Terror of the Timberwolf

by PonyPixel

Acting Strange

When the sun rose over the school, Sandbar felt worse than he did last night. He would've gotten up but he didn't want to make his injury worse. Gallus drifted down from the top to check on him. "Sleep well?" the griffon asked.

"No," the earth pony groaned. "My body is getting sorer. As if just my leg isn't bad enough."

"Okay. Look, I'll see I can get you breakfast in bed." Gallus flew off leaving a cranky colt in bed.

He kept grumbling to himself until Yona and Ocellus walked in. The changeling was carrying a tray of cereal while the yak carried some books. "Hope this makes you feel better," Ocellus said. She placed the tray on Sandbar's lap while Yona placed the books next to the bed.

"Thanks," Sandbar grumbled. He poured the glass of milk that was next to the bowl into it to fill it up.

"Sandbar feeling better?" Yona asked.

"I feel better when I eat." He gave a glare at the girls, signaling that he wanted to be alone. Once they left, he started eating. "I plan out a weekend just for Yona and me. And what do I get? I bite from a timberwolf. Now my body hurts, my legs going to take forever to heal." Sandbar kept grumbling as he ate his breakfast.

In the mess hall, his friends were talking with each other. "Should we eat with him?" Silverstream asked.

"I think he woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Ocellus said.

"Oh."

"I keep blaming myself for what happened," Smolder groaned. "I thought I could handle a timberwolf. I didn't know they were actually made of wood."

"Seriously?" Gallus asked.

"Hey, you didn't know a thing about them either."

"I think I can find a couple of books on them," Ocellus said.

"I doubt that the school library's going to have a book about them."

"Well, we have to do something., we should check on Sandbar throughout the day."

"Please don't tell me we have to help him to the bathroom," Gallus sighed.

"Yona will do it," the yak said without hesitation.

"We knew you would help with that," Smolder said.

"But where are we suppose to figure out more about timberwolves?" Silverstream asked.

"Granny pony," Yona suggested.

"Granny Smith?" Ocellus asked. The yak nodded.

"You sure about that?" Gallus asked. "I honestly think that pony has a screw loose."

"That's not very nice," Silverstream commented.

"Be honest, she kind of acts weird."

"She's our best option," Ocellus said. "I'll go over there as soon as possible."

"I'll help Yona with Sandbar," Smolder said. "It's my way of saying sorry to him."

"Silver and I will hang around if you guys need any backup," Gallus said.

"Alright," Ocellus replied.

"Sandbar probably done by now," Yona said.

"I'll take care of that," Smolder said. She promptly took off towards Sandbar's dorm room.

The colt was just reading one of the books lying beside his bed as the dragoness flew in. "What do you want?" he asked.

"I just came to take your tray." Smolder bent down to pick it up, but Sandbar was far from pleased.

"You know, this really doesn't make up for being bitten by a timberwolf."

"Listen, I'm sorry about that."

"Tell that to my leg. I'm in pain right now."

"You're overreacting."

"Then explain why I passed out?"

"I..."

"Do you know how much getting bitten hurts? Its teeth were in my flesh."

"Sand..."

"No. You try drawing blood yourself and you'll see what I mean." Smolder didn't say anything else, she just picked up the dishes and trays then left.

When she met up with her friends again, her guilty attitude was far gone. "You know what?" she asked. "Silver, you can help Yona take care of him."

"Why?" the hippogriff asked.

"He didn't want to say 'sorry', I'm not going to say it to him. He can find his own way to the bathroom."

"That's a little harsh."

"He told me to bite myself and draw blood. I'm going to go hang with Emma and Peri." The grumpy dragoness walked away leaving some confused friends behind.

---

Sandbar was still reading one of the books, which he was starting to lose interest in. Before he could start on another one, Yona and Silverstream walked in. "Hi, Sandy," the hippogriff said. "Are you feeling better?"

"Slightly," he replied.

"Smolder told friends about bad behavior," Yona said flatly.

"I'm just mad at her right now." Silverstream started gagged after smelling her friend's breath.

"How about we help you to the bathroom," she said. "You really need to brush your teeth." The hippogriff helped the pony out of bed and onto the yak's back. They made their way to the washroom, but the girls couldn't go in. "We probably should've gotten Gallus."

"Griffon didn't want to do this," Yona reminded.

"You didn't think this through?" Sandbar asked.

"I didn't plan Smolder would just dump this on me," Silverstream stated. "I'll go and find Gallus." She flew off as fast as he could but the colt was still cranky.

"Sandbar want to talk?" the yak asked.

"I'm sorry, Yona," Sandbar sighed. "I'm just not feeling like myself. I had such a fun day plan yesterday and now..." He paused as he looked at his injured leg. It felt... Normal. Out of curiosity, he slipped off his yak-friend's back and started removing his cast.

"Sandbar, stop."

"No, Yona, my leg feels better." He removed all the bandages to see the injury, but to their shock the leg was normal. No bite marks, no cuts, not even a scab.

"We're back," Silverstream announced. She flew back with Gallus and they were shocked to see Sandbar standing on his own.

"What's going on?" Gallus asked.

"My injury's better," Sandbar explained.

"No way."

"Impossible," Silverstream added.

"I'm not questioning it," the colt said, "I'm just glad I don't need any help to use the bathroom." He walked into the washroom leaving three confused friends.

"Does healed injury raise red flag?" Yona asked.

"Crimson," Gallus responded. "I don't care how much magic a pony has, that is impossible."

"The doctors didn't give him anything out of the ordinary," Silverstream said. "Unless ponies have made a cure-all tonic."

"Doubt it."

"Yona going to spend day with Sandbar," the yak said. "Might help with behavior and mystery."

"Okay, you do you." The two griff flew away as Yona wait outside the washroom for her colt-friend to come out.

Meanwhile, Ocellus had made her way to Sweet Apple Acres. "Ocellus," Applejack said surprised to see her. "I know you like to be the top students, but you don't have to around your teachers all the time."

The changeling chuckled. "Actually, I came here because my friends and I want to know more about timberwolves," she explained.

"Well, I'll be," Granny Smith said. She walked over to Ocellus with a grin on her face. "It's about time another creature wants to know more. So, what do you want to know?"

"Um... The basics of them." The changeling took out a pencil and notepad.

"Alright. Timberwolves live up to their name, on a count of being made of wood."

"Right." Ocellus quickly started writing notes. "Can you tell me what they eat?"

"Well, judging by their bad breath, I'd guess they eat small critters, like rabbits, squirrels, or possibly even sheep, like normal wolves."

"What about their unique abilities?"

"Oh, you mean like the regeneration? I have this theory that they also have a hive mind. It'll explain how they can come together into bigger wolves."

"Ocellus, why do you want to know this?" Applejack asked.

"Sandbar got bitten by one last night," the changeling explained. The two ponies gasped. "He's okay. In fact, my friends are helping to look after him."

"If it makes him feel better, I think we'll bring over a pie to help cheer him up."

"Those kids will need more than just a pie to keep them safe," Granny stated. She placed an army helmet on Ocellus's head, much to her confusion. "Come on, youngin, we need to prepare you for another attack. Luckily, I've got just the thing for timberwolves."

"Granny!"

"AJ, leave this to the experts. Let's go, Ocellus. We need to get you prepared." The old mare took the changeling inside the barn to show off the supplies.

"I think this is the one time I'm not happy to learn something," Ocellus said to herself.

---

Back at the school, Sandbar and Yona left and headed into town. "I'm so glad I'm not going to be stuck in bed all weekend," Sandbar said. "I still can't believe my leg is all better."

"Yeah, Yona can't either," Yona agreed. The yak couldn't help but question his miraculous recovery. "Doesn't Sandbar find that weird?"

"Who cares, we can get to spend the day together. Let's get some snacks at Sugarcube Corner." Sandbar took off and Yona struggled to keep up.

"How Sandbar so fast?" Before she could get an answer, she tripped and tumbled over. Sandbar stopped and walked over to help her. They both heard some laughing and looked over to see the pegasus from yesterday.

"So, did furball have a nice trip?" he asked. "I thought I wouldn't see her nex..."

"Don't finish that," Sandbar interrupted. "Not only has it been said to death, but it's also rude to my girlfriend."

"Why would you have a girlfriend that's fat like her." Yona hung her head having her feelings hurt while Sandbar growled. He walked up to the larger colt and decked him in the face. Once he was on the ground, Sandbar stomped on his wing.

"Dude, get off me!"

"Apologize to Yona." The pegasus didn't even look at the yak. This caused Sandbar to stomp on his face. "Did I ask that? Say it."

"Alright, I'm sorry. Get off me!" He did so and the pegasus took off. Sandbar then walked over to Yona.

"Are you okay?"

"Yona fine," the yak replied. "Sandbar okay?"

"Actually... I feel great. You still want to have a proper date?" Yona nodded and they carried on to Sugarcube Corner, where they got more cupcakes and they sat down at one of the tables. "This isn't as good as being at our treehouse, but it’ll do." The colt then started violently eating his snack, startling Yona.

"Uh... Sandbar."

He looked up with his face covered in crumbs and frosting. "What?"

"You said you not acting like yourself. Sandbar right."

The colt licked the crumbs and frosting off his face. "I only had a bowl of cereal. That's all I had since breakfast. I'm going to see if I can get anything else." He walked back to the counter, leaving a worried and confused yak to eat her cupcake.

After leaving Sugarcube Corner, the two went somewhere else for lunch. "Yona think it'll be good to have lunch away from school." They were walking past the Café Hay where they found Rarity waiting at one of the tables.

"Sandbar," the unicorn gasped. "You're better already?"

"Yona and friends surprised too," the yak replied.

"Same here," Sandbar added. "I don't know how, but my leg's just healed up."

"Then... Congratulations," Rarity said. She then showed them a small box beside her. "I was waiting to show you this Monday, but considering what happened, I though I'd give them to you early." Rarity opened the box to show a purple and pink jacket with the School of Friendship's emblem on the left shoulder.

"What's that?"

"Since this is your third year at the school, I thought you and your friends would enjoy having special jackets. Try it on."

He did so, and the jacket felt pretty snug. "It's so warm."

"I'm glad you like it. Would you take it over to the school when you have the chance?"

"Sure, we're just going to stop by the Hay Burger." The colt picked up the box and walked off with the yak following behind. After they got to the Hay Burger and made their order, Sandbar imminently got impatient. "Where is it?"

"Order was made three minutes ago," Yona reminded.

"But I'm hungry. What's taking them so long."

"There are other ponies too." She pointed to the line of ponies waiting to take their order.

"I don't know what's with me. Maybe it's because I'm still mad at Smolder."

"Sandbar need to apologize."

"You're right. I just don't know why I got so angry."

"Maybe Sandbar still sore."

"Maybe."

"Order up," cried the stallion behind the counter. "Number two-o-nine."

"Sweet, that's our order." Sandbar raced up to get their food and then placed it on the table. Yona started munching away at her burger, Sandbar wolfed down his meal, sending crumbs all over the table and onto the floor. Many other ponies stared at him and Yona could feel the awkwardness rising.

The yak stomped on the table to get her boyfriend's attention. He saw what he was doing and suddenly felt guilty. "Let's pay and go."

"Agreed." Sandbar left some bits on the table and he and Yona ran off. The yak was still eating her hay burger as they slowed down.

"I have no idea what came over me." He looked down to see his new jacket stained, which he groaned in annoyance.

"Ocellus trying to find out more about timberwolves. Maybe she back at school now." She finished off her burger and raced off towards school. It didn't take long for Sandbar to catch up with her. In fact, he ran ahead of her, so much that the yak struggled to keep up.

When they got back to school, the colt had to wait for the yak to catch up. Yona was out of breath and sweating. "Are you okay?"

"Just... Need water." They slowly walked back inside to find Smolder and some griffons walking the opposite way.

"Hey, Yona," the dragoness said. Her expression fell when she saw the colt. "Sandbar."

"Listen, Smolder..."

"If you want to be a jerk again, go ahead."

"No, look, I'm sorry for my behavior earlier." The dragoness was finding this hard to believe. "I wasn't myself earlier today. I don't know what's with me today."

"Uh-huh." She walked off before he could say anything else.

"Hey, I'm trying to apologize."

"I don't think she wants it," a griffon said. She flew away with the others, leaving a frustrated colt and tired yak.

"Why won't she accept it?"

"Maybe try again later," Yona suggested. "Right now, Yona needs water." After getting a drink from the water fountain, they found Gallus and Silverstream.

"So, how's your day been going?"

"Pretty good," Silverstream replied. "I've started making an idea for my Nightmare Night costume."

"You know that isn't for a few more weeks," Gallus stated.

"I know. I'm just getting prepar... Hold on, where'd you get that jacket?"

"This?" Sandbar responded, "Professor Rarity made it. In fact, she made some for you too." He opened the box and Gallus took out another jacket and put it on.

"Nice," he commented. Silverstream looked in the box as well but only found one more jacket.

"She did say they weren't finished."

"Oh, so that's why this one doesn't have holes for my wings," Silverstream commented. She was right. If she were to put this jacket on, her wings would be covered up.

"Again, not finished." The hippogriff handed the jacket over to Yona, but it was too small for her.

"Yona going to tear jacket if she put it on," the yak said.

"Looks like it," Gallus said.

"I wonder if Smolder would this," Silverstream pondered.

"I don't think she would want anything from me," Sandbar said.

"Why not?"

"Smolder still angry at Sandbar," Yona explained.

"It doesn't help that I stained my jacket," Sandbar added, "Half an hour after I got it." He let out a frustrated sigh, which made Gallus and Silverstream gag.

"What did you eat?" Gallus asked covering his beak.

"What are you talking about?"

"It smells like there's a skunk in your throat," Silverstream answered, mimicking Gallus's action.

"I'm going to show this thing off," the griffon announced. "Let me know when you brush your teeth." He started walking off before he looked back. "Do it." The griffon and hippogriff walked off, wanting to get away from their friend's bad breath.

"Does it really stink that bad?" Sandbar asked. He looked at Yona, who had the same reaction.

"Sandbar need to brush," she said.

"Alright." He walked away to the washroom as Yona stayed behind and heard something squeaky. She walked to where she heard it and found a minotaur wearing an army helmet pulling a cart loading with some crates. It saw the yak and changed its form to show it was Ocellus.

"What Ocellus doing with cart and crates?"

"Granny Smith said these would help in case of a timberwolf attack," Ocellus said flatly. "Did you know that their eyes give a glow so they never have to worry about being in pitch-black darkness? I do now."

"What in crates?" The changeling flew up to one of the crates and show some tools for cutting wood, saws, axes, and even a sickle. "Why granny pony have these?"

"I don't think we should question that. I stopped to make things go faster. I really don't think that we should have these."

"Agreed."

---

Later that evening, Ocellus met up with all her friends, except for Sandbar, who he and Yona were missing from the group. "So, that's all you know about timberwolves?" Smolder asked.

"Yeah," the changeling replied. "Have you seen Sandbar?"

"We haven't seen him since he went to brush his teeth," Silverstream replied.

"He's been gone all day?"

"No," Gallus stated. "Since one o'clock. To quote Silver, 'It smelt like he swallowed a skunk.'"

"It's not that bad," a voice replied. They looked over to see Sandbar and Yona walk towards them.

"Oh, we were just talking about you," Silverstream said.

"And the fact I don't want to see a certain dragon right now?"

"Okay, fine," Smolder said. "I'll see if Moss wants to find some gems." She stood up and started walking off, but Silverstream stopped her. "Hey, he didn't want my apology, so I'm not accepting his."

"Just stay here and say sorry to each other."

"Nope." Smolder tried to walk off, but her friends held on tight. "Silver, let go of me."

"Not until you and Sandbar apologize."

"Smolder just apologize," Yona said. "Not make hard than it is." Sandbar was about to leave too, but the yak stepped on his tail. She gave him a look that meant 'no' wasn't going to be an answer.

"Alright, fine," the colt groaned. He and Smolder looked at each other.

"Sorry," the pony and dragon said to each other, though not with much passion.

"There. Was that so hard?" Gallus asked.

"I'm just going to get something to eat," Sandbar replied. He and Yona walked off for and returned with their meals. Yona had a simple meal, but Sandbar had his food stack up so high, it was almost as tall as a yak.

"There's no way you can eat all that," Ocellus said. "Maybe if you..." She didn't have the chance to finish as her friend just dug in. Food scraps went flying, some of which landing on some of the students. The yak tapped on her boyfriend's shoulder, which thankfully made him stop.

"Seriously?" Smolder asked.

"I knew you were hungry, but that's just crazy," Silverstream said.

"I can't help it," the colt protested.

"Yona don't think Sandbar is okay," Yona said.

"I feel fine! Look, I'm full now and I'm just going to my dorm." He stormed off in a huff, leaving his friends to clean up his mess.

"Okay, we need to figure out what's going on," Ocellus said, grabbing some napkins.

"We're dealing with weirdness to often," Gallus said.

"Yeah," the group agreed.

Sandbar walked into his dorm room and slammed the dorm behind him. He let out a roar of anger. "What is wrong with me?" he cried. "I mean, giving that bully he deserved felt good, but why can't I control my appetite?" When the clouds in the sky moved to show the moon. Suddenly, Sandbar felt a bit of pain all over his body. "Oh gosh... What's... GAH!"

His hooves felt like they were getting stabbed by splinters, hundreds of them. He looked down and gasped to see three claws forcing themselves out of each hoof. Sandbar brought them up to his face to see they were made of wood, and it wasn't just his forelegs that had this, they were also coming out of his hind legs.

Sandbar got hit by another wave of pain. He collapsed onto the floor as he felt like his bones were being stretched. There was a loud crack, it sounded and felt like it was from his bones. He screamed in agony as he heard more snapping. As it kept going, the snapping started to sound it was coming from wood.

His skin was on fire. Sandbar saw his skin was actually splitting to show several pieces of wood were starting to show. Bits of his fur was now on the wood, making it look like it had moss on it. He started growing in height, making his jacket start to rip apart.

More parts of Sandbar's body started to show pieces of wood. His tail started getting pushed apart to make room for his new wooden tail. He was now hunched over as a majority of his body was now of wood, except for his head. Sandbar cried calling out for help, but he just kept making growls and even some barks. He let out one more cry of pain as his ears took the shape of twigs. His muzzle stretched out as his teeth now looked like wooden spikes. He covered his eyes as his eyebrows turned into leaves. When he opened his eyes again, they were hollow and were replaced with a green glow.

In the hall, the colt's friends were walking towards his dorm. "I think it'll take him more than three minutes to calm down," Ocellus declared.

"He's normally a calm pony," Silverstream replied.

"Not right now he is," Smolder declared.

"Yona don't want friends to fight," Yona spoke. "Just let Sandbar talk and finish problem."

"Yeah, let's get this over with," Gallus said. The griffon opened the door to the dorm room. "Hey, Sandbar if you're not in a talkative... Mood?" The griffon was scared and slammed the door shut.

"Why Gallus slam door?" The yak got her answer as the door was broken down by the new timberwolf. Each creature was now scared as the wooden beast growled. It slowly stomped towards Smolder, who stumbled backward. The wolf toward over and looked the dragoness in the eye. Smolder was hyperventilating now. The beast roared at her before storming off down the hall and out of the school.

"Where did that come from?" Gallus asked.

"I think the bigger question is, "Where's Sandbar?'" Ocellus asked. They looked in the room to see the furniture and the floor was scratched up. Not to mention some drops of blood on the floor. "You don't think that..."

"That thing ate him?" Smolder finished. The group went silent.

"No," Yona denied.

"If he was eaten, there would be a lot more blood," Gallus answered. He was given several glares, especially from Yona. "Not helping, got it."

"Well, we can't just let that thing run wild," Silverstream said.

"But... The supplies Granny Smith gave me are for trapping timberwolves," Ocellus said, "Not for hunting down."

"What about axes and saws?" Yona asked.

"Um..."

"Ocellus, show us where you put those supplies."

Downtown, Sandbar raced down the street. He stopped and sniffed. Something was nearby. A lost bunny was looking around. The predator pounced at it. Before the prey could react, it was already in the jaws of the wooden beast. With a loud crunch, the rabbit was swallowed up, but the beast was still hungry.

It raced around looking for more food. Some squirrels were looking for some nuts, but instead, they would soon find themselves as another snack for the timberwolf.

The five students walked around carrying the tools Ocellus got from the old pony. "I don't know why she would have all these," Gallus said, "And that concerns me."

"There's a timberwolf on the loose," Smolder said. "An old lady is the least of our problems."

"Guys look," Silverstream cried. There was a rabbit ear on the ground, along with some droplets of blood.

"We must be getting close," Ocellus commented. She gulped as she and her friends carried on.

Yona was shivering at the thought of what the wolf would do to them. "Okay, this is something I'm curious about," Gallus said. "Why didn't that thing attack Smolder when it had the chance."

"That's a good question," Smolder responded. "I mean, when they sniffed me they tried biting me."

"We could just stay in the air and away from the wolf," Silverstream suggested. "Unless they can fly. Can they fly?"

"No," Ocellus replied. Just then they heard a growl. "I think we're close. Silver, help me lift Yona up."

"Why are we facing that thing?" Gallus asked.

"Smolder's a lot tougher than us." The changeling and hippogriff lived the yak into the air, but the dragon and griffon weren't done.

"You're not going to do this without us," Smolder stated.

"Yona can't face timberwolf," Yona replied.

"Right," Ocellus said. Then they heard some screeching. They looked down and saw the timberwolf having another meal.

"I really wish I didn't see that," Silverstream said. The others agreed.

"Hold on," Gallus said. He pointed to the torn jacket on the timberwolf. "That's Sandbar jacket."

"But... How could that be?" Ocellus asked. The five stood silent.

"You don't think...?" Silverstream asked.

"There's no way."

"It would explain how the timberwolf got in our room," Gallus said. The windows weren't broken and you saw it knock down the door."

"It... It makes no sense. I mean it's just..." Then Ocellus saw the wolf climb up to the rooftops. "What is it doing?" Her answer came when the wolf pounced at them. Smolder was tackled to the ground as the wolf growled at her.

"He... Hey. Buddy," the dragoness said nervously. "Sorry about being mean to you. Just... Don't eat me." The timberwolf just stared at her for a minute before the others landed behind him.

"Sandbar, is that you?" Ocellus asked. The wooden beast looked back at his friends. He suddenly took off before Yona gave chase.

"Yona, wait," Silverstream cried. They gave chase as some ponies looked out to see the timberwolf running through the streets. They quickly barricaded their homes, hoping that it wouldn't get inside. Ocellus saw some shovels leaning on a wall and got an idea.

"Guys, wait a minute," she cried. Yona didn't hear her and kept chasing after Sandbar.

Sandbar looked around and saw some birds in a nest. He tried climbing up the tree to fill himself up. Yona could see what he was doing. "Sandbar, stop!" she ordered. "Birds not hurting any creature."

The timberwolf glared at the yak, who was regretting her decision. She started whimpering as the wolf walked towards her. Suddenly, some stones were pelted at the wolf. "Hey, timber tooth," Gallus cried. He threw more stones, making the wolf angry. "Catch me if you can."

Once the timberwolf charge at him, the griffon took off. Gallus struggled to stay ahead as Sandbar was on his tail. When the wolf pounced at him, he missed and fell into a freshly dug hole made by the girls. "It worked," Ocellus cheered.

"How friends dig hole so fast?" Yona asked as she caught up. Ocellus just transformed into a giant mole then back into a changeling. "Right."

The group looked down in the hole of their transformed friend. "I'm still confused about how this happened," Silverstream admitted.

"We've faced weird crud before," Gallus said. "I'm pretty sure that'll we'll figure this out."

"This definitely explains why he's been acting like a jerk," Smolder said. She looked at Yona, who looked really upset. "We'll figure this out."

"But... But that..." Yona was choking up on her words as she looked at the timberwolf trying to escape. "That not Sandbar."

"I'm sure he's in there somewhere," Silverstream said. "We'll get him out. Probably not the hole."

"...What friends do now?"

"I think we should just back to the school," Ocellus said.

"And what if Sandbar escapes?" Gallus asked.

"Trust me, he won't." The group set off, but Yona didn't move from her spot.

"You coming?" Smolder asked.

"...Yona will catch up," the yak replied.

"Come on," Ocellus said. "I think she wants to be alone." The four walked off as Yona looked at the monster that was her boyfriend.