//------------------------------//
// You Have Nothing to Fear... 
// Story: Rainbow Dash's Awesome Nightmare Night Haunted House Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Adventure 
// by TheDriderPony 
//------------------------------//

You push the door open. It sticks a little, but you muscle your way in.

Inside is some kind of sitting room. A cracked but unbroken skylight lets in enough moonlight to see by. There's a few overstuffed armchairs, a sofa, even a fainting couch. Paintings on the wall depict calm nature scenes. The kind of room you'd invite your friends to rest in for a while when they show up before dinner's ready.

But this room also looks like it survived a wild animal attack.

Large gashes are torn through the paintings. Stuffing is scattered everywhere like an early snow. Even the carpet is shredded.

You also take note that you are not alone.

There's a pony on the fainting couch, stretched out as casually as if this was her own bedroom.  Her eye snaps open under its curtain of orange curls and focuses on you the moment you enter.

"Oi," she growls, "I thought I made it clear to you wads, no trespassers!"

You start slightly at her scratchy voice. It sounds wrong, coming from a mare so petite. "Oh, sorry, I'll just—" You reach for the doorknob but find it's locked behind you.

She sighs dramatically. "Criminy. The things I gotta do to get a little shuteye." Without so much as a word of warning, she begins to grow.

The sound of bones snapping and stretching fills the room as she starts to jerk and shake, odd bumps distending her fur.  She rises to stand on her back legs, posture hunched over, wickedly sharp claws burst from her hooves. Her muzzle extends, growing out long and slender just as quickly as it fills with knives. 

You stand there, transfixed, the whole transformation running its course in under ten seconds. As her spine snaps into its final place, the mare lets loose a blood-curling howl, leaving no doubt as to what she's become.

A Werepony.

"I was feeling a mite peckish anyhow."

You step back until you feel the cold wood of the door pressing up against your back as you consider your options. You can't fight her, there's no way! High and lauded though your opinion of yourself may be, you know better than to try and fight a timberwolf alone in an enclosed space where you can't use flight to its full advantage. And this is like a timberwolf with a pony's intelligence behind it. Fighting's a no go. At least, not without a weapon to better your odds. Maybe something among your ITEMS could do the trick?

On the other hoof, since you don't think you're strong enough to take down a slobbering werepony, you could always try to NEGOTIATE.