-Pack Bonds-

        Coalback held still, letting Fluttershy find a vein in his arm. She pressed gently but firmly as she searched for it amongst his cool flesh. When she did find it, she moved slowly and deliberately to push the needle into his arm.

        The needle slid through his arm, ending within the weakly pulsing vein. Fluttershy lifted the packet of blood up onto the headboard of the bed, the red liquid slowly draining down the tube and into his arm.

        “Coalback, are you sure this will work?” Twilight’s quiet question barely registered in his addled mind. He turned his head to face her, nodding slightly.

        “I know it, but it may take me awhile to recover from the damage that has been done. A few days probably.” His voice was stronger now, but only just.

He had rested for a long time, waiting for Rainbow Dash to have her blood drawn. When he had woken up, Fluttershy fed him hot soup, attempting to warm his core. But anything they gave him just came back up, and he would refuse to try and eat anything else.

        They had come into the room to draw the blood, not wanting to spread any blood farther than that room. Twilight had made a run to the hospital, borrowing several pieces of equipment, and one of the nurses. But Coalback had demanded that the nurse leave, growling about doctors and how they ‘knew too much and too little’. They had been able to fill two packets with blood, that was how much Coalback said she could give him.

        The nurse had eventually left, being convinced by Rainbow’s assurance that Coalback had been a doctor, as much of a stretch as that was.

        “You know I was never a doctor, right?” Coalback said, a smile decorating his pale face.

        “Close enough.” Rainbow said tiredly from the other side of the bed. She had a small bandage wrapped around her forearm, where she had donated her blood to his recovery. She cradled a small bowl under her wing, a needle and small razor blade set inside it. “what did you need these for, Coalback?” She tilted her head toward the wing holding the bowl.

        “I am going to do something to protect you,” He turned his head back over to her, letting his green eyes balance on her. “If you are part of my pack, then I cannot hurt you.” His eyes fogged over for a second. “At least, he won’t.”

        “What are you talking about?” She whispered, even though the others were still within earshot.

        “If I do not make it, then you all will be in danger. But if you are part of the pack, then you will not be.” He lifted his hoof up from under the blankets, resting it on her chest. “You will be,” He moved the hoof away, resting it on the right side of his chest. “Protected.” His eyes hardened, and he looked toward the bowl.

        “Give them to me.” He said, holding out his hoof.

        Rainbow lifted the bowl up, balancing it on his hoof. He pulled it to him, resting it on his covered chest. He took a deep breath, and pushed himself to a sitting position.

        “Coalback, you shouldn’t be sitting up.” Fluttershy insisted, her nervousness gone as she tried to treat him.

        “Do not worry, I will not be long.” His words kept her from forcing him down to the bed again, but she was unhappy with his stubborn response.

        Coalback removed the needle from the bowl, placing it to his side on the bed. He balanced the bowl on his stomach, pulling the razor out with the arm still attached to the impromptu IV.

        “Whatever happens next, you must not interrupt. If you do, you could become targets instead of friends. Is this understood?” He said darkly, his eyes moving over the faces of those present.

        All of the mares had arrived at the library, but many had opted to stay out of the room when blood was mentioned. And he didn’t blame them, things were about to get messy.

        In the room was Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. The mares nodded, their eyes staring back in confusion, and fear.

        “Rainbow, come up here. Lay on your back across my lap, and do not move.” Coalback instructed, motioning toward his covered legs.

        She climbed up slowly and carefully, trying not to step on him. She slowly lowered herself so that her right side faced him.

        “When I start, you mustn’t cry, or scream.” Coalback looked into her eyes, saddened green disks reflecting out. She nodded to him, determination hardening her features.

        Coalback nodded in return, lowering the razor to her breast. He slowly pulled it upward, shearing off the fur that clung there. He carefully cleared a smooth patch of her skin, in his mind noting that it was also blue like her fur. She took in a sharp breath, but didn’t protest.

        Coalback removed the razor from her chest, lifting his other arm so that it hung over the bowl. He stared into her eyes, and as he spoke his irises slowly changed from greyed out green, to deep golden.

        “Into this pack we accept thee, allowing our blood to become part of you, as you have done for us.” He drew the razor across the crook of his arm, slicing through the flesh. But when the blood flowed out, it was not red.

        Thick black liquid flowed from the fresh wound, falling into the bowl. “Our black blood will mark thee, as one of the pack.” His voice echoed, as if two ponies were talking at once. He turned his head to the arm, watching as the flesh sealed itself back together. Not healed, but no longer bleeding the black blood.

        He lowered the stained razor, and took up the pin in his hoof. But he did not grab it like a pony would have. Instead he pushed the sharpened end through the hard part of his hoof, the end poking out the bottom. “The tool.” His echoing voice stated.

        He lowered the needles tip to the blood filled bowl, lifting it out to present the blood soaked end. “The ink.”

        He slowly lowered the tip to her flesh, pressing it gently against her chest. “And the beginning of the mark.” He raised his other hoof, bringing it down on top of the needles end.

        The tip of the needle buried itself in Rainbow Dash’s chest, sealing the blood within her skin and staining it in a small black dot. He pulled the needle free, wiping away the mix of her red blood with his. He lowered the needle into the bowl again, and repeated the process.

        He continued to tap the needle into her chest, staining the cyan flesh with his black blood. He worked for a long time, and by the time he had finished the sun was near it’s setting. The bag on the headboard had been replaced by a second, the previous one drained.

        But when Coalback wiped away the last of her blood on the new tattoo, it was done. The familiar deformed ‘Y’ shape was stained black onto her skin, and would stay even after her fur had regrown.

        Coalback leaned backwards, resting his shoulders against the headboard. He pushed out the needle from his hoof, letting it fall into the near empty bowl. “You are one of the pack now. We fight together, we hunt together, and we stay together. I will protect you, this is my word, and my word is one that does not break.” His speech finished, the yellow leaving his eyes.

        He rested his hoof on the sore tattoo. “This mark is not one to carry with pride, it is a gift and a curse, one that cannot be broken.” He let out a long sigh, His eyes closing for a second. He lifted the hoof away, moving the dry blood covered razor blade into the bowl as well.

        “Twilight, these need to be burned. Incinerated, nothing left.” He moved them to a table beside the bed. He saw her nod from the corner of his eyes.

        It seemed that during the tattooing, Fluttershy had left. Perhaps she had not been able to stand seeing the barbaric ritual, but Coalback couldn’t be sure. Twilight floated the bloody bowl over to the door, walking out after it. Applejack followed her, the farm pony's gaze lingering on the room as she closed the door.

        “Coalback, it hurts.” Rainbow said, moving herself so that she could wrap her hooves around his chest.

        “I know, but the pain will leave, and the mark will stay. And you will be safe...from me.” He wrapped his hooves around her, taking in her warmth.

        “Is your blood really black?” She asked, and Coalback shook his head.

        “My blood is red, but the wolf’s blood is black.” His voice darkened for a moment, and her mind flashed with the image of the wolf that the soul gaze had shown her. She shivered, the dark memory was just as vivid as if she had seen it only moments before and not hours ago.

        “So why did you need to put this here?” She asked, the meaning behind the tattoo was still a mystery to her.

        “I am weak, and if the catalyst is too late, then I will change. And when I do, I will not be in control of myself.” Coalback shivered, holding her closer.

        His heart was beating stronger, and he wasn’t nearly as cold as before. She could only hope that he was actually recovering, and not being burned from inner fire. Coalback put his hoof back on her chest, the sore flesh stinging with the pressure. And he smiled.

        “A pack. Perhaps one that will last.” He looked into her eyes, bittersweet happiness making them water slightly. “I don’t even care if we are a large pack, or a strong one, just so long as it lasts.” She smiled back at him, leaning forward to lightly brush her lips against his.

        He leaned into her, pushing forward into the kiss. Her eyes closed, her concentration fully on the feeling of his lips against hers.

        What was it about a kiss that had the ability to cause such emotions and feelings? The simple touch of soft flesh against another’s. The feeling of two hearts beating with each other, like a pair of drummers playing together. The feeling of warm fur.

        He broke the kiss, leaning to press his forehead against hers. “I want to stay, I don’t care if the entire world drives me away with hot fire and cold, sharp iron. I want to stay with you.” He took a deep breath through his nose, marking her scent to memory.

        “When you get better, there’s nothing holding you back.” She said softly, rubbing against him. “There’s a warm front rolling in from the south, over the Everfree. If you’re feeling better by tonight, there’s a snowstorm scheduled. But over the Everfree, it’ll melt into rain. It would be nice to watch that with you, the snow and the rain falling beside each other.”

        They sighed together, Coalback silently nodded. They held each other close, letting the warmth be shared.

        Coalback looked up, his gaze drifting out the window. Canterlot lay in silhouette against the setting sun. And as the sun set, his mind cleared. His eyes contracted, pupils shrinking to small spots. Glowing red, like heating coals leaked through his eyes. And he heard a voice that he had, until now, not realized how much he had missed it. The voice of the Other.

        “Knight against pawn, knight against knight, bishop against bishop.” His voice spoke in concert with the Other’s through his own throat.

        Rainbow opened her eyes, that was a strange thing to say. She raised her head away from his, trying to look in his eyes. But the second that her head wasn’t against his, he turned to look out the window. And she saw the glow of the red in his eyes and froze.

        “We have yet to see the opponent’s next move. The knight has been put into play.” He blinked once, the glow disappearing as he opened his eyes again. “The game is underway.” He shook his head slightly, the white shards pierced through his ear clacking together quietly.

        “Coalback?” Rainbow said, her voice rising with surprise. That glow had been there when his wound healed, and it had been there in the phoenix’s eyes. “What just happened?” She whispered, as if the words would bring that phoenix down upon them.

        “A prophecy.” Coalback said, drawing out the last word. “And it rarely does that.” He looked back at her, fear in his eyes. “Go get Twilight, and the letters on my workspace. I need to know if I’m correct in my assumption.” He pushed at her, his limbs still weak. “Quickly! Before my thoughts leave me.”

        She jumped up, running toward the door without further delay. She could ask him about this ‘prophecy’ after he had been satisfied. She jumped out the door, ramming the hallway’s other wall as she tried to turn.

        “Twilight!” She yelled, crashing down the stairs and into the main Library’s room.

        “What is it? Is Coalback alright?” Twilight said, jumping up from her seat on the floor.

        The other mares stood as well, all of her friends gathered in one room. Rainbow took a moment to catch her breath.

        “Coalback thinks that something is about to happen. He wanted you to bring the things he was working on, he said he needed the letters from his work.” Rainbow said, letting the words catch up to the others. “He did some sort of...thing, he said that it was a prophecy.”

        Twilight jumped, rushing to a cluttered table near the back of the room. She levitated up several scrolls, each one had a wax seal on it. And in her haste she knocked over several books and papers onto the floor. Twilight didn’t even look back as she turned toward the stairs. She paused long enough to pull a quill and a clean sheet of paper out from a stack on the table.

        “Well come on then! If Coalback has information on what’s going on, I want to hear it!” She yelled as she ran up the stairs, taking two at a time. The others in the room finally broke their static positions, bolstered by the promise of answers to unseen questions.

        They ran up the stairs, nearly getting themselves stuck in the door as they came to Coalback’s room.

        “What was the prophecy, Coalback? Where did you hear it?” Twilight said, dropping the scrolls in front of him and lifting a quill to her own sheet of paper.

        “I was the one who told it, I did not hear it from anyone.” He said, his voice stoic and unwavering even in his current weakness.

        “So what was it?” Twilight said, her own tone becoming frustrated as he dodged the real question.

        “Something about chess.” He said, rubbing a hoof against his head. “It’s always hard to remember the exact words. But the feeling of an impending event is still there.”

        “Knight against pawn, knight against knight, bishop against bishop.” Rainbow said, the words running from her mouth before she could think. All eyes turned to her, and she swallowed before continuing. “We have yet to see the opponent’s next move. The knight has been put into play. The game is underway.” She stood stock still waiting for one of them to respond.

        Twilight’s eyes opened wide. “Game. Games. Twists and turns. I was right, it is Discord!”

        Everyone in the room gasped, everyone that is, except Coalback.

        “Who is Discord?” He asked flatly.

        “How much research did you get done? Discord should have been in those books I gave you. He’s a draconequus, and a spirit of chaos. But how could he have done this. He’s locked away in stone.” Twilight began pacing, her thoughts racing in her head as she wrote down everything that she could think of.

        “How do you know the spirit?” Coalback asked, his words breaking Twilight from her stride.

        “Thousands of years ago, Discord ruled the world with his powerful chaos. The world was dangerous then, and ponies weren’t ever safe.

        “But then Celestia and Luna locked him away with the Elements of Harmony. And he stayed there, up until a few years ago.” Coalback’s ears perked up. “He escaped, stole the Elements and hid them. Then he went on a rampage, turning everything upside down, and loopy, and just plain wrong.

        “But after two days we found the Elements, we regrouped, and we sealed him in stone again. And then everything went back to normal”

        “WHAT!?” Coalback yelled, his chest heaving and his eyes burning with anger. “A demon of chaos, escapes and runs on a two day rampage. Anything that old, doesn’t simply settle for a two day tantrum. If he escaped he would have been planning his rise, not flaunting about and screwing with a bunch of mares! Why didn’t you start investigating? Looking to see where his influence had spread? Did you ever think that he could have created sleeper spies? Or, I don’t know; a hive of demonic, half headed, lizard...things!?”

        His voice was loud, louder than it should have been. He started coughing again. “You damned ponies may have sealed your fate with that ‘everything is back to normal’ nonsense!” He picked up one of the letters, ripping it open and throwing away the seal. He ran a hoof over it, the sound of scratching quills echoed across the room.

        “There! Send them to the Princess.” He pushed them forward.

        Spike edged over to the bed, taking them in his claws and then turning to run out the door as fast as he could.

        “What was tha-?” Twilight started, but Coalback cut her off.

        “A spell I created to write my thoughts directly to the paper. But that’s not important.

“Now you listen to me, if that stallion instigator, the one we interrogated, was at all involved with this, and I think he very much was, then we don’t have time.” He shoved the blankets off of himself, turning to get out of the bed. The IV ripped free, hitting the floor with a dull sound. When he hit the floor however, he collapsed. His muscles were weak, and he could barely hold his head up.

        “Coalback, you can’t stand yet. Just calm down!” Twilight said, her tone pleading. What he had said had hurt her, he had practically called her stupid.

        “We must prepare the town, the ponies need to be ready for anything. For all we know they could be on our back porch as we speak.” He grunted slowly pushing himself back up.

        And as if his words couldn’t have been any more frightening, a roar echoed through the town.

        Every pony froze. Fear shot through their veins and held them as still as statues.

        Coalback was the first to move. His ears swiveled, locking onto a sound that they could not hear. He slowly moved forward, walking towards the door. His fatigue seemed gone, and he moved completely silently. He reached the door and turned back to face the window. His eyes were not his own any more.

        His sclera had turned black, wolf blood bursting the capillaries and staining the white flesh dark. His irises had turned the yellow of a wolf’s, and shone with the brilliance of gold. When he spoke it was in a near inaudible whisper.

        “Stay inside.” The words had barely left his mouth before he launched himself forward.

        And out the window.

        Coalback could hear the creature, whatever it was. It was light, and fast. That roar had been two kilometers away, but he could hear its footsteps coming closer. It was coming from the West, the direction of the setting sun.

        He rose slowly from the floor, his limbs no longer weak or his bones brittle. He had felt the strength of the wolf drive away pain and exhaustion before, but never at this level. He felt like he could tear down a mountain if he had to.

        “And so is the strength of having a pack, pup.” The wolf’s voice rang in his head. “It is what gave you the strength to overcome your instincts and kill your family, despite my efforts.” It sounded angry, hungry.

        He walked to the door of the room, turning toward the window. He could clearly hear the steps of the creature coming forward. The mares were still frozen in their fear.

        It was heavy, two hundred and fifty kilos, at least. And he heard claws digging through dirt, thin claws, cat’s claws. He resisted the urge to growl openly, best not to let it know that he was aware of it yet. It was walking down the streets, confident that it had its prey pinned.

        But Coalback had killed a naagloshii. He had seen the soul of a naagloshii, and he no longer feared them, or their name. And a cat was nothing compared to that. But he knew that unless he hit the cat fast and hard, that fight would not end well for him.

        He crouched tensing his muscles and feeling his eyes burn as the power washed through him fully.

        “Stay inside.” He said, his voice echoing in his super-sensitive ears.

He felt the change start, that sharp, hot pain in the back of his head. He heard the sound of the cat’s claws echo through the wood of the tree as it walked over the root that stuck out of the ground.

He rushed forward, the window becoming huge in front of him in an instant.

He had memorized the layout around the tree, as well as all the windows. And he knew that that root was just below and in front of this window.

He felt the window shatter as his hooves hit it, and he felt the hooves split into four segments. Fire burned in his arms as the bones unfused, separating into the metacarpals and turning the shards of hoof into claws. He felt his wings fuse back into his back, creating a large plate for an instant as they re-fused to his ribs and shoulder blades.

He felt his skull get thicker, his eyes smaller and harder. He felt his muzzle extend, the teeth breaking apart and reforming into the sharp cutting tools that he required. His fur got thicker, the meager mane and fur of a pony was too thin and split too easily. This hide was thick with winter fat, even though he had not eaten enough to make it.

The Wolf was the one who made all of that matter, pulling it from another dimension and shaping it to its will, and then taking it for it’s own. He never woke up with the fat later, but the wolf never returned the matter it had stolen, storing it as ecstatic adrenaline and testosterone afterwards.

That’s what really caused werewolves to go crazy, that deadly mix of pheromones that halted higher thinking.

He landed hard, his claws digging into a bony shoulder. A cat’s shoulder.

It had all happened in an instant, the change, the impact. Less than two seconds, The change had been getting faster, but never this fast. And he had never felt so incredible.

Or maybe he had, years ago.

His head moved on it’s own, driven forward by instinct toward the neck of the huge cat. They rolled, Coalback’s sudden impact tackling the cat to the ground. He shredded and tore with his claws, his head shaking as hard as it could.

The cat let out a feline snarl, twisting and rolling until it scraped Coalback off against a house’s wall. They separated, Coalback kicked away from the wall. Turning quickly to face the cat again.

It stood as his eyes caught sight of her. It was just as large as him, its muscles bulging under the loose hide. Its coat was broken black, the spots of a leopard mixing with the black of a jaguar. Red blood ran down its face and back, it growled in it’s throat.

Coalback returned the gesture, his own much deeper and more hateful than any cat was capable of producing. He barked, the loud sudden sound making the cat tense up. They simply stared at each other for a long time, and then it spoke in a very feminine voice.

“You are faster than I had originally thought, Blaidd-ddyn.” It’s voice was not unpleasant, but it did seem to warp and sounded strange. The words seemed foreign to the mouth that was using them.

Coalback snarled again, feinting a forward rush and pushing the cat backwards. “You do not deserve to use those words!” His voice echoed, the wolf speaking with him as their minds melded into one.

“Is that not what you are?” Her tone had become taunting, wanting him to anger at the words. “Or are you a dog now? Slave to the pony that puts a collar around your neck! Or do you consider yourself a pony? Perhaps you want to fit in with them, protect them? Disgusting!” She spat. “A being as noble and strong as you should not be lowered to such a base position. Join us and you will have power and fortune like none before.”

“Had that, don’t want it!” Coalback snarled. “What is gold, but soft metal? Useless for armor or knives. What is power when another holds greater above yours? Or when you no longer are yourself?” Coalback’s words stung, their bitterness seeded by his truths.

The Cat snarled again. “You will have only one chance after this. And I pray you take it, else the master will destroy you.” Her eyes grew softer, if only slightly. “He sees purpose in you now, but if you refuse Him a third time, He will have to destroy you. Once more I ask; come to the master and surrender your allegiance to him.”

Coalback pulled in a deep breath, and with all his might, he roared. The sound was more akin to that of a lion’s roar among a rockslide. Some mix of deadly predator, and irresistible force. The sound shook every window on the street that they stood upon.

As if by some unseen signal, they rushed forward. Slamming together with the sick sound of bone connecting against bone. They clawed at each other, the cat landing a blow on his shoulders. But Coalback had landed his own strike.

When they separated again, Coalback had his back criss crossed with a hashtag of black blood and ripped flesh. And the cat was bleeding from her stomach. He had not cut through the muscle, or the flesh holding her organs within her body, but she bled.

He could smell it now, blood. It was enough to send shivers of excitement up his legs. It had been too long, an entire week, perhaps longer. He licked his lips, tasting the cat’s blood on them. He growled low and deeply, he wanted her to know that he had tasted blood, and he wanted more.

He bared his teeth, lowering his ears to his head and preparing for another strike. The cat snarled, baring her sharp fangs in the dimming orange light. They ran forward again, connecting at the shoulders and raising up on hind legs.

Coalback snapped with his teeth, at the same time trying to avoid hers. They gripped each other with their claws, digging at the others hide. They struggled and snarled, trying to simultaneously claw at the other and rip the other’s throat out.

Snow and blood and cold mud flew in every direction as they toppled. Their almost static wrestling quickly accelerating to mad thrashing, claws and teeth flashed. One instant Coalback had her throat in his teeth, the next she had his. It seemed like hours before they separated again.

They stood looking at each other again, breathing heavily. Coalback’s left eye was bleeding black, and it looked like he couldn’t see out of it. His left ear was torn at the base, the flesh hanging off like wet rags on a drying rack. His chest and neck were covered in sharp lines where the cat had dug her claws in. His front right arm was torn around the metal rings, staining the grey dappled fur black as night.

The cat was just as bloody and wounded. A long, deep gash had been cut through her stomach by one of Coalback’s back legs as they tumbled, and her organs were plainly visible through the blood. Her throat was soaked in her own blood, her mouth stained black by Coalback’s blood. The cat’s back and shoulders were covered in marks similar to Coalback’s, bloody and crossing over each other.

They had reached equal ground again, they were too evenly matched. They would either both die, or they would keep fighting until the other did. Coalback licked his lips again, his body held still as he stared down his opponent with his one working eye. He sniffed at the air, feeling the sting of his nose as he realized that the skin had split at the front.

But he had found what he was looking for, the smell of feline fear. Fear from a predator is different than from another species, it had a more coppery tinge to it as well as the smell of fresh carrion.

“Blaidd-ddyn!” She snarled. “Bastard! Impure blood!” She spat the words, insults directed toward him.

“Cat...” Coalback growled. “Feline...Delicate...Slow.” He snarled, his red stained teeth flashing. The cat snarled at him, a primal response to a challenge as old as evolution.

Coalback jumped forward, golden light flashed. He was on top of her in an instant, she had barely moved. He had leapt forward with a crack like thunder behind him, every window shattered with the concussive blast. They fell to the ground, Coalback’s grey form perched on top. The cat was deafened, but forced to hear within her ears as her bones cracked and scraped against Coalback’s attack.

He tore at the stunned cat. His chest pinning her arm to her side, his jaws locking onto her neck and digging into the already shredded hide. His rear legs kicked and shoveled out flesh as he dug into her entrails with the strong claws there. She screamed in an animal wail of pain, her innards spreading across the street as Coalback ripped them free of her body.

In one strong motion, Coalback swung his head upward. The neck of the cat stretched and tore, revealing the trachea and muscles beneath the hide. His teeth ripped through the trachea, ripping long shreds of flesh away from it. Blood sprayed and looped through the air, snow and mud splattered around them.

And the cat slowly died. Not from the pain, and not from the absence of her organs. Blood flowed down her throat and flooded her lungs, she drowned. Coalback moved with her body as it died, not giving her an instant of freedom from his deadly grasp.

He tore at the meat of her neck, swallowing chunks of red flesh in a lust fueled hunger. Filling his stomach with her flesh, sating his hunger with her blood.

Coalback untangled himself from the strings of shredded flesh and organ. He felt his muscles start to ache, the power of the wolf spent to it’s near full extent. He looked to the sky, the howl already forming in his throat.

It was a long, saddening howl. A howl for mourning. It stretched long, dipping and rising as it slowly made its way to silence. Coalback ended his howl, the mourning of a defeated enemy finished, he was required to do little else for his fallen foes.

Something porcelain shattered at his paws, small bits of shrapnel cutting at the toes. Someone yelled, a feminine voice that was unfamiliar to him. He turned to the source, his ears flattening against his head, and his one still functioning eye open wide in fear.

A crowd of ponies moved toward him, many armed with potted plants or rocks. He saw a couple of stallions, snow shovels clutched in their mouths. A few unicorns had joined the mob, flaming torches held in their colorful auras.

Another pony threw a pot, it hit his rear and shattered. Dirt and broken clay sprayed across the street and into his stinging wounds.

The wolf had spent itself, its strength and confident instincts gone with it. He was scared.

A flash of an old memory. Tall figures silhouetted by fire, cold metal gleamed in the light. Shouting, curses, profanities. He practically felt the bullets hitting him again.

He yelped, a sound of animal surprise and pain. He backed away from the approaching mob. His eyes darted around, panic driving him to scramble away.

They yelled again, non lingual shouts that pushed Coalback away. Someone threw a bottle, a flaming rag trailing from it. It struck the ground to his left, sending out a small wave of fire. It was nothing compared to the fire he had seen could come out of a flaming bottle of alcohol, but it burned his toes all the same.

He yelped again, jumping away from the fire. He thanked the fact that it was winter, and relished the feeling of cold snow on the burns. A large pony ran forward, a large piece of wood clutched in his teeth. The muscles rippled under his white coat as he swung the log. Coalback just glanced at the tiny wings along his back.

The log hit him like a freight train, and launched him backwards. He felt one of his teeth crack from the impact, the loose piece cutting into his tongue. He impacted the ground, feeling the bark of a tree resting against his back.

Coalback looked up into the boughs of the great tree, the tree that housed a library. He whimpered, it warbled into a howl in his throat. It was a desperate cry for help, animal instincts and fears guiding him, but not showing the way. Fear and desperation filled him, the all too familiar feeling of betrayal.

Even after he had destroyed the predator that had threatened them, they had simply seen him as a monster to be driven away.

Blood flowed into his open eye, and he swiped at it desperately. When he was able to see again, the huge pony stood over him.

And then the crowd’s words reached him, and he felt his mind begin to clear.

“Horrible monster!” A mare swooned.

“A liar, a traitor!” A stallion howled.

“I saw it happen, all of it!” Another mare, her tearful scream driving the mob forward.

“That creature needs to be destroyed!” A different mare again, her voice shaking with hate.

The huge pony reared up, bringing his hooves high into in the air in preparation to crush his skull. He closed his eyes, waiting for the pony to end his existence.

There was a thud, and the sound of air forcefully exiting lungs. There was the sound of a struggle hidden among the shouts of the crowd. He opened his eyes, searching for the reason to his survival.

The mob had redirected its burning stare, upon a white stallion struggling under the merciless beating of a cyan mare.

Rainbow Dash had seen the entire fight, she had watched in rapt horror. When Coalback jumped out the window, time had slowed for her. She had seen him change, the sickening look of bones shifting and muscles reshaping. That image would be burned into her mind’s eye for as long as she would live.

She had never seen anything like that fight. It had been pure unrated violence, blood had been sprayed across the entire street. The body, and the parts of it, were still steaming in the snow.

Her ears had rung with the sound of his howl, and it’s meaning had filled her. How she could possibly have known the meaning of something that abstract escaped her. But that feeling that only a funeral can make, coursed through her. And her mind had left her.

She hadn’t even realized when the townsponies had attacked Coalback, not until he had made that sound. That sound had rocked her to her core, and had made her aware instantly of the situation. She felt more than heard the fear that he was experiencing, and that noise had made her want to help.

It was as if every single fiber of her being, needed to be near him. Needed to help him. Needed to protect him.

Her legs had practically started moving without her, and she was outside of the window faster than she could think. She hovered in the air, her eyes locking onto Coalback, and the stallion ready to strike on him.

She lunged forward, a rainbow colored contrail following in her wake. Her hooves impacted the overly-muscular stallion at almost her top speed. The tackle took them both down to the snowy ground near the front of the library. Without even a grunt of acknowledgement, she started throwing punches.

She just kept swinging her arms, some inner fire driving her forward. Her hooves ached as she tried to keep the stallion from getting back up and hurting Coalback again. She kept swinging, even as hooves grabbed hold of her and pulled her away.

“NO!” She yelled, her voice shaking with anger and tears. “Get off of me!” She kept kicking, ignoring the ponies voices yelling at her.

“Hold her down!” A pony yelled, his voice commanding, and rather familiar. She opened her eyes, locking her stare onto the brown pegasus stallion. His dumbbell cutie mark shone slightly in the nearly gone sunlight, and his face was twisted down into a scowl. “What do you think you’re doing, Rainbow Crash?” He spat, using that nickname that he still refused to drop, even after she had proved him wrong.

“Stopping you from killing an innocent pony!” Rainbow shouted back, struggling against the hooves holding her.

“I don’t see any pony being murdered.” He said, his incredibly annoying voice said. “Just a mad dog, being put down.” He said, looking down at her. “Hold on a second. What is that?” He leaned forward, putting his face close to her chest.

She inhaled sharply, pulling away from him. But it was too late, he scowled again. “He’s marked you? You’re one of...one of him?!” He yelled, looking back at the wolf near the tree.

Rainbow Dash followed his gaze, locking her eyes on Coalback. He was surrounded by several ponies, random items used as weapons to hold him back against the tree’s trunk. He was standing now, but not on steady legs. His wounded leg was held up away from the ground, and his lips were peeled back in a silent snarl. He kept looking between the ponies holding him, and her.

“You’re making a big mistake, Dumb-Bell!” Rainbow growled.

“Oh yeah, is that coming from a pegasus, or a wolf-pony?” He said, poking her chest and the clearly visible tattoo.

“It’s coming from someone who was paying attention to Coalback ripping apart a jaguar! And from somepony who has seen him in action three times before now.” She retorted, pushing her head up as far as she could with the other ponies holding her down. “If he was really going to hurt you, he would have done it by now!” She said, trying to show them how much Coalback had already done.

“That is exactly why he can’t be allowed to live!” Dumb-Bell said in return. “If he’s that dangerous then he can’t be trusted around other ponies! See reason, Dash!” He said.

Rainbow made a frustrated sound. “This is exactly why Coalback was scared at the party! Because of ponies like you!” She yelled, her voice becoming more desperate as she realized how little these ponies were paying heed to her. “He talked about how ponies treated him where he came from. He has more scars from that than he can count!”

“He’s tricked you, Rainbow! He must have hypnotized you, or something. Wolf-ponies are tricky, my dad always said so.” Dumb-Bell said, his words holding a finality to them.

Coalback snarled from near the tree, attracting Dumb-Bell’s attention. They turned to him, watching as he swiped at a shovel that had gotten too close to him. The ponies around him startled, shuffling around and continuing to point their makeshift weapons at him.

“Please!” Rainbow said desperately. “Coalback’s scared, let me help him!” She struggled against the ponies holding her, trying to move toward Coalback.

“Hold her down!” Dumb-Bell commanded, a snarl from Coalback cutting off his next words. “Let’s take care of this thing before it recovers any more!” He turned fully away, walking toward the trapped wolf.

“Wait!” Twilight called, her voice desperate and pleading. Everyone paused turning toward the door.

“Don’t let them interfere, they are all under his spell!” Dumb-Bell shouted, sending several ponies to the door of the library to meet the five mares. He continued to walk toward Coalback, pulling a short blade from under his wing.

Coalback reacted immediately, he stopped snarling. His body dropped low to the ground and his one visible eye shook with fear as he eyed the knife. Desperate whimpering crawling from his throat as he backed away against the tree. He turned, desperately trying to climb up the tree and watch the knife at the same time. His claws dug at the bark of the tree, revealing the white flesh of the living tree.

“That’s right, you know what this is.” Dumb-Bell said around the handle of the knife. “This is a silver knife! My dad’s before he bit it.” He twirled it in his mouth, bringing another bout of whimpers and yelps from Coalback. “And we all know what happens to wolf-ponies when they touch silver.” He smiled, letting the sly grin creep around the blade.

“NO!” Rainbow Dash yelled, desperation shaking her voice and making it crack. “Don’t hurt him!” She yelled, shaking and kicking against the ponies holding her again. “You’re making a mistake!”

Dumb-Bell pushed through the group that was holding Coalback in, and that’s when things started moving fast.

Coalback stopped his scratching and whimpering as soon as Dumb-Bell had gotten to the rear of the group of ponies. He started to turn the second that Dumb-Bell started to push through them. And the absolute moment that Dumb-Bell had cleared a hole for himself, Coalback lunged.

He snarled and ran through the gap that he had created, and kept running. He was past the ponies in an instant, the only evidence that he had come near them was a streak of his blood wiped onto their sides. Dumb-Bell didn’t even have a chance to swing his knife, and the entire group jumped out of the way.

Coalback turned as soon as he was outside of their circle, turning straight toward Rainbow Dash and the ponies holding her. But his eyes were his own, and his actions were smooth and controlled. The ponies holding her panicked, running at the sight of the now free wolf.

She suddenly found herself on the ground, Coalback’s voice jumping into her ears. “Go! Now!” He ran up to her, her movements not satisfying him as he closed his mouth around the scruff of her neck. He pulled her up onto her hooves, waiting for her to start running before letting go of her neck.

He kept running, moving faster and faster as he ran to the forest. But Rainbow stopped, her legs locking as she slid to a stop. Coalback stopped as well, just in front of the barrier that separated the town from the Everfree Forest.

“We need to leave. Fanatics like that will not give up until we are dead.” He said, his wolf lips made the words sound too smooth, and they slid funnily. “We have to go.” His head darted up, the one green tinted eye looking back at the town.

“I can’t...” Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head nervously.

Coalback didn’t even pause, his eyes came back to her. “Very well, then there may be only one way that they will not kill you.” Rainbow looked back at him, his eye was sad, and a tear slid down in his fur.

“What are you-?” Rainbow started, but Coalback interrupted her. A low growl exploded from his throat.

His voice was buried in the sound, but she heard it as plain as day. “I’m sorry.” And then he roared, the sound pushing her back onto her flank.

Her eyes watered suddenly, Coalback’s roar was apparent in its meaning to her. It was a signal, a warning. She was not welcome, and she was not part of the pack. It was a roar that said; ‘Go away’. And then Coalback lunged at her, his claws sweeping out to her chest.

White hot fire spread out from her breast. She fell backwards onto the ground, her ears ringing. She yelled out, clutching her chest. She could feel hot, slick blood on her hooves.

Voices shouted from behind her, Their words lost in the ringing left in her ears from the roar. She felt hooves grip her and start to pull her away from the forest.

“No!” She shouted, weakly struggling against the ponies dragging her away. “No!” She began to sob, her words losing meaning as she cried out.

There it was. That feeling of loss, like somepony had ripped off a part of her soul. Coalback had left her, he had hurt her. She could feel the burning of the cleanly cut flesh around her tattoo, the feeling only worsened by the soreness of the flesh.

Gentle hooves laid her out on something warm and soft. But she wasn’t paying attention to anything, even as somepony cleaned and bandaged the wound.

She cried like a foal, for hours all she could do was sob into the soft bed’s cushions. The burning in her chest slowly subsiding as the blood clotted and the healing process began. The storm had started without her, snow blasting against a window that she did not look out.

To her, it felt like days had passed before sleep’s gentle embrace enveloped her. And she could have sworn, that in the distance a sad, long howl echoed among the snow and rain.