One's Bark is Worse

by Speven Dillberg

Rating: teen
Tags: Random, Slice of Life, Dark, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 4172

An earth pony's life gets changed forever after an encounter in the Everfree

After an unfortunate run-in with a pack of Timberwolves in the Everfree Forest, the life of earth pony toxicologist Wolfsbane will never be the same...

Toxicologist: One who studies the nature and effects of poisons and their treatment.

Written as a way to help break through my writer's block. Don't expect frequent updates.

Published 2012-11-22 13:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-12-02 12:38:07 UTC

Chapter 1

To say the Everfree Forest is a dangerous place is like saying that the ocean is deep. Technically true, yet so very lacking in detail.

Wolfsbane knew this. He’d been going in and out of the unnatural forest for years. It was how he’d gotten his cutie mark, a flower of the plant he had been named after. Anything to do with poisonous plants was his talent. He mainly used it to work on antidotes and medicines. After all, the right amount of atropa belladonna was an effective pain reliever. Poison hemlock could be used to treat arthritis. Poison Joke seeds could, if ground into a powder and mixed with milk, be a viable treatment method for severe magical fatigue. Every plant had its use, and he knew how to unlock their potential.

Most would call him crazy, walking into the Everfree like any other pony would a flower shop. But he had been doing this for years. He knew the best ways around the forest, where the dangerous predators had their territories, the best place to go looking for plants. The secret paths, the clearings, even shelter if he needed it.

Wolfsbane wasn’t a particularly imposing stallion, especially for an earth pony. He was barely taller than the average mare, and his rather feminine build had gotten him bullied a lot. When his purple-flower cutie mark appeared, things only got worse. It showed up quite boldly against his russet coat and two-toned green tail. When he had quite calmly told the bullies what it represented, they quickly left him alone for fear of getting poisoned. Not that he would ever do such a thing, Wolfsbane was just too gentle.

He was a bit lonely, given his habit of entering the Everfree and on occasion disappearing for days. There was one time when a rumour had circulated stating that he had been eaten by a manticore. Getting that cleared up had been a small nightmare, not made much better by walking into his own service.

He sighed as he weaved his way through the dense foliage, making sure not to get his vest snagged on any branches or thorns. Sure, getting that job in Canterlot as a toxicologist had been just the break he was looking for. But it meant moving from his family and the town he had grown up in. More importantly, at least from a professional standpoint, it meant less time in the Everfree finding and collecting rare plants. At least he had a few days until his new job started.

He reached into his vest and pulled out a small pair of cutters. He had just come across yet another plant he hadn’t seen. That was one of the benefits of the Everfree. There was so much strange and exotic plant life that you were always going to find something new.

As he snipped off a branch, careful to hold it only by the wooden part, he heard what could only be described as growling from behind him. The stallion turned around slowly, his heart sinking. When he found himself face-to-face with a large Timberwolf, looking right into its glowing yellow eyes, there was only one thing to say. “Fuck.”

Of course, there was never just ONE Timberwolf. None of the plant-based predators ever travelled alone. So it was that Wolfsbane found himself galloping for his life through the Everfree from half a dozen hungry Timberwolves.

Running through the forest was hard enough if you stuck to the path. He wasn’t following one, instead running along a small trail. The problem with these trails was that you constantly had to watch your step, lest you trip over an exposed root or a stone. Galloping for your life tended to make such a thing near-impossible. Things were further compounded by a general lack of light. The best way to describe the lighting was ‘murky’. It was actually a miracle of sorts that Wolfsbane managed to get as far as he did.

The stallion picked himself up unsteadily, barely aware of the metallic taste in his mouth. The realisation that he had bitten his tongue didn’t get a chance to register before something pinned him to the ground.

Wolfsbane began to laugh. Not a deep, hearty chuckle or a long explosive laugh, but a high-pitched giggling. The irony of the situation was not one that escaped him in the slightest. Named after a plant that had been widely used to kill wolves and other dangerous predators, he was going to find his death at the claws and teeth of a wolf made of plant matter.

Of course, it’s a little hard to keep laughing when there’s a Timberwolf pinning you to the ground. “Ergh.” The animal pressed him down on him, pushing his muzzle to muffle any screams. He could hear the low growling right in his ear and feels its warm breath on his neck. The pressure on his back as the wild plant-beast forced him deeper into the ground was beginning to intensify, but that discomfort was nothing when the wolf sunk its teeth into the stallion’s shoulder.

Wolfsbane didn’t know if he screamed or not. Between the burning agony caused by a chunk of his shoulder being ripped off and the horrible terror of his ordeal he couldn’t be sure. Mercifully enough he passed into unconsciousness.

Wolfsbane woke up. That alone was cause for concern. The last thing he knew was the Timberwolf attacking him. Why had it stopped? Where had the others gone? Why was he still alive? Something that could scare off a small pack of Timberwolves could easily eat him as an afterthought. Maybe it decided he wasn’t a threat and left him there? Or was it not hungry? Had it just attacked the wolves to save him? He dismissed that thought, it didn’t make any sense at all.

Wolfsbane picked himself up and let out a cry of pain. His shoulder was still torn open, blood ruining his vest and russet coat. Walking was near impossible because of the pain. He stumbled a few times as he tried to move. He made about five steps before collapsing in agony. His vision blurred and consciousness threatened to leave him again.

“Help,” he groaned. “Help,” he said again, his voice getting stronger.

He didn’t know how long he lay there, waiting for help that wouldn’t come. An hour, maybe, he’d never been good at judging the passing of time. He decided that he would try to stand up again. To his surprise the pain was a lot less severe. He took a few tentative steps. When no pain came, he began to panic. Were a Timberwolf’s fangs venomous? Had he been injected with a paralytic poison that would make him collapse any moment now? He glanced at his shoulder, seeing it was still as mangled and bloody as it had been before.

It was impossible to tell the time of day without being in one of the Everfree’s clearings, but an educated guess put things at around six in the evening. Of course, not knowing how long he had been unconscious for made that a shaky estimate at best. Doing his best to ignore his worrying thoughts, he started limping, following the trail that would lead out of this place.

Chapter 2

“Oh my goodness!”

“I need to see a doctor,” Wolfsbane said redundantly.

“J-just stay here.” The mare at the receptionist’s desk rushed off, leaving the injured stallion all alone.

The walk to Ponyville had not been a pleasant one. About ten minutes in the pain started coming back, reducing his already slow pace to an agonizing crawl, only compounded by the limited range of movement his right foreleg was now capable of. The fact that the town was nearly pitch black was a mercy, though. The last thing he wanted was to be responsible for scaring some poor foal into having nightmares for the next month. Or some of the more squeamish adults.

He was thankful the local clinic had recently changed to a 24/7 schedule. Given the sheer number of accidents and disasters that took place it was inevitable.

His thought processes didn’t get any further as his body decided it had used enough adrenaline for one day and he fell to the ground heavily.

When Wolfsbane woke up, the first thing he noticed was the horrible smell. He’d never liked hospitals, mainly because everything smelled so painfully sterile. Compared to the earthy smells he had grown up around and loved, it was actually a little painful. The second was a near-total lack of feeling in the right side of his body. He rolled his head and managed to see why, the swath of bandages that completely obscured almost his entire leg and shoulder up to his neck.

“I envy you earth ponies, sometimes.” Wolfsbane looked up stiffly at the alabaster unicorn mare who had just walked in.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“A pegasus or unicorn with the injuries you walked in with?” the mare replied. “They probably wouldn’t have survived. I’m Doctor Heartbeat, by the way,” she said, introducing herself.

“Um, Wolfsbane,” he answered. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”

“I’ve only been here a week,” she answered before levitating a clipboard from the foot of his bed. “Is that two words?”

“One.”

“Like the plant,” she said with a nod, making her short powder blue mane bob up and down. “Explains your mark. So, what happened?”

“I... I was in the Everfree. I was attacked by a pack of Timberwolves.”

“You were in the Everfree?” she asked incredulously. “What were you doing in there?”

“I was collecting plant samples,” Wolfsbane explained.

“Surely there’s a safer way to do that,” the doctor frowned.

“There a lot of plants that grow in there that I can’t find anywhere else.” She rolled her eyes at that.

“You said something about Timberwolves?” she asked. “Were they the source of your injuries?”

“Yeah.” Wolfsbane looked away, deep in thought. “One of them ripped open my shoulder and just left me.”

“That doesn’t sound right,” she muttered. “Are you sure that’s what happened?”

“I... I don’t know. After it bit me, I passed out. Maybe something attacked them and left me there.”

“I’ll be honest, I have absolutely no idea what passes for normal in there, but that definitely doesn’t sound normal.”

Wolfsbane nodded. “So, how bad is it?” he asked, gesturing at his bandaged shoulder.

“Okay, the bandages should be ready to come off in a week or so. In the meantime, you need to take some antibiotics to prevent an infection.”

“Thanks, doctor.” Wolfsbane’s expression became slightly worried. “Um, I’m moving to Canterlot in a few days. Is that going to be a problem?”

“I’ll send a message to Canterlot General, get you an appointment.” Doctor Heartbeat nodded, her mane bobbing up and down. “Why are you moving to Canterlot?”

“New job.”

“Well, good luck then. Just go easy on that leg for a while.”

It was two days before Heartbeat declared him fit to leave. It was with a limp, saddlebags with only a few essentials and a heavy heart he walked onto the train the day after, preparing to depart for a new start.

Half an hour into the five hour trip, having rapidly lost interest in the book he had brought with him, he fell asleep.

He stepped between the trees, sniffing at the air. The source of the unfamiliar scent was close. There, one of those strange, colourful ones. He glanced, motioning towards his packmates to go around to trap them.

He padded towards it, keeping completely silent. It seemed to be cutting something from a plant for some reason. It didn’t matter. It was distracted. It was always quite fun when the prey had no idea what was happening until it was too late.

He got right behind the colourful thing and growled into its ear. It turned and looked him in the eye, the fear in its eyes amazingly vivid. He could even see his own reflection, his pointy wooden snout and glowing yellow eyes.

Wolfsbane woke with a loud yelp. He jumped off his seat where he had been curled up and fell to the floor with a loud thump. As he lay there, panting, he tried to make sense of what he had just dreamed about.

He had been in the Timberwolf’s position. Was it the one that had bitten him? Had he just seen its memories, despite how impossible that was? If it had been memories he was seeing, he was glad it had stopped when it had.

As he calmed down, he noticed a few more things. He had been curled up in his sleep. He never did that, not since he had been a colt in elementary school. And there was the panting. With a shock, he realised that he was still doing it, tongue hanging out and lapping at the air. He forced his tongue back into his mouth, slightly worried by his own behaviour.

He clambered back onto the seat and picked his book back up. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t force away what he had just witnessed.

Chapter 3

Wolfsbane stepped onto the platform, looking around. Despite Ponyville’s proximity to the capital of Equestria, he had never actually visited Canterlot. One of the first things that caught his attention was just how big the place was. Ponyville’s station was just a platform with a shelter, a few benches and a stallion behind a counter selling tickets. Here, everything looked so pristine. There were over a dozen platforms for trains going all over the country, and dozens of ticket booths. A timetable, set to magically update, hung over them, suspended from the great ceiling. And there seemed to be hundreds upon hundreds of ponies within. And this was just the station! He shuddered briefly as he realised it was likely this was an accurate representation of the city as a whole.

Wolfsbane walked out into Canterlot proper and got a small shock. The sheer number of unicorns walking around the city was incredible. He knew that the population of Canterlot was predominantly unicorns, but he had no idea it was to this extent. He couldn’t even see another earth pony, and the only pegasi were members of the Royal Guard. The earth pony felt out of place.

He took a deep breath and set off, following the directions he had memorised that would take him to his new home.

“Excuse me, is this 1536 Étrier Lane?” he asked, looking over the small counter. The older unicorn mare sitting at the other side gave him a warm smile in return.

“It says so outside, hun,” she replied amicably.

“S-sorry, I just wanted to be sure,” Wolfsbane said timidly. “Anyway, I’m Wolfsbane, I contacted you a few weeks ago about an apartment?”

“Oh yeah, I remember.” The mint-green mare put on a pair of round reading glasses before pulling a folder from under the desk and slowly flipping through it. “Here we go. You even paid in advance. I wish some of my other tenants were like that. I’m Budget, by the way.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Wolfsbane said genuinely.

“I was worried you were like the last stallion who rented that room,” the older mare said quietly, the horn sitting below her pale grey mane, with was done up in a bun. “He said he was quiet and organised. I had him thrown out two weeks later and spent another two weeks cleaning up the mess he left behind.” From her tone it was very clear she was still upset about that. She stepped out from behind her small counter and grabbed a set of keys.

“You won’t have to worry about that,” Wolfsbane replied as he followed her up the stairs.

They continued to make small talk as they made their way to the third floor. The conversation inevitably turned to the stallion’s bandaged shoulder. “Timberwolves?” Budget asked, sounding worried. “My, that sounds like it was terrifying.”

“It was,” Wolfsbane replied. “What concerns me is that they just left me alone. I’ve seen what’s left of manticores, usually just bones. It’s not like a Timberwolf to run from a meal.”

“Well,” she said, not sure what to actually say. “Here’s your room.”

Wolfsbane peered into the small apartment as the green door swung open. His first thought was that it was small. He’d known that would be the case, but actually seeing it was something else entirely. The living area and dining area were one and the same, while the kitchen had barely enough space to work with. Off to the back he could see two more doors, leading to the bathroom and bedroom, respectively. The living room was barely four ponies wide and not much longer. The bedroom wasn’t much better, but the bath seemed to be big enough. The whole place was also sparsely furnished. A small beige couch and wooden coffee table in the living room, a fridge and small gas stove in the kitchen and a bed in the bedroom. As he inspected the apartment, the landlady spoke up again.

“It should have everything you need. Feel free to add anything, though any damages you cause will come out of your pocket,” she warned.

“It’s great,” he said from the kitchen. “Smaller than I expected, but - ”

“Most ponies stay here until they have enough to move to a bigger place.” Budget shrugged before setting a key on the small table. “Just pay the rent on time and keep the place tidy, and I won’t get my brother to kick you out.”

“Brother?” he asked as he walked into the bedroom.

“Oh yeah. Starbuck’ll throw you out on your rump if I ask him to,” Budget said offhandedly. “Follow the rules and he won’t have to launch you through the door.”

“I could probably just walk that off,” Wolfsbane replied, deciding to play along. “You know what earth ponies are like.”

“Hopefully it won’t come to that. You seem nice.” Budget made to leave the small apartment but stopped as she reached the door. “Oh yeah. There’s a small garden on the roof.” When the stallion raised an eyebrow at her, she cringed a bit and looked away as her ears folded against her head. “And I just offended you.”

“A little,” Wolfsbane muttered. “But I will need that for my job, so I can’t be too angry.”

“Well, sorry. What is your job, anyway?” she asked.

“Toxicology, poisonous plants in particular.”

Budget’s eyebrows rose up in surprise. “Wow. Um, make sure you label the poison ones, would you? I do not need another lawsuit.” she suggested.

“If anything happens, it’ll be their fault,” he said with a smirk. “Anypony stupid enough to ignore a dozen signs probably doesn’t deserve to live.”

“Unfortunately, the law doesn’t see things your way. Or my way, for that matter.” Budget chuckled as she shut the door. “It was nice meeting you. Rent is every fortnight, but you paid in advance so...” She quickly did the maths. “Three and a half weeks. Try not to get arrested, country boy.”

Wolfsbane just stared at the closed door for a moment. “Country boy?”

Chapter 4

Wolfsbane decided to just go to sleep shortly after Budget left him in his new home, partly for lack of anything better to do, partly because it was close to seven in the evening and moving had taken a lot out of him. It took some time for sleep to claim him, though. One of the reasons was because his new bed was lumpy and smelled of old sweat. He wouldn’t have minded if it was his sweat, but no. He eventually decided that Budget simply had not had the time to get it cleaned or replaced.

The other reason he couldn’t get to sleep was because of where he was. This wasn’t the first time he had had to sleep away from Ponyville, but this time he knew he wasn’t going back. It made him feel like a little colt again, going to his first day of school. He felt... weak. Okay, maybe not weak, he thought to himself. Vulnerable, he decided, was a better word. All he knew about Canterlot was what he had been told or read about it in book. He had no idea what the other ponies were like or where anything was. Budget had been right. He was just a country boy in a big city.

Wolfsbane stumbled into the bathroom, nearly tripping over his own hooves. It was close to four AM, he sleep had been restless and his dreams had been filled with so much strange, cryptic imagery he couldn’t make heads or tails of. Getting back to sleep was an impossibility, as he would have to get up in a few hours anyway for his first day of work. In retrospect, he realised that moving to Canterlot earlier would have been a better decision.

As he turned on the shower head and stepped under it, he fought the urge to slap himself in the face. He hadn’t bought any food, or brought any with him. Not even half a carton of lumpy milk or a head of moldy lettuce. He would likely have to get something along the way, it was too much to hope that there would be something he could grab there.

He toweled himself off and clip-clopped into the small kitchen, where he opened the fridge. It looked small, and he had wanted to know just how much food he could store . He hadn’t expected to find a small basket filled with fruit. Apples, oranges, bananas and mangoes, and those were just the ones he could see at first glance. There was also a small card.

“Welcome to your new home. We hope you find everything to your satisfaction. Management. Hmm.” It seemed a little strange to him, but he wasn’t going to complain. After all, free food. Who was going to argue with that!?

As he chewed slowly on an apple, he looked out the sole window. He hadn’t realised this the day before, but he had a perfect view of... buildings. Lots and lots of buildings. Just beyond them he could make out the horizon. He frowned as he gazed at the many white buildings, shrouded in gloom and shadow from the lack of light. What he would give for a view of the Everfree Forest, or Whitetail Woods.

He stood there, staring out for some time. It was only when the horizon began to turn orange and yellow that he realised he’d been there for hours, lost in thought. He shook his legs to get some feeling back in them before going to retrieve his saddlebags. “Where did I...” He rummaged around in them for a few seconds before pulling out a slip of paper, held in his mouth. “Mh-hmm!” he exclaimed triumphantly.

This piece of paper was very important, for on it was the address of the Canterlot Medical Research Center. It wasn’t officially affiliated with Canterlot University, but a lot of students made use of the resources it provided. It was also where he was going to be helping with development of new medicines, mainly antidotes and antivenoms, but also painkillers and anesthetics.

He cast his mind back briefly to the circumstances that had landed him this job. He had gotten his toxicology degree externally, having his materials sent to and from the university. It had taken a bit longer than it would have had he actually gone there physically, but he was just too attached to Ponyville at the time to even think of leaving town. He’d gotten his degree, and started work part-time at the local clinic. Even if his talents weren’t directly related to healing, he could mix up something when stock ran low, which at the time was surprisingly often.

Then he’s gotten a full-time job at one of the flower shops in Ponyville. That was mainly due to him being an earth pony, though, as every earth pony had some talent with tending plants. When things were slow, he would read through books on alchemy. While the practise had fallen into disuse, a lot of the actual science was still valid, if haphazard. He’d accidentally poisoned himself once with a poorly-made painkiller.

Then, several weeks ago, a letter came, out of the blue. Behind all the legalese and confusing wording, it boiled down to one simple question; Would you like to work for us? After a back-and-forth regarding pay, hours and other details, he had made up his mind.

Stowing the address paper into his mane and grabbing another apple, he briefly returned to his bedroom and grabbed his coin pouch. He would need it to buy some proper groceries with, after all.