Sam yawned, feeling the familiar feeling known as the call of nature. He rose up out of his sleeping bag and left his tent, finding a bush and spending a penny. His ears perked a little as a nearby bush rustled, his eyes darting towards the sound.
'Please don't be a monster, there are better ways of dying than with my trousers round my ankles. It'll look like I pissed myself when I died, not exactly a graceful way to go.' The sounds seemed to get closer and Sam hopped on the spot. 'Oh damn it, hurry up!! I'm not dying with my junk hanging out!' Finally finishing, Sam zipped himself up and was about to hurry back until he saw and heard the rustling coming from some bushes right in front of him. Sam stumbled back, tripping over his foot and landing flat on his backside. He grabbed hold of a nearby stone and clenched it tightly, getting ready as the rustling approached. Gritting his teeth, he hopped onto his feet and charged at the rustling, grabbing the assailant and pushing them to the floor. He pulled himself up and glared down at the attacker, his gaze softening before a little panic setting in.
“Oh crap, I'm so, so sorry Fluttershy.” He said as he helped her up and dropped the rock.
“I-It's ok.” She replied, obviously a little rattled.
“No, really. You just surprised me, I thought you were some kind of monster coming up on the camp.” Fluttershy chuckled a little.
“Oh no, I was just checking up on some nearby animal friends while I had the chance. They're nocturnal so I had to go see them now, a few of them were missing which was strange. Wait, if you thought I was a monster, why did you attack me?”
Sam thought about it for a few moments before shrugging. “I'm not sure, fight or flight I suppose. Just thought to get it before it gets me, though I'm a lot happier it was only you, probably would've ended up six feet under if it was some big weird thing.”
“Six feet under? You mean you'd have dug a hole to hide?”
“No, it means... you know what? Never mind. You heading back to your tent then?”
“Yeah, we got a bit of a trek tomorrow so we should get well rested.”
Sam nodded and the two headed back towards their tents. “Good night.”
“Good night.” They got back into their tents and returned to the sweet embrace of sleep, not seeing the movement in the trees, a pair of green eyes staring out from the darkness.
XXX
The sun had risen and it was a warm morning with a relaxing breeze as the group made their way to their destination. It would have been a serene and peaceful walk had it not been for two group members butting heads.
“You were the one who insisted we sleep top and toe so don't blame me.” Josh stated matter of factly.
“That's no reason for kicking me in the face!” Sam retorted.
“It was an accident! You punching me in the gut bloody wasn't though!”
“At least you didn't feel pain as well as your smelly foot in your face.” Sam growled, Josh replied with a growl of his own as the two pushed their fore heads against each other.
“Are you two going to spend the entire time arguing?” Twilight asked as she pulled the two of them apart by their shoulders. “We packed up camp and got on our way ten minutes ago but all you two have done is yell at each other.”
“It's only been ten minutes? It feels like we've been moving for hours.” Rainbow whined.
“Oh don't be so dramatic Rainbow.” Twilight chided. “We know you'd rather fly but the canopy is too thick now, we'd lose each other if you flew off.”
“But it feels so weird having my hooves on the ground for so long!”
“Sounds like someone prefers to have their legs in the air, if you know what I mean.” Josh whispered, causing Sam to chuckle. Even Twilight snorted as she held in a laugh from the comment.
“What was that now?” Rainbow asked, scowling at him.
“Nothing, didn't hear anything. Did you hear anything Sam? Twilight?”
“Nope, not a thing.” Sam replied. Twilight just shook her head while pinching the bridge of her nose. Nonchalantly, Josh turned round and continued along the path, Sam chuckling and following behind. Rainbow's scowl became a smirk as she started planning. After a few hours, the group had decided to take a break.
Applebloom and Zecora were talking about the making of the zebra's various potions, Scootaloo was hanging around and talking to Vinyl and Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy were talking about the local area and Octavia was with Pinkie, chatting about the various parties she had played at.
Josh had Sweetie Belle on his shoulders and was listening with Sam as Twilight taught the three about using their magic.
“So, are you ready to give it a try?” The unicorn asked. Josh nodded as he looked at the small stick that had been stuck into the ground while Sam looked at the small stone in his hand.
“So we just concentrate and the ring does most of the work for us?” Sam asked.
“Sort of, the ring will pull your magic to your hand but you'll have to try and move it from there.”
“Well then, let's give it a go.” Sam closed his eyes and concentrated, focusing on the stone in his hand. He didn't know what he was supposed to do until he felt an odd feeling flowing through his arm, as if warm water was streaming to his hand. Josh began feeling the same thing, his arm and hand tingling before their hands began glowing. Josh's became glowing an electric blue colour while Sam's became a forest green.
“Ohh, pretty. It looks different to usual magic.” Sweetie Belle said.
“You're right, it looks more like a mist is floating around your hands rather than our usual auras.” Twilight noted. “Ok then, next thing I want you two to do, before you try to use magic, is to get familiar with the feeling of the magic flowing through you. When you stop using the rings, this'll help you get used to the way magic feels, and therefore help you pull the magic out.”
The two nodded and began focusing on how the magic felt. It flowed through their arms from the centre of their bodies, a pool of magic could be felt slightly at the source.
“Right, after you two think that you know how it feels better, you should try and actually use it. Josh, you'll need to gather a lot of the energy into the palm of your hand and Sam, you'll need to place your magic under the stone.”
The two began trying to focus their power as Twilight said. They could feel the energy inside them become more intense. Josh focused on the centre of his palm, trying to shape the energy to one point whereas Sam tried to focus his power under the stone in his hand.
“You can do it guys.” Sweetie encouraged.
“Don't try to force it, just mould it.” Twilight added. After a minute or two, the blue mist around Josh's hand had grown in intensity on his palm and a strong green mist was glowing from under the stone in Sam's hand.
“Ok good. The next part for you Josh is to store that energy at one point then try and push that energy out and Sam, I want you try and pull the stone in, you'll be able to feel it inside you and you'll need to mould that feeling around yourself. If you picture that the stone is sinking into your hand, it'll help.” The two took a deep breath and tried to do as Twilight asked.
“Do you think they can do it?” Sweetie Belle whispered to Twilight, getting a nod in return.
“They've done it before, logic would dictate that it's possible to do again.” The two then noticed a bright glow pulsing from Josh's hand and the human began to bite his lip as he tried to force out the energy out. Sam seemed much calmer as the light under his hand became more intense, the rock slowly sinking into it. It wasn't long before the rock disappeared into Sam's palm and, with some sweat trickling down his face, his hand seemed to dry up and change to a grey colour. After the feeling subsided, Sam opened his eyes and smiled at the stone appendage.
“Shit! It actually worked!” He exclaimed.
“Well done Sam, you did very well. You can do it next Josh, I know you can” Twilight said with a smile. Josh grunted slightly as he tried to emit the energy in his hand.
“It's ok if you can't Josh, not everyone would probably do it first time.” Sam chuckled.
“Shut your face, you idiot.” Josh replied.
“It's fine, I just could be a natural.”
“Don't antagonize him Sam, you're doing fine Josh.” Twilight interjected.
“He knows I'm only joking around, besides...” Sam leaned in a bit. “It's nothing to be ashamed of, I'm sure most guys have trouble during their first time, besides me of course.” He said with a shit eating grin. He began to chuckle to himself and didn't notice Josh's reaction to smack him in the chest. When his hand collided with his friends chest however, Sam was thrown away from his seat and rolled across the floor a few times. After landing flat on his back, he lifted his head and looked up at his friend, who had a triumphant grin on his face.
“See? No problems. I think you were just a bit premature but don't worry, it happens to most guys, besides me of course.” Even Twilight couldn't help but snicker at the two whilst Sweetie Belle just cocked her head in confusion.
“All right then.” Twilight said as she clapped her hands together. “You two have done enough for today but I expect you to practice hard on what you've learned.”
“Ok, are we all ready to move? The sun isn't going to stay up forever.” Rainbow called out. The group gathered back together and began moving along the trail. They chatted with each other along the way, laughing and smiling for an hour or so.
“Ummm, Twilight?” Fluttershy said.
“Are you ok Fluttershy?” The unicorn replied.
“Umm, I hate to be any trouble but I noticed something. I know it's probably me just worrying and I'm letting my imagination run away with me and I don't want tot bother you with something that isn't really a prob-”
“Fluttershy, what's wrong? You can tell me.”
“Well, you see, I think there's something wrong with the local wildlife.”
Twilight just cocked her head. “What do you mean Fluttershy?”
“Well listen carefully.” She said. Twilight stopped and looked around, her ears swivelling.
“I can't hear anything.” She replied.
“Exactly. No birds, no little critters, nothing. I noticed it earlier while talking to Rarity but I thought that perhaps they had gone out foraging but now I'm not so sure. They should have made some kind of noise by now.”
“What's the hold up?” Rainbow asked as she approached from behind.
“Fluttershy seems to be worried about the local animals. She says that she hasn't heard any of the wildlife in quite some time.”
“Is that a problem?” Vinyl asked.
“Ummm, maybe? I-I don't know...” The pegasus said as she hid behind her mane.
“I must say it does seem strange that there are no noises within range.” Zecora stated. Everyone halted and began to look around. There was complete silence but it didn't last long.
“Oh christ dude.” Josh said as he closed his nose with his fingers. “The hell did you eat to make that?!”
“What are you on about?” Sam asked, until the stench hit him too, causing him to have the same reaction. “Oh god! I didn't do that! Don't try to blame it on me!”
“Well I sure as hell didn't do it!”
“What are you two talking about?” Octavia asked.
“What? Are you saying you can't smell that?” Sam asked.
“I can assure you I have no idea what- My word! What is that awful stench?!” The group began to sniff the air and frowned at the smell.
“I know that smell...” Twilight said softly.
“You don't mean...?” Fluttershy asked.
“To make that smell, only one thing could. A living thing of rot and wood!” Zecora exclaimed. As if on cue, a pack of timber wolves burst from the tree line. The creatures growled, their wooden fangs bared and their claws scraping the ground.
“Girls, get behind us.” Rainbow said to the three fillies, getting a nod as they moved behind the adult mares and humans.
“Ok, what the hell are they?!” Sam asked.
“Timber wolves. Part of the Everfree, they're made from the forest so they aren't like normal creatures. They're incredibly dangerous.” Vinyl explained.
“They're big mean meanies that hurt anypony that tries to go into the Everfree forest.” Pinkie added.
The creatures began to circle around the group, slowly but surely surrounding them. Twilight and Rarity charged their horns, Zecora clenched her fists, as did Rainbow and Vinyl.
Twilight grit her teeth at the sight of the wolves, she counted about 9 of them. “Pinkie, Fluttershy, Octavia. Make sure that the fillies don't get hurt. Josh, Sam, I want you to-”
“Fight with you, got it.” Sam said.
“That wasn't what I was going to say.”
“Well tough, we aren't just going to sit by and let you fight our fights for us.” Josh replied.
“You protected us before at the castle, let us return the favour now that we can.” Sam added.
“Fine, but make sure you be careful and don't get hurt.” Sam grinned, picking up a stone off of the floor in each hand, both of them glowing green as he grunted. Within moments, both of his hands were now made of stone, while Josh's hands were now surrounded by a blue mist.
Quick as a flash, the wolves jumped forward. Twilight and Rarity let loose their magic, striking down two of the wolves. Rainbow shot forward and punched one of the wolves in the snout, a slight crack appearing in the wolf's snout, another wolf nearly bit Rainbow in her side but was interrupted by Vinyl's hoof connecting with it's jaw.
“Reminds me of those days we used to get into trouble after drinking too much.” Rainbow snickered.
“I think it was you who got into trouble and I was the one who had to bail you out.” Vinyl replied.
“Details, details.” The rainbow maned pegasus grinned before delivering a flying kick to the head of the wolf from before as it tried to swipe at her. Vinyl sighed before her horn began to glow and she let out a blast at another approaching wolf.
Zecora frowned as a timber wolf began to approach her. It stalked her slowly before leaping at her, she dodged to the side and the wolf landed behind her, turning round to slash her but only meeting her hoof between its eyes.
“Do not think me weak, wolves of wood. This mare has more strength than you'd think she would.” Zecora warned. The wolf just growled before slashing at her again, Zecora managed to dodge it aside from getting scratched along her arm. The wolf charged at her a third time and managed to pin the zebra to the floor, however it didn't last long as Zecora placed her hooves under the wolves and kicked it off, sending it into a tree where it smashed into debree.
Josh and Sam stood back to back, two wolves on each side.
“Why the hell do we get more of these things?” Josh asked.
“Not sure.” Sam replied. “Maybe we just looked tastier?”
“We're surrounded by marshmallow ponies! How the hell does that work?” The wolves cut them off as one of the two in front of Sam jumped at him. He held his hands up to defend himself and the wolf grabbed hold of one of them in its mouth, its wooden teeth chipping on the stony appendage. Sam just smirked as he pulled his fist from the wolf's mouth before throwing it back in, snapping off the wolf's lower jaw.
“I could get used to this.” He said with a smile. Josh just waited for the wolves in front of him to move, placing a fist at his hip while holding the other in front of his face. One of them charged forward, swiping a claw that Josh was barely able to dodge before shooting out his fist into the wolf's side, sending it sprawling to the floor. Enjoying the moment, the other soon jumped onto his back, leaving a large claw mark along his back. With a grimace, Josh span around and kicked the creature in the side of it's head, causing the monster to growl.
“Heads up!” Sam called, as he held a wolf by its front paws and threw it towards the one opposite his friend, causing the two to collide and smash. As they prepared to face the rest of the creatures, a loud howl could be heard from somewhere in the distance. The wolves all looked towards the direction of the noise before running back into the trees. The group all gathered together, a few cuts and scratches on some of them.
“So, they seemed nice...” Josh said.
XXX
Night had fallen and the group had set up their tents, resting after the scuffle from earlier.
“So you think it's ok to keep going then?” Sam asked.
“It should be ok, as long as Pinkie, Rarity and Zecora get the fillies back to Ponyville. I know the rest of the way from here.” Twilight explained.
“I didn't think timber wolves usually come out this far.” Rainbow mentioned.
“It is a bit unusual, they usually stay much closer to the Everfree forest than this but with the local wildlife scattered somewhere, they could have just been expanding their search for food.”
“What has me most confused isn't that they came out this far, but that they were called back with an alpha's howl.” Fluttershy added.
“What do you mean Fluttershy?” Octavia quizzed.
“Umm, well you see, an alpha would usually lead a pack into a fight, they lead by example. However the alpha that called them back was still hidden in the wood, meaning that they had decided to stay behind.”
“Is that really such a problem?”
“Sort of. The reason an alpha leads the pack is to show courage, to show the other wolves that they aren't afraid of a fight. I've never heard of a pack following an alpha that decided to stay behind.”
“I see. It does seem a bit odd if you put it that way.” Octavia said before looking around. “By the way, where is Vinyl and Josh?”
“They're in our tent.” Sam said. “Josh got a large scratch on his back so Vinyl said she'd put some of this serum crap on him that Zecora left for us. Glad I become part rock with my magic, saved my hands from become dog food, so bloody useful.”
“Well hopefully you won't need that in the future. The wolves would have returned by now if they really wanted us hurt.” Twilight said.
“How do you know they aren't nocturnal and just waiting for us to sleep?”
“They're different from most wolves because they aren't just made of wood, they're part plant and therefore conduct a kind of photosynthesis like most plants. It doesn't mean they feed from sunlight but studies have shown they prefer to hunt during the day as the sun gives them more energy, like a kind of sugar.”
“Ah I see. Well, you learn something new everyday I suppose.”
Meanwhile, in Octavia and Vinyl's tent, the unicorn was carefully applying a green liquid to the marks on Josh's back.
“Ah! Damn it!” Josh grunted.
“Keep still dude, I can't spread it evenly if you keep squirming.”
“Ain't my fault it stings like a bitch.”
“Aww quit acting like a foal and grow a pair.” Vinyl teased. Josh frowned a little but began to keep still while Vinyl applied the serum. “Well the scratches aren't that deep so there's no chance of infection. No splinters in your skin either which is pretty good.”
“Thanks nurse. Though it's weird that you have monsters like that here, why the hell would you put a town nearby something like that?”
“Not sure, ask Applejack's family, they were the founding members of the town.”
“I'll remember where to send my complaint letters.” Josh chuckled. “So wooden wolves come along and attack and you don't want to head back to town, why's that?”
“I dunno. I could ask you the same question.”
“And I could answer easily. I have magic, and that's pretty sweet.”
“Is it that big of a deal to have magic?” Vinyl asked.
“It may be hard to understand for a group that can fly, harvest crops easily and cast spells with magic spears attached to your foreheads, but for humans, magic is a fantasy. We see it in movies, books, all kinds of media. Every little kid wanted to be a magical superhero at some point in their lives and here we are...” Josh said as he stared at his hand, remembering the magic pulsing through it. “I have the ability to use magic, as does Sam, and for that little kid I used to be years ago that wanted to be a hero, I owe it to him to keep this.”
“Wow.” Vinyl said. “It's amazing how you can be insightful, but still so damn corny at the same time.”
“How kind of you, it's good to see you're not just a dick head on the outside, but on the inside too.” He chuckled, before grunting slightly at Vinyl pushing on his scratches a little. “All right, all right, I give.”
Vinyl grinned before moving away slightly. “Well there you go, just don't go wrestling with timber wolves during the night or they could get worse, ok?”
“Awww, well there goes my nightly plans.” Vinyl smirked before leaning right beside Josh's ear.
“It's ok, there are mares out there who really dig scars.” She whispered before blowing on his ear. Josh just shivered a little before rubbing his ear, earning a giggle from the mare. “Well, I'm off and you better get some rest ok? Nurses orders.” She said before exiting the tent.
“Damn mare.” Josh muttered, before grinning a little. “If she were human, or I was one of these ponies, or I was weird, I'd have completely fallen for that. Bloody women...”