The Secrets of Caduceus

Usually, a pony in his teen years would scream and pass out at the sight of a real-life timberwolf. But not me, I've seen timberwolves around me long enough to be used to it by now. I'm so used to it in fact, that I'm not even breaking a sweat looking at the one in front of me.

Silence looms in the air, save for the growling of the monster mere inches from my face.

A tear begins to form in my eye, but it's not from fear. It's from pure joy.

"Sh-Shrubbery?!" I calmly ask the beast if that is it's name.

The wolf begins to growl, then that growl transitions into a whimper.

There's only one way to confirm the identity of this canine, and that's to check it's backside. If I remember correctly, a certain filly made off with my supplies and rations a few days ago.

But then again, there's always the possibility that she had stored them somewhere else or consumed them all on her own. And I can't rule out speculation that she might have been mugged, which might explain why she isn't here with her pet right now.

Suddenly, I hear something whiz past my right ear. The sound of a fast moving object nearly killing me is followed by the loud roar of the timberwolf in front of me.

*AWOOOORAAAHH*

Then I notice that a shiny metal object is sticking out of the paw of my little wooden friend. I slowly approach it, as I examine the assailant's weapon. It's a sharp and slim knife with a silver rose head attached to the bottom of the hilt. Whoever threw this must be extremely strong, as the entire blade had pierced the timberwolf's ankle all the way through into the cement.

Why am I not concerned whoever's behind me? I should think it's quite obvious, as the knife seems to represent the owner's obsession with flowers. Specifically, flowers with Thorns.

I turn around, and my presumptions appear to be true. The blue mare stands behind me with the cream-colored filly we had been targeting on her back.

"Take it easy! This guy saved me from the bomb you planted!" I shout in a sudden change to anger.

She trots past me without making any eye contact.

The timberwolf attempts to scramble away from Thorns, as if it fears her. But it fails oddly enough, the knife seems to be etched in deep in the cement.

Thorns bends down and puts her mouth to the hilt of the knife, then yanks it out in one smooth motion.

The timberwolf cries out and lets more of it's whimpers fill the air.

She leans in close to the quivering beast, and whispers something that I can't hear.

Before another second passes, the timberwolf lies down flat on it's belly.

Is it me? Or do mares have some power over animals that we stallions are oblivious to?

She tosses Aura onto the back of the timberwolf, and then turns to me, "Hurry up and get on. I hear sirens approaching."

I nod, then mount the wooden wolf. As I hop onto the backside, I hear a strange clattering sound.

What is this? A tin can?

Looks like my theory is that much closer to becoming a reality. The supplies that we had packed, along with medical supplies, are stuffed into the timberwolf.

"So it is you, boy..."

I grip a branch that sticks out from the timberwolf's side, and pull myself into the small crater carved into Shrubbery's backside. Thorns climbs onto the wolf's neck and whistles.

Shrubbery stands up on his two back legs and then slams his forepaws into the ground, creating two tiny craters in the cement garden pathway. He kicks his back legs and begins to gallop out of the garden, and around the restaurant area. We leap over the small courtyard in front of the restaurant and onto the paved street. To our left, blue and red lights flash from afar.

"Keep going down this street!" Thorns shouts, and the timberwolf obeys.

Riding the timberwolf down the street, it pumped proverbial adrenaline through my vein. I felt so excited, regardless of being potentially chased down by the authorities.

"What about the others?!" I ask.

"They've already left! We'll meet them at the train!" Thorns shouts.

I nod, and peek out from behind the timberwolf's back. Now I'm facing the same direction as Shrubbery.

The street is as empty as it was before, no cars or pedestrians so I'm not too worried about Shrubbery trampling over somepony. Looking behind, I still see the red and blue flashing lights approaching.

The sirens sound closer than ever now.

"But isn't the Laser Train the other way?!" I shout over the sirens.

She replies, "Is it?!"

"I thought you knew where you were going!"

"I'm not that great with directions okay?!"

Who knew that the quietest one of all would be so clueless? But there's no time to think about that now! The police cars are right on the timberwolf's heels. There are only three of them, but that's still enough to take down our wolf.

"Cease and desist. Attempts at any further resistance will result in severe penalties." A low, robotic, monotone voice calls out from the middle car.

This is becoming extremely annoying, I just want to find my friend and leave. I never asked to be chased down like a criminal, I'm putting a stop to this.

Pulling the Bullet Biter to my face, I carefully aim my revolver towards the wheels of the middle police car. The robotic clasp makes multiple soft clicking noises as I tilt back and forth with my two forehooves.

I take a deep breath... And chomp down on the metal mouthpiece.

*BANG*

The gunshot is followed by a loud constant whistling. It seems as if I've hit my target. One of the wheels on the police car deflates, causing the vehicle to crash into the police car on its right. Now only the left one remains.

But before I can line up another shot, the police car stops in its tracks. Shrubbery gallops away faster, and makes a quick turn down into a nearby dark alley. He just barely fits, leaving about an inch or two between him and each alley wall. The sound of his sticks and branches being scraped off of his body grows closer and closer. I tighten my grip on Miss Borealis, trying keep her on the running wolf's back.

I shut my eyes, and look upwards, peeking out from the sliver between my eyelids to find the blue mare on Shrubbery's neck. Then I look back down at the cream coloured mare cradled in my arms.

"It's fine now… It's fine. We'll be at the train soon." I whisper quietly to unconscious pony.

What drove me to do so? I have no idea, perhaps it was a heat-of-the-moment sort of thing.

I see the narrow walls of the alleyway disappear from the sides, we've emerged from it. Shrubbery comes to a sudden halt, and I peek out from behind the wall of branches and wood that surrounds me. We're out in the open empty streets again, with no signs of the authorities.

"Which way to the train back to Asclepius?" I ask.

Thorns looks up, and then digs her back hooves into the timberwolf's neck. The wolf stands back on its hind legs, and then slams its forepaws into the cement, making small cracks in the street. It then leaps up into the air, my stomach curls as we ascend upwards. I clutch the most stable branch I can find on Shrubbery's body, and wrap my other forehoof around Aura. Shrubbery's claws dig into the side of a nearby building, as he begins to crawl up.

I'm hanging by the branch I grabbed onto, and I can feel my grip slipping away.

"H-Hey! I'm slipping!" I shout, but nopony seems to hear me.

The wolf just violently continues up the building, diggings his claws deeper with every reach. Thorns is too busy wrapping herself around the Shrubbery's neck to notice me. I look up, still holding Aura by the upper body, as we near the top of the building.

The timberwolf's paws reach the ledge of the top of the building, and with a whip of its body I'm sent flying up into the air!

For what seemed like a few minutes at the most, I'm surrounded by beautiful buildings and city lights. The desert night sky looms above the city of Caduceus, I take it all in… Until I realize that I'm currently plummeting down into the beautiful city.

Before I can scream, I'm soon distracted again by a yellow glow coming from… Me? No, from the mare in my arms.

"Au-Aura?"

The glow begins to intensify, and soon I'm engulfed to the point where I can't see anything past the mysterious filly.