The Shadow of the First Star

This is my first piece for MLP:FIM and I hope you'll forgive me if it's a little rough along the edges. I'll try my best to go back and fix errors or issues as I go, but major editing may have to wait until I've mostly finished the story. That said, I appreciate any kind of constructive criticism that you may have to offer. This story was mostly written on my iPad, which has been an...interesting experience to say the least. There are some things I love about it and some things I hate. Suffice to say, there are plenty of errors that spring from that alone, so if I miss any in the proofreading phase, feel free to let me know.

Chapter 1: The Big Bad Wolf

Few ponies ventured into the Everfree Forest willingly. It was a dangerous place after all. To ponies, such a place was plain unnatural. After all, a place where the seasons changed and the weather formed all on its own was extremely strange by anypony's standards. And that was nothing compared to the flesh-eating creatures that dwelled there, some of which were more than capable of enjoying a pony as a meal. No it was very safe to say that few ever went into the Everfree Forest. With so little of the vast and strange woodland explored, it was the perfect place to hide something. Unfortunately, there are some hidden things that are more than capable of making themselves found. Deep within the forest, a rocky cliff formed between two sections of the forest at different elevations. Either side of the cliff ultimately sloped down into a gentler hill, but the section of the rock face visible was strangely flat and smooth, almost as if it had been carved.

With a low crack, a single fissure marred the smoothness of that rock face. From within the darkness revealed by that fissure, a low growl emerged. With a loud thud of impact, the cliff side shuddered and the fissure branched out into several smaller cracks, spreading all across the otherwise smooth rock. Another growl and another thud and the fissure widened.

Fluttershy hummed a pleasant tune as she carried her charge across the gentle hills and between the fruit-laden trees of the Apple family's prized apple orchards. Settled into a carrier that the yellow Pegasus carried with her mouth was the Apple family's precious dog, Winona. Applejack had asked that Fluttershy treat the poor dog after she had injured her paw. Said injury now treated, it was Ponyville's resident animal expert's pleasure to return the beloved pet to her family.

Over another hill and the Apple family's homestead came into sight. Fluttershy smiled around the carrier handle in her mouth. While Applejack was nowhere in sight, Fluttershy did spy another pony whom she was just as happy to see in her opinion. The Apple family's eldest son, Big Macintosh was just stepping out of his home's front door. While his size, large even by Earth Pony stallion standards, might have made him somewhat intimidating, his soft spoken and gentle nature had quickly endeared him to the shy and quiet Pegasus. As he made his way into the front yard, Big Mac spotted Fluttershy as she made her approach and gave her a welcoming smile.

"Miss Fluttershy, it sure is nice to see ya. Bringin' Winona back are ya?"

"Yes, that's right," replied Fluttershy in her normal soft voice, barely a hint above a whisper, "She should be good as new in a few more days. Just make sure that she doesn't do anything too strenuous for about three more days."
"It's right kind of ya to do this for us and Ah'm sure that mah sister think's so too." Big Mac lowered his head to inspect the dog in her container. "While Ah'm sure that you had a lovely time with Miss Fluttershy, I reckon ya're glad to be back home."

The dog let out an enthusiastic bark as Big Macintosh opened the front of the container and let her loose into the yard. While moving with a slight limp favoring her bandaged paw, the family dog was nonetheless enthusiastic about her renewed freedom and romped happily through the grass. Fluttershy's soft giggle at the dog's antics was accompanied by Big Mac's low chuckle as the two of them watched Winona for a brief moment.

Big Mac turned to regard Fluttershy. "Ah have some work to do in the orchard, but y'all are welcome to help yerself to some of Granny's home-cookin' in the kitchen."

"Thank you very much, that's very kind of you," answered Fluttershy.

The red stallion was about to suggest that Fluttershy wouldn't be amiss in staying for dinner, but was interrupted before he could even open his mouth. A low sound halfway between a howl and a roar drifted across the rolling hills of Sweet Apple. Acres. The sound chilled the two ponies to the bone and set their teeth on edge. Most telling of all was Winona's reaction. The normally dauntless canine, perfectly happy to help round up stampeding cattle and face down other similar dangers immediately dashed inside the house, tail between her legs. It was a reaction that Big Macintosh had rarely ever seen before.

"Was that timber-wolves ya reckon?" he asked, exchanging a nervous glance with Fluttershy.

"Ain't no way that there's a timber-wolf howl!" declared the venerable Granny Smith as she stepped onto the front porch, her eyes narrowed, "We've lived next to the Everfree Forest for most of mah life and Ah ain't never heard nothin' like that there howl before."

Big Macintosh looked at his grandmother inquisitively. "Ya reckon Ah outta check it out?"

Granny Smith looked suspiciously in the direction the unearthly sound had come from. "Ah ain't so sure, but it'd be best if y'all headed that way and made sure that whatever jest made that there howl stayed put in the forest and didn't come wanderin' out."

Big Mac looked uneasily over in the direction of the noise and gulped nervously. "Well then, Ah'd best be off then. Miss Fluttershy, y'all should probably wait here with Granny."

The yellow Pegasus trembled slightly as she looked in the direction of the noise. "Oh dear," she said softly. She took a moment to gather her courage at the prospect of what she was about to suggest. "Um, if you don't mind, I think that I'll come with you," she said softly and hesitantly.

"Ya sure?" asked Big Mac carefully, "Whatever that there was, it sounded mighty scary."

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes, but if it's an animal of some kind, I might be able to convince it not to come out of the forest. I would really like to make sure that things went without anypony getting hurt."

Big Mac regarded her carefully. "Well, alright then."

In another part of the Everfree Forest, a single pony wandered through the trackless wilderness at a light trot. The Earth Pony's features, along with his ash-gray coat were obscured by the dark-green cloak he wore. Even though there was no sign of any road or path, the pony's steps were sure and certain, as though he had traveled this way many times before. When the eerie cry rang out through the forest, he ground to an immediate halt and looked around frantically.

"It sounds as though the seal broke earlier than we thought it would," he muttered to himself, "I'd better hurry." He reached back into one of the saddlebags he wore under his cloak and pulled out a small clear gem. In the middle of the gem was a tiny dab of silvery metal. Without wasting a second, the pony dropped the gem onto a nearby rock and smashed it into powder with his hoof. The action completed, he shut his saddlebag and headed off once again, this time at a full gallop. As he raced in the direction of the noise, a single thought went whirling through his head. Please let me be in time!

A different pony, also cloaked in green paused as he trotted along one of the roads heading into Ponyville. Taking a moment, he reached into his own saddlebag and pulled out a clear gem with a piece of silvery metal embedded within it, a perfect twin to the one that the other pony had just smashed. This one was glowing and buzzing with fierce intensity.

"That's not good," he muttered to himself, "We're out of time already? It looks like I finished my work just in time though." The message received, he too set out at a fierce gallop that would carry him through the normally peaceful town of Ponyville.

"What in tarnation?" Big Macintosh and Fluttershy came to an abrupt halt as they cleared the last rise of Sweet Apple Acres' orchards. Not far away was the white fence that marked the edge of the Apple family's land, and beyond it, a brief stretch of open ground before the Everfree Forest rose up in an ominous wall of vegetation. Even from this distance, the two ponies could see something large and dark moving among the thick trees.

Their eyes widened as the source of the terrible howl they had heard earlier stalked into view. It indeed seemed to be a wolf of some kind, but neither pony recognized it. Fluttershy, who knew all kinds of animals had seen timber wolves and regular wolves and other wolves, but this creature was in a different class altogether.

It was enormous, several times bigger than the largest timber wolf that she or Big Mac had ever seen, which was impressive since timber wolves were supposed to be the largest breed of wolf in the area. Its jaws alone looked big enough to swallow a pony in a single bite. Within those jaws glistened ivory fangs that looked sharp enough to cut through wind blown silk. The claws on its feet looked equally sharp and were unusually long for a wolf, looking more like cat claws than anything else. Even beneath its thick, black fur, Fluttershy could see powerful muscles sliding against one another as the monstrosity continued to prowl slowly towards them. But the worst things, in Fluttershy's view, we're it's eyes. She could see nothing animal-like in its eyes, just a malevolent hunger that terrified her utterly. This was not some normal animal. It wasn't even a regular monster like a dragon or a cockatrice that she could Stare into submission. This creature was alien and unnatural; and though Fluttershy rarely ever thought such a concept could apply to a creature, it was evil.

"Yah'd best get outta here Miss Fluttershy," said Mac quietly hoping to avoid provoking the creature, "A'll hold it off for ya."

"Um, but...I think you should run too," whispered Fluttershy, "It looks very dangerous...and very strong."

"Ah reckon y'all are right about that," agreed Mac, "And Ah might be gettin' in over mah head. But Ah very well couldn't live with mahself if Ah let something bad happen to ya; to say nothing of what Mah sister would say if ya got hurt on my watch."

Before Fluttershy could respond, a low snarl forced its way out of the beast's throat. The low sound made the bones in both ponies' bodies vibrate with its sheer power. Looking over, they could see those powerful muscles tensing.

"Oh dear," whispered Fluttershy as the monster lunged forward.

Twilight Sparkle inhaled. Deeply, savoring the morning air as she and her dragon assistant, Spike, made their way through the the streets of Ponyville. The clear skies offered the promise of a lovely day and according to Rainbow Dash, there were no storms scheduled. It seemed to be the perfect day for moving out and about. As the two of them walked, the lavender Unicorn spotted a familiar face behind a small apple stall. Smiling brightly, Twilight headed up to her friend.

"Good morning."

"Twilight!" exclaimed the orange Earth Pony, "Ah'm surprised to see ya up and about already. Ah was sure yah'd be sleepin' in after reading some book all night."

Twilight laughed at the light jab Applejack aimed at her. "You know I don't do that very often," she answered.

"Only because I threaten to hide the darn thing if she doesn't go to bed at a reasonable hour," grumbled Spike, prompting a lout guffaw from Applejack and an almost rebuking cough from Twilight.

The three of them spent several more minutes trading small talk as Applejack continued to peddle her popular produce prodigiously to the packed ponies of Ponyville. Twilight listened intently as Applejack related news about her family's farm, Apple Bloom and her friends' latest schemes to earn their cutie marks and the developments between Applejack's elder brother and Fluttershy.

Twilight, in turn, talked about some of the new books she had received from Princess Celestia's, as well as her correspondence with Luna, who had begun writing frequently of late, asking Twilight to help her get up to speed with the conditions of modern Equestria. While Luna's participation in Nightmare Night had been a success, it had also made her painfully aware of how little she knew about the changes that had taken place during her thousand years of imprisonment on the moon. Twilight was always more than happy to help the otherwise reclusive princess adapt.

Spike yawned as he leaned on one side of the apple cart. He always felt a little left out during these conversations. It wasn't as though he couldn't get a word in edgewise; he just didn't have all that much stake and he didn't feel that he had anything worth saying at this point. So as the two ponies chatted, Spike watched the other residents of the town going about their business. So he was the first to notice the bright-pink blur approaching the apple cart with lightning speed.

"Heads up!" he exclaimed, "Pinkie Pie inbound at seven o-clock!"

Both Applejack and Twilight whirled to face the pink Earth Pony as she skidded to a stop in front of them. "Hey guys!" she said brightly, "I just wanted to let everypony know that..." before she could finish, her voice was cut off by a series of intense shudders that sent her buzzing across the ground.

Her three friends' eyes widened at the sight. "That don't look good sugarcube," said Applejack nervously.

"Another doozy?" asked Twilight as she looked around frantically.

"Yep," replied Pinkie, her normally cheerful expression gone and replaced by an uncharacteristically serious one, "And it's..." before she could continue, she was cut off as another series of shudders rocked her body.

Pinkie opened her mouth to explain further, but was interrupted again by the cries of a green Unicorn whose flank was decorated by a lyre, rushing down the street. "There's a greencloak coming!" she shrieked as. She barreled down the street, oblivious to anything in her way and forcing ponies to jump aside. Any complaints at her carelessness were forgotten as the ponies around her realized what she had been shouting. The response was nearly instantaneous.

"A what now?" asked Twilight in confusion.

She didn't immediately get an answer as the ponies around her panicked and rushed to gather up their belongings. Shops closed, doors slammed shut and blinds went across windows. In mere seconds the streets were almost completely devoid of life. "What the hay is going on?" asked Twilight, looking over at where Applejack and Pinkie Pie were...or where they had been. Now there was an empty space where an entire apple stall had been only seconds ago. How do they do that?

"Psst, Twi." Looking in the direction of the whisper, Twilight spotted Applejack and Pinkie Pie cowering in the doorway of a nearby shop. "Quick, get in here!"

Twilight and Spike hurried to obey and soon were inside the shop,watching as Pinkie hastily barricaded all the entrances.

"What in Equestria is going on?" demanded Twilight as she looked around, "This feels like the whole Zecora problem all over again."

Applejack shook her head vigorously. "Naw, this ain't like how it was with Zecora. When them greencloaks are about, ya need to be extra careful. They say bad things happen when greencloaks come to town."

"Who is they? And what things?" asked Twilight, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Why everypony in every town in Equestria!" exclaimed Pinkie, "At least...everypony in every town like this one, that is towns that are close to places like the Everfree Forest."

"When they show up, all sorts of scary noises start coming out of the forest," added Applejack, "Ah've heard those noises mahself and poor Fluttershy's gone and had nightmares about the things she's heard when those greencloaks come trotting through this neck of the woods."

"I don't know," hedged Spike, "It sounds pretty weird to me. Are you girls sure that it's not Zecora all over again..hey, there he is!" Spike was joined by the three ponies at the window. As they watched, an Earth Pony stallion came rushing down the street at a full gallop. True to the name that ponies had been shouting, his body was covered with a dark green cloak, which included a hood that was pulled up over his head. With his speed, the cloak flared out behind him, revealing a metallic-gray coat that resembled polished steel. He seemed oblivious to the emptiness of the streets as he rushed along, running with singleminded intent.

After he passed, Applejack let out a sigh of relief. "Boy howdy," she said to Pinkie Pie, "Ya said it was a doozy and ya weren't kiddin'."

Pinkie actually looked somewhat confused. "Yeah, it was a doozy," she agreed, "Which is strange, since..." She paused as a series of shudders rocked her. "...I'm still getting the shudders, which means that that wasn't the doozy and..." Another series of vibrations coursed through her body. "...They're telling me that whatever doozy they've been warning me about is gonna happen at Sweet Apple Acres."

Both Twilight and Applejack turned to look at each other in shock before turning back to Pinkie. "WHAT?"

Mac grunted in pain, amazed that something so powerful and solid could exist in the world. When the monster had lunged, he had managed to sidestep and bucked the creature with all his considerable might, enough force to split any but the oldest and thickest trees on the farm in two. His attack barely made the creature flinch. Fortunately, it was enough to throw it off it's course so that the lunge missed both Macintosh and Fluttershy entirely.

Big Mac turned to once again urge the mare to flee, only to see her cowering, her wings frozen tight against her sides and apparently unable to move. The beast, apparently sensing her vulnerability, spun about, but didn't manage to orient on her before Big Mac set himself stubbornly between it and the Pegasus. "Yah ain't gonna touch her without goin' through me first," he declared, lowering his head and setting himself for the monster's charge.

The gigantic wolf tensed once again, lowing itself to the ground and preparing to leap. However, just as its paws left the ground, an ash-gray blur slammed into the wolf from the side. A discarded, dark green cloak fluttered through the air. In an instant, the strange pony came to a stop, having apparently completely transferred the momentum of his charge into the body of the monster, which in turn exploded into motion...in the wrong direction, flying perpendicularly to the direction it had originally been about to leap.

Big Macintosh's jaw dropped. The monstrous creature so powerful that his strongest buck had been barely able to make it flinch had just been sent flying by a pony that wasn't nearly as large as him. Wide-eyed, he stared at the new arrival, whose green cloak had just come to rest on the ground behind him. The pony was an average size for a stallion. However, his lean build failed to hide the small but powerful muscles that had produced that fantastic blow. No longer obscured by the cloak, the pony's pitch black mane and tail fluttered in the light breeze. He seemed oblivious to the presence of the other two ponies, his sky-blue eyes focused with single-minded intensity on the beast he had just knocked for a loop. A compass cutie mark was visible on the pony's flank.

A greencloak? Mac thought with confusion. All his life, he had been taught that those green cloaked ponies spelled trouble, but this one had just saved him and Fluttershy from the vicious monster that had emerged from the Everfree Forest. Unless, of course, he had something to do with this monster being out here in the first place.

The strange pony continued to ignore them. The monster, meanwhile, had been slammed spine-first into the thick trunk of a nearby apple tree. It got unsteadily to its feet and regarded the new arrival. Having decided to switch targets, it wasted no time in charging at the strange pony, extending its jaws to crush the life from its victim.

The ash-colored pony spun about with incredible grace, his spin carrying him just barely clear of the lunging creature's jaws as they snapped shut on the empty space where he had been. He turned the maneuver into a spinning buck, slamming his front hooves down so hard that the ground beneath them cracked from the force. The blow slammed home into the wolf's flank with incredible power, once again lifting the creature off of the ground.

Big Mac suppressed a wince and heard Fluttershy whimper softly behind them at the sickening crack that sounded from what could only have been the beast's ribcage being crushed by the force of the blow. In spite of this, the creature was thrown nowhere near as far as it had been the first time, managing to land on its paws as well. Still, it's right side had an unnatural depression where the pony's hooves had connected. But even as they watched, there was a low groaning sound and the depression began to push back outwards into its original state. The creature was recovering from its injuries even as the battle continued. Just what in Celestia's name is that thing?

"Just what're yah trying to say Twi?" demanded Applejack as they rushed in the direction of the orange Earth Pony's home, finding themselves trailing in the wake of the cloaked pony that they had been hiding from only a few moments earlier, "Ah've experienced it mahself, when greencloaks come into town, bad things happen."

"That's not the question I'm asking AJ," answered Twilight as she galloped alongside her friend, "I just think there might be something you and everypony else is missing."

"Such as..." Applejack spared the purple Unicorn a glance to raise a skeptical eyebrow.

"Well, have you considered that it might not be that bad things are happening because those ponies show up here, but that they come here because bad things are about to happen.

This gave Applejack pause as she stopped to consider it. "But, yah'd think we all woulda noticed if these greencloaks were doin' us a favor every time they came round here."

Twilight frowned. "I'm trying to figure that out myself. But has anything bad ever actually happened to anypony when they're around? Sure, there seem to be a lot of stories about scary sights and sounds, but there doesn't seem to be anything about anything bad actually happening."

"Well, now that ya mention it..."

Applejack's response was cut off by Spike, who was riding on twilight's back. "Guys, we're here!"

They had indeed arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. They unknown pony in front of them didn't hesitate and leapt straight over the gate. Applejack, Twilight and Pinkie followed suit...and stopped as the pony into front of them ground to a halt, looking around.

Applejack opened her mouth, about to demand what business the greencloak had on her farm, but was cut off before she could even speak. A loud roar sounded across the fields and orchards, followed by the sound of fierce impacts and heavy blows. Somewhere on the farm a massive fight was taking place. The strange pony oriented on the racket immediately and took off at an even faster pace, with the three friends and dragon followed as quickly as they could.

The land had been turned into a disaster zone. Trees had been uprooted, furrows plowed through the ground. In places, the earth had been split open entirely. A nearby barn tilted unsteadily to one side as the combatants had smashed clean through the wall. Even now, the gray pony stood braced to meet another charge from the mighty wolf-like beast, gasping and panting hard. The fight was not going well for him. It had been simple enough to avoid the monster's jaws. However, when it brought its razor-sharp claws into play, things had changed. Such attacks were more difficult to read and avoid. A series of long gashes along the pony's flank were a testament to that. Meanwhile, the monster seemed tireless it's assaults, each one as swift and brutal as the one before. Every injury the pony inflicted seemed to quickly reverse itself into nonexistence.

Big Mac ground his teeth in frustration. The stranger that had saved him and Fluttershy would not be able to keep the battle going much longer. He wished there was something that he could do to help, but his strongest blow had already been shown to be worthless against the beast. Things were looking bleak, no question.
Fluttershy was the first to notice the approaching hoof beats and squeaked as another green-cloaked pony came barreling into view. This one rushed past the two of them without paying Mac or Fluttershy the slightest mind. He headed straight toward the two combatants. As he did so, he reared up and slammed his hooves down into the earth, sending a strange rippling motion through the ground towards the monster's underside. Before it could react, the earth underneath it exploded, sending rocks flying straight up into the creature's stomach and chest, knocking it up into the air before it slammed back to the ground, stunned.

The beleaguered, gray Earth Pony turned to regard the new arrival. Mac and Fluttershy, on the other hoof, were distracted by the sound of more arrivals and turned in time to see Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike arrive on the scene.

"Fluttershy!" exclaimed Twilight, "Are you alright?"

"Ya okay, Big Macintosh?" asked Applejack as she rushed up to her brother.

"Y'all could say that," said Big Mac as he nuzzled his concerned sister, "But it was one hay of a close thing there."

"Oh yes," agreed Fluttershy softly as she leaned in relief against Twilight, "But that nice pony managed to save us in the nick of time, which is amazing since he's a greencloak."

"Oh wow!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie excitedly as she sat down and pulled a bag of popcorn seemingly out of nowhere, "Are you guys watching this? It's amazing." She chowed down enthusiastically as she watched the next part of the battle unfold.

Meanwhile, the mysterious savior and the new arrival ignored the other ponies and were speaking to each other.

"Did you finish it?" asked the ash-colored one.

"I did," replied the other, reaching with on silver coated leg to pull his hood back. His mane was the color of gold. Normally that would mean it was blonde. But in this case, it really was gold, a strange metallic color, much like the silver of his coat. This, combined with his literally copper-colored eyes gave the impression not of a living pony, but of some metal statue come to life. "I wasn't certain the bonding would be successful at first, but then things worked out even better than I expected."

The gray pony let out a soft sigh. "Then that means we can finally finish this." The two of them turned to regard the monster that was regaining its feet. Once again, it seemed that no lasting damage had been done. Facing its antagonists, the beast let out another low snarl.

In answer, the metallic pony reached into the saddlebag he wore beneath his cloak and pulled out a slim glass vial. The monster lunged toward him and his companion, but the stallion calmly used his teeth to pull the stopper out before tilting the vial and pouring its contents onto the ground. As he did so, the spectators could hear him utter a few words in some strange language.

The monster rushed in, leading with its jaws. Abruptly, the small puddle of silvery liquid at the silver pony's hooves explosively expanded in volume, suddenly becoming a mirror-like wall that wrapped around the two ponies, forming a silver sphere. The monster slammed into the wall, it's jaws glancing off the curved surface. Even as it did so, it let out a shrill shriek that had Twilight and the others covering their ears. As it turned away from the barrier, a hissing sound could be heard is blood dribbled slowly from its jaws.

Big Macintosh and Fluttershy's eyes widened in shock. This was the first time the beast had ever seemed to be definitively wounded. In fact, instead of immediately healing, the wound seemed to be festering and worsening.

The spherical barrier fell, congealing into a massive droplet of the silvery substance that waited obediently by the side of the metallic Earth Pony. Without hesitation, he barked out a harsh syllable. The mass of liquid exploded into motion again, this time forming a trio of thick tentacles that whipped out towards the monster, slamming into its flank. Again, the beast let out a massive wail, reeling back from the blows. It's skin sizzled, apparently reacting badly to the substance behind those attacks.

The pony snapped out another unknown word. This time, the liquid extended into elongated, semicircular blades, that swiped at the beast from multiple directions. This time, the monster had apparently learned from its experience and leapt clear of the attack, the extending blades missing and instead slicing through the trunk of a nearby apple tree like paper. The tree fell to the ground, sliced into segments. The monster paused for a moment before whirling around and retreating into the forest.

The metal-colored pony moved to pursue, but hesitated as his companion sagged to the ground next to him. He looked over in concern.

"Don't wait for me!" snapped the ash gray pony, "Finish it!"

The other pony nodded and charged after the monster into the forest, the massive droplet following faithfully at his side. Meanwhile the ash-colored pony finally sagged to the ground, leaning to one side as blood continued to trickled out, staining the earth around him red.

"What in tarnation is goin' on?" snapped Applejack as she rushed up to the gray pony, "Yah'd better do a mighty good job explainin' yerself or there's gonna be trouble!"

"Now stop that, Applejack!" snapped Fluttershy, flying up behind her orange friend. Her voice was only slightly louder than normal, but coming from Fluttershy, it was practically a roar. "This stallion saved our lives. We need to at least treat his injuries first."

"There's a first aid kit in that barn there," said Big Macintosh ambling up, "Ah reckon we can make do with that for now." He and Fluttershy raced towards the ruined barn to fetch the needed medical supplies.

Twilight Sparkle came up to stand beside Applejack. As she did so, her horn flared, a purple aura extending from it to cover the grievous wounds on the gray Earth Pony's side, staunching the bleeding. The pony let out a relieved sigh and looked thankfully at Twilight. "Thank you, miss."

Twilight smiled politely at the stallion. "You're welcome. While we're getting you patched up, could you explain who you are and what that thing was?"

"There's a limit to how much I can tell you. I am bound by royal decree not to reveal our mission to regular ponies."

"Well yah don't need to worry about that," remarked Applejack, "Twilight here is Princess Celestia's personal student."

The stallion blinked and looked over at Twilight. "Oh, I see, so you are Twilight Sparkle then." Twilight blushed and nodded at his observation. The gray pony turned to look at the others. "That would mean that the rest of you are the Elements of Harmony."

"Well, all except for Big Macintosh, he's just my brother," added Applejack.

"And Spike," said Twilight, "But he is my Number 1 Assistant."

"Hey!" protested the dragon, "I was Rainbow Dash for a little while!"

"That was temporary and you know it."

"Well I suppose that it is safe to tell you then," observed the stallion a little dubiously as he watched their interactions.

Twilight and the others nodded eagerly.

The stallion sighed and nodded. "My friend and I..." he jerked his head in the direction his companion had gone, "Came here to deal with that creature you saw a moment ago. That creature and those like it have troubled Equestria for thousands of years. It is our job to deal with those things and keep them from harming innocent ponies."

"Well, Ah'll be," whispered Applejack, "So you were right about them, Ah guess Twi."

Twilight nodded slightly before turning back to the gray pony. Big Macintosh and Fluttershy were returning with the first aid kit from the barn, which chose that very moment to crumble completely to the ground. "Can you tell us your name?" asked Twilight.

The Earth Pony let out a sigh. "I suppose there's no helping it now. My name is Far Treader. My comrade who just left us is called Silverbrook."

"And that big, nasty, wolfy-wolf type thing?" asked Pinkie, bouncing in her excitement.

Far Treader eyed Pinkie oddly. "That creature is called a Loup-garou. It is a beast that has existed for thousands of years. Long ago, it was created solely for the purpose of wreaking havoc on ponykind."

Silverbrook ground to a halt as he surveyed the forest around him. The Loup-garou was more cunning than he had thought. All traces of it seemed to have vanished. The creature appeared to be adept at covering its trail. I need to find it, he thought, Before it finds something to eat. As powerful as it was, the only reason that the monster had not completely torn Far Treader to shreds in their battle was its state of extended starvation. If the creature found something that it could consume and regained some of its original strength, then the battle would become exponentially more difficult.

In spite of the dire implications of losing the beast, Silverbrook smiled. But now we have the ideal weapon to deal with it. Not only can we finally end this, but I anticipated that something like this might happen. You can't escape from me, foul beast. Silverbrook looked down at the mass of liquid that rolled to a stop next to him. This was his ultimate weapon, the Soul Silver. Looking about, Silverbrook uttered a command in a language long lost to modern Equestrians. "<Seek and pursue!>"

Several thin, rodlike tendrils extended from the mass. They reached out to nearby trees and rocks, branching out along each object that they came in contact with and spreading throughout the area like a net. Silverbrook waited patiently as Soul Silver extended its reach, searching for its target. After a few moments, a vibration traveled back along the extensions from a certain direction, eventually channeling into the mass as a whole. The tendrils retracted and the mass of silvery liquid began to roll in the direction of its prey.

"Found you."

"And just who would create a monster like that?" exclaimed Applejack in horror.

Far shook his head. "I can't say. In any case, there were actually several of its kind, possibly dozens." This remark elicited a gasp from the assembled ponies and dragon. "Fortunately, they were sealed away and the past few centuries have been spent dealing with them In a more permanent manner."

"You mean killing them right?" asked Spike. Far Treader nodded. "But why didn't you just do that in the first place?"

"Loup-garous are extremely difficult to kill," replied Far, "They take a great deal more effort than any ordinary creature."

"Ah saw it," interjected Big Macintosh, "When ya were fightin' that there beast, all the damage ya were dealing' out it was fixing right back up." He and Fluttershy had begun applying bandages to Far Treader's wounds.

Far Treader nodded in agreement. "That creature has been sealed away for hundreds of years. Every few decades, the seal had to be renewed so that wouldn't escape and devour helpless ponies. Because it had been starved for centuries, I was able to actually hold it off for a time. But as you noticed, if Silverbrook hadn't arrived, then that battle would have ultimately ended badly for me. Back when the Loup-garou was fully fed, it was nigh unstoppable. But even now, no matter how much we deny it its food, the Loup-garou won't die. There is only one substance that has ever proved capable of dealing sufficient damage to it."

"What substance is that?" asked Twilight, leaning in eagerly. This pony was proving an unexpected well of knowledge. She couldn't wait until her next report to Princess Celestia.

"It is a variant of silver, called truesilver."

Twilight's eyes widened in shock. "Truesilver! But that's one of the rarest elements in the world, much less Equestria!"

Far nodded again. "Finding enough truesilver to produce a weapon that can be used to kill the Loup-garou was the reason that killing them all took over a thousand years. It takes decades of searching and mining just to unearth a few grams of the stuff. In the past, what little that could be found would generally be forged into a tiny weapon that would then be used to deal a fatal blow to a Loup-garou. Because this almost always ended up consuming and destroying the weapon as well as the monster, it meant that more decades would have to be spent in order to find enough to deal with the next one.

"Ironically, just as we were seeking enough to forge a weapon to use against this Loup-garou, Silverbrook stumbled upon a discovery. By mixing truesilver with alchemically modified quicksilver, he was able to create a special weapon with magical properties. That weapon is what you saw him use earlier on." Far Treader nodded at the damage that had been wrought by the tentacles and blades of the liquid mass.

"Hold on!" exclaimed Twilight, "That was clearly a magical weapon. Silverbrook is definitely an Earth Pony. How could somepony that isn't a Unicorn use something magical like that?"

Far Treader smiled cryptically, "That is a trade secret. I will tell you that we Earth Ponies have magic of our own. Granted, not many know how to use it. But you would be surprised to see what we are capable of."

Silverbrook was surprised by where he found the Loup-garou. He never would have thought that the beast would actually retreat back to the place where it had been sealed the past few centuries. But there it was, crouched against the rock face, next to the very hole it had crawled out of earlier that day. As it saw him approach, the monster snarled viciously.
In spite of his certainty, Silverbrook was careful. Cornered animals were the most dangerous after all. While he had confidence in Soul Silver's defensive capabilities, it wouldn't do to let his guard down with this creature. It was still something that had lived for centuries. That alone made it worth taking seriously, no matter how powerful his new weapon was.

But I think I have the perfect way to end this. Now I just have to goad it into attacking.

Silverbrook continued to approach. The Loup-garou remained unmoving, although it continued to threaten him with its vocalizations. Silverbrook took another step. It was clear that the beast was waiting for him to get closer in order to minimize the response time he would have to direct Soul Silver. But I have already marked its current attack speed. I know how close I can get. And in the worse case, I still have Soul Silver's autonomous defense. Silverbrook's creation was designed to leap immediately to his defense, forming a spherical boundary against incoming attacks, whether Silverbrook himself was able to respond to them or not. It would even shield him from attacks that he didn't know were coming. However, that defensive measure only held so much power. Depending on how much extra power it drew from desperation, the Loup-garou might have the strength to break through the automatic defense function.

Here. Silverbrook halted his approach. This was as close as he could get and still have time to respond when the Loup-garou went on the attack. Now all he had to do was invite that attack. Soul Silver flattened itself out and spread out like a puddle between Silverbrook and the beast. He smiled mockingly at the monster and then did the one thing he was certain would make it attack. Silverbrook lifted his foreleg to his mouth...and bit down on it hard, breaking the skin and allowing a thin trickle of blood to run down before falling to the ground.

The monster's eyes lit up. Silverbrook could see the cautious respect it had for his weapon at war with its predatory instincts. While it knew to be wary, unfortunately for the Loup-garou, centuries of starvation overpowered its wariness of the only weapon that it had ever encountered capable of truly hurting it. The sight of fresh blood drove it into a frenzy and it lunged forward.

Now! "<Become my strongest shield!>" The puddle of altered mercury exploded upward, forming a wall of vertically oriented wires. The Loup-garou leapt straight into them. The force of its lunge carried it part of the way through, straining and stretching the wires as the beast fought to force its way through them. While the wires bent, they didn't break. As the creature forced its way through further, more of them wrapped around to restrain it, until it's momentum was finally halted.

"<Bind!>" In a flash, the wires coiled around the beast, wrapping and restraining all it's limbs. The monster's skin hissed and sizzled as it came further into contact with a substance that was practically poison to its very existence.

Silverbrook impassively looked the creature int the eye. The Loup-garou's eyes were the same as always, filled with mindless and malevolent hunger. Still, there was no reason to be cruel. "Farewell. I hope you find peace. <Pierce!>" The wires instantly formed needle like points on their tips and turned to plunge them through the Loup-garou's body from every angle. The Loup-garou shrieked as its body was impaled from every direction, skewering all of its vital organs in one go. Seeing his work nearly complete, Silverbrook closed his eyes and gave the final blow. "<Cleave!>"

The impaling wires formed razor sharp edges and whirled about, cutting the monster to ribbons. Silverbrook opened his eyes to watch the last Loup-garou fall to the ground in bloody chunks. He stared into the creature's eyes and watched as the bestial light faded from them. The eyes closed.

Silverbrook sighed sadly. In a sense, watching the creature's final moments made him feel somewhat guilty. Even though it was a ravenous beast created solely to feed on the flesh of ponies and make Equestria into a nightmare world, it was still only doing what it was created to do and could never have done otherwise. But still, he hoped that whatever happened to it now, it would no longer have to suffer for things it had no control over.

The remains of the great beast did not linger long. The blood and chunks of flesh dissolved into a black smoke that drifted away on the wind. Silverbrook watched its departure and sighed. The battle was over.

Far Treader and the others stopped their conversation as the Loup-garou's last agonized shriek echoed out of the Everfree Forest. "From the sound of things, Silverbrook must have dealt the final blow."

"Just like that, huh." For some reason, Applejack didn't feel relieved by this revelation. The monster had come onto her family farm, wrecked a good portion of the orchard, her family's livelihood, threatened the lives of her beloved older brother and dear friend, and probably would have pressed on to Ponyville itself and caused all kinds of havoc there. But still...

"It's so sad," whispered Fluttershy, giving voice to the same thoughts that were in Applejack's mind. From the disheartened looks that the others carried, they too must have had similar thoughts.

Far Treader nodded. "In the end, it was never anything more than what it was created to be and given no choice as to its fate. Even though you might not be able to bring yourselves to hate such a pitiful creature, that does not change what we have to do."

"Speaking of that," interjected Twilight, looking at Far in a suspicious manner, "You have more explaining to do."

"What about?"

"Don't toy with me," said Twilight Sparkle in all seriousness, "I've been the voice of reason around here when it comes to you and your friend there," she gestured into the forest, "So we deserve a little explanation as to what this is all about. You talked about this whole Loup-garou thing going on for hundreds of years, which means that there's more to this than just you and your friend. And unless I misread some of your hints in our earlier conversation, that über-wolf wasn't the only thing that we have to worry about. So out with it!"

Far Treader shook his head. "No. This is as far as our conversation goes. Everything else is sealed by royal decree and even you can't change that, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight frowned and drew back. "I am Princess Celestia's personal student and the Element of Magic. I think that entitles me and the rest of us to know what this is all about. And even if you don't think that way, all I have to do is send the princess a letter and I can get the permission we need."

Far chuckled. "You could, I suppose. But it wouldn't help you. Even an order from Princess Celestia herself would not change my position on this. Her authority does not dictate our decisions."

"Why not?" asked Fluttershy quietly.

Far Treader smirked. "Because...you're asking the wrong princess."