//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6. Encounters 
// Story: As the Moon Rises 
// by MorbidTheBrony 
//------------------------------//

July 5th, Canterlot Park Forest, Thursday Night
10:25PM

The team of three arrived at the edge of the forest once again. They all had confidence on their faces. They will find this wolf even if it will be the last thing they do. They all stepped forward and officially began the hunt for the werewolf. 

Twilight felt as though her plan has a good chance of success, and with Musket on their side, their chances were greater. With the amount of hours that was put into the plan, she couldn't possibly think of anymore faults. It was perfect. She was ready.

Rainbow Dash was the most confident of them all. Everything that has happened to Sunset was the wolf's doing, and Rainbow  promised to herself that she would avenge Sunset. From what Twilight has taught her about werewolves, she realises that she can't really harm the werewolf, since werewolves are most weak against anything silver. So helping out capturing it will have to do to avenge their friend. She prepared herself before this. She was ready.

Woodland Musket, though he was a professional hunter, was feeling a little afraid. The history with his family and the werewolves weren't exactly the most pleasing tales to tell. He wanted to become the first in his whole family to finally hunt the beast down and come back with its head ready to be hung up on his wall. To make sure he was prepared, he took the extra step and packed himself spare ammunition and not just any ammunition, but silver bullets. He was ready.

They were all ready. They knew they were ready as soon as they all stepped inside its territory together as a team, and tonight they will do whatever they possibly can to find it. The forest was large, so they will be searching for a long time, but they hoped to find it before the sun rose. 

"Are you girls ready for this?" Musket asked. "This is your last chance to back out."

"Are you kidding? I'm always ready! Let's just do this already!" Rainbow shouted, throwing her fist in the air.

"I was up almost all of last night making this plan, I'm not backing out of this now," Twilight said, holding up her map for everyone to see.

"Alright then. Where to now, Twilight?" Musket watched as Twilight unrolled the map. It was covered with red X's, probably to show all of the traps. 

Twilight traced her finger across the map. Her finger landed on a section of the park just next to a small cliff. She then pointed everyone in the direction of the cliff and began to search. They kept cautious as they explored, for their target could be lurking anywhere in the woods. They passed a bunch of Twilight's traps along the way and made sure to avoid them.



July 6th, Canterlot Park Forest, Friday Morning
00:49AM

So far, during the hunt, they've all turned out unsuccessful. There had been occasions where they had seen footprints or claw marks on the trees and sometimes they even heard the howling of a wolf, no doubt it was their one.

"Ugh! Where is this damn thing?!" Rainbow Dash groaned. 

"Patience, dearie. This creature may be a wild animal, but it is intelligent. It knows a threat when they see it," Musket explained.

"I'm surprised how it hasn't come out to attack us already. Aren't we seen as it's prey?" Rainbow asked.

"Anything smaller than it is seen as it's prey. Which is why we came prepared! That blimey beast will never know what hit it-"

"Wait, guys, what's that over there?" Twilight pointed towards what looked like a very small building. They got closer to it and saw that it was a small, abandoned, wooden hut. "I think we should look inside."

Rainbow held her arms up. "Are you crazy, Twilight?! What if it's hiding in there?"

"Then I've always got my gun to blow it away!" Musket held up his gun.

Twilight pointed Musket's gun down to his feet. "Put that thing away! We don't want to kill it!"

"What?!" Rainbow and Musket said in unison. Rainbow sounding more dramatic.

"I never said I wanted to kill the wolf. That wasn't part of the plan. I just wanted to see if it existed or not and even see what kind of magic it possessed if it did at all."

Musket placed a hand on her shoulder and sighed. "Twilight, you are very intelligent but I don't think you understand. This beast is extremely dangerous and is a threat to the people of this city. Letting it live will just leave everyone in danger. Do you understand me?"

Twilight shook his hand off. "But that werewolf is a person. Killing it as a werewolf would be just as bad as killing a person. I can't let you do this, Musket."

Then suddenly, a canine like shriek came from somewhere in the forest. Rainbow was the only one who heard it, as Twilight and Musket continued bickering about whether or not the werewolf should live. Without gaining the attention of her team, Rainbow Dash snuck off to investigate. 

She looked all around, pushing branches out of her way to help her see. She followed the noises of whimpering. It sounded like a dog crying. She eventually came across one of Twilight's bear traps. Along with the trap was their target which had its foot caught in it. Rainbow hesitantly stepped closer towards the beast. It had golden fur, a fiery coloured pattern along its back and teal eyes. Rainbow stepped on and broke a twig, gaining the attention of the werewolf. It began growling at the sight of her and tried getting up but then fell as pain shot into its paw. It then began to whimper again.

Despite the fact that it was a dangerous beast that was likely to kill her, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but feel quite sorry for it. Yes, she was afraid of it and did say she'd want to avenge her friend for the pain the beast had brought onto her. But then again, she thought about how this one was another werewolf to the one Sunset explained.

They both stared directly at eachother. Then Rainbow knelt down to it and spoke. "Hey there, uh... wolf thing. You doing okay there?" 

She expected the wolf to have torn her to shreds, but it didn't react. It continued just looking at her. Rainbow looked at where the trap had caught it. The trap latched on tight onto its leg. It didn't bleed, but it did look painful. 

Rainbow then sighed out of her nose. "Okay, here's the deal: I'm gonna let you free and in return, you don't rip my head off, sound cool?" She couldn't believe what she was saying. 

The wolf responded by licking her face. That sounded like a yes to Rainbow Dash. So, she went over to its back leg and tried with all of her strength to pull the trap apart. It was extremely tight, but she managed to pull it far enough so the wolf could escape. She then quickly took her fingers out of the trap for them to only just not get cut off by it. 

Rainbow sighed with relief but then her attention was brought back to the wolf, who was now standing on all of its legs again, staring directly as her. She shuffled back against a tree as the werewolf slowly came closer to her. Rainbow tried screaming for help, but her voice refused to let out any sound. Her breathing became insanely fast as the creature was now feet away from her, preventing any sort of escape. It growled loudly at her, while also licking its lips, revealing its sharp teeth. Rainbow Dash continued trying to move back, despite the fact that her back was pressed right up against the bark of the tree.

As the wolf was now right up to Rainbow Dash's face - and as she prepared herself for her inevitable demise - they both heard the rustling of bushes. Then Musket and Twilight appeared.

"Step away from Rainbow Dash, you foul beast!" Musket shouted pointing his gun towards the wolf.

The wolf barked loudly and began running away back into the woods.

Rainbow continued breathing fast as tears began pouring from her eyes out of fear. Twilight helped her back onto her feet and Rainbow quickly wrapped her arms around Twilight, soaking her shoulder with tears.

Twilight pushed Rainbow in front of her and started inspecting her for injuries. "Are you okay, Rainbow Dash? Did that thing hurt you?!"

Rainbow slowly shook her head, unable to speak with her breathing being so fast.

"What were you thinking, girl?!" Musket snapped. "That thing could have killed you if we hadn't noticed you'd gone!"

Rainbow Dash didn't listen to him. All she wanted to do now was go home, she had seen enough for one night. "C-Can we just go home p-please?"

Musket cooled himself down and huffed. "Yes, I suppose we should leave it for another night. Haven't caught it yet, but we've made progress." He began walking out of the woods. "Come on, girls, I'll escort you out. We can try again tomorrow night."

"Actually, I think Rainbow Dash should skip the next one. Just so she can get her mind around things. Is that fine with you, Dash?" Twilight asked, gently patting her friends back.

Rainbow cleared her eyes of tears with her hand. "Yeah, I think I should skip the next one."

Once they all found their way out of the forest, Musket left them to walk home by the entrance. Twilight wanted to walk Rainbow home, in case she had gotten too afraid of it appearing again. It was quiet on their walk to Rainbow's house.

Once they finally reached her door, Rainbow pulled Twilight into another hug, thanking her and Musket for saving her. Twilight smiled warmly, hugging her friend back. Then, Rainbow went inside her house, leaving her purple friend alone.

On her own way home, Twilight remained very cautious. The streets were very empty and quiet. Too quiet for her liking. The wolf could literally be anywhere. Twilight was very thankful that Rainbow only lived a few blocks away from her. She even kept her guard up walking through the large gate to her house. She wasn't going to let her guard down, even if she's safely home.



Sunset’s Secret Place, Friday Morning
06:22AM

As the sun was finally beginning to rise, the werewolf sat by the lake looking up at the sky. The sun could be seen glistening over the trees, lighting up the sky with light blue.

The wolf began twitching. Then, it started barking loudly as if it were in pain. Lying on the ground, shaking, as it began to change. Its tail was pulled back into the body, the arms and legs became skinnier and the muzzle became shorter, looking more like a person's nose. The barking of the wolf transformed into a person's voice groaning. A girl's voice. 

Then after, Sunset Shimmer was now laying on the grassy ground. She sat up and looked at her surroundings. She had changed back in a different location for some reason. Last time, it took her back to her house and onto her bed. Now, it left her at, what she called, her venting space. She didn't know an awful lot about werewolves other than how they're vicious creatures that have many confusing laws. One of them being, where they leave to transform.

She realised she couldn't stay in that one spot forever, so she picked herself up and began walking home. But not long after, she then fell of one side. Her ankle hurt for some reason. Whatever that wolf was doing, it had apparently gotten itself hurt. It didn't feel like it was broken or anything, it just badly hurt. So, she limped her way back to her house. Judging by how low the sun was, it looked very early in the morning, so she probably wouldn't get caught limping down the street.

Since the wolf had broken down her door last time, she thought it would be a good idea to leave her back door open so it didn't break anything else. She knew it'd be risky, but it's more worth leaving it open rather than having it broken down and never being able to close it again.

Upon hearing her enter her house again, Ray, Sunset's leopard lizard, woke up and smiled at the sight of her. Sunset smiled back and she lifted him out of his glass cage and sat him on her shoulder. They both nuzzled their cheeks together.

"You hungry, Ray?" Sunset asked her pet. Ray's eyes lit up and he smiled at her, his way of saying yes. Sunset laughed, "I thought you'd be. I think there's still some crickets left for you~" Sunset took her lizard into the kitchen and looked out a bowl and cereal for her and a tub of crickets she stored for Ray. She scooped a couple of them out and placed them, and Ray, onto the table. They both ate their breakfast together.

Then, Sunset took Ray into the living room with her and they both watched TV together. Despite all of the bad that's happening right now, it always felt nice to pretend none of it even happened and just continue living life like any other. 



Sunset's House, Friday Morning
10:42AM

Sunset was having a rest on her couch, until she was suddenly woken up because of her phone. She looked around for her phone and found it beside her alarm clock in her bedroom. She checked the phone and found that she received a message from Pinkie Pie.

hey sunny. jst checkin 2 c if u want 2 hang out with every1 again since wednesday didnt work out
10:42AM


sounds good pinks. what do you guys have planned?
10:43AM


nothing yet. being honest here. im askin every1 1 at a time. rd says she doesnt want 2 hang 2day
10:44AM


what? why not?
10:44AM


dunno. she jst said that she was tired or sumthin
10:45AM

'Strange,' Sunset thought. 'It's not like Rainbow to miss hanging out with us.'


okay then... where should we meet up?
10:46AM


i was thinkin maybe that cafe at the mall around lunch. we hvnt been ther a lot hv we?
10:47AM


cant say we have. anyway, sounds great. see you guys soon.
10:48AM 


c ya sunset!
10:48AM

Now, she had plans again. Hang out with her friends, possibly try again to turn Twilight's train of thought around (There's still a low chance of that happening) and try and not get so worried or panicked if anyone brings the werewolf up. To her, it sounded easy, when in reality she has almost no control over anything. Then there was the hangout with her friends. The only thing that could really interfere would be that voice that keeps warning her, which would probably only interrupt her day again if she was doing something wrong. But most importantly, she had to stay positive and everything could turn out okay. 

Sunset went into her bathroom and got washed in the shower. After that, she got dressed again in her regular wardrobe. By the time she was prepared to leave, she still had time to spare, so she sat back down onto the couch and turned the TV back on. For a few minutes, she randomly typed in channel numbers, having the thought that it could surprise her with something. All she did find were channels that didn't even speak English, crappy music channels and gambling channels. Being disappointed with the network, she just chose to watch the news channel. Perhaps there could be an interesting story or two. "Okay, news, surprise me!" She said pressing her back against the couch.

"Good afternoon, Canterlot City. This is your news anchor Mic Clip," the anchor introduced himself. "Our top story today comes from none other than one of Canterlot's most popular, Woodland Musket."

Sunset was sure she heard that name somewhere before, but she couldn't exactly remember where. She listened close.

Mic continued, "Late last night, he posted a blog regarding this week's monster, the werewolf, as to what everyone has been calling it. Mentioning things such as an encounter that one of his new 'partners' have had with the monster. He said as I quote, 'I only managed to step in and save her just as the monster was directly in front of her. It was a close call, but we managed to leave the night unharmed. Wherever this monster may be, let it be sure to everyone that my new team and I will not stop until it is found. As for now, stay indoors at night; this thing hides within the shadows greater than a ghost.'"

Sunset swallowed a lump in her throat and began sweating with nerves as she watched on.

"Unfortunately, no footage or picture was shared of this werewolf, and people do deny this creature's existence. Some have commented saying it's all fake and used to start panic and drama within the city. It may still be a while before something is finally shown of this beast, so, we can only leave off with a question today. Does the werewolf really exist? Can our Woodland Musket bring it to justice? More on the story as it develops. And now for our weather report."

Sunset just stared at the TV. The remote fell out of her hand, falling onto the floor. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't think. The more she tried to think, more panic built inside her. This Woodland Musket person appeared to be a hunter. And not just a hunter, but the hunter of the city. And now, he was after her. 'Great, now I can add this to the "Bad Things That Are Currently Happening to Sunset" list,' she thought. She rested her face in her hands. "I literally come back from Equestria and that same night I'm cursed with becoming a werewolf. Absolutely splendid!" she yelled folding her arms angrily. "I can't wait to see what bad thing happens next!" Then she saw the time on the TV. "Crap! I gotta go! Bye, Ray!" Then she rushed out of the door.



Canterlot Mall, Friday Afternoon
01:12PM

As Sunset ran past people to get to the café, she overheard some of them talking about the werewolf. They talked about whether or not the thing exists, how dangerous it is and hopes for this Musket man to catch it. It only created more and more worries for the girl. What if they tried to find her themselves? What if they get too close?! Sunset tried shaking those thoughts out from her head. She knew they'd do her no good in the long run. And they might as well leave her head now, because she could see her friends (Except Rainbow Dash) sitting at a table outside the café. 

Pinkie was the first to see her, not surprising Sunset whatsoever, and shot up to her feet and waved at her. "We're over here, Sunset! At this table! Can you see us?! Over he-!" Pinkie's mouth was blocked by Applejack's hand, who had gotten up from her seat. Sunset could see her telling Pinkie something with an annoyed face.

Sunset finally arrived at the table and took the last empty seat, not without a grin on her face.

"Did you see me, Sunset?" Pinkie asked, smiling excitedly.

"Pinkie, Ah think ya got th' attention of everybody in the whole darn mall," Applejack said, sitting back down.

"Well, you never know, Applejack, there could have been a chance that Sunset didn't see us."

Rarity piped in for Applejack. "I'm failing to see if there was, Darling. Anyway, how are you, Sunset? You haven't spoke to any of us since Fluttershy and I dropped you off the other day."

"And the way you shut us out then was kind of strange," Fluttershy quietly mentioned. 

"Yeah, sorry about that, you guys. Since I got home, I've just been either sleeping or getting a bit paranoid from time to time," Sunset answered.

"Especially how you left my place yesterday," Twilight reminded Sunset. 

"Yeah, I don't know what came over me. Sorry, Twilight," Sunset said, trying to make an excuse. "I've been feeling insanely anxious since I was bitten."

"Speaking of which, how is your hand, Dear?" Rarity asked.

Sunset held up her once injured hand for the group to see. "All better now!" Everyone smiled to see that Sunset's hand was finally better. It had been a nasty bite. 

"So, uh, any of you guys seen the news this morning?" Twilight asked, changing the subject. "Y'know, the whole thing about the werewolf?"

Everyone nodded with the same sad written faces.

"Poor person, must've been scared half t' death bein' so close to that thing," Applejack said, crossing her arms. "Luckily that Woodland Musket fella was there t' save her. You and Rainbow were there, weren't ya, Twi? D'you know anythin'?"

Twilight nervously laughed and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, umm... we might've had something to do with that, being completely honest."

It didn't take long for any of them to put the pieces together. "Wait, is that why Rainbow Dash hasn't come today? Was that her that came face t' face with that beast?!" Applejack raised her voice, standing back up. "Twilight! How could you let this happen?!"

Twilight lowered herself with fear. "I'm sorry! Musket and I were having an argument and all of a sudden Rainbow Dash was gone! We found her in time before it could hurt her, at least."

"Not th' point, Twilight!" Applejack groaned in frustration. "Ah told you! Ah told y'all this was a bad idea, and ya didn't listen to me! Now look at what happened! Rainbow's probably lyin' in 'er room totally scarred 'cus of this!"

Rarity tried pulling her back down. "Applejack, do calm down. You're causing a scene."

"Ah feel like Ah have th' right, Rarity! Ah mean, when Ah think of a team, Ah think of trust and partnership. If y'all let some petty argument get between y'es! Ah can't imagine what seconds longer could've done to her! What even made 'er go away anyway?!"

Tears were beginning to form in Twilight's eyes. "I-I don't know! When we found her, I saw that one of our traps were set off. I-I guess that the wolf had set it off and she somehow heard it and went to check without us."

"See, Applejack, it was just an act of Rainbow being irresponsible again," Rarity stated. "Now please stop shouting! You're making her very upset! Look!"

Applejack then looked at Twilight straight in the eye. Then she suddenly felt quite guilty. Perhaps she did take it a bit too far. Applejack let out a long sigh through her nose and slowly sat back down into her seat. "Fine. Fine. Ah'm sorry, Twilight. Ah jus' really don't wanna see one of y'all get hurt. Just please keep an eye on eachother. You wanna hug, Sugarcube?"

Twilight sat up straight again and cleared her eyes of any oncoming tears. "Yeah, I kind of do."

Applejack stood up once more, went over to Twilight and pulled her up into a hug. Then, not long after, everybody else joined in with them. 

After they all let go, Applejack left a hand on Twilight's shoulder and looked at her. "Ah do trust you and Dash, but just as long as all of you stick together, cooperate, and stay behind Mr. Musket, ya hear?"

Twilight nodded. "Okay, Applejack, I'll try to be more careful. For my team's and everyone of the city's sake."

"Heh. Spoken like a superhero there."

They both laughed as they took their seats again. They were all able to start their day again as they chose what they wanted for lunch. Everyone ate and chatted as if what just happened never did. Even Sunset was having a good time. Being with her friends distracted her from the whole werewolf business. To her, it looked like today would end on a higher note. Eventually, they all finished their lunch and were ready to leave. 

"Hold on a moment, I gotta use the bathroom," Twilight said, walking away from the table.

Sunset watched as she left, then had an idea. "I have to go too." She followed Twilight.

They both finished up their business and started washing her hands. Then, Sunset cleared her throat. "You doing okay, Twilight?" she asked.

Twilight didn't look up at her friend. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."

Sunset scanned her face. "You look upset. Is it because of Applejack?"

Twilight closed her eyes tight and pinched the bridge of her nose. "No, it's not that. Well, it kind of is, but..." Twilight stuttered. "It's just... she's right."

Sunset raised an eyebrow, confused.

Twilight noticed this and continued. "I mean, just look, Sunset. I let some dumb argument get in the way of our mission and it resulted in Rainbow Dash almost being killed!" She said the last word louder than she expected. She then took a deep breath. "Our plan was going perfectly, and then there was just that one thing that pulls it all apart. How responsible of me." she finished sarcastically.

Sunset looked at her sadly and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Twilight, don't beat yourself up over it. You're an amazingly talented girl. What happened was just an easy mistake to make. I mean, yeah, sure, there was a chance that it wouldn't turn out in the end okay, but you're both still here. Just as alive. Actually, probably even more alive than you've ever been!"

"Heh. (Sniff) I guess it was quite a rush."

"Exactly. Now, I won't blame Applejack for telling you to be more careful, she's right on that. But I wanted to just tell you too. So, if you're going to keep doing this, - and I won't stop you - please be careful, Twilight. I don't know what I'd do if any of you got hurt."

"I will, I promise."

"Pinkie Promise?" Sunset faced turned smug.

Twilight laughed and did the actions with a smile. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Good. Now, let's go." Sunset was about to open the door until Twilight pulled her into a hug.

"Thanks, Sunset," Twilight said quietly.

Sunset returned the hug. "Anytime, Twi. Now, let's go. They're still waiting for us, you know."

Then, they both left the bathroom happy and prepared for the day they were about to have.