Predatory

by Crazy Laughter

The Hunter

”Girls, thank Celestia you’re alright!” Twilight shouted as she spotted the Cutie Mark Crusaders running toward them. Rainbow Dash rushed ahead to check the fillies over for injuries and left Twilight galloping to catch up. The three fillies gathered around the older pegasus mare and shouted out their worries in unison. Their combined chatter was nearly intelligible, but the name “Fenrir” was mentioned.

“Wow, slow down there! You ran into Fenrir?” Rainbow Dash waved her hooves to silence the fillies. Twilight Sparkle rather unceremoniously shoved the bright-maned mare to the side.

“Are you saying you saw Fenrir? Where? What was he doing? Did he hurt you? Which way did he go?” The purple mare asked, making the three fillies take a tentative step back from the second crazed quadruped they ran into that day. Even though Fenrir had avoided hurting anypony, she was still frantically worried about a feral wolf the size of a small house running around. This did not translate well into getting any information out of three scared fillies.

“Just tell us what happened.” Spike said as he jumped off of Twilight’s back and stepped between the mare and three fillies. Twilight gave the dragon a look, but stepped back as she noticed the venomous glare Rainbow Dash was giving her. Twilight levitated a parchment and a quill for Spike to write down the fillies’ statement.

“We were going to Zecora’s hut to learn some more about potion-making, you know, to earn our cutie marks, when we heard this howling and snarling behind us.” Scootaloo narrated, moving her front hooves in time with her words to create a sense of drama. Rainbow Dash nodded for the orange filly to continue and Twilight thought they wouldn’t be as calm if they realized how close they had been to getting eaten.

“It was so-oooo scary! Mister Fenrir was acting like a madpony, snarling and howling like that!” Sweetie Belle cut in before Scootaloo could continue, her voice cracking at every other word because of her excitement.

“Sure, yeah, but as I was saying: The sound of him rushing toward us was echoing off the trees, making it sound like there was a whole pack of wolves coming at us. We didn’t realize it was Fenrir at this point, so we were getting really worried. We waited to see just what was coming for us, but then…” Rainbow Dash leaned in to hear the filly, as she had only whispered out the last word, glancing both ways before leaning toward Rainbow Dash and continuing. “Silence, all the noise he had been making stopped and the whole forest was even quieter than before, like it was watching.”

Twilight noticed Rainbow Dash’s wings fluttering a little in excitement and she had to remind herself the three fillies were right in front of her, unharmed, to not get as wrapped up in Scootaloo’s story herself. Spike wrote something on his parchment absent-mindedly before Scootaloo continued the story.

“Ah asked mister Fenrir if he was a’right, since it sounded like he’d gone an’ hurt himself.” Applebloom cut in, stepping back as Scootaloo gave her a venomous look.

“Yeah, so Applebloom shouted down the road, asking if Fenrir had stumbled, or something, since we heard a tree fall just before everything went silent. We start trotting down the road, silence hanging over us and making us jumpy. We walk right over where we heard the tree falling and hear something breathing heavily right behind us. We turn around and we see Fenrir right behind us!” Scootaloo dramatically raised her hooves in the air with her last statement, making RD’s wings spring out and an excited grin overtook both of their faces. Twilight had to admit Scootaloo had a knack for dramatic reading, but didn’t agree with making light of such a serious situation.

“Then I asked if we could ride on his back to Zecora’s hut and he ran away.” Sweetie Belle added, sounding confused. “It was like he was afraid of us, but why would he be afraid of three small fillies?”

Because he was afraid of what he would do to them, not of them. Fenrir had regained his senses long enough to run away from the CMC, but that didn’t mean he was back to normal, if there was a “normal” to go back to. The aggression was new, but they had only known Fenrir for little over a day, so there was no saying what kind of monster he was. Rainbow Dash gathered the fillies’ attention and started leading them out of the forest, asking them more questions about the encounter. Her overpowering personality and nonchalant and excited attitude about their experience helped the fillies calm down, but the way she glanced back at Twilight proved that she was aware of the danger the fillies’ had narrowly avoided.

“Should we go check on Zecora?” Spike asked as he added details to his notes he hadn’t had time to write as Scootaloo told them of their adventure. Twilight felt a little proud of her assistant when she saw a drawing of the way the three fillies and Fenrir had moved on the road in the margins. “Fenrir might still be nearby.”

“Of course we’ll check on Zecora, Spike!” Twilight snapped and started walking along the path, Spike wobbling along on his own. First Fenrir forces her out of bed and thoroughly annoys her with his bizarre sense of humor, then forces her to follow him, because he feels hungry and then just storms off, feral. She was not having a good day, not at all. “Besides, I was planning on asking Zecora if she knew anything about ways to deal with large, intelligent predators. There are a more of them where she’s from and the books are vague about the subject.”

The trek to Zecora’s cabin was uneventful and they only stopped to examine the tree Fenrir had toppled. The tree had snapped near the base and the way the claw marks were positioned suggested that Fenrir had jumped on the tree to stop his momentum and then sneak behind the CMC as they came to check on the noise. They shuddered to think what the wolf would have done if the three fillies hadn’t turned around and confronted him.

“Twilight Sparkle, what is it you seek, trying a new tea this week?” Zecora greeted them while motioning them to step inside. Twilight smiled at the friendly zebra and stepped in, her mind going over her rhyme and silently judging it. The zebra’s ability to speak almost every single sentence in rhyme was astonishing, but as a fan of literature, she couldn’t help but judge. The zebra’s discreet yawn excused any weak rhymes in Twilight’s mind.

“Actually, I’m here to ask if you could tell me about the great beasts in your homeland. You see, a big wolf, named Fenrir, appeared yesterday and I was wondering if you would have some insight on this situation. Maybe know why one such beast would want to learn pony magic?” Twilight awkwardly told the zebra. She hadn’t had time to think her questions through, with Fenrir going feral and leading them to the zebra’s vicinity. “He kind of went feral out of hunger just now…”

“I heard the panicked howls, thought them to be cause of timberwolves.” The zebra walked over to her cauldron, stirring the concoction with a wooden spoon, seemingly deep in thought. The mixture in the black cauldron changed color and let off a puff of smoke that smelled of flowers. The zebra then walked over to a system that allowed her to lift the heavy cauldron from the fire without the help of telekinesis.

“The beasts of my home are mindless as a common foal; those that speak channel the voice of a different soul.” The zebra grabbed the rope tied to the wall with her teeth and pulled it loose with a practiced flick of her neck. Twilight watched as the zebra pulled the rope and the mechanism allowed her to swing the cauldron to a pedestal at another side of the room. Zecora tied the rope back on the hook on the wall, the mechanism required for the operator pull down, so tying the rope only served to keep it out of the way if the cauldron was not meant to be suspended.

“I know no beast with the mind you describe; there are spirits great and small, eager to fill that role. Caution is what I suggest, as deception and guile is what they know best.” The zebra rhymed and gave Twilight a serious look.

“But, what if Fenrir isn’t a spirit? What if he’s just the scholar he claims to be and just made a mistake? Is there any way to know?” Zecora rubbed her chin briefly, probably recalling wisdom she’d learned in faraway lands. It was either that, or the striped mare was thinking of a suitable rhyme, whichever it was, Twilight was impressed.

“Lies and deception is their game, but they cannot lie about their name. Phantoms that I know, bear not the name you speak, maybe ask those, that are neither mortal nor weak?” The zebra smirked and gave a meaningful glance at Spike’s direction. Twilight had told the zebra that she sent her letters to the Princess through Spike, so her meaning was obvious. Of course, if somepony would know the names of spirits of Equestria, then it would be the Princesses! Actually, she had already sent Princess Celestia a letter concerning Fenrir, so she just had to wait for a reply.

“Yes, of course! Thank you, Zecora!” Twilight beamed at the wearily smiling zebra. She had to wonder if the striped mare had been woken by Fenrir’s howling, or if she had been watching her potion for who knows how long. Whatever the case, the zebra needed her rest. Twilight excused herself with another thank you and rushed out the door, there were lives at stake, so she had no time to waste.

Rainbow Dash led the three fillies back to town, asking them questions about the size of Fenrir’s teeth, why were they exactly going to Zecora’s, what had made Fenrir back off exactly? Basically anything to keep the three fillies talking and not think about the ordeal too deeply, but what would give her more information about how the whole thing went down. From what she’d heard so far, it really did look like Fenrir was going to eat the three fillies, until Sweetie Belle asked his more rational side a question of heart melting amounts of cuteness.

She was now convinced Fenrir was possessed, or suffering from multiple personality disorder of some sort, just like in Daring Do and the Cult of Janus. It just didn’t seem possible that a person, wolf or not, could be a sarcastic jokester one second and a snarling beast the second. There had to be something more sinister afoot! Fenrir had not been normal, not even close, but he had been an agreeable guy, until this morning, when the other guy started coming to the surface. Sure, she knew that carnivores tended to get antsy when they were hungry, especially if surrounded by sentient herbivores. Gilda had explained the whole thing during flight camp. After the whole fiasco of her coming back to relive old times, Rainbow Dash had thought it to only be a convenient excuse, but now she wasn’t so sure.

“Why was Fenrir so scared of me, Rainbow Dash?” Sweetie Belle suddenly asked, staring right into her soul with those innocent eyes as they walked. She knew exactly why he had acted scared after coming to his senses in front of three fillies, but really didn’t think telling them should be her decision. She could just bail and let the fillies go home on their own; they were already at the edge of Ponyville, after all.

“Miss Rainbow Dash!” A commanding voice boomed soon after they walked into town. Rainbow Dash visibly jerked and her eyes shot upward, expecting to see her boss from the weather patrol glaring at her. Instead, there was a group of three pegasi flying toward her, all wearing golden armor and a stony look of authority on their faces. It was a miracle Celestia found so many stallions that looked exactly the same in golden armor. She had a sneaking suspicion there was a lab somewhere in the Canterlot Mountain where these guys were constructed on a conveyor belt.

“Yeah, that’s me.” She wasn’t sure why Celestia’s royal guard was looking for her, but she was pretty sure she hadn’t done anything that could be considered treason, so it was unlikely they were there to arrest her.

“We are here for your protection.” The three pegasi were carrying spears affixed to hooks on the sides of their armor. It was rare to see the guards armed, other than during the princesses’ public appearances; even then it was mostly to show that the guards could do more than stand in place for hours.

“I can take care of myself, I don’t need your protection. Shoo, away with you.” It might be because she had just been thinking about Daring Do, but she was now speaking in an accent. The suspicious look the three guards gave her was the exact same if she had been drunk, they probably thought she was.

“We have our orders, Miss Dash.” The guard with the biggest helmet barked out. Damn, they really took their job seriously. They were working on orders?

“The Princess ordered you guys to watch over me? Why in her name would I need protecting?” The three guards were not amused by her play on words and didn’t even grace her question with an answer. This was not going to be fun. She was contemplating her chances of outrunning the three pegasi when another voice stepped into the fray, this time it was a pleasant sounding colt’s voice.

“Sweetie Belle?” An unicorn guard in golden armor asked as he walked past the pegasi without even giving them a glance. The pegasi guards only showed their annoyance by an all too telling twitch of the wings. “Your sister sent me to find you. Come on, I’ll walk you home, or at least to where your sister is.”

At least this guard had manners and seemed more like a pony, than the stone-faced automatons Rainbow Dash had to deal with. Was the training between pegasi and unicorn guards that different? Sweetie Belle followed the guardspony after saying bye to her friends.

“Are you here about Fenrir? Are all of the Elements guarded?” She had three guards; Rarity had sent one to find her sister, so it was not a big leap to think that they were all guarded. Actually, that might have explained Fenrir opting out on visiting Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash had arrived there after he passed, so Fluttershy’s guards might have been checking the perimeter for the predator at the time. She hadn’t exactly stayed around to chat and Fluttershy might not have gotten a chance to tell her about them.

“Yes, the others are guarded, but our orders are to protect you from harm, as the Element of Loyalty, surely you understand.”

“Are you going to kill mister Fenrir?” Scootaloo asked, looking up to the guard’s eyes, he didn’t flinch at the question, or even register that the filly had talked.

“I hope not.” One of the guards said, earning a scorching glare from the one that had been talking so far, probably his superior officer.

“Yeah, this seems like an adult kind of thing, so little fillies should hurry on home.” Rainbow Dash nudged the two remaining little fillies along, smiling a little at their unified groan at the injustice of it all. Applebloom started jogging toward Sweet Apple Acres and Scootaloo pulled her signature scooter from a nearby bush and then raced off after waving her goodbye. Did she have more than one of those, or had she stashed it there?

“So, what’s the plan?” The prismatic mare asked the stone-faced guardponies. The two subordinate guards glanced side to side and then nodded to their superior to continue. She sighed at them for being so cloak and dagger about it, but didn’t press the issue; they didn’t seem amused by the situation in the least.

“We are to gather the Elements of Harmony at the Ponyville library at their earliest convenience. Those are our orders and to speculate further would be uncouth.” Clearly this stallion was a senior ranking officer, nopony other than somepony who teaches protocol would be so strict in following it.

“Well, the town librarian is visiting the resident zebra, so that might be a problem. Actually, she’s right in the forest where Fenrir ran off into, so you’d be better off trying to protect her, you know, Twilight Sparkle.” Rainbow Dash gestured toward the forest she just came out of and saw the apprehension in the officer’s eyes. He was trying to decide between following his orders and safeguarding the Element of Magic, who was also Princess Celestia’s protégé. He sized Rainbow Dash up with a look that convinced Dash he was at least a lieutenant in the guard and twisted his face into the first emotion RD had seen from him; annoyance.

“Aqualinus, go tell Twilight Sparkle’s guards where she is. Cheese, you go down that path and check on her. I’ll keep an eye on the little Miss Loyalty here.” The two identical looking guards saluted and zoomed off to fulfill their orders. The still nameless guard officer glared at her without even trying to hold back his animosity. This was getting boring fast…

“Okay, see ya around!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she rocketed off into the sky. Usually she flew low and weaved between trees or buildings to shake off pegasi, but luckily there was rain scheduled for that day, so she just flew into the cloud and flew in zig-zags and loops and any other aerial maneuver she could think of to shake her unwanted companion.

She flew up above the cloud cover after making sure the guard after her was still in the clouds and then glided over to an errant piece of cloud, not leaving a trail of rainbows in her wake. She then dropped down onto a roof and then ran over to a tree to take a nap. Every pegasus she’d outmatched thought she would be easy to track because of that trail she left behind, but that worked against them, as they always looked for it, rather than her. She panted happily from exertion and laid down on the branch to rest. She lied her head down and sighed out of relief. This was not one of her usual napping spots, but it would have to do. She’ll work the soreness out later. She lay there for a few seconds before an insistent beating of wings made her check if she was bothering a family of birds of something. No bird nests in the branches, nor any birds.

“A-hem!” Rainbow Dash turned toward the voice and saw the guard with the slightly bigger mane thingy on his helmet and a hard-on for protocol. He’d actually been able to keep up with her; even after she’d made sure he was still in the clouds when she hit the ground.

“Denied!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she zoomed out of the tree and right over Ponyville as fast she could without doing a sonic Rainboom. As soon as the trees on all sides of Sweet Apple Acres came into view, she dived under the foliage and started dodging the tree trunks while going nearly as fast as in the air. She didn’t think her route ahead for a few minutes to eliminate any pattern from her flying, to make it that much harder for the uptight guard to keep up with her. She flew for a few dozen turns and then ran for a moment and then flew again. Again, she was forced into working extra hard to stop pursuing pegasi just following the trail she left behind as she flew.

After a solid ten minutes of continuous trick flying and sprinting between uniform lines of apple trees she jumped up into one of her nap spots and crashed her head down on the pillow. It was more work than she’d put into shaking someone off in a long time, but at least she didn’t have to deal with the dead eyes of a guardpony staring at her judgingly. Again, she heard the insistent flapping of wings next to her, this time accompanied by the heavy breathing of a colt.

“Oh, come on! How?! How in Celestia’s name could you have caught up with me? Is chasing mares around like your special talent, or something?” Rainbow Dash screamed at the guard, more frustrated that she had tired herself for nothing than angry at the colt. It was not much, but the guard’s wings flinched just a little when RD speculated his special talent being chasing mares. She spread a knowing smirk on her face to test the theory and sure enough, the colt backed away just enough for it to be suspicious. “I’ll come with you if you tell me what your special talent is.”

“My special talent has nothing to do with –“

“I’m pretty sure I technically outrank you, me being the Element of Loyalty and all. I could make it an order, if that’s easier for you?” She dropped down from the tree and then leaned on it. Making it very clear she was not moving until the guard relented. He landed in front of her and gave her the most venomous glare a pony could give to another pony without killing them. She couldn’t stop grinning even if she tried.

“My special talent is chasing down and catching criminals.”

“Yeah, sure... criminals.” Rainbow Dash drawled out, as annoyingly as possible. She pushed herself off the tree and started walking out of the orchard and in the direction of Ponyville. She walked in front of the celestial guard, but could almost hear the guardpony fuming behind her. She walked in silence for a few minutes, just long enough for the guard to calm down a little, before speaking again.

“So, your special talent is chasing tail?”

“No.” The guard was trying to regain his stoic demeanor, but as Celestia was her witness, she was not going to let that happen!

“Do I even want to know what you were looking at, if it wasn’t my tail?” She punctuated her statement by a swish of her tail and saw the guard turn his head away from the corner of her eye. Aww, the little guardpony was getting flustered!

“My special talent is being able to predict your movements before you make them. It comes in handy when chasing an agile pegasus.”

“So, you were staring at my flank the whole time, weren’t you?” Rainbow Dash turned to the pegasi guard and pointed a hoof at him. She was the first to admit her flank was awesome, but she was not going to pass up on the opportunity to embarrass the annoying guard. The guard stopped and took a few steps back, his wings unfurling in a clear sign of uncomfortable he was with the accusation.

“I also observed the tempo of your wings, the way you leaned your body, moved your hooves, there’s more to it than –“

“You actually admit leering at me? What’s your name, soldier!” She decided to act like she really did outrank the pony and his reaction did not disappoint. His face turned a crimson red, but he still assumed that thousand mile stare and rigid posture of a celestial guard. It took every ounce of her willpower not to burst out laughing from just looking at it.

“My name is George, ma’am!”

Wait, what? He didn’t look like he was making a joke, but celestial guards were masters at keeping their faces neutral. What kind of name was “George”? What kind of pony could be cruel enough to name their son something so incorrigible? It wasn’t even a name; really, it was more like the sound you made when gagging on something!

“Bwahahaha-HA!” She couldn’t help but fall down on the ground, quaffing in laughter. George the guardpony! It was just too much! “What kind of name is that?! No wonder you ended up chasing tail with a name like that!”

The guard, named George, stayed quiet and staring into space, like any other guard she’d come across.

“You are behaving in a manner not suited for an –“

“Says George… the Pony!” Rainbow Dash wheezed out between fits of laughter, only made worse by the guard’s attempts at staying stone-faced and failing terribly.

“It is a family name!” George growled out, abandoning any attempt to keep his cool in front of the insufferable mare. She could only laugh harder at the mental images this tidbit of information brought her.

“Yeah, the great… house of George! Stop it… You’re killing me!” Rainbow Dash was really starting to have trouble getting enough air now. The guard seemed to decide it was better to let the Element of Loyalty work out her amusement, as he simply sat down and glared at her wildly laughing form.

This continued until Applejack came to check on what in the hay was making so much noise in her family’s orchards. The rainbow colored mare ended up being carried by one of Applejack three earth pony guards. They didn’t see what was so funny about this “George” she kept referring to, the pegasi guard didn’t deem it necessary to correct them.

He was fast, that he already knew, but it still surprised him how quickly he scaled the mountain. He had to get away from Ponyville, away from the Mane Six and everypony associated with them. That was what drove him on for a good while, as his hunger grew.

Almost every creature in his path had the sense to move as far away from his thundering feet and maddened howls, but he leapt at the ones that he crossed with such ferocity he was not sure what they were. They felt soft and warm to tear apart and their blood fought back the fire inside him enough for him to keep running. They were small things, in nests or abandoned in traps, but his powerful jaws and limbs tore through anything between his hunger and them.

Night fell and he tracked by smell, lurking and skulking in shadows while his prey slept in nervous apprehension. He saw a mountain, but had he passed it, or had he tracked his last kill beyond it? He didn’t care. He smelled weak, soft creatures, their fear as sweet as honey to his nose, their fear, their flesh and their deaths; that was what mattered.

He knew what ponies smelled like; he stayed away from them, since they were not food. Everything else reeked of the meat under their skin and he could hear the sweet, warm blood beat in their little hearts. None of their kind mourned them; there were no mobs to slaughter him for killing a deer, or snatching a lone griffin from the air. Their deaths served to sustain him and his strength.

Ponies had community; they struck out at those that wronged them. Herbivores, weak and soft, but clever, thinking they were so much smarter than those that yearned for their flesh. They traded their knowledge and industry for reprieve of the beasts hunting them. They played the cunning nature of predators against them. Why kill a pony, if their kind could give you weapons, traps and ways to hunt other things?

Intelligence was not a privilege only for herbivores, he knew better. There were ways to work the ponies’ overblown community against them, to make them fear the hunter again. There were ways he knew to incite fear, ways to call on a herd mentality they have tried to cast off for such a long time.

There were ways, but he had no reason to use them, that is what he told the raging fire inside him, gnawing at him. There was no reason for his anger; there was no motivation for any crime he plotted to commit. No wrongs to right or no grudge to settle, that was the duality either his bestial body, or human mind could overcome. He had a body well suited for cruelty and an ingenious mind capable of it, but no reason to commit any wrongs to ponies.

The hunter in him saw no thrill in devouring prey that packed itself in one place every night and the human side of him could not reason killing something that could still do him favors. The part of him that would riot against even the idea of hurting ponies was dormant, cast off by a colder, older thing, a thing that knew what it was and could hunt. There would be a time for masks and little lies that part excelled at, but now only the hunter was needed.

A light forced itself upon the land and took his cloak of shadows away, flaring the fire driving him on this hunt. It had not been sated and yet his muscles burned and his mind screamed for rest. He had to kill something big, something larger than his hunger.

There was a feral dragon in the Everfree forest, at the base of the mountain; it had attacked Spike and Twilight, a beast devoid of morals, other than his primal greed. A hardened omnivore, made even harder by the magic in its veins and the fire at the back of its throat. No normal thing of flesh and bone had satiated his hunger; maybe a creature of magic would be different.

Killing a dragon would be hard, impossible if in its lair. He needed to dodge the beast’s fire, but it had made sure there was little to no cover near its horde, it would have to be lured out. The forest would give him some protection from the flames, but if the struggle lasted too long, the forest would burn and turn against him. It had to be lured away and surprised, his jaws were strong enough to bite down on its neck, but the claws and tail was what he was worried about.

First, he needed bait to lure it out. As much of an omnivore it was, it was unlikely that a feral beast could resist an easy kill. Manticores were territorial, easy to track, a little harder to wound without killing them, but easy to drag, thanks to their tail. The proud dragon would probably think it to be tribute from something. The manticore could only smell of blood and roar out its frustration with its mangled legs.

All that was left to do was to wait and let the wounds the manticore had inflicted knit together. The dragon would think the stench of a predator to be coming from the manticore, not something lurking in the forest’s shadow.

The yellow pegasus reveled in the company of her cute little critters. They were such good little darlings, so full of life and joy of living that it brought a smile to her face. She whispered out a few careful suggestions and the critters followed along by staying still and waiting for their share of the food. There were the few hungry ones that needed their share to be a little bigger and scurried off with their little hands and mouths full of feed. She knew they had stores of food in the forest and around her cabin and that it was natural for them to feel the need to horde, but she had to scold them in that voice they listened to, just for the other ones that could resist their urge to do the same.

“Play nice now, there is enough for everyone.” She said in a voice slightly louder than a whisper. Other ponies thought she was quiet and shy for talking to animals in such a meek manner, but the animals could hear her just fine and understood the slight variations in her voice. It was her special talent to understand and talk to animals, after all. She smiled as the squirrel, which had run off with extra feed, came back and distributed his spoils with the other animals, such sweet little things.

“How does she do that?” A pegasus guard said to another in what he might have thought was a whisper.

“Element of Kindness and all, I’d wager. See, I’m sure you feel the need to help her, even now. Didn’t you offer to help her a little while back?” The other guard commented in a calm voice, not even trying to whisper. Few of the animals looked at her curiously, but quickly moved on. The guardmare had been the one to approach her and was definitely not like the scary stone-faced guards she’d run into before. Her confidence and calming voice reminded her of Applejack. The animals had adjusted to her presence in mere hours, while they still shied away from the other two pegasi after a day of them guarding her. She was a nice mare called Cerulean Wind, but insisted on being called either “Wind” or “Cell”. She thought “Cerulean” sounded too much like something you ate for breakfast.

“I… I overfed a pigeon.” The guard answered, ears flopping down as he lowered his head. Cerulean chuckled and punched the dejected guard in the wing. From what Fluttershy could gather, the guardmare was the superior officer of the two other male pegasi, but they acted more like friends, the way they talked and laughed as they patrolled the area around her cabin, unless the mare gave an order, that’s when the other two followed it without question. It was nice to see there were other ways to command others, than through fear and physical harm.

The mare was just about to throw a quip about the poor stallion’s mistake of letting the over-excitable pigeon eat too much, when there was a terrible howl in the forest. It didn’t sound like it was close by, but it was loud and made by something very big and angry. The pillar of flame erupting above the trees a moment later told them exactly what it was, but what made them anxious was whatever could make such a large beast roar in such a way. The small animals inched toward their burrows and nests, but started running as another roar erupted from the great lizard, one filled with more pain than fury. Smoke rose in the distance and they could hear trees being uprooted as the dragon battled something.

“Uh, how big was that dragon in the forest?” The guard that had given one of her pigeons a tummy ache asked nervously as the sounds of the dragon roaring and fighting something continued.

“Report said it was a fully grown feral.” Cerulean answered and walked over to stand next to Fluttershy, who was trying to calm her animals. “If those noises come any closer to us, I need you to run, or fly, and tell the other guards, the ones guarding your friends. We’ll keep your animals safe, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, do you think it’s Fenrir? The- The one you’re guarding me from, Cell?” Fluttershy asked and hid behind her mane. The guardmare had an air about her that made her easier to talk to, so she was able to keep her voice in her audible range, at least.

“There’s hardly anything else that would attack a fully grown dragon in these woods.” She nodded solemnly and motioned for one of the guards go confirm what was making the noise. The stallion flew straight up until he was where the clouds would be and then flew towards the forest and the sounds of a dragon in great pain. The other male guard and the guardmare stared at his distant form in a tense silence. If the dragon was winning, then there was a wounded dragon to deal with, but if this “Fenrir” was winning, then he was something powerful enough to challenge a fully grown dragon. They wanted to deal with neither, but it was unlikely it was anything else.

The guard in the sky hovered in place as the distant sounds continued, the dragon roaring in pain and whatever was attacking it staying silent. The moment when the guard flinched and started making his way back to them was when the dragon’s roar cut off suddenly and turned into what sounded like a muffled wail.

“Report, now!” Cerulean barked out and the returning guard saluted the moment he landed.

“The dragon was being attacked by a single aggressor, a wolf bigger than I’ve ever seen!” The guard looked back at the long shadows of the forest behind him, the dragon had gone silent. “Last I saw, it was the wolf that seemed to be winning…”

It was midday, it was not normal for a wolf to attack prey during the day and alone. Her friends had told her that Fenrir had not acted like a wolf at all, talking with the help of Twilight’s spell and showing signs of intelligence on par with ponies, even a peculiar sense of humor. Why would an intelligent predator attack another predator many times its size during the day? The forest was silent again, but it was a tense silence, the sound of prey waiting for a predator to pass with bated breath. Her animals were fidgety and scared; the guardponies tensed their muscles and fluttered their wings as the silence dragged on.

Nothing howled or roared in victory, even though the sounds of the battle had ceazed. The silence brought to mind disturbing images of a gargantuan wolf ripping through the soft underbelly of a dragon, drenched crimson in the blood of its kill. If they could not hear, see or smell the wolf, then it could be hiding in any shadow in the dense forest and that only unnerved them more. The silence dragged on and slowly birds started to sing their songs and her little animals came back to get the rest of the food. Cerulean relaxed and told one of her subordinates to patrol the perimeter, just to be sure. First contact they had with Fenrir and he was fighting a dragon instead of coming back to them.

“Storm, go to Twilight Sparkle and tell her that we’ve had a sighting of something fitting Fenrir’s description, use those words, the officer in charge of her protection gets real picky about the details.” The other, more stoic, pegasi guard saluted and flew off toward Ponyville. They were all such strong fliers, had the princess sent them to compensate, since she wasn’t?

Cerulean helped Fluttershy put away the baskets and bowls she had laid down for the animals to get their food, then insisted on carrying the bowls she needed to feed the animals in her care that couldn’t get their own food just yet. They went along and fed all the animals inside her cabin and were halfway through the ones outside when they noticed the silence of the forest around them. The animals in her care were quiet because they were eating their food, or resting, but there were few reasons for the birds singing their songs to go quiet.

Cerulean set down the bowls of fruits, berries and grain and started scanning the tree line, her wings ready to spring the spear on her side to bear. The pegasus on patrol had not come back with any news of the wolf coming toward them, they hadn’t seen him at all for a while, actually. Fluttershy retreated from the tree line, urging for Cerulean to do the same. If Twilight’s description of the wolf’s size was correct, then he could easily leap from the edge of the trees to where they had been standing. The added distance would only give them a second or two more seconds to react, but Fluttershy hoped Cerulean was fast enough. She knew she wouldn’t be, if it came to that.

Fluttershy was the first to see the pair of yellow eyes looking at them from the shadow of a tree. The shadows seemed to cling to the wolf’s large frame, making his shaggy fur look like a dense bush, or a boulder as he stood there, quiet and still. She pointed the great wolf to her guard and this time Cerulean motioned for her to back away. Had Fenrir surprised the other guard in the middle of his patrol, or was the pegasus, whose name Fluttershy didn’t even know, still patrolling the perimeter? Cerulean readied her spear and started hovering in place, not taking her eyes of the dangerous beast.

The great wolf called Fenrir stepped out of the shadows and walked out into the light, just at the edge of the clearing around her cabin. He was even bigger than she had thought from Twilight’s description, his ears nearly touching the foliage of the large tree he had been leaning against a moment ago. His fur might have been grey only a little more than a day before, but now it was a matted mess of bright crimson and dark brown. The blood of the dragon he had killed had drenched him and dried to cover his whole frame, the only place that was not a dark shade of red or brown were his teeth, still white and sharp, even after tearing through a dragon.

Cerulean rose higher into the air in response to Fenrir’s approach and the wolf did not let the flying pegasus out of his sight. Fluttershy couldn’t stop staring at the terrifying beast and wondering what possible reason it could have coming to her cabin, when he’d avoided the ponies searching for him so far. When she could tear her eyes away from his gleaming fangs and yellow eyes, she started noticing things under the fresh coat of drying blood. Things like how he was limping his right back paw and how there was a steady stream of blood dripping on the ground from his torso.

“Uhm, did you come here because you’re hurt?” Fluttershy asked, trying to get herself to speak in a volume the wolf could discern. The wolf’s ears swiveled toward her and his yellow eyes locked with her green ones.

“It’s just that Twi- Twilight said you know about me and what I- What I do and uhm… you seem to be hu- hurt…” Fenrir stared into her eyes for a moment that felt like it stretched on forever, but couldn’t be more than a few seconds. There was definitely a predator in those eyes, but Twilight said he was intelligent and had tried coming to her for help before. As strong as the great wolf was, fighting a dragon unscathed was a near impossibility and by the steadily growing pool of fresh blood on the ground beneath him the grey wolf was crimson from his own blood as well.

Fenrir’s eyes flicked toward Cerulean brandishing her spear in the air and then returned to Fluttershy. She heard a low growl from the wolf and imagined what it must look like to the wounded animal; one pony offering help while another points a weapon at a bleeding and tired wolf as intelligent as a pony, it looked nothing but a trap.

“Cell, could you, uhm, put your spear away? He’s not here to hurt us.” Fluttershy asked timidly, she couldn’t be sure, but it didn’t make sense for a wounded predator to seek out prey that could and would fight back, especially after fighting and probably eating something as big as a dragon.

“If this guy is as smart as your purple friend says, then he better convince me by his own words.” Cerulean rationally suggested and kept her spear poised to strike. Fenrir let out a bark at her comment, but there was no way to know if he was annoyed by the mare’s distrust or by the flying thing with a stick talking. How could Fluttershy explain that the mere fact that Fenrir had come to her spoke for the fact he was still intelligent, or at least that he needed help?

“He’s hurt and came to me for help.” Fluttershy said and took a tentative step toward Fenrir. He glanced at her, but continued watching the armed pegasus instead of her. Fluttershy took this as a good sign and took another step toward the bleeding beast. Cerulean saw her getting closer to Fenrir and dropped down in front of Fluttershy, stopping her with an extended wing.

“Are you insane, stay back!” Fenrir let out an aggressive bark and leapt the half of the way to them at the armored mare’s sudden movement. He wasn’t able to bite, or slam, or claw at the mare, as he was stopped by another form in golden armor slamming into the side of his head. It was the other male pegasus she didn’t know the name of, or could it be the one that went to inform Twilight Sparkle? It was hard to tell with their armors making them look nearly identical. Fenrir barked and snapped at the guard, but didn’t move his paws, or flex his muscles to leap at the flying target. How were they not seeing that he did not want to hurt them?

“Stop! He thought you were going to take me away! He’s hurt, can’t you see that!?” Cerulean still kept retreating away from the seemingly ferocious beast glaring at them, forcing Fluttershy along. Were they really unable to see that the fact he hadn’t pressed his attack, or ran away yet only proved that he was there to get help? It didn’t matter how hurt he was, an animal did not lie down when there were those that would harm it near. Cerulean Wind glanced back at Fluttershy’s frantic expression and stopped retreating, unsure about the situation.

Fenrir was suddenly struck with a bolt of arcane energy, fired by somepony behind them. She heard the clopping of several hooves behind her and more bolts of arcane energy hit Fenrir’s chest, making him stumble back and put weight onto his injured leg. Fluttershy averted her eyes from the spurt of blood this strain caused, but all the pegasi and unicorn guards only concentrated on his bloodied appearance and the ferocious snarl he let out as he charged the unicorns that hurt him.

“Stop!” Fluttershy tried to fly between the bloodied wolf and what she presumed to be Twilight Sparkle’s three appointed guards, but Cerulean kept her back. Fenrir leapt past them and grabbed a piece of Fluttershy’s cabin’s earthy roof in his jaws and then flexed his neck to throw a shower of dirt at the unicorns. Their arcane bolts and spheres of arcane energy exploded when coming into contact with it and left all the ponies present blinded by the lightshow it caused.

Fluttershy didn’t know if the wolf tried to lunge at the unicorns before an even brighter flash of light cut off his snarl and she could feel something heavy fall to the ground near her. Fluttershy blinked and rubbed her eyes to see what had happened and saw Twilight Sparkle standing behind the three unicorns still trying to clear their vision with her horn still smoking from the arcane energy it just channeled.

Fluttershy hit Cerulean in the jaw with a hoof and tried flying over to Fenrir to see if he was still alive, but Twilight teleported to her before she could reach him. She couldn’t tell if his side was moving this far away.

“Fluttershy, are you okay? Fenrir didn’t hurt you, or –“

“Hurt me?!” Fluttershy screamed as she felt anger rise up in her. “You just beat down an animal covered in blood and bleeding without any thought that it might kill him, but yes, I’m JUST FINE!”

“But, Fluttershy –“ Twilight stammered, looking horrified at the fact she wasn’t thanking her for hitting a living, breathing and thinking thing until it couldn’t move anymore.

“No, shut up, Twilight! If you’re not going to help me heal him, then you can just GET THE BUCK OUT!” Fluttershy turned toward the other unicorns. “Anypony who has experience in stitching wounds can stay. I’ll need a unicorn to stitch his wounds fast enough.” Her voice had lost all apprehension and hammered out orders in a way that made the guards stand a little straighter.

Fluttershy trotted over to Fenrir and went straight up to his head, making the guards flinch a little at her taking such a risk. Thank Celestia Fenrir was still breathing. She didn’t think she could have forgiven Twilight if the wolf had died.

“I’ll go get my suturing kit; one pegasus will go to town and get the vet here.” She turned back to look at the stunned faces of the guards and Twilight Sparkle. “NOW!”

Cerulean Wind herself jetted off in the sky, only fractionally slower than Rainbow Dash would have. Fluttershy rushed into her house to get the things she needed to help the beast that had come to her for help.

Fenrir's thoughts are simplified statements for a reason, since he's more or less a beast with some aspects of a human mind at that point, so any introspection or doubts or thoughts were left out for a reason, just saying. Also, I hate writing Zecora with a passion of a thousand suns right now. Damn her and her rhyming...