(for music to go along to this piece: start at about 50 seconds, then begin reading.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbEob28Dxag )

The clouds overhead continued to gather, the two ponies staying in the general vicinity of the broken down cabin. Since it was clear a storm was approaching, the two decided that the ramshackle cabin was better than anything they'd be able to do on their own.

“I n-ever knew yo-u cou-ld cr-aft something lik-e this. It's ama-zing.”

Toxic examined the large earthen bowl he held in his magical grip, molded and then flash-fired by Sky's magic. It was a perfect container to hold some water from the coming storm.

“Wh-en did y-you lear-n thi-s?”

Sky glanced over to Toxic, then up at the darkening sky.

“When I was little. It's a really tricky spell. You have to get the clay, or make it, if necessary. Then comes the molding. The drying spell is the hardest part. It needs to be just hot enough to keep the clay hard, but not too hot as to cause it to crack.” She couldn't help but bounce a bit in her steps as she spoke.

“I'm actually quite happy how that bowl turned out.”

Toxic smiled, carefully stepping over a large root.

“Y-ou should b-e....GAH!”

The roots little brother snagged Toxic's hoof, sending the stallion tumbling to the ground.

“Toxic! You alright?”

He nodded, looking over to the bowl and grinning.

“S-aved the b-owl.” The stallion managed to stutter out as he tried to stand.

That proved to be a futile attempt, because Toxic instantly fell to his knees with a cry of pain. The foreleg that had caught on the root was wrought with daggers of pain at the slightest bit of pressure.

“Looks like it's sprained....” Sky said calmly, as she took a closer look at the limb in the fading light.

A low rumble then reached the two ponies ears, and Sky slid to Toxic's side.

“Here, lean on me...that thunder was close.”

To her surprise, Toxic looked at her with wide eyes.

“Tha-t wasn-t thund-er.”

Any possible jokes flew out of Sky's mind as the sound echoed around them again, this time mixing with true thunder. The original rumble rose in volume, now sounding from multiple angles.

“T-toxic....do they have timberwolves here?”

The other unicorn didn't respond he leaned against Sky's side, the two ponies making slow headway to the shack in the distance. They still were a few minutes away, especially at their impeded pace.

“I d-on't kno-w...” Toxic finally said, as the growling grew closer.

They had almost broken the treeline when the two ponies could finally see familiar glowing green eyes surrounding them.

A brilliant beam of red light blinded Toxic for a second, and it took him a moment to realize it emanated from Sky. The burst slammed into a pair of the green eyes, illuminating the strange creature. It was indeed a timberwolf, but with much thicker limbs, and strangely-colored wood. It made sense, a different part of the world would yield that....

“We're not going to make it....” Sky spoke into Toxic's ear as she urged him onwards. The number of eyes continued to grow- it must be an entire pack!

“Y-ou run f-or it, I'll t-ry-”

“Oh shut it Toxic!” Sky's vehement answer caused the stallion to clamp his mouth shut.

“What good would that do? You'd get eaten, then I would. The only difference is that you would be about fifty feet away.”

Another red beam lanced out, this one bouncing between two of the timberwolves, sending both into piles of kindling. A light rain began to fall, lightning now overhead, illuminating the scene with an eerie flash every now and again.

Toxic sensed that she was about to speak, but movement to his right drew his attention. Time seemed to slow as he turned to look. Mid-pounce, the timberwolf's front paws had already left the ground as it aimed itself at Toxic's exposed side. Its green eyes glowed not with innocent animal instinct, but distinctive malice and bloodlust.

He readied a protective spell, spreading his legs as he became slightly unbalanced-

“YAAAAAAAA!”

An earsplitting yell nearly deafened Toxic as something blurred by next to him. The timberwolf was met mid-jump by a brutal hoof to its face.

Sky Duster landed in front of the stricken wolf, caving its head in with a powerful kick. Her wet mane flapped in the wind, and her eyes shone with magical power.

“You...stay away from him!”

Toxic watched dumbfounded as another timberwolf launched itself at Sky Duster. The mare saw the attack coming, and charged the larger animal.

Her horn lit up with power, and the resulting blast sent the creature sailing back into the woods. Without missing a beat, Sky turned and kicked another wolf in the face with one of her back legs. The animal quickly splintered into a pile on the ground.

One wolf did manage to get through- but met its end as it tried to sneak up behind her. Toxic's attack sliced it neatly in half, quickly falling to pieces.

Sky shot him a quick grin- full of fear, daring, excitement, and.....something else....

The timberwolves were slowly retreating, deciding that this prey wasn't worth the trouble. One final wolf tried to chance it, but Sky's attack sent wooden shrapnel sailing back at the other pack. Her horn glowed a bright purple as she aimed it at each of the remaining wolves- about six in all. The creatures slowly retreated, their eyes fading into darkness, spurred on by a lower-intensity blast to their hindquarters from Sky's horn.

And then they were gone, leaving the two ponies alone in the thunder and rain. Sky's sides were heaving as she returned back to Toxic's side, helping him along towards the shack. It was a moment before either of them spoke, but finally Toxic broke the silence.

“S-ky....tha-t was a-maz-ing!”

She shot him another wry smile, this one more tired and fearful, but still full of energy.

“There wasn't anyone to cheap shot me in the head this time.”

Author's Note

Sky Duster- Don't mess with her!

shorter chapter, but hopefully still good ^_^
Oh. Selfish request: If you fav my story.....could you upvote it too? XD Shame on my for asking that....