-The Rain-

        “The next part ... is a little hard to describe.” Coalback said, taking a few experimental puffs on the nearly depleted cigarette. “Everything started happening very fast.” He rubbed a hoof on his temple, massaging a growing headache.

        “If you don’t want to tell us, it’s okay.” Rarity said, her eyes glazing over as she tried to comprehend what he had done to Dumb-Bell. They sat for a few moments, silence dominating the room as the mares thought over what Coalback had told them. Applejack looked up, a confused expression dotting her face.

        “Ah have a few questions, if that’s alright.” Applejack said, lifting her hoof to call attention to herself. “Ya’ll said that until ya met yer teacher, that ya never woulda known about yer ... magic, right?” Coalback nodded, waiting for the actual question to be asked. “So, who was she?” Applejack finished, shrugging slightly as she looked toward him.

        Coalback hummed in the back of his throat, closing his eyes for a moment and leaning back slightly. He reached up a hoof, tapping the hidden crystal hanging from his neck in the nearly destroyed collar. “This is my teacher.” He said finally, opening his eyes and looking back at her. “Although, it has no name, and I am unsure if it has a gender as well. It has never told me, although I always assumed it was male.” He chewed on the tip of his cigarette, watching her reaction.

        “Now that don’ make much sense.” Applejack scoffed, shaking her head and eyeing him. “How coulda glowin crystal teach anythin?” She gave him an incredulous look, waiting for a propre answer to her question.

“It’s true, Applejack. I’ve seen it.” Rainbow confirmed, leaning against Coalback. Applejack gave her a disapproving glare, which she responded to by sticking out her tongue.

Coalback glanced between them, slightly confused at their silent argument. “Yes, it is my teacher.” Coalback said, dismissing their actions for the moment and trying to continue. “It gave me the knowledge I needed to control myself, and that is really the only way I can explain it. It’s sort of like ... like the crystal is part of me, its knowledge is my knowledge. Do you understand?”

        Applejack nodded, a stubborn frown still plastered to her face. Her eyes wandered around the room again, and her frown turned to one of curiosity. “Yeah and, uh, one more thing.” Applejack continued, satisfied for the moment by his answer. She gulped. “Does it always feel tha way you described it? Tha change that is ...”

        Coalback shivered, pulling Rainbow closer to him. “No.” He said, forcing the words out and shaking his head. “The first time ... the first time is always the worst.” He choked, pulling the cigarette from his mouth and grinding it out, the taste of it suddenly sickening him. “For the first two years, every change was Hell. My father always told me; ‘It changes, eventually. Soon the Wolf will work in concert with you, like it has with the rest of us.’” Coalback scoffed, the words like bile in his mouth. “It never gets easier, it’s only those rare moments where the Wolf’s rage runs parallel to mine that it ever feels good. But lately I’ve just been numb, and sometimes ... that’s even worse than when it hurts.”

        Coalback shivered again, burying his nose in Rainbow’s mane as he held her close to him. He breathed through his nose forcefully for a few moments, driving away the memories of those years with sheer will.

        Rainbow shivered next to him, partly because she was worried about him, and partly because she was so close to him. It was like feelings of her love mixed with that horrible fear of losing him inside that abyss that he kept walking around, the one she had seen in him.

“But I should try and tell you what happened out there.” He said after a moment, loosening his hold on Rainbow and letting her lean against him in a loose hug. He looked back up at the shocked faces of his audience, their faces stoic in the severity of Coalback’s admission to his pain.

“I was standing over Dumb-Bell, preparing a spell that would take us back to Ponyville. And then the forest lit up, like a star had sprung into existence at the left of the clearing.” He lifted one of his hooves and indicating the storm outside. “There was a sound, like thunder through a metal tube, echoing and warbling weirdly. And I got hit by something, it didn’t have much mass. If it had, I ... well, I’d be surprised if I walked away from it.” Coalback sighed, returning his hoof to the floor.

“It hit my shoulder, exploding it in pain worse than any wound I had ever been given before. It was like my whole body had just been doused in liquid iron, it burned so much.” Coalback said, flexing his shoulder weakly. “And then it stopped, no more burning, just this dull ache. Oh, I knew I was screwed then. If it didn’t hurt it was either already dead, or broken beyond any repair. This happened in almost an instant, white hot pain, then dull numbness.

“And I wasn’t in the same place either, the impact threw me away from Dumb-Bell, and shattered any hope of completing that spell. I hit a tree at the edge of the clearing, one of the spears that had been thrown around during the chase was there, wedged between the trunk and a bough. I hit it of course, it’s head cutting into my rear and broke off from the rest of the shaft.

“The spell broke apart, random energies flew out, creating light and heat as they translated their energies to the entropy in the air.” Coalback wiped at the sweat forming on his brow, he was breathing heavily. This story must have been drawing out some strange feelings for him.

Rainbow leaned up, nuzzling under his chin to try and encourage him to keep going. He smiled, his breathing calming slightly at her touch. “The light let me see what came into the clearing next.” He said, shivering against her. “Those ... things, I don’t know what to call them.” Coalback shook his head, massaging his temple again. “Those things with the beaks that open vertically, they were there.

“One of them had this ... I don’t know how to describe it to you. It was like a metal rod, and it had these golden decorations all over it. It held it in it’s arms, bracing one end of it against it’s shoulder. The other end glowed a dull white, smoke drifting from it’s far end.” Coalback shook his head, sighing in exasperation. “And it was so different from the only thing that I can compare to it, and there isn’t a word for it here. Like a smaller cannon, small enough to be carried and used easily. But this thing couldn’t have been that.

“First off, it glowed. The weapons I’m trying to describe don’t glow, the weapon usually can’t create enough heat to make it glow. So either this thing was much more powerful than that, or it used a different kind of propulsion for it’s projectile.” Coalback paused looking up at them and making sure they were following what he was trying to say.

They all still seemed confused, Coalback sighed. He put his hoof in some of the ashes on the floor in front of him, smearing it around to create an image. He created a vaguely streamlined ‘L’ shape, adding small smudges along it’s longer line.

“It looked sort of like this, but these things here,” He indicated the random smudges along the long part of the ‘L’. “They looked like sparks were still coming off of them, they were the gold parts. And the end here,” He pointed to the longest end. “This is the part that was glowing.

“I think it was some sort of projectile weapon, but it had no opening in the end for the projectile to exit, so I have no idea how it works.” He leaned back, a defeated look in his eyes as he looked down at the picture. “It scares me, knowing there are weapons like that here too.” He said sadly. “I could only watch as those things started to rip apart Dumb-Bell.” He said, anger returning to his voice. “One of them approached me, that weapon clutched in its hands.

“I couldn’t do anything, and I felt so helpless. It was like that first day all over again.” He said, covering his eyes with a hoof. But then he dropped it looking up with eyes of wonder. “And then they came, thousands of them.

“Wolves.” He said, dragging the hoof down his face and letting it fall back to the floor. “They fell on the monsters like a hawk to a sparrow.” His analogy made Fluttershy shiver, her reaction going unnoticed as he continued. “They didn’t even stand a chance, they fell on them in a way that would have made piranha look like stuffed toys in comparison. They filled the clearing, more wolves than I had ever seen in my entire life.

“They surrounded me, and they surrounded Dumb-Bell. I could just make him out from where I was, they hadn’t touched him. It was so strange, I would have been sure that they would have gone straight for him, but they didn’t. They surrounded me, their golden eyes glowing in the darkness and staring into me. All I could do was wait there. And then, She came into the clearing.

“The rain stopped in her presence, not even that storm daring to mark her. Only incredibly powerful beings could have that effect on their surroundings.” He shivered, and she recognised the reason why he was reacting the way he was.

He was purely terrified, every muscle was clenched, his face had gone pale and he was shaking slightly.

“She sang.” He continued, shaking his head. “And it was like the heavens had opened up. She said that I was a long lost friend, and that she wanted to welcome me home. She had two maidens with her, beautiful as flowers and deadly as poison. They came to me, licking my wounds for me, and leaning against me.

“She told me that she would help me.” He shivered again, the movement more violently fearful than any Rainbow had seen from him before. “She told me that she would let me fulfill the promises I had made, and that she would welcome me with open arms to her empire. That I would be her Knight.” He nuzzled into Rainbow again, trying to hide himself against her.

 She didn’t know what to say, it was like he was having a total breakdown. He took a deep breath, shifting his head so that his mouth was free of her side but kept himself pressed to her. “When a powerful spirit does something for you, it is never for free.” He said darkly, his voice shaking. “A blank check for every one, and she performed three for me that night.

“She stopped those split-headed demons from killing Dumb-Bell and I.” He said shakily. “She healed me enough to allow me to walk back to you. And then she gave me this.” He pulled away from her, sitting back on his flank again.

He poked a hoof under the collar, revealing a leather thong tied around his neck. Dangling from the end of it was a charm of some sort. It was a tuft of long blondish fur and two feathers that spread out like wings from it. They were held together with a golden wire, wound tightly around the three items and the thong.

“This,” He said, swallowing loudly. “would lead me to them. One of her maidens pulled it from around her neck, and put it on me.” He clutched it in his hoof, shaking ever so slightly. “‘Dewch i'n cyfarfod lle y goleuadau cyffwrdd y ddaear, a byddwn yn dangos y ffordd.’ She said. Meet us where the lights touch the earth, and we will show you the way.” He swallowed, gently replacing the charm.

He simply sat for awhile, waiting for the reactions from the mares. Pinkie had mysteriously disappeared. Fluttershy seemed to be in some sort of daze, hovering between shivering horror and rapt awe. Applejack and Rarity sat with similar looks of contemplation.

 “They were marching around the storm, staying at it’s edges as they moved North. And an army of those monsters, is coming in its wake.” Coalback said darkly, looking down at Rainbow Dash. “They will arrive the night of the storm’s passing.” He examined her, trying to discern her thoughts from the strangely determined expression on her face.

She looked up at him. “Then we break a hole in the storm and start the storm and we start the evacuation.” She said, breaking away from him and standing up. Thunder boomed outside.

“What do you mean, Rainbow?” Coalback said, confusion dominating his features as he stood as well. She turned to face him.

“I mean, that I’m going out there, and I’m stopping the storm.” She huffed out of her nostrils, that crazed determination making them dance like fire. Coalback’s eyes widened as he realized just what she meant.

“You mean to fly into the storm? At the apex of it’s passing?” He said, concern and a hint of anger leaking into his voice.

“Of course!” She said, walking forward and pressing her nose against his. “I’ve broken storms before, Coalback. This’ll be like a walk in the park.” Her determination was blind, Coalback growled his frustration starting to get the better of him.

“This is a hurricane, Rainbow Dash!” He said, attempting to spread his wings in an aggressive posture. He winced, closing his wings again before they could complete their motion.

Rainbow Dash didn’t however stop her motion, spreading her wings so that her plumage faced him, the effect making her look bigger and angrier. “I don’t see the difference! A storm is a storm, find the center and reduce the power with counter movements, that’s always the best method of destroying them and it’s easy. Textbook.” She punctuated, flapping her wings toward him. He took a step back, her aggressiveness starting to make him balk slightly.

The wind she created made the ashes on the floor swirl in miniature corkscrews around his hooves. “You don’t understand!” Coalback insisted, his voice becoming strained. “This storm is a tropical nightmare! Not even with the most advanced technologies of my people was it possible to stop one of these.” He pressed his nose against hers again, snorting out a breath loudly as he continued. “If there was a way to stop it, do you think I wouldn’t have stolen that advantage from them? The center of the storm is hundreds of leagues from here, it’s eye barely skirts the shoreline. This storm is so powerful, that it is more than likely to actually push back the shoreline. Do you understand? This storm is possibly destroying the land around it, and you think I’m going to just let you fly into it?”

Coalback stomped forcefully on the floor, shaking the whole room and ripping out several more stitches. His eyes suddenly hardened, no longer filled with fear or trepidation toward Rainbow. “I can allow myself to be hurt.” He said, his voice quiet and dark. “I would let Heaven and Hell destroy one another. I would even let a genocide open up on the streets. But I will not ever allow you to needlessly risk yourself on an impossible venture!” He yelled, but Rainbow stood firm, not letting him intimidate her.

“Then you can just try and stop me.” She said quietly, Coalback’s eyes widened as she darted around him. He turned, attempting to catch her before she could make her way around him. But he was too late, faster than a pony’s eye could track, Rainbow had pushed out the window, leaving a prismatic blur behind her.

Coalback lunged forward, attempting to follow immediately after her, but the window was too small, catching his shoulders as he tried to follow. Wind and cold rain splashed into the room, soaking Coalback as he attempted to close it. He shut it forcefully, turning as soon as it was closed to move toward the door.

A limp slowed his progress at first, but he quickly compensated, pushing the pain to the back of his mind and rushing down the stairs. He vaguely heard the voices of the mares calling back to him. Pinkie was standing downstairs, instantly jumping up and trying to stop him.

“You’re not supposed to get worked up like this!” She sing-songed, raising a hoof to stop him. He never broke stride, simply lifting a hoof and pulling himself over her shoulder.

He grabbed her hoof, pushing off with his back legs and tucking into a roll over her shoulders. His grab ended up flipping her around, but it wasn’t anything to hurt her. Even in an anger addled mind he was able to regret just brushing her off like that, especially sincec he knocked her down. Although, to her credit, she simply looked at him in shock as he threw open the door.

He heard the mares gather behind him as he rushed out, extending his wings and ripping open the wound there again. He winced pushing back the pain and flapping once to test the integrity of his wings. Satisfied, he pumped them forcefully down, drowning out the protests from the mares and shooting into the rain and wind tousled sky.

Even under the fringes of the storm, Coalback was pushed around by the wind. It pushed against his wings, catching on them and attempting to flip him over. He pushed up into the air, reaching the clouds and diving up into them.

Turbulence increased instantly, cold air and hot rising drafts pushing against him. He fought to keep steady, clasping wings closed and then flashing them to full length only a moment later. After only a few tiring moments, he burst through the top layer of clouds. And while the storm wasn’t very tall here, it only continued to slope upwards as it stretched out before him. The air was thinner, forcing him to breath harder to receive the same amount of oxygen.

He glanced around, spreading his wings wide and going into a gentle glide as he searched. His eyes roamed the dim sky, the sun still too low to shine it’s light over the clouds. He spotted her quickly, a prismatic dot against the dark grey clouds that roiled around her. She was moving fast, toward a cliffside of clouds.

Coalback pushed forward, again ignoring the pain in his wings and back. His left wing was weaker, the wound in that shoulder had destroyed the powerful muscles there for the downstroke. Every movement was torture, forcing him to sweat and pant as he pushed himself faster and faster.

“RAINBOW!” He yelled, the words sailing across the clouds. Their soft surfaces absorbed sound like a sponge, and by the time it reached Rainbow Dash it was barely a whisper.

It was enough though, she turned her head to look behind her. She spotted Coalback quickly, her eyes more used to finding ponies among clouds, even a particular grey stallion chasing after her. She scowled, he couldn’t be out here like this, and she was already so close to the storm.

“GO BACK!” She yelled, barely hearing his negative over the wind as they barreled toward the mountain of clouds stretching before her. She turned back to him and his rapidly approaching silhouette. Her eyes widened, realizing that she had slowed down significantly.

She turned back to the clouds before her, she squinted, diving down and flapping hard to accelerate as quickly as she could. In a few moments, the dark clouds enveloped her, and the world suddenly changed.

What had at first been nothing dissimilar to a normal storm had turned into absolutely powerful chaos. The random wind drafts were stronger than anything she had ever tried to fight against, pushing her up and down endlessly. Rain pounded against her from all directions, she felt hail impacting her coat.

Lightning lit up the clouds, and the trees flying inside them. She opened her eyes wide, watching in horror as a tree bigger than Twilight’s house flew past her. She tried to dodge away from it, twisting to the side and instantly losing control. She flipped around, suddenly unable to figure out which way was up.

Part of her was calmly running through protocols, what she was supposed to do in an uncontrolled fall. But her body wouldn’t react, she was panicking. Lightning flashed nearby, deafening her with it’s sudden boom. Rain and hail battered her from all directions, and she couldn’t tell if she was falling or was being kept up by the storms winds.

She yelled out, something wordless, just panicked screams flying out of her throat as she realized how bad she had messed up. It wasn’t just that she had rushed in without thinking, again, but that Coalback had warned her that it was too much to handle. And she had been so stupid, she ran out here angry.

It had been the way he talked about the wolves, that was clear. It had made her scared, she was so afraid of how he was talking. It was like he had just been handed a ticket out of her life, and he was ready to take it too. The worst part though, was that she knew that he really wanted that.

It had been his ticket to finally have a home, and because she had been there he put it down. It made her heart flutter, even as it was panicking from the storm raging around her. She was so lost in her inner turmoil that she almost didn’t hear the voice trying to be heard over the storm.

“... -AINBO- ASH!-” Thunder boomed again, drowning out anything intelligible. But she didn’t care, there was someone here, someone looking for her.

Instinctively she tried to turn toward it with her wings, but he wind of the storm tore at her feathers, tossing her around into a new spin. She tried to scream, but her throat closed up as she spun upside down and felt gravity pull at her stomach. Wind and hail pushed on her back, but whether she was being flung upwards, or back to the ground was yet to be seen.

Something collided with her, and for a moment she thought that a flying tree had hit her. But arms wrapped around her, and she could feel the spinning instantly stop. Rain and hail pelted her, and she could feel the forward momentum taking them down again. The chaos had stopped at the presence of those strong arms wrapped around her, even if one of her wings was twisted up under a heaving chest.

She turned her head around, trying to see who she was attached to. Her eyes widened, and she almost cried for joy at the sight. Coalback held firmly onto her, his strong arms pinning her to his body as his huge wings flexed and spun to channel the air. His wings worked in a blur, instantly adjusting lift and drag on either side as the wind changed.

He was in a shallow dive, the trees of the forest starting to come into view through the darkness and rain. He dodged past flying tree branches, rocks and hail. His movements fast and precise. His eyes faced forward, an eerie calm over his features, examining and calculating. The ground whizzed past them, the side of a mountain approaching them quickly. Coalback shifted, adjusting his ever changing flight path to a dark crevice in the rocks.

“WE’RE TAKING SHELTER IN A CAVE!” Coalback yelled over the storm, his breath warming her ear for a moment. “GET READY FOR A HARD LANDING!” His warning was almost instantly followed by the cave entrance engulfing them.

His wings hit the side of the entrance first, dropping them out of the air. He rolled under, remaining in control even after the impact. They hit the ground hard, Coalback’s breath left him in a wave as he hit the hard stone, absorbing the impact for Rainbow. They slid across the slick floor, water and slush clinging to their fur.

Only an instant after they entered the cave, his back bounced off the back wall of it. He took only a moment to catch his breath, untangling himself from Rainbow’s equally exhausted form and rushing to the entrance. His eyes locked onto a tree that was flying straight for the cave entrance.

He braced himself against the entrance, catching the impact of the tree against one of his hooves and stopping it dead. But that didn’t stop the wind from pinning it against the entrance. His hoof ached, the sudden impact sending shivers of dull pain up his arm. Another bough flew toward the entrance, the end broken into a sharp, splintered point. Coalback braced himself again, catching the bough against himself and not letting it enter the cave.

Rainbow watched in awe, yelling out as the bough he caught ripped through his side and tore a bloody hole in his fur. His muscles flexed, driving the end of it against the stone to the side and bracing the thick bough across the entrance. He looked up again, rain dripping off of him only to be renewed by the blasts from the entrance of the cave.

Rainbow looked on in pure horror as a huge tree, the whole tree, flew toward them. Coalback turned around, bracing all four hooves against the entrance and blocking it with his body. He looked at her for a moment, the storm suddenly dying out as he spoke.

“I love you.” He whispered, his eyes watering, noticeable even over his water soaked face.

The tree impacted an instant later, adding a huge punctuation to the end of his statement. It hit the cave entrance from the side, bending inward as it’s weight drove it in. The trunk cracked in half, stopping as it impacted Coalback’s immovable frame.

He scowled in pain, eyes screwed shut as huge splinters from the still living tree drove into his back and stopped. The weight of the tree pressed against him, creaking and groaning as coalback pushed against it. He kept pushing, knowing that if he stopped the tree would snap in half, and impale both of them.

More impacts rocked the tree against him, his mouth opening in a silent scream of pain. The tree shifted behind him, pressing harder as more weight was piled on top of the entrance. This time he did cry out, his mangled voice screaming in pain as his spine struggled to brace against the continual onslaught of the storm.

Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the impacts became less and less. The sounds of the storm slowly died out, becoming just a hissing background noise. The only real sound in the dark cave being their fast breathing and the drip of water from their coats.

Coalback let out an explosive breath, his limbs going limp and falling forward into the cave. Rainbow caught him, nearly collapsing under his full weight as she lowered him to the ground. She let out a desperate grunt as she did, her mind racing as it tried to piece together the events around her.

She lowered him carefully to the ground, placing him on his side. His wings were mangled, more than likely broken from all the torture they had just endured. The impact with the cave had probably dislocated them, which might be the only reason they hadn’t been shredded like the rest of his back.

It was covered in splinters from the tree, and in the dim light she couldn’t tell how much he had lost, or how much was his and not the Wolf’s. She wrapped her teeth around a particularly large splinter ready to pull it out.

“DON’T TOUCH IT!” Coalback suddenly shouted, his body convulsing. She jumped away, instantly dropping the splinter from her mouth and backing away slightly. “Don’t fucking touch it!” He yelled again, slowly catching his breath as he writhed in pain. His breathing settled slowly, Rainbow stood away from him, her back pressed against the other wall.

“It’s pierced through my lung-” Coalback choked out, gurgling suddenly. He recovered from it quickly, continuing in a strained voice. “Too close to the heart. If you pull it out, you could put splinters into my heart. I would slowly die as they wormed their way completely through the muscle.” He lifted his head carefully, his ears drooping to the side as he tried to look at her. A weak whine escaped his throat as he tried to move.

Rainbow moved back over to him, gently taking his head in her hooves. “Please tell me there’s something I can do, Coalback. I can’t just sit here and watch you bleed out onto the ground!” She cried, her eyes flowing water out as she tried to think of something, anything, to help him.

Coalback’s eyes started to droop, a sleep starting to fall over him. She panicked, she knew for a fact that she couldn’t let him fall asleep. “Stay awake, Coalback! Talk to me, come on.” She tried, gently slapping his cheek with her hoof. His eyes fluttered open for a moment, but that sleepiness never left him. He was staring past her, not looking at anything as he started to breath more deeply.

His mouth worked for a moment, not speaking but trying to in his hurt and dazed mind. “Just a quick nap, I’ll get up in a minute.” He said, his words slurring slightly. He mumbled something else in his own language, the staccato words running out of him like a river as he tried to close his eyes again.

“No, Coalback! Come on, just stay awake. You look like you lost a lot of blood, and if you fall asleep- I -” She stopped, tears suddenly falling from her and onto his muzzle. “T-talk to me- tell me about your home, Coalback.” She choked out, scooting closer to him. They were both cold and wet, their fur clinging to them and dripping.

Coalback looked at her, his eyes vaguely focusing on hers. He took a shaky breath, she could hear him gurgling as his lungs leaked blood inside of them. “I lived in a big estate,” He started, his voice croaking as he talked. “I had five half-brothers, and two half-sisters. They were pure blood, not like me. But they always made me feel like I was part of the family, even though most of them were already part of the pack.” He coughed, blood spotting his lip.

His head got heavier in her hooves, his neck no longer trying to hold it up. He breathed deeply. “We lived outside a small city, the lights barely were visible at night. I remember spending a lot of nights outside with my niece, watching the stars.” His breathing quickened for a moment, a silent sob shaking his body. “There was a big forest, all around us. The tree stretched out farther than you could see.” He paused again, swallowing. His eyes drooped, a wave of exhaustion nearly sweeping him away. “I’m so tired, Rainbow Dash. ... would you sing for me?” He asked, his voice was so quiet, and weak.

“I- I don’t ... know any songs.” She said, tears starting to fall again as she realized how useless it was. Coalback was dying in front of her and she couldn’t even do anything about it.

Coalback twitched under her, one of his arms hooked itself under the collar around his neck. He pulled down, his arms shaking as he put pressure against it. The back snapped, the fabric ripping as he pulled off the hidden gem. He relaxed again, resting against her hooves as she held him.

“Take it ... and you will know the words.” He said, his voice weak and his face pale. His eyes stared up at her, managing to look distant and focused at the same time.

She looked down at it, unsure of how to proceed. The crystal was under his hoof, glowing ever so slightly. She reached out, grasping it in her hoof and pulling it toward her. She unwrapped the arcane gem, casting it’s glowing light within the tiny cave. She pulled it out with her hoof, gasping slightly as she felt it’s power hum through her.

The humming slowly changed, warming her whole body as Coalback leaned into it. And the humming slowly started to change to music and she just knew the words.

They slowly flowed out of her, surprising herself with how smooth they were even though she had no experience singing at all. They flowed easily, and she felt as every word slowly relaxed Coalback. More tears slid down her face, if she couldn’t save him, she would help him leave comfortably.

She closed her eyes, unable to watch as she slowly stroked his mane with her hoof. She felt him sigh under her, the tension in his limbs leaving smoothly. She sang softly, the song slowly spreading from her like a wave of warmth in the damp cave. And it wasn’t until the golden light started to seep through her closed eyelids that she opened them again.

She almost stopped, her eyes catching glimpse of where the glow came from. But something held her firm, letting her continue. She looked on in wonder as the light from the crystal flowed out from it in glowing wisps. They flowed around, shifting in an invisible breeze. They slowly crawled toward Coalback, wrapping gently around him like a blanket.

They crawled across him, slithering like glowing snakes across his fur as they found his wounds. They circled around every wound, making a glowing halo before slowly sinking into his skin. The glow intensified, his flesh glowing a brilliant white.

And it was like the wounds just melted off of him, light flowing away like water and carrying the wounds with them as they sank into the ground around them. His wings shifted, folding back into place gently, as if nothing had ever happened to him.

She felt the last words flow from her, the humming music dying and the crystal becoming dark in her hooves, giving off just enough light to see by. She dropped it to the floor of the cavern, taking to examine Coalback.

It was as if nothing had happened, and the splinters had melted away. The only thing that would have given away the injury in the first place was all the blood that was still clinging to his coat. She moved over to his head, his eyes closed and he was very still.

“Coalback?” She asked, her voice quiet, hopeful. She brushed a hoof through his mane, cupping his face with her hooves. She pulled him close, grief washing over her. “Oh, Coalback.” She said, her words swelling with tears. “Oh damn ...” She whispered, pressing her face against his neck and nuzzling it.

The muscles under his neck shifted, swallowing. Something warm brushed against her neck, a hot breath. Lips pressed against her neck, slowly moving their way up her neck and spreading warmth into her.

She pulled away, looking down at Coalback, his eyes opened only slightly, a small smile on his face. “You have a beautiful singing voice.” He whispered, leaning forward and planting a gentle kiss on the hollow of her throat. She shivered, the touch of his lips sending feelings of pleasure through her.

She pulled away, caressing his face with her hooves. “You’re ... okay. You’re okay! Oh thank Celestia, you’re okay!” She said, diving in for a hug against him. She pressed her muzzle against his shoulder, holding him tightly against her.

He sighed out, his breath still ragged. She felt something warm and wet soak into her coat from where he pressed against her. He was crying, and it slowly escalated into pure sobs. He shook against her, his whole body racked with joyous sobs. “Yes,” He finally choked out. “I am.”

He pulled back, bringing her head up and pressing his lips against hers. It was a slow, gentle kiss. His lips gently caressed hers, a gentle moan of pleasure escaping her throat at his touch. She quickly broke the kiss, looking in his eyes.

“Coalback ... I-” She grimaced, looking away from his eyes as she spoke. “I’ve been in heat for the last few days- and I wanted to ask you- What I mean is ...” She stopped, more tears slowly forming in her eyes. A gentle hoof held her head, stopping the shaking that she hadn’t even realized was happening.

His lips met hers again, silencing her. His lips parted slightly, his tongue teasing against her lips, coaxing them to open. Her mind just stopped, acting on it’s own as she opened her lips to meet his tongue with hers. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the feeling of his tongue moving against hers. They had never kissed like this yet, not even once.

His tongue was textured, rough almost, the pink muscle gently rubbing along the bottom of her smoother tongue as it slid into his mouth. He used his tongue to gently encourage her, guiding it as she explored the inside of his mouth.

His teeth were different from a pony’s, and while she knew this it was still very strange to suddenly get such an intimate examination of them. His molars were wide, the edges were sharp, not rounded. They felt like they fit together perfectly, like two parts to a whole. They were smooth against her tongue, sliding against it and pulling ever so slightly back.

And then she moved forward in his mouth, feeling around to the sharp canines that dominated the area where a pony’s bar would be. The teeth were sharp, she caught her breath as she felt them, a rush of excitement building as she felt around them. Those teeth, designed for tearing flesh and holding prey, the teeth that she knew would never try to hurt her.

It was that rush, knowing that Coalback could rip into her, but didn’t, that really made her get excited. She felt pleasure racing through her like hot fire. She felt around his incisors, examining the ridged edges, and feeling their smooth faces. She moaned in pleasure again, sending shivers up both of them as their breath mixed and their tongues danced.

Finally he broke away, a string of saliva bridging between them as they caught their breath. He nuzzled up against her, his nose pressing against the bottom of her chin, caressing the soft skin at the point where her neck ended at her chin.

“How hard has it been?” He asked, his breath warm against her throat. She shivered, feeling that warm fire growing inside her.

“It hasn’t been nearly so bad as some.” She gasped, his tongue dancing against her windpipe. “But I wanted you, really badly. I still do.” She shivered again, unable to hold still any longer. She pressed against him, wanting to get closer even though she was already pressed against him.

“Oh, thank the Gray!” He said suddenly, grabbing her in his hooves and flipping her onto her back. “I thought I would have to keep waiting for you to say that.” He said, planting kisses all up and down her throat.

She moaned, waves of pleasure spreading like wildfire from everywhere he touched. “Why did you wait?” She managed to say, that fire spreading from between her legs.

“I felt that-” He planted another kiss on the hollow of her throat, his tongue swirling against her fur, creating little twirls in her coat. “that it would be rude-” He licked her chest, dragging his tongue across her fur, spreading warm breath across her. “to ask you while you were in heat.” He finally finished, slowly working his way down her body.

One of his hooves wandered to her wings, gently stroking a flight muscle with the soft of his hoof. She gasped, wings spreading stiff as board. A shock of sensation rippled through her, the intense feeling of it making her twitch under him.

“Although, I can see that you were holding back quite well. We’ll have to fix that.” He whispered, his breath tickling her belly. “Let me show you something that we did where I come from.”