Manonymous Part 6: Anon VS Timber Wolves

>Twilight cared far less for your devouring of a magical creature and the subsequent exploding of a timber wolf than she did about you lying and leaving without letting her know where you were going first
>Her anger quickly changed to tears as she asked if you hated her, and why you thought it would be alright to scare her like you did
>Your guilt over turning her into this wreck completely overrided any desire to explain or make excuses
>When you asked what you could do to make it up to her, she made a few demands: First, you always let her know where you're going before you go anywhere
>Second, you devote at least 4 evenings a week to learning more about Equestria and teaching her about Earth
>Third, no picking fights unless you absolutely have to
>Normally, you'd try and haggle these down to get a bit more freedom
>But right now you just want the adorable purple pone to stop sobbing
>You make your promises and resolve not to break them
>And when she heard about your overwhelming desire for meat, well...
>"Why didn't you just say so? Fluttershy takes care of omnivores all the time. If you needed some fish or something else for protein, you can just ask her."
>Whoops.
>Well, that makes things much easier.
>Still, at least your venture into the forest wasn't a complete waste of time with the medicine you got from Zecora
>And considering the exercise her traps gave you for that day, sleep comes extremely easily that night...

>Day 6 in Equestria
>Today you promised Applejack to help her with some apple bucking
>After breakfast and telling Twilight where you were going as promised, you set off with the bare essentials for a days work in the sunlight
>Water, snackfoods and your new, heavier training weights
>It really is a marvel what those ironworkers could do: everything was to your exact specifications, a perfect fit for your wrists and ankles
>The walk to the apple farm is far enough to get you feeling fairly tired from your new weights holding you back
>Today should be an excellent day for training
>You might even have to take the weights off at some point today
>The farm starts to come into sight and holy fuck that's a lot of apples
>Apples, apple trees and apple accessories as far as the eye can see
>You hop a fence and snag a low-hanging fruit
>A quick bite and oh god it's so juicy and delicious it's a wonder it didn't explode in your mouth when you chowed down
>You take another bite, trying to savour the sweet fruit this time
>"Ya gonna pay fer that there, pard'?" comes a deep voice from your left.
>You glance over. A big red stallion, almost as tall as Celestia is standing there. Just... Watching.
>Must be another member of the Apple family, if the apple cutie mark is anything to go by.
>You swallow your bite and address him.
"Paying by working. Didn't Applejack tell you I was coming to help out today?"
>He looks you up and down. Thinks for a second.
>"Eenope."
"Well... Is she around anywhere?"
>"Eeyup."
"... Can you take me to her?"
>"Eeyup."
>And with that, he turns around and starts plodding along further into the farm.
"Not one for conversation are ya?"
>"Eenope."
"... Name?"
>"Big Mac."
"Nice to meetcha. I'm Anonymous."
>"... Didn't ask."
>Well alright then.
>Soon enough, a large farmhouse and barn starts to come into view
>Applejack is waiting outside, and when she catches sight of you with Big Mac, starts beaming and trotting over to you
>"Well, good mornin' there Anon! Nice ta see ya showed up", she grins at you.
"of course! I made a promise and a man always keeps his word!"
>You take the last bite out of your apple and toss the core.
>Big Mac watches the apple's remains hit the ground before giving a small snort and wandering back amongst the trees
>Applejack's grin turns a bit more serious
>"Y'all met mah brother now I see?"
"Not one for words is he."
>"Let me guess: you just went ahead and picked an apple without thinkin', right?"
"Of course I thought about it. I thought, 'I am hungry' and 'these apples are delicious'."
>Applejack sighs.
>"Looks like you've made a bad first impression on him. Big Mac ain't one fer words, and he ain't one fer fallin' fer smooth lies or pretty ways of persuadin' either. He probably assumed that y'were an apple thief as soon as you laid hands on one of our fruit."
"Apple thieves are a problem? Seriously?"
>"Well, look how easy you snagged one of our apples. The occasional folk see them hanging around from the road, get hungry and think we won't miss one or two. But each apple is another bit out of our pockets, another bit we need to keep things runnin' smooth and a roof over our heads. You explained why you were here ta Big Mac I take it?"
>You nod.
>"Well, if ya hadn't, he'd have laid you out clean with one solid buck. Big Mac ain't never taken kindly to apple thieves."
"So... He's strong, is what you're saying?"
>"Don't you even think about it, you roughhousin' obsessed idjit", she warns. "You two fight an' it's a guarantee that somep0ny goes to the hospital, and we need all hands on deck at the moment. Now, you wanna show me how you buck, or what?"
>You stand aside and gesture for AJ to go ahead with an exaggerated bow.
"Lead on, bosslady. No, wait. Bossp0ny? Bossmare?"
>"I'll show you bossmare, you little..." she grumbles under her breath, but still smirks nontheless.
>As you start following AJ into the trees, you feel eyes on you from somewhere behind you.
>But when you whirl around, all you catch sight of is a yellow blur
>Your eyes narrow. Better keep your guard up just in case.
>AJ shows you to one of the trees in the south section of the farm
>"Now, watch and learn Anon. This here's a buckin' technique Ah developed over many years of apple buckin'!"
>She lines herself up with the tree as you watch her like a hawk.
>Putting all of her weight on her front hooves, she pushes forward straight into the tree's center like a coiled spring.
>It's a fairly basic technique: use the force of all the muscles in your front legs, back, chest and rear legs to land a single solid blow against a target
>But it's been polished to perfection
>There's no wasted movement in that buck, no hesitation and it lands right where you think the easiest spot to make the tree shake would be
>Applejack wasn't kidding: this one hit must have been practiced thousands of times over the years
>A hail of apples falls out of the tree, a majority of them landing in wooden baskets placed around
>Applejack turns back to you, with a smug smile
>"See? Not too shabby for a lil ol' country gal, is it?"
"I'm impressed. You really have been doing this for years. That buck was perfect, AJ."
>She blushes, obviously proud of her work and your praise
>"Aw, heck Anon. Ya silver-tongued devil. Come on now, I want to see what you can do with those big legs of yours."
>You stroll up to another tree surrounded by baskets and find the ideal range to kick it from
>AJ's watching you closely
>You take up your usual stance
>Twist your front ankle
>Shift in
>Spin
>And thrust your back leg straight into the tree
>With a loud noise similar to the one AJ's hooves made when they hit the tree, it starts to shake and the fruit all fall out into the baskets just like when AJ performed her buck
>"Hoo-ee! A bit different to mah buck, but no less effective!"
>But doing just one of those with your new weights is fairly tiring. You're gonna have to alternate the way you strike the trees throughout the day to keep up with AJ.
"Ain't nothing to it. My kicks are just as perfect as your bucks."
>"Well, Ah can see yer technique don't need any improvement, but Ah got you fer the whooole day out here, so Ah hope yer stamina's not a problem."
"Ha! You'll see, Applejack. They way I feel right now, I can keep up with the strongest stallion in all of Equestria right now!"

>--4 hours later--

>Your entire existence is pain
>Even alternating the strikes against the trees, you were still using every muscle in your body to hit them
>And right now, they're all screaming at you to stop what you're doing
>Sweat is running off you in rivulets right now
>You took off your shirt and shoes a long time ago to deal with the sun, but kept your weights on out of sheer stubborness
>After all, it's just another form of training, right?
>You're resting on your knees, taking gasping breaths
>You and AJ together managed to clear an entire field of these things, and now you're right by the main road that separates the farm from the Everfree
>Applejack laughs at your exhaustion. "Keep up with the strongest stallion in Equestria, huh? Cause yer lookin' mighty weak at the knees right now!"
"Shut... Up... New weights... Not adjusted... properly yet..."
>And that's about all she's gonna get out of you for a while. You fall backwards onto the soft grass, looking up at the blue sky
>Weather patrol did a great job. Not a cloud up there
>"Heh. Think ya can muster up the strength to haul yerself back to the house? It's lunchtime."
>You stay silent for a second, enjoying not moving and feeling the pain of your body melting away into bliss in the sunlight
>After a moment like this, you sit up with a groan, and undo the straps holding the weights to your arms and legs
"Sure. I think I'll go without my weights until we get back into it though. Need a good recovery time, and they'd be counter-productive towards that end."
>You stand up and stretch. It feels so... Free, being without those. But you've still got all of your muscle pain from hitting trees for 4 hours straight with them strapped to your limbs
>AJ chuckles. "Alright then Anon. Say, how much do those things weigh again?"
"I had them increased recently, thanks to my earth pony magic power up. The arms are 25kg now, and the legs are 40kg. That's an extra 130kg."
>Applejack just scratches her head. "And uh, in regular p0ny terms, how much are we talkin'?"
>You think for a second on how best to translate that.
"Big Mac would only weigh somewhere from 60-70kg. So it's like working out with two Big Mac's latched onto your hands and legs."
>Her jaw drops. She seems to recover quickly though, shaking her head and chuckling.
>"Just when Ah think ya can't surprise me no more, y'go and do somethin' crazy to make me rethink ya."
>That makes you smile.
"Most people back home said the exact same thing about me."
>She smiles, and gestures back into the fields. "Come on, we'll get ya somethin' that'll put a spring back in yer--"
>She stops. Her smiles fades. She's no longer looking at you: she's looking behind you, into the forest at your back.
>You turn around to try and see what it is she's staring at, and understand her sudden trepidation
>Numerous pairs of glowing eyes are staring at you from out of the forest
>Timber wolves. A pack of them.
>As they step forward out of the treeline, growling their strange vocalisations, you curse their bad timing
>Even if you know their weak point, your stamina's down the crapper from all the bucking you've done
>Your mind races, trying to come up with a plan
>You could use the same strategy as last time... But you don't have any alcohol to burn or flint and tinder with you
>But with all this wood around you could resort to the old scout method of lighting fires, but that would take a long time. Tinder & flint or matches would work better
>You can tear apart your shirt to make some improvised hand and leg wraps, and hope that Rarity will forgive you for the destruction of the results of all her hard work
>And the Apple family produces cider, so there'd probably be something alcoholic back at the main house...
>Which means you'd need to outrun the timber wolves
>With your current exhaustion, that's not gonna happen
>You'd need Applejack to go ahead of you and then bring it back
>Which means holding off...
>You take a quick count of the wolves appearing out of the trees
>A dozen of the bastards by yourself
"AJ, I need to know how long it'd take you to run back to your house and retrieve something for me."
>"What...?"
"Hard cider and something to start a fire. Don't waste time asking why I need it, just tell me: how long to get them?"
>She quickly does some mental calculations. "15 minutes if Ah go full speed. Anon, what're you...?"
>You snap as she tries to ask you
"Stop wasting time and get out of here Applejack! Just trust me when I say I need it! I'll stay here and keep them off your back while you get it for me."
>"B-but that's suicide! Against all of these--"
"It WILL be suicide for both of us if you don't trust me and get your ass out of her right NOW! MOVE!"
>With your last word practically screamed at her, she gives a tense nod before turning tail and running back.
>You turn your back and take up your stance. You can probably give 2 minutes at your strongest, maybe 3, so better save that energy.
>Precise movements that use their momentum and power against themselves, techniques to conserve your stamina are what's needed here
>None of them try to go after Applejack: they all take their time and circle around you
>Must be after revenge for the one you killed back in the Everfree
>You try and keep your eyes on as many of them as you can, constantly glancing around
>They keep circling slowly
>1 minute has passed
>14 until AJ gets back
>Your gaze lingers in one direction for a few seconds longer than it has been
>A particularly bold wolf takes its chance, dashing in
>You turn at the noise
>It dives for your leg
>A deft step to the side, a flick of the wrist: it lands against a tree trunk and smashes
>It will regenerate in about 30 seconds from what you remember of your last encounter
>Another wolf takes its chance, percieving an opening that doesn't exist
>This one is going for your arm
>A feint to one side, a slide to the other, a push into its midsection and the wolf is sent hurtling towards one of its comrades
>The two fall apart under the impact
>Two down for another 30 seconds
>You feel your confidence starting to rise: if things keep going this way, you should be able to hold out the 15 minutes easy
>It takes no effort to smash these things apart, and the longer you stay relaxed with your moves being easy to maintain the faster you recover from your workout
>But worry starts to set in, as experience warns against getting overconfident
>Something's wrong
>But what?
>Before you can answer, two wolves come in at once
>One aiming high, another aiming low
>A step backwards, you fall back to use your own weight to throw an elbow at the wolf coming low, shattering it apart
>Rolling onto your back, your legs kick up into the stomach of the wolf coming in high
>It too falls apart under the blow
>You regain your stance, and start your train of thought back up
>2 minutes passed: 13 to go
>Wait: 2 minutes?
>Something should have happened in the past minute
>But it didn't
>You turn and try to get a good look around without giving another opening
>The first wolf hasn't regenerated: it should have had plenty of time to do so
>The wisp that was holding it together is simply hovering there, and if it had eyes, you'd swear it was watching you
>Why? What's it holding back for?
>Are they going to sync their regenerations so they can attack at once?
>No... They could have attacked together from the start
>Are they sounding you out, trying to get a feel for how you attack?
>Maybe... But unlikely. There's no need for that. Without fire, you're a sitting duck. You could be overwhelmed easily in theory
>They're planning something
>Something that requires them to be broken apart in order to work
>Before you have time to think any further about this, another wolf comes in at you
>This time, instead of aiming to smash it, you simply toss it into an empty space between the remaining wolves
>Landing on soft grass, there's not enough force from your simple toss for it to break apart
>It gets back up growling in surprise
>There's a murmur of movement coming from the remaining pack
>The eyes of the biggest one, the one you assume to be the alpha, narrows
"Yeah, I've caught onto you now... So how're you gonna react?" you mutter.
>The alpha glares at you, before uttering a bark
>A signal
>With a howl, the remaining wolves all charge in at once
>6-on-1: trying to fight them all off at once without breaking any of them apart for another...
>You mentally estimate the time
>... 12 and a half minutes
>Nigh on impossible
>With a toss, the first two are removed from your presence, rolling over the grass
>The third almost catches you: with a deft movement, you manage to grapple it into the path of the fourth one
>But the fifth and sixth...
>One catches you in the leg and the other grabs your arm in its jaws, growling an trying to drag you down to the ground
>You grit your teeth and smash your fist into it on instinct: a kick to the face of the one trying to bite through your ankle
>They both fall apart, and the alpha gives a throaty growl
>You swear that it's laughing at you
>As the remaining four and the alpha resume circling you, you assess the damage done
>You can still put your weight on your leg and your arm feels at 100%
>Seems the damage was only superficial
>But you don't want to suffer death of a thousand paper cuts
>11 and a half minutes to go
>The alpha steps out of the circle, moving towards you
>So is this the boss fight then?
>You watch carefully, locking eyes with it
>The other wolves don't make a move
>The wisps from the smashed wolves stare on, as they always have
>It starts growling
>Then barking viciously at you, sharpened sticks and twigs rising to make it look bigger
>Must be the timber wolf equivalent of getting its hackles up
>You just keep staring it down, no reaction, no sign of fear
>11 minutes
>You settle down into a lower stance
>Don't want this thing knocking you over; it'd be a death sentence
>Sure enough, after a few more seconds of staring down, it lunges at you, jaws wide open
>You roll back and launch your legs up into it, and it goes sailing over your head
>It ends up impaled on a tree branch instead of shattering
>Growling viciously, it writhes around, trying to get itself free, but all it succeeds in doing is shaking apples out of its boughs
>You stare. And stare.
>And then you start to laugh.
>You can't help it! It looks so STUPID! Wriggling about completely stuck while the occasional apple falls on its head, looking completely indignant. It's hilarious!
>The beast stops thrashing and stares at you for a moment before giving a furious howl.
>Oh boy, it's mad.
>10 minutes
>The howl is another signal for the remaining four wolves: they all charge in at once
>The same pattern as before: two high, aiming at your arms and two low, aiming at your legs
>And you smile
>Because now you have a plan
>Instead of waiting for them to come to your position like before, you rush one of them in midleap, grabbing it by its neck
>The movement is strenuous on your exhausted muscles even with the recovery time you've had, but all you have to do is delay for...
>9 and a half more minutes
>The wolves are taken by surprise with your sudden attack. The one you have grabbed lets out a yelp as you slam a branch from a nearby tree straight through its middle
"Another one down..."
>You turn back to the three surprised wolves.
"Just three to go."
>They hesistate. But a bark from the alpha sends them diving after you again
>Once again, you charge down the middle one
>A move they were expecting, but not much that they can do to stop you
>After all, this is the speed that had the Captain of the Royal Guard at a loss
>No way some backwoods mangy mutts could keep up
>Another slam, and another wolf impaled on a tree, struggling to get down
>Your legs aren't screaming at you anymore: more of a dull ache after your recovery, but too much movement will change that quickly
>Two more down: if you can pin them for just 9 more minutes...
>A crack comes from behind you that sends you whirling to see the source
>The alpha is back down on the ground. One of the smaller wolves is standing beside it, the branch that was holding the alpha up hanging in its mouth
>A quick headcount: none of the other wolves got down or around you to help
>The rescuer must have been one of the ones you smashed earlier that reformed
>They must be getting desperate if they broke their tactics
>Sure enough, the alpha is raging, snarling and barking at you, hackles up and howling away
>You straighten up, stretch yourself out a little, and stare straight down at the magic creature
"You done yet?"
>You don't know if it understands. You don't care anymore. Even exhausted from hours of physical labour, you're stronger than all of these things, and you know it.
>And now they know it too.
>The creature reels back. Then it turns, glowering at the wolf behind it.
>And then it bites it.
>Looks like they got sick of waiting for you to enact their plan for them.
>A shake and a stomp from the alpha, and the helpless saviour falls apart
>The remaining wolves seem frozen in fear as the alpha moves on them. Looks like being broken apart isn't as painless for them as you had assumed.
>You stand and watch as the alpha smashes its remaining before turning on you, a mad glint in its eyes
>You crack your knuckles and sigh
>It seems desperate to show you the trick it's been trying to lure you into triggering for it
>You hold your stance, preparing to intercept the wolf with a single punch to obliterate it
"Alright then you mongrel, let's see what you've got up your sleeves!"
>The wolf charges in and leaps with a howl
>A single swing of your fist meets it head-on
>It's tougher than the others, you'll give it that
>But nowhere near tough enough to take you down one-on-one
>Your fist might as well be a meteor to this thing, crushing and splintering it apart until it explodes in a shower of sticks and splinters
>Now all the wolves have been smashed: their plan whatever it was should be starting now
>8 and a half minutes until AJ gets back
>The wisps start to dance: swirling, making jerky back-and-forth movements
>The alpha is significantly larger even in wisp form: it darts towards one of the smaller wisps and... Swallows it?
>It just got bigger
>Uh oh
>Another curse for these things: seeing this, it's obvious what they were aiming at now
>Rather than try and take you down with numbers, they're now going for size
>You sit down, back against a tree, conserving your energy as the alpha wisp grows larger, swallowing up more and more of the smaller wisps
>By the time it's over, it's roughly pony sized now. When it began, it was the size of your fist
>How big is the new timber wolf gonna be?
>8 minutes
>Suddenly, a tremor in the ground: wood, and tree branches are all being drawn towards the wisp
>The pieces wrap together, being entwined by the magic of the wolf
>It would almost be beautiful, the way that the wood seems to naturally wrap and twist its shape together to form complex moving parts...
>At least, if you didn't know this was intended to kill you it would be
>The way these larger pieces are locking together will require a lot more strength than what the smaller ones required to break them apart. You won't be able to keep up standing your ground against this thing for long, so resting while it's building now is what's important.
>You grimace. 7 and a half minutes...
>It's going to be at least as big as the Apple family house
>Is fire even going to help here?
>There's nothing to do but wait for this thing to form up and try and get every scrap of energy together you can...