Everfree Hideout, Morning

Ali’s POV

Pain.

It was all that I felt. A huge throbbing pain in my entire body. What was the last thing I remember? Making a golem, then.. Nothing... Must have passed out. I need to open my eyes, to see where I am.

OH GOD THE LIGHT IT BURNS! Ok, maybe I should do this slowly.. Huh, everything looks normal. There’s a bunch of blood on the ground, but that’s because of the corpses. Now, where did I place that golem? I remember him to be pretty big, so--

At that point, something dripped onto my neck. I looked up, and saw a skull looking down at me. Blood-infused wax was dripping from it.

*Beat*

A ~~shrill shriek~~ manly shout resonated throughout the cavern.

Mann’s location

Meanwhile, our local manticore was leading the three timberwolves it found towards his savior’s hideout, when his ears picked up a scream coming from the cave. Not wasting any second in case Ali was in danger, he broke into a full sprint, startling the timberwolves, but they followed him nonetheless.

’This is bad. He might be in danger. Maybe ponies found him in a vulnerable state. Maybe his creation turned on him. I can’t let him die and not do anything about it! I have to be there!’

The thought of his friend dying made him gain even more speed, despite him already going as fast as he could. The timberwolves started to fall behind, even though they should be able to outrun Mann. The largest one, Tough Bark, jerked his head toward the rapidly disappearing manticore, and his cohorts nodded, increasing their pace.

’Hold up! Wait for us!’
The forest gave way to a cliff side, with a cave at it’s base. Gathering every ounce of strength in him, Mann leapt into it, claws ready to tear into whatever would dare to harm his savior.

He landed into the cave, wing flaring and teeth bared, and the first thing he noticed was Ali laying onto the floor, blood all over him. He turned to face his opponent, and was left speechless. His opponent was.. Something.

Metal bolts holding flesh together. A goat skull. So much blood and flesh. Dozens of ponies of various races must make that beast. Horns into claws. Hooves made knuckles. Ribs into shoulders. Skulls into joints. Innards mashed together to form legs, with hide to hold them in place. A chain hanging out from within its left arm. Mounds of wax on its head, shoulders, backside. Speaking of backside, it had spines jutting out of it. A white pearl was its left eye, the other eye being a black diamond. A partially ethereal tail made of veins and stitched up faces was behind him, ending in feathers. The thing turned its skull to face Mann. Then, with unnatural twisting and turning, it stood up.

The manticore realized one thing. The creature was massive. Its horns were scrapping the top of the cavern. A sixteen foot tall behemoth was now staring at him, unmoving. He picked up the unmistakable sound of claws scrapping on stone, and he remembered the timberwolves he was leading here.

They arrived panting, moved to speak to Mann, took a look at the monster occupying most of the cave, and started to whimper. All three but one.

The most experienced and only female of the three, Weeping Willow, moved to confront the golem. She looked straight into the diamond/pearl combo that was its eyes, and it stared back with a blank expression, or about as much expression as a skull could make.

It seemed like time stopped to a crawl, when suddenly, the golem reared it head back, as if inhaling air, and released the most deafening roar she ever heard right in her face. The force behind it shook Willow to her core, literally, as small pieces of wood and foliage were blown off of her. The golem then took a step forward while raising its arm, and brought it down with a speed that one would not expect for a being of that size.

Weeping Willow dodged the attack, and looked at where the fist hit. It was embedded into the ground, and cracks were spreading out from the point of impact. It turned its head to look at her, then bolted forwards head first, trying to smash the wolf in between itself and the wall. Willow’s only reaction was her “eyes” widening in terror.

’It’s too fast!’

*SMASH!*

As the dust settled, the two timberwolves snapped out of their stupor and rushed to the rescue of their pack-mate, only to find her in the arms of a cloaked biped. The golem pulled his head out of the wall, and twisted it to face the wolves. Right before it charged, a voice called out to him.

"Enough of this. I will not have you destroy my home. Next time, take the fight outside. Or make sure your opponent is actually a threat."

The beast relented, and let out a low moan, as if apologizing.

The cloaked figure placed Willow on the ground, then stood up, and starting walking towards the golem.

"I understand you are sorry, but please wait outside while I sort this out. Take the rabbits with you on your way out. I want to do a head count."

Heavy steps echoed throughout the cave as the behemoth walked out of the scene, groaning and moaning on occasion. Mann suddenly regained his voice, and scream-whispered.

"What is that thing?" He pointed to the lumbering behemoth with a wing, which was currently picking up the rabbits one by one, and placing them in his hand.

Ali shrugged. "Why, it's my creation! Isn't he adorable?"

"HE. Tried to kill the timberwolf."

"Speaking of timberwolves." Ali crouched a bit to get face to face with Mann. "Why did you bring three of them here? You better have a good reason. Did you bring them here for firewood? Or maybe for me to see what make them tick?" He said with a sadistic smile.

Mann facepalmed. "No. I thought you'd help them. Since you helped me after I almost died, you'll probably help them after you hear what happened to their pack."

"Their pack? You mean there was more than those three?"

"There was over a hundred." The smallest of the three called out. He was twice as small as an average timberwolf, but had a mean bite. He walked up to Ali, and sat on his haunches. "My name is Fight Shrub. The big lug over there is Tough Bark, and the lady you rescued is Weeping Willow." He pointed a paw to Bark and Willow, then to Mann. "Your manticore pal over here said you'd be able to help what's left of our pack."

"There's a story behind that, isn't there?" Shrub's ears flattened back against his skull, and he nodded.

"It's not a pretty one either. You might want to sit down."

After finding a nice undamaged spot in the cave, and getting some food, Weeping Willow initiated.

"Timberwolves didn't always live in the Everfree, you know.."

Author's Note

The backstory of the timberwolves will finally be revealed!
When you ask? Why, THE NEXT CHAPTER OF COURSE! HUEHUEHUEHUEHUE!

I don't think I really have a pattern for writing these stories. My inspiration is more of a hit-and-run type of thing. Anyways,

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER!