Predatory

by Crazy Laughter

Feral

Dear Princess Celestia

I am writing to you to report an incident at Sweet Apple Acres, which I would appreciate your guidance on.

Today my good friend Applejack came to me for help on a problem she thought endangered her family and friends. A grey wolf of unusual size had followed the three fillies calling themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders back from the forest and was locked in the barn. The wolf found a way out of the barn just as I and Spike arrived and called Spike out by name, indicating an unexpected level of intelligence.

After an improvised translation spell granted the unusual canine speech, he assured us he was not out to harm ponies and that his name was Fenrir. This was proven when Rainbow Dash attacked him and he didn’t retaliate on RD’s hotheaded attack, choosing to verbally assault her instead, and then calling Applejack and RD marefriends for some reason.

Despite his strange behavior and imposing form, he has shown interest in learning anything there is to know about us, while acting evasive about any questions about his own past. We would greatly appreciate your counsel on the matter at hand, for I fear there is more to this individual than meets the eye.

Awaiting your response,

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle

“Are you about done with the letter already? It’s way past my bedtime, the one that you set!” Spike grumbled as he struggled to stay awake. Spike hadn’t thought to bring writing supplies with them when going out to deal with a huge wolf, so Twilight Sparkle had been painstakingly perfecting her letter for more than an hour now in the library. There was a reason why Spike usually wrote them and her perfectionism was a big part of that reason.

“I know, I know, but this has to be perfect! I don’t want it to sound like we are in actual trouble, I only want Princess Celestia to know my doubts about Fenrir’s motives… maybe I should just...” Twilight horn glowed and she intended to crumple the parchment, but a scaly clawed hand snatched it before she could start another letter.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Spike said as he rolled the parchment up and blew it out of the window with his green flame. “There, all gone! I’m going to go to bed; the Princess is not going to write back this late.”

Twilight gritted her teeth in frustration, then raised her hooves to her temples, but slouched when she realized how stupid obsessing over the letter had been. She hopped up the stairs and realized how tired she was as she pulled the covers over herself.

Twilight was not a morning pony, she really wasn’t. As much as she respected Princess Celestia, having her way-too-bright sun shining on her closed eyes was one of the most uncomfortable ways to wake up. There was always that passing second of rage towards the sun and Spike for pulling the curtains open. Then again, waking up to the sounds of the town of Ponyville panicking and screaming in unison was right up there in uncomfortable ways of waking up.

“It’s going to kill us all!” A completely hysterical voice shrieked out and Twilight heard the clop of hooves retreating.

“I am still only sitting here, mind you.”

“Be gone, you foul beast!”

“In a minute.”

“We’re all going to die!”

“Oh, the frailty of life, want to debate on how to deal with it?”

“Sweet Celestia! Huge wolf dude, this is so not cool!”

“Ah, Blue Screaming Pony! Do you happen to know when Purple Magic Pony awakens from her slumber?” There was a set of short growls after this. Twilight’s sleepy brain could reason Fenrir was amused by something only much later. Right then and there the sound of a huge predator growling at her doorstep only served to wake her up even faster. She stumbled out from her bed, nearly fell down the stairs and crashed through the doorway of her library to find Fenrir and Rainbow Dash nose to nose yet again. Fenrir was sitting on the ground with his tail wagging and Rainbow Dash was fuming as she hovered in place. It was obvious which one of them was enjoying the exchange more.

“Fenrir, what in Celestia’s name are you doing?!” Twilight shouted at the large wolf, in part to know what the hell he was doing freaking out the townponies before she could let them know the huge wolf was friendly and part to stop the brewing argument between him and Rainbow Dash. Fenrir turned his gaze to Twilight Sparkle and Twilight could feel her heart start to race and her muscles tense as she readied herself to run. Then Fenrir turned his attention to something that Rainbow Dash said and Twilight felt guilty for thinking of him as just a beast. Fenrir was literate and had seemed like a reasonable, if a little strange, canine yesterday. Twilight should be the one to see through the rough and fearsome exterior and see him as what he was, instead of what he seemed to be.

“Twilight, why are you shaking?” Spike asked worriedly and laid a hand to her side. She physically jerked away from the touch and became even more aware and ashamed of her irrational fear of Fenrir. The rush of adrenaline had passed and whatever had spooked her so thoroughly before wasn’t there anymore, so she put it out of her mind and trotted over to Rainbow Dash and Fenrir.

“Fenrir, we agreed that you would stay at Sweet Apple Acres. You’ve scared everypony in Ponyville with this stunt!” She was tired, grumpy, in need of caffeine and her mane was a mess. She had more than a few reasons to be angry and the smirking canine in front of her gave her no reason to calm down.

“I doubt that telling ponies about a huge talking wolf staying at Sweet Apple Acres would accomplish anything, other than make half the town trot over there and see me with their own eyes. Everypony should just pony up and get their panicking out of their systems, in my humble opinion.”

“Foul beast from the very depths of Tartarus, be gone! The power of Celestia compels you!” A cream colored mare with a curly pink and violet mane shrieked from across the street. Twilight saw Fenrir’s ears perk up as he turned toward the mare.

“Actually I am only a figment of your imagination, Bon Bon. You are insane and right now you are in the middle of a psychotic episode. See, these two mares are not frightened of me at all, as they cannot see me.” That amused grin was back on his snout and the sharp fangs it bared did not seem friendly. Twilight was staring at the wolf, not really sure what to do about what he was doing. Sure, the mare had been rude, but trying to make her doubt her sanity was just bizarre and cruel. Bon Bon, if that was really the mare’s name, flinched back and her eyes darted between Rainbow Dash and Twilight. They were both looking at her, instead of the gargantuan carnivore right next to them, giving Fenrir’s jab at her sanity more merit.

“Fenrir!” Twilight exclaimed and the large canine turned toward her, this time she didn’t flinch at his gaze. “We both know you are very much real and what you are trying to do to this poor mare is just wrong.”

“Aww, but I wanted to see what would happen…” Fenrir jeered and bared a little more of his fangs. Was he really unaware that they found seeing so many fangs uncomfortable? From all that Twilight had seen this towering canine do, then it could as well be intentional.

“DOGGIE!” A high-pitched, energetic voice hollered out as a pink blur slammed into the side of the grey mass of fur called Fenrir. Pinkie Pie had made an entrance and had actually managed to bowl Fenrir to his side with her tackle. “He’s so fluffy that I can’t believe it! Can you believe it Twilight! How soft and glorious and spectacular and bouncy this doggie’s fur is!”

“I am well aware, Pink Supersonic Pony.” Fenrir growled out, not amused by Pinkie Pie’s antics. As usual, the pink mass of giddiness didn’t react like any normal pony would.

“You can talk? You should have kept quiet and waited for me to set up a more delicate situation, comedy is all about timing, ya know. For example, if I were making up names to call you and you were to offer your own name suddenly, I would be like “GASP, it talks!” and you would be like “Why wouldn’t I?” and then I would be all sad and would apologize for thinking you couldn’t and you would say I was inconsiderate and you wouldn’t be my friend…” As Pinkie Pie rambled on, her hair and mane were also losing their electric fluffiness. When she fell quiet, her mane and tail were hanging straight as she stared right into Fenrir’s fur, idly poking at a few strands with a hoof. The canine glanced at Rainbow Dash and Twilight, but all the clues he got was an aerial shrug and a dismissive wave of the hoof.

“I –“ Pinkie Pie suddenly gasped and jolted several feet into the air, startling Fenrir and cutting him off. at least, the fluffiness and overbearing energy was back, for better or for worse.

“You’re new here aren’t you? Equine, dragon, or canine, anyone new in Ponyville gets a welcome party!” The pink bubble of excitement proceeded on bouncing all around them with a huge grin with even more energy than usual.

“I’m not –“

“Oh, gotta go plan! Bye!” Pinkie Pie gasped as her form blurred out and the only proof she had even been there was the toppled form of Fenrir and a trail of dust going through Ponyville and disappearing into the horizon.

“If she doesn’t mind me eating half of the guests, then I’m all for this party.” The grey predator grumbled as he straightened into a sitting position. He noticed the shocked expressions on Rainbow Dash’s and Twilight’s face, but only stared back, stretching out the uncomfortable silence. He was wagging his tail and looking into Twilight’s eyes with no apparent malice, but his nonchalant comment still hung in the air.

“Of course, I am kidding.” He suddenly growled out after an extended pause, managing to make the ponies present jump at his voice.

“Any reason you’re up and about at this hour, and looking for Twilight Sparkle?” Rainbow Dash asked, clearly irritated by the wolf’s antics. The erratic nature of the great predator, coupled with the fact he seemed to be intelligent regardless, was a cause for worry. It's natural instinct for ponies to steer clear of predators as they can be cunning and unpredictable, but should they be even more cautious around Fenrir, a beast that claimed to be better than the rest of his kind? Could he have an ulterior motive for befriending them?

“Actually, I have a perfectly legitimate reason to seek her out, freaking out Ponyville is merely a pleasant bonus.” Again, Fenrir’s gaze went from Twilight Sparkle to Rainbow Dash and back again. The way he was acting hinted at a mind that had trouble focusing on things for more than a few seconds. Ears at constant motion, snout flaring at scents Twilight couldn’t begin to comprehend and eyes darting from one thing to another, only stopping to examine the eyes of anypony he was talking to. She was snapped out of her thoughts by the said wolf raising a paw and flicking toward her a few times, as if to shoo her away.

“I’ll let you get your breakfast and brush your mane or whatever; I actually have to discuss my problem with the Blue Flying Pony.”

“Why do you keep doing that?” Spike asked, stepping out from behind Twilight, still wearing his cooking apron. Twilight glanced back into the library and spotted her breakfast sitting at the table in the middle of the center room. Spike must have set it there to be able to listen in on Fenrir.

“Doing what, exactly?” Fenrir asked and tilted his head to one side. Seeing as Fenrir was not out to ravage the town, Twilight trotted back into the library to have breakfast and brush her mane. She still kept her ears pointed toward the doorway to catch the conversation between Spike and Fenrir.

“Not calling anyone by their name! You called me the Dragon of Ponyville, Twilight is Purple Magic Pony and you keep changing Rainbow’s name every time you see her!” Spike pointed out and sounded excited enough to be waving his little claws around frantically.

“I… I honestly did not realize. Perhaps it is the spell that allows me to speak your language?”

“Yeah, I guess that’s possible, but why can you say your own name, then?” Twilight could just imagine Spike standing there, pointing an accusing claw at the wolf. She heard a shuffle from beyond the door and presumed it to be caused by the wolf shrugging, or waving the question off. Spike had burned the coffee a little as he had been eavesdropping on Fenrir, Twilight noted absent mindedly. She decided to leave the baby dragon and juvenile canine to argue about as she hopped up the stairs to brush her mane and tail into presentable condition. When she came back down Rainbow Dash and Fenrir were nose to nose yet again.

“Rainbow…” Rainbow Dash slowly articulated, extending her hooves slowly in front of Fenrir’s face.

“Rainbow…”

“Good, okay, now; Dash…”

“Dash…”

“Okay, you can do it! Now, say my name, Rainbow Dash!”

“Blue Exploding Pony.”

“Oh, come on! Just admit that you’re doing that on purpose!” The colorful mare spun in the air angrily and pointed a hoof at Fenrir.

“Yeah, that one doesn’t even make sense, Rainbow Dash does not explode!” Spike chimed in.

“This is pointless. Purple Magic Pony, grab an atlas and let’s go.” Fenrir growled out, suddenly sounding very sour about the situation. Twilight had gotten over the urge to flinch at his every word, but the sudden change in demeanor did unnerve her. Why would he need an atlas, anyway?

“All packed and ready to go!” Spike exclaimed as he set her saddlebacks and his own body on Twilight’s back. Somehow she had a feeling Spike wanted to tag along. The great wolf gave the dragon a look, but turned to Rainbow Dash before saying anything.

“We are heading to the cabin of your yellow pegasus friend. Would you mind leading the way, as you know which way it is?” The grey predator growled out, deadly serious and his whole attention on Rainbow Dash.

“Wow, wow, wait a minute! Why do you want to see Fluttershy?” RD exclaimed, waving her hooves around and eyeing Fenrir suspiciously. Fenrir’s lip twitched as RD shouted her statement, but it could have been because of her volume.

“I am hungry and –“

“You are not eating Fluttershy, bud!” RD hovered right above Fenrir’s snout and had her face right in front of his eyes. She missed Fenrir’s aggravated snarl as a result.

“I was not –“

“You’d better not be thinking of eating any of her animal friends, either! She would be –“

“SHUT UP, YOU INSUFFERABLE LITTLE –“ The gargantuan wolf roared out and effectively head butted Rainbow Dash as his head jerked forward. He caught himself before he could finish his no doubt biting remark and stared at the ground, panting heavily. Everypony had been paralyzed by the sudden burst of anger and were now staring at the manic stillness in the wolf’s eyes, thinking if they could outrun the aggravated predator, or not. Fenrir closed his eyes and inhaled through his nostrils, probably to calm himself, but the ponies couldn’t help but think he just smelled them to see which would taste better.

“As I said, I am hungry; I get aggravated easily because of that. I need to see Yellow Meek Pony to know the area in which her animal friends live; the atlas will make it easier for her to pinpoint the areas I should not hunt in. It would be much easier if you two were there to help her and calm her nerves, any questions?” Twilight Sparkle could think of several. How had he known Bon Bon's name came to mind. His knowledge of what Fluttershy did for a living was also suspect, but she was not in the state of mind to ask these questions.

“Nope.” RD squeaked from the ground, her legs folded above her in a defensive manner, ready to kick up if Fenrir came in for the kill. She had gotten an intimate look at the size and sharpness of Fenrir’s fangs as he barked at her in anger. Fenrir got up on four limbs and started walking toward Fluttershy’s cottage.

“I do know her home is somewhere near the edge of the forest, but your help would spare me from tracking the Yellow Meek Pony down and possibly scaring her.” The jovial tone was gone from his speech and he didn’t turn back to see if the ponies followed. Hunger did make anypony irritable, but was it really a good idea to take a hungry carnivore to Fluttershy’s cottage, which was filled with wounded and helpless animals? Well, he had realized his problem and had moved to resolve it, plunging Ponyville into panic or not, so at least he was still lucid. RD took to the air to catch up with the jogging wolf and Twilight galloped out of her library with Spike in tow, closing the door of the library with a nudge of magic as she went.

He was not complaining about being in Equestria, it had been a fantasy of his since finishing season 1. He had no qualms about being among the ponies he had been watching for the better part of a year, either. He was not complaining that it might be some self-insert fever dream he was having after being bitten by a rabid ferret or something. No, that he could live with, as strange as it would be.

He had plenty to complain about being a wolf many times larger than the ponies he wanted to hug, though.Losing his hands and the chance to find out if Lyra really was obsessed with them, wasn’t the only thing bothering him about his new form. He did miss his opposable thumbs and all the things he could do with them, now that the only thing he could do with his forelimbs was tear things apart and run really, really fast.

At the time he just didn’t want to deal with explaining something to these ponies he didn’t understand himself. He didn’t know the reason why he was a gargantuan wolf and could only guess at why he was a gargantuan wolf in Equestria. As far as he knew he had led quite an unremarkable life. My little pony; Friendship is Magic had been a great show to watch and the fandom created some awesome things and sponsored more charities than any other fandom he knew of, but he didn’t think he would pray to pagan gods to get to Equestria, as awesome as it was.

Well, as far as he remembered, so it might still be possible. He had decided on the name Fenrir, same as the gigantic wolf in Norse mythology, so maybe there was a connection he was unaware of. The name had been the only thing that had popped into his mind when it was time for introductions, being a huge wolf named…

Okay, now he couldn’t remember his own name. He could remember a lot of details and big moments in his life, but whenever he tried to remember what he introduced himself as, it slipped away. Maybe it had something to do with the way he was unable to call anyone by name with the translation spell active.

“So, your plan is to ask Fluttershy to choose which animals are to die?” Rainbow Dash asked, snapping the human turned huge wolf, currently known as Fenrir, out of his thoughts. He mulled the mare’s comment and realized what she was going for. Looking back behind him, forcing down the urge to chomp down on his swinging tail, he saw Twilight Sparkle following them at a reasonable distance. He sat down on the road to wait for the purple mare to catch up before opening his mouth.

“Blue Insightful Pony has brought to attention the possibility that Yellow Veterinarian Pony will not approve of the hunting and consumption of wildlife, wherever it might be; any suggestions on how to deal with this dilemma?” Fenrir growled out, choosing to use as many fancy words as he knew to keep the ponies thinking of him as a scholar. It was a convenient little white lie and he wasn’t planning on admitting to it any time soon.

“Well, that is a possibility…” Twilight Sparkle muttered as she sat down to ponder the issue. “She is the element of Kindness, after all.”

“The harm in not telling her is the possibility of me accidentally killing a critter she’s attached to. If these animals come to her, then not telling her would only mean some of her animal friends will disappear, that happens plenty enough in nature.” The ponies cringed at the bluntness of the statement, but it would not serve any purpose to sugar coat the issue.

He had tried eating apples back in Sweet Apple Acres, but he just ended up regurgitating them, violently. Running around with his guts trying to jump out of his mouth was when he noticed how fast he could run. Hiding what he did throw up was how he realized that his claws were good for digging. He had been transformed from an omnivore into a full-blooded carnivore and this was the most pony-friendly way to deal with it, that he could think of.

“It’s so wrong we’re actually discussing this…” Rainbow Dash muttered and hovered in place with a disgusted face. “We should just tell her and see if she has any ideas, she takes care of all kinds of animals, even carnivores.”

“Agreed, but I’m eating anything that tries to stop me and can’t talk.” He said and turned again to keep jogging along faster than Twilight could run. His size alone made him move fast, but with as long wolves’ feet were, he could jog along in a leisurely pace and leave anything that didn’t fly in the dust. Turning the gnawing hot energy in his chest into bad jokes and moments of randomness was safer than snapping at the ponies around him, like he had done with RD and her incessant bickering. The hunger he was now feeling only fed the wordless hum that was slowly drowning out his thoughts.

“You were joking about eating Fluttershy’s pets, right? Her little critters will defend her, you know.” Rainbow Dash pointed out, ever worried about the wellbeing of her friend. The way she flew at his side, just at the edge of his peripheral vision, made him speed up his jogging to make it go away. The movement and the smell of the soft herbivore so close to him made him anxious; he could just flex his neck and bite down on a wing so easily. His muscles rippled under his fur as he kept going faster, but Rainbow Dash wasn’t taking the hint, just like the stupid vacant-eyed herbivore she was.

“Hey, you might wanna slow down, you’re leaving Twilight behind!” The tempo of her wings had quickened. He could feel his claws tearing into the road and warmth spreading into his muscles as a powerful heart hammered in his chest. The movement at the edge of his vision disappeared and reappeared, each time he saw the flutter of wings, it was harder to fight back the urge snap at them. At this velocity it was unlikely that the dumb aviary miniature horse could dodge in time if he were to swing his head to the side and let the pegasus slam into his snout. He could even grab the mare out of the air and swallow her before anyone noticed if he timed it carefully. One flex of his neck and the annoying little dyke would be bleeding out, crushed between his jaws, wings twitching helplessly…

He could only roar incoherently as the image crept into his conscious mind and flashed in frightening detail at every jolt of his muscles. He didn’t know if he was fighting against it, or wanting it to happen, at this point. He pictured the flex of his neck, how easy it would be to bite down on the frail bones and soft flesh of an aviary herbivore, how sweet drenching his thirst on Rainbow Dash’s blood would be.

He could only roar and force his body to go faster as the rainbow-colored pegasus struggled to keep up with him. She was shouting something, hitting his fur with her soft hooves. His heart drowned out the noise, the heat of his blood smothered the pain and his hunger controlled him.

Spike didn’t think Twilight could hear the insane snarling and howls Fenrir let out as his form kept getting further and further away, with a rainbow blur next to him. With his size Spike had thought Fenrir to be slow, but even at the calm jog he had started out with, it was nearly impossible for Twilight to keep up with the flying virtuoso and a land-based predator of gargantuan size. Twilight ran between the potholes Fenrir had torn into the road while speeding up.

Twilight was panting and nearly stumbling at her hooves as the holes in the road Fenrir had left became progressively bigger and the distance between them grew. Spike looked up and didn’t see the rainbow blur next to Fenrir anymore. He looked up, hoping that RD had decided to dive bomb the rampaging wolf, but the sky was devoid of any rainbow trails. Spike was really worried now and he was pretty sure Twilight wasn’t stopping because of the same reason. Fluttershy might have been good with animals, but it was unlikely she could calm the feral Fenrir with so much injured prey around to excite him.

“That cheating little mutt!” Spike turned his head in the direction of the voice and saw a flash of colorful tail in thick bush at the side of the road. Fenrir had only knocked her into the bushes, thank Celestia. Spike jumped off of Twilight’s back to help the competitive mare out of the bushes. Twilight stopped as she noticed Spike wasn’t on her back and only then noticed RD’s predicament. The bookish mare was exhausted by the sudden exertion she was forced into by worry for her friend’s well being. They couldn’t hear Fenrir snarling or howling anymore and that made them worry about what had made him stop.

“Bad enough he’s barking and roaring like a madpony, but then he goes and rams me!” Spike cut some vines the mare was tangled in, but she got tangled in a few more because of her thrashing around. He jumped on RD’s back and snipped as many vines he could, before she could tangle herself up again. The flying pony flew out above the road and stared out along the road, trying to spot Fenrir. “Runs like a motherbucker, though...”

“Rainbow… Dash!” Twilight panted out between gulps of air. Rainbow Dash was obviously not realizing Fenrir was not in his right mind, since she wasn’t rushing to Fluttershy’s cabin. Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight, looking confused at her desperate tone. “Get to Fluttershy’s cabin… Now!”

“Uh, okay!” Rainbow Dash stammered out and shot off into the sky. If Fenrir didn’t know exactly where her cabin was, then Rainbow Dash could make it there before him. Then again, all the animals she kept had aggravated even Spike’s domesticated sense of smell when he’d visited her cabin, so it shouldn’t be hard for a full-blown predator to find it. Twilight and Spike ran the rest of the way down the road, stopping only when they saw Fenrir’s tracks skid to a halt and tear most of the road out in the process. There were a number of clear paw prints at the crossroads leading to Fluttershy’s cabin, or the Everfree forest. Had he stopped to track the yellow pegasi’s scent, or had he regained his senses?

“Here you are!” Both Twilight and Spike shrieked at the sudden voice above them. Rainbow Dash chuckled at their reaction and set down next to Spike. “Fluttershy heard Fenrir howling and hid in her cabin, seems like Fenrir never made an appearance.”

“Twilight! Rainbow!” Spike caught their attention and pointed at a number of fainter hoof prints on the ground, going down the road to the Everfree forest. Three sets of small hooves going side by side, partly obscured by Fenrir’s giant paw prints. They only knew of one group of three fillies that would go to the Everfree forest alone.

“We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, On a quest to find out who we are, And we will never stop the journey, Not until we have our cutie marks!” The three fillies shrieked out, Sweeitie Belle’s pitch-perfect voice drowned out by her friends’ screaming. She wasn’t aware of this, since she liked singing with her friends and got nervous whenever she was thrust into the spotlight. She just liked singing; it wasn’t like she was particularly good at it. They were inhaling to sing the next verse of their own theme song when Applebloom’s ears swiveled and she stopped to look behind them. Sweetie Belle grabbed Scootaloo’s official CMC cloak to stop her and turned to try and hear what made Applebloom stop.

“What are you –“ Scootaloo’s question was cut short as her ears perked up when a bone-chilling howl reached them. Their first thought was that it was timberwolves, from Applebloom’s stories about how they appeared out of the forest when it was Zap apple season, but they weren’t so sure about that when no other voices joined it. The three fillies pressed together as they heard a low guttural bark echo around them, whatever was making that noise was getting closer, fast. They could hear the rumble of something big running toward them.

“What – What is that? What’s making that noise?” Sweetie Belle whimpered, her own fear slightly alleviated by her two friends shivering on either side of her.

“A bear, maybe?” Scootaloo offered. It did sound big enough to be a bear.

“Bears don’t howl, stupid!” Applebloom countered.

“And how do you know that, stupid?” Scootaloo shot back.

“Fluttershy told me, stupid!” Applebloom shot back. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo did a synchronized “ooh..” at this new piece of reliable information. The yellow pegasus was the resident animal expert, after all, right after Zecora.

“Then what is it?” Sweetie Belle asked, Applebloom and Scootaloo stopped hugging her as they stared toward the noise and pondered what could be making the terrifying sounds.

“Wolves howl.” Applebloom suggested, remembering the timberwolves howling when zap apple season started.

“Would have to be an awful big wolf…” Scootaloo muttered as they stared at the shadowy canopy of the Everfree forest. Even though it was a bright and sunny day, the trees sucked out the light and left the road cloaked in shadow further down the road.

“Fenrir!” Sweetie Belle shouted and glanced at her friends. The looks on their faces suggested that they came to the same conclusion as her about the same time; she was just the first to shout it out.

“What’s he doing ‘round these parts?” Applebloom asked, scratching her head with a hoof, more perplexed as to why the strange wolf was there, than frightened about the fact he was howling and barking while running towards them. “Is he going to see Zecora?”

“Why would he need to see Zecora, he’s a huge wolf!” Scootaloo exclaimed, excitedly waving her hooves in the air to signal exactly how big he was.

“Maybe he’s getting something for his throat? You heard how raspy his voice was.” Sweetie Belle reasoned, remembering how annoying it was to have a sore throat. The other two fillies nodded in agreement and they sat down on the road to wait for mister Fenrir, they might actually get to ride on his back if they asked nicely. Just when the sound of running sounded like the form of the grey wolf was supposed to appear out of the thicket of shadows, there was a crack of wood and the hollow sound of a tree falling in the forest.

The CMC glanced at each other as the forest around them turned deathly quiet without the sound of who they presumed to be Fenrir rushing toward them. Had he hurt himself? Stumbled and crashed into a tree, maybe? The noises they had heard just before the silence sure supported that theory. The three fillies tentatively got on their hooves and started trotting towards the mass of shadows down the road.

“Mister Fenrir, are you alright?” Applebloom shouted into the shadows they thought Fenrir to be in. The silence of the forest had gotten to them earlier, so they had started singing to occupy themselves, but now the forest around them seemed even quieter, like everything living in the forest was holding its breath.

The silence made them glance at the forest nervously and swivel their ears around to catch any possible sound. Still, they didn’t notice the sound of Fenrir carefully stepping out from behind the trees behind them, his soft fur making no sound as it scraped the tree’s bark and his long claws only making a barely distinguishable sound as they sunk into the soft earth of the forest. The three fillies only turned around when his weight made the rocks under his paws shift and clatter against each other.

"Golly, mister Fenrir, you gave us quite a scare there. You're awfully quiet for such a big fella!" Applebloom hollered, relieved that it was only the funny acting big wolf sleeping in her family's barn.

"Yeah, we couldn't hear you at all! You were like a.. a..." Sweetie Belle couldn't think of an especially quiet animal, or pony right on the spot. The way Fenrir was staring at them, panting heavily, wasn't helping her concentration at all, either. His yellow eyes seemed to glow in the dim light of the forest.

"Uh, everything alright, mister Fenrir?" Scootaloo asked and stepped toward the great wolf, flinching as the heavily breathing predator turned to her, growling and snarling at her. She stared into his eyes, frozen in place, and saw the manic focus of a wild animal boring into her from the glow of those yellow eyes. Fenrir's jaws opened and the growl intensified, a gleaming droplet of spittle falling to the ground from his curved fangs.

"Right, mister Fenrir! mister Fenrir!" Sweetie Belle chimed in excitedly, waving a hoof to get the wolf's attention. Fenrir flinched at the sudden sound and growled at the filly after lowering his stance and folding his ears back. Applebloom and Scootaloo were already scared of the seemingly feral Fenrir, but Sweetie Belle was concentrating on speaking without her voice cracking embarrassingly. "Could we maybe - I mean, it would be nice if we could ride on your back, only to Zecora's hut, if it's not too much trouble..."

Her two friends and the deranged wolf both stared at the filly, Fenrir's growl stopping as Sweetie Belle stared at the ground and fiddled with a pebble nervously. Fenrir straightened his posture and stared at the nervous filly with a vacant look in his eyes, blinking slowly.

"We won't tug on your fur, or anything, I promise..." Sweetie Belle added and looked up to the confused wolf. Fenrir flinched away from her eyes and a glint of recognition flashed in his eyes as he frantically looked from side to side, acting frightened of his surroundings. He jumped back and barked at the fillies as they tried to ask him what was wrong, snarling at them while backing away. As the fillies stood there, frozen in place by the crazed look in the wolf's eyes, Fenrir jumped back into the forest. They could hear him tearing through the foliage and many branches snapping as he ran through them, none of the grace he had used to sneak up on the three fillies no longer present.

"He could have just said no." Sweetie Belle shakily said, scared by the big wolf's strange behaviour, still not catching up on the fact she had very nearly avoided being eaten. Her two friends didn't see the need to let the filly know as they tried to stop shaking.

I am glad that most of you like this story and love all the positive comments, but what I would like to know more is what the three down voters found offensive about this story. Getting positive comments is a joy, but the negative opinions give me a chance to better, or explain myself. So, if you're one of those three people, leave a comment.

Also, mad respect for an individual going by the name McWilson and some random numbers on this site for helping me edit this piece of literary vomit into something a little more agreeable.

Feel free to leave one if you aren't.