-Wake Up Call-

“Doc! Get in here!” Rainbow yelled out. Coalback’s face had suddenly scrunched up, every muscle on his body tensed and standing out sharply. Coalback had started to struggle weakly, but every moment strengthened his movement. She had his arms held down to his sides, for now, but his legs were starting to move.

He was mumbling something in his language that she couldn’t understand, pushing against her with increasing desperation. She could feel his heart picking up its pace, thundering against his chest and up through hers. The doctor jumped into the cart a moment later, shaking the entire platform as he settled his weight within it. Clean Cut didn’t even wait for Rainbow to explain before throwing himself over Coalback’s legs and holding them down.

Coalback cried out as Clean Cut held his legs, his struggling suddenly becoming more violent. He struck out with one of his arms, his elbow thudding into the wooden siding of the cart. He screamed out an undecipherable plea in his language, screaming at no one in particular and shaking his head.

His other arm flung out, squarely striking the inside of her thigh with a solid impact. “Gah!” Rainbow flinched, the hit enough to leave a bruise but thankfully not enough to do any real damage. “Coalback! Stop!” she yelled out, trying desperately to halt his struggling.

“If he keeps this up, he’s going to rip off his leg!” Clean Cut growled from where he was, his hooves wrapped solidly around Coalback’s knees and thighs. Clean Cut’s horn flashed to life as Coalback’s uninjured knee shot up and sparked against a shield that the doctor was just able to bring to bear.

Coalback screamed out again, a staccato blur of syllables that jumbled together. “I can’t understand you!” Rainbow yelled back to him, trying to pull him out of his panic with her voice. Maybe if she could just get his attention? “I’m right here, Coalback!” she tried, pushing her face up under his chin as she held tighter to his arms.

His struggling suddenly increased, his back rising off the mattress as he tried to push Rainbow off of himself. She grunted as one of his elbows jabbed into her barrel, nearly knocking her breath away.

Merletta flapped up into the cart, the doctor’s saddlebags gripped tightly in her claws. She dropped down to the floor of the cart just inside the entrance, digging through the bag with her beak and making clicking noises that vaguely sounded like coins being counted.

“What’s your idea, Merletta?” Clean Cut jumbled out, having pressed the side of his jaw against Coalback’s knee as he kept him held down. The raven cried out from her perch on top of his saddlebags, flapping wildly as she searched inside them.

Coalback screamed out again, shaking his head and twisting underneath the ponies. He pleaded, sobbed, in that language that she couldn’t understand. Staccato and enunciated, nothing like Equestrian. And he kept flinching in random directions, as if somepony were striking him.

“Shit!” Clean Cut yelled out, his body jumping with the sound of ripping fabric. Not even a second later, Coalback yelled out wordlessly in pain. He writhed under their grasp, weakly attempting to throw them off.

“Put this in his mouth!” Merletta squawked, using Clean Cut’s flank as a springboard and flapping over to her with a small blueish-purple flower in her beak. She offered it to Rainbow as she dodged around one of Coalback’s clenched hands.

Rainbow twisted around, snatching up the flower in her mouth and quickly turning back to Coalback. Normal flowers were usually sweet in various levels. But, this flower tasted different. It was bitter, and tingled on her tongue strangely.

She looked down at Coalback’s face, his clenched jaw posing an obstacle. She lifted her hooves, consequently releasing his arms from her hold. Clean Cut’s magic grabbed onto them almost as soon as she let go, forcing the strong limbs to freeze as they fought against his hold. Rainbow lifted her hooves to Coalback’s mouth, attempting to pry it open.

“Come on,” she growled around the flower in her mouth. “Opeh your moush.”With a grunt of effort she pulled his lips apart, quickly diving in and pressing her mouth against his. She force-fed the flower to Coalback, pushing it as far back into his mouth as she could. She backed off quickly, just in case Coalback bit down on her tongue.

Coalback froze up, his eyes opened quickly and stared up blankly. His chest shivered under her, as if his muscles ratcheted toward relaxing. After a moment his throat worked up and down, swallowing the flower. He shivered again, slowly blinking but his stare never wavering. He opened his mouth again, a few staccato words fluttering out weakly.

“Coalback,” Rainbow said gently, afraid that if she spoke too loudly she would spook him again. “I can’t understand you. Equestrian, Coalback. Tell me what you need,” she said gently, resting a hoof on the side of his neck.

“More, please …” he mumbled, his brow furrowing as his eyes started to lose their distant stare.

“More flowers?” she asked, turning to look at Merletta with the same question. The bird shook her head, ruffling her feathers and glaring down at Coalback. “I don’t think there are any more. Just stay calm, okay? You’re hurt really badly.” She let out a sigh of relief as he started to relax, his limbs growing limp as he started to scowl.

“Everything hurts,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Where are we?” His eyes closed again as he tried to block out his pain.

“Still near the cave, the wolves are outside,” she said, turning to the doctor. “How’s his leg, doc?” she asked him, seeing the doctor carefully lift himself off of Coalback’s leg, grimacing himself.

“He’s separated the bones again, we’ll have to reset it,” he said grimly, his horn still lit all the while. Coalback’s arms were still held firmly in his grasp. He must have been a fairly strong unicorn to be able to do that. Even weakened with pain, Coalback was still stronger than most ponies.

“Leg? Reset? What are you talking about?” Coalback asked warily, trying to sit up and see for himself.

“Don’t move, Coalback,” Rainbow said quickly, resisting him enough that he stopped himself. “That troll must’ve hit you hard. You’re leg is broken, really badly,” she explained, watching him grow confused.

“Good to see you awake, my less-than-furry friend!” Clean Cut greeted from where he was, his hooves holding Coalback’s leg steady. “I’m going to release your arms now, promise not to throttle me?” he asked with a smile, a caw from Merletta punctuating him.

“The doctor? From Canterlot?” Coalback asked incredulously, lifting his head to look at the doctor’s goofy grin. “Eh ... uh, yes- I mean, I won’t hurt you ... Just, let me go,” he stuttered, the doctor’s appearance throwing off his concentration. The transparent green glow around his arms flickered out of existence, letting his arms fall to his sides.

“I’m gonna do something that’s gonna make you want to. However, please don’t,” the doctor said quickly. “Alright, on the count of three. One-” Clean Cut’s arms jerked, Coalback’s leg suddenly straightening alongside it.

Coalback grunted, his head falling back forcefully to the bedroll under him. “What happened to ‘two’ and ‘three’?” he asked with a growl, his arms pressed firmly to the mattress and his hands gripping it.

“Think of it like a bandaid,” the doctor grinned, starting to rewrap his leg tightly, “except a little less bendy. Better to do it fast, and without warning. That way, there’s no anticipation!” he finished cheerily, nodding toward the bird with an unspoken signal. She cawed in annoyance at him, her tail feathers flexing out.

“So why’d that flower snap you out of it, Coalback? I thought you said you didn’t want to eat any flowers, ever,” Rainbow asked, rolling her eyes at the doctor’s silly grin.

“It was wolfsbane,” he said breathlessly, reaching up with the hand under her and grasping one of her hooves gently.

“Wolfsbane? That flower was wolfsbane?” she asked incredulously. This must be another one of those weird myths that didn’t really affect him, she thought, Like the full moon thing.

“One of the only things that act like an anesthetic for his kind,” Merletta said, hopping up on Coalback’s stomach and making him cringe away from her claws. “I have watched you for a very long time, my warrior,” she said, nodding deeply in an imitation of a bow.

“A raven … has been watching me?” Coalback grumbled through clenched teeth, the pain in his leg making him stiffen.

“Yes, the doctor is this one’s caretaker. My duty as the Watcher has been passed down from my mother, and her mother before her. Discord’s return has thrust us into action, direct orders from the second sister, Luna,” she explained, looking down at Coalback with rapt interest. “To finally see you in the flesh, is … very good,” she warbled, hopping up to the base of his ribs.

She lifted her head and presented her neck for him to scratch, Coalback’s fingers easily complying. She trilled happily as he did, fluttering her wings before backing off again. Apparently the raven was done allowing him to scratch her after only a brief moment, hopping off of him and back over to the saddlebags where she perched patiently.

“Met a little girl like that Raven once ... be careful around her. Knowledge can be a dangerous power,” he whispered to Rainbow, finally looking at her. “Are you okay, Rainbow? You’re not hurt, are you?” he asked, looking carefully over her and pulling her gently closer to himself.

Rainbow shivered at his touch, reflexively moving closer to him. “I’m good. You just bruised me a little, that’s all,” she said gently.

A look of mortification overtook him, concern driving fear into his heart. “I hurt you- ?” he asked desperately, shakily backing away from her against the mattress. He was trying to look at her, to find what he’d done.

“It’s okay,” Rainbow said quickly, following him and wrapping her hooves around him. “It’s okay, you didn’t know what you were doing. And I’ve had worse, okay? It’ll just be a little sore, that’s all. Nothing I can’t handle,” she assured him confidently, letting him relax underneath her.

“Are you sure? I- I keep worrying that I’m going to hurt you, and-” Coalback stuttered. His hands kept moving, unsure whether to hold her or to keep away from her. But his apology was cut off mid-sentence as Rainbow met his lips with hers.

“That’s all I want to hear,” she said. She kissed him again, cutting herself off and keeping him from talking back. “I was- and you were- and when you changed, I was-” She kept interrupting herself, not finding the words she wanted to say and instead trying to show him everything by kissing him.

Every kiss fanned the flame burning in her chest, the heat between her legs intensifying. The details of the cart’s interior slowly faded with each kiss. She didn’t even care that there was some sort of all seeing bird-god-thing, and a loony doctor, in there with them. All that she cared about was the body under her. Every hill of his densely packed muscles, every little ripple in his smooth skin where a scar marred him. Even how different he looked now, she didn’t care.

“I’m torn, Merletta,” Clean Cut said, going unnoticed by the couple. “I want to stay, to make sure that these two don’t get too physical in here. Bad for his leg, you know?” Merletta stared back at him flatly, unresponsive. “But at the same time I feel like I’m intruding. Look at them,” he motioned toward Coalback and Rainbow, “I barely remember when I was that young and stupid …” he finished wistfully.

Or was he trailing off as he noticed the newest occupant of the cart?

A soft whimper graced through the air, somehow managing to make Rainbow pause. She tore herself away from Coalback, letting him take a breath. She turned around, catching sight of the newcomer for herself.

“Sharptooth?” she mumbled, the little pale wolf puppy cowering as he stared up at them. “What- What is it, little guy?” she asked, puffing away the orange forelock that had fallen in front of one of her eyes. She pulled herself up, letting Coalback raise his head to look toward the puppy. The puppy whimpered again, his eyes darting shakily from her to the man she was leaning on top of.

“Non M-Mawr,” the puppy started shakily, shying back until his back paws edged up against the end of the cart. “S-she wanted me to- to ask if … uhm … if Blaidd-ddyn Coalback was ready to help us sing for Mam and Tad …” Sharptooth shrank into himself, somehow making himself even smaller. His ears had fallen flat against his head, and his tail was so closely tucked between his legs that it didn’t even look like he didn’t have one.

“I don’t think-” Rainbow started, her concern for Coalback overtaking her. Coalback needed to rest, to stay right where he was. That she knew for sure. He had only just woken up, there was no way that she was going to let him go out there, let alone so that he could sing.

However, Coalback cut her off. “Come, little hunter. Tell me what we sing tonight,” he said gently, halting Rainbow’s refusal. His hand lifted from her, motioning for the puppy to come up to him.

Visibly shivering, Sharptooth carefully padded past the silent raven. He carefully walked around Clean Cut, leaving a large distance between himself and the green-toned doctor. He carefully pulled himself onto the mattress, sidling closer until he was just behind Rainbow.

“Come closer. Let me hold you, little hunter,” he said gently, encouraging the puppy to come within reach. Once the puppy was close enough, Coalback grabbed onto him and gently pulled Sharptooth onto his chest. “Shh,” he hushed as the puppy whimpered under his hand. He gently stroked the puppy’s fur, calming him with the gentle touch. “Now, let me look at you. Ah, you must be very old, look at this white fur. How old are you, little hunter?” he asked, taking one of the puppy’s ears and gently tugging on it.

“A-almost one moon,” Sharptooth mumbled, pulling away from Coalback’s fingers and letting his ear flop back onto his head. “B-but brodyr and chwiorydd were all brown. And Greyshadow Medrus says he’s going to teach me to be like him,” the puppy sputtered nervously, anxiously shifting around on Coalback’s chest. He would flinch whenever Coalback moved his arm, the muscles in his chest shifting underneath Sharptooth’s paws.

“Oh, I see,” Coalback replied, holding the puppy in a gentle, calming grip with his hand. “Why, you’re almost old enough to follow on the hunts. Aren’t you? Old enough to sing, even,” he said, the puppy’s whimpering returning.

“Coalback, maybe it’s not a good idea to go. You’re really hurt, I don’t think that you should leave,” Rainbow said, putting a hoof down on his shoulder gently.

“I have to at least meet the other pack, Rainbow,” Coalback whispered back to her, quickly returning to the puppy. “Go on, tell me what we’re singing tonight,” he gently encouraged puppy, who swallowed nervously before speaking.

“Sharptooth Medrus says,” he started shakily, curling himself into a smaller ball on Coalback’s chest, “that we have to sing for Mam and Tad so that they can go run, and dance, and sing with hynafliaid,” he whimpered. Coalback’s hand served as a sufficient shield from the world around him, where he curled himself into as small of a ball as he could.

“Oh, I see,” Coalback said quietly, turning back to Rainbow. “the wolves in the cave … Yes, I will sing. Let’s go,” he said, starting to sit up shakily with the puppy.

“Now hold it right there!” Clean Cut said, for once uncharacteristically stern. He had only been like that when he had yelled out that nurse in the hospital, and it was enough to freeze both Coalback and Rainbow. “If you want to get out, let me get you wrapped up in something. Your toes were starting to turn blue out there. Then I’ll move you and you can do whatever,” the doctor said, his horn lighting up as he lifted several of the other blankets sitting in the cart and carefully wrapping them around Coalback’s legs.

“You can lift him?” Rainbow asked incredulously. Her mind darted back a few moments, where the doctor had not only moved Coalback, but had easily lifted him clear off the ground.

The doctor grinned proudly, “It just so happens that I’m one of the top competing telekinetic heavy weight lifters in all of Equestria. Now, that’s just telekinesis, unrelated to actual spellcasting. I could never compare to either of the Princesses, or Miss Sparkle outside,” Clean Cut explained, tugging at the mattress experimentally. “We’ll just scoot you to the edge of the cart, then we’ll move it over there. That’ll be easier on all of us,” the doctor mumbled, starting to pull the entire mattress toward the edge of the cart.

He jumped out, pulling Merletta and his bags along with him.  The Doctor folded the mattress up against the side of the cart, created a seat for Coalback so that he sat across the back edge comfortably. “Alright, Lads!,” Clean Cut called to the stallions hooked to the cart, walking out of Rainbow’s field of view. “Follow me. Yip Yip! And all that. Come on, hup-to!” she heard the doctor encouraging. After a moment, the cart jerked into motion.

The world outside the cart turned, their view reversed of the direction they moved. Rainbow pulled herself over to Coalback, resting up beside him as she watched the ground move away from them. A yawn interrupted her, bringing another thought to the front of her mind. “Sheesh,” she finished with the yawn. “What time is it anyway?” she asked to nopony in particular, looking outside the cart in some vain hope of finding a sign of the time.

Coalback leaned out with her, looking up at the night sky. “Looks like it’s about two hours after midnight, two a.m.” he stated flatly.

“How can you tell?” Rainbow asked, looking up and seeing the familiar jumble of dots that were the stars. She had never really had much of interest in the mechanics of the twinkling lights. Sure, she always thought that, in some way, that they were pretty. But the only good that the night sky had ever done for her was to stop her from flying herself ragged and letting her sleep.

“While I was in the forest last week, I noticed that the stars move across the sky. The same as at my home. There were patterns to it. That star there,” he pointed up at the sky, indicating a single bright star shimmering up there, “it never moves, but the rest do. If you pick another star, like that one,” he said, pointing up at a star slightly off above the first. “It makes the hour hand of a clock. So, I spent a few nights watching them. This looks about like two hours after midnight,” he explained, a distant look returning to his eyes as he gazed up at the stars.

“Woah, that’s pretty cool,” Rainbow said, looking up at the sky with a newfound interest. “Did somepony teach you how to do that, or are you just that freaking smart?” she asked him incredulously.

“My grandfather taught me how, he took me camping pretty often,” he explained, bittersweet memories forcing a frown on his face. He held back the memories, staving off another flashback. 

“Sorry,” Rainbow said quietly, shrinking back slightly. She knew very well by now that Coalback’s family wasn’t a topic he was happy to revisit.

“Don’t be,” Coalback said simply, one of his arms moving up to caress Rainbow’s face. His other arm lowered, the puppy carefully balanced in his palm. She shivered at his touch, the alien yet comforting feeling of his hands on her more than enough to spark fantasies in her mind.

Rainbow pushed them to the back of her mind, muscling past her own wants. “Have you ever had to help wolves with a … funeral before?” she asked him, mostly trying to keep her own mind off of the growing need between her legs.

“I’ve seen it once, but I was never part of it,” he said. As the cart swayed over a dip in the ground, his hand moved up from her face. His fingers gently rubbed one of her ears, not helping the uncontrolled images flittering through her head.

She breathed out a moan as his fingers gently stroked across the delicate fur on her ears. He is making it really hard not to jump him right now, she complained to herself, not that she wanted him to stop. From the almost imperceptible grin on his face, he could definitely tell. If that’s the game he want’s to play, I’m gonna win. She would enjoy the attention, but she wouldn’t let it get the better of her … yet.

“S-so,” she stuttered, once again grasping for a distraction. “What happens?” she asked, unconsciously leaning into his hand.

“Mostly just howling and grieving. These wolves could have a more advanced culture to the ones in the that I met wilds, however,” he replied. His hand stopped its teasing as a serious expression overtook his features. “But there is a rule that I am sure of,” he said quietly, looking her in the eyes. “No speaking outside of the song, in respect for the dead. We speak only using-” he tugged on his ear twice, replicating the movement of an ear folding to the side and back.

“What does that mean?” Rainbow asked quietly, tilting her head to the side and attempting to replicate the motion.

He nodded as her ear fell to the side of her head twice before returning to where it belonged. “It is the silent hunter’s language of the wolf,” he explained. “It’s harder to do with this face, but manageable. I’ll teach you some of it later, it’s a very subtle language. Most don’t realize that it even happens unless they’re looking for it,” he said.

“Wow,” she mumbled. Just thinking about it made her head feel stuffed full. The fact that the wolves spoke a second, almost undetectable, language was enough. But the reasoning behind it made her shudder. She didn’t know much about hunting, but if she were trying to give commands, she would want to do it silently so that her quarry couldn’t hear and get away.

Wolves could plan, and execute, an attack completely silently. To her, that was almost as scary as the sheer amount of pointy things on their limbs and inside their mouths.

The wolves came into view, angling into their vision as the cart pulled around. The cart kept moving, angling the rear end so that they would be near the assembly. All six wolves had been laid out equally from each other, two rows and three columns. Their bodies were covered by the deep purple of the tarps, many now stained with the dead’s blood. The Thestrals stood watch in a wide circle, their heads swiveling in overlapping fields of vision. No torch, or lantern-light reached here, it was far away from the ponies just on the other side of the hill.

Non had moved over to them, her leg held up so that it didn’t touch the ground. Greyshadow stood nearby her, staring down at his dead pack blankly. Lyall stood firmly between them, mirroring Greyshadow as she shook with silent sobs. They didn’t even twitch when the cart pulled up behind them.

It took a moment for Greyshadow to collect himself enough to face them, silently turning to them and approaching the cart. The cart’s floor was just below his head level, forcing him to angle up his head to look at them. His mouth opened silently, not widely or in a way that said anything.

Without any indication, or signal from Greyshadow that Rainbow could see, Coalback shifted. He lifted up Sharptooth, moving the puppy closer to the bigger wolf. Again, with a wordless exchange, Greyshadow moved forward and took the puppy in his mouth, carrying him by the scruff of his neck.

Greyshadow turned away from them again, setting the puppy down next to his sister. Without even glancing at his surroundings, the grey wolf walked off. But after a moment, the silence filled by a few sounds of metal bumping against other things, and he returned.

He had four objects with him, straps hanging over his back or carried in his mouth. One, the object in his mouth, was the shape of a flattened basketball. Another, the strap around him letting it wobble in front of his chest, was a drum. Rainbow couldn’t tell what the material on the top of it was, it looked like some sort of veiny paper. It was wider at the top than the bottom, and at its base it opened to the air. Yet another object was strapped to one of his forelegs, a series of boxy looking compartments that let out a hissing sound with every step, like sand falling.

But the most noteworthy instrument, as now she could clearly tell that was what they were, was the one hanging across his back. It was ,essentially, a long metal tube with a guitar’s neck sticking out from one end. But the metal tube was engraved and carved with a mural of intertwining symbols, making it almost seem to change with every shift in the light that fell on it.

Greyshadow paused next to Non, lowering his head and letting the other wolf take the long tube from him. Greyshadow then turned back to the cart where Coalback and Rainbow sat, leaning up to offer Coalback the squashed basketball shaped instrument. Coalback gently took it in his hand, another wordless exchange going between them before Greyshadow moved off again.

Rainbow desperately wanted to ask about what was going on, but was worried what the consequences could be for speaking after Coalback had told her specifically not to. Now that the object was closer, though, she could actually see what it looked like.

It was the shape of a fat lense, a disk that was fat in the middle and came to a corner around its circumference. One side was completely smooth, a hole in the middle revealing an empty interior. Coalback flipped it over, setting the smooth end in his lap and staring at the top with confusion. It seemed that, like her, he had never seen anything really like it.

On the top, as she now knew it was, it was a similarly domed shape as the back. However, the top had no holes in it and instead had a series of flattened areas. A series of flat planes, centered around small indents in the smooth metal, circled the dome of the instrument. Another flat spot, centered around a small raised dome of metal, sat at the very top.

Coalback turned his head back to Greyshadow as the wolf sat with his drum, a slightly more forceful breath from Coalback’s nose drawing his attention. The wolf instantly turned back to him, somehow hearing the nearly inaudible sound and drawing a meaning from it. Coalback made a series of seemingly random subtle movements. A twitch of his nose. A blink. One of his flat ears twitching up in a way that was barely visible.

The entire, completely silent, exchange happened in the span of less than three seconds. Yet, Coalback nodded to the wolf and he turned back to look over the dead before him. Coalback’s hands moved, hovering over the flattened parts of the dome, occasionally twitching.

After a moment, Greyshadow took a deep, silent breath. His paw, laden down with more of that veiny paper and whatever flowed and hissed inside it, raised high over his drum. The instrument sat obediently against his other paw, awaiting its moment. Non positioned herself with her own strange instrument, laying it out in front of her at an angle and resting the neck against her own.

The ponies present could only watch and wait. Neither could they feel the music about to pour from them, nor see the silent maestro's signals. But with perfect synchronisation, they began to play.

Greyshadow beat down on his drum, drawing out a powerful and deep beat that shouldn’t have fit the small drum in his paws. Every hit was accented with the hissing sound of rushing sand, the compartments strapped to his arm moving with every stroke of his arm.

Non began just as quickly, one of her paws plucking at the revealed strings as her other pressed down what was left. The sound it made echoed out against the metal, making it tinny as well as deep. It moved in tandem with the drum, a thick and powerful sound that was absolutely unique to the strange instrument.

Coalback began a moment later, his fingers springing into motion over the lense shaped instrument in his lap. At first, the sounds he played were unsure, but slowly became fluid. It sang out single notes, resembling the sounds of a xylophone and a piano all at once. His fingers danced across the metal, his thumbs striking down on various flat points and ringing out his part to the song.

And, almost imperceptibly, Greyshadow’s coat glimmered in the moonlight. A strange sheen of light that simply … didn’t fit with the silver light of the moon. The only reason Rainbow noticed it at all was because she couldn’t decide which instrument to lock her gaze onto. If she kept looking, she could just barely see little sparks and wisps of the light flow out of the instruments.

The music was powerful, primal. It made her heart race and it had only barely started. But whatever magic was at play, began its own music. A deep, melodic sound. Like a choir and an orchestra melded into one, echoed out from the very light itself.

Greyshadow flipped over his drum, lightly drumming on it with his other paw and halting the hissing sands. Non paused her strumming, letting the last note hang as Greyshadow started to sing.

“Back then I often found myself

running along the road at night,

and the howl was broadcasting the ocean,”

        It was melodic, smooth. It echoed out and played across the night sky, a far reach better than his first attempt that night. Non’s strumming started up again, bringing back a deep beat that gave the song body.

“Warm late spring’s wind whips through my hair,

I am right here, but want to be there,

And no one in this world is going to stop me,”

        Greyshadow’s drum sprang to life, a sound so much deeper and more powerful than what should have been coming from a drum that size. He beat heavily on it, each hit bringing out a new wave of that magical, green light. Every instrument played together, and separately.

It was an intense mixture of simple patterns that was at its core … powerful. Each beat of the drum echoed through Rainbow’s chest, every strum from Non’s instrument buzzed in her ears. And below it all was the delicate sounds of the metal dome in Coalback’s lap, adding a distinct highlight to the music.

“Pale green ghosts at the end of me,

Soldiers of this black highway,

Helping me to know my place,”

        Something glimmered in the corner of Rainbow’s vision, drawing her gaze back up to look across the bodies laid out before her. Her breath caught in her throat at what she saw, nearly breaking the silent rule.

        They were glowing, the bodies laid out before her had taken on a similarly pale green glow. But it wasn’t a uniform light that rolled off of them, it came in waves, rivulettes, and strings that floated in an ethereal breeze. Each glowed and twisted in time to the music that they played. Twisting alongside the drumbeats, jumping with every stroke of the strings, and dancing to the metal dome’s ringing.

“Pale green ghosts must take great care,

Release themselves into the air,

Reminding me that I must be away,”

         His voice trailed off as the music suddenly filled the air, and the light moved with it. It was like the strings and streams of light had suddenly become alive. Greyshadow’s claws worked in tandem with his other paw, creating a sharp sound alongside the hissing of the sands on his arm.

        The lights practically exploded out from the bodies on the ground, swirling and dancing in a tornado that timed itself to their music. But then they started to condense, the huge storm of lights starting to organise itself into small cyclones over each body. And finally, they stopped moving entirely, settling on single shapes.

        Standing above each body, a half meter above the ground, were wolves. They were made entirely of the ghostly light, small wisps of pale strings floating off in an non-existent breeze. The music calmed, the new party simply staring out blankly at them as they listened to the music.

        The wolf closest lifted its head high, baring its throat and howling up into the sky, quickly followed by the other ghostly wolves. But it wasn’t like any howl that Rainbow had heard before. If she had to compare it to something, she would have said that they sounded like trumpets.

        Greyshadow met their howls as they finished by beating down on his drum again, drawing Non and Coalback to increase their instruments’ call as well. The ghostly wolves replied with more trumpet-like howls, echoing out as if they were calling from a great distance. The drum and the stringed instrument played again, calling out an intense sound.

        Non’s strumming stopped as they looked at the ghostly wolves, who seemed suddenly aware of their surroundings. All the while, Coalback and Greyshadow kept their parts of the song going. Greyshadow played a deep, steady pattern, like a heartbeat. And Coalback’s fingers gently accented it with the unique sound of the metal dome.

        Some of the wolves quickly lost interest, returning their stares to the sky. But one began to approach slowly. As the wolf got further from its body, the strings of light that held it together became more and more unravelled. She stopped a few steps away, looking down at the puppies that sat between the two larger wolves.

        Their mother … Rainbow thought. She didn’t know how she could tell, but she knew that was who this wolf was. Maybe it was the way that the ghost stared wantingly at the two puppies, sad and guilty for having to leave them. But it didn’t last long, soon the mother’s ghost became distracted, looking back up at the sky as she wandered back to her body.

        Rainbow looked up, following the gazes of the wolves as that strange choir started again. Far in the distance to the North, something played over the dark horizon. A flitting of colorless light that only just made its presence known.

        Non slowly strummed again, adding her beat to the drum. As she did, the light on the horizon grew, until just a sliver of familiar green was visible. And it grew, and grew, until a distinct tendral of ethereal light started to wind its way from the North.

Rainbow immediately knew what it was, whether or not she’d seen it before. The Northern Lights, she thought to herself, closing her mouth forcefully as she realized that it had simply hung open for most of the display.

        The light traced its way closer, so far up and so large. The ghosts of the wolves stared up at it, waiting patiently for it to come closer. The light danced as it approached, revealing the details of its substance. It was practically solid, an actual presence in the sky. The light that played inside it trailed up from its bright bottom, stretching toward the unreachable heavens in a slow dance.

        Once it seemed that the light could grow no closer, still so far away as it hung far above Canterlot, the ghosts started to move again. Greyshadow used both his arms, creating a complicated pattern of sharp impacts with his claws, deep beats from the drum, and shakes of his arm to make the sands create their music. The wolves howled, filling the air with the strange sound.

        And as they howled, they fell apart. The strings of light simply unravelled, falling up in an ethereal breeze that dragged them toward the aurora. They glowed even brighter, the clearing filling with their light as the ghosts became one mass of swirling light that danced and bobbed.

Greyshadow wordlessly called out, a warbling note that intensified the sound.

        The lights detoured, swirling around the clearing. It bobbed and flowed in time to the music that simply seemed to have formed itself now. Sounds and instruments that weren’t even there called out from the air around them.

“Pale green ghosts at the end of me,

Soldiers of this black highway,”

        Greyshadow’s voice called out, nearly drowned out by the music that called out from the air. The lights flew higher, trailing out in a fiery storm of movement as they traced their way toward the similar light of the aurora.

“Pale green ghosts must take great care,

Release themselves into the air,”

As the distance grew, the light changed to look smoother, more solid. It became so similar to the aurora that was so far away that for a moment, Rainbow thought that another had manifested above them. She didn’t even notice the music softly draw to a close as she watched the light slowly crawl back over the horizon.

“Firsts for many tonight,” Greyshadow said quietly, drawing her attention back to the ground. All the wolves had turned around, all staring toward the cart and its occupants. “It is an honor to finally meet you properly, my Lord,” he said. He bowed his head, ears back.

Non followed his example, leaning over her metallic tube of an instrument. “I am Non, once Outsider, now Alpha of pack Geni Llwyd,” she said, raising her head again. “This is Greyshadow, medrus of our pack. And this is Lyall, and Sharptooth, the last of our litter,” she introduced, nodding to each wolf in turn.

“Well met, Geni Llwyd. I am Coalback, and this is Rainbow Dash. But our pack has yet to earn or make a name for itself,” Coalback replied softly, bending in a small bow and lifting the instrument from his lap. “I have many questions. While we return to our convoy, would you answer them?” he asked, gently returning the instrument to them.

“Of course, my Lord,” Non said. Greyshadow received the instrument standing and starting to walk away.

Rainbow leaned out to follow him, trying to find out where he had kept his instruments. As she leaned out, she was able to spot their origin. It was the sled, turned back over onto its runners, and what was salvaged from the clearing packed neatly on top. Coalback leaned out as well, taking in the scene as Greyshadow repacked their instruments below a tarp.

“Your sled will do you little good on the roads, especially with only two of you pulling,” Coalback noted, turning back to Non with a frown. “Perhaps you should ride with us, I can see to it that you receive a new sled,” he offered, turning to Rainbow to see if she agreed.

Rainbow hesitated, having concentrated so hard on being completely silent that she hadn’t realized when it had become unnecessary. “Yeah, you guys must be really tired. Especially with your leg, Non,” she agreed. “I’ll get Clean Cut and he can help us get it all packed,” she suggested, turning toward the front of the cart.

She opened the flap of fabric that separated the inside of the covered cart from the driver’s seat, sticking her head out in search of the unicorn. What she found was three, open mouthed stallions simply sitting in the snow. They stared blankly up at where the light had disappeared, totally frozen in awe.

“Hey guys!” she called, holding back a snicker. She had had a similar reaction, so she didn’t want to rub it in. It snapped them out of it, letting their mouths shut again as they turned to her distantly. “Help us load up the wolves’ stuff so we can get going, they can’t really keep using the sled,” she explained, ducking back inside as they blearily started to move again.

Coalback had started shifting his mattress again, pulling it with one of his hands back into a flat position on the inside of the cart. Rainbow moved over, grabbing onto an edge and helping him move it back to the rear of the cart. It took a lot of fiddling to get it back where it belonged, made no easier by Coalback’s bulk or the fact that any movement on his leg drew new pain from it.

Once that was done, Rainbow started helping Non into the cart. It was done easily enough, she simply let Non use herself as a stepping stool and then passed the puppies up to her. There was a moment, however, when Rainbow nearly threw Non off of her back. Her claws had dug into her spine, right next to particularly sensitive bundle of nerves.

The packing was uneventful, and the wolves had little left to them. A few tarps and fuzzy blankets, stitched closely and thick against the cold. A few small, wrapped boxes that jingled as they moved. The unique instruments, and a few small sacks. The last thing that went into the cart was clearly filled with some liquid, the tight stitching on the strong, smooth material of the bag having a similar texture to the paper that Greyshadow had worn before.

As the last thing was loaded onto the cart, Rainbow jumped in. She carefully stepped over the newly packed cargo, positioning herself so that she could ride next to Coalback on his mattress. Non had curled up around the puppies at the foot of the mattress, her head held up to show her alertness.

“I will walk,” Greyshadow announced from the ground outside the entrance, his nose peeking up over the edge. “Non is very very smart. She can tell you anything that I would,” he assured, the cart jerking into motion again as he finished.

“Thanks, Greyshadow,” Rainbow called, laying against Coalback’s shoulder as his head rested against the rolled up sleeping mat, resting her own head against his neck. The cart trundled on for a moment in silence, until Rainbow continued with a question. “So, what were those instruments you guys were playing? I’ve never seen anything like ‘em. And what were all those lights? And the- the ghosts?” she asked excitedly. I can’t believe I’m actually excited to learn something, for once, she mused to herself.

Non smiled gently, turning to look at the instruments that lay nearby as she spoke. “This one,” she said, lifting a paw and pointing toward the fat lense shaped instrument, “is a hang drum, or hongian drwm. And that,” she pointed toward the decorated metal tube, “is a gitâr caeedig, or closed guitar. It was a gift from one of the metal tribes, made from strong Wolsh steel and brass. These, are tywod siglwr,” she said, pointing to the straps that contained the sands. “And I can be safe to assume that you know what a drum is, can I not?” she asked, smiling back at Rainbow.

“And the ‘lights,’ as you put them, are an integral part of our culture,” she said, drawing Rainbow’s thoughts back. “The aurora is the great manifestation of our ancestors from the very first wolf and from the ones who came before even them. When we sang, we helped our fallen brothers and sisters to see the path to join them. We were lucky that Greyshadow survived to be able to see to their passing, or they would have been left blind to the path, to wander aimlessly forever,” Non explained, becoming distant as she spoke. “Only the medrus has the knowledge and power to truly join them with the light like that,” she finished, turning to look out the rear at the wolf that followed them.

“Wait,” Rainbow said with confusion. “But I thought that auroras came from the Crystal Empire?” she asked. When they had returned the crystal heart the castle had cast out a huge light show, very similar to what they had just seen. However, looking back, it had been ... different from what she’d seen there.

The aurora in the Crystal Empire had been many different colors, spreading out like a web from the tip of the castle’s tallest point. But this one had been many shades of pale green, all in one. And it had looked much larger than the strands of color that had decorated the sky in the Crystal Empire.

“Simple, like the rainbows that your kind create, there is one that exists as physical and one that does not,” Non explained, drawing a confused look from Rainbow. “For example, I learned that ponies keep rainbows in pools, as liquid that can be touched and felt. But there is still the rainbow that simply comes to be, from the rain and the sun. One you cannot touch or get near, yet it is still there. It is the same with the aurora. You ponies make some, but nature has its own as well,” she said.

A look of realization came over Rainbow’s face. “Nopony really remembers how to make a rainbow like that anymore,” she mused. She had done it before, during her attempt to show up a particularly mouthy unicorn. “So ponies make one kind of aurora, and wolves make their own?” she asked.

“Not quite,” Non said, tilting her head as she tried to think of a way to explain it. “It has been there longer than ponies or wolves, the aurora that I speak of. Ponies decided to make their own for some reason, and for a long time most wolves saw it as an insult to the Mother. Part of the reason why we have hidden away from your kind, before now,” Non said sadly, looking down to the side.

“I never really thought of it that way,” Rainbow said distantly. Just the thought that something as amazing and magical as what she saw, if only in the distance, was natural … was simply incredible.

Some ponies didn’t even know what a natural rainbow was, it was so ingrained into them that ponies could control all the aspects of their environment. When nature showed up with its own plan and threw their’s out the window, ponies simply didn’t know what to do. Freak tornadoes, storms that didn’t listen to anypony, the hurricane that blew over from who-knows-where.

Coalback’s arm shifted under Rainbow, wrapping around her barrel and pulling her up onto his chest with a grunt. For a moment she melted into his touch, feeling her chest against his. “Okay, so w-what’s ‘gunnee lewd’?” Rainbow asked distractedly, still trying to win the unofficial game that Coalback had started with a new distraction.

“Geni Llwyd,” Non corrected, smiling at them as she explained and happy for the change in subject. “It means ‘born grey.’ This is significant for a wolf, because a young wolf is black of fur, as I was when I was a puppy. As a wolf ages, their fur becomes lighter until it is grey. I believe it is because of what ponies call ‘albinism,’ that their mother was white, with pink eyes. This is most especially rare for a wolf, especially for her to have become an alpha,” she said, looking down at the puppies curled up against her.

“That would explain Sharptooth’s fur,” Coalback agreed, his voice vibrating up through his chest and into Rainbow’s. “Perhaps some recessive genes cause their fur to be so light at such a young age,” he suggested. Non nodded again, becoming slightly sheepish as she began to speak.

“I believe that is correct,” she said, her ears laying back slightly. “If it is not out of my place, m- … Coalback, would you allow me to ask a question of you?” she asked, her ears laying completely flat as she shrunk back into herself.

“Of course, it’s only fair,” he said gently.

Non instantly relaxed, as if she had been fearing some reprimand from Coalback. “I wished to ask if one of the stories of your kind had been kept in truth,” she admitted. “Many of the things that were once perhaps pure truth, have become legend. Many details lost among tongues as the stories passed from generation to generation. I wanted to know, is it true of your … fertility?”

Rainbow hadn’t realized that wolves could blush, but Non was doing a good job of turning beet red underneath her fur. “... Fertility?” Rainbow muttered under her breath. Just saying the word was enough to fan the flame in her chest, making her shiver against Coalback.

Once again, she became acutely aware of him. How his chest rose and fell under her, lifting her up gently with each breath. How his heart steadily thudded beneath her own, beating almost in sync to hers. She felt the warmth of the arm that curled around her, the firm muscles that flexed and stretched against her back and wings. How his fingers idly massaged the fur on her chest, gently tracing patterns though the downy fur and drawing shivers from her.

Coalback cleared his throat, and Rainbow didn’t even have to look at him to know that a blush of his own had appeared. If the warmth that suddenly spread through the skin on his chest under her was any indication, that is. “I’m not sure, you’ll have to tell me what the stories say,” he stuttered after a moment.

“Perhaps … wine first? You must be thirsty,” Non said quickly, the blush somehow intensifying under her fur as she reached for the tightly stitched bag with her mouth. She pulled the bag over to herself, the contents sloshing inside it as it swung around toward Coalback. She carefully held it over his legs, making sure not to let it hit his injured leg.

Coalback gladly reached forward with his other hand, stretching a bit to grasp onto it. He pulled it over to himself, taking the stopper between his teeth and pulling it free. Rainbow could smell the wine even before the stopper had opened up, the familiar smell of alcohol wafting about. The smell only became stronger as he pulled the stopper away, letting it swing away on the strand that attached it to the bottom side of the container.

Just from that, Rainbow could tell that whatever was in there was much stronger than the brew Applejack had brought them in the library a few weeks ago. It burned her nose and made her eyes water slightly. This isn’t wine, she thought, looking with surprise at the wine bag. This is freaking airship fuel!

Rainbow actually didn’t know much about how airships worked, having spent little time around them for obvious reasons. But she did know that the engines that ran them didn’t burn coal, it was simply too heavy to carry with them. Instead, the boilers were heated with an extremely potent liquid fuel. It was more expensive, by far, but the heat to weight ratio was much higher.

And these guys drink this stuff?! she practically yelled at herself, even as Coalback lifted the bag to his lips.

He balanced the large bag along his forearm, lifting it up slowly as his lips pressed against the opening. Two large gulps sloshed their way down Coalback’s throat, a few drops slid down from his mouth and stained his lips with the red liquid. With a long sigh of satisfaction, he pulled the opening of the wine bag from his mouth. He carefully lowered it in front of Rainbow, offering it to her.

“Hoo!” she breathed out, cringing back slightly as the smell burned inside her nose. definitely haven’t ever had anything this strong, she thought to herself, recovering slightly as Coalback held back a chuckle that shook his chest underneath her. I mean, cider is one thing. But this … 

“A-alright, just a little,” she said. gently leaning forward and pressing her lips to the bag’s opening. She really didn’t want to get drunk, if she did there was no way she would be able to wait until they got some privacy.

Coalback slowly tilted up the bag, guided by Rainbow’s hoof so that he would stop when she wanted to. She only sipped barely even a mouthful of the wine before stopping, her mouth burning from the pungent drink. It burned its way all through her throat as she swallowed it quickly, the burning shooting into her sinuses and making her cringe.

She coughed a few times, trying to clear the burning from her throat as her eyes started to water. She vaguely heard Non give an apology, and say something about warning her. But Rainbow barely heard her, her head buzzing slightly as her body suddenly warmed up. She could barely even notice the taste underneath the burning until it had subsided, little bursts of berry that faded away like satin and tickled her tongue.

Coalback handed the bag back to Non, the wolf drinking a similarly large amount of the drink before sealing the bag and setting it down. She looked nervous, her ears kept shifting, unsure of whether to be laid flat against her head or up at attention so that she could hear. “In the stories,” she started after a moment, “it was told that … they could have pups outside of their own kind … It was how the wolves were- … became a part of Great Ones’ courts,” she said, stuttering slightly as she spoke.

“Well …” Coalback said after a moment. “I do not know, myself, whether or not it’s true, but there is a story …” he said. Non and Rainbow both perked up their ears at that, the two puppies popping up with wide eyes as well. Coalback cleared his throat, his hand moving up to massage Rainbow’s shoulder. “A long time ago, there was a great wolf. He came to the world with the help of a god named Loki, and was named his son.

“He was strong, the strongest of all the creatures on earth. But the gods feared him, because he was becoming too strong. So they plotted to imprison him, and forged a set of fetters for him and challenged him to break them,” Coalback said, motioning with one hand. He wrapped his fingers around his other wrist, encircling Rainbow in his arms. “He broke the first one, and the second.

“So,” he continued, releasing his wrist and dropping his other arm back to his side, “they made another. And to do the impossible, they decided to forge it out of six impossible things: the sound of a cat’s footfall, the beard of a woman, the roots of a mountain, the sinews of a bear, the breath of a fish. and the spittle of a bird,” he listed off, shifting himself slightly underneath Rainbow. “And it worked, the great wolf could not break it, and was trapped in its golden chain.

“But before they trapped him,” he continued quietly. “The great wolf had a son, with a human woman as his mother. And he became the first of the long line of my family,” Coalback paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and steeling himself. “The great wolf’s name … was Fenrir-” he choked off the end of the word, shivering as he said the name.

Rainbow felt his chest seize up, as if his whole body simply froze. For a moment she worried that he was having a flashback, or another seizure. But he let out a shaky breath and calmed himself.

She flipped over in his arms so that she could face him fully, her chest pressed up against his. She looked up at him with concern. She didn’t have to be able to smell it like Coalback could, she could see the fear in his eyes. Just that name terrified him.

‘... Ever since I called your name that night …’

‘... saying the name of a spirit thrice is enough to summon it ...’

His words echoed in her head, lines being drawn between points in her mind. That’s more than a legend, she thought, eyes widening with realization. He called it, and used it to … She couldn’t bring herself to even think it. It must have been torture for him even to say the name, let alone to tell them the story.

“If that story is true,” Coalback said, taking a deep breath and wiping away the sadness and fear in his eyes. “Then that means that your answer is yes,” he finished, a blush slowly returning to him as he looked toward Rainbow. “Why did you ask?” Coalback added with a raised eyebrow, turning his eyes back to Non.

Non shrank back slightly, her ears lying flat as her blush returned in full. “I apologize,” she said with a sheepish smile. “I always become overly curious after my cycle, and it has been especially bad with its ... untimely-ness,” she admitted. Her tail flicked nervously against the tarp flap behind her, creating a gentle sound with each pass.

Rainbow groaned, squirming in Coalback’s arms. “Stop! Let’s talk about something else! I swear, you guys are gonna make me explode!” she said, throwing her hooves over her ears and burying her face in the crook of her own elbows. The cart bumped over a dip on the ground, making her heart jump for a second and spiking the heat in her veins.

“Alright, I’ve got a question this time,” Coalback said after a moment, steering the conversation. “Where were you before you started on this migration? Why were you there?” he asked gently, causing Non to blink with confusion.

Rainbow had to fight to pay attention, though. Coalback shifted his arm around her, pulling her closer as she tried to force her own thoughts out of her head. Her nose pressed up against his neck, his chin resting on top of her head. His breathing stirred her mane, his scent filled her nose. Damp wood, copper, and just a hint of musky flavor. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she nuzzled into him, unable to resist trying to pull herself even closer to him.

Non’s voice was able to pull her out of the haze around her thoughts. “Gaethglud. We survived by settling in the mountains that separate Equestria from the badlands. Our people fled generations ago, hundreds of generations ago,” she started, a strange mixture of sadness and interest both weighing down and lifting her voice. “There wasn’t much hunting land, but most traditions stayed alive because of the mountains alone. However, lack of prey and the proximity to the deserts made life difficult. Things only took a turn for the worse when the Strangers showed up,” she finished with an angry sigh.

“Strangers?” Coalback asked, his voice bounced over Rainbow. His throat moved against her cheek and his chest vibrated, making her shiver as she turned her head to look back to Non and listen.

Non shook her head, unable to find a description that would work. “Creatures. Things that tried to trick us, fight us, break past the mountains,” she described, tilting her head to the side. “They looked like bugs, and tasted like burnt meat. And recently, they gained support, and became nearly impossible to hold back. And then the Empress called all of us to leave, to run back to the North. And now, here we are,” she finished with a shrug.

“There were changelings in the march, and Lost told us that they’re on Discord’s side,” Rainbow said, barely breathing out the words. When the changelings had been blasted out of Canterlot, had they gone all the way to the badlands? And had the only thing stopping them from coming back been a wall of territorial wolves?

“Do many wolves feel angry at these Strangers?” Coalback asked, starting to sound tired.

“I suppose that many do. The metal tribes are especially upset, they feel that the Empress gave up trying to hold them back. The feather tribes aren’t, though. They feel that it is well past our time to return. Why do you ask?” Non said, tilting her head inquisitively to the side.

“Then …” Coalback was interrupted by a yawn, his mouth stretching open widely before he was able to continue. “Then maybe we can convince them to come back and help us …” he trailed off, his eyelids became heavy.

“Help with what, Coalback?” Rainbow asked gently, nuzzling up against him. Coalback yawned again, his eyes falling closed for a moment. She shivered as her body rose up with his chest, burying her nose in the crook of his neck again.

“There’s gonna be a fight,” he murmured. His hand wandered up and down Rainbow’s back, drawing more shivers from her. “When they get around the wall … they’ll attack …” he said, finally starting to drift off into sleep. “... It’s what I’d do …”

Rainbow paused, the haze around her thoughts suddenly cleared as his words rang in her ears. Coalback was right. If anything, they’d only pissed off Discord. Majorly. And those … things, the Direswm, were with them. One had nearly pulled Coalback in half, and a group of them had very nearly killed him. They would need help.

Rainbow’s thoughts paused as a gentle snore came from Coalback, his neck stretched out as his head laid over the rolled sleeping mat. He’d fallen asleep. Rainbow groaned, stretching out on top of him as her needs became evident again. Now what am I gonna do? I’m practically burning inside! she thought to herself, rolling her eyes as she rubbed her cheek along his collarbone.

“Rainbow Dash?” Non asked, pulling her attention back to the cart around her. Rainbow didn’t answer, specifically, more like a grunt as she halted her squirming. “Are you alright?” she asked, concern etched into the wolf’s voice.

“No,” Rainbow grumbled. She rolled onto her back, rubbing her wings onto Coalback’s chest. “Coalback’s right here, and I need him, but I can’t …” she huffed, trying to get some sensation into her wings.

Non’s blush returned as she glanced back out the back of the cart. “Perhaps I could go? I could wait outside, and follow until we stop,” she offered, already starting to stand.

“No,” Rainbow said quickly, sliding off of Coalback’s chest and sitting up. “You don’t have to go,” she said reluctantly, even if it was an attractive offer. She slumped back against Coalback, using him as backrest and stretching again before settling against him. “Might as well try and sleep, too,” she muttered, Non’s confused expression almost going unnoticed.

“Your Majesty …” Non said, trailing off as Rainbow pushed up against Coalback and rubbing her wings on him again.

“Not that it isn’t cool, Non,” Rainbow said distantly, “but, you really don’t have to call me that. It’s a little weird,” she murmured, tucking her front hooves into her chest and spreading her wings up and over Coalback’s front. Even though he had blankets, she really wanted to lay next to him, at least.

“Oh, it’s just that … it looked like you were ... scent rolling, and I was wondering …” Non started, growing quieter as Rainbow continued to drift into the blackness of sleep. Wolves used scents for many things: navigation, identification, and so that they could know where another had been. That’s where scent rolling came in, a wolf would rub themselves onto a patch of grass, or a particular spot in an area so that another wolf could tell where they came from.

 “I wonder how many of the stories really are true …” the wolf muttered under her breath. She sat for a while, contemplating what she saw with a blank stare.

After a moment, some maternal part of her started to act. She stood to take one of the blankets that they had brought, made from several recent hunts. It was soft, warm, and light. The best one they had. She carefully spread it over the two, making sure that the soft side was against them. As she returned to the two curled up puppies, fast asleep in their own dreams, she continued to wonder.

Slowly, the cart’s rocking gently guided her to her own slumber.