Hello, everyone! Welcome to the next chapter of "The Day I Went to Equestria". Last chapter, while they were swimming, Applebloom pointed out that Kaleb was introduced to everypony but Zecora. But when they went into the Everfree Forest, she wasn't at her hut. So they decided to look for her. However, while looking for her, Kaleb and Applebloom saw somepony lying on the ground in the middle of the woods. Now we finally get to see who it is. Enough said. Enjoy! Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "MLP: FIM". All rights go to its respective owners.

Chapter 18: The Timberwolves

As soon as Kaleb and Applebloom landed, they started walking to the mysterious pony. As they got closer, they got a better look at it. They saw that the pony was white with black stripes. It's mane was a mohawk and it had gold rings around its neck. Applebloom gasped when she saw the pony because she instantly knew who it was.

"Zecora!"

She quickly ran over to Zecora with Kaleb following. She tried shaking the zebra to wake her up.

"Zecora! Zecora, please wake up!" She said.

When Kaleb got a better look at her, he saw the she had some cuts and her nose was bleeding. He pulled out the walkie talkie and turned it on.

"Twilight, are you there?" He asked.

"Yes, Kaleb. I'm here. What is it?" Twilight said on the other end.

"Applebloom and I have found Zecora. And from the looks of it, she might be hurt. I need you and the others to teleport here now."

"Okay. Just stay where you are. We'll be right there."

Kaleb turns off the walkie talkie and puts it away. Once he gets close to the zebra, he gets down on his knees and starts shaking her a little. He then puts his ear to her chest.

"Is she... is she... dead?" Applebloom asked crying a little.

Kaleb shook his head.

"No. I can hear her heart beating. She's still alive." He said.

He then tried shaking her again. After a moment, the zebra started to moan and her eyes slowly started to open. Kaleb glanced at his friend.

"Applebloom, she's waking up."

The zebra then slowly sat up and rubbed her head. She felt something hugging her. She looked down and saw Applebloom.

"Applebloom?"

"Yes, Zecora. It's me. We've been looking everywhere for you." Applebloom said with happy tears in her eyes.

Just then, Kaleb heard Twilight's voice.

"Kaleb!"

He turned to see Twilight and the others running towards them.

"We got here as soon as we could. Where's Zecora?" She asked.

Kaleb points to where Applebloom and Zecora are.

"She's right over there. Applebloom's hugging her." He said.

The boy and his friends walk towards the zebra and filly. Zecora was just wiping the blood from her nose off her face.

"Zecora."

The duo turn to see the others with smiles.

"It's good to see you, Zecora. Are you alright?" Twilight asked.

Zecora nodded.

"Despite the cuts on my body, I'm doing just fine." She said.

When she notices Kaleb, her eyes widened in surprise and she got a curious look.

"I must say, you are fairly new. May I ask who are you?"

Kaleb shook her hoof as he introduced himself.

"My name's Kaleb. Kaleb Clouse. I'm half human, half wolf." He said.

The zebra raised an eyebrow.

"Half human, half wolf?" She asked.

Kaleb nodded.

"That's right."

"We're glad you're okay, Zecora. But what happened to you?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, what happened?" Asked Applebloom.

Zecora tells them about how she was in the forest looking for ingredients for one of her potions. She then talked about how the ground started to shake and how she realized to her horror, before she knew it, she was being chased by a pack of timberwolves.

"You were chased by timberwolves?" Twilight asked.

Zecora nods.

"Yes."

She then told them about how she slipped and fell while running causing her to roll through thorn bushes, which explained the cuts, and how she hit her head and blacked out.

"I was out cold after I hit my head. I was out for so long I thought I was dead." She explained.

"I don't know how you can think that while being knocked out, but I'll take your word for it." Kaleb mumbled.

"I'm sorry I wasn't at my hut."

"It's okay, Zecora. We're just glad you're alive and well. But we have to get out of here before the timberwolves find us." Twilight said.

"Woah, wait a minute, guys. What exactly are timberwolves?" Asked Kaleb.

Suddenly, they felt the ground shake and heard a howl and a roar. Out of the the woods came seven giant wooden wolf-like beasts. Everyone got scared looks.

"Guys... Are those... Timberwolves?" Kaleb asked.

"Yeah." Rainbow whimpered.

"Guys. It's time to beat feet!" Yelled Gilda.

Kaleb quickly nodded.

"You're right, Gilda! Everyone, RUN!"

The others started running with Kaleb following them. The timberwolves began the chase. Kaleb and his friends were running as fast as they could from the beasts. But soon, they heard heavy pawsteps and felt the ground shake again. They knew right then and there that the timberwolves were gaining on them.

"We can't outrun them!" Applejack yelled.

"Yes we will! Just keep running!" Yelled Rainbow.

Just then, Kaleb got an idea. He stopped in his tracks and turned. Rainbow noticed that the boy wasn't following and turned as well.

"Kaleb, what the hell are you doing?!" She cried.

"I've got an idea! I'm gonna take care of them!" He replied.

"Are you crazy?! They'll kill you!"

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing! Just go! GO!"

Before the pegasus could argue, Gilda yanked her away.

"C'MON, DASH!!!!"

As soon as they were gone, Kaleb zips off to find a way to distract the beasts. The timberwolves were running really fast. They were almost caught up with Twilight and the others until they heard a voice.

"HEY! ASSHOLES!" It shouted.

They stop and look around to see who called them. They heard a whistle and turned to see Kaleb. He cupped his hands over his mouth.

"FRESH MEAT OVER HERE!!!!"

The beasts roared and started running after the boy. Kaleb zips off with them following him. The boy was running through the woods at breakneck speed.

"I just hope I can keep them on me a little longer." He thought.

He looked back to see that the timberwolves weren't there. He smirked and looked forward.

"Ha. Lost them. I'm safe."

Just when he thought he was safe, a timberwolf jumped out of the trees and charged at him like a raging bull. Kaleb's eyes widened.

"Okay, I'm not safe."

Just then, he looked at his right hand and got an idea. He just remembered he had the super strength ability. His brow furrowed and he smirked again. He looked at the timberwolf. When the two got close enough, the boy jumped in the air and punched the timberwolf. With one punch, the beast exploded into pieces. Kaleb landed and looked at his fist with pride.

"Chrysalis, even though I still want to kill you, I have to thank you for giving me these abilities." He said.

He felt the ground shake and turned. Knowing it was the timberwolves, he got ready to fight. He heard the pawsteps getting closer and closer. As soon as they saw him, the timberwolves charged at him. When they got close, their mouths were open. Kaleb flew out of the way, causing them to crash into each other. As he landed, one of the beasts snapped at him but missed. Kaleb flew under the timberwolf and lifted him up. When he was in the air, holding the beast over his head, he tossed him in the air and waited for him to come back down.

As the beast fell, Kaleb got his fist ready. As soon as it got close, he punched the monster and it shattered to pieces. Another charged at him and he punched it, causing it to explode into pieces. He did the same thing to a few others and the same thing happened. When the last timberwolf was demolished, Kaleb landed and looked at the debris all around him.

"Well, I guess that takes of that. Now I have to go find the others." He said and zipped off to find the others.

Meanwhile, Twilight and the others stopped to catch their breath.

"Did we lose them?" Applebloom asked.

"I hope so." Said Twilight.

"I hope Kaleb's okay. I mean he decided to stay behind and deal with the timberwolves despite them being bigger than him. I don't know if he's brave or just plain stupid." Rainbow said.

Suddenly, they heard a rustling in the bushes and turned to them. They looked at the bushes, nervously. They were hoping it was Kaleb while at the same time fearing it may be the timberwolves. Before they could think any further, someone ran out of the bushes. It was Kaleb. He had a confident smile on his face.

"Surprise."

"Kaleb!" Everypony cried. They quickly ran over to him and hugged him, thankful that he was still alive despite taking on giant wooden beasts.

"Kaleb, you lucky son of a gun." Applejack said.

"It's kind of hard to believe you alone distracted the beasts and took them on all by yourself." Said Rarity.

"What can I say?" Kaleb said, "If they thought they were going to eat me and my friends including someone I just met, in the words of Judas Priest, they had another thing coming."

"Way to go, wolf boy!" Gilda said as she playfully punched Kaleb.

The boy rubbed his arm.

"Ow! Gilda I know you're happy that I'm alive and defeated the timberwolves, but could you please not bop me?" He asked.

The griffon chuckled.

"Sorry, dude. That's just my way of saying thank you."

Rainbow raised her right hoof with a sly smile.

"I sometimes do the same thing too." She said.

This caused everyone to laugh.

"So, how did you manage to take care of them all by yourself?" Spike asked.

"Oh, that's easy. I just used my hands and-"

Before Kaleb could finish his sentence, he caught a scent and sniffed the air. The scent caused him to wince.

"What's that smell? Did someone fart?" He asked.

"I don't think so." Said Scootaloo.

Spike sniffed the air too and his eyes widened in fear.

"It smells like... *gasp* timberwolf breath!" He said.

No sooner had he spoken, the ground started to shake and they all heard roars. A timberwolf jumped out of the bushes and growled at them. They tried running the other way, but they were blocked by another timberwolf. They tried to run to left and then the right but there were timberwolves blocking those sides as well.

"I thought you took care of them." Sweetie Belle said.

"I thought I did." Said Kaleb.

Kaleb and his friends were trapped, not knowing what to do. One of the beasts slowly walked towards them with its mouth open. The boy and the others closed their eyes as they prepared to die. But then...

"STOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!!!!!!!"

And just like that, the timberwolf stopped and closed its mouth with a surprised and confused look. The others had the same expression. Kaleb and his friends slowly opened their eyes with surprised and confused looks as well. They looked around at the timberwolves. Why hadn't they eaten them yet? Then the unthinkable happened; Kaleb could hear the timberwolves talking. Their mouths weren't moving but he could hear their thoughts. After a moment of silence, one of the timberwolves looked into the boy's eyes.

"Why?"

Kaleb's eyes widened when he heard that. He had no idea he could hear their thoughts.

"Why should we not eat you?" The timberwolf asked.

Then Kaleb thought that if he could understand what the timberwolves were saying just by hearing their thoughts, maybe he could communicate with them. He decided to give it a shot.

"Because we didn't do anything to you. That's why." He said.

"You know what we have to do to trespassers." Said one of the beasts.

"Look, I understand that you don't want people trespassing on your land, but that doesn't mean you have to eat them. If you just chase them out, that's fine. But you don't have to kill them. Zecora was just looking for ingredients for one of her potions and then you decided to try to eat her. That's not right!" Kaleb told them.

The beasts looked at each other and nodded. Then they looked at Kaleb and his friends again.

"It's not up to us to decide what's right and what's wrong. That's for our leader to decide." A female timberwolf said.

"Your leader?"

"That's right." Said a voice that was full of wisdom.

A couple of timberwolves stood aside and what the boy and his friends saw was a surprise. It was a timberwolf but he was a little bit bigger than the others. There was a bush on his head which made it look like a crown. As soon as he got close, he knelt down and looked into the boy's eyes.

"Who are you?" Kaleb asked.

"Before I tell you my name, I feel that it's more appropriate if you tell me your name first." Said the timberwolf.

Kaleb turned to his friends and they nodded. He turned back to the giant beast.

"My name is Kaleb Clouse. And these are my friends. Are you the leader of the timberwolves?"

The timberwolf nodded.

"Yes. I am Splinterfang, lord of all timberwolves. And I just noticed that you and your friends trespassed in our part of the Everfree Forest. Originally, I would just eat you right now. But I feel it would be better if we heard you out and explain to us why we should not eat you." He said.

Kaleb turned to his friends again and saw the scared looks on their faces.

"It looks like I better tell him and his colleagues the truth or else we're as good as dead." He thought.

He turned back to Splinterfang.

"Well, my friends and I were looking for our friend Zecora whom your pack tried to eat. We may have trespassed on your land but that doesn't give you the right to try and kill us. Why shouldn't you eat us? Because it's not right! Now I understand that you were trying to protect your territory. I perfectly understand that. But you shouldn't threaten innocent ponies with their lives. It's one thing to chase them, but if you try to eat them, then that's just wrong. They've done nothing to you. They're innocent people not your food supply!" Kaleb told him.

The timberwolf could hardly believe his ears. No one had ever spoken to him that way before. And with so much authority. For a moment, there was silence as the creature looked at his pack.

"What are they doing?" Rainbow whispered.

"I don't know, but for some reason, they haven't eaten us yet. I wonder why." Twilight whispered back.

The timberwolf smiled and looked back down at the boy and his friends.

"You are one brave creature." He said, "No one has ever talked to me with such authority before. Not even the members of my pack. And what's more is you can communicate with us. After what I heard, I realize now that you are right. We should not try to kill the innocent. Even if they are trespassers. And because of that, I decree that ponies and timberwolves live in peace. However, we still need to eat. We could hunt for other prey in this forest other than innocent people. On one condition; you promise not to kill any more of my pack. I know that you killed some of them, but I'm not going to eat you because you were only defending yourself and your friends. I commend you for your bravery."

Kaleb nodded.

"That's good. As long as you promise not to try and kill the innocent." He said.

"It's a deal then."

"Okay."

Splinterfang looked up at a couple of the timberwolves.

"Let them go." He told them.

"Are you sure, Splinterfang?" One of the beasts asked.

Splinterfang nodded.

"I'm positive."

The two timberwolves looked at each other and nodded. They stood aside, making a clear path. Kaleb's friends were both surprised and confused by this act. Spike turned to Kaleb.

"Uh, Kaleb? What's going on with the timberwolves?" He asked.

The boy turned to him.

"I'll... have to explain that when we get out of the forest." He said.

He looked at Zecora.

"Zecora, do you know the way back to your hut?" He asked.

The zebra nodded and decided to lead the way. As she started walking, she glanced back at the others.

"Follow me." She said.

The others followed the zebra with the timberwolves watching. Little did they know, they were being watched by a couple pairs of eyes.

...

A while later, Kaleb and his friends were out of the Everfree Forest. They had asked Zecora if she would like to go to the hospital to treat her cuts, but she assured them she would be fine because she has medicinal potions and herbs.

"So, what exactly happened with the timberwolves?" Twilight asked.

Kaleb put a hand on his chin.

"To be honest, I don't know." Kaleb said, "Just when they were about to eat us, they stopped. I think they stopped because I told them to. My mouth wasn't moving, but I shouted it in my head. And to my surprise and confusion, they stopped just like that. Not only that, but I could understand them. Their mouths weren't moving either, but I could hear them talking in their heads. It was like I somehow communicated with them."

Twilight put a hoof on her chin.

"You somehow communicated with them? Interesting. How did that happen?" She asked.

"I don't know. It must be part of my wolf side." Said Kaleb.

"Maybe so. In my opinion, that sounds... kinda cool." Pinkie said.

"Cool?"

"Yeah. Being able to understand wolves or even wolf-like creatures sounds like a really cool ability to have."

"Yeah. No one's ever been able to understand creatures like that before." Fluttershy said.

"Now that I think about it, yeah it does seem like a pretty awesome ability to have." Kaleb said.

"What did the timberwolves say?" Asked Scootaloo.

Kaleb then tells them how the timberwolves had him talk to their leader, Splinterfang. He also told them about him and Splinterfang's conversation about not eating them and how he commended him for his bravery and how he decreed peace between ponies and timberwolves.

"Wow. So, him and his pack aren't going to try to kill any innocent ponies anymore?" Scootaloo asked.

Kaleb nodded.

"That's right." He said.

"That's good to hear."

Kaleb and his friends were walking back to the lake to grab their stuff and go home. It had been a long day.

Author's Note: And that does it for this chapter. Sorry if the ending was half-assed. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed it and I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Please be sure to read and review and be sure to keep watch for chapter 19. Constructive criticism is welcome. Until then, see you next time, my fellow bronies and pegasisters!