Applejack stood where she was, panting hard form the extortion of the fight she had with the Doragontora. Her golden blonde mane was covered in all manners of dirt, sweat and most certainly blood. Be it the draconic cat’s blood or her own blood, she did not know. All she did know was that she was exhausted, more physically then mentally. Her fire boots clung to her legs, as if protecting them from the grime that covered the rest of her body. despite feeling like passing out, it was not enough to wipe the smile from her face. The smile that was as every bit as victorious as her fight had been, albeit barely.

“Heh, looks like he wasn’t able to take the heat from this apple.” Applejack said to herself as her legs finally gave out. With an exhausted sigh, she fell to her haunches as her hat fell over her eyes. “Oh well, at least he ain’t gonna mess with us no more.”

“Applejack!” Fluttershy shouted, her frantic voice pulling the farmer out of her dazed state like a fish out of water. “Are you alright?!”

Applejack smiled weakly at the older mare, trying her best to look as genuine as possible. “Y-yeah…A-Ah’m doin’ alright sugarcube. Ah’m jus’ really burnt out right now. As a matter of a fact, a feel like Ah’ve had th’ applesauce squeezed outta me fer Applesauce Season.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you use that much magic. Even if it is from normal sources like boots.” Twilight said somewhat dryly, eyeing the burnt grass around Applejack. “I have to admit Applejack; those are some pretty powerful boots that you have there. I didn’t think that they had that much power in them.”

“Well, that’s cause these ain’t normal boots.” The tangerine farmer emphasized, staggering over to where the rest of the group was. “These boots were specialized by mah family an’ infused with our magic as to whereas we can use any o’ th’ elements that we’re connected to. Ya know, like lightnin’, fire, wind, an’ earth, that type o’ magic an’ all o’ that. These fire tattoos on mah boots show that they’re specifically made fer usin' fire, which is why Ah didn’t bring out any lightnin’, fire, or wind.”

“So, if your boots have any symbols like earth, fire, lighting or wind, you’ll be able to use those elements, but not all at the same time?” Twilight asked, looking marveled. At Applejack’s light nod, the lavender unicorn looked back down at the boots with fascinated wonder and interest. “Amazing…I never knew boots like that existed. I’ll have to see if Granny Smith will let me borrow some pairs so I can study the full extent of their powers.”

In all honesty, Twilight had never really gotten the opportunity to study any magical artifacts outside of the ones she owned. All of the magic related items she obtained where either ones that she got on her birthday or were a present from Queen Celestia and her family. The last present involving sorcery was a staff that Celestia herself had told her that she had found in a cave in the eastern side of the of Equestria. In a network of caves that nestled in the center of Neighara Falls, the Crystal Mountains and Manehatten. The last she had saw of that staff was when somepony had broken into her home and stolen the staff while she was asleep around three years ago. Twilight had held onto any remaining artifacts she had or was gifted, all while helping others take precautions to keep theirs safe as well. Regardless of whether or not the pony obtaining them was a unicorn. Now that she was learning about the Sweet Apple Titan Family’s fire boots, she found herself adding them to her list. The list of things needed to be studied and protected by hooves that were unworthy of having them.

“I wouldn’t get any ideas if I were you Twilight.” Goku said, noticing the look in Twilight’s eyes. “Those boots aren’t made so that just anypony can wear them and use them you know. If you’re an earth pony, a member of the Apple Family, and have an incredible amount of magic, endurance, and control over your magic…using those boots is going to leave you with quite the magic drain. That, and it’ll cause a behemoth of unnecessary destruction. I learned that lesson the hard way.”

“Is it because you’re a thestral?” Twilight asked, looking at Goku’s bat wings. “And your clan has a specific amount more magic and strength than us regular ponies do? Especially since you come from two clans instead of one?”

“Eeyup.” Goku nodded in a perfect imitation of Big Macintosh, blowing at her mane. “It’d be best of you don’t even try to wear them. Let alone even experiment on them. Trust me, it will not end well for you, like it did with me.”

“Wow AJ! That was totally awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed grinning widely. “You sure did show that damn furball who was boss!”

“Dashie’s right Jackie!” Pinkie nodded. “That was one really wild party that you and that kitty had there! I mean wow, that was just crazy!”

“Heheh, yeah…it sure was.” Applejack chuckled, all but collapsing onto the ground. After a few moments of trying to catch her breath, she looked up at Fluttershy. “Hey Flutters…ya mind if Ah squeeze into this here lil’ cocoon or whatever ya call it?”

“Tenshi Butterfly Cocoon.” Fluttershy corrected patiently. “As for if you can get in, feel free to. Though, you may want to take off your boots before you do, okay? You said before, your boots contain a considerable amount of magic, and I don’t want it to clash with that of my healing magic. If it does…” She winced as she trailed off. “...well, I think you can imagine what will happen.”

“Yeah, good idea.” Applejack said, reaching down and pulling off her boots with her teeth. “Ya mind if Ah set them down next t’ ya while ya patch me up?”

“Sure, I’ll keep them nice and secure.” Fluttershy replied sweetly. “Now, go on and squeeze in there with the others. I’ll have you all fixed up soon.”

Applejack nodded, and without another word, she slowly slipped through the healing cocoon encasing Rainbow and Zephyr. She gave a sigh of relief as she felt the warmth of the healing magic spread throughout her body, her wounds included. The farmer felt herself beginning to dose off, and would’ve fell onto the grass, had it not been for Zephyr catching her at the last moment.

“Whoa there, Applejack!” He said, gently setting the tangerine mare down. The stallion watched as her eyes became half-lidded, as if she was about to go to sleep. “Jeez, just how exhausted are you?”

“Apparently enough where Ah need y’all actin all chivalrous t’ me like Ah can’t set mahself down.” Came Applejack’s dry reply, resting her head in Zephyr’s forelegs. “Still, it feels nice to finally be able to take a breather every now an’ again. Especially after all th’ bullshit we’ve been goin’ through since we’ve came inside o’ this damn forest.”

“Can’t disagree with you on that.” Goku sighed. “Still, the Shinomōkin and Doragontora aren’t the last animals that we’re going to be facing in this forest. Not from all that Fluttershy told us about these beasts, and the power that they wield. Whether we like it or not, we’re gonna be fighting until we drop, repeatedly.”

“Oh joy.” Rarity groaned, draping a leg over her forehead. “What a divine adventure that will be.”

“Well, we can worry about that later girls.” Twilight said as she set herself next to a nearby tree. “Let’s just focus on getting our wounds healed by Fluttershy. After that, we can start backtracking on the trail that we were on before we were attacked by the Shinomōkin. Goku has an adequately sharp sense of smell. So, I’m positive she can retrace our steps while I find where we had last walked.”

The tan thestral looked over at the lavender Unicorn. “You mean where I had last dragged all of you out of an ice-cold river and pulled you onto land?”

“Oh, yeah.” Twilight said sheepishly. “Sorry Goku.”

“Um, Twilight, I had to burst that egghead of a bubble of yours…” Rainbow Dash murmured. “But I think that’s going to be nearly impossible. I mean, you said it yourself! Your map and all of our saddlebags were destroyed by that bird! So, there’s no way that we can even try to go back to where we were trekking! Even with Goku’s super strong smell!”

Right as those words were said, a soft giggle emitted from inside Fluttershy’s Healing Butterfly Cocoon. They all turned to see Pinkie Pie giggling her head off, holding her stomach as she attempted to keep herself upright.

“Um Pinkie…” Fluttershy said softly, a little taken aback. “Why’re you laughing?”

“Heeheehee~! I’m sorry Fluttershy, it’s just that…!” Pinkie began, trying to get herself under control. “When Dashie said that we had lost Twilight map, I had just remembered something that I had done before we had left! I was so caught up in the fun we were having that it had completely slipped my mind!”

“Ignoring what you said about this trip being “fun”…” Rarity said, snorting. “Would you be so kind as to tell us just what it is that you had forgotten?”

“You remember when Twilight had told us way earlier that our map was burnt up?” Pinkie Pie asked, looking at Zephyr and her friends. “Weeeeeeeell…I may have gotten a duplicate just before we had left Twilight’s library.”

“Wait what?” Zephyr asked as he sat up, his eyes widening slightly. “Are…a-are you saying that-?!”

Pinkie smiled slyly, reaching into her mane with her hoof and digging around in it like she was going through a treasure chest. A couple seconds later, she pulled out a large folded paper and held it out in front of the rest of her friends. “Tadaaaa!”

Twilight gasped, and reached out towards Pinkie, all but ripping the large paper out of her grasp and opening with her magic. After skimming over it for a few moments, she pulled it away and slowly looked over at Pinkie.

“This is…this is the map!” She exclaimed, making everypony else gasp. “P-Pinkie Pie…where did you get this?!”

“Uh, didn’t you hear what I said Twilight?” Pinkie asked, frowning slightly. “I said that I had grabbed an extra map before I we had left your library.”

“B-b-b-but, but, but…how can that be?!” Rarity asked, stumbling over her words. “W-we didn’t see any of you getting anything out of the drawers in the library!”

Goku shook her head as she looked at Rarity with half-lidded eyes. She thought that Rarity would have learned by now after knowing Pinkie Pie as a foal. The one thing that everypony in Ponyville followed more than any rule or law there. Never question what Lycan D. Pinkie Pie Sōzōookami did…ever.

Pinkie rolled her eyes. “That’s because you guys weren’t looking to where I was. After Spike had given Twilight the first map, I had gotten another one while Spike was giving Twilight the first one. I had a feeling that we may lose the first one in some way. Som I had decided to make sure that we’d come a little extra prepared.”

“Pinkie Pie…” Rainbow Dash said slowly. “…that has probably got to be one of the smartest things that you have ever done! You very may well have saved us trying to search all around this damn forest for that old castle!”

“For one, I’m going to have to agree with Dash on this one Pinkie. that was quite the quick thinking that you had done there.” Rarity said, smiling approvingly at the pink pony. It faded away in a few moments later, a small frown coming to her face. “Although, I do wish that you had asked Twilight if you could take an extra map with us before we left. As much as we appreciate you making sure that we were extra prepared, you still could’ve suggested that we bring another map.”

Pinkie Pie’s own smile fell, a guilty look coming to her face. “Yeah, that was probably the smarter option too. I’m sorry Twilight-woah!”

“Oh, thank you thank you thank you Pinkie Pie!” The lavender unicorn exclaimed, tackling Pinkie in a tight hug. “You have no idea how relieve you’ve made me right now! You are a life saver!”

“Life saver?” Pinkie Pie repeated, looking half amused and half confused. “Um, I didn’t really save anypony like Zephyr did to Fluttershy Twilight. I just helped in the fight and brought an extra map along in case we lost the first one.”

“It’s a gif, Pinkie Pie.” Applejack explained. “What Twilight means is that yer savin’ her life by tellin’ her important information.”

“Oooooh I see!” Pinkie giggled as Twilight got off of her. “That makes a lot more sense!”

“Oh Pinkie, you’re such a silly girl you.” Fluttershy said, shaking her head. “So silly indeed…”

“Hey Fluttershy?” Zephyr asked. “I don’t mean to sound like I’m rushing you or anything but let me ask. How long do you think it’s going to take for you to heal all our wounds?”

The veterinarian paused, taking a moment to think before replying. “Well, it has been over several minutes since Applejack’s, um, duel with the Doragontora, around the same time that I was healing all of you. Plus, Applejack had just came in, and at the rate we’re going, it may take me about ten to fifteen more minutes to finish up.” She smiled at the royal blue stallion and the rest if her friends. “Although I am a much better mood than I was before. Especially after Pinkie Pie had revealed that she had an extra map. So, I’d say that it’ll take a considerably less amount of time, maybe even faster if my mood is heightened.”

“Oh, right!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in recognition. “Your magic is powered by the emotions that you’re feeling!”

“Yes, that’s right.” Fluttershy nodded with a smile. “And the more positive my feelings are, the stronger my healing magic becomes.”

“Is that so?” Pinkie Pie asked, her tone as sly as her smile. “In that case, would you be so kind as to allow me to do that honors of making your positive feelings go sky high, Fluttershy?”

“Oh boy…” Goku murmured dryly. “…this should be good.”

Fluttershy giggled, her positive emotions growing even stronger, causing the healing magic she was using to grow in power as well. As evidenced by the soft golden pink glow it was producing from its spot on the ground. With a small smile that was even slyer that Pinkie’s, if not slightly more mischievous, Fluttershy replied, “Go for it, Pinkie Pie.”

Luckily, Pinkie Pie was able to heighten Fluttershy’s mood to enough of a point where her healing magic worked quicker. The entire time she was healing them, Pinkie Pie made Fluttershy, laugh, giggle, chortle and guffaw, more so than she could amplify her her mood. Goku, Rainbow Dash, Zephyr, and others also played a part in hyping Fluttershy’s confidence and determination rise up so her healing magic could strengthen, and all their wounds could heal faster. Just as Fluttershy had hoped and clarified, her more positive emotions had speed up the process in helping the six mares and one stallion recover faster. In less the half the time that Fluttershy said that it would, all of her friends’ wounds were sealed; to the point where it didn’t look like they had gotten any in the first place.

After their recovery from the fight with the Doragontora, the girls began their backtracking back to the spot where they had last been at. Zephyr took the lead for the search, with Goku playing her part in sniffing out the tracks that they had left. Or rather, her own tracks, and the deep wet scent at the other seven had left when she had rescued them from the Shinomōkin. The rest of the girls were honestly afraid to go back to where they had gotten caught by the raptor, believing that it was going to come back to finish the job. At Fluttershy’s gentle urging however, they mustered up the courage to go back to the center of the pond that they had flown to in the chase. Even so, they all kept a lookout into the sky for the bird, Rainbow Dash especially. None of them wanting to get taken by surprise again and wanting to get payback on it for nearly getting charred.

“How’re you guys holding back up there?” Goku asked, momentarily stopping in her smelling to look over at the others. “Any of you feeling better than you were a while go?”

“Heh, we sure are G!” Rainbow Dash replied, doing loops around the air. “Fluttershy’s healing magic really did a shitload in getting rid of all those cuts and blood! I can’t remember when they started to hurt like hay when I got them from the cat!”

“That’s not the only thing that it was successful at.” Rarity added, giving a few taps of her mane as she flicked her tail. “It would appear that magic of our dear Fluttershy also plays a part in rejuvenating one’s appearances as well. My beautiful mane and tail are once again shining in their divine beauty! It’s like they were never even damaged or burnt in the first place by that dastardly beasts!”

“Same here Rares.” Applejack nodded, giving a little snort. “Ah still wanna give them varmints a good smack down fer thrashin’ us ‘round like that. They’re lucky that Ah didn’t manage to git mah hooves on ‘em. R’ else a really would’ve tanned their hides with mah boots.”

Zephyr looked over at the two mares. “If you had tried to that, they would’ve no doubt either killed you themselves or at the very least left you very mangled. As much as I understand how you didn’t like getting jumped like that, you still have to remember that these are creature that’re only doing what they’re driven to do. Like how I told you all back at the campsite. All they were doing was being what they were made to be; animals that kept the population of other animals not like them in check.”

“More like try to outshine us by getting us when we least expect it.” Rainbow Dash muttered, crossing her forehooves. “Stupid bunch of feathery scaly furry assholes.”

“What was that Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy suddenly asked in a dangerously calm tone. One that promised something bad would happen should she be given the wrong answer. “Did you say something?”

“Uh, no nothing at all!” The cyan mare quickly replied, straightening up. “Yep, not anything whatsoever!”

Pinkie Pie giggled merrily, immediately making Rainbow Dash sweat. “Oh, there’s no need to lie Dashie! You said the big birdy and kitty were only trying to outshine us instead of just being what they were!” She said, unintentionally letting Fluttershy know what the athlete had muttered. “Oh, and you said they were a bunch of feathery scaly furry a-”

“Pinkie, shut up.” Rainbow hissed, glaring daggers at the pink pony. “Not another word out of you.”

“What?” Pinkie asked innocently. “All I was saying was what you just said; that the big scary animals we faced were a bunch of feathery scaly furry a-”

“PINKIE! I said, shut the fuck up!” Rainbow Dash interrupted again, jamming a hoof into the earth pony’s mouth. She looked over at Fluttershy, her muzzle stretched out into a not so convincing fanged smile. “Heheheh, don’t listen to her Flutters. I didn’t say anything mean about those ba-, er, animals that you love so-”

“Actually Dash, I think Pinkie said just about enough of what I thought I heard.” Fluttershy calmly cut off, her expression unreadable. Despite the calmness in her face and the softness in her tone, the others could tell she was clearly not happy. “Twilight, would you be so kind as to make a mental not to have another talk with Dash, Applejack, and Rarity about what to say and what not so say about my dear animals?”

“I think I’d be more than happy to Fluttershy.” Twilight replied, her tone just a bit too sweet for Rainbow’s comfort. “I also think they all need a good lesson in understanding and not to judge based on certain creature’s actions and what they are. Wouldn’t you agree Zephyr?”

The royal blue stallion nodded, not even bothering to hide his smirk. “Eeyup.” He replied softly, ignoring the small glare that Applejack shot his way. “I think I can drill some proper discipline in them about how to respect mother nature and the ways of her children.”

Applejack snorted, kicking at one of the royal guard’s newly healed legs. “Tattletale…”

“I swear, those three.” Goku murmured to herself, shaking her head as she continued to walk ahead of the group. With a sigh, she dipped her head back down and began sniffing at the ground once more, breathing in the multiple scent of her friends that was left behind in her wake. Despite it having only been a little more than a couple of hours, the scent of the seven ponies that were left behind when she dragged them out of the water was still fresh, so she had little trouble with the tracking. There were also some burnt patches of fur that had been left, so there was that too, though Goku felt that she’d rather not take in that smell. Still, it helped her in backtracking where she had gotten herself and everypony else out of the raging river next to them.

‘Not only that, but there’s also the scent of the Shinomōkin that was left behind.’ The tan thestral thought to herself, looking into the trees. ‘From what I learned of these animals by Fluttershy, they carry rather strong scents, stronger than any other animals here in Equestria. It can carry on for a long considerable amount of time. So that’s another thing working in our factors.’ Her ears flicked about, causing her earrings to jingle as she listened out for any of the sounds of other wildlife. ‘Still, that also works against us. Since these animals have incredible senses of smell and can track things from a vast distance. Because of that, it won’t be very long before we have another one of the animals hot on our heels. Me and Twilight will have to get back on the path soon before that happens.’

“Goku?” Twilight suddenly asked, as if reading the older mare’s mind. “Are having any luck in finding where we had last, um…got dropped off at?”

“If you’re asking if I’m having luck in finding where the Shinomōkin let us fall after I had zapped him, then yes.” Goku replied. “The scent that you guys had left along with his is still strong in the air. So, it’s not that hard for me to tell where to go.” Her beautiful face then scrunched up slightly, like she was in pain. “Still, both scents mixed together makes for a very powerful combination, and it really gets you got in the nose.”

“Same here G. I can feel my eyes starting to water from taking in all of your scents at one time right now.” Zephyr said as he put a hoof to his nostrils. “Not that I’m saying you guys smell bad, but you know what I mean, don’t you?”

“Oh, don’t worry darling. We’re not offended.” Rarity said dismissively. “Believe me, I know how it feels like to have to smell more than one thing at once. Not a good thing to experience with a nose as delicate as mine, you know, with me being a proper lady an all.” She looked back at the royal blue stallion, a look of curiosity in her eyes. “Although, I am rather curious. Just what do we all smell like to you?”

Zephyr paused, taking a second to register what Rarity had said. “Um…excuse me?”

“You heard me dear, I want to know what we all smell like to you.” Rarity said, flicking her tail skirt at the stallion’s snout. “You said yourself that you can take in all of our scents all at once, so I want to know what each of us smell like from your point of view.”

“An’ why do ya wanna know that?” Applejack asked with a raised brow. “Jus’ what is it about our different scents that wanna know so much?”

“A lady can be curious about how other ponies smell can they not?” Rarity asked, winking. “I’m always sure to keep myself presentable in every way when trying to find a suitable stallion. I’m just wondering if you all do the same.”

“If that’s all you wanted to know then why not just find out yourself?” Rainbow Dash asked, rolling her eyes. “It’s not like you really need to have Zephyr do it for you.”

“A lady can be curious, can she not?” Rarity asked, raising a brow at the cyan mare. “She always wants to discover new things and see if they’re up to her standards.”

“Well Rarity, it looks like you’re going to have to wait on doing that Rarity.” Goku said before Zephyr could do anything. “Because it looks like we’ve finally reached our destination.”

Upon hearing these words, the other stopped and looked over to where Goku was looking, and froze in place upon the sight in front of them. Just across the streaming river in front of them, was a giant gape in the group of trees that they had went through while the Shinomōkin chased them. A majority of the trees were burnt and scorched, with some of the branches having fallen on top of each other, forming into a charred large pile. In the flowing stream, there were even more destroyed branches that ended up stuck at the bottom of the river, which wasn’t really that deep at all.

“Holy Shit.” Rainbow Dash breathed, taking in the shocking sight before her. “That bird really did a number on those trees didn’t he?”

“It does seem inconceivably precise.” Twilight murmured, looking into the path they had went through. “Look at all of those trees…so many of them destroyed and torn apart as if they were nothing more than twigs. I had no idea the animals of this forest contained so much power and magic.”

“Well, we are in Equestria’s most dangerous wilderness. So, it shouldn’t really be that much of a surprise.” Fluttershy said with a sigh as she too inspected the scene. “Each of the animals here are powerful and fearsome in their own way, containing abilities that make them dangerous in their own rights. The Shinomōkin and the Doragontora were only a small taste of what we’re going to be running into. At the rate we’re going, we’ll end up facing every single creature in the Everfree Forest that I told you all about. And when that happens…” Her eyes narrowed as they glowed slightly. “…there will be bloodshed.”

“Oh, trust me, I don’t doubt that.” Zephyr murmured looking over at his scared shoulder. “I can almost predictwhich animal that we’re going to be running into next.”

“Um, Fluttershy dear, are you sure that neither of those animals are going to come back and get us?” Rarity asked uneasily. “I know you told us you can let us know if its presence when you detect it but…still, it’s not going to come back, i-is it?”

Applejack sighed irritably. “Rarity, Goku had blasted a hole in that giant overgrown rooster’s stomach so we could fall into this here river, an’ Ah shot that overgrown cat into th’ other side o’ this forest. If either o’ them were comin’ back, we would’ve heard them screechin’ an’ roarin’ their heads off, bringin’ in a ragin’ storm.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie nodded. “Plus, you guys can always reply on my Pinkie Sense to help see if he’s coming back! My tail twitching means that I can sense something falling form the sky, so if that big birdy comes from the sky, my tail will let me know! Just like it did when that giant birdy nearly zapped us back on that cliff edge!”

“That too.” Goku nodded, recalling nearly being electrocuted along with her friends. “Thank you for that, Pinkie Pie. If I didn’t do so already.”

“Um, I beg your pardon but…” Zephyr said with a look of confusion. “What is exactly is the Pinkie Sense?”

“It’s a special sense of Pinkie Pie that allows her to be able to know things are about happen before they can, whether in an instant or later on.” Twilight explained, smiling at Zephyr. “In more simpler terms, it’s her own version of being able to predict the future.”

Zephyr stared at Twilight for a long moment, trying to discern she was kidding or not. When she did not say anything for a full half minute, he asked, “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” Rainbow Dash chortled. “Twi’s dead serious Zephyr. She is not bullshitting you when she’s saying this. Everything she’s saying about Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense has been nothing but the spot-on truth.”

“I know that it doesn’t really make very much sense darling.” Rarity said comfortingly. “It’s just…those of us that have known Pinkie for as long as we have learned that whenever her Pinkie Sense goes off, it’s best to do what she says.”

“Listen to her Zephyr, she knows what she’s saying.” Twilight murmured. “I didn’t believe in Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense any more than you did. And I’ve done all that I could to prove that it wasn’t real. It wasn’t until I got crushed by a giant piano, nearly escaping being eaten by a hydra, and turning into a unicorn of fire, that I finally accepted that it was something that made sense.” She glanced over at Pinkie. “In its own undeniably random way.”

“You better believe it is Twilight!” Pinkie giggled, before looking over at Zephyr. “I can break it down for you if you want Zephie! I’ll show you aaaaaaaall the different phases of it!”

“Well…” Zephyr murmured as he rubbed the back of his head. “I-”

“Great! I’m so glad that you wanna know all about the Pinkie Sense!” Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced over to Zephyr. Before he could say a word, she grabbed his face in both her hooves and hugged it in her huge mass of chest fluff. “Don’t worry, I’m gonna show you every last one of the ropes!”

Zephyr could only grunt in response, his entire face smothered in Pinkie’s feathered chest fluff as he blushed. ‘Seriously? Of all the ways she decides to hug me, she chooses this method?’ He though as he sweat dropped heavily. ‘It’s like she thinks I wanna get a good smell out of her like Rarity wanted me to. This must be how Sheton feels whenever he gets hugged like this by his mom and sisters…’

Beside him, Goku giggled, smiling at the blush on the stallion’s smothered face as Pinkie ran her mouth off to him. Her ears picked up a weird sound coming from the other side of the river. She looked over, only to see the huge piles of broken branches and wood in front of her. The tan thestral looked at it for a few moments, before looked down at the river. Right at her perplexed fanged face in the reflection which stared back at her with the same look.

“Is there something wrong Goku?” Fluttershy suddenly asked, walking over to the other mare. “You seem to be a little confused there.”

“Hm? Oh, I’m okay Fluttershy.” Goku replied softly, smiling gently. “I just I heard something weird coming from the other side of the river.”

“Really?” Fluttershy asked, her interest peaked. “What do you think it was?”

Goku hesitated, looking form the river back to the buttermilk Pegasus for a few moments. “I don’t know why, but I could’ve sworn that I heard growling coming from over there.”

“Growling?” Fluttershy asked as she paused, looking where Goku pointed. “From all the way over there?”

“Yeah, on the other side of the river.” Goku nodded, one of her tufted ears flicking about. “I know I have hypersensitive hearing and all, but the magic of this forest is really fucking up with my senses. Maybe not as much as it was earlier when we first arrived. But still to where I can’t quite make it out, especially with all of this loud noisy water.”

“Is that so?” Fluttershy asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked back at the river. She gently moved Goku to the side and stood in front of her, staring inspectingly at the path of trees that was obscured by the charred wood. A few moments had passed, and nothing happened that either mare found even remotely out of place. For a second, both of them thought that it was just their imagination.

That was when both of the mares heard it. A chorus of loud of soul freezing howls that burst through the air and tore through the wind. Goku and Fluttershy froze, along with everypony else as the holes reached them, the raw power behind them making them all completely cease movement. It stopped just as quickly as quickly as it came, leaving the eight ponies reeling at what they had just heard.

“Uh, y’all heard that too didn’t ya?” Applejack asked suddenly, breaking the silence. “Please tell me that Ah ain’t th’ only one who heard all o’ that howlin’?”

“I heard it alright.” Zephyr replied, his fur standing on end. “And I know that is not a good sound.”

Rarity nodded. “No darling, it most certainly is not.”

“Oh boy, my Pinkie Sense is just going wild right now!” Pinkie Pie said, her voice shaking violently due to how much her body was. “Something big and bad is about to happen!”

Just as she said those words, a multitude spine chilling snarls emitted from somewhere in the trees on the opposite side of the river. At around that same time, multiple sets of glowing eyes suddenly appeared from within the trees, like monsters rising from the deepest darkest pits of Tartarus. They burned into the ponies if they were trying to incinerate them on the spot, thus leave them even more terrified. Slowly, like a group of snakes slithering out of burrows in the earth, the creatures made themselves known, and all the ponies gasp upon seeing what they were.

“Mother Natura Almighty…” Fluttershy whispered, her face going pale.

In the river’s center, standing on top of the charred wood were the biggest, fiercest wolves the eight ponies had ever seen. What was even more terrifying were that they didn’t look like wolves at all. They had bodies that looked to be made from the strongest of tree bark, acting like a sort of armor mean to help them withstand and hard and sharp blows. Their wooded bodies were covered from their noses all the way to their whip-like tails in thick coats of rich leaves, making them very nearly completely blend in with the thick foliage around them and mistake them for being actual bushes.

Sticking out from their leaf covered mouths were a set of razor-sharp canine teeth, with long curved claw-like wooden paws. Sticking out form where their shoulders were, were two large sets of wood that curved back at the middle, looking to be designed for riding the canines. Their tails were long like that of a whip used in a circus to tame animals. All of them bared large wooden clubs with multiple smaller, jagged and even sharper tipped branches were sticking out. They swayed behind the beasts, looking to be prepared to bludgeon somepony on impact.

“Oh shit… oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit! Oh shit!” Rainbow Dash blurted. “Not them! No please, anything but them!”

Applejack gulped. “Y-yeah…Ah think it is RD.” She replied, biting her lip. “Them wooden doggies there are Timberwolves!”

“T-T-Timberwolves?!” Rarity repeated, looking like she was going to faint form terror. “What in heaven’s name are Timberwolves?!”

“One of the most dangerous creatures ever to walk the face of this planet.” Zephyr replied, his ears flattening against his head. Everypony turned to him, and they were surprised to see the cold calculating look on his face. “According to ancient Equestrian history, Timberwolves is a creature that was once known to be seen as a myth and legend. Said to have come from lands of wilderness that is not that of Equestria. It was given its name by the fact that they are creatures made out of the very wood of trees that had died, before being manifested into a type of creatures from magic of Queen Estelle Earthbender. They’re known to be the second largest wolf ever to walk this plant, aside from the Dire Wolf. Another wolf species that is said to have come from lands Marelaska.”

“Are y’all serious?” Applejack asked with wide eyes. “That Estelle feller made these creatures herself?”

“She did. Timberwolves are said to be fierce, powerful, and tenacious predators. More fearsome than any modern canine walking this earth today, and for very good reason. They share many traits with today’s modern wolves and dogs, only with them, it’s on a completely different level, since they are beings made of wild magic.” Fluttershy said, putting deep emphasis on the last two words. “When hunting, they can keep up the chase for hours one end, miles even. Not stopping until they’ve exhausted their quarry, and the only way that their unlucky victim escape is if they fight back. Or are too big and strong for the Timberwolves to take down. Although, Timberwolves are not known to give up very easily. Especially when they believe that they can win and succeed in the hunt. When they do have their overwhelmed and surrounded, they’ll come at it from all sides using their combined power and weight to bring their prey down. Then use their long curved wooden claws and razor-sharp teeth to rip them to shreds…and devour them whole.” She finished, her teal eyes narrowing as her wings fidgeted at her sides.

“Really?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously, having a hard time believing what she was hearing. “They can keep going without getting tired for that long?”

“They can.” Goku replied softly with a nod of her head. “At least, that’s what I believed based on the books that I’ve read. Timberwolves are not only known to have terrifying stamina that would put even a normal wolf to shame. They are also known to be incredibly strong and fast, having strength equivalent to that of a Rhinoceros and speed and agility like that of a Gazelle. A terrifying combination I may say.”

“Oh wow, that is so cool! I’ve never known a wolf, or any doggie for that matter, to be that super-duper awesome!” Pinkie Pie squealed as she bounced in place, her eyes wide with awe and amazement. “I wonder what else they have up their leafy little doggy sleeves of theirs!”

“Something tells me that we’re about to find out very shortly.” Twilight murmured as her body tensed up. “And we are not going to like it…”

As if on cue, one of the Timberwolves, raised its head and let out a howl that pierced each of the girl’s ears like knives. When it stopped, it dipped it’s head down and bared it’s razor sharp fangs in preparation for an attack. With another snarl, it ran towards the river at break neck speed, and with leg strength that would’ve made Kangaroo jealous, it launched itself into the air. It shot its forelimbs out, spreading open its massive jaws and claws as it dove straight for Rarity, who screamed and tried to get away.

“Oh no you don’t!” Zephyr shouted as he got in between Rarity and the Timberwolf, shoving her out of the way. No sooner did he do so, the wooden canine clamped its jaws onto his right shoulder, its claws digging into his chest and right shoulder. Zephyr shouted and gritted his teeth as he kicked the Timberwolf off of him. The royal blue stallion shot to his hooves as he flared his wings, digging his forehooves into the ground as he snorted at the carnivore. It snarled back and leapt at him again, and this time Zephyr was prepared for it. Spinning around, he lifted his hindlegs up for a kick. Before he could, the Timberwolf suddenly stopped in midair, before being pulled back and landing right into the river.

“Nice try, but you’re gonna have to do a lot better than that if you want to get at this guy, especially with mearound!” Rainbow Dash shouted as the Timberwolves struggled inside of the river. With a snort she turned to look at Zephyr. “You okay there buddy?”

“Not for long I won’t! And neither will you!” Zephyr replied, ignoring the blood flowing from his shoulder, leg, and stomach. “There are more of those things here, remember?! That wasn’t the only one!”

Rainbow whipped her head back to see the rest of the Timberwolves were on the other side of the river. Before she could run to them, the Timberwolf that she had sent flying earlier suddenly slammed into her and knocked her to the ground. She looked up into its menacingly glowing eyes, feeling her face scrunch up when she caught a whiff of its unbearably foul scent.

“Why you…get the hell off of me, you stinky mangy mutt!” Rainbow yelled, kicking the Timberwolf off of her before flying after it.

The Timberwolf that had managed to get across the river lunged for the others, but Goku was one step ahead. She lashed her tail out and wrapped it around one’s right hindleg, before spinning around and sending it careening through the air and into the trees, before hitting the ground with a hard thud. It only lay there for a few seconds, but immediately shot its feet again as though nothing happened. It shook off the impact of the attack before turning to the ponies a snarl, its tail lashing back and forth like a whip.

“Nice one, G!” Applejack said with a grin, only for to drop it when the other Timberwolves charged at them. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Twilight screamed as they came, but Fluttershy, Goku and Applejack were not about to let them get hurt.

“Not so fast ya varmints!” Applejack cried as she rushed in to intercept the Timberwolves, just as they lunged at the trio. Thinking fast, Applejack whirled around and shot her back legs out, slamming them both into the chest of a brown leafed Timberwolf. The kick inadvertently sending it flying back to where the first one was flown. She then slammed a forehoof into the side of a blue leafed Timberwolf that had been trying to leap on her back, before kicking it away. Fluttershy suddenly stepped in, and allowing her angelic wings to lash out, sending sharp wind gusts at yellow leafed Timberwolf. They stuck the canine hard in the face, sending it to the opposite side of where Rainbow had sent the last Timberwolf.

A fourth Timberwolf covered in orange leafy fur attacked her, managing to slam right into her to the ground. It attempted to sink its teeth into her throat in an effort to tear it out, but Fluttershy wasn’t going to have any of that. She slammed her hindhooves into the canine’s stomach sending it shooting into the air. Although she winced when she felt the deep slash marks it left on her shoulders and stomach by its claws. As she shot back up on her hooves, another Timberwolf ran past her and leaped towards Twilight. Just as it was about to pounce on her, Fluttershy grabbed its tail in her jaws and pulled back hard. She twisted her head to the side, swinging the wooden canine around in the air, slamming it into another Timberwolf that were coming for them.

“Ha! Take that ya little wooden doggies!” The farm mare said with a grin as she gave a snort of victory. “Y’all jus’ got a taste o’ Fluttershy!”

“Oh thank you, Fluttershy! I was beginning to think that I was a goner back there!” Twilight said, giving her friend thankful smile as relief washed over her. “It just came at me so fast that I didn’t have enough time to summon up my magic!”

“No need t’ thank me Twilight. I was just doing my job in keeping you safe.” Fluttershy said with a wave of her hoof. She looked down at her shoulders and gave another wince of pain upon seeing the slash marks running with blood. “Though, I am gonna have a few more battle scars by the time this is over.”

“Um, you guys! I don’t think we should be relaxing just yet!” Zephyr suddenly shouted from above them as the former pointed a magenta hoof forward. Giving the stallion confused looks, the other mares looked to where she was pointing, and felt the fur on their necks stand on end. More Timberwolves were emerging out of the forest, leaping over the river and slowly making their way towards them, and from the looks on their faces, they were hungry…very hungry.

“Shit…” Rainbow Dash muttered. “We are so screwed.”

“Oh wow! Those are a lotta Timberwolves! And in so many different colors too!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, giving a little jump before settling down. She felt a sudden urge inside of her grow, but passed it off as her getting inappropriately excited. “It’s like my collection of all of the balloons that I use for parties, except they look like dogs instead of balloons!”

“Pinkie Pie, this is hardly the time for one of your random comments!” Rarity snapped, giving the cheerful Earth Pony a harsh glare. “We are in the middle of the Everfree Forest about to get eaten by these monstrous abominations of wolves and I don’t see any way how we can get out of this!”

“Rarity, I would really appreciate it if you would please stop calling them that.” Fluttershy murmured softly. “I really don’t want to have to use my Solar Stare on you.”

“What’re we gonna do?!” Twilight cried as she stepped closer to the others, all of them huddling together. “We’re completely surrounded!”

“Oh, I’ll tell you what we’re going to do!” Rainbow Dash replied, who looked ready to electrocute all of the Timberwolves. “We’re going to blast each and every single one of these mutts into firewood!”

Fluttershy snapped her head up towards Dash with wide and panicked eyes. Before she could say anything, Goku dove down in front of all of them. The force of her landing caused the ground to shake beneath her hooves as she flared her giant wings out once more. Letting them do their work in shielding her friends from the wooden canines.

“Like hell we are!” She shouted indignantly.

Before anypony could say or do anything, the tan thestral pulled her wings back, before she brought together. They emitted a powerful clap that echoed all across the small spot in the clearing they were in. A large and powerful gust of wind to burst from her wings, colliding right into the Timberwolves as they were blown back and sent flying. Some even fell into the river, going downstream and letting out terrified whines all the while. This caused Fluttershy great discomfort, though she kept quiet about it and stopped herself from scolding her friend. Goku turned to face each of her and the rest of her friends. Her was expression nothing short or urgent as she yelled out a single word.

“RUN!”

None of them needed to be told twice. They took off into a fierce gallop after Goku, who made a beeline straight to the forest behind them. The others followed right behind her as Zephyr brought up the rear. He looked back every once and a while to keep the Timberwolves from getting past him, not wanting them to get the girls. They could hear the sounds of the canines howling behind them as they took off in hot pursuit of the ponies. Eager to try and get in a late-night snack before the night’s end.

The chase was on, setting the stage for an incoming brutal confrontation.

I apologize if you were expecting this chapter to be about the one where Spike goes to Cloud Kicker about what he had see outside of the Golden Oaks Library. I realized that I hadn't gotten back to the girls in the last couple of chapters. So I decided to write a few chapters that switched between the new invasion in ponyville and the fight between the Timberwolves, if not some. Just to let you know, I had this edited almost immediately after the last chapter, but I decided to save it until the morning. Even more so since I'm going on a little hangout. Oh, that reminds me...be on the look out for a brand new story that I have with my Bat Pony OC Sheton. That is, if you're following it already....

Next time: Spike, Snowflake, Midnight and the Hooves Family prepare to get thrown into the middle of the Folkloric Invasion.