Twilight huddled down in the nearby bush, not moving a muscle. Her magic allowed the camera to float freely and still catch her voice as if she was standing right next to it. This entry to the Bestiary was far too dangerous to attempt with a pony.

“Here we see a small pack of Timberwolves. These particular Timberwolves have been harassing the local farm for some time. Thankfully, no serious injuries have been reported, though they are getting rather daring. It is my hope that with this entry, we will learn enough about the diet of Timberwolves that we can safely supply them with enough food that they stop encroaching on Pony farmland,” she said, the microphone on the camera catching her voice as if she was walking along with it.

A single Timberwolf sat apart from the rest of the pack. Larger than the rest, this one was the most alert. Its ears swiveled around, listening for any potential threat. Twilight had to hope that the camera’s disguise worked. Her vision went black for a moment and the camera stopped moving as she adjusted a bit of the fluff she’d collected out of the lenses’ sight.

When she could see again, the large Timberwolf was staring right at her. Rather, at the disguised camera. She hoped it was hovering just high enough off the ground that the feet weren’t dragging too much. Suddenly it started growling. She stopped moving her “Timberwolf” towards it. Did she mess up. The camera stared straight at the big alpha.

Suddenly her focus was broken as a pair of jaws clamped down on the back of her head. Not hard, but hard enough that it hurt. She couldn’t focus. Without focus, she couldn’t teleport. She’d been caught. The other Timberwolves had snuck around behind her and caught her unaware. The one holding her carried her towards the Alpha and dropped her in a heap in front of it.

She looked up at it and would have teleported away if the one that had been holding her wasn’t still standing right over her. The Alpha stood up and climbed down from its rocky throne to stand in front of them. They were much larger than normal Timberwolves. This alpha would dwarf even Celestia he was so massive. Did her wish to expand the bestiary lead her a little too far into danger? She simply stared up at the alpha, wondering what it was going to do to her.

Suddenly it lunged forward. Twilight shrieked and squeezed her eyes shut as the massive jaws wrapped around her head. Rather than biting down and crunching, they pulled, and the maw shunted forward over her shoulders. It was swallowing her whole. Did all Timberwolves do this? Or only for food that was small enough. Mentally, Twilight began taking notes. She’d have to write all of this down when she finally teleported out to safety.

Her magic would work. She’d been caught off guard with her decoy, but now she was aware. She’d simply just continue to observe and take notes. The green throat pulsated around her as the big alpha swallowed her. It smelled faintly of mint and moss and evergreen. A not all together unpleasant smell. She took note of a moment of discomfort as her forelegs were forced to bend towards her barrel.

Gravity shifted as the alpha lifted its head, using gravity itself to aid it in swallowing this larger than average meal. She was just thankful it wouldn’t get to keep it. Her head squeezed into a wider chamber, and she took a tentative inhale of her new surroundings. Stronger mint and evergreen scent in the stomach with a very slight hint of acid. She knew they’d be strong acids though, so a bit of quick thinking and she had an acid resistant barrier around herself.

Her concentration almost broke however as a quick swallow brought her nethers to the Alpha’s tongue. She knew it didn’t intend to actually taste her there. It was just a beast, simply eating a meal. Its tongue still wrapped over her nether regions and helped push her in. Soon only the thickest part of her rump and her hind legs dangled out of the alpha’s maw. That was quickly rectified as it swallowed hard, sending the purple princess to what it assumed was her final resting place.

After waiting a moment, allowing her mind to fill in the blanks of what would happen after this point, Twilight lit her horn and teleported away. Expecting to appear in her room at the castle, slimy and sticky but alive, she was surprised to see she only managed to teleport back into the center of their den. The confused looks on the Timber Wolves faces around her were adorable. She even looked behind herself to look at the Alpha, who was looking at its stomach rather than her.

Not wanting to find out if it would chew her this time, she teleported away to the sound of snarling Timber Wolves.

“The Timber Wolf of the Everfree Forest, a local regent of the area around Ponyville, act much like normal wolves. They have a pack structure, lead by an Alpha. None of the other wolves feed until the Alpha has fed. With a meal as small as a pony, however, only the Alpha gets to feed. I learned first hoof that even a mare of my size, just slightly smaller than a fully grown Stallion of the larger stock, example Big Macintosh, would be little to no problem for an Alpha Timber Wolf to ingest on its own.

“There is little doubt in my mind that an Alpha Timber Wolf would be fully capable of swallowing a pony similar in size and stature to Princess Celestia herself, though would struggle quite a fair bit.

“From my observations, the insides of a Timber Wolf, while fully capable of digesting a pony, give off a scent very unlike the scent they give off naturally to warn ponies that they are near. Their maws, and saliva as an extension, smell faintly of mint, moss and evergreen. Not an unpleasant scent. Their digestive juices, though acidic enough to digest a pony, are diluted enough to not be painful. They also smell of mint, moss and evergreen.

“In my personal opinion, the scent inside a Timber Wolf is meant to lull any creature eaten by a Timber Wolf, if eaten whole and alive, into a sense of safety. Or at the very least erode their sense of fear and almost hypnotize them into wanting to remain. Had I not placed an anti-acid barrier around myself, I would be a hearty meal for a large Alpha Timber Wolf.

“In conclusion: Timber Wolves, while quite dangerous to most creatures, are all together almost harmless to ponies. Only Alpha Timber Wolves pose any form of threat to Ponies as they are large enough, and often seem hungry enough, to swallow a fully grown pony of above average size whole. Once swallowed, the pony will not want to escape their fate as they would smell the calming aroma within the Timber Wolf, one quite different to the scent given off by their bodies.

“Timber Wolves, while a threat, are not as dangerous as many textbooks would have ponies believe. As long as you know how to deal with them. And how to avoid Alphas.”

Author's Note

Well... this one's kinda short. Couldn't think of much to say, since Twilight couldn't exactly take notes during the act this time. Ah well, at least she got some information out of it.