A stray wind whistled by my ear, its sober, chilling howl seemingly echoing through my skull, causing my ears to twitch absentmindedly. My breaths were strained and, in contrast to my environment, warm. There was a listlessness gliding through the area like a resonant echo of a bell.

I felt quite dreary of that, actually.

I opened my eyes, my vision still lucidly blurry, as well with my mind--my gestalt thoughts were merging into one, a feeling of hopeless dreariness filling within my body.

"I'm-" I coughed, my throat felt parched and dry. My voice raspy and harsh. "I'm still alive? After that fall? I find that dubiously doubtful... Nonetheless... I'm glad."

Cycling my eyes through the vicinity, I struggled through the blotting miasma seemingly layering over my pupils. Nonetheless, I could see some through the wispy mist of my vision.

It was quite dark. Light seemed to be quite scarce in this place as the lighting seemed to be next to void. I seemed to be within some sort of cave. "Ugh. I'm not really much of a fan of caves," I exhaled a breath as I muttered, cradling my head upon my front limbs.

I craned my neck as I idly nestled my head on my folded front legs. A cascade of drowsiness swept by my mind, a yawn escaping my chapped lips. Disregarding my own weariness, I persisted on scouting the area.

Just a few feet away from me, there were discernible pillars of black granite circumjacent to me. Beyond these pillars seemed to be rubble and dark stone merged together, forming coarse, brittle walls. In the midst of the black walls, there was a just ahead of me--the entrance if I had to guess.

Directly below me, I seemed to be reclining upon... a menagerie of green materials--I can't really make heads or tails out of them since everything is nothing more than a blur right now.

Still, I couldn't perceive much as my sight was still recovering. Everything within my view was a blurred mess.

I coiled around myself, shrinking somewhat as my tails wrapped around my body. The bristly feeling of my tails brushed against me as their warmth pervaded through my skin. I felt like purring right there.

"Hmm." I readjusted my position a bit, loosening myself as I turned. "Being a fox has its perks," I spoke as I caressed myself with my fluffy, warm tails.

As I shifted around whatever I slept upon, I felt the somewhat silky, tough exterior of plant flora below me. I arched my eyebrow as I felt my tails through the vining exterior, feeling myriad leafy objects. "Oof. Am I reclining on a mattress of foliage, or something?"

I softly blinked, my vision returning into a void of darkness for the span of a glint. I flared them open once more, this time, clarity began to return to both my mind and sight. I grinned as I felt my vision normalizing again, the colors returning to the things within my view.

Everything was becoming less of a blur, and more detailed and vivid. The nausea within my head as wells began to wane, evanescing; I finally felt an iota of relief for once.

"Oh," I heard a rather lean, soft, but masculine voice coming just from the entrance of this cave, "I see that you're awake."

Without much thought, I began to respond, "Yeah. It seems so-" I turned my head forwards to the origin of the voice, as I did, my mind began to panic at the unsightly nature of what laid before me. It was a wolf--but not a single piece of flesh nor fur was apparent on him.

Instead, he donned a coat of wood, his entire body seemingly made from trees. Creases of lumber lined up on him, appearing somewhat like a carapace of lumber. His tail was prickly with spines of wood protruding out of it, complimented with loosely-suspended leaves lining up along it.

His eyes- his eyes were afire with a green light. His collar was pervasive with leaves, a few fruits suspended by a stem hanging from his neck- admittedly, that was somewhat cool.

Am in the presence of a demon, or some sort?! Shriveling back, I bolted up, taking a flourishing dive back as I brought up a stance. 'Wait- I myself am considered a supernatural being... Still, at the very least, I look hundredfold more appealing than whatever this thing is.'

"If you're styling me a meal, I'm afraid that I'll be more trouble than a few calories' worth." I furrowed my brows, sending him a menacing visage.

His eye twitched. Suddenly, without much of a warning, he laughed. Nodding at the comedy that I've inadvertently instilled within him, he began making his way towards me, taking a few, slow strides at my direction.

The air around me began to boil, my boiling blood raging and coursing through my system as I stood upright, not faltering at the advancement of this wolf.

He chuckled once more, stifling his mouth with his paw. I'm surprised genuinely that this is his reaction to my volatile response. I shot him a confused look as the air around me began to sizzle down, cooling off once more as my tenacity was substituted with perplexity.

Regaining his cool, he smiled at me. "Forgive me for the abrupt, unwarranted laughter, but I just find this better than a jester's act. Ponies and other beings alike, they all have such amusing reactions towards me. But, anyways," he paused, taking his eyes towards mine, "please do relax. I have not a single intention on eating you."

His smile did not betray his words. Instead of malice, I could perceive some tender, leaned-back feeling to his mien.

I lowered my tension, my tails lowering themselves. "That so?" I questioned him with a raised eyebrow. "You look like you eat infants- no offense, of course."

He deadpanned as I spoke that, his smile crumbling down to a mild scowl. "Now that's a bit of a

I fidgeted a bit, my tongue stilled by both uncertainty and confusion. The faint noises of the ambiance were the only sounds that could be heard; a silence pervaded between this wolf and I, only the hushed torrents of the winds accompanied by the hymns of the birds could be heard.

"I know, I know." The peculiar wooden entity sighed in agitation. "It's quite uncommon to find an actual civilized timberwolf. I am not most timberwolves, however!"

"Timberwolves... what sort of thing are those again?" I squinted, flipping through my recollection like a book; aye, the name 'timberwolf' does ring a few knells here and there in my memory.

"Hmm..." Delving deeper into my memory, I intensified my focused look, my eyes closed even harder as I bit my lip. I sighed out in disappointment as I found nothing but blankness.

"Forgive me of my naivety, but never, in the entirety of my lifetime, which doesn't even exceed a day, I've never actually caught a glance of a timberwolf. I've only heard of them from the living folk during the times where I did not breathe nor think."

"Well, more or less, timberwolves are birthed from trees due to latent magic," he answered concisely.

He glanced at me peculiarly, his head tilted and his mouth half-opened as his eyes held confusion within them. "Sorry. I don't quite get that 'lifetime' part. You mentioned that you only lived not even more than a day?"

I nodded as I clutched upon my pendant. Dragging it off my neck, my fur became petrified as with my body, my original form once more appearing as the pendant swung around in the air, its lace held by my paw.

"I'm... a youkai," I stated, gesturing at my stone body.

"A youkai..." he thought for a bit, his eyes closed. "Ah. Right. Those of legends. Admittedly, you're not the first one I've encountered. I'm going to presume you're the ones who take the form of inanimate objects?"

I nodded as I slid the pendant back onto my neck. The pendant shone once more, obscuring me with a blinding veil of light. As the veil died down, my more 'lively' form was apparent on me once more.

He looked at me off, but not stunned--perhaps he'd seen many sorts of magic by now to not be fazed by the transformation I just demonstrated. "Not the first one you've encountered, hm? Well, certainly," I waved my paws around nonchalantly, "you must be very experienced then."

"Indeed." He nodded, dusting himself off as if to stroke his vanity. "My existence dates further back than the recollection of all living things." The peculiar timber wolf hummed ponderously as he closed his eyes, tilting his head somewhat to the side. "Well, perhaps the princesses are an exception."

"Hm. Just how old are you then?" I questioned, positioning myself to a sitting stance. "You don't seem to be that ancient."

"Don't let the aesthetics deceive you," he flaunted his figure as he stretched back. Admittedly, he's got quite a toned spine, and his head didn't seem to herald any age-based tarnishes. Then again, I can't really tell because this is the first time I've seen a timberwolf, "I'm little over than a thousand years old."

"Pft." I shook my head as I shrugged my paws. "You expecting that to fool me? I'm new to this whole life deal, but I'm not stupid." I shot him a glance that harbored my resolve.

He waved a paw at me. "I'm from an olive tree. And as you may know, olive trees are quite resilient and durable." He gestured at the piece of olive fruit hanging by his leafy neck.

"Oh," I nodded slightly, "I guess that makes sense."

"Though, I'm not older than the princesses-"

I cut him off as I spoke out swiftly, "I'm sorry, but who are these 'princesses' again?"

"Well, for someone who's new to life, I guess I can elaborate." He lowered himself down as he coughed out, clearing himself as he took a seat upon the cave's barren, earthen floor. "The two royal princesses, Celestia and Luna, are quite the figures of Equestria. They are not only a thousand years old, they are quite benevolent and have thus retained their rule- or at least, Celestia did. Luna only so recently came back from the moon."

I paused, my jaw slackened as I glared at him in criticism. "From the moon?" I stopped once more, glaring aimlessly as I tried to process whatever it is that this peculiar wolf is trying to inform me. "Why would she be on the moon?"

He shrugged casually. "Celestia's form of punishment for her mutinous sibling--a thousand years on the moon."

My eyes widened at that thought. "A thousand years incarcerated? On the moon no less?" I shook my head. "That's a bit extreme, don't you think?"

He shrugged. "I'm not much of a historian despite my age, so I can't really give you precise details."

"Alright..." I nodded. "Well, go on with your tale then."

"Right." He took up a moderate breath from the wind. "Well, after Luna returned after a thousand years or so, another princess actually got coronated--Twilight Sparkle."

I sighed, throwing him off a bit. "I can never quite grasp the concept of pony names."

"I as well."

"Well, that's enough information on the princesses," I glanced at him a bit. "Huh. While we're on the topic of names, what's yours?"

"Mine?" He grimaced lightly, as if pained as he retracted back a bit, his posture shrinking. "Well, I don't really have one."

"No worries; I have a suitable one for you."

He glanced at me, unsure, as his eyes held a spark of both curiosity and uncertainty. "Really, now?"

"Yes." I nodded. "I'm going to refer to you as 'Olive' from now on."

His personality darkened as his face fell blank. "Really? 'Olive'?"

I nodded once more without much regard. "Well, Olive," I took myself up from the ground, beginning to pace towards the exit of this cave, "I really do wish to chat and such, but I'm probably still hunted by cloak-clad ponies that are probably still around here, so I'll go."

"Go?" He stood as well, taking a few steps towards me. "Do you even know where you're going."

I stared at him, blinking every so often, my mind not bearing any fruit of any idea where I should exactly 'go' to. My face contorted bitterly as I realized that I don't have a set destination on where I should go. "Well, I don't really have anywhere in mind. But I guess I'll just go where I feel like it."

"It's much more easy to get lost than you'd think, fox." He walked past me, leaning over the frame of the exit. "Since you've kept me company for some while, and believe me, nopony ever wants to be around a timberwolf, I'll guide you to the nearest city- free of charge."

I cocked my head a bit as I began walking towards the exit with him. "And what would that city be, exactly?"

"Canterlot," he firmly answered as we began walking out of the cave, the light of the morning sun almost seemingly instantaneously hitting us as the fresh breeze of the forest pervaded around this place. "It's a fairly boisterous place. Lots of ponies. I don't think I can go further than its outskirts, though, thanks to my form. So at that point, we'll part ways."

I glanced around the terrain, noticing the forest's changes since when I was last here. I swerved my body in a circular motion, spinning arounf lightly as I inspected the place. Wet vines coiling around trees went as far as my vision could perceive.

The ground was still an ashen, but healthy, black. Soil and dirt were heaved upwards as crevices in the ground still contained shallow pools of water.

Complimenting this, there were several shrubbery and plants, their emerald leaves glistening against the sunlight as drops of water from last night's squall clinging onto them. The sun embellished the sky in a brazened fashion, not a single cloud contesting its brilliance.

I craned my neck upwards, noticing the large rock-like formation ahead of me. The cliff where I fell from was just ahead of me, its tip, as it should be, has broken off and has been replaced with a jagged end, sporting embedded, shrapnel of stone within its stretch.

I glanced below it, noticing a flowing river directly below it. This body of water was rather vast, its current calm and serene. It was as still as it was peaceful.

"Oh." I wondered. "That's how I didn't die of the impact."

"Yeah..." Olive chuckled a bit beside me. "Moment I saw you dive into there, I just had to fish you out without any equipment. Needless to say, you were quite heavy."

"Calling me heavy, eh?" I growled, feigning ire, nonetheless, a smile etched upon my face.

Author's Notes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPQMbGga42U

Chapter entitled after one of the musical tracks of the greatest visual novel I've ever had the chance of reading. ^^