-The Cast Comes Off-

"He's read through half the dictionary in a single night," Clean Cut reported with his excitement carefully in check. "He came to me this morning with a long list of inquiries. He's practically half able to speak the language! He processes information at an incredible rate, I'm wondering just how much the Blood can effect."

"Blood-Borns are often able to process more quickly than most. But We digress, once he is able to speak enough, We would like you to introduce him to our laws. We will not have him detained for something as petty as theft if this plan is to work."

"Of course, My Princess," Clean Cut said without hesitation.

"And keep him out of trouble, We will have our hooves full keeping the Elements distracted as it is. We will not accept any more interruptions like the last."

"Understood, Your Majesty. I'll do my best to find distractions for him," he said. "... What did you say to him last night? If I may ask, 'Majesty," he asked after a moment, his heart hurt in his chest as he spoke.

"We didn't have to say anything," Luna replied with a knowing glance toward the doctor. "All We had to do was raise the moon. Do not be worried, he will be a part of this ... whether he likes it or not."

"You ... did something? 'Majesty?" It was more a statement than a question, but Clean Cut had already spoken. The answer was one he had hoped to be wrong about:

"We did what was required of Us, as much as We may come to regret it."

There was nothing Rainbow loved more than an early morning sprint. She liked the feel of her hooves as they pounded down a track. She liked the tease of the wind on her feathers. She wouldn't be going back to the Guard’s training grounds on the North side of the palace again anytime soon, not with the accident so fresh on her mind.

And that was the only thing she would call it for now; an accident. It made her feel better to think it was all just a horrible coincidence.

For now, she could simply fill her days with a recovery workout schedule at the mountainside grounds - far away from any of reminders of the attack - and the welcome vacation in Canterlot. She didn't know what she would do on such a vacation, but if she was with her friends, and a Princess, it promised to be pretty awesome.

She knocked off another lap to complete her four hundred before she stopped for a break. When she was done there was a burn in her legs and almost no air in her chest, and she still loved it. When she ran or flew, she didn't have to think, just move, and that was better than any hooficure or spa day in her mind.

Not that she wouldn't need a shower.

She'd worked up a good sweat, which was what she'd really wanted in the chill of the morning air. Canterlot might wait a long time to put snow down in the palace grounds itself, but it couldn't keep the cold out. She probably looked pretty awesome as her breath steamed in the air along with her legs.

She snorted as her breathing returned back to normal and started to make her way inside. Luna had promised to "stay up late" to come with them around town for the next few days and Rainbow didn't want to keep them all waiting.

She trotted up the stairs to get back into the palace, though this part of the castle was more like a gym. Rainbow knew these were the Elite Guard's training grounds, which is why they weren't quite as spartan as the ones she'd used as a Wonderbolt trainee.

She would definitely make a habit out of this for as long as she was here. But as she made her way to the locker rooms, she noticed a familiarly clashing flash of color and she took a small detour.

Doctor Clean Cut rushed around a corner and Rainbow followed. She found him in an empty weight room, his magic gripped one of the weight racks.

"Haven't done this in a while," he mumbled as he grunted and pulled up the entire rack with all its weights into his magical grasp. He only noticed her when he turned to try and go back out the door Rainbow stood in. "Oh! Hello there, Miss Dash!" he said joyfully, though it seemed a bit forced as he started to sweat under the weight of the rack. "What brings you to this part of the castle?"

"Luna told me I could use this place if I wanted," Rainbow explained as she stepped into the room and out of his way. The doctor nodded and slowly began to shuffle his way through the door. "What the heck are you doing? And how are lifting that thing?"

"I may not look it, but I'm not the personal advisor to the Princesses for nothing, you know!" he boasted as he wriggled the full weight rack through the door and out the hall. A weight tried to fall but Clean Cut's magic managed to flick it back on. "You are looking at one of the few heavy lifting unicorns in all of Equestria! I've won a few trophies for it!"

"Okay, that's pretty cool," Rainbow admitted, even though she'd personally seen Twilight do some much more impressive magic than this. "So what are you taking this thing for?" she asked as she followed him down the hall. Rainbow was sure she could have just left, but she still felt a little bad about the hell the doctor had gotten because of her, in some way she hoped to make up for it.

Clean Cut barked out a laugh. "Trying to keep Coalback entertained enough that he won't try to beat the next Solar Guard he sees into a pulp. Big guy like him, thought he might like to get a few good workouts in while he was ... shall we say: 'on leave'?" He wrestled the rack over a drinking fountain, the corner slapped the head of it and bent the faucet in a funny direction.

"Coalback's here?"

"No actually, he's in his room," Clean Cut said with a grunt. "Reading the dictionary, I presume. I'm setting up a whole slew of things for him to do before he gets tired of that." A door at the end of the hall popped open at a spark from his horn and he set the rack down inside next to three others. "If you'd like, we'll be down here around midday."

"Nah. I should probably go, actually: My friends are all waiting for me," Rainbow said. Plus, she wasn't so sure she wanted to be around the strange stallion anymore. She just wanted everything to go back to normal in all honesty.

"I understand, a personal vacation with the Princess is probably a bit more interesting than this," he said. Without another word he turned around and began to slide the racks into a neater position, which meant moving a few other machines.

Rainbow took that as her opportunity to leave and went back out to the locker rooms. "Wait, reading the dictionary?"

"Those Loonies are going absolutely nuts about that thing," Invisible Barrier mumbled over her cup of coffee to the other guard at her table.

Filibuster scoffed as he turned to look too. "Fitting that those freaks of nature would be hanging around that thing."

They both glared across the large mess hall to the small group that had secluded itself next to the kitchen doors. The Lunar guards stood in a protective circle around the grey stallion who yawned as he waited for food. Everypony gave the corner glances, and there were certainly whispers about them that circulated the room. However the Lunar Guards and the stallion all seemed to remain unmoved by it.

"So smug," Filibuster grunted as he choked down the rest of his coffee. "You'd think that if they could commandeer the officers' facilities that they could get it it's own cook too. But no! Unfortunately they must 'dine' with the normal ponies," he groused.

"Freaks shouldn't even be allowed in the palace, the lot of them," Barrier agreed with another sip of her coffee. "I got fucking latrine duty for a month because of that thing!" she nearly yelled, instead her magic managed to crack the empty clay mug.

"What's up with the Loonies?" a thickly built earth pony mumbled around his tray of breakfast as he took a seat next to Filibuster. His white dyed fur rippled with muscle as he shifted into a comfortable position on the bench.

"Luna’s pet is here, Iron Bar, and apparently it has its own personal Guard assigned to it," Filibuster explained as he helped himself to one of the muffins piled on Iron Bar's tray.

"Luna’s who-now?" he asked. Confusion sat comfortably where it usually did on his face. As dedicated a soldier as he was, Iron Bar had never been the best at putting two and two together, not unless it came to fighting anyway. He turned curiously to look past the group of Lunar Guards.

"Don't look, stupid!" Barrier snapped, her magic whipped Bar's head back around to look at his tray.

"Are you guys talking about that pegasus behind t
132d5
hem?" Iron Bar asked, nonplussed by the mare's forcefulness. "What's wrong? Did he not like your flanks?" he jabbed, with a harsh kick aimed at the bottom of Barrier's bench for retaliation.

"No," she growled.

"'He,' if you can call it that, isn't even a pony. It's at least ten times worse than those moon worshipping Loonies are," Filibuster grumbled.

Iron Bar shrugged and stuffed a protein bar into his mouth. He turned again to look at the pony who towered over the smaller Lunar Guard, appreciative of what toned muscle he could make out past his dark guards. He did like a stallion who could actually hold his own ...

An empty tray smacked Iron Bar in the back of the head. "Don't ogle him!" Filibuster hissed with a glare.

"Gettin' jealous?" Iron Bar quipped with a grin as he rubbed the back of his head. Filibuster turned red with anger, which only made Iron Bar smile wider.

Before Filibuster could lay into a long berating over how disgusting that just was the kitchen doors smacked open on the other side of the mess hall. All conversation froze as a pony dressed in as much protective gear as she could have found in the kitchen dragged out a large steaming pot.

The grey pegasus jumped to his hooves instantly and rushed to the pot as its scent wafted across the tables. Ponies gagged and retreated quickly in a spreading wave, even the Lunar Guards seemed a bit off put as they retook their positions around the pony and his meal. The stallion's head disappeared into the pot as he began to devour its contents.

"Now there's a colt who knows how to eat-" Iron Bar began to say, even prepared to fire off a whistle in his direction. But the smell of cooked meat had finally reached their table, and Iron Bar had to flee to the nearest trash can to empty his stomach.

Iron Bar finally understood what Filibuster meant: That definitely was not a pony. And it scared him.

"Apologies if We fall asleep, dear friends, this is far too relaxing," Luna announced with a yawn as she slid a little deeper into the hot spring's water.

Pinkie giggled as she paddled around in the large sunken pool. Rarity only sighed as she and Fluttershy relaxed in the steam from the earth heated water on a ledge in just an hornwidth of water, her mane and tail carefully pulled up into curlers. And Twilight found calm entertainment in reading through a few pamphlets for places they planned to visit.

"Now this is how to start a day in Canterlot," Rarity sighed in satisfaction, Fluttershy nodded in agreement beside her. "Much better than getting yourself sweaty and tired out, don't you think, Rainbow Dash?" she asked toward the bubbling end of the bath.

Rainbow popped out of the water and took a desperate breath of air as she asked "What?"

Applejack immediately popped out beside her. "Hah! Ah win!" she declared.

"No fair! Best two out of three!" Rainbow protested. And then they were both back under the water.

Luna snickered at the banter and returned to her relaxing soak. She could hardly remember the last time she'd done this, surprisingly. She supposed that she had never had the incentive to wander through this part of the palace grounds before.

Clean Cut was worried.

He had hoped that if he started off Coalback's day with a hot meal that he would enjoy would put the other stallion in a good mood. However Coalback had said little and had simply marched along in a zombie-like trance with his newly appointed chaperones.

What was worse was the intensity with which he had attacked the workout Clean Cut had set up earlier. Coalback had come in and put himself through what should have been a rigorous workout session. Instead, two and a half hours later he had told Clean Cut that he was bored! And he'd barely broken a sweat, despite having used nearly every extra weight in every strength exercise he'd performed.

He was upset about something. And he was bored. That is what worried Clean Cut the most. He didn't want Coalback to venture into different parts of the castle for fear of interrupting one of the Princesses, or of finding any of the Solar Guard for that matter. He seemed to have gained a rather specific dislike to the gilded armour and white coats.

Clean Cut suggested that perhaps Coalback could translate something to help him practice his Equestrian. But the stallion had requested something slightly more physically demanding, and Clean Cut didn't see any reason why not to find something else. He suggested, though hadn't planned ahead for it, that he and Coalback set up a training session to work on his flying. To which, thankfully, Coalback seemed extremely interested in.

Clean Cut led Coalback out of the castle grounds for the first time without too much worry. The stallion still couldn't fly, after all. And there was Luna's assurance that weighed heavily on him, unforgettable.

The stallion appeared much more like a wide eyed colt as they climbed to the top of the mount where the Wonderbolts were still training their recruits. Coalback looked extremely surprised as he looked over the facility, though impressed or not was difficult to tell. He took in everything: from the smooth, black granite landing strip to the cheapest and strongest buildings Equestrian ingenuity could come up with while still remaining somewhat pleasing to the eye.

"This is where the Wonderbolts train," Clean Cut announced with pride, happy to see the sour mood lifted from the pony if only for a moment. "And hopefully where you will as well."

Clean Cut led Coalback into the cluster of buildings near the runway and into a surprisingly well decorated entryway to the office building. Plaques and statues and framed newspaper articles lined the walls, which Coalback went to with his ever present group of Lunar Guards. The receptionist looked surprised to see the entourage but greeted Clean Cut respectively and asked how she could help.

"I'll be needing to commandeer a Wonderbolt for a basic training session as soon as possible," Clean Cut explained with an ear still aimed toward where his charge examined a plaque. "And I do mean extremely basic. If they ask questions tell them that this is by Royal request of Princess Luna."

The receptionist stiffened and darted away as soon as he was finished speaking, presumably off to recruit one of the higher ranking Wonderbolts for the "Royal Request." The receptionist returned with a Wonderbolt in full flight gear right behind her only a moment later. She directed the Wonderbolt to Clean Cut and retreated back behind her desk to try to look busy.

"Hey, I'm Soarin," the grey-blue Pegasus said with an offered hoof to the doctor, who gladly met the hoof with his own. "Would have been here sooner but I was helping drill what's left of the trainees," he said.

The doctor checked a clock on the wall in confusion.

"So who's the new trainee? We got lots of spots open now," Soarin went on as he looked around the room. His eyes locked on Coalback instantly. "Holy cow, is that the guy?" he asked with a pointed hoof at the other stallion.

"Yes, but I think I should explain that Coalback has no experience with flying," Clean Cut interjected even as he had to trot beside Soarin as he moved towards Coalback.

"That can't be true, look at his wings!" Soarin remarked as he gladly admired the bulging muscles on Coalback's shoulders. "Even if he's never used them for flying, the basics should soar on by-" Soarin paused as he finally got a close up look at the stallion and the state of his wings. "We may want to start with how important preening is though."

Coalback gave both of them a confused look. "Preening?" he asked through his thick accent. He seemed to have only just noticed them as he had been occupied reading the long list of brass plated names and marks on the wall.

"Oh! I get it," Soarin said, "He's from a Stalliongrad squadron, isn't he? I once met somepony from up there, they told me most Pegasi just don't risk flying because they'll freeze solid in the high altitude winds." Soarin nodded in understanding and put out his hoof for the other stallion. "Soarin."

Coalback looked at the hoof for a moment in confusion before he extended his own. But rather than the traditional hoof bump, he wrapped his wrist around Soarin's in a hard grip and pumped the other stallion’s arm once.

"Oh my-" Soarin grunted at the surprising greeting. "That's a new one, though," he mumbled with a grin. "Yeah, preening, buddy. Come on, we got a lot of work to do if we want your wings ready for flying!" he said as he swept up beside the larger stallion and began to lead him out of the building.

Clean Cut followed to observe, his little black book scribbled away in his magic. Soarin took Coalback to one of the outfitting rooms first and demonstrated, with some direction, how Coalback should preen. Soarin was satisfied only when Coalback had extended his wing fully and ran his lips over every primary from root to tip. And even then Soarin made a note to Clean Cut about how Coalback would be needing a lot of practice before his wings would pass any inspection and mumbled something about lift to weight ratios.

However Clean Cut was ready to step in on some of the "stretches" Soarin asked Coalback to do. He at first thought Soarin was just making fun of the larger stallion. It was during a stretch with a wing against one of the many cloud pillars that Clean Cut realized Soarin was mostly using the opportunity to watch Coalback twist in suggestive ways. It was especially noticeable when Soarin quite openly appreciated Coalback's crotch during a leg stretch, despite his aviator glasses mostly hiding his eyes.

Coalback didn't seem to notice, or if he did, didn't care.

Finally, after Coalback had thoroughly stretched, Soarin had Coalback run through several simple, "ground-bound" drills: A simple pattern of up and forward, down and back until Coalback could easily perform it at a fast pace, then a simple run and jump while doing the same. Coalback was able to extend his leap by several yards and scrape out a landing at the end of the hour. He even fell into Soarin more than once, much to Soarin's delight. By the time the sun had begun to reach its zenith Coalback could glide and change his altitude as well.

Coalback was obsessed with the act, for once actually excited as far as anyone could tell. Soarin didn't give Coalback anything more advanced, instead he took the stallion on laps around an abandoned racing track around the back of the facility. Occasionally he would make them perform an imaginary slalom, which he proudly announced was to help Coalback with his control, but neglected to mention how much he enjoyed watching Coalback's flanks swing back and forth in front of him.

They went on with it for several more hours, so long in fact that Clean Cut and even the guards dozed off. When he woke up he and Coalback’s group of guards were alone in the field and the sun was setting.

"Shit," the doctor mumbled to no one in particular. The Lunar Guards felt the same.

"Shaky as you were in the air, you did real good. Don't worry about it too much, big wings are less maneuverable than you might think. You're probably a better fit for long distance flight than you are for stunts and aerial acrobatics," Soarin said encouragingly as he and Coalback stood under their respective shower heads in the locker room. "Though your landings could use some work ... and your form, and your timing, and your wing maintenance." Soarin scrubbed out some of the sweat on his chest. "You don't talk much, do you?"

"No," Coalback replied. He never once turned to look at Soarin, he only kept his face in the hot water and let it roll over his worn muscles. But there was a smile there, barely, but one that encouraged Soarin to go on anyway.

"You know, the best way to keep your wings preened is to let somepony else do it for you," Soarin said, though the offer wasn't all that well hidden. Who was he kidding, he'd do anything to get his hooves on those muscular flanks at this point. Soarin rarely met anypony quite as dedicated to wing strength as he was, and not just in speed. He loved keeping fit, and he was purely intoxicated by other ponies that were the same.

Coalback just shrugged, either he didn't understand Soarin's hint, or he didn't notice it in his meditation under the running water. Which didn't help Soarin's achingly stiff wings.

"You doing anything later?" Soarin asked straight out. He turned toward Coalback with a hopeful grin. "I know a few great places to eat in town, I could take you around to 'em," he offered.

Coalback paused to give Soarin another confused look. "No."

"'No' you aren't doing anything or 'no' you don't want to come?" Soarin asked, now actually confused.

"No."

"Aw, come on. Is 'no' the only word you can say?"

"No."

"Then come on, dude!" Soarin pleaded while he tried to sound like he wasn't begging. "There's nothing more fun than seeing who crashes harder after a long workout followed up by by a carbo-loading session in town! Plus, the looks on the owners' faces when you clean 'em out is hilarious!" he said.

Coalback gave a thoughtful look before he grinned. "There, you see? We'll have some fun!" Soarin said with a lighthearted, and rather ineffectual shove on Coalback's iron tough shoulder. "So what do you say? Come to dinner with me?"

"No."

Far south of Canterlot, Ponyville and any other pony settlement were the Macintosh Hills. Snow had already covered these rounded peaks in the winter. But beyond them lay the eternal wastelands, or as the ponies called it: the Badlands.

Hidden atop the mountain, and what little remained around the edges of the death desert, were ancient ruins not of pony kind. Their once proud constructions had been nearly choked out by creeping weeds atop the mountain, or beaten into rubble by the wind and sand of the desert below.

And among them creeped an ancient terror of the world: Tundra Wolves. A strange sight, an outside observer might assume, so far away from the true tundra of the North. But these Hills had belonged to them for nearly a thousand years, and everything that set foot there belonged to them.

But this was hardly a unified, stepford force. Often the wolves fought each other with tooth and claw, metal and marrow, or song and soul. What tied them together was only their shared exile from the home that lived on in their stories, and their Empress. The wolves spread across the mountains in an immovable barrier; none could pierce through their boundaries without a wolf's say so.

And in that way the ponies owed the wolves their lives.

A pitch smoking battle had begun on the far side of the Hills, one that the wolves had been stirred into a frothing blood frenzy to fight. The copper within the mountains glinted on their thick hides and in their deadly mouths. They held forth fire and death and trickery, but the wolves fought without fear of fire or death. They were larger and stronger with their sideways heads and bear-like strength, but the wolves were faster and deadlier. They were an ancient evil that had once ravaged the world at their God's whim, but the wolves had their own God behind them.

That night, anypony outside would have sworn that the Northern Lights had exploded over the Macintosh hills. But that was absurd, everypony knew the Northern Lights were in the North, made within the boundaries of the Crystal Kingdom.

The wolves hold the line between light and darkness, the civilized world and them ... for now.

Author's Notes:

So, I'd like to point out that what Luna is doing is she's trying to establish her dominance over Coalback, a pecking order if you will. When she pulled him onto the balcony the night before she demonstrated how much power she held and was able to gain some respect from him (but she has yet to truly establish her place above him). The logic is based off the fact that Coalback’s a werewolf, so he follows some of the social structures of wolves. So for now Coalback is cooperating, but don't expect me to spoil why he didn't just run away the second he got a chance to (there's a surprisingly complex amount of reasons to stay and to not stay).

Also, I'd like to point out that there are three different Guard training grounds (a relic from a more warlike past that doesn't exist in this era of peace) one is near the edge of Canterlot, where it drops off, the officers gym is half imbedded in the mountain next to the palace, and the third is wedged right next to the entrance of the palace grounds and the city. Mostly only one or two are used because the demand for Guards is low in times of peace (it's a pretty demanding job that promises to be boring and without many opportunities for honor to be gained). Also, not sure where the Wonderbolts training place is in canon, but I decided that since I've turned them into an elite task force for the Aerial Guard that they should probably be nearby, so their facility is on the very top of the Canterhorn. They are pretty close to the equivalent of Navy SEALs but also do search and rescue for nature disasters and other things, overall badasses you know, which is a good incentive to encourage the thrill seeking Rainbow Dash to want to join!

Also, I'd like to give you readers some food for thought: Harmony is an interesting concept, it means all parts working together to a greater end, like all the instruments in an orchestra. But people often misunderstand it as EQUALITY which is basically stagnation in the economic, biological, and political sense - which is BAD - when a cell reaches equilibrium, for example, it is known as cell death. Economies rely on the UNEVEN distribution of supplies and the unlimited demand and limited supply, which creates flow of cash - if everyone had everything they wanted no one would buy anything, but in the real world if no one buys anything we're back to subsistence farming. Harmony is balance, which I will definitely be addressing later.