"Promising to never leave is a foolish promise..." Marie spoke calmly.
Joella turned to look at her.
"I can admire the loyalty in the statement," Marie answered, "but outside of God, nothing lasts forever. And the real world will not allow you to simply do nothing. You will have to go out into it. And in time, each one of you will find new interests... new loves... new hobbies... new responsibilities. It shouldn't end your friendships, but it doesn't mean that changes will not come."
"I do not understand," Joella spoke.
"You will see in time," Marie answered.
"You are certain we are not to kill this one eyed cur?" Hercules questioned, "who disrespects you so?"
"Yes," Joella answered, "the hunters are not to be harmed in anyway... and so long as they remain with us, they are to be treated like family."
+++++++++++++
Meanwhile at Wolf Manor, a pair of golden eyes watched the bodies of the witches burn as Winifred finished her report, with Maryweather standing beside her.
"And their threat is over?" Alpha Ross questioned.
"Yes," Winifred nodded, "the outsiders saved us. The Pack will live."
"You have done well, Omegas Winifred and Maryweather," Ross answered, "and you have my thanks for looking after us during the witches attack."
"It was our duty, Alpha Male," Maryweather told him.
"Yes," Ross nodded, "and in the meantime you will have more responsibilities to handle, as not everyone was restored to what they were..."
"We will do the tasks required of us, Alpha Male," Maryweather and Winifred said together in perfect unison.
Ross nodded, "then there is only one last item that needs to be done..."
Maryweather and Winifred looked on to Ross.
"Collect all the available adults and even the teens," Ross said in a firm voice, "It is time those two pups the witches collected from somewhere be returned to their own kind where they belong."
"The whole Pack?"
"The Witch Pride attacked our lone individuals who were sent to restore the two their own kind," Ross answered, and then gave a chuckle, "not that "civilized" as the Leoman would say, eh?"
"Yes," Winifred nodded, "we do not steal human children or Leoman cubs. They have no right to claim Lupman pups as theirs."
++++++++++++
"This didn't lead to another fight, did it?" Betty asked.
"Ultimately, no," Marie-Eliza spoke, "Ross was bringing the whole Pack under the assumption that the Witch Pride would fight to keep two pups that they had no right to... both from the Lupman's point of view and from reality, when you consider that the witches robbed two lone wolves of their pasts... but the Witch Pride wouldn't see it that way, and Ross felt he would need everyone to recover what he saw as the Pack's by blood."
"So how did they avoid a fight?" Betty asked.
"They didn't interrupt the funeral?" Abbey asked.
"Running-Bear's funeral was over by the time the Lupmen arrived," Marie answered, "and defusing the fight ended up falling to the present Hunters and Joella. Ultimately, Joella let the Pack take Francis and Julianna, with the promise that they would be allowed to visit."
"And that Twilight went with them?" Alice asked.
"That wasn't a condition that Joella named, Twilight took that initiative on her own," Marie answered, "but the altercation, even if resulting in no violence would be a lesson for Joella and others that nothing stays the same forever."
"What would happen to Francis and Julianna?" Lawrence wondered, "You said that Twilight would eventually marry into the Pack and is Omega-Martha's ancestor..."
"Francis and Julianna would become productive members of the Pack, and their line would eventually carry down to your present Alpha Female and her sisters," Marie-Eliza told them.
"I still think that Julianna has to be an ancestor of our mommies," Alice commented, "blond fur, blue eyes... and Maryweather and Winifred act like they do... like a mirror of the other's."
"If Julianna is one of your ancestors, then some of her descendants left the pack at some point and your mother's marriage to your father is a return to the pack for that line... but I do not know that for certain," Marie sighed, "I would tend to think not though... but it's possible."
++++++++++++++++
Present Day
Abdul did not like the look of things. Their hike was intended to follow the game trails that the Pack had used to mark the borders of their claimed hunting grounds. And these trails were ones that all of the Pack knew by heart, and the teen wolves would soon be learning those trails as well. Unfortunately, they were somehow off of those trails... and the male Omega couldn't explain it.
"We're lost," Abdul grumbled as he sniffed around trying to find some familiar scent. No real luck.
"You know how to get back to the manor, don't you?" Mary asked nervously.
"Yes," Abdul nodded to the young Leoman, "we aren't THAT lost. It's just that we got turned around somewhere and ended up off of our Pack's game trails..."
"This a total bloody disaster!" Nane spoke, "all the deer have fled, and we're lost. In a dark, and very expensive forest."
"Cheer up, Nane, it could be worse," Saba chuckled.
"Oh, how could it possibly be worse?" Nane chuckled again.
"There's a clearing up ahead..." Lilly pointed.
"A road?" Abdul wondered.
"Let's go see!" Jay volunteered and took off at a jog, forcing the rest to jog after him to make sure he didn't get hurt.
They ended up moving into a clearing that looked like it had been cleared into a little farm. They could see stalks of corn, wheat, barely, vegetables and tomatoes, even if the weather or time of year wasn't conducive to the growth of some of the plants that were there.
"It's a farm..."
"For people who love the color, pink," Nane commented, spotting the farmhouse.
"Hello," came a semi nervous voice from nearby.
The whole group turned their heads to see a small purple horse with what looked like a pink and white wheel on her rear. But there were things that marked this horse as unnatural to the Lupmen and Leomen present. It had no noticeable hooves. Its legs were largely four stumps the same color as the rest of it, yet as it slowly approached them, it's feet made the same sound as what a normal horse would have made as it walked. Other then its mane and tail, which were rather stylized for a horse, it didn't seem to have any fur. It it did, it had to be very fine so that it wouldn't be visible. Mary was also certain that no breed of horse, donkey, or mule had a mane or tail that had hair that curled slightly at the end.
It's head also didn't resemble a normal horse's. It's ears were short triangles, while normal horse's ears were more like a football then a triangle. Its muzzle was more cartoonish in shape then what a normal horse's head was shaped, and its eyes largely faced forward. Normal horses... and most other potential prey animals, had their eyes on the sides of their head to give them a better range of vision, allowing them to potentially see an approaching predator. Forward facing eyes was normally a hallmark of predatory animals and Primates (though Humans, Chimpanzees, and various Baboons were both Primates AND predators) to allow them to gage the distances to their prey, or a branch they intended to swing to.
"Who are you?" the horse asked in a feminine voice.
"Omega Whitney/Abdul, Omegas of the Big Bad Wolf Pack."
"Jay." "Pence." "Cassandra." "Lilly." "Giselle." "Gretchen." "Toni." "Paula." "Laura." "Zulema."
"Pups of the Big Bad Wolf Pack," Abdul spoke.
"I am Mary Hardy of the Glendale Pride, and these are my sisters, Moja, Mbili, Tatuli, and Nneli... well half-sisters, but I love them like they were full sisters. And it would be uncivilized to treat them poorly."
Moja hugged her.
"I am Tano Rathmensen of the Glendale Pride, and these are my sisters, Sita, Saba, and Nane."
Jay having the most bravery carefully sniffed in the horse's direction and then asked, "Who are you?"
"What are you?" Mary asked.
"My name is Destiny," the horse said, "and I'm a My Little Pony. A real one. This is our farm, Pony Land."
"Wasn't that a cartoon?" Saba asked.
"They aren't interesting unless you're eating them."
"NANE!"
"What? Uncle Kirk said that to Aunt Penny the other day."
"Now, now, we do not want to be insulting," Whitney told the red orange cub.
"It's alright," Destiny answered, "We like to keep Pony Land hidden. So not many know of us."
Abdul then looked out and saw a good many similar horses engaged in farm work, hoeing, harvesting, and other such activities, with another purple one and a red one playing tag. He wondered how such a farm could be hidden, and how they could use any sort of tool when it didn't look like they had fingers or thumbs, but he decided to let it go.
"But, I was wondering about what is going on outside our farm," Destiny answered.
"Don't you get a newspaper?" Abdul asked, "or the radio? Or television?"
Destiny shook her head.
"No television?" various pups lamented.
"Do you have books?" Mary asked.
Destiny again shook her head, and Mary looked down at that.
"Things have been rather hectic," Abdul commented, "at least lately. The Game came alive and attacked the world."
"The game?"
"Transform or Dare," Abdul answered.
"What is that?"
"A curse of the worst degree," Mary shuddered, "it attacked the world... the Pride and the Pack specifically. Everyone went to go fight it and some monster named Kurse. Nearly all of them are back at Wolf Manor recovering from the battle."
"That doesn't sound like "happily ever after"."
"That will come when the game is gone and dead," Tano spoke, "a elderly human woman has found a cure for the game. They intend to use it soon, but I don't know precisely when. You might want to invest in a radio or something. I'm sure they'll announce when they're going to bless the town on it."
"I don't know if Never-Star and Valentines have any money," Destiny said slowly.
"Then they need to seek out a Madame Serenity," Tano told the horse, "she will know when the game is ended."
Destiny nodded, "would you like to stay with us?"
"We can not leave our responsibilities," Abdul and Whitney answered.
"We can not leave our parents," Gretchen, Giselle, Laura, Zulema, and Cassandra, and Lilly spoke.
"I don't think I could go for long without something to read, and I can't leave my parents behind," Mary said.
Her half sisters nodded, though none of them knew that the magic of the My Little Pony's wishes couldn't change the Lupmen or Leomen as that would represent a change in species, even if they wanted to stay in Pony Land.
++++++++++++++
1689
Things progressed relatively slowly. Mal'akh continued to cry, hugging her sister to her, even as they slowly followed Marie as the Hunters followed Joella into the damaged manor. Joella privately hoped that no one would leave, that they could all be friends. The Witch Pride seemed to welcome Draco, Linus, and Equality rather openly, either because they did not resemble their original forms, or because they somehow sensed the Curse placed on them by the Witches. They eyed Marie and Katherine with suspicion if not open hostility, and only Joella's command that they were not to be harmed kept a fight from breaking out. With Draco carrying Running-Bear's body the group was soon discussing the plans for burying them. Linus, Katherine, and Marie ended up standing close to the rear as the talk of the funeral progressed.
"I mussssssssssst asssssssssssssk a favor of you, Marie," Linus said to the one eyed hunter.
"And that is?" Marie asked.
"My officcccccccce in Bosssssssssssston hassssssssss my guardian'sssssssssss booksssssssss and artifactsssssssss," Linus spoke as he watched each of the former child familiars with his head and "hands", "I will need them if I am to prevent thessssssssssse children from repeating the witchesssssssssss' misssssssstakessssssssss. I assssssssk that you retrieve them for me... asssssssss well as inform the colonial leadersssssssss that I have been forccccccccccccced to resssssssssign."
"They may not accept it from me," Marie spoke.
"They will have to," Linus answered, "I doubt they would let me live."
Marie only sighed, "how many artifacts do you have?"
"Is it all magic stuff?" Katherine asked curiously.
"Not all of it," Linus answered, "but if you can recover all of it, I would appreccccccccciate it. Though you will probably need a wagon to carry it easssssssily."
Marie slowly nodded, "they have a wagon in their "barn". Katherine and I will get them."
"Thank you," Linus told her, "Equality and I will try to get the Witch Pride to acccccccccccccept you and Katherine. Draco will be busy with the funeral."
"It seems like a pretty hopeless cause," Marie said, "If we are to remain here, I'd hope that we can construct a chapel and mission quickly. They seem loyal to the memory of the witches and are treating Joella like a royal heir."
"Their fall was inevitable, Marie, and the witchesssssssss got what they dessssssserved," Linus answered, "their threat wasssssssss worthy of that... but Joella issssssssss different from them. Ssssssssssssshe issssssssss inoccccccccent. The Witch Pride will have to learn that Witchesssssssss were not sssssssssomething worth defending."
Linus then gave Marie an exact address and description where his office was in Boston.
Marie only sighed, "Come along, Katherine. We'd best see to this errand."
"You won't stay for the funeral?" Katherine asked nervously.
"I do not trust the "Witch Pride"," Marie answered, "Did you notice how each of them watched us? They seem to know that the witches enslaved the others to Joella..."
"At least they didn't turn them into enemies..."
"I almost don't know about that," Marie spoke, "if Joella commanded them to attack us... part of me fears that they would do so without question."
Katherine only sighed, "a good thing then that Joella wouldn't order such a thing."
Marie nodded.
"What about Mal'akh and her sister?"
"I don't know how to help Aimileona," Marie sighed... "maybe Joella can find a way to cure what the witches did to her."
They then made their way to the barn and found that not only was the wagon there, but the horses that had been used in the execution had returned. It took Marie and Katherine awhile to hook the horses up to the wagon, but the horses didn't fight, and seemed to even affectionately nudge Katherine. Once the horses were hooked up to the wagon, Marie and Katherine departed.
+++++++++++++++
A little while later, Joella slowly watched as things were being set up. The others had decided to make Running-Bear's funeral as beautiful as they could, though they also found many ideas being rejected by Draco as un-Christian, and Draco only won the argument when he reminded them that Running-Bear had remained Christian through his life.
Lark stood by her, feeling a little awkward wearing clothing when so many of her foster siblings still chose to be naked, and they all decided not to like the One Eyed Hunter for making her wear clothes... but she left it on. She didn't know why. Part of it was Mal'akh saying she looked cute in it.
"What do we do?" Lark asked, looking more toward Mal'akh, seated with Aimileona in a different section of the yard, still crying.
"I do not know," Joella said weakly, "I've looked after the children that caught these demons the longest... trying to help them. Nothing has worked... and... what makes me sad about it... especially now... look how much it's hurt her... these demons... they've made her fear my first mothers..."
"First?"
"The witches," Joella clarified, "I suppose the people of Glendale will expect a new adult to take over the manor."
"And who would you have do that?" Lark wondered, "Benjamin?"
"Sister Cruz," Joella answered, "I don't know what it is... but part of me feels a connection to her..."
At that time, Linus arrived in the area.
"Speaking of which, where is the One-Eyed Hunter?" Joella asked the Naga.
"I have asssssssssked her to go to Bosssssssston and gather itemssssssss that originally belonged to my guardian," Linus answered, "they will be neccccccccessssssssssary to teach thosssssssssse children that your mothersssssssss wrongfully usssssssssed as familiarssssssssssss how to use magic and to insssssssssure that they do not repeat your mothersssssssssss' missssssssstakesssssssss."
"You mean... I can do magic?" Lark asked.
"Possssssssssibly," Linus answered, "it will take awhile to figure out who hasssssssss abssssssssorbed enough to retain their own magic now that the witchesssssssss are dead."
Joella was about to say something when Draco approached her.
"I believe we are ready to begin," Draco said politely.