//------------------------------//
// Attack 
// Story: Dark Frost 
// by BlueColton 
//------------------------------//



Rainbow Dash couldn’t have trotted out of that hospital fast enough. Ignoring the doctor’s advice to take another day’s rest when she got home, the cyan pegasus was up in the clouds the following morning. Rest? Ha! Rainbow would rest when Ponyville was safe and the storm vanquished. She took it like any challenge, head-on and with a gusto.
“Whoa,” Rainbow said, taking a moment to gather herself on a nearby cloud. Okay, maybe not with that much gusto. She still wasn’t at a hundred percent and wouldn’t be doing any Sonic Rainbooms in the foreseeable future.
“You okay?” Blossomforth asked. Like Rainbow, Blossomforth had multicolored hair, though hers was only two shades: pink and lime green. She had sky-blue eyes that widened with worry at seeing her leader so out of it. To think that just that other day Rainbow had been busting clouds like no pony’s business. Now she could hardly fly without wobbling.
“It’s cool, B. Just got to shake the cobwebs out.” Rainbow patted the side of her head for emphasize. In truth, her head injury hadn’t been that bad. No concussions, thank Celestia, though her vision did swim a little bit. Rainbow smiled at Blossomforth. “So how are things going here?”
The white pegasus, her wings flapping, motioned all around them. “Nothing’s changed. The storm’s let up since last night but we still can’t break through the cloud cover. Princess Twilight gave us strict instructions not to ascend or else…you know.”
“Boy do I ever.” Rainbow glanced upward, her eyes narrowing as if the clouds were mocking her, daring her to try again.
“Whatever we do, it isn’t working.” Blossomforth became worried. What are we going to do?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out. Or at least Twilight will. I heard she sent a few of us to the outskirts, trying to figure out how far this barrier thing goes.”
Fortunately, Blossomforth had that report. “From what we can tell, the barrier extends outside the town limits in a five-mile radius. That includes parts of Whitetail Woods, the Everfree Forest, Lake Neighagra, and Sweet Apple Acres. Once our fliers couldn’t move any farther, they set up markers so that other ponies would know how far they could go.”
Rainbow smiled and nodded. She knew her ponies could take care of things without her. They were well-trained. “What about the crash site?”
“After we got all the injured back into town, we searched the train and brought back what little of value we could find. The snow put out the engine fire so, you know, yay for us. We can clean up the mess once this is over.”
“And what’s the status in the town?”
Blossomforth shrugged. “Unchanged. Ponies are trying to keep warm and shoveling as much snow as they can. The storm last night did some damage. Ripped off a few ceilings from Town Hall and caved in a couple roofs, nothing major. No injuries reported.”
“See,” Rainbow said in all confidence. “It could have been worse.”
“Help!”
She had to open her big mouth. The two ponies turned to find Derpy flapping her wings like mad. She nearly bowled into Blossomforth before catching herself, eyes darting directly toward Rainbow. “Rainbow Dash! There’s trouble.”
Trouble was her middle name. “Report, Derpy!”
“Timberwolves,” the frightened pegasus cried. “I spotted a pack near the Apple Farm.”
Applejack!
“How many?” Rainbow, now on her hooves, demanded to know.
“At least ten. Or maybe it was twenty. A lot!”
“That’s not how you give a report, Derpy!” Rainbow Dash was flying now. “Who’s on patrol over there?”
“Cloudchaser just finished her shift. I was heading over there when I spotted the pack and came back to get help,” Derpy quickly recounted.
Rainbow Dash knew there was no time to waste. “Blossomforth, you and Derpy gather as many ponies as you can and rendezvous at Sweet Apple Acres, ASAP!” Rainbow missed their salutes as she took off, intent on helping her friend’s besieged family.



“Get outta here ya varmit!” Applejack tossed a bucket and watched it shatter just inches from a timber wolf. The beast yelped and hopped back, but was unharmed and soon resumed its approach. Its fellows were attempting to surround Applejack. Already they’d formed a semi-circle that was gradually getting smaller. Glowing eyes narrowed as they eyed the beefy earth pony who seemed ready to take them all on herself.
“Applejack!” Apple Bloom’s tiny voice called out from somewhere behind. The wolves had come out of nowhere. Applejack almost hadn’t seen them until Wynona, beautiful Wynona, began barking her head off. Half-exhausted from hours of working through the snow from the day before, Applejack had just dropped her shovel when she spotted the glowing yellow eyes of the wolves in the distance. They had been keeping low and were sneaking up towards the farmhouse. Wynona’s bark alerted Applejack and she yelled for Apple Bloom to return to the house and warn the others.
Now it was just her and Wynona, mare and dog, against a ravenous pack of timber wolves at least a score in size.
“Get inside, Apple Bloom!” Applejack eyed her snow shovel, thinking of using it as a makeshift spear. She preferred not to get too close to that pack, especially one of that size, but she had no problems using whatever means at her disposal to protect her family.
Apple Bloom persisted. The little filly was watching the battle take place from the porch. Granny Smith was with her, the old mare glowering. “Applejack, ya get yer keester inside this instant, young lady!”
Applejack wanted to do nothing more. She had originally stayed behind to give Apple Bloom time to reach safety. Now, as the pack closed in around her and Wynona, she was being stubborn. This was Apple land! This was her home and she’ll be damned if she would let it be overrun by these monsters!
The wolf nearest to her lunged.
“Oh no ya,” turning, Applejack raised her hind legs, “don’t!” And bucked the wolf right in the jaw, half its face went flying a good forty feet into the air and the wolf crumbled to the ground. It seemed more dazed than hurt and she knew from experience how resilient these timber wolves can be. In mere moments it was shaking its head and getting back to its feet. Turning, the wolf glowered at her without a jaw.
“Get off ma land!” Applejack roared. Wynona barked like crazy, intent on standing or falling with her master.
The wolves salivated. One of them let out a monstrous howl that sent shivers down AJ’s spine.
“They’re gonna attack!” Apple Bloom wailed. “Get outta there!”
A thick rumbling shook the ground. It was accompanied by the sound of stomping hooves.
“Eyup!” Big Mac, like a stallion from legend, charged the line of timber wolves while carting a large wagon behind him. No sooner did he stop when he lurched, tossing the massive projectile over his body and flying right at the pack. The wolves scattered, though one of them was too slow and was crushed instantly, wooden bits flying everywhere.
One wolf was crazy enough to try Big Mac all for itself. A massive hoof crunched its head to the ground before it got anywhere near his throat. “Nope!”
Seeing her brother there made Applejack’s heart soar. “Eeeeehah! Let em have it, Big Mac!”
Another timer wolf leaped at Big Mac. The stallion ducked, receiving a tiny nip on the back of his neck for his trouble. The wolf turned and pulled back before Big Mac’s powerful hind legs could crush it. Three more moved in to surround him.
“A’hm comin, big brother!” Applejack charged in to help.
She didn’t see the wolf crouching in the snow until it was too late. Powerful jaws clamped onto Applejack’s left hoof. She cried out in agony. Falling to the earth, she grunted as she struggled to removed her hoof from those dreaded teeth. Somewhere, she heard Apple Bloom scream. “Get her inside, Granny, now!” Fighting for her life, Applejack spotted several wolves approaching from out of the corner of her eye. She was about to be surrounded and devoured.
The wolf her held on to her for dear life, knowing that if she broke free it would be bucked to death by the mare’s powerful legs. Blood seeped onto the new fallen snow, steaming in the cold. Applejack could see her own breath as well, fogging up before her. They were ragged breaths as she struggled to free herself.
Luckily, Wynona was there to help. The brave dog leaped onto the wolf’s back, biting hard. Still the wolf refused to release Applejack.
“Damn it all! Get outta here, Wynona! Protect the house!”
But Wynona refused to leave. The dog bit and scratched, doing everything possible to free her master.
Yelling, Applejack pulled, wincing as more blood fell to the snow, accompanied by the sound of tearing flesh. “Let go of me, ya bastard!”
Suddenly the wolf did let go. It let go of its head, its legs, everything, as it splattered to pieces. A pegasus had crushed the wolf under her own weight, splattering the timber wolf like a bug. Wynona flew away as well but bounded back as soon as she hit the ground. Free at last, Applejack pulled her bleeding hoof in close. She looked up. “R-Rainbow?” She stuttered.
Rainbow Dash was in full-hero mode. Her eyes flared, her wings extended, and her nostrils steamed. “Can you move?”
Applejack stood up on three wobbly legs. “Ah think so.”
“Then get to the barn. I’ll stall them.” Before Applejack could reply, Rainbow took flight, charging the entire line of wolves all by herself.
“That crazy pegasus,” Applejack said with a smile. Wynona bounded up to her. “Come on, Wynona.” Looking up, she spotted Big Mac fighting off three timber wolves at once. The big stallion was covered in scraps and bite-marks and still he fought on, grabbing a timber wolf with his teeth and tossing it clear across the field.
“Big Mac!” Applejack called. Seeing his sister’s condition, he quickly dislodged himself from the fight and rushed to help Applejack. Without missing a stride, Big Mac lowered his neck and hoisted Applejack over his broad shoulders like a crane. Once she was safely on his back, the stallion ran for the house where Granny and Apple Bloom waited, Wynona running right beside him.
Bouncing on her brother’s back, Applejack looked to where she last saw Rainbow Dash. Her friend was flying above the pack, zipping over their heads. The wolves snapped up at her, their jaws mere inches from catching one of her hooves. One of them leaped high up, its claws just raking Rainbow Dash enough to scratch a few feathers off her wing.
“Rainbow!” Then she noticed something that made her heart freeze. “Big Mac! Behind!” Big Mac twisted his head around. Two of the wolves he’d been fighting were giving chase. One of them leaped to tackle the fleeing stallion but Big Mac, in true Apple fashion, bucked his back legs at the right moment, sending the wolf skyrocketing. But that still left one.
“Get inside,” Applejack told her family on the porch. “There’s one right behind us!”
Granny rushed Apple Bloom through the door and waited just inside. Wynona rushed in first and then Big Mac. “The door!” Applejack said. But Granny was already on it. The old mare slammed the door shut just as the timber wolf leaped, its maw wide open with slobbering teeth. Granny closed the latch and kept her weight against the door.
“Are ya two awright?” she asked her grandchildren.
Applejack winced as Big Mac put her down. Seeing the blood dripping from her hoof, Apple Bloom began to cry “It’s…it’s not as bad as it looks,” she lied. Those teeth hurt.
“We need t’ get that disinfected. Apple Bloom, head upstairs and get the first aid kit.” When Apple Bloom didn’t move, Granny raised her voice. “Apple Bloom! Do as I say!” The filly snapped out of it and rushed up the stairs. Granny looked to Big Mac who was gasping and standing on wobbling legs. He’d taken the worst of the fight.
“Both of ya are as stubborn as yer parents Never knew when t’ pick their fights.” Granny grimaced as the wolf outside slammed against the door. “Take a hike, ya flea-bitten log!”
“Rainbow!” Applejack went towards the nearest window. Rainbow Dash was still distracting the wolves, buzzing their heads like some giant insect. The large pack growled and snapped at her but she was always just beyond their jaws. Still, Applejack did not like the idea of Rainbow facing off against a pack that size all by herself. “Ah should be out there. She needs help.”
“Ya need help, Applejack.” Granny motioned with her head. “And so does yer big brother.”
Big Mac collapsed on his backside, chest heaving.
“But she can’t distract them forever, Granny. There’s too many of em.” Then she thought, way too many. Where in tarnation did they all come from?
The timber wolf reared its ugly head outside the window, eyes hungry. Applejack felt a shiver go down her spine as the creature looked right at her. “Get lost!” She yelled. “Ya don’t belong here. Go back t’ the Everfree Forest before Ah turn ya into kindlin’!”
If the wolf was afraid, or even understood what she had said, it did not show it. It bared its teeth in a wicked smile.
Apple Bloom came running down the stairs with the first aid kit in her mouth. She gave it to Granny Smith. “Here ya go, Granny.” Spotting the timer wolf at the window, the filly began to shake. “Why’s it lookin’ at us like that?”
Applejack just glared at it. “Because it wants to get in and it ain’t gonna.”
From somewhere in the house there came a loud crash, followed shortly by the sound of growling. Applejack swore. “That came from the kitchen!” She quickly turned back to the wolf. Ya were a distraction, weren’t ya? Keepin’ us here while her friends snuck around the back!
As if reading her mind, the wolf bared its teeth in that same, gruesome smile.



Rainbow Dash glanced briefly to where the earth ponies were, seeing the door slam shut and the house secure. That brief distraction nearly cost her a leg. A wolf nipped at her hoof, sending a brief but jolting pain through her body. “Hey!” Rainbow spat at them. “You’re starting to piss me off.” She knew what she was doing. Rainbow would keep the pack busy until help arrived, but after seeing how many wolves were in the pack, and how intent they were on surrounding the Apple Farm, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep this up.
At least Applejack and her family were safe, Rainbow Dash thought. When she heard the sound of a window breaking and a filly screaming, her hopes were completely dashed. “Crap!” She flew up high, beyond the reach of their jumps. “There’s more of you?”
Apparently so. Rainbow spotted at least half a dozen of the large canine creatures by the house. One of them was standing just outside the porch looking in while the others searched for ways inside the house. One of them must have found a way through because after the window breaking, two more bounded quickly around the house to where the sound originated.
“No!” Rainbow flew towards the house only to have the entire pack follow her. She stopped. They stopped. It suddenly hit her. “You were distracting me?” It seemed implausible but true. Timberwolves weren’t normally known for their brains, but this pack seemed to have a sense of strategy in them to formulate a plan. While they kept her busy, their fellows would assail the house where the only defenders were a filly, an old mare, and two wounded earth ponies. Rainbow Dash could go in to help, but that meant that the pack would follow her inside. She, Applejack, and Big Mac could deal with six or seven wolves. But eighteen? Twenty?
The house was a death trap.
Now Rainbow had to make a choice: either keep the large pack away from the house and hope her friends could hold out, or attempt to help them and bring the entire pack with her.



Ignoring Granny’s pleas to head upstairs, Applejack rushed toward the kitchen. A timber wolf, shaking loose glass from its snout, blinked once before zeroing in on her. It licked its lips. With one hoof still bleeding from the injury, Applejack seemed easy pickings for the ravenous carnivore.
It didn’t know Apples very well.
Grabbing the nearest thing she could reach, an eggbeater of all things, Applejack held it before her like a sword, her mouth griping the handle. The wolf made a sound similar to a laugh and charged. Its maw open, it clenched onto the tip of the eggbeater and yanked as hard as it could. 
Applejack refused to let go. From her periphery vision, she spotted another wolf poke its head over the broken windowsill. Edging itself over the edge, it was followed shortly by another. Applejack and the wolf struggled by the only entryway. She wanted to buy her family enough time to escape up the stairs. To do that, some pony had to stay behind and prevent the wolves from storming the living room.
With one injured hoof, Applejack found it difficult to grapple with the wolf, which was twice her size. Her earth pony strength was formidable and she managed to hold on tight to the eggbeater. Grunting with exertion, Applejack pulled to gain better leverage.
“Get upstairs,” she heard Granny say. Realizing what Applejack was doing, Granny ushered Apple Bloom up the stairs before turning to Big Mac. The stallion refused to abandon his sister even in his condition.
“Get goin!” Applejack cried, though with the handle in her mouth the message came out garbled. She had to buy her family some time. She wouldn’t let the wolves storm the house. She…
CRASH!
Another window broke, this time behind her.
Big Mac yelled as something snarled at him. Apple Bloom screamed as there was a rush of hooves retreating up the stairs. Wynona began barking like mad. Big Mac grunted, stomped, and a wolf’s whimper was quickly followed by a yelp of pain. Something howled.
Busy as she was, Applejack couldn’t afford to look back to see what was happening. There were three wolves now inside the kitchen with a fourth poking its head outside the window. Unable to join in the fight with Applejack blocking the way, they watched, faces eager, looking for an opening they could exploit.
Either the wolf she was fighting was too stupid to realize that by struggling with Applejack it was preventing its friends from joining the fight, or it just didn’t want to be hit upside the head with a stainless silver kitchen utensil, AJ didn’t know and didn’t care. She had to hold her position. Big Mac had to take care of himself.
This is our home. We wont’ let ya have it!
The smell of her blood leaking onto the floorboards sent the wolves into a fury. One of them tried to squeeze its large head in the space between its fellow and the counter, nipping at AJ’s leg. Applejack pulled and turned, slamming the wolf she’d been fighting with against its mate’s head. The animal yelped and pulled back, dazed.
“Applejack,” Granny exclaimed, “there’s two more in the living room!” Behind her, another window shattered. “Three!”
Big Mac’s voice thundered through the house. “AJ! Up the stairs! Now!”
Against her better wishes, Applejack complied. She waited until the wolf pulled before releasing the eggbeater. It crumbled against the wolf behind it, dropping the eggbeater as it fell on its bum. Applejack didn’t hesitate. She turned and made straight for the stairs, trotting on three hooves. Big Mac was holding the line against three timber wolves, one of which she recognized as the wolf who’s jaw she shattered, its long tongue lolling around.
The wolves in the kitchen, their path now clear, poured through the doorway. One of them nipped at Applejack’s tail as she brushed by her brother. She bucked, but the wolf ducked away just in time. Granny was halfway up the stairs with a terrified Apple Bloom crying at the top. At the bottom, Wynona was barking, half torn between standing her ground and running upstairs. “Let’s go, Big Mac!”
The powerful stallion stood his ground against the small pack, putting himself between the stairs and his family. He refused to budge. “Ah’ll hold em off. Get t’ a room and lock yerselves in.”
But Applejack protested. “Ah ain’t leavin’ ya, Big Mac!” She could feel hot tears in her eyes as she realized what her brother was doing.
“This ain’t open for debate. Ah’m yer big brother, now do as I say!” Big Mac kicked at a wolf that got too close. The pack was ravenous. They encircled the big stallion. “Ah’ll fight them every step if Ah have t’. But Ah need t’ know ya’ll are safe.”
No. Applejack couldn’t. She would not lose any member of her family again. “Shoot!” Looking up, she said, “Granny, get Apple Bloom inside and lock the door. Big Mac and Ah have got some pests that need squattin’.” And with that she bounded off the stairs to stand side by side with her brother. Seeing Applejack at the forefront, Wynona joined in, forming a trio of defenders against the horde.
“Dang it all!” Granny cried. “Ya’ll…ya’ll better survive this. Ah swear!” Crying, Granny rushed up the steps to usher Apple Bloom away. The filly struggled, but the old mare proved the stronger, urging her only other kin away from the scene.
With the wolves around them, Applejack felt a smile come to her face. “Ya should have left,” she heard Big Mac grumble.
“Ya should have realized Apples don’t abandon their own. Ain’t that right, Wynona?”
The dog barked.
Outside the shattered window, another wolf joined in the party. Outnumbered more than two to one, the defenders looked on grimly. Big Mac lowered his head like a bull about to charge. Snorting, his massive hoof stomped on the ground. “Well awright then!” Ears flattened against this skull, he offered Applejack a wink as if to say “thank you.”
Applejack nodded. Glancing sideways at Wynona, the dog wagged her tail in anticipation. Looking at the wolves, the one with the broken jaw at the forefront, Applejack smiled. “Come on.”



“Piss off!” Rainbow Dash spat, as if words could disperse the large pack. The wolves gathered beneath her, teeth bared and eyes full of hate. Yet they could make no move to harm the pegasus from where she flew. On the flip side, not one made a move towards the house, feeling their fellows had numbers sufficient enough to pacify the earth pony defenders.
Rainbow heard sounds of battle from all the way over here. Every fiber of her being demanded she got to her friend. She was the Element of Loyalty. Her place was by Applejack’s side. Yet she knew that AJ was tough, the toughest pony she’d ever met. She had to trust that she could keep her family safe while Rainbow kept the pack occupied.
Or was it the other way around?
From in the distance, Rainbow heard a whistle. She looked up to see several figures flying in her general direction, Blossomforth in the lead. The pegasus cavalry had arrived. She brought with her more than a dozen of their winged brethren and Rainbow Dash’s soul nearly leaped out of her body with joy. Behind them, a cloud of snow rising in the wind, Derpy led a host of earth ponies and unicorns as they charged down the road toward Sweet Apple Acres.
Seeing the pony host charging towards them, the wolf pack seemed to lose its nerve and began to disperse. They scrambled towards the woods as the pegasi harried them from the air. Blasts of unicorn magic and projectiles of snow hardened by the magic of earth ponies to deadly missiles, peppered them from a distance. It wasn’t long before the pack had disappeared into the trees.
“Sorry it took so long,” Blossomforth said. “It took a while to round up a posse. We tried to get as many,”
But Rainbow cut her off. “Save it for later. Right now we need to get into the house. Follow me.” With that, she led a group toward the Apple House and barreled down the door. The ponies filtered in behind her, ready to fight. What they saw took all the fight out of them.
Rainbow sighed. “No…”