemed to sag slightly along with his tail, and his movements as he trotted up to them were slow and heavy. All three of them stared at each other with looks of worry.
“Uh, Moon, are ya feeling okay?” Apple Bloom asked, tilting her head to the side. He nodded lazily.
“Y-Yeah, I’m good. Just need a bit of time to…” he began, another yawn escaping him, “wake up a bit.” The crusaders looked at each other with worry as he strolled out of his room. They followed closely behind, chatting with each other.
“Oh, so now you listen to me,” Sweetie Belle sneered, sticking her nose up.
“Can it,” Apple Bloom scorned. “Though he does seem ta’ be rather… sickly.” She watched as he stumbled through the halls, his eyes frantically darting side to side. “Hey, Moon!” she called, trotting up next to him. “If there was anythin’ wrong with ya, you’d tell us, right?”
“O-of course! Why wouldn’t I?” he said, appalled. “I’m fine, if that’s what you’re asking. Just a bit of a weak spell… is all.”
“Fine, fine,” Apple Bloom conceded, rolling her eyes as they traveled onward in the maze-like hallways.
“Is it just me or has this place gotten bigger?” Scootaloo thought aloud.
“I-I’m sure it’s the exact same size as it was before we sle--” Fullmoon began, before trotting into the princess herself. He fell over backwards, plummeting to the ground right onto his flank. A small yelp escaped him. He stared upwards, seeing the alicorn immersed into the tome; just like last night. His eyes widened. “O-Oh my gosh I’m so sorry!” He steadied himself, bowing his head.
“Hmm…?” Twilight questioned, averting her attention from the book. “No no… it’s fine, really.” She scanned him for a moment, blinking a few times. “You look like Tartarus,” she stated bluntly.
“You’re too kind,” he replied sarcastically, returning to his normal stance. “I was wondering if you’d found anything in the book yet?” he asked, chuckling nervously.
“Yes, I have, as a matter-of-fact!” She beamed, perking up almost immediately. “Follow me!” She turned around, trotting down the hall. The quadrio walked close behind, talking amongst themselves.
“Moon, Ah wanted ta’ ask ya somethin’,” Apple Bloom blurted out, facing him. “Why were ya up last night?” His eyes shot open, his pupils shrinking as he stared at her. The other two members looked at Apple Bloom with confusion, then to Fullmoon.
“No reason, honest!” he replied hastily, raising his hoof up to his chest. The crusaders eyeballed him. A few beads of sweat slid down his cheek as he gulped. “O-Okay,” he began, wiping away the few drops, “m-maybe I just needed a bit of fresh air!”
“Moon, you’re stuttering,” Scootaloo chastised, before placing a hoof on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“Yeah, Moon, is there something going on?” Sweetie Belle asked, tilting her head. “We’re here for you.”
“Ya can tell us what’s wrong, or let it stew in yer brain for a bit. Yer choice in that,” Apple Bloom said, looking at him with those sweet amber eyes. He let out a deep sigh, removing Scootaloo’s hoof from his shoulder.
“I just…” he began, “I’ve spent so long trying to figure out a cure for this, that I don’t have anything else to fall back on once I’m done with it all. What will I do? Where will I go? How will I get there? I already talked to Twilight about it, and she told me to talk to you guys. What do you think?” Slowly his head dropped, gazing down at the floor. A cream-colored hoof placed on his chin interrupted his musings, raising it up. His eyes met with the three.
“Moon, relax,” Scootaloo started, smiling brightly. “You might not realize it, but we felt the same way after we found our cutie marks!” She pointed at their flanks.
“Scootaloo’s right, we’ve been through a very similar situation to you.” Sweetie Belle patted him on the back. “In the end, we’re always by your side.”
“And no matter what, yer always gonna be a friend ta’ us, wolfpony or not. We’ll help ya’ through this till the very end,” Apple Bloom finished, pulling her friend into a tight hug. Fullmoon stood there speechless as the other two joined in on the gesture. He finally gave in, wrapping his forelegs around the three the best he could, a small smile creeping onto his face.
“Thank you… thank you.” He sighed, splitting from the hug. “Come on. We don’t wanna lose Twilight.” He darted off in Twilight’s direction, with the crusaders following close behind.
“So… Twilight? What is it that you found?” he inquired, growing a little impatient as his tail began to wag. He poked her side.
“Oh, right, yes!” she snapped back, entering the library. “I’ve been doing immense research on this book, and I found something very fascinating! I did find a cure, but--”
“Yahoooooooooo!” Fullmoon squealed suddenly, flying up into the air. Figure eights, cartwheels, barrel rolls, and other flying tricks filled the air as he dashed around. “Finally! Finally!” he shrieked. It took the combined power of Sweetie Belle’s magic, Apple Bloom’s strength, and Scootaloo’s mouth grabbing onto his tail, to hold him down. After a moment, his eyes opened wide. As he stood up calmly, his cheeks flushed a bright pink. “Sorry…”
Twilight let out a gentle giggle at his outburst. “I’d be ecstatic too if I was in your horseshoes, however you should learn to let other ponies finish.” She sat down on one of the bright blue painted wood stools, beckoning them to join her. They did just that, with Fullmoon sitting the closest. He eyed the book with excitement, a bright grin spread over his face. “It isn’t a, ahem, conventional way of curing, come to find out.” She floated over a stack of notes with her magic, shuffling through each of them. She finally stopped about halfway through the stack, plopping the pieces of paper in front of them.
“Right here is our answer,” Twilight stated. “There were a couple of options at our disposal, however some were, to say the least, outdated.” She flipped one of the sheets over, showing a really well-drawn picture of a flower. “For example, this flower right here, the Lunar Bloom, could cure wolfponyism at any time. However, these have been extinct for hundreds of years, sad to say.” Fullmoon’s ears slowly dropped at this news.
“However, there is another way.” She slid one of the other papers in front of them. “This spell, right here. While it is true that a lot of the spells in Taxus’ Tome can be cast without the aid of a unicorn, some do require it due to how powerful the spell is. This is one of them. I couldn’t make out what the whole spell said, but I did discern some of the words. ‘Separate’ and ‘individually’.” She pointed at the written out spell. ‘Circumdedisti me omni virtute, in duos distincta. Ut vivant, et non per se’ is what it read. “Judging by its other contents, it seems to be a spell that separates the wolf and the pony. It makes them into two separate entities.”
“So wait, you’re saying that there will be two Fullmoon’s after this?” Scootaloo asked with a hint of confusion and disbelief.
“Not exactly. Fullmoon and his wolfish side have two different personalities and desires. It’s what makes this spell entirely possible,” Twilight replied, looking at the colt. “As far as I can tell, this is the only way we can cure you of this ailment. Are you willing to do it?”
“Of course!” Fullmoon exclaimed, standing up from the stool, knocking it over backwards. “I’ve been going through this for three years! If this is how we can end it, then so be it!” His wings fluttered as he stared at Twilight; determination burning within him. Twilight nodded, grinning slightly at his enthusiasm.
“I’m glad that you are willing to do this, Fullmoon. Not many ponies similar to you have the courage to admit that they need help as desperately as they really need to,” Twilight said, nodding her head slightly.
“Anything to finally live a normal life.” He grinned. However, something inside was nagging at him, like something was wrong. His grin turned quickly into a frown. “Hey uh, Twilight… Do you have a calendar?”
“Uhm, sure?” she questioned, floating a rather thin and small calendar in his direction. He grasped it, flipping through the pages. Finally, he landed on the month he was looking for, November. He placed his hoof against the rough paper, letting it slowly glide down as he scanned the weeks. He stopped on November 24th. Small, bold letters at the bottom of the square read ‘Moon Phase: Full’. As he read this, his heart sunk. He loosened his grip on the calendar, sliding from his hooves and onto the ground.
“T-The full moon is tonight?!” he shrieked, frantically looking around the room. The princess and crusaders gasped lightly. He took a deep breath, before exhaling and calming down. He turned to Twilight. “I-it’s okay...you can cast the spell right now, r-right?” he stuttered.
“Sad to say that I can’t just cast the spell now.” Twilight lowered her head, shuffling through her notes. “It’s going to take some time to prepare. At least eight hours.” Fullmoon’s eyes shot open.
“Ei-Ei-Eight hours?!” he sputtered, pacing around the table quickly. “W-We can’t wait that long! It’s already four!” He screeched to a halt, gulping heavily. “By then I’ll have turned!” He dashed under one of the desks, shaking profusely while chattering his teeth rapidly. Twilight groaned in frustration.
“Of all nights…” she muttered, before shaking her head side to side. “It would explain why you didn’t look so well when you woke up. On days before the night of the full moon, the cursed body prepares for its transformation. Effects can vary. From fevers, to dog-like acts, to weak spells,” she explained, thoroughly looking through her written notes. She frowned. “I hadn’t found a spell to subdue the transformation, sad to say, however I may know a way to buy us some time after you change.” She motioned to Sweetie Belle. “While I focus on the spell preparations, can you focus on holding him down whenever he changes?”
“You can count on me!” Sweetie Belle agreed.
“T-Then start the preparations, we’re burning daylight!” Fullmoon demanded nervously, crawling out from under the desk. “I’m really sorry I got you three involved in this. First I drag you all on a dangerous journey into the Everfree, and now you gotta deal with me being a wolf. Some friend I am.” He sighed, lowering his head in shame. He heard the soft clapping of six pairs of hooves coming towards him, before he felt three sets of forelegs wrap him into a hug.
“Don’t shame yourself like that, Moon!” Scootaloo said, rubbing his mane roughly. “We’d gladly do it again if you asked us, because we’re your friends, right girls?” The other two nodded, tightening their grip around the colt.
“You will be cured, and we’re gonna make sure of it. No matter what,” Sweetie Belle reassured, splitting up the embrace. Her friends followed her action. Instead of the droopy frown that he used to have, Fullmoon sported a small but relieved smile.
“Thank you,” he whispered, breathing a bit heavy. The poor colt’s vision began to blur, splitting up the three fillies in his sight into two. “H-Hey...since when were there two of you?” He pointed at Apple Bloom woozily, before doubling over onto the ground.
“Moon!” the crusaders shouted in unison, rushing to their friend’s aid. Apple Bloom nudged him with her hoof; no response. She leaned next to his mouth, listening closely. Soft breaths escaped from it. She sighed in relief.
“He’s still breathin’, thank Celestia,” Apple Bloom said, shaking from worry. “B-But what happened ta’ him?”
“It must be another symptom of his body preparing for the change,” Twilight stated matter-of-factly, standing from her stool. “Get him back to his bed and let him rest. We’ve all got a long day ahead of us, and a long night in his case. I need to start preparing the spell.” She grabbed her notes and the tome with her magic, trotting out into the hallway before halting. “Keep watch over him throughout the day to make sure no other changes happen. I’ll be in the throne room if anything is needed.” She began walking once more, disappearing into the long labyrinth of hallways.
“Come on, girls, help me out here!” Apple Bloom called, lifting Moon and placing him over her back. He was decently heavy for a colt his age, making the farmer struggle a bit. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo dashed over to her, splitting the weight over each of them. They started for his room, moving at a snail’s pace.
By the time they had reached their destination, they could use naps of their own. They slid him onto his bed, and covered him up with the blanket.
“We’ll work in shifts. I’ll start the first shift, and after an hour we’ll switch. Agreed?” Sweetie Belle proposed. The other two nodded in agreement, trotting out of the room. The marshmallow-colored filly stared down at the sleeping colt, sighing heavily. “You’ll be okay. We promise,” she whispered, pulling up a chair and sitting in it.
Fullmoon suddenly jolted upwards and his eyes shot open. He frantically searched around him for the source of the voice, however, there was nothing.
There was literally nothing. Nothing but darkness for what seemed to be miles. While the surface that Moon lay on seemed soft and bouncy, under him there was also nothing. No furniture, no light, and most importantly to him, no ponies. It wasn’t dark because of the lack of light though, as he could see himself just fine.
He stuck his hooves out, slowly sliding off the surface that he was presumably sitting on. Eventually, he fell off with a loud thud. Whatever he landed on was tough and hard.
“Ow…” he muttered, gingerly standing himself back up. He turned around and tried to feel what he fell off of, however it seemed to have disappeared into the void somewhere. “What the…” A hint of worry formed within him, and this feeling only grew stronger as he slowly trotted forwards.
Wherever he was going seemed to go on forever. The surface that he walked on constantly changed. From tough, to soft, to oddly mushy. A variety of textures enveloped his hooves as he journeyed on. Many thoughts floated around in his mind. One reared its ugly head the most though.
Where in all of Tartarus am I?
After what felt like an hour of nothing but monotonous walking and thinking, a small pink speck appeared in the distance. This filled Fullmoon with hope, his speed accelerated from a slow trot to a quick gallop as he rushed to the speck. It slowly grew bigger and bigger as he drew closer and closer to his destination. About halfway there, he made out what it was.
It was a bright pink door. A slightly darker shade of pink arose from the vertical halfway point, cutting the doorway down the middle. On both sides were phases of the moon and in the center of it all was a full moon, all colored in pure white and black.
He eventually arrived at the front of the entryway, gawking at its immense size. It was at least five times taller than him, easily. He took a long and deep breath before pressing against the door heavily. It slowly creaked open, its squeaks echoing through all the… nothing. Through the door was also pure blackness.
“Might as well,” he murmured, sauntering through the doorway. As he did, the area around him began to form.
He strolled out of the door and into… the castle hallway. Just as he remembered it: long and confusingly maze-like. Looking out one of the windows, he could see that it was pitch black outside. No stars, just a full moon. His eyes widened at the sight of it, stumbling backwards against the wall. He clenched his eyes, preparing for his change.
Nothing. Nothing happened in the moment that he stood there. No pain, no sweat, just an awkward silence which felt like an eternity. He opened his eyes slowly, looking down at his hooves. No change in them, either. He let out a heavy sigh, a feeling of relief washing over him.
Almost immediately the feeling dissipated as a low but loud growl echoed through the hallway. He gulped at the sound of it, worry replacing the previous relief he experienced. He dashed through the long hall, eventually screeching to a halt as he reached a four-way hallway. He crouched by one of the corners. The deep-toned noises bounced off the walls of the castle, creating a wavy effect in the sound. Fullmoon held his breath as he heard it grow closer and closer. He eventually peeked around the corner, eyes widening as he saw a dark figure travelling down one of the other corridors.
The creature that slowly traversed the hall was big and burly, easily twice or three times the size of the poor colt. With every breath it took, a low growl escaped from it. Its fur was dark grey, and its mane and tail contained similar shades. The paws it had were absolutely massive, the claws that poked out of them as sharp as a newly forged blade. It continued to prowl the halls, searching for its next meal.
Fullmoon ducked back behind the corner, worry and fright filling him. His heart pounded out of his chest, and he gulped down the lump in his throat. Beads of sweat dribbled down his face. It occurred to him that he forgot to breathe, instantly exhaling heavily. The monster’s head flinched to the side, staring down the hall. It roared loudly, slowly travelling down the pathway. With every step it took, it felt like the castle shook.
Fullmoon’s breathing slowly turned random and quick, the colt staring up at the ceiling. Please, please go away… he thought hopefully, rapidly switching between breathing through his nose and breathing through his mouth. The creature reached the end of the hallway, searching for something to maul. After a few more moments, it finally began to head back.
Fullmoon’s breathing slowed and calmed in relief. He stood back up onto his hooves gingerly, carefully trotting across the hall in an effort to avoid the monster. One step too many, his legs locked up in fright. He slammed his hoof on the ground, alerting the creature. It turned around immediately, aligning Fullmoon in its sights. A blood-curdling roar escaped from its maw, pressing its paws against the ground and curving its back.
Fullmoon’s wings began to flap wildly, lifting him up in the air. He flew through the corridor, panting wildly as his body already started to feel tired. However he couldn’t stop, and looking behind him to see a gargantuan wolf speeding after him with bloodthirsty eyes and a drooling maw was more than enough motivation to keep going. He turned sharply at each hallway, hoping to lose the beast. However it was way faster than he had anticipated, easily catching up with him every time he swerved.
One wrong turn made his wing bump harshly into a corner, sending him spiraling out of control. He crash landed right in front of a wall onto his face, nearly breaking his muzzle.
His heart lumped into his throat as he stood up, a hot and heavy breath grazing his shoulder. He turned around hesitantly, finding the wolf towering over him. It slowly grew closer, and as it did, Fullmoon stepped backwards at the same speed. His back bumped into the wall, spelling out his doom. His forelegs shook and he swung his head in denial. This was not how it could end.
“G-Get away from me!” he squealed, fruitlessly scraping at the ground. The wolf growled angrily in response, pouncing on top of him. He gaped his maw, slobbering all over the colt's face. Fullmoon kicked and flailed helplessly in an attempt to escape, but to no avail. He screamed as the monster lowered its head. His sight dimmed to black.
“A-Ahhhhhhh!” Fullmoon shrieked, sitting straight up. His loud scream made Apple Bloom jump from her own slumber, gasping as her eyes shot open.
“M-Moon!” she exclaimed, leaping from the stool, embracing him in a hug. “W-We thought ya’d never wake up! Girls, he’s awake!” The two other fillies piled into the bedroom, smiling brightly as they joined in onto the hug. He returned the gesture, before splitting away as he examined his situation.
Nothing out of the ordinary came from his search. No wolves hunting him down, no blackness, and most importantly: he wasn’t in the belly of the beast that hunted him. He sighed in momentary comfort, flopping onto the bed.
“Thank Celestia...” he muttered under his breath, before springing back up onto his hooves suddenly. “What time is it?!”
“Close to midnight,” Scootaloo replied nonchalantly. Fullmoon’s eyes widened, hastily trying to push the three fillies out of the room.
“Y-You three need to get out of here, now!” he commanded, continuing to press against them. Already he was beginning to feel weary. His heart began to bang hard against his ribs. It was a struggle just to push against them.
“No, we ain’t leavin’!” Apple Bloom refuted, pushing his hooves away. “We’re gonna help ya through this! We promised! Right, girls!?” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement. Fullmoon stumbled backwards, his head beginning to pound.
“N-No, you can’t!” he pleaded. “I-I’ll only kill you!”
“Moon, we can handle ourselves! We’ve done way more than you think!” Sweetie Belle argued proudly, staring him down. “If we can handle a cockatrice by ourselves, then we can handle you!”
“Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy had to get us out of that, remember?” Scootaloo reminded, rolling her eyes. Sweetie’s white cheeks flushed a deep red.
“T-That’s besides the point! The point is that we’ve been in many difficult and dangerous situations, so we can handle one more!” Sweetie Belle replied.
“Y-You three are too much,” he spoke quietly, staring down at the floor, his eyes hidden away. He eventually raised his head to stare at them, his amethyst eyes changing to a topaz yellow. “I’m sorry…”
He wailed out in pain as a bone-cracking sound filled the room. The crusaders cringed at the noise as the colt doubled over onto the floor. He panted heavily, slamming his hoof against the ground in agony. One of the fillies reached a hoof out to him, only for him to slap it back. “G-Get back…!” he shrieked, clenching his eyes shut.
He slowly began to grow in size, his light grey coat darkening to a more deep shade of grey. His mane and tail also blackened to reflect his coat, which now more resembled unkempt fur of a wolf than a neatly groomed coat of a pony. His hooves painfully spread out into paws, which quickly sprouted sharp and deadly claws. He clamped his mouth closed as his teeth sharpened into fangs. With one last crack of his bone, his growth halted. At this point he towered over the three fillies.
Fullmoon’s eyes slowly eased open, revealing his pointed pupils. Their golden shine illuminated the room slightly, however they seemed soulless.
The colt in front of them was no more. Only a bloodthirsty wolf remained in his place.
“M-Moon…?” Scootaloo called out, starting to reach a hoof out to him. Sweetie Belle quickly latched onto her and pulled her back.
“N-No, don’t! That isn’t him anymore!” she yelled. All three of them slowly stepped backwards toward the door. The wolf in the room gazed at them with hungry eyes, drool slightly dripping from its mouth. It roared loudly, pouncing at them.
“Ruuuuuuuun!” the three yelled in unison, dashing behind the door and out into the hallway. They went their separate ways, galloping into three different areas of the castle. He stampeded his way down the hall, chasing after one of the fillies. Sweetie Belle looked behind her as she ran, and to her unfortunate surprise, he was there, gaining on her quickly.
“Oh, come on!” she groaned, swerving quickly to the left hallway. He swiftly made back the lost distance, and was catching up fast. She surveyed the area around her, racking her brain for a plan. “T-The library!” She flipped her direction, running beside him. It threw a paw at her, but narrowly missed. It grazed her tail with its sharp claw, a medium chunk of her tail falling onto the ground.
“Moon, you’re paying for that after this is over!” she screamed down the hall. This only provoked him, the wolf speeding off after her even faster than before. She choked down a few tears as she continued to turn in different directions, swapping hallways randomly.
Finally she made it to the entrance of the library. She charged into its doors, swinging them open with brute force. She rubbed her muzzle. “Oww...probably should’ve used magic,” she groaned. Her ears perked up as she heard a low but loud growl coming from behind her. She turned backward to look. Nopony was there yet, but the beast would be upon her soon. She took her opportunity, running up the stairs and into the labyrinth of bookshelves.
“Twilight, please have the spell ready soon! I don’t know how much more I can run!” she begged to herself. She ducked next to one of the bookshelf corners, struggling to catch her breath as she leaned on it.
His roars interrupted her moment of calmness. He prowled through the library, and despite being on the other side of the enormous room, it sounded as if he was right next to her. She mustered all of her courage and slowly trotted away from her hiding spot. As she reached the end of the aisle however, she encountered the beast. He seemed to have not noticed her yet, scratching and sniffing at one of the other corridor floors.
“I’m so sorry, Moon…” she whispered, charging her horn. It shone a bright green as it surged with power. Its light grew stronger as she pointed it at the wolfpony. It made a terribly loud racket as it charged up, alerting the beast. He turned around to face the filly, slobber pouring out with every breath.
He roared with great ferocity as he scraped his claw against the ground. It made a high-pitched scratching noise, kinda like when somepony scrapes chalk against a chalkboard. With one last howl, it raced at the filly.
“Now!” she shouted, unleashing the pent-up magic stored within her. Like a sniper bullet it darted right into the wolf, knocking him back heavily. The magic bolt wasn’t done, however, as it wrapped around him like a rope, trapping him for the time being. He hollered in frustration, pressing outwards on the magical rope. Little cracks formed on the constraints as he struggled.
“Yes!” Sweetie Belle bellowed, leaping high into the air. Her proud cheers were soon quenched as Wolfmoon tore at one of the glowing straps. “Oh, come on!” she squealed, sprinting right by her previously pony friend. He roared out as she did so, tearing away another one of the ropes. She galloped out of the library hastily, looking back every now and then. “I’m so sorry, Moon!” she shouted down the hall. He responded with an angry screech. She sighed sadly, speeding through the hallways as if every second was her last.
“Look out!” Apple Bloom called. She did not call out in time however, as the two slammed head first into each other. She fell over onto the floor on her back, yelping out loudly.
“A-Apple Bloom?!” Sweetie gasped, before picking up and tightly hugging her friend. “Oh my gosh, it’s so good to see you!” She eventually let go of the embrace. “I got Moon tied up right now, but he won’t be down for long! We need to find Scootaloo and plan out a way to last until Twilight can finish the spell!”
“Right!” Apple Bloom replied. She grabbed Sweetie Belle’s hoof and dragged her closely behind. “Scootaloo must be close Ah bet!” She went from a slow trot to a determined gallop, dashing through the hallways and corridors.
As the duo reached the end of a path, they were suddenly charged into by an orange blur, sending them straight to the ground. With further inspection, they had slammed right into Scootaloo, tired and afraid. Beads of sweat dripped down her face as she groaned, stepping up to her hooves gingerly.
“Girls?!” the orange pegasus asked excitedly, standing over them. “Oh my gosh, I found you two!” She leaped backwards, hoisting them up onto their hooves. “I’ve been planning a way to trap him! But we only have one shot at it, you with me?!” The other two fillies nodded, scurrying through the hallways. “You gotta trust me on this one; this’ll hold him back for a while!”
“Are you sure? Is that plan that good?” Sweetie Belle questioned.
“It’s better than anything else we have now! A plan is better than no plan!” Scootaloo retorted, creaking open the door to a rather big storage closet. She waved a hoof, beckoning them to join her. They did just that, cautiously trotting into the room. Sweetie Belle lit up her horn, illuminating the dank dark space.
There wasn’t much within the chamber. Some cleaning supplies were scattered across the room, most likely from the excursion Scootaloo had in there during her hiding. In the center were two spools, one of chains and the other of rope. Both were in very mint condition, almost never used. Scootaloo’s eyes glowed brightly and her smile widened.
“We’re gonna tie ‘im up?” Apple Bloom asked curiously, grasping the rope within her hooves.
“Yeah! Sweetie Belle can contain him with her magic, you can throw the rope around him as if he was a bull, then I’ll swoop in and wrap the chains around him with my blazing speed! It should keep him occupied long enough for Twilight to finish the spell!” Scootaloo explained, pulling the chain by one end with her mouth. “It’ll be easy!” she mumbled around the chain.
“Are you crazy?!” Sweetie Belle shrieked, the light from her horn brightening from her outburst before subsiding back to its previous intensity. “Last time I tried to contain him, it only lasted a minute or two! I barely made it out of there alive! And you expect us to tie him up?!” Scootaloo nodded nonchalantly, letting the chain drop from her mouth.
“We’ll be fine, Sweetie Belle! Besides, you’re the one that’s gonna be at a distance! I’m gonna be the one getting up close and personal with Wolfmoon!” Scootaloo replied. The other two stared at her with odd looks.
“‘Wolfmoon’?” Apple Bloom said, holding back a couple of small chuckles. Sweetie Belle did the same. Scootaloo’s cheeks flushed a light pink.
“Nevermind that!” She pouted. “Right now we need to act. Twilight needs a clear target to cast the spell on. This is our only chance. Now help me with this chain.” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom rolled their eyes, one grabbing the center and the other grabbing the opposite end of the chain. “Apple Bloom, wrap the rope around your belly so we don’t have to make another trip.” The farmer nodded, swinging it around her torso.
“I still have my doubts about this…” Sweetie Belle vocalized her doubts, her ears edging downwards slightly.
“If it’ll make you feel any better, stay as far back as possible and cast the spell, okay?” Scootaloo requested.
“I was planning to anyway, and that doesn’t make me feel any better!” Sweetie Belle retorted, groaning as the three hoisted the chain out of the room and into the hallway. It clinked with every move they made, the unrestrained chains swinging back and forth. “Where to?”
“The throne room, there’s plenty of space there,” Scootaloo commanded, pulling on the end of the chain. “At least, I hope so.” Her utterance made Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom fill with worry as they traveled along the walls of the corridors. Every time they peeked around one of the corners, they stood there for a moment, before continuing on their journey.
Eventually they arrived at the throne room. As Scootaloo reached out for the door handle, her ears perked up at the sound of heavy growls emanating from within. Scootaloo was taken aback, grabbing the other two and hiding beside the door.
“What’re ya doin’?! Let’s trap ‘im already!” Apple Bloom chastised.
“He’s in there! He’s going to find us!” Sweetie Belle quietly explained.
“He will, if you don’t shut up!” Scootaloo scolded, cracking the door open just a tad. Contained within the room was none other than Wolfmoon, prowling about the area. Many torn pages and book covers from Twilight’s research were scattered across the floors. Claw marks scraped across every bit of cloth inside the chamber. The look in his topaz eyes said it all; he was hungry and hunting, trying to lure out his prey.
“We keep the same plan, alright? No faltering!” Scootaloo declared, standing to her hooves as she held the chain tightly within her mouth. “Sweetie Belle, cast the spell, then Apple Bloom wraps him in the ropes. I’ll chain him up right after,” she commanded with a muffled tone.
With a frightened gasp, Sweetie Belle began charging her horn up once more. She took a huge breath, before galloping into the throne room. Immediately Wolfmoon’s attention was caught by the filly, the wolf letting out an angered roar. She shrieked, unleashing her magic as it sped off like a jet out of her horn and into him. A bright green rope tied around him, keeping him constrained.
“Now!” Scootaloo shouted. Apple Bloom charged in, swinging the rope in her mouth, which she had turned into a lasso. She followed up Sweetie Belle’s magic blast, wrapping the rope tightly around Wolfmoon’s form, going under, around, and over him multiple times before running out of rope.
“My turn!” Scootaloo announced, grabbing the chain and struggling to move it, however due to how tightly Wolfmoon was tied up, she could take her time. She reached him, slowly restricting his movement even more with the chain. Finally, he was wrapped up completely. He struggled to break free, already breaking away all of the magical bindings Sweetie Belle had put on him.
“That should buy us enough time!” Apple Bloom said, hoof-bumping her fellow crusaders.
“Where is Twilight anyway?” Sweetie Belle wondered.
“Right here!” Twilight called, barging through one of the castle doors. Her horn was overcharged with pure magic, the tome levitating in front of her. She uttered the magical words. “Circumdedisti me omni virtute, in duos distincta. Ut vivant, et non per se!” The inscription within the tome illuminated a bright green. Twilight’s horn radiated a bright pink, unleashing all of the magic pent up within. It blasted off like a cannon, shooting directly at Wolfmoon.
A pale white glow enveloped him, which encouraged him to roar more and struggle just as much. Just like a needle, the glow inserted itself into his form. He let out shrieks of agony as the spell continued to work its magic, stinging him everywhere imaginable.. The rope finally broke away, but just as it did, the magical light began splitting them apart! The pain only intensified with every second, never letting up. Blood-curdling tears and bone-breaking noises joined in with the wolf’s pain-fueled howls. Eventually, he separated into two beings, the light fading away from both of them. There lay both Fullmoon and his wolfish form, both knocked out cold from the struggle.
Fullmoon was free.
“Moon!” the crusaders screamed, rushing over to their poor friend. Apple Bloom leaned an ear near his muzzle. A light breath came out of him.
“Phew, he’s alive!” Apple Bloom sighed, before backing away as she heard the breaths of the wolf.
“So is he!” Scootaloo added, scooting backwards along with Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle followed.
“Fullmoon is now two separate beings,” Twilight said, trotting up to the crusaders. “In a way, they are both the same entity, but different at the same time.” Her horn lit up once again. A metal cage slowly formed around Wolfmoon. “This is so that he--it, won’t attack us. As for Fullmoon…” She stared down at the sleeping colt. “We should get him to bed. He’s had a long night.”
“Right,” the three fillies replied in unison, lifting him up gingerly. He showed no signs of response, breathing lightly. They looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
“His body is trying to regain its energy after the transformation,” Twilight explained. “The transformation into a wolfpony is very painful and exhausting. Which is why it’s even more important to let him rest.”
“We’ll give him all he needs. What about Wolfmoon?” Sweetie Belle asked, her eyes narrowing to the snoozing beast.
“I’ll be running some tests on it. Maybe on Fullmoon too. Celestia knows what kind of side effects this will have on both of them,” Twilight answered, before a yawn escaped her muzzle. “But I think we all need some rest, including you three.” As if on cue, the crusaders let out a few yawns of their own.
“You’re right,” Scootaloo said, beginning to struggle to lift the colt up. “Come on, let’s get him to bed before we collapse ourselves.” The other fillies nodded in agreement, travelling to Fullmoon’s room. Slowly and carefully did they slide him into the bed, lightly swishing the blanket over his form.
“Let’s get some sleep. Who knows when he’ll wake up,” Scootaloo stated. Sweetie Belle bobbed her head up and down in agreement, following the pegasus to the door. Apple Bloom, however, stood in the same spot, unwavering. “Aren’t you coming?”
“No, somepony needs ta’ watch over ‘im. Ya heard Twilight, the spell could have side effects!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, pulling up a stool. “Ah’ll call ya if Ah need any help.” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle rolled their eyes, but accepted her actions.
“Alright. Come on, Scootaloo, let’s leave them,” Sweetie Belle said, trotting out the door. Scootaloo followed suit, the door lightly clicking as it shut. The apple farmer sighed, staring at the sleeping colt.
“Yer finally free. We all are,” she whispered. And as far as she knew, she was right.
The crusaders waited and waited outside of Fullmoon’s room. Over the next couple of days, other than a few jitters and movements in his bed, he hadn’t woken up. Twilight was constantly examining both him and his recently-separated wolf side. The tests hadn’t reaped any fruit just yet.
It was day three of Fullmoon’s slumber, and worry filled the three young fillies. Sweetie Belle paced the halls, Scootaloo flittered her wings nervously, and Apple Bloom pressed her ear against the door, just in case she heard anything. Twilight was taking notes inside of Fullmoon’s room, with many different devices, designed by herself, hooked up to him. The trio were distraught and sleep-deprived, especially after the events of the last full moon. For the most part, ever since then it has been nothing but a long string of silence among them.
“When is he gonna wake up?!” Sweetie Belle squealed, breaking the long-lasting silence. Apple Bloom shushed her quietly as she leaned on the door. As usual, all she heard were soft but loud breaths coming from the colt sleeping soundly.
“Still nothin’...” she muttered, slumping onto the ground. She lay back against the door, staring up at the ceiling.
“Still?” Scootaloo said sadly, sighing out loud. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom followed with their own sighs.
“She better not be doin’ anythin’ bad with our friend in there!” Apple Bloom vocalized worriedly, banging the back of her head against the door hard, her pink bow bouncing slightly.
“I’m not,” Twilight suddenly spoke up, cracking the door open with her magic. “You three can come in, if you so wish.” The fillies jumped at the opportunity, flooding into the bedroom hastily.
There Fullmoon was, lying there on the bed on his back. Over his muzzle was a breathing mask, his chest rising and falling every couple of seconds. He slept so soundly, as if this was the first time he’s had proper sleep in years. He was at peace.
“Moon!” the three called, rushing over to his bedside. They each placed a hoof on their friend’s, closing their eyes and bowing their heads in sympathy. After a few moments, they pulled away.
“How is he, Twilight?” Scootaloo asked, staring at him.
“Better than he was a couple of days ago, that’s for sure,” Twilight replied, laying an ear to his chest. Thump. Thump. Thump, his heart went. She levitated a notepad and quill, scribbling down onto it. “When I first began taking care of him, I thought he wasn’t going to make it. The process could’ve easily scrambled his brain. If it did, there would be no way to bring him back.” Just the thought of it made the crusaders cringe, the fillies flinching backwards slightly.
“However, as luck would have it, he survived just fine. His body is in a sort of rejuvenation phase. Even after three years, or at least what he told me, he hasn’t gotten used to changing forms,” Twilight commented, continuing to write away at the paper.
“I don’t blame him. Did you hear the sounds his body made when he changed that night?” Sweetie Belle shivered. She cringed with every bone-breaking sound that replayed over and over in her head.
“I hypothesize that this comatose state was also caused by the spell itself. While reading up on its contents,” Twilight brought over a pile of papers with her magic, sticking it in front of the crusaders’ eyes, “I found that the spell could’ve potentially destroyed both the wolf and him entirely.”
“Wh-Wh-What?!” the three cried in unison, hopping upwards simultaneously. Twilight nodded somberly.
“Even now his body is under critical stress due to what has occured. The healing process has a possibility of failing. He might stay in a coma forever,” Twilight regretfully stated, bowing her head down. “I’ll do all I can to make sure he wakes up safe and sound.”
“Please!” the crusaders screeched. Twilight jumped backwards slightly from their worry.
“Please stop yelling,” Twilight said. The foals bowed their heads shamefully. She sighed. “Look, I’ll do everything that I can, but this is new even for me. Besides the tome that you four brought me, there’s no recorded evidence of this ever happening in the past.”
“Alright, Twi,” Apple Bloom replied sadly, her ears drooping downwards. “But ya better be lookin’ for something to wake him!”
“Yeah!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle affirmed, standing proudly next to the farmer filly.
“I’ll do my best, though I can’t make any promises,” Twilight swapped her attention to the tome, flipping through its pages hastily. Her eyes shifted towards the crusaders, then back to the book, then back to them once more. “Give me some more time with him. I’ll tell you if I notice anything.” They huffed, but accepted her command, trotting slowly out of the room into the hallway.
“Never gonna wake up!?” Sweetie Belle suddenly squealed, shock lining her face. “He’s our friend! What’re we gonna do without him!?”
“There’s gotta be a way to fix this, right?!” Scootaloo wondered, adjusting her attention to Apple Bloom. “You got a plan, right, Apple Bloom?!” The farmer filly just dropped her head regretfully, shaking it back and forth.
“All we can really do is wait,” she said, sighing. Scootaloo was taken aback, stumbling backwards.
“You don’t have a plan?! Not even a crazy one like when we were looking for our cutie marks?!” Sweetie Belle squeaked, slapping her hooves on the farmer’s shoulders, shaking her rapidly. Apple Bloom threw her off, making her fall onto her back.
“This is different, y’all!” Apple Bloom refuted, shaking off her slight dizziness. “This is our friend we’re talkin’ about! This is his life! If we mess it up, he might never come back! We can’t do anything but wait, it’s the safest option!” Sweetie Belle hopped back up to her hooves. Both her and Scootaloo were shocked by her sudden outburst, staggering backwards.
“So was going into the Everfree Forest and looking for that book. He could’ve died there too. He almost did, for Celestia’s sake!” Scootaloo scolded, stomping up to her and poking a hoof in her chest. “Those wolves were out for his blood! Yet we still took a chance to try and save him!”
“And we couldn’t! He had ta’ save ‘imself!” Apple Bloom argued, poking her right back.
“What about our own lives too!?” Sweetie Belle questioned, stepping into the argument. “We could have easily been mauled by Wolfmoon! We had the opportunity to trot away and we didn’t, because we cared for him! We risked our own lives to--”
“His life isn’t ours to risk!” Apple Bloom interrupted, slamming the floor with her hoof.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were taken aback by her sudden outburst. They gazed at each other with startled faces, before returning their attention to the ranting pony.
“Don’t y’all see that?! You’re talkin’ ‘bout a life that isn’t ours! His blood will be on our hooves if we do somethin’ and fail at it!” Tears slowly welled up within her eyes. “Ah can’t take losin’ someone so close ta’ us…” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stared at each other. Eventually, their own tears began to form, small whimpers escaping them. Quiet sobs came from Apple Bloom every now and then, which were silenced by a sudden hug from the other two fillies.
“You’re right,” Scootaloo weeped.
“Yeah. We’re sorry,” Sweetie Belle added, tightening her already strong grip around her neck. Apple Bloom’s expression slowly adjusted from a sad frown to a relieved smile, the filly returning the gesture.
“Thank y’all… thank y’all both,” she whispered. The embrace lasted for what felt like forever, their hearts beating as one. Eventually, they seperated. “Do y’all agree ta’ wait and see what happens?” They nodded, gingerly wiping away at their eyes. “Then it’s settled.”
“Cutie Mark Crusaders! Yeah!” they shouted in unison as they high hoofed.
The Running of the Leaves had come and gone. In the span of those few days, seven parties had been thrown at Sugar Cube Corner. Despite their other friends and family members attending, none of the crusaders went. They were too focused on the health and safety of their comatose friend. Regardless of their feelings on the matter, and desperately wanting to try something, they remained vigilant, waiting patiently.
The rather somber fillies journeyed across Ponyville. Light grey clouds littered the skies. With every step the crusaders took, dried up autumn leaves crunched under their tiny hooves. The streets were rather barren, other than the occasional earth pony tending to the flora or a pegasus zooming through the sky. Every now and then an acquaintance of the group waved at them, which was met with a sorrowful wave back.
They reached the town square after a bit more quiet walking. Brushing off some of the dry leaves covering up one of the big benches, they plopped themselves down on it. No pony let out a peep as they stared off in different directions. The sadness and gloom surrounding the area intensified with each second. A weight in their chest formed, getting heavier and heavier as their minds wondered.
“Graah! I can’t take this anymore!” Scootaloo finally piped up, flinging herself off the bench and onto her hooves. “We’ve been doing absolutely nothing about him for six days! How much longer do we have to wait?!” Sweetie Belle hopped off her seat, placing a hoof on Scootaloo’s mouth, shushing her.
“I’m sure it won’t be long now, Scootaloo,” the marshmallow filly calmly replied, retracting her hoof. “Twilight wouldn’t leave us hanging on purpose. There must be some reason.” Apple Bloom nodded in response.
“Then why don’t we find out?” Apple Bloom suggested, pointing at the towering castle in the distance. “It isn’t too far away! Come on!” She broke into a sprint, leaving them in the dust.
“Wait up!” Sweetie Belle called, galloping behind her. Scootaloo followed close behind, their hooves searing with pain as they finally caught up with Apple Bloom. It wasn’t long before they finally reached the castle.
“You could have… given us a warning...” Scootaloo gasped, kneeling down as she caught her breath.
“Quit yer whinin’. Let’s just go inside,” Apple Bloom replied, trotting into the giant entry way. The other two went in right after.
The throne room of the castle looked like it hadn’t been touched in days. Dust bunnies crowded within corners, fighting for space. The centerpiece of the room, the Cutie Map, was the only thing in the room that seemed completely clean, reflecting everything off its shiny surface. With every step the crusaders took they almost slipped on a piece of paper.
“Clearly somepony doesn’t know how to properly fix up their castle,” Sweetie Belle commented, illuminating her horn and levitating some of the papers away. In front of her now lay a path, the sheets acting as a border for it. She travelled along it, with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo following. They entered through one of the four doorways, nearly losing themselves in the labyrinth once again.
“Over here!” Apple Bloom called, running to Fullmoon’s room entrance. The other two tailed behind, standing in line in front of the door. “So uh… who’s gonna go first?” She was met with a resounding forward push into the door from her friends. She rolled her eyes as she reached for the knob.
“Waugh!” Twilight yelped suddenly. Her shout was followed with a loud thump from inside the bedroom.
“Twilight!” the crusaders cried in unison, barging into the door as it flew open with their sheer force. They fell onto the ground, forming a dogpile. After a couple of pained coughs, they stood up and examined the situation.
Twilight was there, lying flat on her back. Her sleepy eyes stared up at the ceiling, blinking rapidly to clear their blurry sight. An open notepad along with a dull pencil lay on her belly, and a wooden stool rolled gently in a circle near her.
“Twilight?” Scootaloo questioned, freeing herself from the pile.
“Hmm?” Twilight groggily answered, blinking slowly, one eye after the other. “Oh, hey girls.”
“What happened? We heard a loud thump and we found you here,” Sweetie Belle asked, standing up gingerly, as did Apple Bloom.
“I must’ve dozed off while watching over your friend,” Twilight replied, a sigh escaping her. “Sadly no other updates on him. He’s been the same ever since the last time you showed up. I’m afraid he may not ever wake up.” Pain suddenly coursed through the crusaders’ chests as Twilight stopped talking, making their faces contort.
“But he has to wake up!” Scootaloo whined, grappling onto Twilight’s foreleg with her hooves.
“Yeah! He’s been wantin’ ta’ cure himself fer’ years! He can’t die now!” Apple Bloom added, clinging onto Twilight’s other foreleg.
“Don’t you have a spell or something that can wake him up!? Maybe something in that creepy tome!?” Sweetie Belle begged, standing firm in front of Twilight. Her bright green eyes began to fill with tears, staring up at the alicorn. After what felt like forever, Twilight let out a heavy breath as she struggled to get the two foals off of her.
“I’ve already gone through everything. It doesn’t seem like anything I have can help this type of coma,” Twilight begrudgingly said, bowing her head down.
A sudden stir from the bed spooked the four ponies, their attention quickly shifting to the distraction. Fullmoon was there, frantically moving and breathing rapidly. His hooves gripped the blanket tightly, his teeth clenched just as much.
“Moon!” Sweetie Belle cried, rushing over to his side, with the others following suit. “What’s going on with him?!”
“I don’t know!” Twilight responded, shuffling through the pages of notes. “There’s nothing in here that talks about this!” The colt continued to flail and spasm.
“G-Get away from me!” he shrieked, letting his forelegs fling about. One of them barely grazed Apple Bloom’s muzzle, making her stumble backwards.
“He must be having a nightmare!” Scootaloo spouted.
“How do we wake him up?!” Sweetie Belle asked desperately.
“Maybe we can, uh…” Twilight mumbled. It all suddenly came to a stop as Fullmoon suddenly awoke, shooting up into the air.
“Stay a-away!” he shouted, his eyelids opening wide as he breathed heavily. He continued to let out short breaths as he looked in all directions confusingly. The four girls stared at him, shocked. “Uh… what’s everypony staring at me for?”
“Moon!” All three crusaders cheered, jumping on the bed and locking him in an intense bear hug. He let out a small choke as they grappled onto him, struggling to loosen their grip.
“Girls… can’t… breathe…” he whispered, his face turning slightly purple. They giggled awkwardly, splitting away from the hug. He gasped for air as he fell backwards in the bed.
“Yer okay!” Apple Bloom clapped her forehooves together happily, a bright smile spread across her face.
“Uh… yeah, of course I am? Why wouldn’t I be?” he wondered, sitting back up. He shuffled to the edge of the bed, his back legs hanging off the side.
“Well, you’ve been asleep for over a week! We were kind of worried!” Sweetie Belle replied, giggling to herself.
“Over a week!?” Fullmoon gasped, his eyes widening. “Why!?”
“Don’t you remember what happened?” Scootaloo asked, hopping up onto the bed and sitting next to him.
“Um…” Fullmoon drifted off, searching through his mind. “It’s all really hazy so… no, I don’t,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Maybe this’ll help,” Twilight chimed in, stepping towards the door. “Follow me.” She gently opened the exit and walked out.
“Come on, Moon,” Apple Bloom said, following Twilight out.
“I’m coming…” Fullmoon whispered, hopping off the bed. He was greeted with very weak legs, nearly stumbling down to the floor. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo rushed to his aid, the colt putting a foreleg around each of them.
“We gotcha, don’t worry.” Sweetie Belle smiled weakly, the three foals trotting out of the room.
“What…” Fullmoon began, sighing weakly. “What are we gonna see?”
“I dunno,” Scootaloo replied quickly, “you’ll have to ask Twilight.” Fullmoon lifted his legs from around the two fillies. He crawled up to Twilight’s side, a yawn escaping his mouth.
“What’re you…” he breathed lightly, “what’re you gonna show us?”
“You’ll see,” Twilight replied, keeping her gaze locked to the hallway. “How’re you feeling, Fullmoon?”
“Weak, tired, maybe a bit hungry, but other than that I can safely say I’m fine,” he said, yawning once more. “You said I was asleep for almost a week?”
“Over a week!” Sweetie Belle blurted out from behind him, before falling back to her friends.
“Right, over a week. Well, what did you do while I was asleep for that long?”
“Took notes, slept, took more notes.” Twilight yawned as well, clenching her eyes tightly for a moment to clear them. “Why do you ask?”
“Was just wondering,” he spoke quickly.
They travelled the castle in silence for the rest of the trip, well, Fullmoon and Twilight did. The fillies walking behind them bickered on and on to each other. But after a little bit more chatter, they finally arrived at their destination. A door, very similar to the ones that lined many of the walls, stood in front of them.
“In here.” Twilight beckoned, cracking the door open with her magic and trotting in. The foals followed her in, studying the room’s contents… or lack thereof.
The room was very barren. Little to no furniture was placed in the room; maybe a chair or two, but that was about it. Cobwebs and dust gathered in the corners, exemplifying the practical uselessness the space had. A large metal cage stood proudly in the center. A creature was inside of it, masked by the shadows of the poor lighting in the area.
“Why’d ya bring us in here?” Apple Bloom asked, nearly slamming her face into the wall.
“Look,” Twilight said, pointing at the cage. The shadowed figure shifted around slightly as they talked. Fullmoon’s curiosity got the better of him, the colt inching closer and closer to the cage.
“What’s in it?” he wondered, reaching a hoof between the bars. This caused a reaction from the figure. It stood up slowly, almost hitting the ceiling of the cage. It opened its eyes, their bright yellow color glowing in the shadows. It charged at Moon, resulting in him falling backwards onto his flank. As the towering form reached the end of the cage, it slammed into the bars. The dim light shined onto its physique, revealing itself to be Wolfmoon, as Scootaloo called it.
“What…?” Fullmoon whispered, confused. He rose to his hooves, staring eye to eye with the creature in front of him. “Is that… me?”
“Not anymore,” Scootaloo proudly stated, wrapping a foreleg around him. “Thanks to Twilight, you’re not a wolfpony anymore!”
“I-I’m… free?” His bewildered frown slowly formed into a bright smile. A sudden burst of energy flowed within him, his wings unfurling and flapping once, shooting him up into the air. “I’m free!” He gleefully laughed, zooming around the room wildly. “I’m free!” he repeated over and over. He finally landed, having exerted all of his energy. His smile only grew wider, the colt breathing heavily as he stared at the ground. “After all of these years…” Tears started to well up in his eyes, and in response, the crusaders wrapped him in a soft embrace.
“We’re so glad you’re happy, Moon,” Sweetie Belle stated, patting him on the back gently.
“Us too,” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo added, giggling to themselves. Fullmoon wiped the tears away from his eyes, splitting away from the hug as his smile was replaced with a blank expression. He turned around, facing the wolf he once was.
It was an odd feeling, gazing at himself, technically speaking. It was like looking in the reflection of a mirror. And he couldn’t take his eyes off of it; neither could the wolf. They stared into each other’s eyes for another minute, unmoving and inanimate, before Fullmoon finally broke the silence with a few head shakes.
“What are we gonna do with it?” he asked, stumbling backwards as the wolf wildly flailed at him, biting the metal bars and clawing the cage floor. It looked at him as if he was a snack.
“I… don’t really know yet,” Twilight responded, taking her own time to examine the wolf. “It’s too dangerous to keep here for too long. Although, maybe I could research it a bit more?” Twilight thought aloud, staring up at the ceiling.
“Celestia knows I don’t want to stay in here. Let’s go,” Fullmoon commanded, quickly trotting out of the barren room. The crusaders followed him out, Scootaloo looking back at the contained monster before Sweetie Belle pulled her out of there.
“So, what now?” Apple Bloom asked, looking at her friends.
“What now? We go on a quest to get Fullmoon a cutie mark!” Scootaloo exclaimed, patting him on the back. “Right, Fullmoon?”
“I dunno… Don’t you think I need some more rest? Not sure if I’m fit for going outside,” he remarked, stretching out his rather stiff wings.
“You’ll be fine, Moon. You’re already walking just fine!” Sweetie Belle mentioned, playfully punching him. He flinched slightly, rubbing the punched spot.
“Yeah, I guess--”
“Then let’s go!” Scootaloo interrupted, grabbing his hoof and rushing down the castle hallways.
“Scootaloo, wait!” the other crusaders called, charging after her.
“Where are we going?!” Fullmoon wailed out as he was forcefully dragged around town by Scootaloo. His back hooves stumbled and tripped over every other pebble on the ground, the colt struggling to keep his balance.
“To the Crusaders Clubhouse, of course!” Scootaloo replied excitedly, galloping through the streets of Ponyville. “We have to get you a cutie mark now that you’re cured!” The pegasus leapt over and under, and dodged and weaved around anything that dared to stand in her way as she sped through town. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle chased after the two fruitlessly. Barely, they reached them...a couple of minutes after the pegasi arrived at the clubhouse. By the time they climbed the stairs to the entryway, they fell onto the ground with exhaustion.
“You… you could’ve waited for us!” Sweetie Belle squeaked out.
“Or… or walked with us!” Apple Bloom added, standing up and dusting herself off. Fullmoon wasn’t much better off compared to them, leaning on the wall right next to the pink door. He gasped for air as he stared up at the sky, before falling onto his back. If he was breathing any deeper, he’d inhale the sun that stood in the center of the light blue.
“What’s his deal? He used to be able to run miles without breaking a sweat!” Scootaloo whined. She was promptly smacked in the back of the head by a pure white hoof, a yelp quickly following.
“He ain’t a wolfpony anymore, remember?!” Apple Bloom stated, glaring daggers at the tearful pegasus before hoisting Fullmoon back onto his hooves.
“That’s gonna take a while to get used to,” Fullmoon whispered, wiping the sweat off of his brow before strolling into the clubhouse. The others soon followed with Scootaloo taking the lead as she stood up at the podium.
“Alright! Operation Get Fullmoon a Cutie Mark is a go!” she proudly announced, raising her hoof up in the air.
“Where would we even start with something like that?” Fullmoon questioned, placing his hoof just under his chin.
“Well, what do ya like ta’ do fer fun?” Apple Bloom replied, her and Sweetie Belle staring at him with expectant eyes. He let out a small ‘hmm’ as he dug into his brain. Awkward silence filled the room for the next couple of seconds. Finally he broke the silence with a shrug.
“I dunno,” he uttered simply.
“W-what?!” the three fillies cried in unison, Scootaloo’s wings unfurling with complete shock.
“So you do nothing for fun?!” Sweetie Belle shrieked as she flipped backwards onto her flanks.
“Ah mean… Ah guess it makes sense,” Apple Bloom butted in. “He told us ‘imself, didn’t he?” Scootaloo clacked her hoof on the wooden podium.
“He did!” the orange pegasus bellowed. “Back in Twilight’s castle. He said he didn’t know what to do once he was cured. Well, here we are!”
“It’s true…” he whimpered out.
“Nothin’ wrong with that!” Apple Bloom patted him gently on the head before standing next to Scootaloo. “We’re gonna help ya out! We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders! We’ve never had an unhappy customer!” she gloated.
“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle chimed in. “At the very least, we’ll set you on the right track towards your cutie mark!” She joined the other two at the podium. They grinned at the colt expectantly.
“All three of you have helped me so much already,” Fullmoon whispered, his ears flopping down. “Sticking with me through everything that happened, including a few nights ago when I changed. That’s more than enough.”
“Of course not!” Scootaloo answered, leaping over the podium and landing right in front of him. “We would never leave you for any reason! You’re still our friend, and friends stick together!” Fullmoon sniffled, a small grin spreading across his face as he smeared a small tear across his cheek.
“Thanks, guys,” he said with a smile, pulling all three of them into a quick hug. His previously somber expression was replaced with one of determination. “Where should we start, then?!” he asked excitedly.
“Well, there are plenty of options!” Scootaloo announced, kicking the wall behind her gently with her hind leg. A long and wide roll of slightly torn paper unfolded from the ceiling and tumbled to the ground. Drawn on it were many different pictures in a cascade of colors, most of the options being crossed out, but still visible.
“We’ve tried many, many things to get our cutie marks,” Sweetie Belle commented, her eyes widening at the amount of content within the parchment. “Way more than I thought!”
“A-and these are all opportunities for my cutie mark?” Fullmoon groaned, staggering backwards slightly.
“And much, much more!” Apple Bloom replied, pushing him towards the list. “The possibilities are endless! You could become a famous sculptor, or an amazin’ martial artist!”
“Or a monster hunter!” Scootaloo butted in. Her clubmates gave her odd looks, Fullmoon’s face contorting with fright. “What’re you looking at me like that for? I didn’t mean you!” He let out a heavy hearted breath he didn’t even know he was holding. “You’re not a wolf anymore ya know!”
“Point is, there’s absolutely no chance of us not finding you a cutie mark! It is our talent, after all.” Sweetie Belle boasted proudly, a prideful smile crossing her face. “We’ll have your cutie mark very soon! We promise.”
“I’ll hold you guys to that.” Fullmoon smirked, gliding his hoof under each picture nice and slow. “So many options… how could I choose?!”
“Easy! Eenie Meenie Miney Moe!” Scootaloo suggested, swaying her front hooves in rhythm with the words.
“Uh… okay?” Fullmoon muttered, tapping his hooves on the roll of paper in rhythm to the nursery rhyme, allowing the tune to play in his head. Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe, catch a manticore by the toe… After a couple of moments, he jabbed his right forehoof into a small grey-colored picture of two swords striking each other.
“Swordplay!” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exclaimed happily, though Apple Bloom didn’t reciprocate their enthusiasm, only reacting with a severe cringe and a groan.
“You can get a cutie mark in swordplay?” Fullmoon inquired, trotting off of the parchment.
“We dunno!” Scootaloo bluntly stated. “But it could be your talent! You never know until you try it!”
“Girls, don’t ya remember the last time we tried swordplay?” Apple Bloom interjected, staring at the two with a look of concern and fright. “Scootaloo had ta’ get four stitches on her wing ‘cause Sweetie Belle picked too long of a blade!”
“Still got the scar!” the orange filly boasted, stretching out her wing to display her aged wound; a small but severe looking bald spot on the bottom of her wing, the skin having been completely damaged beyond repair.
“That ain’t somethin’ ta’ be proud of!” Apple Bloom whined. “The point is, what if Fullmoon hurts himself or hurts one of us?”
“It’ll be fine, Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle asserted, pulling Fullmoon close to her side with one leg. “We’ll be staying a safe distance away when we aren’t participating, if that makes you feel any better.”
“Well… okay… but don’t come cryin’ ta’ me if you get hurt!” Apple Bloom trembled.
“Then it’s settled! We’re starting off with swordplay!” Scootaloo announced, hopping over to the group and putting her hoof in the middle of them. Sweetie Belle gladly joined in, and Apple Bloom hesitantly put hers down too. Their eyes slowly drifted over to meet Fullmoon’s, expecting the same.
“W-what?” he questioned.
“Aren’t you gonna join us?” Sweetie Belle asked, stifling a small giggle.
“O-Oh, right!” he stammered, placing his hoof on top of Sweetie Belle’s. A couple of moments later, all four of them raised their hooves in the air and proudly bellowed, “Go, Crusaders!”
The light pitter-patter of hooves echoed between the towering bookshelves of Twilight’s library. The princess herself slowly trotted through the aisles and stairways of the cavernous room. The Taxus Tome floated gingerly in front of her in her magic, illuminated by a light lavender aura coming from her horn. Her eyes scanned through the book, over and over. Every now and again she’d use her magic to turn the page.
Ever since the incident involving Fullmoon and his other self, she had gotten little to no sleep, nor had she eaten much. Nothing else was more important than researching the fascinating phenomenon. She had no time to lose in figuring out all of the secrets of the book.
She scurried over to a wooden desk lit up only by a small table lamp just in the corner of it. Piled on it were heaps upon heaps of paper, and scribbled all over each sheet were notes, notes, and more notes from just that one book. Twilight smiled as she levitated another paper onto a smaller stack next to the other towering piles.
“Many more to go,” Twilight muttered with a tired huff, pulling out a chair next to a large table and sitting on it. She let her magic dissipate, the book gently landing on the table.
Something odd caught her eye as she leaned her head closer to one of the pages in the volume. Stained very faintly on the page seemed to be other words, just below the ones that were written in plain black ink. She hummed softly before she came up with an idea.
Her horn charged up again quickly, before shining a luminescent purple light onto the tome. The letters she spotted lit up brightly.
“Invisible ink? ...Taxus was a genius!” Twilight squealed excitedly, quickly flipping through all the pages. All of them had some sort of writing, all in invisible ink. “There’s so much more to write down!” With that utterance she got to work, frantically scribbling down more notes to add onto the pile.
Located in the far corner of Ponyville was a quaint little shack surrounded by a moat of water littered with lily pads and soaked leaves. Small lamps with fireflies in them hung from somewhat rusted chains, their light dimmed by the sun hanging high in the sky. A creaky wooden stairway led to the entrance of the house. Small but deep cut marks patterned the door, which had a diagonal opening forcefully cut into it near the top as a window. The porch was very dusty, looking as if it hadn’t been used in years. On the walls of both sides of the doorway hung open display cabinets full of many swords, new and rusty.
“How long has this place been here?” Fullmoon questioned, trotting alongside his friends to a small building in front of them.
“We dunno! Looks pretty old though! And the guy who lives here also looks pretty old!” Scootaloo commented, snickering to herself.
“Yeah! Bet the old coot’s been ‘round longer than Granny Smith!” Apple Bloom added, joining in on the laughter. Their fun time was immediately interrupted by a light bap on the head with a wooden stick. The two whimpered in pain.
“I heard that! Old coots have feelings too, ya know,” a shrill ancient voice spoke. The quadrio turned around to face the source.
Staring down at the four with his teal eyes was the wielder of the stick: an old, dark red stallion. Wrinkles decorated his face and body, looking as if he just stepped out of an hour-long bath. His mane, colored a faded purple, extended all the way down to his neck, barely hanging off of it. His tail was extremely short in comparison. However, his most defining feature was his lack of a right wing, replaced only by a tiny stub where the wing would be. His left wing was the exact opposite, left completely untouched and healthy.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo yelped, leaping behind the other two foals in fright.
“Hi, Mr. Cumulus!” Sweetie Belle waved, bowing her head for a moment.
“Greetings, youngin’,” he replied, patting her head gently. “Sharpen ye sword skills any since I last saw y’all?”
“Not… really, sadly.” Sweetie sighed, pulling the two fillies out from behind her. “But I do have a new potential student for you!” She shoved Fullmoon in front of her, nearly slamming into the elder.
“Eh?” Cumulus stammered, turning his attention towards the colt. “Well ‘ello there, mister. What’s your name?”
“F-Fullmoon, sir,” he murmured, bowing for him.
“Son, there’s no need for formalities like that.” Cumulus chuckled, raising his head up with a shaky hoof.
“Alright, s-sir.” Fullmoon stood back up.
“We were wondering if you could teach him swordplay for a chance at his cutie mark!” Sweetie Belle announced, pointing at his blank flank.
“Didn’t y’all three try it before?” the elder asked, a hoof scratching the five o’clock shadow on his chin.
“Yeah, we did…” Scootaloo whined, rubbing the sore spot on her noggin.
“Didn’t go too well…” Apple Bloom commented.
“Speak for yourselves! I loved it!” Sweetie Belle proudly boasted, charging up a lime green magic in her horn. One of the swords in the display lit up and zoomed over next to her. She swung it around wildly. The other three foals ducked for cover as the weapon flailed in the air.
Sweetie’s sudden outburst was interrupted by one swift strike against her weapon. Her sword went flying, stabbing into the dirt ground. Cumulus stood there, broadsword clamped within his wing skillfully.
“Your technique is off, Sweetie Belle,” he said, trotting up the steps to his home. “Very off.” The white foal blushed as she followed him up, beckoning the others with a hoof. They came out of hiding slowly, chasing after them hesitantly before flooding into the house.
The inside of the house was even worse off than the exterior. Slashes of various sizes and severity ornamented the soggy floor and worn out walls. The window in the back of the room was cracked in all four corners, with more faint scratch marks lining the intersecting bars. Thick cobwebs dirtied the coves that joined the ceiling and walls, and dust bunnies occupied the bottom corners of each room.
“Forgive the mess,” Cumulus begrudgingly said, hanging his head low as he traveled through the cluttered room into the back. “I haven’t truly had time to focus on tidying up.”
“Not even to pick up trash?” Fullmoon questioned, nearly tripping over a small bottle of half-drank water. Cumulus shook his head before slinking away into the next area, which wasn’t any better, what with a stack of empty plastic bottles sitting next to a poorly made bed. The tableside drawer’s contents lay sprawled about in the half-opened container.
“Last room, I promise. Though this one is quite… hairy,” Cumulus stated, slowly opening the door to the next room.
Cats. Cats everywhere. By far this was the biggest room of them all, and most of the space inside was taken up by many colors and patterns of fur. Breeds of all kinds lay lazily about the floor, some just sitting there, and others playing around with small toys. Multiple litter boxes surrounded the area, one of them being nearly full and masking the space with an extremely foul odor.
The ponies, save for Cumulus, instantaneously raised a hoof to their muzzles, plugging their nostrils as they entered the feline pile. Except for Fullmoon. He stood in the doorway, his eyes shifting from cat to cat as an angry fire began to burn in his chest. One thought entered his mind as time began to slow around him.
Chase them. Chase them all.
He let out a low and throaty growl as he pounced at a white and black striped cat. The animal meowed in fright before leaping out of the way swiftly, only for its pursuer to jump up again. This time his hooves landed on its long tail, eliciting a pained yelp. In the corner of his amethyst eye, another cat caught his attention. He wasn’t so lucky with this attack, however, as the target darted out of the way. His face planted into the hardwood floor.
This gave the felines the chance to make the predator become prey as they all convened around him. Before he could examine what was happening, they all jumped onto him and scratched, slashed, and bit at him all over. He twisted and turned in the dogpile of fur as he was attacked, fruitlessly attempted to push all, if any, of them off.
Lime green magic finally surrounded his form, levitating him out of the furry fight and to the other side of the room next to the others. He stared at the pile for a split second before hiding behind Cumulus.
“Are you okay?!” Sweetie Belle whined, dispelling the magic charged in her horn. He responded with a gentle nod, shaking in his hooves.
“Why were you trying to attack my cats?” Cumulus questioned, rushing over to his pets to make sure they were okay.
“I-I don’t know what came over me…” Fullmoon admitted, rubbing the side of his head with a twitching hoof.
“Hey, Ah thought you were cured,” Apple Bloom blurted. Immediately Cumulus’ eyes narrowed at the colt with suspicion.
“Cured?” he queried.
“Uhh… Crusader meeting!” Scootaloo shouted as she pulled her friends into a huddle away from the elder.
“I was wondering the same thing! I thought you had this whole wolf business behind you!” Sweetie Belle whisper-screamed, staring deeply at Fullmoon.
“I-I thought so too! But… it felt different…”
“Different?” Scootaloo tilted her head.
“Yeah… as if I wasn’t myself. Well, I wasn’t myself before, but when I was cursed, it felt like a natural part of me.” His eyes lowered to the floor. “But then it felt like I was an entirely different pony… or creature.”
“Could be a side effect of the spell that Twilight cast!” Apple Bloom suggested, a hopeful smile on her face. “Let’s keep an eye on ‘im, alright girls? Fullmoon, if anythin’ happens that’s outta the ordinary involvin’ yer behavior, please tell us!” He nodded, the four breaking the huddle. “Sorry ‘bout that!”
“What was all that about?” Cumulus asked.
“Uhh… it’s a disorder!” Sweetie Belle stammered, chuckling nervously.
“A… disorder?”
“Yeah!” Scootaloo jumped in. “It was one that gave him dog-like tendencies. We thought we had it under control, but I guess not. Back to the drawing board it is, I suppose!”
“Uh… huh,” Cumulus muttered, before clearing his throat. “Anyways, I forgive you for the assault that you launched on my family.”
“Sorry about that,” Fullmoon whimpered. Cumulus said nothing more as he finished his journey through the felines’ home. The next doorway led to the outside; the backyard more specifically.
Compared to the front yard, the back was extremely tidy. Roomy, too. An expanse of land stretched out in front of them, covered in bright green grass with flowers sprinkled in here and there. In the middle of the field seemed to be an arena of sorts, with a bench on both middle sides. A pure faded white line cut through the middle, separating each side equally.
Beside each of the benches were worn down wooden barrels, with the handles of weapons sticking out of them. Upon closer inspection, thanks to Scootaloo’s curiosity, all of the handles were attached to expertly carved wooden blades. Names of differing lengths were carved into the sides of the blade; some in English, others in some odd gibberish that none of the foals understood.
“You said you wanted to learn swordplay?” Cumulus asked, approaching the barrel and pulling out one of the blades with his wing. “This is where you’ll be taught.”
“Woah woah woah,” Fullmoon faltered, stepping back slightly. “W-we’re only trying this for my cutie mark, right? Not as a vital skill?”
“Ya can’t rush gettin’ a cutie mark, ya know! We of all fillies would know that!” Apple Bloom replied, lightly jabbing the colt in the leg with a chuckle.
“The youngin’ is right,” Cumulus affirmed, turning around slightly to show off his own cutie mark… a white featureless cat head with a bag of open cat food right next to it.
“We were shocked too!” Scootaloo stated, giggling at his reaction.
“Why do you think I have so many cats?” Cumulus quipped, letting out his own chuckle as a pure white cat ran up to him and onto his back. Fullmoon was about to growl once more, but Scootaloo held a foreleg out in front of him like a gate. “I thought my talent would be swordplay too… but then I found this cat hungry and alone in an alleyway. I couldn’t just leave it there...so I took care of it. That’s how I got my cutie mark.”
“Your talent is taking care of cats?” Fullmoon speculated, tilting his head to the side.
“Yes and no. Swordplay has become a very important hobby to me, while my cutie mark represents my job. I run an adoption agency for these cats. Trust me, I had way more than what’s in there right now,” he explained, the cat on his back rubbing against his neck with a small purr. Cumulus returned the affection with a light pat on its head. “I could never give this one away, however. Haven and I have gone through so much together. He’s my one and only companion.”
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom let out a collective “aww” while Scootaloo looked away with a tear in her eye and a sniffle.
“That’s… really sweet,” Fullmoon admitted, his frown turning upside down into a bright smile.
“Yes, very,” Cumulus agreed. He whistled, and Haven leapt off his back, returning to the crowded cat room. “Anyways...” He tossed the weapon in his wing over to the colt. Fullmoon fumbled as the sword bounced off his hooves and onto the ground. Cumulus let out a gentle sigh as Fullmoon picked the weapon in his hooves, struggling to stand on his hind legs.
“First lesson,” Cumulus began, trotting up to him, and swiped the weapon from him with his wing. “Never hold a weapon in your hooves while on land, if you can prevent it. As an example, the young unicorn.” He pointed at Sweetie Belle. “She can easily hold the sword with her magic. Out of the three races, unicorns have the easiest time with swordplay--”
“Yup!” Sweetie Belle interrupted, enveloping another one of the swords with her magic. Cumulus had none of it, however, immediately smacking the wooden toy away with his own before glaring at the unicorn. Her cheeks flushed a bright pink as she backed away onto one of the benches. “I-I’ll just watch!” Her two friends quickly joined her, darting their eyes side to side.
“Right.” Cumulus let out a frustrated huff before returning his attention to Fullmoon. “As I was saying, unicorns have the easiest time with swordplay in terms of control. Pegasi, however, aren’t slouches either. If taught right, they can make up for what they lack in control with power and speed.” He unfolded Fullmoon’s wing forcefully, the young pegasus shivering slightly from the touch as the stallion examined the appendage.
“W-What are you doing?” Fullmoon groaned as chills travelled up his spine with each passing moment.
“Do you exercise your wings, young man? Besides flying, of course,” Cumulus probed, continuing his evaluation.
“Not… really, no. I’ve, uh, been distracted with that disorder issue.” He gazed over at the Crusaders, who sat on the bench listening to the conversation while having one of their own.
Cumulus grunted, releasing his tight grip as he backed away. “Your wings, while strong enough to carry you in flight, are frail. Carry this weapon in your wing.” He gently laid the item on the ground in front of the colt and backed away.
“My wings?” Fullmoon gulped, extending his right wing as he stared at the sword. Cumulus nodded as he pulled out another from the barrel with his own wing.
“When exercised properly, they are the strongest appendage of a pegasus’ body. Granted,” he gently wiggled the stub on his right side, “I’m at half the power I was at many years ago. One wing is all I need for what I like to do though. You still have both wings. Your versatility is staggering,” Cumulus explained, grinning down hopefully at his apprentice.
Fullmoon focused his attention back onto the sword, a hint of doubt outlining his features. Inhaling deeply, he bent over and grasped the handle with the majority of his wing, attempting to lift it up with one swift motion. For the most part, he succeeded, lifting the sword high up in the air… before faltering and the sword tilting backwards, slamming onto his back. He collapsed to the ground with a loud thud.
Cumulus let out a frustrated sigh as he helped him up. “This is going to be a long day,” he muttered under his breath. The Crusaders looked at each other with concerned expressions.
