The Beckoning of Nature (Re-Written)

As morning rose, ponies in Ponyville felt an unnatural cold wind pass by them as they got up out of their houses to start their day. Some began swearing left, right, and bloody sideways that they felt hooves poke them on the shoulders or thighs, disturbingly enough. Yet none could even detect the source for this phenomenon, nor why it had transpired. Other than that, the day carried on as normal.

Past the outskirts of town, deep in the Everfree Forest, however, the same winds blew past the treetops and foliage, only stopping upon reaching a clearing just barely graced by the waking dawn. Then, inexplicably, nearby fallen logs were floating, and twigs began to fly up and circle the decaying husks of wood.

More and more pieces of dead wood flew into the anomaly as if the forest was answering to a heralding call, some leaves also joining in the fray. Still more and more pieces came in until, at last, two beasts resembling wolves were formed. They fell to the ground, landing on their stomachs with the grace of birds hit with bullets.

One slowly opened its eyes, a glowing crimson in hue. The other did the same, a glowing navy prominent on its face. Both languidly rose to stand and glanced at one another.

“I can’t believe this just worked…” Murmured the one with crimson eyes, the voice distinctly masculine, smiling as best it could for an amalgamation of wood.

“Then again, timberwolves are really dead ponies possessing piles of logs.” Replied the other, also bearing a toothy grin and distinct masculine voice. “And we’re no exception.”

“Spending a good seven years as a ghost after escaping Tartarus really does things to you.” Spoke the first, chuckling darkly before frowning. “Damn that pristine white alicorn for having our horns severed before our death! Only thing we could do was become talking piles of wood!”

“We’ll get back at her eventually, Maki. Hold your horses.” Stated the other nonchalantly. “We may yet find new strength elsewhere.”

“True…” Maki murmured, eyes dimming for a moment. He sat down on his rump and looked to the sky. “What do we do, though, since we’re now wooden carnivores?”

The other frowned. “Good point.” He said, shaking his head sadly.

The two stopped, hearing bushes a-rustling nearby. Both cautiously glanced around as the rustling persisted. Then, the source made itself known: a cute little white rabbit.

Maki looked at the rabbit, translucent green drool dribbling down his muzzle. “So...hungry…” He murmured, his jaw jittering.

“But not enough for both of us. Spare it.” The other timberwolf remarked, shaking his head again.

Maki glared at his fellow timberwolf, a vein of red appearing on his forehead. “Baki, we’ve spent ten years not eating a damn morsel, meat or otherwise!” He snapped, his stomach rumbling as if on cue.

“I know that, you nitwit!” Baki growled, bearing his teeth. “I’m starving just as bad as you are, but that rabbit isn’t even enough to fill us a sixteenth up!”

The red-eyed timberwolf whimpered and nodded, laying down in a submissive manner. The rabbit fled in panic, and the bushes rustled as it went. Strangely, they continued to rustle even after the critter had gone with the wind, and before long, an entirely new creature came forth into the clearing: it had a chicken’s head, the body of a wyvern, and the elongated tail of a rattlesnake lined with spines. Its eyes appeared to have been clawed out at some point in time, indicated by scars lining that general area.

“A blind cockatrice?” Baki asked, looking at the beast like it was cross-eyed.

“One less cockatrice that can petrify.” Maki remarked, standing up on all fours again. “I wonder if they’re edible.”

“They’re the top predators of their food chain, under normal circumstances.” Baki replied, blinking. “Even blind, I suspect this one will put up a fight.”

“Much like a honey badger?” The crimson-eyed wolf asked, arching a wooden brow.

“Something like that.” Stated the other, shrugging to the best of his ability.

The cockatrice blindly dawdled its way closer to the timberwolves, one of which inched towards it silently, body kept low in a position to pounce. Closer and closer the two went towards the other, one unable to see and the other drooling nonstop. A tense silence gripped the makeshift trio as the two moving entities stopped for a few moments.

Then, it happened. Maki made the lunge, and the cockatrice didn’t even know what hit it as its neck was gripped firmly in a slick, wooden maw filled with daggers, a sickening snap resounding in the air as its life came to an abrupt halt. Blood oozed from the neck in small rivers, and the timberwolf trotted back to his fellow before depositing the fresh carcass on the ground in front of him.

“So, who gets what half?” Asked the creature’s murderer.

“Let me test the waters, first.” Baki replied, leaning over and licking at the small bleeding holes with his tongue. A sort of strange taste, one tinged in iron and some other flavor he couldn’t identify, greeting his taste appendage. He leaned back, trying to make out the taste that was in his mouth.

“It’s...odd?” Maki asked, again arching a brow.

“Yes...but I like it.” Baki answered with a nod

“I like the taste too.” The crimson-eyed wolf replied, licking his lips hungrily. Without warning, the two dug into their catch of the day and plucked the flesh clean from its bones. Not even the organs were spared from their hunger, as were the bones when said organs were finished off.

“Even for raw meat, that was splendid!” Baki cheered as he finished cleaning himself up.

“Indeed, it was!” The crimson-eyed wolf agreed, scratching his ear with a back leg. “But, I do have one gripe!” He added as he set his back leg down.

“That being?” The blue-eyed wolf asked, brow arched.

“I want--no, NEED--to eat some more! My stomach’s not yet full; I feel like the big bad wolf in the Three Little Pigs, for crying out loud!” Maki answered, waving a front paw frantically.

“Huff, puff, and I’ll blow your house in? If only we could do that…” The other murmured, shaking his head. “Though, I’m in the same pickle as you. How does a hunt for more fresh meat sound?”

“Brilliant!” The red-eyed wolf replied, grinning most horribly.