“Into the river!” I yelled out into the darkness

Maya reacted first, her wings flaring out as she turned and galloped at full speed towards the river, the monstrous wooden wolves snarled as we moved. Time felt like it slowed down as I watched helpless to stop the first wolf from jumping at Tibbs, He was facing towards the river as it landed on his back. His screech of pain rang out across the clearing as we fled for the river, clearing the short distance in half a second. Tibbs struggled with the wolf as he staggered backward, his talons clamping down on the wood between the wolf’s eyes and tearing the rotting wood out.

I sucked in a deep breath of air before I plunged towards the river, Tibbs having freed himself from his wooden attacker stumbled backward and collapsed into the water, his beak barely above the water as I saw blood flowing into the water around him. A blur of cream coloured fur passed in front of me, crashing into the water with a scream of shock.

Quicker than we could react the current caught us, sweeping us downstream and away from the wolves. I opened my mouth to let out a small yell of joy until water rushed in, causing me to choke. My hind legs kicked as hard as I could, struggling against the tide. Tibbs bobbed up and down beside me, his legs beating against the tide as I realized what had happened. His left wing was in tatters, bloody claw marks scoring between his wings where the wolf had bitten and clawed at him before he could throw it off.

“I...Can’t...swim!” Katty yelled, her head bursting through the surface of the water as we were swept around a bend, my lungs burning as I fought to get my muzzle above the surface. I felt a talon grab my shoulder and whipped my head around to see Tibbs shoving a log towards me. “Get it to her, I’ll grab another when I can” He practically snarled, the water around us started to darken as his eyes steadily became glassy and unfocused.

I knocked the log towards Katty, seeing her forelegs drape over it as she pulled her head free of the water, coughing and spluttering. Moments later she was joined by Maya, her wings working far better to stay afloat than our hooves. It hit me why the wolf had gone after Tibbs at that angle, they had understood the need to cripple his ability to fly to prevent him escaping, but they hadn’t followed us into the river which meant. The cold water suddenly felt warm as the blood drained from my face once more, we’d just fled into another trap and the wolves would be waiting downstream where we’d wash up just to eat our bodies.

Anger boiled inside as we were buffeted and pelted by the river, the icy cold cutting straight through my coat. I felt the cold sapping what little strength I had left as my legs were kicking but getting slower as the seconds passed. The next turn neared us as the howling of those damned wolves picked up again, close, and based on my guess they were waiting for us around the corner on the shoreline.
With a final feeble kick, we hit the corner, the water bashing me against the rocks as I opened my mouth to yell only to be forced underwater. My back crashed against the stones on the bottom of the river, sharp chunks of flint tearing at my coat and skin, I flailed wildly desperate to get to the surface. I felt a blossom of pain as something hard smashed the back of my head, my vision blurring before the current changed enough to shove me against the side of the river. I scrambled and forced myself up, breaking the surface and coughing up water as I pulled in air.

The river passed a smooth rocky beach, seemingly wolf free, I started to kick my hooves barely pushing myself towards the edge. “The beach!” I yelled, praying the others heard me as I couldn’t muster up more yelling. My whole body burned, cuts stung and my muscles ached in agony. Maya and Katty moved past me, their hooves firmly wrapped around the log as Maya’s wings pushed them along. Tibbs was the first one to make it ashore, followed by Maya and Katty before I joined them. I could barely stand, my legs quivering as I forced myself up. Tibbs limped over to me, his wings hung limply at his sides as flecks of dark red blood dripped from them onto the stones.

“What now? I heard howling, those fucking wolves are going to be close” Maya said as she stood up, her wings spread as they beat a few times to dry themselves. We stopped and took stock of ourselves, I had no clue how long we'd been in the river but based on the moon it couldn't have been more than five minutes. Tibbs hissed in pain as he lifted his wings back up, Maya rushing over when she realised where he'd been attacked.

I looked around and the dense forest gave way to a more sparse area. The river behind me disappearing away from us back into the forest, I shuddered at the possibility of having to risk the water again. My ears swiveled as I looked around, desperately listening for anything that might give away the wolves.

"Wait, would they be Timberwolves?" Katty mumbled to herself, trotting up off the beach before I saw her ears perk up immediately. She whirled around, smiling like the Joker. "There's smoke on the horizon! Plus what looks like light pollution!"

Our reaction was instant, I bolted up to where Katty was and looked out. I could make out smoke on the horizon, not much but definitely, more than our little campfire might have given off. Wait, if there was a town over there could someone have seen the smoke from our campfire? I tried to mull over this when I heard snarling coming from across the river. The four of us turned slowly, Maya and Tibbs already backing up towards Katty and me. Across the bank were the Timberwolves, minus the one that Tibbs had seemingly blinded.

Katty was the first to act, wheeling around and bolting towards the smoke. The rest of us followed behind her as fast as we could. Behind us, howls echoed out as the Timberwolves launched themselves into the river and gave chase.

My hooves ached as I galloped as fast as I could, terror and adrenaline fueling me to move even though every part of me begged for me to stop. What sounded like a thunderous noise from our hooves was quickly drowned out by the sounds of wood moving and the Timberwolves panting as they gained on us.

Maya's wings were beating as we fled, each flap barely pushing her along a little faster. Tibbs however was starting to slow, his wings hung limp as the wounds on his back oozed. I turned my head back just as a Timberwolf struck, leaping forward and biting clean through his ankle. Possessed by something I reared and charged back towards the Timberwolves, Katty, and Maya turning and following me in.

The Timberwolf looming over Tibbs snarled at me as I charged, lowering my head and colliding with it hard enough to send me sprawling across the floor. My forehead exploded with agony as I screamed in pain. beside me, the Timberwolf tried to move. It's green eyes fading before it collapsed to the floor, a hole punched right where its heart would be by my horn.

I forced myself to stand, my horn throbbing with pain as I moved to block Tibbs from the Timberwolves. Maya flared her wings out beside me, as Katty lifted Tibbs by the scruff of the neck and got him to lean on her. With a tap of her hoof to our flanks, we started to back up, Tibbs limping along with Katty's help as the Timberwolves started to circle.

“Do you desire to save your friends little colt?”

The Timberwolves' next attack came quickly, my mind still reeling from the voice. In a flash the first wolf plowed into me, its teeth clamping down around my neck as we crashed to the floor. My hooves frantically kicked and flailed to try and get it off.

I heard Maya and Katty scream as the Timberwolves attacked them, Tibbs' voice joining the cacophony moments later. My own feeble struggle grew weaker as I couldn't help but rage. I was trained in wilderness survival, my friends had looked to me to get us to safety, It was my fault they were going to be hurt.

"Perhaps I could help you? Magic can be fueled by emotions. I can feel anger boiling within you, I could help you channel it to save your friends. All you need to do is accept my help~.”

I strained against the teeth, feeling as they pierced into my neck. The voice in my head offering an escape from certain death. “H-help” I croaked out, blood filling my mouth with each breath I forced down. The stench of rotting wood invaded my nostrils as I continued my struggle, fear and anger in equal measure running through my body as nothing happened. For the briefest moment, my whole body felt cold as I realised that the voice must have been my head playing tricks on me as I fought for my life. The Timberwolf on top of me continued its assault, as I felt my hind legs explode in pain, tendons being ripped and torn by another one of the monsters.

“Very well little colt~ We have a deal”

My horn throbbed as I felt something flow through it, my eyes blurring as a tint descended over them like I had just put on sunglasses. The next thing I knew my coat stood on end as a cold chill ran through my body towards my horn before with a howl of pain the Timberwolf attacking my throat was blown clean in half by a crackling bolt of what appeared to be pure black energy. My throat was still bleeding from the puncture wounds as I shakily stood up, noticing the baby blue and black glow around my horn. The wolf that had attacked my hind legs was gone as I turned to scan the situation, my fears washing away as a strange calm descended over me. There were six wolves still around us, the pack leader straining against Tibbs trying to bite him whilst Tibbs held its mouth open. Maya and Katty were in a pile, my eyes twitched as I saw their blood on the mouths of the wolves around them, cream coloured feathers stained red littered the ground.

I tried to take a step only to stumble, a glare at my legs saw the black energy swiftly encase them and take the weight off my injured legs. “We should remove the Alpha first, it is the biggest threat”. I simply shook my head, advancing towards Maya and Katty. The Timberwolves that were previously trying to eat them stopped to look at me. The urge to smile was almost overwhelming as a bolt of the black light lashed out and coiled around the wolf closest to me, lifting it from the ground before the sound of splintering wood and howls of pain filled the air. Dropping the two chunks of Timberwolf I took a second to look at Maya and Katty closer, Maya was lying over her sister, wings battered and missing many of their feathers, I couldn’t make out her face but she was a bloody mess. My stomach churned as I noticed the white of bone sticking out of one of her hind legs.

With a snarl the remaining four Timberwolves charged towards me, the first two bursting into flames before they even covered half the distance. The burning wolves turned and fled into the river, diving towards it whilst the remaining two continued towards me. I take a half step backward, my hind legs throbbing in protest despite the black casing. The first wolf lept at me whilst its compatriot remained low. A slicing arc of black energy met the airborne Timberwolf, the two halves falling to either side of me as I reared up and brought my hooves down on the final Timberwolf attacking me. I couldn’t tell whether the snarl I heard came from my mouth or the wolves as my hooves slammed down and crushed the wooden wolf’s skull like it was nothing but paper mache.

“I am impressed by your friend's tenacity little colt, he is still holding the pack alpha.”

The voice snapped me from my stupor, I looked to find Tibbs still where I’d seen him before, straining against the Alpha although he looked worse for wear. I could see scratches across his chest and his wings hung limply by his sides. Like a force of nature, I advanced, the ground beneath my hooves feeling different even if I couldn’t quite place why. The Pack alpha turned in time for the dark energy to lash out and grab its muzzle, yanking it towards me and away from Tibbs. The feeling of cold hatred that had overtaken me remained as I heard it whine in fear, paws digging into the dirt as I continued to draw it closer. The predatory grin across my face was almost painful, as with little effort the alpha was lifted into the air and hung by my face. I could see the terror in its eyes, its ears practically attached to its head as it struggled to escape with every ounce of its being.

I looked down on the creature, the energy holding it slowly tightening as I drank in the sound of the alpha’s wooden body starting to break under the pressure. What looked like Sap was leaking from the cracks all across its body, before with a final snap the Alpha was no more. The green light behind its eyes faded before I dumped its body to the ground like a child abandoning a toy.

As soon as I’d done that I turned towards my friends, Katty and Maya were moving as Tibbs limped over to them. The first step towards them was easy, however, after that I groaned in pain, my horn lighting up with agony causing me to stagger. My vision blurred as colours mixed and swirled together.

“Our time is up little colt, I must rest and our body must heal”

The voice wasn’t as clear as it had once been, it was muddied and distant as my hind legs gave out, slumping to the ground before I collapsed forwards. My throat ached and each breath tasted of blood again, darkness encroaching at the corners of my vision. The tint that had fallen across my vision faded slowly and the last thing I saw before darkness overtook my sight was the wreckage around me. Patches of grass splattered with dark green sap, colour drained from other patches of grass the size of hoof steps and the impact crater from the beam that had blasted the first Timberwolf apart seemed to have gemstones shining in it.

Author's Note

Had to cut this in half because it ended up longer than expected, the next chapter is from a different characters' PoV as a heads up