My Little Pony--Ponyville Mysteries--The Tail of the Timberwolf Page 2

  “Welcome to my party! Have fun, okay? Don’t forget to get your face painted!” Zipporwhill exclaimed happily, then flew off.

  “See? Yer fittin’ in already.” Apple Bloom smiled at Lilymoon.

  “Birthday cake comin’ through!” a loud voice announced. Sweetie Belle looked over to see Pinkie Pie bouncing through the crowd, pushing a cart with a massive three-tiered rainbow-swirl cake with glitter sprinkles. Next to it was a smaller peanut-butter cake in the shape of a bone. Gummy Snap, also on the cart, opened his jaws to take a bite, but Pinkie stopped him just in time. “Don’t be silly, Gummy. That cake’s not for alligators. It’s for Zipporwhill’s puppy!”

  Gummy licked his eyeball thoughtfully. The CMCs hurried after Pinkie Pie as she bounced through the crowd. Then suddenly, the pink pony looked up at the sky and stopped, frozen in place. Sweetie Belle almost crashed right into her as Gummy slid off the cart.

  “Pinkie Pie? Are you okay?” Sweetie Belle asked.

  “Oh my gosh! Do you see how big the moon is?!” Pinkie said, shoving the cake-serving tools into the hooves of the surprised Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Can you take care of the cake for me? I just have to do one liiiiittle thing. Okaythanksbye!” And Pinkie zipped off at top speed, leaving a dust cloud.

  “Is she always like that?” Lilymoon asked, raising an eyebrow. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom shared a look.

  “Yep. Pretty much. Uh-huh,” the Crusaders all responded. They began cutting the cake and passing it out to the other partygoers. Everypony was having a blast until…

  “HELP! HELLLLLP!” Shouts came from across the park. The Pony Tones stopped singing, and everypony turned to see Snails and Snips come racing into the party. They looked terrified. “It’s… after… us!” Snails gasped, trying to catch his breath.

  “What? What is after you?” asked Zipporwhill, flying over.

  “A monster! We were walking out of the park and it attacked us!” Snips said in a rush.

  “It was huge, with claws!” Snails nodded. “And big teeth!”

  “A monster? I’m not surprised,” Diamond Tiara said loudly. “She probably invited it.” Diamond Tiara pointed a hoof at Lilymoon. The ponies all turned to look at Lilymoon, who glared back at them.

  “It wasn’t me!” she said defiantly.

  Apple Bloom agreed fiercely. “Yeah! She’s been with us the whole time!” The CMCs nodded. Zipporwhill’s father stepped forward to speak to Snips and Snails.

  “Are you sure you did not just encounter the characters I hired for the party?” he asked, gesturing to several ponies in large puppy and kitty costumes. Snips and Snails shook their heads, looking back at the park entrance.

  “No, because they’re over there… and the monster is right there!”

  Sweetie Belle whirled to see that the colts were right. A hulking, dark form stood in the shadows at the park’s entrance. It tilted back its fierce head and howled.

  “It’s a Timberwolf!” Lilymoon shouted.

  The Timberwolf charged into the party.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Sweetie Belle was frozen in fear as the Timberwolf bounded into the park. Its glowing green eyes burned in the darkness. A putrid stench of earth and rotting logs poured from its mouth with every rasping breath. Its “fur” was made of leaves, and its four legs and body were covered in bark, like a living tree-creature. Snips and Snails were right—it had giant teeth and claws. The birthday party exploded into chaos. Ponies screamed and stampeded out of the park as the beast stalked forward, growling. Zipporwhill’s father scooped up his struggling daughter in his hooves and flapped his wings skyward.

  “My puppy!” Zipporwhill reached her hooves toward a small brown dog across the park. The little Pegasus squirmed free of her father’s grip and flew to grab her puppy. He licked her muzzle in thanks, then began to bark ferociously at something behind Zipporwhill. She turned slowly, her eyes widening in fear. The monster was stalking toward her, head low, jaws agape.

  Sweetie Belle gasped as the creature gave a guttural growl and leaped at the birthday pony. Zipporwhill screamed and ducked, flying under the beast, her tiara skimming its belly. The Timberwolf’s fangs sank into the piñata dangling behind her, and it shook it vigorously like a dog. As the papier-mâché ripped, sugary missiles of candy flew everywhere.

  “Hide!” Lilymoon said as she shoved the Cutie Mark Crusaders under the cake cart and dashed into the fray.

  Sweetie Belle peeked out from the tablecloth and watched as the Timberwolf bounded atop the table of candy. It threw its head back, devouring the sweets with huge gulps. Once it was finished, it raised its muzzle and sniffed the air. Then, it whipped its head toward the cupcake-decorating station. “Oh no,” Sweetie Belle whispered. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were trapped inside the cupcake booth, huddled together in terror.

  “Run!” the Cutie Mark Crusaders yelled. But either the ponies didn’t hear them or they were too afraid to do anything. The Timberwolf took a flying leap from the now-empty candy table and loped toward the cupcake booth. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon whimpered as the monster approached, sharp wooden teeth gnashing the air.

  Suddenly, a cupcake flew from the station and splattered on the Timberwolf’s snout. Then another and another! It licked the frosting off its nose and turned to see who its attacker was. Sweetie Belle couldn’t believe it! Lilymoon was facing off against the beast, using her magic to hurl cupcakes as fast as she could.

  “Run!” Lilymoon called to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. “I’ll hold it off!” The terrified ponies didn’t need to be told twice. They cantered away to safety.

  “She’s running out of cupcakes!” Scootaloo hissed.

  “We gotta help her!” Apple Bloom said.

  Sweetie Belle gulped as her two friends stuck their heads out from under the cake cart and yelled with all their might: “HEY, TIMBERWOLF! OVER HERE!”

  The beast whipped its head toward the noise, green eyes ablaze. In two huge leaps, it reached the cake cart. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom quickly ducked back under the tablecloth. Sweetie Belle whimpered as she heard the Timberwolf circle the cart. The CMCs held their breaths.

  “It’s standing next to us,” Scootaloo breathed, eyes wide. Sweetie Belle shuddered as she heard the Timberwolf devour the cake above them in loud, messy bites. Then suddenly, the creature stopped eating.

  “Is it gone?” Apple Bloom asked.

  With a snuffle, the creature stuck its wooden snout under the tablecloth! The Cutie Mark Crusaders screamed and dove away from it.

  Then, a blast of Unicorn magic wrapped a ribbon around the Timberwolf’s muzzle, tying a bow. Sweetie Belle looked over to see Rarity galloping to the rescue. Applejack raced in to stand protectively in front of the Crusaders. As the Timberwolf pawed at the bow entangling its jaws, Fluttershy stepped forward to address the beast.

  “Excuse me, but you were not invited to this party. I think you had better go back to the Everfree Forest where you belong!” Fluttershy said sternly.

  “Or we’re gonna make ya go back,” Applejack added fiercely. The Timberwolf growled, but to Sweetie Belle’s relief, it turned tail and raced out of the park.

  “Are y’all all right?” Applejack asked with concern. Rarity dashed over.

  “Oh, Sweetie Belle,” she said, scooping her sister into a hug. “Darling, you must have been so frightened.”

  “I’m fine!” Sweetie Belle said, annoyed that Rarity had basically called her a scaredy-pony in front of all her friends, even though she was relieved her sister had appeared.

  “We’re all okay, thanks to Lilymoon!” Apple Bloom said, nodding toward the young Unicorn. Lilymoon was looking around the party.

  “Where’s my sister?” she asked. But just then, Ambermoon came rushing over from some nearby booths.

  “Let’s go, Lilymoon,” she snapped without so much as looking at anypony else. Lilymoon shrugged to the others and rushed off to join her sour-faced sister.

  “Y’all should
be gettin’ home, too,” Applejack said. “Rarity, ya mind walkin’ ’em back?”

  “I’m happy to. Now, everypony, just stick close to me. I shall ensure no creature harms a hair on your manes!” Rarity said, gathering the CMCs close.

  But as they left, Sweetie Belle looked back over her shoulder at the wreckage of the party. The Timberwolf had eaten the birthday cake, but oddly, it hadn’t touched the bone-shaped dog cake.

  “I don’t understand,” she heard Fluttershy tell Applejack. “Timberwolves never leave the Forest without a good reason. I wonder if it was sick.”

  Sweetie Belle was wondering something herself—what if that monster came back?

  CHAPTER SIX

  The next day in the schoolyard, everypony was talking about the Timberwolf.

  “Did you see its teeth?” Featherweight asked.

  “Did you smell its breath?” Peachy Pie countered.

  “That was the scariest birthday party ever,” said Cotton Cloudy.

  Twist listened with wide eyes and sighed. “I wath tho bummed I was thick and didn’t get to go, but I gueth I thould be glad I mithed it!”

  Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom hung back with Lilymoon. They did not feel like reliving last night’s adventure.

  “Good thing we saw that monster first and warned you all,” Snips bragged to the class. “We basically saved everypony’s life.”

  But Diamond Tiara was having none of it. “You didn’t do anything except run away.” She sniffed. Then she turned to scan the playground, eyes narrowed. “Where’s Lilymoon?”

  “Here we go again,” Scootaloo muttered. Sweetie Belle got ready to defend Lilymoon. But Diamond Tiara surprised them all.

  “She’s the real hero!” she said, smiling at Lilymoon. “She chased that horrible thing away from Silver Spoon and me.”

  “Probably scared it away ’cause she’s so weird,” Snips said. Snails laughed. Diamond Tiara whirled on the Unicorns.

  “You think defending me from creepy tree-creatures is weird?” she demanded. “We should all thank Lilymoon. We’re lucky she’s in our class.” Diamond Tiara put her hoof around the new pony.

  Lilymoon looked uncomfortable. “Apple Bloom and Scootaloo saved me from the Timberwolf, too,” she muttered.

  “What did you do?” Silver Spoon asked.

  “Aw, it was nuthin’.” Apple Bloom said.

  “The best part was when the Timberwolf almost ate us!” Scootaloo said, cutting off her friend. The class leaned in, excited to hear what happened next. Only Sweetie Belle stood back from the group. She felt horrible. She’d just hidden under the cart and hoped she’d stay safe. Lilymoon, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo had all been so brave.

  Maybe Snips was right. Maybe she was a scaredy-pony.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Sweetie Belle was troubled for the rest of the day. It seemed like everypony was braver than she was. Nopony could say that she hadn’t had her fair share of exciting adventures. But even her closest friends went out of their way to point out that she was the pony who always freaked out first. It was still on her mind when she went to bed that night. So when she was jolted awake by the sound of a mournful howl, she tried to convince herself it was just her overactive imagination. A second, closer howl convinced her it was real. Sweetie Belle ducked under the covers, barely breathing. She heard shouting and running hoofbeats. Something was happening outside. Something scary.

  Sweetie Belle wanted to stay there, with the covers over her head, until morning. But she heard her friends’ voices in her head, calling her a scaredy-pony. Very slowly, she slid out of bed and moved to the window. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to look outside.

  Rarity was cantering down the street, toward Applejack and Twilight Sparkle, who stood outside Sugarcube Corner. In the light of the full moon, Sweetie Belle could see that the sweet shop’s front window had been smashed! Sweetie Belle was still scared, but her curiosity was stronger. She ran downstairs and stepped outside. She started down the street, but two shadowy figures stepped out from a nearby alley. Sweetie Belle screamed… and so did the shadows! As they stepped into the light, Sweetie Belle realized it was Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.

  “Don’t sneak up on us like that!” Scootaloo said.

  “Me? You’re the ones hiding in the dark in the middle of the night!” Sweetie Belle protested. Then she added, “Um, why are you hiding in the dark in the middle of the night?”

  “The Timberwolf is back!” Apple Bloom blurted. “It attacked Sugarcube Corner!” Sweetie Belle’s eyes went wide.

  “But it’s gone now, right?” she asked, looking around nervously.

  “Yep. Mrs. Cake told Applejack what happened, and she rounded up the others. They all headed over to investigate, so we tagged along,” Apple Bloom explained.

  “Why didn’t you come get me?” Sweetie Belle frowned, feeling left out.

  “We… didn’t want to wake you up!” Scootaloo said. Sweetie Belle looked at her friends suspiciously.

  “And… we thought you’d be scared,” Scootaloo admitted.

  Sweetie Belle was scared. But she didn’t want to admit it. “I’m a Cutie Mark Crusader! Where you go, I go!” she said. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom smiled and high-hooved Sweetie Belle. Then they galloped down the street to the sweet shop. When they got there, Mrs. Cake was already telling Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity her tale, while Mr. Cake tried to rock the babies, Pumpkin and Pound, back to sleep.

  “… And when I came downstairs, there was the monster, eating my éclairs! I didn’t think; I just grabbed my rolling pin and chased it away!” Mrs. Cake said.

  Sweetie Belle peered around the wreckage of Sugarcube Corner. Half-eaten pastries sagged in the display case, and the normally candy-packed shelves were stripped bare. Even the cake-decorating sugar sprinkles were gone. Her hoof touched something sticky, and she looked down. She had stepped on a caramel apple with massive canine bite marks in it. Sweetie Belle kicked the confection off her hoof and shuddered.

  Rainbow Dash flew in, with Fluttershy a wingbeat behind. “We checked everywhere in town!” Rainbow Dash reported. “No sign of the Timberwolf. And those things are pretty hard to hide!”

  “I’ve never heard of a lone Timberwolf attacking a shop before,” Twilight said thoughtfully. “Every book I’ve read says they usually run in packs and prefer the deep forest.”

  Pinkie Pie bounded down the stairs, yawning. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the huge crowd gathered.

  “What’s everypony doing here?” she asked brightly. “Is it a surprise party? Who are we surprising? Is it me?” Then she put her hooves over her mouth in concern. “Did I just ruin the surprise part?” she whispered loudly. “I promise I won’t tell myself!”

  “No, Pinkie,” Twilight said, “Sugarcube Corner was attacked by a Timberwolf. You mean you didn’t hear any of it?”

  “I’m a heavy sleeper,” Pinkie said with a shrug. To demonstrate, she immediately fell asleep standing up, mouth open in a loud snore.

  “Pinkie Pie!” Applejack shouted. Pinkie jumped awake again.

  “What’s everypony doing here?” she asked, smiling brightly. “I just had the straaaangest dream that you were throwing me a surprise party!”

  “I think we should look for clues!” Apple Bloom said, getting things back on track.

  “We have to find that Timberwolf before it strikes again!” Scootaloo said.

  “Yeah!” Sweetie Belle added, trying to sound like she meant it.

  “You three aren’t doin’ anything. This is grown-up pony business,” Applejack informed the CMCs. “You listenin’, Apple Bloom?” she added for good measure.

  “Yes,” Apple Bloom said sulkily. “But we’d be a big help—”

  “I know you would, sugarcube,” said Applejack, smiling at her little sister fondly. “But the best thing you can do for us right now is stay safe.”

  Sweetie Belle gave the tiniest sigh of relief. Staying safe was definitely something she
could do.

  “Actually,” said Twilight, “I think I do have a job for you three.” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo brightened. Sweetie Belle winced. “You can help Mr. and Mrs. Cake clean up their shop!”

  Apple Bloom and Scootaloo sagged. Sweetie Belle beamed.

  “Meanwhile, the rest of us will try to find that Timberwolf and stop it from attacking again. Maybe Starlight Glimmer and I can find a spell to help.” Twilight trotted off to find Starlight.

  As Sweetie Belle looked at the fang marks in the caramel apple, she was glad to leave the Timberwolf hunting to Twilight. Still, she felt like maybe she was noticing a pattern to the monster’s attacks. And if she was right… she was giving up sugar forever.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “This meeting of the Cutie Mark Crusaders has been called to try ’n’ figure out what that Timberwolf is up to!” Apple Bloom announced.

  Lilymoon looked from Apple Bloom to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. “Does it matter that I’m not a Cutie Mark Crusader?” she asked.

  They shook their heads. With all the craziness going on (which they were specifically told not to get involved in), Apple Bloom suggested they meet at the Crusaders Clubhouse. At the very least they could try to come up with some ideas to help out their sisters and the others.

  “First item on the list,” Apple Bloom read from her notes, “what makes Timberwolves attack?”

  “Somepony insulted them?” Scootaloo suggested.

  “Their forest home was destroyed?” Lilymoon offered.

  “Their bark is worse than their bite?” Scootaloo said, grinning.

  “Revenge?” Lilymoon asked.

  “Good! What else?” Apple Bloom jotted notes down on a big piece of paper. Sweetie Belle had an idea, but it sounded pretty crazy, even to her… and she was the one who had thought of it! Apple Bloom turned to look at her. “You haven’t said anythin’ yet, Sweetie Belle. Don’tcha have any ideas?” Sweetie Belle took a deep breath, then launched into her theory in a rush.