The Dimensional Wolf

by Lupus

In Pursuit

Pain.

He was used to pain. With everything he has been through, everything he has experienced, he understood pain well. However he still wondered, why did it have to hurt so much? The traveler's body ached all over. With every breath he took, with every beat of his heart a new wave of pain shot through him. He could hear voices through t he pain, but he remained still as it faded.

The traveler heard a soft click-clacking approaching him, so he slowly began to open his eyes. The world before him was blurry, with large splotches of color here and there, mostly white but with one purple splotch that grew as it neared him.. As his vision began to clear, the splotch came into focus, and he found himself staring right into a set of large purple eyes.

Said eyes belonged to a lavender coated equine with a purple mane with what appeared to be highlights. His eye also caught a horn jutting from the equine's head.The first thought that entered the traveler's mind was, A unicorn, Essi will be thrilled.

Then the unicorn spoke, "I-it's awake,"

Ecstatic even, The traveler closed his eyes and, with a groan, attempted to stand. The sudden movements caused the unicorn to back away quickly behind two more equines with white coats and clad in golden armor. These equines however had wings folded against their backs. A quick glance around himself showed the traveler that he was surrounded by the small white equines, all wearing the same armor and the same glare in their eyes. He noted two unicorns, two pegasi, and two equines without either horns nor wings. He also noted the half dozen spears leveled at his head.

Dismissing the sharp pieces of metal, the traveler stood fully upright on shaky legs. With another glace around, he found himself towering over the equines, save for one. The one equine, in the rather spacious room the traveler found himself in, that could look him in the eye did so with a neutral expression on her face. Her (at least the traveler assumed she was female) pristine white coat seemed to glow in the well lit room, and her light three colored mane flowed in a non-existent wind. But it was her eyes that caught his attention, for in those magenta eyes the traveler recognized a well hidden tiredness. One that he was all too familiar with.

With some difficulty the traveler's eyes wondered over the large equine's body. The large golden tiara that rested behind her long horn, a golden chest plate that hung around her slender neck, and the golden slippers over her long legs together led the traveler to believe that this equine led the others. Perhaps a queen, maybe a princess, or this world's equivalent. The traveler took in all this detail in the time it took for one of the soldier equines to let out a nervous breath.

Moving on from the equines, the traveler began to examine his new body. He lifted a forepaw...

A forepaw.

The traveler was a quadruped. That's...different, he thought to himself. Never before in all the worlds where his body changed had he ever been a quadruped. His next thought was how inconvenient it was going to be to handle anything with any sort of finesse. Without hands, or even the clawed digits that he was used to, the traveler supposed he'd have to use his mouth to grip anything. Bringing his forepaw closer, he examined the metal cuff that had shifted to fit his new form. Good.

Lowering his paw he examined his body proper. His body was more lithe and toned than what he was used to, but what was really interesting was his tail. It was much longer than necessary to be used simply for balance. Wrapping it around himself showed that it almost encircled him completely. A few experimental flicks and curls revealed that it was incredibly dexterous for a tail. It might make a good substitute for his hands, at least until he is able to shift back into his human form.

Speaking of which, while the traveler was inspecting his new body the equines have been speaking with one another. Mostly the rainbow maned pegasus, and a small purple bipedal lizard. He found it really interesting that they used the same spoken language as himself, though to be honest one would be surprised how many worlds speak the same language. The unicorn seemed frustrated at an argument that the lizard and pegasus were having, and opened her mouth to speak, but she noticed the traveler looking their way. Her mouth snapped shut. The armored equines around him seemed to be waiting for what the traveler assumed was orders from the royal. How kind of them, the traveler thought. As long as I am in this form, I will be unable to speak with them effectively. Inhaling deeply, and closing his eyes he said in his mind, Shift.

Twilight's quick retreat had earned her a stifled giggle from Rainbow Dash. Spike hopped up onto Twilight's back to get a better look at the wolf, who had just stood to its full height, "So what is it? Did you find anything out?"

Twilight watched the wolf examine its surroundings before shaking her head, "Nothing from my initial observations."

Rainbow smirked, "Probably because you ran away as soon as the thing woke up."

Twilight glared at Rainbow and Spike said, "Of course she did, I mean look at that thing! It's almost as big as the princess, and it probably woulda gobbled her up in a single bite!"

Twilight was about to respond but Rainbow interrupted, "Pfft, It doesn't look that tough. I could easily take it on!"

Twilight turned back to Rainbow to explain that that wouldn't be a good idea, but was once again interrupted by Spike, "There's no way. It looks like it could just sit on you, and you'd be done!"

Twilight opened her mouth to tell her two arguing friends off, but promptly snapped it shut when she noticed the wolf looking straight at them. Rainbow and Spike noticed as well, and also fell silent.

"W-why's it looking at us like that?" Spike asked nervously.

Instead of answering, Twilight turned to her mentor, "Princess, what should we do?"

Before the princess could answer, a low grunting brought their attention back to the wolf.

Nothing had happened. The traveler raised a brow in confusion.

Shift.

Still nothing. He grunted his frustration, but then remembered Sid and Essi's analysis of the planet. With the amount of magic on this world, his own magic was being blocked. Until his body assimilated to the flow of magic on the world, he was stuck in this form. The traveler let out a sigh. Though rare, this wasn't the first time he has experienced being stuck in an undesirable form, and, unfortunately, it wouldn't be the last.

So, what to do? The traveler looked to the equine that he assumed to be the leader. Despite her knights clear fear of him, she has yet to order them to attack the unknown creature before them. It will be difficult to communicate with the way he was, but he was confident that they would be able to find a way to discuss the situation calmly.

So of course his hunger decided that this was the perfect time to make itself known. A low grumble echoed through the chamber. Well that was ill timed.

The purple lizard decided to break the silence that followed, "I think it's hungry."

The traveler's ears folded back as he predicted what would happen next. He didn't have to wait long for one of the knights to finally lose its nerve and lunge at him with a spear. Moving on instinct, the traveler dodged the clumsy thrust and snapped the haft of the spear between his jaws.

The travelers eyes widened, That was a mistake, Instincts kicking in, the traveler leapt back just as the other knights pierced the air where he used to be. Alright, so much for diplomacy. However, The traveler folded his ears back, lowered himself closer to the ground, This is a perfect opportunity to see what this body can do. The knights wasted no time, and with a heroic cry, charged the traveler.

"What are they doing?!" Twilight exclaimed.

Rainbow answered as she flew higher to get a better look, "They're gonna kick this wolf thing's flank is what!"

The wolf, despite its size, danced between the guards before it used its unnaturally long tail to rip the spear from the hooves of an earth pony guard. There was now nothing between the four of them and the wolf. It then snapped the haft beneath its massive paw before it looked up at the four of them. Twilight noticed its nose twitching before it focused its gaze to Spike. The wolf tilted its head in what seemed to be confusion, but, with not even a flick of an ear, the wolf jumped over the now spear less guard who had attempted to tackle it from behind.

"Are you sure about that, Dash?" asked Spike

Twilight looked desperately to her mentor, "Princess, we have to stop this!"

Celestia, seeming to not have heard her student, watched as the wolf's tail coiled around a pegasus guard who tried to dive tackle it. The wolf then sent the poor guard into the only two unicorns. The second pegasus and an earth pony guard tried to catch the wolf in a pincer attack while it was distracted, only to crash into each other as the wolf leapt above them both at the last moment.

"Princess!"

"Watch, Twilight," Celestia said calmly.

"But..."

"Watch. Watch closely and tell me what you see."

Though she couldn't understand why the princess wouldn't stop the fight, Twilight obeyed and watched.

There were few things that came to the traveler as naturally as fighting. Even in his tabula state he could still feel the thrill of battle. He relished in the way he could just let go and let his instincts guide him. The way his and his opponent's bodies would collide, separate, and collide again all in attempts to break the other so completely that only death awaited the fallen. A moment in time where skill, strength, and luck all came together for one specific purpose. Victory.

This...was not one of those times.

From the very beginning, the traveler could sense the inexperience of the soldiers. First was when the newest attacked without orders, prompting the others to do the same. Second, and most importantly, none of them were aiming for a lethal strike. Why? A large creature, an obvious predator, and clearly dangerous, and still not one of them even attempted to aim for a vital. The traveler on a whim even exposed his neck to an incoming thrust, only to have the soldier adjust to his shoulder.

Whatever the reason, these equines did not want him dead. So he made the decision to return the favor.

"There's no blood," Twilight said with surprise.

Rainbow and Spike glanced at Twilight in confusion, and a little worry, while Celestia smiled, "And?"

Twilight gestured to the broken spears littering the ground, "The wolf went out of its way to destroy the guards weapons," she then gestured to the scene in front of them where the wolf was standing at the center of a ring of unarmed guards, each waiting for one to make a move. "And every move it took was a counter to any move the guards made."

As if to emphasize Twilight's point, one of the unicorn guards' horn lit up only for it to die down again when the wolf glanced in his direction. A pegasus, seeing the wolf distracted, prepared to take flight, but one of the wolf's ears flicked in his direction and the guard decided to just keep observing.

"Not once has it take an aggressive action," Twilight continued, "And the guards themselves, minus a few bruises and dented armor, nopony's been hurt."

Rainbow scratched her neck, "And that means...?"

"It means that it knew-knows how to fight without...um, seriously hurting somepony. It's either been very well trained, or," Twilight's ears perked up and she visibly brightened, "or it's intelligent! Maybe even sapient! If we could find a way to communicate with it, think of the things we could learn!" she squealed with delight, which was mostly covered by the sounds of another skirmish between the wolf and the guards. Twilight's eyes went wide when the knowledge of the current situation reasserted itself. She turned in a panic to her grinning mentor, "Princess, we need to stop this! If we-!"

Twilight was cut off by a large white feather on her lips, "I completely agree, Twilight," Celestia said, pulling her wing back, "I believe I have let this go on long enough," Celestia's horn lit up with a golden glow.

The wolf had its back turned to the princess, but one of its ears swiveled back as soon as Celestia's horn began to glow. It leapt away from the aura that began to form around it, but the princess was ready for that, and the wolf found himself wrapped in the golden glow of Celestia's magic.

"Enough!" Celestia cried, her voice echoing off the walls. The guards all froze in place, while the wolf struggled in the air. The princess levitated the wolf closer to her, and examined it with a smile. The wolf just stared back at her, inhaling slowly. "Now, if we could just-,"

Whatever the princess was about to say was cut off when the wolf let loose with an ear piercing howl. The room itself seem to vibrate against the power of the wolf's voice, and every window in the room shattered. Every pony save Celestia , and dragon covered their ears with their faces scrunched in pain. Celestia clenched her eyes shut and backed away a few paces with her ears folded tight against her head. Eventually her concentration broke and the wolf fell to its paws.

With the wolf no longer howling, Twilight managed to open an eye. Just in time to see the wolf pounced towards Celestia with its mouth open and claws extended. Before she could call out a warning, the wolf, instead of pouncing into Celestia, instead sailed over her head. It landed on her back, and launched itself towards one of the open windows, sending Celestia sprawling to the ground.

The traveler scrambled up onto the sill of the window. He spared a glance back into the room before looking through the windowless portal. The first thing he did was give a silent thanks to whatever gods watched over this world if there were any-never can be too careful-that the architects that built the castle decided to place the throne room at the top of a tower instead of in the center. On the other hand, being at the top of a tower meant that his escape would be...troublesome. Standing at the castle's base was a city, and beyond that was...is this city built into the side of a mountain? Sure enough, the tower he was in was level with the peak of a mountaintop.

Interesting,

Lowering his gaze, his eyes flowed passed the city and along a set of railroad tracks set next to the mountain. The traveler followed them down the cliff face, and there near the foot of the mountain he spotted the telltale signs of a settlement. Farther past that was a large forest that bordered the settlement, and stretched for as far as the traveler could see. The traveler could see the darkness of the forest when compared to the surrounding areas.

The traveler had his destination. Now he just needed to get there.

The traveler turned back to the throne room. The equines were just beginning to recover from his howl, but it was the rainbow one that met his eye. Something told him that she would be trouble, if her glare were anything to go by. The traveler turned his attention back outside, and quickly plotted his path off the tower, and into the city. Well, it's not like he's never been in worse situations.

The traveler's ear flicked back when the rainbow equine called out, "Where do you think you're going?"

He turned just as she flared her wings, and launched herself towards him despite the protests of the purple unicorn. With no hesitation, the traveler dropped himself out of the window. While falling, he spun himself in the air to face the tower. He moved himself closer and dug all of his claws into the stone, leaving deep furrows as he descended. His fall was slowed enough that when the next tower came into position he pushed hard off the wall. The traveler landed on the shingled roof, and immediately slid onto an inner wall. With a running start, the traveler leapt to a lower turret that held a long flagpole.

Giving another silent prayer to the gods of this world who may or may not exist, the traveler landed on the flagpole. Due to either his prayers were answered, or his luck, the flagpole, instead of snapping under his weight, bent dramatically. Eventually it snapped back into place, flinging the traveler over the rest of the castle. He landed nimbly on the castle's outer walls, and after sparing a glance to the tower that held the throne room, the traveler hopped off the wall and disappeared into the alleys of the city.

"Woah," Rainbow Dash said, astonished at what she had just witnessed. She quickly shook her head, put her forelegs to either side of her head and shouted, "Not impressed! I could do that too if I wanted!"

Twilight trotted up to the window, ":Rainbow, what happened?"

"That wolf thing just ran into the city! But don't worry, it won't get away from me!"

"No, you shouldn't..." Rainbow sped off in a blur before Twilight could finish, "...fly off by yourself," Twilight finished with a sigh.

Celestia stood by Twilight's side, "Do not worry. I'm sure Rainbow will be fine."

"Sure," Spike said, "as long as she doesn't make the not-timber wolf thing mad, or attack it."

Twilight's ears folded back, "Oh no."

Hunger gnawed at the traveler's stomach. The city's condensed layout made it easy for him to stick to the shadows of the alleys as he made his way to the train station. From his position he was able to watch the equines passing in the streets, and each time his hunger would make itself known. Between being pulled from his ship, forced into this form, and "fighting" equine knights the traveler's body was nearing exhaustion. He needed to eat.

Moving closer to the station, his gaze returned to the main streets. He noticed that the majority of the equines of the city were unicorns. Unicorns who walked with their eyes closed and their muzzles in the air. The traveler wondered how they moved around without running into anything. It was quite impressive in its own way. A bit farther on a more deserted street, he found an elderly unicorn resting against a street lamp. It's blue mane was tinged with grey, and its legs were shaking slightly. An equine way past its prime. The traveler took an unconscious step forward, his mouth salivating at the sight.

"Grandpa!"

The traveler froze as two young unicorn foals galloped to the elderly unicorn, who laughed and embraced them.

"Now what are you two doing out here?" the elder asked with suspicion. "Do your parents know where you are?"

One of the foals shook its head with a smile, "Nope!"

The three of them shared a laugh before the elder began to lead the foals away, "Alright, well as long as they don't find out, let's get some sweets." The foals cheered and the three of them turned a corner and out of sight.

The traveler stepped out onto the deserted street, and watched the three equines walk away. From the large winged horned equine, to the city populated with unicorns, the traveler thought it was a safe assumption that the equines were the dominant species of this world. Not only that, they were obviously sapient. The traveler chastised himself for nearly letting his hunger control him. He lifted a paw to his face. A world of equines, and this world decided on a form that was obviously meant to prey upon them. However with the way he was brought to this world, no personality was imprinted on him. The traveler turned away with determination reflected in his eyes. This world may have given him the form of a monster, but he would not become one.

Deciding not to eat the equines was all well and good, but he still needed to eat something soon. The traveler once again began his journey to this city's train station. But first he needed to find his bearings, so he jumped between the narrow walls of an alley until he landed on the roof of a building. Judging by the position of the sun, assuming it followed a set path like most worlds, it was a little past midday. He quickly scanned the city and found his destination.

"Found you!"

The traveler spun around and saw the rainbow equine glaring at him from the opposite rooftop. Her eyes were narrowed, and her mouth was curled up in a triumphant smirk.

"Thought you could get away from me, huh? Well you're looking at Rainbow Dash! The fastest..." The traveler spun back around and fled over the buildings towards the station, "...wha? Hey get back here, I wasn't done!" Rainbow took wing and gave chase.

The traveler dropped down into another alley to avoid the pegasus' tackle, and dashed into the streets startling a larger than average white unicorn and her companion. The traveler spent little time pondering over the unicorn's companion's clothing and made a beeline for the next alley.

"You won't get away!" Rainbow shouted following the traveler from the skies.

He darted between multiple alleys, scrambled over buildings, and even threw loose debris all in attempt to shake his pursuer. All to no avail. Persistent, the traveler stopped in the middle of an empty street and thought to himself, Am I feeling...frustration? Interesting. He turned slowly just as Rainbow Dash landed.

"As I was saying, my name's Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in Equestria."

The traveler tilted his head at the peagasus' proclamation.

"So now that you know who you're dealing with, ready to give up?"

Persistent, and arrogant. The traveler narrowed his eyes and lowered his stance, but a high pitched whistle made him turn away from the pegasus.

Rainbow scoffed, "Forget it. There's no way you'll...what are you doing?"

The traveler had brought his tail around to his forelegs and unlatched each of his cuffs before pulling them off. With the cuffs safely gripped in his tail, the traveler stretched as strength returned to his body in force. On a whim, the traveler winked to Rainbow Dash before turning his back on her. With the newfound power coursing through him, the traveler's paws made four small craters in the cobbled road as he took off running at a much greater speed than Dash thought possible for a creature without wings. The city around him became a blur, walls became vertical roads, and even when he passed through populated areas the citizens only glimpsed a black blur.

Seconds after leaving Rainbow Dash behind, the station came into view just as the train began pulling away. The traveler identified a cargo car, and quickly jumped aboard and disappeared inside. He was surrounded by luggage of all sizes, but he didn't lower his guard. His ears swiveled around as he listened for any sounds of alarm. When the only things he heard were the clacking of the train's wheels did the traveler finally relax. Sitting on the car's surprisingly clean floor, the traveler reattached his cuffs. As soon as the latches were in place, he was nearly overcome with a wave of fatigue. His heart beat rapidly in his chest, he struggled to control his breathing, and his hunger intensified.

After a few minutes his heartbeat returned to normal, but the hunger remained. Ignoring this for now, the traveler closed his eyes. Shift. Nothing happened. Shift. Still nothing.

Sid and Essi's words about the properties of this world returned to the traveler's mind, and he sighed. It seems until my body acclimates to the magic of this world, I'm stuck in this form. Not the first time the traveler visited a world where its magic overwhelmed his own, but it was no less annoying.

The traveler laid down and rested his head atop his forelegs. He decided that the moment the train stopped he would disembark and make his way to the forest. With any luck the train would stop in some unimportant town in the middle of nowhere, so he could quietly slip into the wild. If that large equine back in the castle was indeed the leader of the smaller equines, then it was possible that that city was the capitol. In a world like this, it was more than likely that any important events or changes to the world would happen there.

As he drifted into a soft sleep, the traveler was confident that the duration of his stay in this world would be relatively uneventful.

"The wolf thing escaped on the express train to Ponyville!" Rainbow cried when she flew back to the throne room.

Twilight suppressed a sigh, Of course it is.

Celestia, hearing Rainbow Dash's report, spoke to one of her guards. The stallion saluted before galloping off.

"How'd it get away from you?" Spike asked, "I thought you were supposed to be the 'fastest flier in Equestria.'"

Rainbow glared, "Hey, it wasn't my fault! So I was chasing it right? Nearly lost the thing when it went into the city, but then it jumped up on a roof..." Rainbow continued her story with obvious embellishments-did she really expect them to believe the wolf threw an entire market's worth of produce at her?-when she said something that caught Celestia's attention. "Then it took off those metal bracelet thingies and suddenly it's moving faster than I've ever seen!" Rainbow thought for a moment before quickly adding, "Not as fast as me of course, but still pretty fast!"

Celestia tapped her chin, "Inhibitors..."

Twilight looked up, "What was that, princess?"

Celestia smiled at her student, "It is nothing. Now, I believe it is time for the three of you to return to Ponyville. I've arranged travel for you, so you should arrive only a few minutes after the creature. When you confront it, I trust you'll do your best to establish some sort of dialogue with it. However, be cautious. It is obviously much smarter than it appears."

Rainbow, Twilight, and Spike all bowed and Rainbow said, "Don't worry, princess. The thing won't get away from me again."

Celestia smiled warmly at her subjects, "I don't doubt that."

The traveler jolted awake as the train began to slow. Soon the equines would come for their luggage, and he needed to be gone before that happened. Feeling slightly refreshed from his brief nap, the traveler spared a moment to stretch his muscles. He climbed atop a small pile, and opened a hatch. Lifting himself out of the car, the traveler's fur whipped in the wind as the train sped along. Following the train with his eyes, he spied the approaching town getting larger with every passing second. The traveler didn't want to cause an unnecessary panic, so he leapt from the still moving train.

The traveler rolled slightly as his body hit the ground, and he was back on his paws watching the train pull into the town. He soon began to take in his surroundings. An open field to his left led to a sparse woodland, and the town lied ahead with the path to the equine capitol behind. The dark forest he spied from the castle lied to his right, but he didn't immediately head for it. Instead his gaze was drawn back to the town ahead, and a new emotion bubbled to the surface.

Curiosity.

Not a full day has passed since he was pulled into this world as a blank, and not one, but two emotions returned to him. Perhaps there was something about this world, or maybe his limited interactions with its inhabitants that were affecting him. So instead of heading to the forest where a possible meal and safety from any pursuer waited for him, the traveler decided to indulge his curiosity and headed for the town, and ignored his stomach's grab for attention.

With this town being a good distance from the capitol, and by consequence any important figures, the traveler had very little chance of becoming involved in any important events. He's been a background character before, and he was determined to be one again.

Ponyville was abuzz with activity underneath the afternoon sun. The market was alive with the sounds of ponies hawking and bartering their wares. The park was filled with them relaxing on the cool grass, stallions walking side by side with prettied up mares, and foals darting to and fro, playing games as children do. Three particular fillies disturbed the peaceful scene when they shouted simultaneously, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER LUMBERJACKS, YAY!" before they galloped off.

If it weren't for the few still ruined buildings, and smoldering craters, one wouldn't believe that just a few hours earlier the town was nearly destroyed by a Tartarus beast. Just another day in the life for the ponies of Ponyville.

While most ponies were busy finishing up repairs, or running their businesses, none noticed the black shadow that passed between buildings. A few would get a feeling of being watched, only to find nothing when they turned around. They would shrug it off as nothing and go about their day, not knowing that something was there.

The traveler had been studying the town for a good while now, and found more questions than answers. The town's buildings were reminiscent of old Earth English village architecture, with thatched roofs and being made mostly of wood. However he also spied what appeared to be a movie theatre, complete with cardboard cutouts of coming attractions. Aside from the size of the doors, they all seemed to have knobs meant for a creature with opposable thumbs, but he saw ponies opening them with their hooves with no problems. The equines manually pulled their carriages around the town, and he also spotted an equine devoid of either a horn or wings controlling a hot air balloon.
He passed by a school house, only for his nose to lead him to a building that will stick in his memory for some time. Decorated like a gingerbread house, the building carried the unmistakable smell of a bakery. The traveler's hunger was again ignored as he tuned away from the tantalizing building. The traveler couldn't help but raise a brow at one building that brought to mind the old carousels from his childhood.

If the town itself confused him, then the equines themselves left him baffled. Once he spotted an equine buying a bouquet of flowers, only to devour them a few moments later. When he closed his eyes he could imagine the equines being human, until they'd say odd phrases like "everypony."

Ponies, huh?

Deciding that he's seen enough, the traveler made his way to the edge of town. He soon found himself at the edge of an apple orchard. The rows of trees went on for miles and the red fruit tempted him, but his nose caught whiff of a much greater prize. Following the scent led him to a large red barn near the edge. Entering from the front was out of the question, so he circled around to the back where he found an open window near the top. The traveler retreated a few paces back before sprinting towards and up the barn's back wall. He entered through the window and onto the barn's loft with little difficulty.

The traveler kept low to the floor and crawled to peer over the edge. The barn held what one would expect, farming tools lined one wall and a sawhorse sat against another. Hay was piled here and there, and a few stables lined the wall directly below him. It was in one of the stables, where a large cow was lazily chewing hay, where the traveler focused his attention. The traveler lifted himself slightly, and moved to a position where he could easily strike down the bovine without making any unnecessary noise. He raised his rump and tensed his legs in preparation to pounce, but before he could make his move the barn doors burst open.

The traveler dropped to his stomach as a pony walked in. With his time studying the town, the traveler was able to discern that with this pony's curved muzzle and thinner frame, that it was a mare. An orange coated pony mare who wore a brown stetson hat on a mane of gold. She walked up to the cow with a bright smile and said, "Howdy there, Jesebelle!"

The traveler's brow raised at the pony's accent, and her mane and tail with were tied into ponytails. The traveler wondered briefly if that was what the hairstyle was called here.

"Takin' a bit longer with yer lunch, ain'tcha? Ya'll ready to join the others?" the pony opened the stable door.

The traveler lifted himself slowly, while cursing his luck. If he wanted to eat, he would now have to knock this pony unconscious. Things have become more complicated than they needed to be.

The traveler prepared to pounce again, but was stopped by another unexpected turn as the cow began to speak, "Thank you, Applejack. Guess I just lost track of time," the cow giggled softly, "I suppose some fresh air would do me some good."

"Ah reckon it would. Hop to it then, Clara's been askin' about you." the pony and the cow started to walk away side by side.

"Oh that girl cannot rest until she's told everycow the latest gossip."

Applejack chuckled, "Ah can understand that. Ah've told ya about mah friend Rarity. She..." their voices trailed off.

The traveler dropped down to the ground floor and stared after the pony and cow. So the cows are sapient as well. His situation seemed to be becoming worse if even the livestock were as much citizens as the ponies. If so, then killing and eating them would be out of the question.

A sweet smell distracted him from his thoughts, and he turned. Beneath the loft sat many barrels, and each was giving off the sweet scent. He walked up to one and nudged it. The sound of a liquid sloshing around could be heard inside. Another barrel's top was open, revealing many, many apples. The traveler's stomach decided that it was tired of being ignored, and sent a stab of pain through him. Fine. Better than nothing, I guess. He snapped the fruit between his jaws, and then another, and another.

The apples were among the sweetest fruits he's ever tasted, as well as satisfyingly crunchy. Though the traveler was rarely partial to sweets, he still enjoyed their taste. After a few minutes, the barrel of apples was nearly empty and thirst replaced his hunger. He returned to the closed barrel with the liquid inside. Opening the barrel was a bit of a challenge, but he managed to make a hole in the top large enough to stick his head through. Tasting the liquid revealed it to be a cider, so he began to greedily drink his fill.

Though his sense of smell was heightened in his current form, it was being overwhelmed by the cider. However he was able to hear the orange pony's shout, "WHAT IN TARNATION?!"

Slowly the traveler lifted his head, excess cider dripping from his muzzle, and turned to face the mare. The pony's eyes from surprise, to fear, to anger as she took in the scene before her. Nostril's flaring, the pony pulled a length of rope from...somewhere behind her, "Alright, critter. It's time ya'll leaned just what happens when someone dares to steal from mah farm!"

Fully facing the pony, the traveler bared his teeth and growled menacingly.

"Grrr, yerself!" the mare said as she began twirling the rope between her teeth.

He stopped growling, Impressive, this one is far braver than the knights. Well if she won't be intimidated... The traveler coiled his tail around a barrel behind him, and threw it directly at the farm pony. With a shout of surprise, Applejack leapt out of the way and the barrel sailed out of the barn with the traveler trailing in its wake.

He was well into the orchard when he heard the sounds of pursuit. "Git back here, ya varmint!" Applejack shouted through clenched teeth. The farm pony chased the traveler through the orchard never gaining ground but also never losing it. Even after his small meal of apples, the traveler was still far from being back at his full strength. And unfortunately for him, the mare knew the orchard better than any and had been leading him right into a clearing.

Applejack smiled. With no trees to get in the way, she twirled her lasso and let loose with it just as the thieving creature jumped over a protruding boulder. The rope caught his right hind leg, Gotcha! she thought to herself, but before she could pull the rope taught, it turned in midair and snapped the rope between its jaws. The creature landed on its feet and scampered off, leaving Applejack dumbfounded and holding the other end of the severed rope.

She snapped out of her stupor when a large red stallion galloped up to her, "AJ!" he cried frantically in a deep voice.

"Ah know, some thieving critter raided the last of our cider."

"Eeyup."

"Does Granny know?"

He shook his head, "Nope."

Lucky for it, she thought. Out loud she said, "Alright, you go back to the barn in case it decides it wants seconds," Applejack pulled her hat lower, "Ah'm going on a hunt."

The traveler had lost the farm pony a ways back, but still found himself surrounded by apple trees. How large is this farm? he pondered. The traveler slowed to a brisk walk before stopping completely in front of a blackened tree, its limbs like skeletal fingers reaching into the sky. Around him showed the same devastation. Ah covered earth, and bare trees and stumps made a stark contrast to the orchard just a few feet behind. The smell of sulfur was so pungent that the traveler scrunched his muzzle. A demon has been here. The traveler began to rethink his view of this world.

"C'mon, it'll be easy!"

"I don't know. Shouldn't we wait?"

But who knows when they'll be back. This might be our only chance!"

Three voices, you by the traveler's guess, led him through more of the destroyed orchard. Here and there lied tools like axes, and a large saw was stuck inside a tree as if its operators stopped halfway through. Perhaps the owners of the orchard hired lumberjacks to rip down the destroyed trees. He peered around a rather think tree and saw three small ponies around a dead tree. A yellow coated one with a red bow, and an orange pegasus struggled beneath the weight of a giant saw while a unicorn with a mane of two colors looked on with concern.

The unicorn sighed, "It's just I've been cut enough times by sharp tools while cooking that I'm a little nervous around really, really big sharp tools."

The peagasus gave the unicorn a knowing smirk, "What's the matter, Sweetie Belle? Chicken?"

The unicorn scowled at the pegasus, but the yellow one dropped her end of the saw, "Ah think she has a point, Scootaloo," she said with an accent that reminded the traveler of the apple farmer he "met" at the barn. The filly picked up an ax, "Maybe we should start with this instead?"

Sweetie Belle stomped a hoof in frustration, "That's not what I meant at all, Apple Bloom!"

The traveler turned away, Children will always be children. The traveler walked away as the fillies began arguing amongst themselves. He didn't see the yellow pony named Apple Bloom throw the ax against the dead tree, but he did hear the resulting snap and subsequent snapping of wood. He turned In time to see the tree begin to fall towards the three fillies. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both jumped away in time, but Apple Bloom was frozen in place.

"Apple Bloom!"

"Move!"

The traveler moved on instinct.

Apple Bloom curled up closed her eyes as the tree fell. She jumped when she heard the tree crash, but she felt no pain. Slowly she opened her eyes. She saw the splintered base of the dead tree and the trunk seemed to hover above her.

"Apple Bloom," she heard Sweetie Belle call her name. Apple Bloom's eyes found her friends, but they weren't looking at her but at something behind her. She followed their gaze and was met with a furry leg. Following it up revealed a creature that reminded her of her dog, only much, much larger.

The big dog stared down at her with a brown eye, and Apple Bloom's fear returned. Had it come to eat her? If so, then why was it just staring? Did it want her to run, to chase her down? As if to answer her questions, the dog bared its fangs. However instead of growling, it let out a small whimper and its knees buckled slightly. It was then that Apple Bloom the fallen tree on the dog's back. When it caught Apple Bloom's eye again, the dog gestured with its head for her to move away. It took Apple Bloom longer than she'd ever admit for her to understand the gesture, and trot over to her friends. Once out of danger of being crushed, the dog shrugged off the tree and it hit the ground with a resounding thud. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo wrapped Apple Bloom in a group hug. For what seemed an eternity the three friends just held each other, relieved that they all came out of this incident unharmed.

Their group hug transformed into a cuddle of fear as the three remembered the large dog not three feet from them. The dog cast its gaze among the three before turning away. Confused, the Crusaders watched it leave in confusion. The dog only made it a few feet before it collapsed in a heap. Without thinking, Apple Bloom broke away from her fellow Crusaders and galloped to the dog.

Scootaloo reached out, "Apple Bloom, what are you doing? We need to get out of here!"

Sweetie Belle just nodded vigorously in agreement, but Apple Bloom said, "But Ah think it's hurt,"

"So what? That thing's big enough to gobble us up in one bite!"

Apple Bloom glared at her pegasus friend, "It saved me! You both saw it!"

Scootaloo's ears folded back, "Yeah but..."

"If it wanted ta eat us, then why was it leaving?"

Sweetie and Scootaloo exchanged glances before Sweetie said, "M-maybe it's trying to lure us into a false sense of security."

Apple Bloom just raised a brow at that before walking around to the dog's head. She pulled back a bit when she saw the dog looking right at her, but she pushed her fear down and slowly approached. Putting a smile on her face, she said quietly, "Hey there," before she lifted a hoof and lowered it softly on the dog's head.

There was little that irritated the traveler more than feigning weakness. However, at the moment it was necessary. The tree he prevented from crushing the little filly was much heavier than he had anticipated and it very nearly broke his back. Now he had to act like an injured pup to prevent the little ones from running to their guardians. The little bit of energy he regained from eating the apples was now being used to heal his back, and he could already feel the hunger returning. All in all, it has really not been the traveler's day.

The traveler watched the little yellow pony approach, her scent similar to the orange pony he had fled from. If the two were related, it showed in her bravery when she laid a hoof gently upon his head. The pony began to pet him, saying words of comfort, and he resisted the urge to pull away. He needed the fillies to stay close, so he had to play the part. He looked into the pony's eyes and gave her the best "puppy dog" look he could muster, and given his current form, it doubled its effectiveness, as well as let out a tiny whimper.

As he expected. the pony was powerless against the double onslaught, "Aw, it's okay," She cooed, "We'll getcha fixed up in no time."

"And how are we gonna do that?" he heard the pegasus ask.

"Fluttershy!" the traveler hid a wince at the unicorn's high pitched cry. "Fluttershy knows all about animals. She even takes care of a manticore from time to time."

Manticore?

"I'm sure she'll know what to do."

"One problem though," the traveler heard the pegasus walk the length of his body before she came into view. "How are we gonna get this thing all the way to Fluttershy's?"

The yellow pony looked at her flatly, "Maybe you use your scooter ta get to Fluttershy's and bring her here?"

"Oh, that makes sense," the pegasus smiled sheepishly. Soon the pegasus was astride scooter, and a helmet rested on her head, "Back in a flash," she said before her tiny wings buzzed rapidly. She then took off at impressive speeds. The traveler committed her scent to memory his memory. If this Fluttershy cared for animals, then perhaps he could find shelter there until he recovered.

The little ponies began to talk between each other. The unicorn even found enough courage to pet him, to which the traveler fealt conflicted about. Hooves weren't the softest appendage after all. But there was on topic of theirs that caught his attention.

"So what are we gonna call it?" the unicorn asked.

"What d'ya mean?"

"Well he needs a name, so..."

The yellow pony tapped her chin, "Well how 'bout..."

The two fillies spent the next few minutes tossing names around. Most were ridiculous, but the traveler made note to remember a few stand outs. Normally when the traveler enters a world he's imprinted with both a personality and a name. As he is now, he was in a unique position to choose a name for himself. At the moment though his identity was as blank as the little fillies flanks.

Choosing a name would have to wait though, as his back had healed. Now all he needed was a distraction to quietly slip away from the little ponies.

His ears twitched when he heard a familiar voice cry out, "APPLE BLOOM!"

Hello, distraction.

Apple Bloom's ears perked up when she heard her name being called and her face brightened, "Applejack!" she called back, stepping around the dog to meet her sister with Sweetie Belle following behind. Applejack let out a relieved sigh at the sight of her little sister and her friend emerging from the trees unharmed.

"Apple Bloom, Ah..." Applejack began but was interrupted by the pair of excited fillies talking over each other. From what Applejack could piece together was that the thieving wolf was here, and it was hurt.

Applejack stomped her hoof, silencing the fillies, "Take me to it," her tone leaving no room for arguments. The girls complied and led Applejack to where they had left their new friend, only to find the clearing empty.

"Wha? Where'd he go?" Apple Bloom asked nopony in particular.

Applejack narrowed her eyes slightly, "Girls, where's Scootaloo?"

The traveler wasted no time. Once the little ponies were out of sight he quickly followed the trail left by the little pegasus. He made a silent vow to himself to repay the fillies' for their kindness.

That thought made him stop dead. He genuinely felt gratitude towards the little ones. Not only that, thinking back he could remember feeling something else. Fear. When he saw that tree come down, he was afraid for the pony's life. There was now little doubt in the traveler's mind. This world was changing him much faster than any before. Picking up on the you pegasus' trail again, he resolved to reach this Fluttershy's place. With any luck he would find the time to finally think on his current situation, and his plans going forward.

The traveler emerged from the dense woods, having left the orchard a while ago, and came upon a cottage resting on a small hill.

"What do you mean she's not here?" the voice of the pegasus caused the traveler to drop low back into the trees. After a few moments the pegasus rolled passed the traveler, mumbling something about a "stupid, unhelpful rabbit" before she left his sight. He waited a few more moments before reemerging from the wood, and cautiously approached the house.

The air was filled with the scents of many different animals, but that wasn't surprising to him if she truly was a caretaker. Nor was he too surprised at the sight of a large bear sharing its catch of fish with a small cat, though that did give him pause. What really caught the traveler's sight was the small stream that ran at the foot of the small hill, and under a bridge before flowing into the woods. The cider back at the barn was nice, but the farmer pony arrived before he was fully able to quench his thirst.

The traveler slowly made his way to the stream, his presence not going unnoticed by the various animals around the cottage. They all stopped to watch the new, strange creature with a mix of caution, intrigue, and a bit of fear. The traveler paid them all no mind as he began to drink. The water was among the purest he's had in memory, and was quite cool. He drank for a good period of time, stopping twice to drink air, before he raised his head one final time.

He licked the excess water from his muzzle, but before he could turn away the water began to still and he caught sight of his reflection. Since he arrived in this world he had not seen himself properly. The traveler just assumed that his face was the same as always when he's in his wolf form, but the face staring back at him was quite different. Though not as large as the pony's eyes, his were still noticeably larger and were a much more vibrant shade of brown. His muzzle was also smaller, but something seemed off about it. Leaning closer he lifted a paw to it. His jaw seemed way more flexible than normal, his lips could move in ways impossible while a wolf before, and after a few experimental coughs, he found his voice wasn't nearly as rough. Is it possible? Could I be able...?

A chattering from the other side of the stream broke his concentration. A small white rabbit was trying to get his attention, and it didn't look to happy. It scowled at the traveler while pointing at him and then to the woods he came from. The traveler tilted his head to one side as the rabbit repeated the motions, his scowl deepening. Shrugging, the traveler stepped over the stream and the rabbit, and made his way to the cottage's back yard. Small animals scurried out of his way and were ultimately ignored, even the bear kept its distance, but the rabbit from before constantly tried to stop him.

Despite the rabbit's effort's, the traveler walked up to a large tree with relatively low hanging branches. The tree provided a nice comfortable shadow, so the traveler turned his back to it before lying down at its base. He curled his body up and wrapped his tail around himself. This was truly a peaceful area. He imagined it would be a bit nicer if the birds weren't silent in their caution of him, but that was of little consequence. He decided to rest before he really thought about his situation.

He was so focused on the sound of the stream, that he didn't notice a yellow pony cower near the cottage, or hear her small, "Eeep!"

When Rainbow Dash told her about a monster loose in Ponyville, Fluttershy hoped-prayed that she would never be anywhere near it. Even with Twilight's assurance that Princess Celestia believed it to be relatively harmless, Rainbows story about how it defeated fifty guards didn't help her imagine it as "harmless." So when she saw the figure of a large wolf sleeping in her backyard, it goes without saying that Fluttershy was a bit nervous. She hid herself behind her house with her heart pounding in her chest.

"What do I do? What do I do?" she asked herself. She peeked around the corner, hoping that maybe, just maybe the monster had gone. To her dismay it was still lying beneath the tree. "Maybe...maybe I should go get Twilight?" she said, beginning to back away slowly, "Or Rainbow Dash, or any other pony. Yes, I'm sure another pony will no what to do," but before she could take off, a high pitched chirping reached her ears. Fluttershy recognized the sound and turned back to the where the monster was sleeping. In the branches above it sat a nest that housed a family of blue jays.

The chirping came from a small chick that stood at the edge of the nest with its parents standing protectively on either side. Fluttershy smiled when she realized that it must be time for the chick to take its first flight. Forgetting about the monster for the moment, Fluttershy sat and watched the momentous occasion. She was soon joined by the other animals under her care.

The chick must have noticed the attention it was drawing to itself as it tried to step back into the safety of the nest, but the papa wouldn't have it. Papa blue jay did what all good parent birds did when it was time for their chicks to leave the nest, and pushed it off the branch. Fluttershy had seen this a thousand times before, but couldn't shake the nervousness. What if the chick wasn't ready? What if it was caught in a freak updraft, sending it into the tree and crushing its fragile skull? Fluttershy shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts. It would do no good to dwell on those thoughts. She needed to be ready in case something really does go wrong.

Something like the chick clipping its wing on a stray twig and spiraling out of control. Fluttershy's ears splayed back when she realized that that's exactly what was happening. Reacting on instinct, Fluttershy launched herself towards the falling chick. She needed to catch it before...before a large wolf jumped up and snapped up the chick in mid-air.

Fluttershy's world froze when the chick disappeared inside the monster wolf's massive jaws. Why? she asked herself distraught. Taking care of multitudes of different animals, including carnivores, Fluttershy was no stranger to animals eating each other, but this...this was just cruel! Her sadness quickly turned to anger. It was just a baby! It never even got to enjoy its first flight! Fluttershy was determined to teach this wolf a lesson it wouldn't soon forget!

She was halfway to giving the wolf the sternest talking to when she noticed it climbing the tree. Was it now going after the chick's parents? "Oh no you don't!" Fluttershy increased her speed. The wolf had just reached the branch that held the nest, now empty with Mama and Papa blue jay flying safely out of reach. The wolf hung right next to the nest, giving no visible signs that it noticed that it was empty. Instead it leaned its head into the nest and opened his mouth.

Fluttershy froze mid-flight. There, sitting on the wolf's tongue, was the baby blue jay. Shaken, covered in drool, but still very much alive. The wolf extended its tongue and gently placed the chick back in the nest. After the wolf hopped back down to the base of the tree, Mama and Papa blue jay returned to their nest and embraced their chick, tweeting happily. Once the wolf touched back down on the grass, it laid down curled itself up once again.

shy wasn't sure how to react, so she just hovered and stared at the wolf. She gave a start when Papa blue jay glided down and landed in front of the wolf who's ears perked up. It raised its head and gave Papa blue jay its full attention. The bird tweeted its thanks and bowed slightly. The wolf blinked before nodding in acknowledgement, then laid it's head back down.

Soon after many different animals around Fluttershy's house emerged to greet the wolf, and give it their individual thanks. Even though it didn't raise its head, the wolf's ears flicked at each new arrival, and every now and then it would open one eye. Even a white kitty found a place to rest on the wolfs back.

Fluttershy landed and wondered what would be the best way to approach the wolf.

Perhaps saving the bird was a mistake, the traveler thought to himself as a family of squirrels ran across his paws. When the large bird thanked him (at least that's what the traveler assumed it did) the animals around the cottage grew more comfortable with him. Much to his annoyance. All he wanted was a quiet place to rest, but now...now there was a cat sleeping on his back and every animal was coming out of the woodwork to greet him. The traveler had to admit though that he was surprised at the level of sentience the animals displayed. Some, like the white rabbit from before, seemed to even border on sapient.

Speaking of the white rabbit, the traveler opened a brown eye at the familiar fuzzball. It folded its tiny arms over its chest and gave the traveler an inquisitive look. It then gave him a curt nod before it held out a paw. The traveler resisted a strong urge to punt the rabbit across the field, and instead placed the tip of his tail in the rabbit's paw. The rabbit shook it once before smiling. The traveler's attention was so focused on the rabbit that he didn't notice the pink maned pegasus until it landed just behind the rabbit. On reflex the traveler's head shot up, he bared his fangs and growled at the newcomer. Unlike the apple pony from before, the pegasus' eyes widened and she trembled, but she didn't run. Perhaps she was literally frozen in fear? If she wouldn't leave, then the traveler had to move, but before he did the rabbit jumped up and down in front of him.

The traveler stopped growling and turned his attention to the rabbit. It made gestures to the fear stricken pony while chattering wildly. The traveler tried to make sense of the rabbit's dance. First it pointed to the pegasus, then the cottage, then to itself and the other animals all the while squeaking in what the traveler thought was some sort of language. The traveler tilted his head in confusion, but from what he could gather, the pegasus lived in the house with all these animals. If that was true, then it wouldn't be too farfetched to believed that she was this Fluttershy that the little ponies were talking about

He turned his gaze once again to the pegasus, and relaxed. Seeing this, the pegasus let out a small breath before smiling at him. The traveler took this, and the rabbit's word that he was in no immediate danger, and laid his head down once again.

The wolf seemed to understand what Angel was saying, so Fluttershy took a cautious step forward. Should...should I introduce myself? she thought, Oh! I should probably thank it for saving the chick. Steeling herself with a few breaths, Fluttershy said, "Um, I just wanted to..." before the wolf placed the tip of its tail against her lips, effectively silencing her. W-what did I do? After a moment the wolf's tail pulled back, "Oh um, I..." only to have it silence her once again. Maybe...maybe it wants to sleep? When the wolf's tail pulled back again she said, "S-sorry, I know...EEP!" the tip of the wolf's tail curled and lightly flicked Fluttershy's muzzle. "W-why would you...EEP!" the wolf flicked her again. Fluttershy opened her mouth to protest, but covered it with a hoof when the wolf's tail curled threateningly.

Rapid squeaks drew Fluttershy's attention down near her hooves where Angel was laughing up a storm. Fluttershy glared lightly at him, "Angel, it's not nice to...EEP!" she was flicked a third time, sending Angel into more hysterics. Maybe I should just go get Twilight. When she took a few steps back, the wolf curled its tail around itself, and at that moment Fluttershy was sorely tempted to give it a good scratch behind the ears. Though there was something telling her that it wouldn't appreciate being treated like a puppy, no matter how adorable she thought it looked with its tail around itself like that. Fluttershy felt her hoof reach out, Maybe just a little...

"Fluttershy, look out!"

Fluttershy's hoof snapped back, and she scanned the skies to find a rainbow streak circling around her house. Rainbow Dash? It was then that Fluttershy remembered that both Twilight and Rainbow were looking for this wolf, and when she remembered the reason she took off to meet Rainbow in the air, "Rainbow, wait! Stop!"

Rainbow Dash screeched to a halt, "Wha-Fluttershy? What are you doing?"

"Please don't hurt him!"

Rainbow scowled, "Ugh, I don't have time for this! It's getting away!"

Fluttershy glanced behind her. The kitten that was resting on the wolf's back was lying peacefully on the grass with the wolf a mere speck on the horizon. Rainbow, taking advantage of Fluttershy's distraction, sped past her. In a surprising display of both speed and strength, Fluttershy latched on to Rainbow's tail, holding her back.

"Fluttershy...let...me...go!"

"No!...He's...friendly!"

The traveler had underestimated the rainbow pony's persistence. Lucky for him, that Fluttershy proved an adequate distraction, and he escaped the blue mare once more. Though a question rose in his mind. Why did Fluttershy help him? Was it repayment for saving the bird? Or was it, because of his current form, she felt an obligation to help him? Whatever her reasons, the cottage and both pegasi were far behind.

The traveler had his sights set on the forest ahead. He felt that it was time to disappear before...

"Hi!"

The traveler let out a yelp of surprise when his vision was obscured by a pink cloud. He abruptly stopped, sending the pink mass over his head and into a nearby bush. The mass pulled itself out of the bush with an audible pop-What?- and turned to him. The mass turned out to be a pony with a pink coat, a darker pink mane, and blue eyes. It-she was one of the ponies without either a horn or wings.

"I'm okay!" she said with a huge grin.

The traveler looked over his shoulder at an empty field with only a single boulder in sight, before turning back to the pony with a bemused look on his face. How...where...this pony. She was able to catch me by surprise. She should not be underestimated. The traveler watched the pink pony closely as she happily walked up to him.

And then she started talking, Hi, my name's Pinkie Pie, and Twilight, you know that purple unicorn that brought you here? Well, she said that she thinks that you're really, really smart and not just a big doggie even though you look like one and are really really cute! Anyway I say to myself, 'Pinkie,' that's me, 'Pinkie, you should find this doggie that's not a doggie and introduce yourself!' So now that I found you I can invite you to your 'Welcome to Ponyville!' party, but..."

The wolf placed his tail on the pony's lips and, like with Fluttershy, she was silenced. And I thought the rainbow pony was chatty. To think she could say all of that in a single breath. This pony is quite formidable, and...is she still talking? Sure enough the pink mare, Pinkie Pie if he heard correctly, was mumbling behind his tail and making gestures with her hooves.

Curious, he pulled his tail away, "...and then Rainbow said you took on a hundred guards at once, but nopony got hurt and that means you're a good doggie, right? Of course you are! So there's no need to run..."

The traveler silenced her again, Something about this pony seems...off compared to the others. I wonder...if I were to bind with her... he shook his head, No, I shouldn't stay in this world longer than necessary. I must take shelter in the forest he focused back to Pinkie Pie, but first... The traveler pulled his tail away from her, and she launched into another high speed monologue, or was it the same one? He looked over the pony's shoulder at the empty fields, and put on his best surprised face.

"Ooh ohh, what is it?" Pinkie asked excitedly turning fully around.

The traveler fled in the opposite direction. Without being at full strength he knew that he couldn't outrun this mare, but that was not his plan.

"Wait come back! Tell me what you saw!" as the traveler suspected, Pinkie Pie was following him and gaining ground.

The traveler dragged his tail through the ground, creating a small trail as he ran. The traveler zigzagged, circled around, and doubled back not attempting to shake Pinkie, but as an experiment. As he thought, Pinkie followed the trail exactly. Even when he drew the trail one way while going another, she would follow. Confident in his plan, the traveler picked up speed while Pinkie matched it, and headed for the lone boulder.

When he drew close, the traveler jumped over it while he drew the trail directly into it. He landed softly and waited for the inevitable. It came a few moments later with a loud smack, and the boulder visibly shaking. Carefully the traveler stepped around the stone. He found Pinkie laying at its base with the impression of her head a little above where she lay. Maybe I overdid it, he thought to himself after nudging the mare a few times with his tail. He laid a paw on her withers and turned her over. He took this opportunity to study her closely.

She shared many of the same traits as the other equines. It seems the only truly unique features among them were the markings on their flanks. He leaned closer to inspect the three balloons when the scent of a bakery caught his attention. The traveler assumed that she was connected to the gingerbread building back in the town. He wondered how a pony with no horn with which to use magic could hold a baking pan. He cupped a hoof with his tail and inspected it closely. No kind of suction cup, nor any tiny hairs for gripping could be seen. Other than being surprisingly soft, the pony's hoof wasn't much different than an Earth horse's. Lowering her hoof, the traveler decided to borrow a book on pony anatomy at the first opportunity. Assuming of course that ponies had books.

Deciding that he learned all that he could from the pink pony without getting too invasive, the traveler turned to leave, only to run into a purple wall. It shined before him and wouldn't yield to any pressure, so the traveler back up a few paces only to run into another wall. He didn't need to look around to realize what had happened. He was caught, and he had his suspicions about who managed that. Turning only confirmed them.

The purple unicorn from the throne room stared at him, her horn alight with a purple aura, and a smug smile on her face.

Twilight couldn't feel more proud at the moment. Not only did she manage to capture a creature that she herself had summoned, but she was able to do so with the help of one of her best friends. "Okay, Pinkie," she said, "You can get up now."

The pink pony giggled and jumped to her hooves, "Okie dokie lokie!" Twilight's smile grew when she saw the surprised look on the creatures face.

So she was feigning unconsciousness, the traveler thought as Pinkie Pie bounced-literally bounced-over to the purple unicorn. I underestimated these ponies. A mistake I will endeavor to not make again. The traveler lifted a paw and struck the purple barrier. It shimmered but remained solid.

Twilight giggled when the creature attacked her shield spell, "That won't work," she said walking up to the barrier, "My brother, who specializes in shield spells, taught me this spell. It was designed to absorb any and all physical attacks. And I'm afraid you won't be able to howl your way out of this either. I modified the spell to make it completely soundproof," Twilight's eyes widened in realization, "Which means that you have no idea what I just said."

The traveler watched the purple unicorn's gestures and mouth movements and concluded that this barrier was soundproof. An assumption that was all but confirmed when the unicorn's ears splayed back and she slapped her face with a hoof. A move that caught the traveler off guard with how human in looked. He put that at the back of his mind for now.

A thought came to him, and he lifted a paw again. While watching the unicorn, who was engaged in a conversation with Pinkie Pie, he struck the shield once more. His efforts were rewarded with nothing more than a small eye twitch. Small, but enough to know what he needed to do.

The traveler unlatched and removed his cuffs for a second time, and his previous fatigue faded though not as much as he would have liked. He searched inside himself for his reserves of energy and found them unnervingly low. He hadn't realized how the recent events had taken their toll on him. He wondered that, after he enacted his plan, if he would have enough energy to continue his flight, but he thought trying was better than waiting.

The traveler took what energy he felt he could spell without passing out, and focused it all towards the base of his throat which began to grow warm.

Pinkie gasped, "My Pinkie sense is tingling!"

Twilight turned to her friend, "What is it? Twitchy tail? A combo?"

Pinkie shook her head, "No, it's something new. I feel like every hair is sticking up," she tapped a hoof to her chin, "Hmm, I wonder what it means."

"Could it have anything to do..." Twilight turned back to the creature in time to see it rear its head back. When it brought it back down, a golden ray of light shot from its mouth and struck the barrier with significant force. The blow was too powerful and too fast for Twilight to adjust, and it overwhelmed the spells defense and it shattered. The shock of the failed spell brought Twilight to her haunches with a yelp and a sore horn.

Pinkie was at her side in an instant, "Twilight, are you okay? What happened?"

Twilight shakily stood, "I...don't know. What kind of magic was that?"

Pinkie shrugged, "Dunno, but look. Wolfie's all tired now."

Ignoring Pinkie's odd name for the creature, Twilight found it panting heavily and standing on shaky legs. Their eyes met briefly before it bolted again, though slower than what she'd seen before, "Wait, please!" she cried trying to follow, but even with the creatures current state, Twilight knew she could never catch up.

The traveler collapsed for the third time. Even unbound his energy reserves were dangerously low. He needed to sleep. He needed food. Both were out of his reach until the ponies gave up the chase. He struggled to his paws and continued towards the wood line. At this pace, the ponies will overtake me, he thought as the trees came closer. He knew he wouldn't last much longer. He had maybe a few more miles in him. After that...

Caught up in his thoughts, the traveler didn't notice the beating of wings in the air until the rainbow pony landed in front of him. No. In a flash of purple light, the unicorn and orange farmer appeared to his left. Pinkie Pie and a new pony in the form of a white unicorn mare with a styled mane flanked his right, while Fluttershy completed the circle behind him. Panting, the traveler closed his eyes, Fine, no more threats, he splayed his ears back and bared his teeth, No more posturing. To get away from these ponies, he began to growl I'll have to hurt them. They all back away slightly, but not enough to let him escape.

The rainbow mirrored his stance, the farmer readied a new rope, and the unicorns' horns were alit with purple and blue auras. Fluttershy however merely took a small step forward. The traveler immediately rounded on her and let out a near deafening bark. Fluttershy just smiled and continued her walk forward, despite protests from the other ponies.

The traveler lowered his head and began lifting his paw, ready to strike at the pegasus, but she said, "It's okay," something in her voice made him stop. "You don't have to run away anymore." Her voice was calm and soothing. The traveler could feel his muscles relax, and his eyelids grew heavy. Fluttershy opened her wings and hovered directly in front of him, "We're not going to hurt you, I promise."

Her eyes... The traveler felt all of his resistances crumble away. Never in recent memory has he ever felt an overwhelming sense of kindness coming from a single being. I think...I can trust her.

The rest of the traveler's energy faded away, and darkness claimed him.

"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness...EEP!" Fluttershy tried and failed to hold the wolf up as it passed out.

"Fluttershy!" the others called out. Twilight wasted no time in levitating the wolf off of her friend.

Pinkie Pie helped Fluttershy to her hooves, "You okay?"

"I-I'm fine," Fluttershy looked over her shoulder to where Twilight laid the wolf, "but what about him? Is he alright?"

Twilight watched as the wolf's body rose and fell with his breathing, "Well, it's alive, but I won't know much more until I can examine it further."

Fluttershy trotted up to the wolf's side, "Poor thing," she said, stroking the wolf's back.

"'Poor thing?'" Rainbow snorted indignantly, "This thing trashed the royal guard, destroyed the princess' throne room, and tore up an entire street in Canterlot!"

"None of that was his fault," Fluttershy defended, "The guards attacked him first, right Twilight?"

Twilight's ears perked up, "Huh? Oh yes, but..."

"And nopony was hurt when he was running away from Rainbow Dash, were they?"

Rainbow scratched the back of her neck, "Uh, I guess not."

Applejack snorted, "That don't excuse stealin' from mah farm!"

"Maybe he was just hungry and didn't know they belonged to somepony?" Applejack raised a brow, and Fluttershy looked away, knowing her argument was weak.

Twilight spoke up, "Regardless, we should move this somewhere more private," she turned to the other unicorn, "Rarity, do you have a spare blanket that we could cover the creature with?"

The unicorn tapped her chin, "Hmm, I suppose I have one or two pieces I could part with."

Twilight nodded, "Applejack, could you run back to your farm and bring back a wagon?"

"Ah suppose, but why?"

"We can't let anypony in Ponyville see it," Twilight gestured to the wolf. "If we can get it to the library, I'll be able to study it in a controlled environment."

A loud growl startled the ponies, and they thought that the wolf had awoken, but a glance showed that it was still fast asllep. Fluttershy giggled, "I bet he's still hungry," She took wing and said, "I'll gather some food for when he wakes up."

Twilight nodded, "Sounds like a plan," to the others she added, "Alright everypony, it's still a few hours till sunset. Let's get it back before dark."

The traveler began to stir. His hunger came back to him in force, but he tried to push it away only to have the smell of fish assault his nose. His eyes snapped open. The purple unicorn jumped back in surprise, "Oh, you're awake," she said.

The traveler stood and looked around. He was in a cage, that much was immediately obvious. The unicorn stared at him from behind large iron bars. It was large enough for him to move around in comfortably, and next to where he lie was a large pile of fish. He eyed them warily.

Fluttershy's voice called his attention back to the bars, "I brought those for you," she said coming into his view. "I know you must be really hungry."

The traveler stared at the ponies from behind the bars. The rainbow was sprawled on a couch reading a book, but laid it down to glare at him. The farmer, the white unicorn, and Pinkie Pie were playing some kind of card game with small golden coins in between them. Pinkie was winning. All six of them were just staring at him, waiting for something. The traveler looked to the pile of fish, then back at the ponies.

Fluttershy nodded, "Go on, it's fine."

The traveler thought for a moment, then positioned himself so that he blocked the ponies view of what he was about to do. Though he made sure they couldn't see it, he was sure they would be able to hear his teeth tear into the fishy flesh, so he devoured them whole and as quickly as possible. It was only when he finished and was licking his paws clean did he notice that he wasn't wearing his cuffs. He looked around the cage in a mild panic only to find it empty,

The sound of magic drew his attention to the ponies where his cuffs were hanging in a purple aura. The unicorn smiled, "These seemed important to you, so we picked them up after you passed out."

The cuffs drifted over to him. The traveler gripped them in his tail, but before he reattached them to his forelegs he tapped the iron bars, giving the unicorn a questioning look.

"Sorry about this, but we just can't be too...careful," she trailed off as the wolf's tail wrapped around two of the bars twice. With a grunt he bent the bars and ripped them both out. The pony's ears folded back, "Oh."

The traveler stepped through the opening calmly, while the rainbow and the farmer readied for a fight. The traveler simply sat and reattached his cuffs. He then just waited, watching each of the ponies.

The purple unicorn was the first to break the silence, "Um, you're not gonna run away again, are you?" the traveler shook his head. "And you can understand us, right?" he nodded. The unicorn smiled, "That's great!" a large stack of papers appeared next to her, "I just have a few questions to ask you."

The traveler raised a brow, but Fluttershy said with a smile, "I didn't get to say it before, but thank you for saving the baby blue jay, and not attacking us."

"You are welcome."

The low slightly rumbled voice surprised the ponies in the room. They all stared at the traveler with wide eyes.

The traveler tilted his head in confusion, "What?"

Comments

[MuzaWaza]

Sudden update is sudden.

[Aurum]

Hah, what a cliffhanger! Hope the next one wouldn't be for another two years.

[Elu]

In the name of all Holy Gods. It's been two years. TWO YEARS.

I want more chapters. Please?

[Drexlroosh13]

Hopefully it won't take as long to update again?