Timberwolf Season 1

by Dragonfire2lm

Apex Predator

"Ugh, I'm still grounded!" Sweetie Belle complained to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo as they walked to school. "And it's been two weeks already!"

"At least you ain't grounded until the school holidays!" Apple Bloom grumbled.

"I'm stuck cleaning the family shrine for another three weeks." Scootaloo stated.

"Shrine?" Apple Bloom and Sweetie asked.

"Oh right, I never told you guys," Scootaloo realized and lunched into an explanation. "My family worships our ancestors and we have this huge shrine dedicated to our founder that everyone usually takes turns cleaning but I got stuck with doi8ng everyone's shift as a punishment, it takes hours."

As they walked they soon came upon an re of the street blocked off by police tape with something covered by a piece of tarp. The three children stopped to take a look but quickly moved on when they saw splotches of blood on the pavement.

By the time they reached the middle school section of Canterlot high the halls were buzzing with rumors and theories about the crime scene and many were jolted out of their musing by Principal Celestia calling a school assembly. Scootaloo and company took their seats as the school hall quieted down to allow the principal to speak.

"As I'm sure many of you know, a body was discovered early this morning on a commonly used path to school," the principal stated. "The police have issued a statement advising all students to avoid the area until further notice and I, along with the rest of the faculty staff wish to remind you that despite these turn of events, you are all still on school grounds and to work hard and prevent as little disruption to your teachers and fellow students as possible."

"With that out of the way, I would like to welcome a new member of staff to our school," Celestia stated cheerfully. "With Mr.Turner's recent departure, the English staff have been stretched thin to cover his classes. Today I would like to introduce his replacement, everyone give a warm welcome to Miss Prose."

Scootaloo's jaw dropped at the sight of her friend walking up onto the stage and grabbing the microphone.

"Um, hey everyone I'm Miss Prose, wow that makes me feel old," Dreamer Prose joked. "Anyway I may be new but I won't tolerate any disrespect or bullying and what have you. I'd also like to announce a new after school club starting up next week, you'll find more information posted on the notice boards around the campus. Hopefully I do a good job right?"

Her last comment elected a few chuckles out most of those present and she finished a bow and handed the microphone back to the Principal.

"Thank you for your interesting introduction. Now a reminder for our high school students to sign up for a sports activity before the week is out or you will be placed in whatever sport has vacancies..."

Scootaloo tuned out the rest of the assembly as her mind wandered back to a conversation she had with Dreamer shortly after the revelation of the existence of Timberwolf.

"So what was that monster that attacked us back at that pizza place?" Scootaloo asked as Dreamer walked her home.

"it was a boogeyman," Dreamer stated. "They feed off of the pain and suffering of children, it's like a drug to them, they just...keep hurting the kids until they die. Boogeymen aren't intelligent enough to know when to stop so it was a good thing I saved you when I did..."

"That's sounds scary, are there other monster like that around here?" the young lycan asked.

"A few, usually I deal with them pretty quickly though, so there's no need to worry," Prose replied calmly. "If you think you see anything suspicious though, come find me alright? The police can only do so much."

"Ok."

---

After school, Scootaloo waited for Miss prose to leave and caught up with her.

"So you work here now?" she asked the new teacher.

"I got fired from Fazbear's for no reason, so I figured I'd try something I haven't done in a while," Prose replied. "I was wanting to talk to you anyway, you walked by that crime scene right, notice anything?"

"It...it smelled like blood and wet wolf but It wasn't from anyone I knew...is there something weird going on?" Scootaloo asked.

"You'll find out when we reach your place, I need to inform the rest of the pack anyway." Dreamer stated. "It's just a hunch but better be safe than sorry."

As they entered the village, Scootaloo noticed many of her kin were on edge, many were stationed as guards at key locations and the rest were voicing their concerns to Alpha Amy, who stood on the large wooden platform at the center of town. Dreamer approached and walked up onto the platform and motioned to take the stage. Amy stepped aside and called for silence.

"I'm sure many of you are worried about the recent murder but I can confirm it's not anyone local, however the cause of death is something to be wary of," Dreamer began. "From what I was able to see when the police arrived at the scene, the victim was mauled and I have reason to believe both the victim and the attacker were werewolves if not lycans from a rival pack."

She paused and pulled out a zip lock plastic bag with a piece of bloody cloth inside. "I'm going to pas this around, don't touch the cloth, just open the bag and let me know if the smell is from anyone you recognize, if we can pin down the pack encroaching on our territory, then we can hopefully convince them join us or force them to leave."

The bag was quickly passed around as pack members muttered to themselves and compared the mix of scents to what they knew, most confirmed it was from an unknown lycan but it wasn't from any of the packs they had recently tangled with. When it was the Alpha's turn she sniffed and for a moment a look of righteous fury crossed her features. She ordered the pack to stay on guard and led Dreamer to her house to discuss the issue.

Scootaloo wandered around aimlessly, her mind a turmoil of worry and a sense of helplessness as she watched most of the pack working to protect their home. She was snapped out of wallowing by her grandfather who guided her to the family archives.

"What are we doing here?" she asked as she looked around the large oval room covered in shelves stacked with books and scrolls that went from floor to ceiling.

"You want to help? Then why not look up the names of rival packs," her grandfather suggested. "Maybe it might be one we have forgotten about, you could make a nice big list for Alpha to look over."

"Alright, thanks Grandpa!"

"You want to pull your weight, that's good for the future of the pack, remember that won't you?" the older lycan stated.

"Yep!"

---

After hours of searching a scroll sealed with the mark of the Alpha caught Scootaloo's attention. She opened it to find a report containing a clash between Amy and a now exiled member of the pack. Scootaloo skimmed over it and added the key details to the long list she had already written. She stretched and decided she had a decent amount of information to show Alpha Amy and walked out of the archive and towards the white wolf's house.

She walked in to find both the Alpha and Dreamer going through a small stack of folders.

"Um Alpha? I have some stuff for you." the young lycan said nd showed Amy the list. the pack leader looked it over before offering Scootaloo a seat beside her.

"This is very well done pup," Amy said. "We can compare these to these recent reports of rival activity over the last few years to pinpoint possible assailants, would you like to help?"

"Maybe later, I'm getting kind of hungry." Scootaloo replied.

"Why don't we take a break, grab some food and continue afterwards?" Dreamer suggested.

After a warm meal the trio went back to work and with some precise instructions from both Amy and Dreamer, Scootaloo found no trouble keeping up with the steadfast studious nature of the two women as they looked over and compared notes. For a time, a name and a string of events kept coming to forefront of the child's mind as she kept finding more and more evidence to support it, more so when comparing the nation wide data that Dreamer had snagged off the Timberwolf database.

"Who's Black Fire?" Scootaloo eventually asked and Dreamer was the one to answer.

"Your power hungry aunt that's hellbent on ruling the world."

Scootaloo just looked at her and said. "I don't know if you're being serious or not..."

"I am, she's tried to kill me a few times, attempted to take control of the pack, framed your mother for something she didn't do and whole bunch of other stuff," Dreamer explained. "I've been keeping tabs on her for a few years and her recent movement patterns have been odd."

"Like she's been going around the same areas for a long time until moving to the next one?" Scootaloo suggested and pulled up her own notes on the matter. "It looks like she's been drifting from pack to pack..."

"My hunch is that she's recruiting," Dreamer stated. "If she can get the numbers to challenge us, everyone here would be forced to fight...It could draw attention from the public and cause a panic and it wouldn't surprise me if Black Fire uses that as an opportunity to take over the city."

"What do we do?" Scootaloo asked.

"Judging from these charts we have a week until she's close enough to pose a threat." Amy stated. "That murder was most likely a warning or a diversion to keep us guessing until she comes in for the kill."

"I could call in a few favors, warn the other magi folk and set up an alarm system then try to catch her off guard?" Dreamer offered.

"Would that be possible in the time frame we have?" Amy asked.

"Not without causing some measure of panic for the magical portion of the population..." Dreamer admitted.

"What if we had bait to bring her out of hiding?" Scootaloo suggested. "Like tricking her or something?"

"You got an idea Scoots?" Dreamer asked. "I know you're smart for your age but make sure to think it through."

"I did!" the young lycan protested. "I saw some of Black Fire's old crimes and stuff, so I was thinking..."

---

One week later they were ready.

Night had fallen by the time they had put their plan into action. Dreamer and Scootaloo trudged through the moonlit forest aimlessly as the pair listened for any noise that was out of place. They could eyes watching them in the darkness yet they paid it no mind, they were ready for whatever the environment threw at them, be it friend or foe. A howl rang through the night and the thumps of heavy footfalls grew ever closer. Dreamer pulled Scootaloo behind her as a bipedal wolf like beast thundered towards them.

"For Queen Black Fire!" the werewolf roared and swiped at the duo. Dreamer sidestepped with the young pup in her care following her movements. As one the two of them bolted into the forest with their pursuer on their trail.

"That was another lycan right?" Scootaloo asked as she and Dreamer ran for their lives.

"No, a werewolf, it's full moon out now and that guy was more humanoid than wolf, looks like my hunch was right." Dreamer replied and they leapt over a fallen log as howls pierced the night air.

"We have to warn the pack!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

There was a crash as several trees fell and blocked their path just a multitude of werewolves and unfamiliar lycanthropes stalked out into the moonlight led by a young woman with orange skin, dark purple-almost black hair, matching dark purple eyes and wearing a black one piece outfit.

"Long time no see Prose, how's my little sister's pup doing?" the woman asked with a sly grin.

"Hi Aunt Black Fire," Scootaloo said cheerfully. "You fell into our trap!"

"Trap?" the older lycan echoed. "You are surrounded by my army with no way to warn your family, once I kill Dreamer and capture you, young pup, Amy will be forced to surrender and this city, all of humanity will bow before me."

The two seemed shared a look before they both said "Uh-huh" with the best flat expression they could muster. Black Fire glared at them.

"You think this is some kind of joke?" she asked. "I have killed for less!"

"Sure you have," Dreamer drawled. "You're still doomed by the way."

"Dooooommed!" Scootaloo added dramatically.

"How dare you..." Black Fire seethed as a few of her followers snickered behind her. "Very well, if you two aren't going to take this seriously, then both your lives are forfeit. Attack!"

"Yeah, no. Dreamer said and with a flick of her left hand, she summoned her sword and pointed it at the army before her. the blade glowed green and she swung it in a wide arc over the group just as every last wolf was about to charge. Green sparks danced around Black Fire's lackey's as they tried to move but found themselves frozen in place. Barks and growls of protest rose from the pack as their leader whirled around to stare at her forces that were now useless.

"You're green now," Dreamer stated cheerfully. "You can't escape."

With a cry of outrage Black Fire shifted into a black wolf and charged the two with jaws outstretched. Dreamer and Scootaloo moved to the side and in blind fury, Black Fire turned to lunge at Dreamer only to get a face full of metal as the Timberwolf operative slammed the flat side of her blade into her attacker's face.

Dreamer called forth her pistol as she pushed the sharp edge of her blade up against Black Fire's throat.

"Your freedom or your life, Pick one." Dreamer stated coldly to a dazed Black Fire.

---

With their leader imprisoned, Black Fire's pack surrendered and most were accepted into Scootaloo's Pack as a precautionary measure so they could be watched over as well given a better chance at life. With the threat over, Alpha Amy worked with pack members old and new to hold a celebration the following day.

"Good thing it's the weekend huh?" Dreamer said as Scootaloo helped her pluck the feathers off of some wild birds that would be cooked for the feast to come. "I wouldn't want you to miss out on the party because you had school."

"Isn't school supposed to be more important?" Scootaloo asked s she tugged at a particularly stubborn feather. Dreamer reached over and felt where the feather in question was attached to bird and twisted the end to pull it free.

"This is a celebration of unity for your family and chance for your aunt's followers to become respected and loved members of the pack, a way to bring everyone closer together for the peace and prosperity of your family's territory, if not the whole city." Dreamer explained.

"Still something's been bugging me..." the young lycan admitted as she picked up another bird. "That fight seemed easy, too easy, you planned out everything, what we say, where to run, everything and it all happened the exact way you planned it!"

"If I tell you, you'll have to become a part of Timberwolf, like it or not, it's sort of a secret," Dreamer stated and fell into a short sneezing fit as a small stray feather floated along a light breeze and tickled her nose. "ugh, I hate it when that happens."

"After seeing what happened, I think... I want to join as a junior member, if only to help, to do something you know?" Scootaloo replied.

"What made you decide?" Dreamer asked. "It's going to be dangerous."

"When everyone was preparing to defend our home it sort of hit me that, I wanted to help but everyone could already do more than me because I'm just a kid, I want to help out more and even if I'm stuck doing boring computer stuff and ugh homework just to get a chance to help, then I'll do whatever it takes!" Scootaloo replied and in the back of her mind, she remembered the boogeyman, how it killed five other kids and she could nothing but watch, how it came close to killing her friends, if she hadn't acted her friends would've been dead and it would've been all her fault...

Dreamer looked thoughtful as the pair lapsed into silence and it wasn't broken until the last bird had been plucked.

"Alright Scoots, you wanna join Timberwolf?" Dreamer asked.

"Yeah."

"I'll talk to Amy tonight after the party and tomorrow you'll have to pass a test to see if you're worthy alright?" Dreamer stated.

"Wait, a test!?" Scootaloo echoed in surprise.

Next Time on Timberwolf...

"So what's my test going to be?" Scootaloo asked and sat down on one the desk chairs in the office portion of the Timberwolf base. Dreamer was skimming through a large stack of files at an adjacent desk.

"Dunno-" Dreamer began to reply when the light flickered for a monent before the power went out.

"Dreamer?"

"Yeah Scoots?"

"That's not part of the test is it?"

"Nope."

"What do we do?"

"Go find somewhere to hide Scootaloo, whoever this is won't be targeting you but better stay out of sigfht just in case>" Dreamer stated.

"How do you know that?" Scootaloo asked.

"A hunch."

The ground rumbled beneath their feet as something exploded down below.

Author's Note:

Pardon me while I go rage about my sticky A key and backspace key. It makes typing SO FRUSTRATING!!!!!!

Next chapter will have some world building and stuff.

Anyway if you spot any typos I missed, let me know, it might take a while to fix them though.