"Sister, what do you make of these reports of disappearing citizens coming in from Manehattan?" A regal voice asked from the other side of the breakfast table.
"Ah, those," Came the equally regal reply. "I'm not quite sure what to make of them. They seem to hold a pattern, but I haven't heard of anything like this before. But I suppose you have a plan, Celestia. You always have a plan."
"Well, I did." The princess looked up at her sister from her morning meal before continuing carefully, "But I'm not too sure anymore. I was going to have Twilight and her friends investigate, but I'm afraid this might be too dangerous."
Luna took a long look at her sister over her own breakfast with a quizzical glare. "Too dangerous? Since when has anything been too dangerous for them? They have defeated the greatest threats in our long history, threats that gave ourselves incredible challenge thousands of years ago. What could be too dangerous?"
"It's just..." Celestia cast her gaze down to her barely touched food. "I'm scared, Luna. During your time away, there were many threats I myself had to face, and I have seen this before."
"You have?" The moon princess stared at her sister, waiting for her to continue.
"Yes. About three centuries ago, there was a strange light coming from the top of this very mountain. I flew up to investigate, but the light was gone before I got there. To this day, I have not discovered the cause nor the purpose of it, but what I did find was a monster. This creature was twice the size of you or I, and it was covered in hair. It had pale yellow eyes, and huge fangs. It was vaguely wolf-shaped, but the scariest part of the beast was it's voice."
"You mean to say it spoke?" Luna asked incredulously.
"Yes, sister. For it spoke with a voice I shall never forget. It was deep, as one would expect from something so large, but it was also intelligent. It was the voice of a creature who was old and wise. Sly, cunning, and malicious. More so were the words that came from it's mouth." Celestia looked back to her beloved sister before shuddering, averting her gaze to a nearby wall. "He said that he was the first of many, and that we would find no safety in the light of the full moon, for that was when they would strike."
"What did you do with it then? Surely you did not let a terrifying beast such as that roam free?"
"As I said, he was sly, and cunning. He must have had much more experience than either of us. In the span of a heartbeat, he had leapt at me. I couldn't react, and just the thought of such a large creature moving so fast paralyzed me. By the time I realized what was happening, he was gone."
"I see," Said Luna. "But as horrifying as that thing was, you said that you've seen these kinds of disappearances before. Is it the one responsible? How did you stop it?"
"He wasn't lying. He didn't need to. Within a year, he had a small army of wolf beasts, and attacked Canterlot. It was only the discovery of their greatest weakness that led to their defeat."
"What weakness?"
"Silver." The princess of the sun met her sister's eyes with her own, "But even then, some escaped. I personally saw to the execution of the great leader, but even facing death, the beast seemed amused. He laughed, and said that he would not be so easily defeated. That mere metal could not stop him from praying upon our people, and that one day his pack would return, stronger than ever."
"And the missing wolves are the ones responsible for the missing ponies?"
"I'm afraid so. Which can only mean that they plan a large scale attack, and soon. We must prepare."
"How can we prepare against this, sister?" Princess Luna looked at her sister with concern. "Do you think they have found a way to overcome their weakness to silver?"
"I do not know. What I do know, however, is that we must seek help. We know next to nothing about these creatures or how they operate. But there may be someone who does."
"Who? Who could have learned more about these creatures than you? How are they still alive?"
"Before he died, the beast spoke one final insult. 'You ponies are easy prey. Much easier than the prey from my world."
"It came from another world!? How is this possible?" Luna looked amazed and cynical at the same time. "You said he was cunning. How do we know that he wasn't trying to trick you?"
"How is your scrying, Luna?"
-Berlin, August 20th, 1961-
A woman was running through the streets of Germany as fast as her legs would take her. It was just past midnight, and the city she found herself in was lit by a full moon, though the stars were mostly obscured by the industrious smog that layered the sky. She watched carefully for the holes in the pockmarked road, not daring to risk tripping. The shadows playfully flickered out of the alleyways, almost looking as though they wanted to take her away. She was running out of breath, and her legs burned, but she found herself in a game of cat and mouse, only she was between both hypothetical animals, and the mouse had claws and fangs and an insatiable bloodlust. Today was not going well.
Her name was Red, and not only was she running from the law, but she was also hunting a werewolf. It was her job to make each and every one her prey, after all. After what they did to her family, they were her sworn enemies, and she would slay werewolves forever, if necessary.
Ducking around a corner, she tried to lose her pursuers without losing the trail the clumsy beast had left behind. Seriously, it wasn't her fault she had to be on this side of that stupid wall that had been making her life hell. Although she had it easy by comparison. There had been riots all week, families who wanted nothing more than to see each other. And she could jump it without being caught. Usually.
Red continued running down the alley, heading north when she reached another street. She needed to get away, and she needed to do it quick. Looking to her right, she saw yet another wall of buildings. Rolling her eyes, she adjusted her course until she was sprinting alongside of it. 'Back in my day, there weren't nearly this many buildings. Why are there so many people?' She thought in irritation.
When she got close enough, she leapt up and grabbed hold of a sign, making this particular building as being a flower shop. 'How quaint.' Thought Red as she swung up, letting go at the top of her swing, letting her momentum carry her into the air, before spinning around and grabbing onto an exposed pipe, climbing up as fast as she could.
As she rolled onto the roof, lying still, she could hear the German military running out of the alley she had exited moments ago, only a couple blocks away. She waited a few minutes for them to split up looking for her, before getting up silently and continuing her mad dash north.
The rooftops provided her with a better view of the city, one she couldn't stop to appreciate. Even if she could, she was too jaded from her long life of killing monsters straight from legend to enjoy it.
Stopping suddenly, the woman peered slowly over the edge of the shop she was on. Her senses were telling her she was close. As she searched the alley, she could hear the faint breathing of a large animal just blow her. With her above average ability to see in the dark, she was able to make out the still form of the werewolf crouched behind some wooden crates, waiting for her, no doubt. If she could feel it, it could feel her. He seemed a bit confused on the direction though.
Pulling a long silver dagger from the hidden sheathe in her boot, she crept to the edge of the roof, crouching like a cat, waiting to pounce. She took a deep breath, then sprang down head first, arms outstretched, grabbing the wolf's neck with her empty hand, driving her dagger into the base of his skull, killing him without a sound.
As she stood back up, she wiped her dagger on the beasts receding hair, replacing it in it's proper place, watching as the creature she had just slain slowly turned back into a man in his mid-twenties.
Smiling to herself, she walked back out onto the street, pausing to look at a large window. Inside were all kinds of clothing, but she was making sure her black clothing was blood free. Satisfied with her appearance, she straitened her red riding hood before making her way back to the wall that was between her and her hotel room.
As she slipped back in through her window, Red finally relaxed. After such a long night, she would be surprised if she slept for less than a week. It was six in the morning, and she could already hear some of the more early risers walking around the hotel she was staying in.
After she washed her knife in the bathroom sink, she carefully stowed it and her crossbow under her bed, placing her quiver in the closet.
She then placed her beloved cap on the rack near her door, and shed her clothes, pulling something more comfortable from her suitcase. Then, after a nice, hot shower, she finally put on a large t-shirt and allowed herself to fall asleep.
As she slept, Red found herself in a rather strange dream. For one, she knew she was sleeping, and for two, there was a strange blue creature standing before her. Who was talking. Wait, what was se saying?
"Entschuldigung? Was war das?" Red asked the creature, who looked at her oddly.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" It asked her in English. Oops.
"Oh, you don't speak German? My apologies. Tell me, who and what are you, and where am I?"
"Well, my name is Luna, and I am a pony." She replied.
"Uh-huh," Said Red. "And where am I?"
"You are in an artificial dreamscape that I created for communication purposes."
"Sure. Forgive me for being a bit skeptical, but I am finding this a bit difficult to swallow. Why do you have the wings of a pegasus, and the horn of a unicorn? Even in my time, I knew of no creature such as you."
"I am an alicorn, a princess of my people. How do you know of ponies? After my scrying, I found no evidence of our existence on your world," Luna replied.
"That is because they died out many years ago, and have faded into legend. Sad, but the world has moved on. Speaking of, where are you? I mean, if this is a dream, you must be somewhere else. Unless you are in my room."
"That is a good question," The princess said with mirth in her eyes. "I am in another plane of existence. A parallel world, if you like."
"So you are a traveller!" Red's face lit up in excitement. "Someone who walks between worlds, and carries stories from far away places!"
"Um, I'm not sure I know what you mean," Luna said nervously, not wanting to disappoint this girl.
"Oh," Said Red, her face falling. "Never mind then. Tell me, why are you here?"
"Another good question," Luna said, a serious look on her face this time. "I have come to request aid. I saw you take down that beast a few hours ago, and I need to know everything about them."
"You mean the werewolf?" Red asked.
"Werewolf? Is that what they are called?"
"Yes, they are werewolves, hunters of the night. They appear as normal people during the day, and walk around, and even have normal lives in some cases. However, once a full moon rises, they turn into a terrifying beast that preys on people, devouring some whole, turning others into werewolves like themselves."
"Is there a cure?" Luna asked, suddenly more worried than she already was.
"Of sorts," Red replied. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because three centuries ago, one of these... werewolves... entered our world. Since then, they have infested our land, and preyed upon our little ponies, going unseen and unnoticed until recently." Luna looked at Red with pleading eyes. "Anything you could tell us would be helpful."
Red looked at the pony curiously. "That is certainly a problem. How many do you have? What is your population, by your estimation? Do you live in large cities?"
"We do not know how many are out there. Hundreds at the very least. And our population is small, compared to your world. No more than twelve million, and that is a generous estimate. And we do have a few cities, but for the most part, our ponies live in small towns scattered across the country." Luna turned to look behind her. "I do not have much more time here."
"In that case, know this. It is best to just put them down. Do not try to save them. Their weakness is silver, just touching it causes their flesh to burn." Red looked at the princess closely. "Can you do that? Kill them, I mean?"
Luna looked Red in the eye before replying carefully. "For our ponies, yes. But tell me, if they are such fearsome hunters, how are there so few in your world? Through my scrying, I could only find one werewolf, and you killed it."
"Only one?" Red asked, amazed. "Are you sure?"
"Very sure. You killed the last werewolf on your planet."
Red looked down at her bare feet, realizing she was only wearing the t-shirt she was sleeping in. The last werewolf? How could that be? She had hunted them for so long... she never thought she would actually get all of them. Her family could finally rest in peace.
Looking back to the pony, Red came to a sickening conclusion. Her family had not been avenged. Somehow, the monsters had found their way to another world. Luna's world. And she wouldn't rest until they were eradicated.
"Princess Luna," Red said after careful consideration. "I believe I can help you. The wolves are all dead in my world, right? I am the only one who even knew of their existence. I killed them. I killed them all. And I will not rest until the bastards have all been put down." She looked at the pony before her with a fire in her eyes. "I will gladly continue to do so. Can you take me with you?"
Luna looked at Red in surprise. "Are you sure? Don't you have family and friends who will miss you? And there are so many, how can you do it all yourself? It would take decades!"
"Then so be it."