Close Encounters With a Legend

by History Student

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Luna, Mystery, Dark Souls, Fluttershy, Princess Celestia
Length: 3690

There are some beings in Equestria which predate civilisation itself. One night, one of these beings stumbles into Ponyville, and gives its residents a close encounter.

The Farron Wolves are ancient, more so than anything in modern Equestria. Sometimes worshipped as divine, and sometimes feared as demons, these mythical guardians of Equestria haven’t been seen in Equestria for a millennium. A lucky few in Ponyville, will record the only sighting of one in 10 lifetimes.

TLDR: I lost a bet and had to upload something, enjoy this terrible thing I wrote on my phone in an hour

Published 2024-01-09 17:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-01-09 17:50:00 UTC

Legends are taught

Farron Wolves/Great Farron Wolves

Legends talk about the ancient wolves of Farron with fear and reverence in equal measure. Stories have been told through the ages of the Great Wolf who watches over Equestria while the world sleeps, protecting it from those who trespass on this plain. The legends are some of the oldest in all of Equestria, predating even the ascension of rule of the solar diarchs.

The legends of the Farron wolves make their hierarchy and power clear. At the top of their power structure was the Great Wolf. This so called ancient was said to be the oldest and wisest of their kind. Some ponies even worshiped it in a covenant, calling themselves watchdogs. Bellow the Great Wolf were the majors, these Farron Wolves seem to be interpreted as the Great Wolfs lieutenants. At the bottom were the Farron watchdogs, these are the pack of the Great Wolf and make up the vast majority of the great pack.

Among the Farron wolves exist several other notable and named individuals. The Nameless One is of an unclear rank and status among the other Wolves. This wolf appears to have given up its name for some unknown reason. Another notable member is the Grey wolf, recorded as the only Farron wolf without their signature black fur. The Grey wolf is notable for having the most reported sightings out of any Farron wolf.

These ancient wolves are said to have been able to disappear in the blink of an eye, and are said to have stood at nearly 10 feet tall. Other accounts say they had pitch black fur and were silent as the night from which they came. Legends and stories of their abilities range wildly in their detail and power, some ponies claim they could speak while others say they were wordless beasts, some claim they had an acute form of mind magic and were hyperintelligent while others say they were mindless hunters.

Whatever the stories say, it is abundantly clear that no one has reported seeing a Farron wolf in the past 400 years. The reason for this is a mystery to all, the fact that a species of such apparent power and size could completely disappear is almost inconceivable. The last recorded sighting of a Farron Wolf comes from princess Celestia herself who saw one on the first summer sun celebration. The almost total lack of written records has done little to convince the masses of their existence. Indeed to make this small footnote in this mythical creatures book, I was forced to rely on old dusty documents written in a dead language, and oral accounts.

Through my research, I was never able to come upon any physical evidence for the existence of these ancient wolves. Despite assurances from the princess herself on their existence, even she had little knowledge of the wolves themselves. The princess claimed that they were ancient, even to herself, possibly even predating the three tribes. This would make the Farron wolves the oldest active beings in Equestria (possibly the world) and, if rumours of their intelligence are true, the oldest active civilisation.

Whatever they were, and if they even existed at all, you’ll be hard pressed to find anypony who will even recognise the name Farron. It would also seem that, even when they were sighted, the Farron wolves were still considered rare and near mythological.

- extract from Natural Worlds mythology animals of Equestria, 600CE.

Far out in the Everfree woods, a deadly battle was taking place. Under the pale moonlight, a great wolf galloped through the trees. Following well run tracks and paths cut through the trees, the enormous and proud animal attempted to make an escape from its pursuers. Bleeding heavily from its left shoulder, the wolf had been struck by a crossbow bolt which remained deep in its shoulder. Its back had been covered with a fluorescent yellow paint from the hunters trap, preventing the wolf from camouflaging.

Stumbling over a fallen tree, the wolf fell into a shallow ditch. With the fall having pushed the bolt even deeper into its bleeding flesh, the wolf lay down on the ground and attempted to cover the glowing paint by rolling in the earth beneath it. After a moment of waiting, a group of figures came into view, the fire from their lanterns spilling out across the everfree around them.

“We can’t have lost it already can we?” One hunter said, this one was a dark brown earth pony and held a crossbow.

“We better not have!” Another voice shouted, this one had a far posher accent and seemed to be the leader “I was told you were the best hunters around, if you can’t bring down that dumb animal, then why am I even paying you?”

Another hunter, this time a light blue unicorn spoke up “We are, but you’ve asked us to hunt down an: intelligent, camouflaged, magic, dangerous and nearly mythological animal at night. If we make a mistake, then it could still kill us all despite the wound we gave it.”

“Oh nonsense” the posh voice dismissed “It’s a stupid animal, good for nothing but being a trophy in my manor.”

“Boss” a different voice shouted “there’s howling north, sounds like one of our big wolf friends.”

Quickly moving off, the collection of hunters strode off north and away from the great wolf. The howling did in fact come from more of his kind, and was a distraction. One of his fellow Watchdogs had heard the call for help and was luring the hunters away. The wolf licked its teeth with some satisfaction, knowing they were probably being drawn into a deadly trap. Once the lanterns and torches had disappeared into the distance, the great wolf forced itself to its paws and slowly trudged away. Following its nose, the wolf stumbled after the smell of food and water. The delirious animal barely even noticed when it had left the dense forest and was among fruit trees.

Arriving at some wooden building, the huge wolf used its nose to push open the top off the strange tower. The sheet metal top fell to the ground with a crash, getting caught between a pair of apple trees. Rearing up on its hind legs, the wolf dipped its head into the cool water stored inside and began to slowly lap the soothing liquid up. Once the wolf was satisfied, it began to trudge towards two more wooden buildings. These smelt of food, and were almost intoxicating to the tired animal. Arriving at one building, the wolf pushed open the two wooden doors with its snout and padded inside. Letting its nose guide the way, the wolf found several barrels stuffed with some kind of meaty biscuit, which it made short work of. Despite the horrible taste, the four barrels he consumed were filling enough.

With its adrenaline wearing off, the huge animal felt a sudden tiredness come over it. Perhaps, it thought, it could just rest its eyes for a minute. Slowly falling into a lying position, the wolf’s eyes sunk lower and lower, until it lost consciousness altogether. The large wolf lay alone in the barn, its slumber wasn’t peaceful however, as the wound in its shoulder became infected. The slumber became a horrible nightmare from which the wolf threatened to never wake up from.

The day started as any other would for the residents of ponyville. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the residents of ponyville were getting on with their lives. Out on the apple farm, a family of hard-working earth ponies, named after the fruit on which they lives depended, were eating a hearty breakfast. The morning meal was the most important of the day and gave the farmers a well needed boost.

One young filly had just finished her slice of pie before her attention was drawn away by their dog Winona. Barking happily, the filly raised her hoof “hey granny, you reckon I could feed Winona? Seeing as I’m done finished and all.”

The most elderly of the ponies gave a toothy smile and nodded. Taking that as all the confirmation needed, the filly pushed herself away from the table. Making for the door with Winona hot of her hooves, Applebloom pushed open the door and began to run towards their barn. The new wooden building was where they kept an entire years’ worth of Winona’s dog food, stored in a near mountains of barrels.

As the filly headed towards the new barn, her sister appeared in the farmhouse door from which she’d just run. Her older sister Applejack looked out of the door and looked around for a quick second. It was early enough in the morning that she lacked their fathers Stetson hat, the older pony shouted after her younger sister “Want me to come with Sugar? You hear those Timberwolves howling last night well as I did.”

“Nah I’m good Applejack, you know they never come this close to the house. Sides’, I got Winona with me.” Applebloom shouted back “I’ll just holler if I need any thin.”

Applejack smiled and disappeared back into the farmhouse “Come on Winona,” the filly happily cheered as she turned back to the barn “let’s get you fed!”

The loyal hound barked in response. Following her trots, the dog suddenly stopped its run just as Applebloom was starting to open the barn door. Whimpering, the dog grabbed Appleblooms tail and pulled her away from the door. Briefly struggling against the dog pulling her backwards, Applebloom strode towards the door again only for Winona to repeat the same action again.

Turning around and frowning at the dog, the filly asked. “What’s gotten into you Winona?”

The dog only whimpered is response and tried to pull Applebloom further away from the barn. “Winona let me go, it’s just the…”

The bright yellow filly was suddenly silenced by the sound of heavy breathing. Slowly turning her head towards the barn, Applebloom realised exactly what Winona had heard. With newfound caution, and now acutely aware of every sound, the filly crept towards the barn door. Reaching it, Applebloom pushed it open just an inch and peeked inside. Lying across the floor, and illuminated by the crack of light from the open door, was the largest wolf she’d ever seen.

Scattered around the wolf were some four barrels of Winonas dog food. The deep and regular breaths of the huge animal were the only sound filling the bar. What scared Applebloom the most was the smell. The stench was the worst she’d smelt for a long time, it was the same smell she’d smelt the day the cutie mark crusaders had found the remains of a Timberwolves prey. The filly got a quick glance at the creatures slightly open jaw, spotting teeth which could undoubtable make short work of her, in fact, it probably wouldn’t even need to chew before swallowing.

With her eyes having shrunk to terrified pinprick’s, Applebloom slowly closed the door. When it softly clicked shut, the youngest of the apples headed back to the farmhouse at a gallop, the loyal Winona hot on her hooves. For fear of waking the enormous predator, both remained silent as the grave.

The first thing which registered to the enormous wolf, was the numb pain in its shoulder. Where a crossbow bolt had previously struck it, he could now feel nothing but a dull ache. The entire area seemed to have been padded up or bandaged. Which mortal would be brave enough to help a Farron wolf.

Ever weary of its surroundings, the wolf kept its eyes closed despite its sudden consciousness. Instead it began to quietly sniff and paint a clearer image of the room. His ears also shot up, and started to track any and all sounds around it. The scents of 5 ponies around it alerted the wolf it wasn’t alone. His ears swivelled towards their location and he painted a mental image and sized them up.

Three of them were alicorns, but that much were certain. The Farron watchdog could recognise two of them as the princesses of the mortal ponies, the third was something new. If there was a new Alicorn, then it had ascended or been born without the knowledge of the Great Wolf. The voices they were speaking in were slightly muffled, and their scents partially obscured. Daring to open his eyes, the Farron wolf confirmed his suspicions, they were on the far side of a wooden door.

Farron wolves had remained hidden since the great beginning because of their two great abilities. The first was to move as silently as the wind, using magic to treaty so lightly that they left no footprints or even disturbed leaves on the ground. The second was their perfect camouflage, they could blend into a moving environment so perfectly that they were practically invisible. Utilising both of these, the Farron Wolf pushed itself to its paws and silently stalked to the far wall. There, it camouflaged seamlessly into the wall.

The wolf patiently waited there for minutes, then the door opened. “I’m telling you princess, I’ve never seen anything like it. It can only…” the words died on the small alicorns tongue as she realised the wolf was gone. “That doesn’t…” she began “princess you have to believe me, it was right here!”

“Oh I believe you my faithful student, this in fact confirms to me exactly what this is. It’s a Farron wolf.” The tallest of the alicorns began, it was the sun princess.

“I don’t care what it is!” A small orange earth pony exclaimed “I want to know where it’s gone, and how to get it off ma farm!”

“You should feel honoured Applejack, to have a Farron Wolf judge your home as safe is a great blessing.” The night princess whispered, eyes on the swivel.

“I’m sorry princess, I should have kept a better eye on it.” The smallest alicorn quietly apologised.

“Worry not my most faithful student, all this means is that it’s awake. The Farron Watchdog is still here, in this very room with us right now.” The sun princess explained.

Suddenly the mortals were alert. The yellow Pegasus, silent until now, hid behind her ear to pony friend. The youngest alicorn looked around the room in a panic, lighting up her horn with the prepared shield spell. The other two young alicorns (the princesses of day and night) kept alert, but remained as non threatening as possible, even holding their heads low.

“Where is it? How can something that big hide so well!” The orange mare shouted, not caring for the volume.

“Princess, where is it? What is that thing?” The youngest alicorn asked “I’ve never read about a wolf like it before, I’d be amazed and taking notes if I wasn’t trapped in a room with it.”

“Dispell one’s fear Twilight Sparkle. Your ignorance on this matter is not unexpected, Farron Wolves are one of the most ancient beings in the world.” The night princess began “if it wanted to harm us, we would already be gone. One’s eyes hath probably already passed over it, they hide so well in plain sight.”

“You see Twilight, these wolves are so ancient, that they were considered an old legend before Luna and I ascended.” The day princess explained “They predate ponykind, and will probably be here after us as well. They cannot be catalogued, because they appear so infrequently, in fact, the last sighting was a millennium ago by a lost explorer. She claimed a Farron wolf saved her from certain death.”

“You know I’ll be grilling you for every single piece of information you have on them later right?” The youngest alicorn said. With a soft chuckle, the older alicorns shared a knowing smile before the youngest continued “But right now, what are we supposed to do?”

“Simple, we talk to it.” The sun princess cleared her throat before addressing me “Farron Watchdog, we are honoured to be in your presence. I assure you, there is no need to harm us. We only wish to check your wounds, please allow us to help you.”

The youngest alicorn looked over to the night princess and whispered “why is Celestia addressing it like we’re the wounded ones?”

“Because Twilight Sparkle, if it chose to attack, we would lose that fight. We are the ones trapped in here with it, not the other way around.” The night princess replied in a similar whisper.

Normally, you can tell when someone is lying by their scent, a combination of sweat and several chemicals it carries are a dead giveaway. The sun princess was sweating, but they smelt of well concealed fear. Choosing this as the moment, the Farron Wolf dropped the magic which hid its breathing. Then it took a deliberately loud step forwards. All eyes in the building turned towards the source of the sound.

The mortals watched in a stunned silence as the wolf returned its fur to the natural black. Slowly, the looming shape of the enormous wolf became visible to them. The group remained in silence as they surveyed it for a moment, even the two young alicorn princesses were visibly stunned.

Cautiously, the meek yellow Pegasus smiled and waved a hoof at the Farron watchdog. “Hi Mr wolf.” She quietly spoke.

“Fluttershy” the day princess quietly hissed “don’t insult him. Everypony here needs to understand right now that this is not an animal. The Farron wolves are hyperintelligent, almost certainly smarter than us. Do not interpret its inability to speak our language as stupidity.” The day princess lowered her head slowly towards the ground, spreading her wings across the ground before her, appearing even smaller than before “everypony lower yourselves, let it know that we know who’s in charge.”

Slowly, the other mortals lowered themselves. Heads bowed, wings spread across the ground bellow them. The Farron wolf did the exact opposite and raised its head, they all knew exactly who was in change of the room.

The yellow Pegasus took the opportunity to speak again “I’m very sorry for insulting you Mr Farron Watchdog sir.” After a moment of harsh observation, the Farron Wolf huffed.

Letting out a sight of relief, the yellow Pegasus was approached by the wolf. That relief quickly disappeared as it lay down in front of her. The wounded shoulder open to here, inviting the Pegasus to observe the bandaged wound. Taking a nervous step forwards, the Pegasus shakily stretched out a good towards the bandages.

“Fluttershy you can’t…” the orange earth pony was silenced mid sentence by a snarl from the Farron wolf. Silenced, the earth pony lowered her head further to the ground, shaking with fear.

The pony named Fluttershy pushed on through her obvious fear as her hoof made contact with the wolf’s fur. She took a deep breath before working her paw through the impossibly soft fur to the bandage. She carefully unwrapped it, piece by piece, until the shoulder was undressed. Instead of a horrible wound, there was now little sign of any injury or infection. The only sign of the injury was a small circular patch where the crossbow bolt had buried itself.

“Your shoulder looks all better now Mr Farron watchdog sir. It might ache a bit, but it won’t cause you any more problems.” Slowly the one known as Fluttershy backed up a bit and fell back into the line the mares had formed. The Farron wolf stood once again and raised itself to its paws, towering over them, the wolf looked towards the doors and made of soft humming sound in its throat.

Taking that as her Que, the only known as Twilight Sparkly undid the latch with her magic. The door was pushed open, and revealed a deep orange evening sky. The Farron wolf padded silently over to the door and was half way out when it stopped. Turning around, the wolf surveyed the mares who watched it intently. Then the wolf bowed its head in respect. The quiet squeal of excitement from the day princess reached the wolf’s ears, before it disappeared and made its way back to the Everfree.

Once Celestia was sure that the Farron Watchdog was gone, she raised her head and fell back onto her haunches. Raising her hooves to her mouth, she squealed in excitement. Her sister let out a sigh of relief and wiped a river of sweat off her brow. The Elmer of honestly collapsed to the ground in a bag of nerves while the element of kindness comforted her. Twilight sparkle meanwhile looked out of the barn doors, almost hoping the so called , Farron wolf would come back.

“Though are lucky Twilight Sparkle.” Luna began “In all our long years, we never once had the honour of seeing an ancient Farron wolf. You have seen something truly ancient and majestic today. And you Kindness, to be allowed to touch and tend it, has never happened in the very few encounters our kind has had with those mythical beings.”

Twilight continued to stare out of the barn doors. When Celestia let out a quiet squeal of excitement, as she continued to do now, Twilight realised just how special those wolves must be. If neither Luna or Celestia had ever seen one, and considered them ancient, then they were ancient. If Celestia and Luna were scared of them, then they were terrifying. If Celestia and Luna were honoured and excited by even being in the presence of one, then that was a truly historic encounter.

Author's Note

I know nothing about FIM or MLP, I’ve only posted this because I lost a bet. If this is terrible, then it’s because it’s midnight and I wrote it on my phone. No proof reading has been done, and I’ve not spellchecked it.

If you want to read something good, go read the princess and the kaiser. It’s honestly one of the best fics I’ve ever read for anything. (IDK how to link stuff I don’t use this website).