The lonely trail of train tracks sat before the silver wolf amidst the mild winds and slight snowfall. She nursed the cut on her left foreleg gingerly, which had been caused by a frightened pony, just like the other few injuries she recently received. The last train to she-didn't-know-where of the season, and she'd missed it. Again. Before she knew what she was doing, she found herself sprinting down the long stretch of track. I won't let fear hold me back this time. I need to know what's out there! The ponies of the crystal empire nearby wouldn't dream of welcoming her in; she'd found that out the hard way. But she couldn't live with the isolation anymore, so wherever these tracks led was her only hope left. There had to be at least one pony out there who would listen to her... right?
The tracks kept going, but the silver wolf was losing energy. Scratch that— she was spent. She could feel tears dampening her fur as they slipped down her cheeks. She whined as she barely found the strength to hop onto the nearby train platform to curl up and fall asleep. She was too tired to think about the chaos that would inevitably ensue the moment somepony saw her lying there in the morning.
"Princess Twilight! Princess Twilight!!" Violent pounds of the front door echoed throughout the Golden Oaks Library, awakening the lavender alicorn rudely.
"What's with all the racket?" Twilight moaned groggily as she made her way downstairs. When she opened the door, she was surprised to find a crowd of frenzied ponies waiting for her outside.
"Princess Twilight, there's a wolf at the train station!"
Twilight's eyes widened. A wolf? They'd never been sighted in Ponyville before, but she had no time to think about that now. This threat required immediate action. She teleported past the crowd of ponies, galloping to the station. "I'll handle this, everypony!" Twilight called behind her as she pressed on.
"Aww, how cute! It's sleeping!"
"Pinkie Pie?! What're you doing here?!" Twilight asked, shocked.
Pinkie Pie answered in her typical fast-talking, huge-explanation voice. "I came to see the woof, silly! Everypony was screaming 'Woof! Woof! Woof!' so I thought it was Bark Like a Dog Day, but then I remembered that holiday was cancelled generations ago, so I asked somepony why everypony was screaming 'Woof!' and they said it was because there is one at the train station, and I got confused for a second because I didn't know what a 'woof' was, but then it hit me: Duh! Dogs say woof all the time! They must mean a dog is there. And they were right! An adorable, sleeping dog, right here! Why are you here, Twilight? Did you hear about the woof too?"
"Pinkie Pie, that's a wolf!" Twilight exclaimed.
"I know! I just told you that, silly! Isn't she just the cutest thing, napping away, all furry and adorable?"
Twilight face-hoofed.
The silver creature stirred, moaning softly.
"Look! It's waking up!" Pinkie Pie announced excitedly, bouncing up and down.
Twilight assumed a fighting stance, horn glowing and at the ready.
The wolf's eyes fluttered open, and the instant she saw ponies, she scrambled to her paws and started to back away, whimpering.
"Shh. There, there. It's okay. We won't hurt you."
Twilight and Pinkie turned their heads to see Fluttershy entering the scene.
"Fluttershy? How did you--?"
"Oh, I came as soon as I heard. There's no need to panic." She continued to step softly toward the wolf, who was looking at her with astonished bewilderment.
"Do you have a name, Mr. Wolf?" Fluttershy asked, smiling, stopping inches away from the canine.
The wolf frowned. "I'm a girl," she corrected indignantly, lifting her head and chest proudly. "My name is Sharlina."
"O-oh dear, I'm terribly sorry. You're the first wolf I've ever seen, and--"
"You can speak our language?" Twilight asked, eyes wide.
"Yes," the wolf responded. "...not that it does me any good."
"Yay!" Pinkie Pie bounced up and down. "The woof speaks Equestrian! You should teach Winona. She's a woof just like you, and--"
The wolf's eyes widened. "Another wolf? Here? Th-that's not possible..."
"Forgive my friend," Twilight stepped in. "She's a bit confused. There's a dog on the far side of Ponyville living at Sweet Apple Acres, but you're the first wolf we've ever encountered. Where did you come from?"
"Oh." Sharlina breathed a sigh of relief. "Me?" The wolf's teeth caught on her lip. She found herself not wanting to say anything about her past home.
"It's okay." Fluttershy came around to the wolf's side, gently draping her wing over the wolf. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to."
Sharlina spoke in a soft voice of wonder, just above a whisper. "You're the first ponies I've met who haven't screamed in horror at my appearance..."
"That's silly! Why would anypony do that?" chimed Pinkie Pie, "You're the most adorable woof I've ever seen!"
"...Is she always like this?" The wolf whispered to Fluttershy, who gave a small smile and a nod in response.
"You're not here to hurt anypony?" Twilight's voice. She knew it seemed insulting to ask, given the wolf's apparent nature, but it was a clarification question. For safety.
"No." The silver wolf shook her head. "I just came to get away from my past. I followed these tracks all the way from the Crystal Empire."
"Goodness!" Fluttershy cried. "That's a long way from here. Are you okay?"
Sharlina paused, waving each of her paws one at a time, then wagging her tail to make sure everything still worked. "I'm fine, just exhausted. I was up way late last night..."
"You're quite the deep sleeper," Twilight remarked. "The whole town was in hysteria!"
Sharlina looked guilty. "Did I cause that?"
"N-no, that's not— Well, yes, but—" Twilight's words were cut short with a sorrowful sigh from the wolf.
"It's okay. I don't belong anywhere. I'll just go..." Maybe farther down the tracks...?
Sharlina turned to leave, and Fluttershy called out, "Wait! Please don't go."
"Are you sure you want a beast like me around?" the wolf asked forlornly, staring at the ground.
A moment of silence.
"You're no beast," Fluttershy declared firmly. "You seem like a lovely wolf, and nice creatures are always welcome in Ponyville."
Sharlina turned her head to face Fluttershy. "Do you mean that?"
"I do."
"Well, if you insist..."
"Yay!" Pinkie cheered. "The woof is staying!"
Sharlina couldn't help but giggle a bit at the pink pony's reaction. Her laughter was rather infectious, she had to admit.
"You could stay with me at my cottage," Fluttershy spoke up, "but with all the other animals, it's probably not the best idea..."
"She could stay with me," Twilight offered. "It would be a wonderful research opportunity."
Sharlina's tail wagged. "Really? Yay! Thank you so much!" She lunged forward, embracing Twilight in a tight hug.