Upon waking up, I quickly realized that was that I was alone.
Pushing myself to a four-legged standing position with a surprising amount of ease considering I still mentally considered myself as a biped, I felt something slide off my back and craned my head around to look at it. A raggedy old blanket was hanging off my haunches, half on me and half in a pile on the floor. Moving carefully so as not to rip any more holes in the ratty old fabric with my sharp fangs, I folded up the blanket as carefully as I could and put it aside against the tunnel wall. There was a faint light source in the underground burrow coming from a nearby tunnel.
Seeking out the source of the light, I found the bipedal dog standing over a cookfire. He was stirring some sort of substance that was bubbling away inside a rusted and dented pot. "Oh, white wolf," he greeted me as he saw me approach him. "Good morning to you, white wolf. Did you sleep well?"
I barked once at him in response and the bipedal dog smiled as he filled a bowl with the mysterious substance and placed it in front of me. "Eat up, breakfast is ready. You Rocky's guest, so Rocky will feed you."
I bent down and took a dainty sniff of the substance that had been placed before me. To be honest, I wasn't all that hungry and the mystery substance certainly wasn't doing anything to provoke my stomach. However, not wanting to come across as rude and silently promising myself a Holy Bone later, I stuck my muzzle into the bowl and took a bite.
The substance was thick and heavy on my tongue, and carried with it the distinctive taste of burnt food. It was obvious even from a single bite that my host wasn't much of a cook. But my body didn't immediately reject the questionable food, so I swallowed it down and warily took another bite. I ate fastidiously, not spilling so much as a single drop. It wasn't easy with my unfamiliar mouth, requirement to eat slowly and 'enjoy' my food.
Seeing me apparently enjoying my meal -- or at the very least, eating it -- Rocky scooped out a bowl for himself and took a seat on the floor next to me. I twitched an ear towards him in acknowledgement but didn't say anything, as my mouth was full of food. In short order, his mouth was also full of food and we ate in silence.
After several minutes, we put our bowls aside -- both of us having cleaned them out with our doggy tongues -- and Rocky looked down at me with a sad expression on his canine face. "Rocky has enjoyed your company, white wolf. Rocky will miss you when you're gone."
I look at him curiously, a tiny threatening growl escaping me. My first thought was about how ominous that sounded, but I quickly stop that train of thought before it can force me to do anything I might regret. If Rocky wanted to hurt me, he could have done so at any minute when I was asleep. Regardless, I minutely lift the tip of my tail just a little bit, prepared to use the power of my Celestial Brush Techniques if he should happen to give me reason.
Rocky seems to understand why my entire body has gone tense, because he hastily raises his paw-hands in front of him and scootches away from me. "That not what Rocky meant! Though he admits he said that wrong..." Seeing his expression of genuine contriteness and smelling the sincerity coming off of him, I lower my tail back down and allow my body to relax.
Rocky sighs in relief now that I no longer look like I'm about to leap for his jugular, though he keeps his hands protectively raised in front of him. "All Rocky meant was that you wouldn't be staying here. White wolf is a creature of the open air and the forest, while Rocky lives underground in the dirt. Rocky's home not good for white wolf."
My head tilts to the side as I consider Rocky's words. Though I am loathe to admit it, he has a point. I can feel the open air calling for me. The sky. The winds. The trees. And most of all... the sun. I don't think I would be able to be happy down here, not for long.
I sag in defeat, acknowledging the truth in what Rocky said. A paw-hand finds its way among my wolfish ears and I glance over as it gives me a reassuring scratch. Claws that can carve through dirt and stone without worry are surprisingly gentle as they scratch at my scalp. "It's not that bad," he tells me with a smile on his canine features. "If you ever have need for Rocky's help, just howl and Rocky will come running if he hears you."
Howl? My left ear twitches as Rocky pulls his arm away and I look at the pulled back paw-hand with disappointment. Those scratches are really distracting. Rocky waves for me to stand up and I just look at him curiously. "Go on," he tells me. "Howl. So Rocky will be able to identify your howl when you need him."
Oh. Ohhhhhh. That makes sense. Standing up, I feel the familiar sensation building up inside of me. Throwing my head back, I release my howl to the world. The sound is crisp and clear as it ring out, echoing like a bell in the small cave we're in. The melodic noise reverberates harmoniously for several seconds before it fades away, leaving only silence behind.
A faint satisfied smile pulling at my muzzle, I look over to where Rocky was. The smile fades away as I see that Rocky has pressed himself up against the farthest wall in this tiny room and is now staring at me with wide open eyes. "Y-you," he gasps out, raising a shaking paw-hand to point at me. "What are you?"
I whine at him and tilt my head to the right in a puzzled manner, not really sure what he's talking about. After a few seconds of staring, Rocky blinks once and raises an arm to rub at his eyes. He stares at me and blinks again. After a few more seconds, he shakes his head and stands up, leaning against the wall to support his trembling form. "No," he mumbles, not looking at me. "It nothing."
Externally, I only whine at him again, but internally, my mind is a blur. What could he have seen? Could he have seen my true form? Was he able to see past the illusion of a regular wolf, and recognize me for the god I apparently am? If so, how? How could he have seen me? What could have done it?
The howl! That's the only option that makes sense! Is it possible that my howl pierces the illusion that covers me and allows anyone to see for who I am? Or could it possibly be the other way around? When I howl, could my own godly strength become too much for the illusion to hide, and it falls because of that?
Regardless, I'll have to be careful about when I howl from now on. Rocky fires one last confused look in my direction before he shakes his head and wanders off. He waves for me to follow him and I do exactly that, quickly falling into his stride beside him. That's what I am doing. I am falling into stride. I am not 'heeling'.
"Smart wolf," Rocky says as he sees me walking beside him. "Good wolf. Even if you cannot stay with Rocky, perhaps you would be able to live with nearby village." I woof out a query and he quickly moves to explain. "Village of ponies nearby. That where Rocky learned how to grow plants and cook. Watching ponies."
It's also probably where he got the beaten-up pot he used to make breakfast. Probably scrounged it out of the garbage or something.
God damn, do I want to help him somehow.
Wrapped up as I am in my own thoughts, I fail to notice as the light around us becomes steadily brighter and brighter until there's suddenly a bright light shining in my eyes and I raise a paw to shield my
face. When I'm able to see again, I realize that we've completely left the dark caverns and have stepped out into the lush forest.
"Well, this is goodbye." I look back to see Rocky standing behind me, still standing in the shadow of his cave. His arms are crossed and he's leaning against one of the walls with an odd smile on his canine face, and I know I have no chance of convincing him to come with me. Instead of saying anything, I pad up to him and -- rearing up on my hind legs -- give him a fond lick on the jaw.
His arms come around me and pull me into a tight hug for a few seconds before he releases me and I drop to the ground. "Go on," he tells me, nodding his head towards the forest.
Privately promising myself that I will find some way to repay him for his kindness, I barked one final farewell at him before taking off into the forest at a full lope.
---------------
I walked through the woods for hours, simply enjoying the presence of the forest all around me. At several points during my walk, small birds would fly down from the tree branches in order to perch on my back. They would ride upon me for several minutes before taking off into the canopy once more.
The sun steadily moved through the sky as I walked, giving me an idea of how much time was passing. It was when the sun was low in the sky when I heard growling and snarling coming from a direction off to my left. My curiosity piqued, I turned and headed in the direction of the animalistic noises.
The growls and snarls become louder and louder as I get closer to whatever is causing them, until I walk past a large tree and suddenly spot the cause. There's a large lion-like creature with a pair of batlike wings and a scorpion tail. It's pressed up against the side of a cliff, looking into an small hole and occasionally reaching a paw in for several second before pulling it out again. I'm assuming it's got something pinned in that alcove but it just can't reach whatever it may be.
I feel a faint twinge coming from within me at the sight of the large beast. Well, far be it for me to walk away and ignore what I see before me. Gently rolling my shoulder, I feel the weight of my Divine Retribution resting on my back as I approach the carnivore several times my size. Coming to a stop directly behind the large predator, I barked at him.
--------------
Fluttershy was not having a good day.
"Oh, no worries, Twilight," she had told her friend when Twilight had offered to come with her. "I won't be going deep into the Everfree. I've done it before. I've just got some critters I want to check on. I raised most of them myself, you know. It's not too deep and nothing dangerous ever goes that way. I'll be completely safe."
She was regretting turning down the offer of help now as she pushed herself back into the alcove as far as she could to avoid a large paw that reached for her. The manticore's claws scraped at her skin and snagged in her mane. She felt the tug pulling at her scalp before several hairs were torn out by the roots with enough force to bring tears to her eyes.
A pain-filled whimper escaped her mouth as she tried to make herself as small as possible. If the manticore had been injured, or angry, or upset, or simply aggravated, then she was certain she would have been able to calm it down. If there was one thing she took pride in, it was her ability to deal with animals. However, the manticore wasn't any of those things.
It was hungry. And she was prey.
No amount of skilled handling would be able to make that fact go away. She knew some animals were predators and that they needed to eat other animals to live. It was simply a part of the nature she loved so much. Many of the animals she kept in her cottage were predators, but she had made it very clear that her home was a no-hunting zone. Despite this, she knew the danger. She knew how fearsome the animals she loved so much were. She had long since accepted the possibility that she might one day be killed by the very animals that filled such a large portion of her heart.
That didn't mean she was looking forward to it.
As she continued to shrink away from the hungry manticore, she heard a different sound coming from outside. It sounded like the bark of a dog. It wasn't a bark she recognized, and it certainly wasn't one of her animal friends, so she didn't hold much hope that rescue had come. If anything, the newcomer might fight with the manticore for the right to eat her, but that didn't help her situation at all.
She pre-emptively flinched as she expected to hear snaps and snarls from the two animals outside. Instead, all she could hear was... silence. She couldn't hear the sounds of fighting. She couldn't even hear the growls of the manticore anymore. After several minutes passed in complete silence, she eventually managed to gather enough courage to poke her head out into the open air.
What she saw was not something she could have expected.
The manticore that had come so close to eating her was sitting on the ground, happily digging in to a large pile of meat. Opposite the manticore sat an unusual animal Fluttershy had never seen the like of before. It was a white wolf, only slightly larger in size than Fluttershy herself and completely dwarfed by the manticore before it. Even stranger to Fluttershy's eyes, the wolf seemed to have no interest in helping itself to any of the meat and was content to patiently watch as the manticore devoured its meal.
Something about the serene atmosphere between the two carnivores put Fluttershy at ease. She didn't know why, but she felt like the danger had passed and it was safe to leave her little hidey hole. Moving slowly and keeping her head submissively lowered in order to avoid accidentally provoking the two dominant predators present, she slowly climbed out of the small alcove. Her limbs were stiff and tense as she moved, ready to leap back to safety in a moment's notice if either of the two carnivores made a sudden move in her direction.
The manticore glanced sidelong at her and she froze, barely even daring to breathe as she felt the weight of his appraisal on her shoulders. The tableau lasted for several seconds before it grunted once, uninterested, and returned to its meal. Fluttershy sighed in relief before freezing up again as she realized she had been so focused on the manticore, she had completely failed to notice as the white wolf had walked right up to her.
Fluttershy didn't dare to move as the wolf stuck its nose in her mane and took a deep whiff of her scent. She stood, petrified, as the white wolf walked a complete circuit around her before taking a seat and looking directly into her eyes.
"Um, hello?" she nervously said as the wolf stared at her, not sure how it might react. Her many years as a animal caretaker had given her a sort of sixth sense on how animals were likely to respond to her actions. However, for some reason, she was completely unable to read the white wolf. It might be sizing her up for a meal, and she would have no idea until it was too late.
The seconds ticked inexorably on and Fluttershy felt her tension steadily increase until it reached a breaking point. She was just about to open her mouth and scream when she saw the wolf's tail wag. That was a clear and obvious gesture, and she felt much of the stress on her nerves instantly slip away at the familiar gesture, though now she was a little confused. Typically, wolves only wagged their tails when they were excited, wanting to play, or greeting a member of their pack.
Any uncertainty Fluttershy felt about the unusual wolf vanished with a squeak as a large shadow fell over them. She realized with no small amount of panic that the manticore had finished its meal and was now looming directly overhead. Glancing back at the alcove behind her, she felt dismayed as she realized her small area of safety was too far away for her to reach in time. The white wolf, however, silently stared up at the manticore without making any other movements.
Fluttershy squeaked as the manticore suddenly leaned forwards, terrified that maybe she hadn't managed to escape being its meal after all. Her instinctive dash away was brought to a screeching halt as the manticore nuzzled the white wolf before it gave one final glance in her direction. Giving her a half-hearted apologetic huff, the manticore turned and walked away, quickly disappearing into the surrounding forest.
Fluttershy watched the manticore walk away, still in a slight amount of shock and not quite fully processing the idea that she had managed to get out of that situation alive. She jumped in surprise when she felt something warm and wet stroke her cheek, but smiled when she realized that the wolf had only licked her and was looking at her with was undoubtedly concern.
"Thank you for saving me," Fluttershy gratefully told the wolf. Somehow, something about the unusual wolf put her at ease and made her feel completely safe. And, despite the fact that it was a predator, she felt like all her friends would be safe around it as well. "Would you like to come back home with me?" Normally, she wouldn't invite a carnivore into her house unless she was absolutely certain the animals that already lived at her house would be completely safe, no matter what might happen. But there was something about the wolf that made her believe everything would be alright.
The white wolf barked once. Fluttershy assumed that meant 'yes', and gave the wolf a thankful smile. She wasn't very familiar with wolves and looked forward to the opportunity to learn more. Her smile faded away as she looked at the forest around them and realized the shadows had moved and were becoming heavier in the deep woods. "Oh no," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. Seeing the wolf looking at her with confusion clear across its lupine features, Fluttershy hastened to explain. " I must have been trapped longer than I thought. The Everfree Forest is really dangerous at night. Oh, what are we going to... do...?"
Fluttershy blinked. Then once more. Then once more again. She raised a hoof to rub at her eyes, then looked up at the sky once more. What she saw didn't change. It was no illusion. Somehow, the sun was now in the center of the sky, as if it was the middle of the day. It didn't even look as if it had been moved there. It had just jumped from its position on the horizon to directly overhead.
"Oh," Fluttershy mumbled, not sure how she should feel about what she had just witnessed. "Well, that's... lucky?" She looked over at the wolf. "I don't suppose you know how that happened, do you?"
The wolf tilted its head at her and whined in confusion.
Fluttershy sighed. "No, I didn't think you would. Come on, my home's this way."
------------------
My tongue lolls out of my mouth as I followed after the adorable little yellow pegasus. As she led me back to her home, I considered what I had done. When she had told me that the forest was too dangerous at night, I hadn't even thought about what I was doing. I had just reacted.
With the merest thought, the entire world had seemed to freeze in front of me. A large scroll had suddenly unrolled itself in front of my eyes. Strangely, it had shown on it exactly what I had been looking at; an image of the evening sky above the forest. It was greyed out and faded, and looked like it had been painted in watercolour.
My entire body had been frozen, with the singular exception of my tail. Curious about what would happen, I pressed the black tip of my tail against the painting and was rewarded as I felt something faintly drain away from inside me. When I pulled my tail away, I saw that my tail had left a single splotch of ink where it had touched the painting. That draining sensation I had felt must have been me drawing ink from myself.
Feeling more confident about myself now, I had used my paintbrush of a tail to draw a circle in the sky before dismissing the painting completely. The painting vanished into the nothing from which it had came, but the circle remained. Faster than I could blink, the circle had instantly transformed itself into the sun high in the sky.
The yellow pegasus -- actually, hold that thought; she needs a name. I can't just keep calling her 'the yellow pegasus' forever. Maybe something to do with her coat colour? It's yellow, so maybe Butters? That doesn't feel like enough, so what else could I use? She's a pegasus, she has wings, so... Fly? Butterfly?
My brain immediately tries to revolt at the astoundingly lazy name. She's got a trio of butterflies as her mark on her flank, so that name is right out for reasons of simple decency. Well, she doesn't look like's a very strong flier, so maybe something that a butterfly would do? Flitter? No, doesn't sound quite right...
With a mental shrug, I throw my imaginary hands in the air and give up in disgust. Screw it. Flutters.
Anyway, Flutters continues to lead me through the thick woods. She constantly cringes whenever she hears a sudden noise from around us, and I worry for the mental stability of my guide. I can smell the fear pouring off of her in waves, which, combined with her constant flinching, immediately makes me conclude that she is a terrible coward.
That conclusion lasts all the way until the pertinent question occurs to me: if she's such a coward, what is she doing in this forest when she's obviously so afraid of it?
I'm unable to come up with an answer, and a wolfish grin spreads across my muzzle as I further consider my guide. Only the second individual I've met after being freed from the sun, and she's already this interesting? I hope this bears well for my time on this planet.
I realize that Flutters is looking back at me with me with a nervous expression on her face and I hurriedly avert my gaze elsewhere. She turns her head forward after several seconds, though she continues to look back at me several times. I suppose if I were in her position, I certainly wouldn't feel safe about being followed back to my home by a predator larger then myself, especially not if it was staring directly at me with bared fangs.
Not wanting to terrify Flutters any further, I spend the remainder of the trip watching the tree branches passing above us.
---------------
Fluttershy breathed a quiet sigh of relief as they managed to escape the Everfree Forest without any further incidents. Glancing behind her, she saw that the strange white wolf had indeed followed her all the way home. "Oh, you came. Um," she gestured towards her little cottage with a hoof. "Feel free to make yourself at home, but, um, please don't hurt any of the others. I know that you need to eat meat, but let me take care of that for you."
The white wolf stared at her for several seconds, long enough that Fluttershy started to feel a bit nervous about how it was going to react. Eventually, it moved, taking a step towards her. Fluttershy cringed at the unexpected movement, and was already preparing to run when the wolf calmly walked up to her and gently licked one of her ears. Fluttershy squeaked and blushed at the unexpected contact, but before she could stammer out a reply the wolf had already walked past her and was heading for her home.
Fluttershy nervously followed after the wolf, her worried mind envisioning all sorts of terrible scenarios that might happen. Maybe the wolf was only biding its time, and the instant it opened the door, it would pounce on as many of her friends as it could and tear them to shreds before she could do a thing to stop it? Or maybe it would be the other way around? Maybe the animals she already had living in her house would refuse to accept the presence of the new predator, and they would be the ones to attack the instant the door was open?
Before she could do anything to stop it, the wolf reached the front door of her house and pushed it open with a nudge from its nose. Fluttershy cringed and closed her eyes, dreading the violence that she felt certain was about to happen. But much to her surprise, there was nothing. She peeked an eye open and realized that the wolf and already entered her house. With a steady sense of worry building in her gut, she scurried after the white wolf.
Poking her head in through her doorway, Fluttershy blinked at what she say. The wolf was slowly, almost regally, striding to the center of the house, its tail held high in a clear display of dominance. It -- no, she, Fluttershy realized with a blush. She could very clearly tell the wolf was a she from this angle -- was making no aggressive movements towards the other animals already in the cottage, and nor were the other animals present making any aggressive movements towards her.
Even the animals that Fluttershy would have expected to take offense to another animal coming in and proclaiming dominance -- including Angel Bunny and Barry the Bear -- only watched the wolf in silence. Eventually, the wolf reached the very center of the main room and sat down, slowly turning to look at all the animals around it. There wasn't a single pair of eyes inside the building that wasn't securely locked on the newcomer.
The wolf sat almost perfectly still as it passed its discerning gaze over the gathered animals. If it wasn't for the steady panning of its head and the subtle inflating and deflating of its chest as it breathed, Fluttershy might have thought that it had been turned into a statue since it entered her house.
After several minutes that seemed to stretch on for hours, it was one of the gathered animals who made the first move. A small field mouse -- a young male by the name of Taro -- cautiously detached from his huddled group of friends and approached the wolf, and Fluttershy held her breath as the wolf bent down to meet it. In fact, the entire building seemed to be holding its breath, waiting to see what the wolf would do.
Moving slowly, the wolf moved her muzzle closer and closer to the tiny field mouse. From where Fluttershy stood, she could clearly see that the field mouse was shaking like a leaf, clearly regretting his decision to approach the mysterious wolf.
Everyone watched with bated breath as the wolf pressed her nose against Taro's, and... moved away. The confusion in the cottage was almost palpable as everyone stared at the grinning wolf. After several more silent seconds, a large red-breasted robin flew down from the rafters and flew in front of the wolf's face. When the wolf didn't move to chase the robin away, it cautiously alit on the top of the wolf's head, directly between the ears. The wolf grunted in evident amusement as it looked up at the robin on her head before wagging her tail in greeting. Seeing that two of their number had approached the strange wolf without being harmed, several more animals moved to approach the wolf, followed by several more. The wolf silently greeted every animal that got close enough to her, either by pressing her nose up against theirs or by nuzzling them with the side of her muzzle.
Outside, Fluttershy sagged in relief as her animals greeted the newcomer with no sign of violence from either party. She hadn't been certain what she would have done if the wolf had suddenly attacked. Feeling many of her worries start to fade away, Fluttershy stepped into her house, one hoof crossing the threshold-
"FLUTTERSHY!"
-And she immediately leapt straight up into the air, banging her head against the doorframe before she collapsed in a pained heap. Moaning in pain, she looked up at Twilight, who had suddenly teleported in behind the unaware pegasus. Twilight at least had the good grace to look sheepish as she looked at the pained pile of pony.
"Er, sorry about that," Twilight said as she helped Fluttershy stand up. "Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine," Fluttershy replied, rubbing the growing bump on her head. It hurt, but there wasn't any blood on her hoof when she pulled it away. Resolving to put some ice on it later, she looked over at her unicorn friend. "Was there something that you wanted, Twilight?"
Reminded of her reasons for appearing so suddenly, Twilight suddenly gasped in shock. "Right! Can't believe I forgot! You need to come down to the Library right away! I just got an urgent message from Princess Celestia, and-" Twilight's steadily-growing rant came to a swift and untimely end as the unicorn blinked and stared at a point directly over Fluttershy's shoulder. "Who's your friend?"
Confused by the sudden and unexpected shift in Twilight's apparent train of thought, Fluttershy turned to see what she was looking at and was immediately brought muzzle-to-muzzle with the strange white wolf. Behind the wolf, she could see all the animals of her cottage staring at her and Twilight.
"I found this wolf a few hours ago," Fluttershy told Twilight. The wolf panted directly in Fluttershy's face, showing off a full row of pearly-white -- and more importantly, sharp -- fangs. She would have expected the wolf's breath to carry the stench of rotting meat, just like any other carnivore's, but instead her nostrils were filled the pleasant smell of flowers and earth. Choking it up as another oddity of the strange white wolf, she continued to tell Twilight what little she actually knew about the wolf. Not wanting to worry her friend by telling her how she had nearly been eaten by a hungry manticore, she decided to gloss over that portion of the story. "She followed me home after that. I still haven't had time to arrange a place for her yet or even figure out a name for her."
"Huh," Twilight said, clearly not that interested. She only flinched slightly as the wolf suddenly stuck its nose in her mane and deeply inhaled her scent. Ignoring the strange wolf as it continued to sniff at her, she continued her conversation with Fluttershy. "Anyway, you need to come back the Library with me right away. Everypony else should already be waiting for us by now."
While she was talking, Twilight was continuing to show off her impressive mental fortitude by ignoring the large predator with no concepts of personal space as its roaming nose began traveling over her body. She ignored the wolf as it sniffed at her mane. She ignored it as it moved to her sides. She continued to ignore it as it sniffed at her cutie mark. And even then, she still continued to ignore it, right up to the point where she couldn't ignore it anymore.
"YEEEK!" Twilight shrieked, leaping high into the air as she felt a cold wet nose stick itself in a place where no cold wet nose had any right to be.
"Oh, no," Fluttershy said, chiding the suddenly shamed-faced wolf. "You shouldn't sniff ponies there. It's not right. Now, say you're sorry." The wolf whined in a contrite manner, which seemed to satisfy Fluttershy. The pegasus gave the unicorn an apologetic smile. "She says she's sorry."
"Peachy," Twilight grumbled, keeping her flanks lowered and tucking her tail in between her legs. "Just keep her away from me."
---------------
Whoops. My instincts are showing.
---------------
Apparently deciding to put what had just happened in the past and then never speak of it again, Twilight looked up at the sun that was still in the sky high above them before turning to look at Fluttershy. "Anyway, let's go. We shouldn't keep the others waiting too long."
"No, of course not," Fluttershy quietly agreed. Turning her head slightly, she spoke to the white wolf. "Now, I want to you to stay here until I get back, okay? We'll look for a place for you to sleep then." The wolf's clear bark rung out, and Fluttershy smiled as she took a step towards her unicorn friend. "Lead the way, Twilight."
Twilight looked from Fluttershy over to the white wolf. "Uh..." she intoned, her expression carefully blank.
Fluttershy blinked in confusion before looking in the direction that Twilight was staring to see the white wolf had matched her step and was still standing beside her. "Oh no," Fluttershy said, gently pushing the white wolf's head away. "You can't come with me. You have to stay here."
The wolf grunted and ducked underneath Fluttershy's reaching hooves, quickly slinking to the pegasus's other side. Seeing this, Twilight rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she grumbled, almost dancing with impatience. "We don't have time for this. What Princess Celestia wants to tell us is too important. If she wants to come along, she can."
The wolf barked victoriously while happily wagging her tail. Fluttershy was less certain, but Twilight had lost all patience and took off in the direction of Ponyville without another word. The wolf barked once more and took off in pursuit.
"Oh dear," Fluttershy muttered to herself at seeing the fair-sized predator chasing the slightly smaller herbivore into a town that was almost completely populated with similar herbivores. "This won't end well." Only hesitating long enough to close the door to her cottage behind her, Fluttershy ran off after the other two.