Pony: Hooray for Neopets and stuff!

Disclaimer Dude: Not another fanfic… Pony doesn't own Neopets.

The Tale of a Lupe and a Faerie

Chapter One: Freedom and Hope

A scrawny red lupe sat eagerly on his haunches as he observed the activity outside his holding pen. He kept his eyes on Dr. Death as he reluctantly dropped a pile of supposedly edible mush in the food bowls of fellow abandoned neopets; the lucky ones, actually. After a pet received its so-called "meal", the vile techo would lock up its pen for the night.

For many days and nights, the aforementioned lupe had endured bouts of hunger and thirst. The only attention he received were the occasional glances from the humans who were looking to adopt and also the angry glares from Dr. Death whenever he passed his pen. He tried his very best to keep his fur neat for the potential owners, but his attempts were intercepted by his poor condition. His once brilliant red coat was dull and drained of its natural glow due to the poor diet the cold techo provided - when he actually did feed him. The pets that were smaller and didn't skimp on the appearance - mostly the painted pets - were the preferable choice. The lupe was built unusually tall, like a great dane. He figured the humans found him intimidating compared to the rest of the pets.

As time passed, the red lupe's condition worsened. His skeleton was beginning to show under his long, unhealthy fur. He knew that his chances of being adopted were highly unlikely, especially with all the other pets in better health that were dumped each day.

The red lupe watched Dr. Death feed the green wocky that was located in the pen next to his. Over the pass few weeks, he had carefully formulated a plan. Tonight he would put his plan to action and become the very first neopet to escape the Neopian Pound. As the techo was occupied with locking the wocky's cell, the lupe lifted his dirty water dish and picked up the toothpick he had found on the ground when he was let out for some exercise. With that simple toothpick, his freedom would be granted. He concealed the toothpick under one of his paws as the yellow techo moved to his pen.

"All right, you flea-bitten mutt, here's your gruel," Dr. Death growled as he opened his pen and advanced on his food dish.

The red lupe gave the food dish a forceful shove with his nose, sending it sliding out of his pen and pass the mean-spirited techo. Dr. Death sneered at the lupe and turned around to retrieve the food dish. The lupe made his move as the techo's back was turned. His eyes shifted to the keyhole on the lock of his cell. He slunk over to it and inserted the toothpick deep into the keyhole. The lupe quickly returned to his previous sitting position right before Dr. Death had reached the food dish and, turning on his heel, he glared at him again.

"Just for that you aren't getting any!" Dr. Death hissed and hurled the food dish at the lupe. His aim was way off and it missed his target by a couple of feet. Several pets suppressed their snickers as they observed what had happened. The vile techo slammed the door of the pen shut and slipped the key in, locking it… or he thought he locked it. The toothpick had prevented the key from locking. So far, the lupe's plan was working.

The red lupe waited patiently in his pen until, at last, Dr. Death left the building for the night. Now was the time to escape! He pushed the door of the cell open with his nose without a problem and made his way to the door. Naturally, he was tall and he did not need to stand up on his hind legs to reach the doorknob. The lupe turned the knob, and the door swung wide open. He gazed out at the distance; it may have been just a bunch of markets clustered together, but to him, it was a beautiful sight. Heavy clouds blanketed the night sky, thunder rolled, and lightning flashed, but it was still wonderful. It was his freedom. The lupe made a mad dash toward the Marketplace, determined to get away from the Neopian Pound. The pets that remained in their pens cheered for him as he ran off into the outside world. The claps of thunder also seemed to cheer for him and it began crying tears of joy. The red lupe's heart soared as he raced through the night and welcomed the rain that soaked his coat.

XXX

The Soup Faerie closed up the Soup Kitchen for the night. She let out an exhausted sigh as she strode over to the large black cauldron. It still had a little soup remaining in the bottom, but it wasn't enough to fill a single bowl. Her eyes slid around the kitchen, observing she had used up the last of her ingredients that day and would have to get up early tomorrow to buy more. The faerie's ears twitched as they caught the sound of loud banging at her door. She turned her full attention to the door curiously as the banging continued at her door.

Finally, one last blow to the door tore it off of its hinges, sending several pieces of wood flying across the kitchen. The Soup Faerie flinched, shocked at the sudden destruction of her door. Who would do such a thing to her? Her answer was waiting at the doorway. A Darigan eyrie and draik stepped into the Soup Kitchen, their hides drenched from the rain. The purple-and-black clad pets shook the water from their bodies and they surveyed the Soup Kitchen.

"So this is the famous Soup Kitchen," said the Darigan eyrie, eying the simple furnishings of wooden benches for eating that took up what would be empty space. Shelves of spices and potions, some empty, some partially full were set against the walls. The actual kitchen consisted of countertops, a stove, a sink, and cabinets of simple wooden color with the occasional heart decoration. The windows were accompanied with bright pink curtains that added light to the kitchen. The centerpiece of the kitchen was, of course, the large black cauldron that cooked the soups. "How disappointing. There's hardly anything here."

"What a dump." The Darigan draik frowned at his surroundings.

The Soup Faerie was stunned by the rude criticism. She certainly wasn't going to let them get away with their rudeness. The faerie approached the newcomers with a gentle scold on her face. She placed her hands on her hips and spoke in a firm tone. "Excuse me, the Soup Kitchen may not be much, but it certainly is not a dump."

The duo of Darigan neopets exchanged glances and laughed at the gentle faerie's attempt to appear commanding. The Soup Faerie sighed, embarrassed at not being taken seriously.

"Well, what have we here?" The draik's eyes caught the sight of a large plastic jar of neopoints sitting upon a shelf of potions and spices. He and his partner pushed the faerie aside and approached the object of interest.

The Soup Faerie stuttered for a moment in confusion as she was pushed aside, then became worried as the two "visitors" advanced on the jar of neopoints. Those were donations collected by the kind pets who dropped by for her soup. She planned on using those neopoints to buy the ingredients she needed to make soup for the hungry pets that would visit in the short future.

The eyrie's greedy paws took the jar from its spot. "What a haul. We can sure buy something nice with these."

"No! You can't!" the Soup Faerie pleaded. "I need those neopoints to buy ingredients! Otherwise I can't make soup to feed the hungry pets!"

The Darigan eyrie and draik gazed at the faerie with amused grins. The eyrie chuckled almost sadistically as he held the jar mockingly. "Then I guess your hungry friends are gonna starve to death."

The Soup Faerie stared in horrified bewilderment. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Who were these neopets and what made them think they could just barge in and steal the donation jar containing the precious neopoints? It did not matter now, she needed to get that jar out of the eyrie's paws. "I cannot allow you to get away with this."

The Darigan neopets laughed and the draik stepped forward to challenge the gentle faerie. "How're ya gonna do that, soup girl? You'll have ta fight us first."

The eyrie joined his partner's side. "That's right. You wouldn't hurt us, would you? Go ahead and take a hit at us."

The Soup Faerie did not make an attack. She didn't think she could do it. Even though the neopets before her were antagonizing her and attempting to rob her, she still didn't want to harm them. To do so would go against her gentle nature. If she did let them go, she would be letting down all of the starving pets of Neopia. Her heart broke at the very thought of the sad faces of thousands of neopets that would come for the soup she would not have.

The Darigan pets smirked triumphantly and, once again, pushed pass the Soup Faerie.

"I knew she couldn't do it," the eyrie said with complete confidence as he and his partner headed towards the exit.

"Yeah, the winged soup jockey's too soft," the draik laughed.

The Soup Faerie scowled. She decided that fighting two neopets was better than letting thousands of them starve to death. She gathered waves of energy into her hands. The bright pink orbs of raw power swirled and crackled like electricity as she prepared the attack. The faerie hurled her arms into the direction of the robbers, sending the orbs of energy at them. The duo of Darigan neopets let out startled yelps as they were struck in the back of their heads. The eyrie dropped the plastic jar and it fell to the wooden floor. The jar rolled back to the faerie, neopoints clattering inside. She kneeled to the floor and picked it up.

Once the Darigan neopets recovered from the attack, they whirled around and glared menacingly at the Soup Faerie as she hugged the donation jar tightly to her chest. The antagonists held their paws in front of them, showing the faerie their razor-sharp talons threateningly. Frightened, she scooted back on her knees. Jars and flasks of potions and spices rattled and clinked against each other as the Soup Faerie's body came in contact with the shelves.

"Ya shouldn't o' done that," the draik growled as he and the eyrie advanced slowly.

Out of desperation to defend herself, the frightened faerie unfurled an arm from the donation jar and hurled another orb of energy at the Darigan eyrie, hoping he and his partner would back off. The eyrie swiftly moved a paw clockwise, neutralizing the pink blob with his own dark energy. She gasped and clutched the jar more tightly. Her heart seemed to leap into her throat as another layer of terror swept over her.

"Maybe this will teach you a lesson," the Darigan eyrie hissed, his elongated claws glinting in the light as he advanced upon the Soup Faerie even further, his partner right behind him.

The Soup Faerie was frozen with horror, knowing her powers were useless against the thugs. Suddenly, a red flash of fur appeared from behind the assailants and ceased to a halt between her and the Darigan neopets. A red lupe of unusual height, fur soaked and dripping from the rain, crouched and snarled warningly at the duo who dared to cause harm to the innocent winged creature.

"Geez! Look at the size o' that lupe!" the draik exclaimed after analyzing the lupe's tall stature.

"Yeah, he's a real big one, but he's nothing but bones and a sack of fur," the eyrie stated reassuringly to his partner, eying the lupe's condition. The lupe's fur was heavy from the weight of the rainwater, showing the frame of his malnutritioned body. He glowered menacingly at the lupe that had intervened their mission. "Hey, you! If you don't wish to get hurt, I suggest you get out of the way and let us take care of the faerie!"

The red lupe remained where he was, stiff-legged and ready to fight if necessary. The Soup Faerie gazed at the rear view of her rescuer and felt a wave relief and hope. Only moments ago, she had feared that the Darigan pets were about to tear her apart, but now this brave lupe had come just in time to protect her. The faerie had too analyzed and acknowledged the lupe's starved and neglected state and she naturally sympathized for him.

"Looks like we're gonna have ta rip 'im ta pieces first," said the draik with a sinister smirk, readying his talons. The eyrie nodded and he was the first to lunge at the lupe.

The lupe hurled his body at the attacking eyrie, his bony shoulder aiming for the shoulder of his foe. The gryphon-esque neopet toppled over as the lupe rammed his shoulder into him. Then the draik went after the lupe, swiping with his claws. Catching sight of the next attacker out of the corner of his eye, the lupe kicked out with his hind legs like a uni, sending him flying and crashing to the hard wooden floor. The eyrie recovered and snapped at the lupe with his beak. The lupe leaped to the side, avoiding the sharp beak. He rose on his hind legs momentarily, balling up one of his paws and hitting the eyrie on the side of the head. It didn't knock much out of the Darigan pet, the lupe's strength was low due to his starvation. The eyrie shook his head and focused back onto the fight. He glared hatefully with his piercing red eyes and resumed snapping at the lupe, who leaped from side-to-side, avoiding his attacks.

The Darigan draik groaned as he sat up and charged at the lupe in attempt to aide his partner. He jumped the lupe and sank his claws into his sides. The lupe let out a loud yelp in pain as the claws pierced his flesh, and turned his head to see the draik on his back grinning triumphantly. As the lupe had his attention averted, the eyrie snapped his beak once more, the sharp point slashing open a gash that went to the bone of his shoulder. The lupe let out another howl in pain upon having his shoulder slashed open, blood poured from the wound and trickled down his sides as the draik sank his claws in deeper.

The lupe ducked his head and somersaulted forward, sending the eyrie to the floor and crushing the drake on his back. The claws slid out of his back as pulled himself forward onto his feet, his blood flowing more freely out of the large pinprick wounds. He leaped away from his foes at a safer distance, panting and bleeding. His hunger and fatigue was rapidly draining his energy, but he was determined to protect the Soup Faerie.

The pair of Darigan pets rose to their feet, glaring at the red lupe venomously. They charged once more at the lupe, who did the same. The Soup Faerie sat in horrified silence as she watched the fight unfold before her. The Darigan neopets were fresh and well-fed, but the lupe was obviously bigger and fueled with valiant determination. The lupe kept on fighting as his energy came to an all-time low. He was close to collapsing from exhaustion, but he held on long enough to send the attackers running off into the stormy night.

The lupe finally let himself fall to the floor in the middle of the room, panting heavily from the exertion, his sides and shoulder and leg coated a dark red from his blood. The Soup Faerie immediately set the jar of neopoints aside on the floor and rushed to the lupe. She dropped to her knees at her savior's side and ran a hand over his head.

"Are you all right?" she asked in a worried, gentle tone.

The lupe's ears twitched and his head reeled as the Soup Faerie's gentle voice rang. He lifted his head and turned it to face the owner of such a sweet, heavenly voice. As his yellow eyes met the faerie's soft brown eyes, his head spun even more and his heart fluttered wildly in his chest.

The lupe fell in love.