Spiritus ex Machina

by wonderkid125

Chapter 2: A day in the Life

Another day came and went in Fillydelphia. Another normal day filled with normal everyday things. Most ponies would never believe that a small group of seemingly average looking ponies passing by them on the street would have such a strange career, but that was exactly the case for Glimmer Shine and his two teammates.

There were three members of the Supernatural and Paranormal Intelligence, Reconnaissance, and Intervention Team; A strong-willed and an equally strong hearted earth pony, a laid back and curious unicorn, and a boisterous and daring pegasus. All three of them seemed like they wouldn’t even know each other, much less work with each other. Just the same, they had one of the most important jobs in Equestria.

Whenever a pony would complain about a supernatural problem, be it a monster or an odd occurrence, they would report it in and Princess Luna would send in Glimmer Shine and the others to deal with the problem. They had been all over Equestria since they went into official duty after Raven Feather’s defeat. Despite their diminished numbers, they completed every job with speed and efficiency. At least, that is what they liked to think.

“So what do we have here?” Sunspot asked while walking alongside her two partners through the city streets. She didn’t like to bore herself with the details of every case, so she usually just left it up to either Glimmer Shine or Glitterball to brief her.

“Apparently there is a haunted house on the outskirts of town. Ponies have claimed to see one particular apparition multiple times in the past few months.” Glimmer Shine explained their mission as best he could remember. Upon hearing the subject of the mission, Sunspot’s face paled and she looked down for a moment.

Memories of what happened at the ancient mansion that Raven Feather and her cult of followers used as a base came flooding back to her. She had lost three very dear friends to her, one of whom was Glimmer Shine’s own brother, so she wondered why they were handling a case involving ghosts so soon.

“I know you’re not too pleased with the aspect of dealing with a ghost again. Believe me… neither am I, but someone has to take care of this stuff, and we’re the only ones in the business other than Tom.” Glimmer Shine said in a sympathetic tone as he observed the distressed pegasus.

“Just warn me ahead of time if we’re going to be handling ghosts…” Sunspot grumbled angrily.

“Maybe I would if you would pay attention during the briefing.” Glimmer Shine said with a slight glare at the lazy mare. Sunspot returned the annoyed glare before returning her attention ahead.

“Speaking of Tom, isn’t he supposed to be in Fillydelphia too?” Glitterball asked curiously, moving past the issue the others were having and turning her thoughts to their human friend.

“Yeah… I think he is outside of town handling a case. He should be here by now if memory serves.” Glimmer Shine explained with a hint of intrigue in his voice. He hadn’t seen the human much since they both started handling jobs around Equestria, so it was interesting to finally be in the same town as the boy.

“Hey, why don’t we see if we can reach him? You did remember to sync him up with our communication spell the last time we met up didn’t you Glitter?” Sunspot asked curiously while glancing at the unicorn.

“Yes, but I’m not sure if it will work. I did tweak the range a little bit, but Fillydelphia is a big place.” Glitterball replied while doing a mental comparison of where they were to where the human was supposed to be.

“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” Sunspot said while putting a hoof up to her ear. As she concentrated on the human, her ear and hoof were enveloped in a blue magical aura. “Tom, are you there? Can you hear me?” Sunspot asked curiously. Glimmer Shine and Glitterball placed their own hooves up to their ears to see if they could join the conversation if the human responded.

“Sunspot…? Is that you?” The familiar voice of their human friend rang out in their ears. Sunspot smiled excitedly as her experiment worked.

“Hey! It actually worked!” The pegasus cheered happily.

“I would hope so… I didn’t volunteer to have Glitter poke me with her horn for ten minutes straight just for nothing to happen.” Tom replied in a lighthearted tone.

“Well, there was a fifty-fifty shot of success I suppose.” Glitterball chimed in with a nervous chuckle.

“So anyway, what are you up to Tom? We heard that you would be in town, but nobody told us what you were doing here.” Sunspot asked in an intrigued tone.

“Oh, nothing much… I’m just outside of town dealing with a werewolf.” The human replied casually as if it weren’t that big of a deal. The three ponies were equal parts surprised and confused at the boy’s mission.

“A werewolf?” Glitterball asked to clarify.

“Seriously?” Glimmer Shine added in a tone of slight disbelief.

“Like… full moon and everything?” Sunspot raised an eyebrow while pondering the possibility of a werewolf being real.

“Why is that such a hard thing to believe?” Tom asked in a surprised tone. He at least expected the team of monster hunters to not be shocked at the existence of a werewolf.

“Well… while you’re hunting down wolfman, we’re clearing out a haunted house.” Sunspot said to inform the human of what they were doing.

“Really…?” Tom asked uneasily. He wasn’t sure if taking on a ghost was a healthy thing for the three ponies to do considering what the last ghosts they ran into did.

“Yeah, apparently there’s this mare in white that appears once a month for one night only. We wouldn’t be taking something like this if there wasn’t a chance that the legend might be true and she does only appear once a month.” Glimmer Shine explained with a troubled tone.

“Most legends are based on at least a single truth… but if it is true, you better get down there now. I may be in the middle of a forest, but even I can tell that the sun is setting.” Tom said with a slight tone of urgency. The ponies looked at the sky and noticed that the sun was indeed on its way past the horizon.

“Don’t worry, we’re almost there now. I talked with the owners of the house earlier, and they gave us the entire place for the night.” Glimmer Shine said in a reassuring manner.

“Well, good luck guys,” Tom said with a hint of friendly concern in his voice.

“You too Tom… We’ll call you in the morning.” Sunspot said before dropping her hoof to the ground to end the call. Glimmer Shine and Glitterball did the same before turning their attention ahead. As soon as they did, the yellow stallion noticed the same building from the picture he had been given coming into view.

“There’s the place.” Glimmer announced to his two teammates while observing the sprawling property. They were in the more upper-class section of Fillydelphia, so mansions and high-end estates weren’t uncommon, but it was still impressive to behold.

The house itself wasn’t nearly as big as the last haunted mansion they visited, but it still seemed much too large for just a young couple to live at. There was a lush hedge that went around the property, complete with archways to serve as gates. The hedge was only on the outskirts of the property, except for the large hedge maze that was to the right of the house itself. There were also several lavish decorations scattered around the front yard, most notably of which was a large fountain with a unicorn statue on top standing on one leg with water spouting out of its horn.

“Wow… these guys must be loaded.” Sunspot stated in an amazed tone while admiring the sight of the property.

“They are… which is why they asked the princess to send us here personally.” Glimmer Shine said while turning to his two companions.

“Well, we should probably get inside and settle in. We need to find this ghost and take care of it as soon as possible.” Glitterball suggested while pointing to the moon rising into the sky. Glimmer Shine and Sunspot nodded before continuing forward on their way to the mansion.

---

Meanwhile, out in the countryside outside of Fillydelphia, Tom was already starting his investigation. He was walking through the forest where the animal noises had been reported. The forest wasn’t nearly as boggy or unruly looking as the Everfree was, but it was still plenty creepy looking in the moonlight.

There were branches blowing in the wind, adding a constant rustling to the already ever-present ambiance of insects and frogs croaking. Occasionally, an owl or another nocturnal creature would make its presence known with a slight noise. Despite all of these noises and sights that would make any pony shiver with fright, there was something that even unnerved the human slightly.

It was hard to tell in the dark, but there was a slight tint of red strewn along the grass and on the bottom of one of the trees. This, along with a few claw marks on the trees, gave the impression that some horrible beast had been through the area.

“Looks like somebody has been hungry,” Tom said while placing his hand on one of the spots wet with blood. Judging from the temperature and the amount that was still wet, this particular spray was probably from the previous night. Maybe an animal had been killed, and the creature had taken the body with it further into the forest.

“Let’s see what we have here.” The human took in a deep breath and centered himself. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment before exhaling a puff of blue mist out of his mouth. As the myriad of senses and feelings rushed over him, he started to map out the area around him to look for energy signatures.

As he let out another burst of his senses, he began to feel trace amounts of energy from an evil creature directly in front of him. This was most likely the traces left behind during the beast’s last kill. He could also feel a stronger energy signature somewhere deep inside of the forest. A distant eerie howl cemented his suspicions. Whatever monster he had been sent to hunt was indeed making its home in the forest.

“Alright… looks like I’m going on a wolf hunt.” Tom shrugged and glanced down to a small holster he was carrying on a belt around his hips. “And me without a rifle… I guess this will have to do.” He said while taking a small dagger out of the holster. The silver blade gleamed in the moonlight, eliciting a small smirk from the slayer as he put it back in its original place and patted it with a sense of assurance. Without further delay, Tom stepped into the forest and began his search for the elusive beast.

As he continued walking further and further through the thicket of trees, the human continued using his senses to try to confirm his suspicions on the identity of the creature he was hunting. All the while, he kept following the trail of blood along the ground. It seemed like the further he got into the forest, the larger the splatters of blood along the ground were.

“What are you…?” Tom muttered while trying to make sense of the faint reading he was getting. “Ok… definitely a werewolf. And I’m not feeling anything too special about you… so I’m guessing you are just a run of the mill wolf.” He added with a small smile. It felt good for the slayer to be able to understand his foe. It made him feel more confident in his ability to kill whatever he was up against if he knew about it beforehand.

Suddenly, the thicket of trees opened up slightly. Tom looked up from the blood trail to see where he was going, only to pause in surprise when he noticed a gruesome scene before him. The blood trail kept getting bigger and bigger until it reached its source. There was a small clearing with a tranquil pond in the middle of it. Strewn around the pond, were the ravaged bodies of several dead animals.

Among the bodies, Tom could identify a deer, and at least two rabbits, though it was hard to tell which segment belonged to which animal. All of the bodies were ripped apart, with dried blood almost completely covering them. Along with blood, the animals were covered from top to bottom in claw and bite marks.

“Yikes… it’s a good thing Fluttershy isn’t here. She would probably freak out if she saw this hot mess.” Tom said while gagging slightly over the smell of decay. He didn’t even want to think about how the timid pegasus would react to seeing such a horrific scene. She hated to see animals getting mildly hurt, so this would probably give her a mild stroke.

Against his better judgment, the human took in a deep breath and used his senses again. The only way he could willingly use his senses was to exhale, and that proved to be difficult when his only source of air was contaminated by an odor so thick that he could taste it.

“Here we go,” Tom said in a cheerful tone as he picked up the monster’s scent so to speak. He could sense a definite reading that felt like a supernatural monster, and assuming that there wasn’t more than one bloodthirsty monster in the forest with him, that was most likely his prey.

“*Whistle* Here wolfy, wolfy…” The human spoke loudly in an attempt at coaxing out the monster. He walked around the pond and continued on his path through the forest on his way to the source of the energy he was feeling.

“Here wolfy… I got a nice shiny stick for you. Come on out and get it.” He whistled once more in a playful manner.

---

Elsewhere, back in Fillydelphia. The moon had climbed far into the sky, and the ghost hunt was well underway. The members of team S.P.I.R.I.T had split up and scattered across the house to search it more effectively. Glitterball was out in the hedge maze, Glimmer Shine was in the basement, while Sunspot had opted to take the first and second floors of the mansion.

The suited pegasus crept through the upper floor. She clutched a small chain and carried it with her. If her previous experiences with ghosts had taught her anything, it was that iron was really effective at hurting them.

The only sounds that could be heard were the quiet clatter of her own hooves against the carpeted floor and the chain beside her. With the lights off and the looming threat of a ghost lurking in the halls, the lavish mansion was much creepier than it looked on the outside.

Moonlight streamed in through each window she passed, making the atmosphere even eerier. Despite her creepy surroundings, Sunspot was steady and confident in her abilities. She still felt fear, but she kept it inside so as to not let it affect her actions.

“Sunspot, Glitterball, check in.” Glimmer Shine’s voice rang out in the pegasus’s ears, making her jump slightly. She put a hoof up to her ear and calmed her nerves before answering.

“I’m here,” Sunspot announced.

“I’m here too.” Glitterball’s voice chimed in. Sunspot was relieved to hear that her teammates hadn’t been brutally murdered in the time that they were away from her.

“Any sign of our mare in white?” Glimmer Shine asked curiously. Sunspot leaned around the corner she was up against and looked down the next hallway just to be safe. As she expected, the only sign of movement was some curtains blowing in the breeze further down the dark hall.

“*Sigh* Nothing up here… Any luck down in the hedge maze, Glitter?” Sunspot asked curiously while glancing towards the window next to her.

“I’m afraid not. I’ll keep looking.” Glitterball replied in a disheartened tone.

“Remember girls, only use your strobes if you’re in danger. We only have one shot at this, and the ghost might not come back tonight if we disrupt it with an energy blast to the face.” Glimmer Shine instructed as a reminder.

“Heh… if I have my way, I won’t need my strobe.” Sunspot said with a chuckle while gripping the chain in her hooves tightly.

“Sunspot… Remember what I said about taking the ghost on alone?” Glimmer Shine asked in a suspicious tone.

“Uhh… something about making it look as cool as possible?” Sunspot said with an awkward smile, even though her teammate couldn’t see it.

“Just be sure to call us before you do anything stupid.” Glimmer Shine replied with an annoyed groan.

“Yeah, yeah… don’t get your horseshoes bent out of shape.” Sunspot waved off the stallion’s advice. Although he dropped the call, she could tell that he was probably unimpressed with her words.

Taking a look down at the many vials dangling off of her Wonderbolts uniform, Sunspot shrugged and grabbed her detector to get a look at it. As she expected, the liquid in the vial was only faintly glowing as it had been since she arrived at the mansion. The reading offered little more than the knowledge that a ghost was present, but she already knew that. The pegasus didn’t want confirmation that there was something supernatural nearby, she wanted to know where it was.

“Ugh… I wish I had Tom’s senses right about now.” Sunspot muttered in frustration. “Hey now… there’s an idea. Maybe a little advice from our resident slayer could tell me how to find this pest.” She said with a pleased expression at her own idea.

The orange mare put her hoof up to her ear and concentrated for a moment on the human. Once she was certain that the connection had been made, she took in a breath to speak.

“Tom, are you there?” Sunspot asked in a hopeful tone. She suddenly heard a frightful yelp, followed by rapid breathing.

“Sweet mother of mercy, Sunspot!” Tom spoke up in a startled tone. He was very upset that the pegasus had spoken up so suddenly.

“Sorry… I didn’t think I would scare you.” Sunspot said with an awkward grimace.

“I wasn’t expecting you to call until morning, I’m in the middle of a forest at night, and I’m hunting a bloodthirsty werewolf. Of course you would scare me!” The human yelled before taking a moment to calm himself down. “Now then… what is it?” He asked in a composed tone, though there was still a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“I was just calling to ask for some advice on finding this ghost. We’ve been at this for most of the night and we haven’t found anything.” Sunspot explained in a pleading manner.

“Well… judging from what you guys said, if this ghost only appears once a month, she must be a creature of habit. Try searching the areas where ponies have reported seeing her.” Tom suggested in a confident tone.

“Of course… why didn’t I think of that?” Sunspot chuckled to herself with a cheerful smirk.

“Out of curiosity… what are you guys going to do once you find this ghost?” The human asked with an intrigued inflection in his voice. He was curious to find out what the team’s plan was for dealing with the spirit.

“According to the legend, the mare in white can’t leave the property grounds. We’re going to capture her with iron chains, and then we’re going to forcibly pull her over the property line.” The pegasus explained while glancing down to the chain at her feet.

“That might actually work. Most ghosts can’t leave the area they haunt, so that is probably the best option you have to disrupt her spirit without digging up her body and burning it.” Tom said in an impressed tone.

“We thought of that already, and we couldn’t find out who she was, much less where she was buried. This will do just fine as a replacement plan.” Sunspot explained.

“Just be careful when you do find the thing Sunspot. Ghosts can be aggressive when they’re cornered... even the more passive looking ones.” The human said with a cautionary tone.

“I think we can handle it.” Sunspot replied with a pleased smile. Suddenly, a low growl sounded out and bled through the call. The sound caught the pegasus off guard, even though she was certain that it wasn’t coming from her end.

“Tom… what’s that noise?” Sunspot asked with a concerned tone.

“Uhh… I need to go. Good luck with that ghost Sunspot… I-” Tom was suddenly interrupted by the growl erupting into a loud snarl. Sunspot heard the human exclaim in surprise before he dropped the call.

Sunspot was worried about the boy, but she figured that he could handle himself. At any rate, there wasn’t anything she could do to assist him. Deciding to return to her own mission, she got up from the floor and prepared to continue searching.

Suddenly, the pegasus felt one of the vials on her suit vibrating. She looked down and noticed that her detector was glowing a solid color rather than a faint one. Sunspot feverishly grabbed the vial and brought it closer to her face. She gasped in surprise as she noticed that the liquid inside was glowing in the direction behind her.

Hearing a rustling sound coming from the hallway around the corner, Sunspot crouched low to the ground and slunk back to the wall. She felt a sudden decrease in temperature, adding to her already tense nerves.

Slowly, she moved her head around the corner to peek into the next hall. As soon as she could see what lay down the hallway, she froze. There it was, in all of its stark glowing white glory. There was a pale white mare with flowing gray hair standing and looking out of one of the windows.

The strange pony was completely see-through, with a soft white aura shining around her. She was looking out into the yard with a gloomy expression and haunting blue eyes. If Sunspot wasn’t already expecting her, she would have been scared stiff.

“Oh man… oh man!” The orange mare muttered in a quiet panic. She wasn’t sure if she was more excited or nervous, although she was probably both.

“Glimmer Shine, Glitterball…!” Sunspot frantically put her hoof up to her ear and whispered in an eager tone for her teammates to hear her.

“Sunspot…? What’s wrong?” Glitterball asked in a concerned tone.

“I see it! It’s right in front of me!” Sunspot explained while trying her best to keep her voice quiet.

“What?!” Glimmer Shine spoke up in a surprised tone.

“Are you serious?!” Glitterball asked with shock clear in her voice.

“I am serious as a heart attack right now! I’m up on the second floor and I see her. She really is white and everything!” Sunspot said while peeking her head around the corner to see if the spirit was still there. Thankfully, the white mare hadn’t moved and was still staring out the window.

“Ok… Sunspot, wait right there. We’re coming up to you.” Glimmer Shine instructed in a calm voice.

“Wait here…? Are you kidding?! She will disappear by the time you two get up here!” Sunspot stated in an upset tone.

“You can’t handle her by yourself Sunspot. Wait until me and Glitter get there!” Glimmer Shine raised his voice in a desperate attempt at getting the pegasus to listen to him.

“Hay with this.” Sunspot shrugged in frustration while dropping her hoof.

“Sunspot!” Glimmer Shine tried to argue the point to the orange mare, but her mind was already made up. Sunspot stood up and clutched the chain in her hooves with confidence.

“Alright you ethereal featherbrain, let’s rock.” Sunspot said with a small smirk while glancing around the corner. The pegasus suddenly thought about how she would actually capture the spirit. She was relatively far away, and she could very well disappear before she could get close enough to wrap the chain around her. Suddenly, as she looked down at the chain, she got an idea.

“Heh… now then, how would Applejack do this?” She asked herself while thinking about how to go about performing her plan. She reached down and tied the end of the chain in a knot, forming a loop.

With a confident smirk, Sunspot stepped around the corner and started twirling the chain above her head like a lasso. It was slightly heavier than rope, but it would work just fine assuming she could throw it hard enough.

“Hey! Are you the mare in white?” She asked while stepping forward with a determined expression. The ghost turned her head and looked down the hall curiously at the pegasus.

“If you are, then I have something for you!” Sunspot yelled fiercely while throwing the chain at the ghost as hard as she could. The loop flew at the spirit and landed around her shoulders. The mare let out a yell of pain as her body burned from being in contact with the iron chain.

Sunspot grabbed the chain and held it as tightly as she could as the ghost writhed in her grasp. The constant screaming was hurting her ears, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was getting the spirit downstairs.

“Alright, let’s just head downstairs and… hey!” Sunspot exclaimed in surprise as the ghost tugged hard on the chain. She had to pull with all of her strength just to stay still. The orange mare had expected a fight, but this spirit was displaying more strength than she thought possible from such a non-threatening looking ghost.

“Stop pulling on me! You aren’t going anywhere, so just give u- WOAH!” She yelped in shock as she felt the ghost pulling her off balance. Not only did the mare start dragging the chain down the hallway with her, but she started pulling the pegasus along with her too.

Sunspot felt the chain pulling taut around her back leg. In all of the commotion, she had gotten her leg tangled up in the chain. She didn’t even have time to react before she was pulled from her feet and started sliding down the hallway on her back.

“Ahhh!” The orange mare yelled fearfully as she tried to find something to grab onto to slow herself. The ghost of the white mare kept running down the hallway towards the far window.

As the spirit approached the window, she jumped and went straight through it. Due to the solid chain being around her neck, the window shattered as she glided through it and out into the night. Sunspot saw the approaching window and widened her eyes in shock.

“AHH!” The pegasus screamed in terror as she was forcibly dragged through the window. She tried to spread her wings and fly, but the chain was dragging her down. The ghost kept floating away, taking her along for the ride.

After a few moments of trying to stay in the air, Sunspot grew tired from fatigue and dropped like a rock. She closed her eyes and prepared for her demise until she was suddenly stopped short. The pegasus felt a violent tug on her leg, causing her to stop in midair. She looked up to see that part of the chain had caught on the windowsill.

Taking a frantic look around her upside down surroundings for the mare in white, the orange pony quickly realized that she was nowhere to be seen. The loop she had made at the end of the chain was laying on the ground beneath her.

“Ughh… I almost had her!” She groaned in despair while covering her face with her hooves. She couldn’t believe that she had made such a big mistake and that Glimmer Shine was actually right for once. She could practically hear the stallion chewing her out already.

“How’s the weather up there?” Suddenly, Sunspot heard the familiar voice of the stallion speaking up to her. She almost thought it was in her head until she looked down to see her two teammates looking up at her with varying amounts of relief and annoyance on their faces.

Sunspot crossed her forelegs and pouted angrily. She could tell that the stallion was getting a little too much enjoyment out of seeing her getting her karmic retribution. Although she knew that he was probably just as happy to see her unharmed, she didn’t view him as her friend right now, she viewed him as the person that just won an argument that she completely ignored.

“Shut up… I don’t want to talk about it.” The pegasus grumbled while staring straight ahead to avoid looking at the pair.

“You know… this wouldn’t have happened if you would have just listened to me.” Glimmer Shine said with a slight smirk.

“Hmph.” Sunspot mumbled under her breath, although the annoyance in her voice was clear.

“What did she say? I didn’t catch that…” Glitterball asked curiously while glancing to the yellow stallion beside her.

“She wants me to shut up… I don’t need to understand her to know that.” Glimmer Shine replied with a slight chuckle.

True to her word, Sunspot only made small noises to communicate her disapproval. She was starting to get lightheaded from all of the blood rushing to her head, but she still pouted as hard as she could while staring ahead with a stoic and ticked off expression.

“I think we need to have a talk about your listening skills Sunspot. I’m just trying to help you out… we are on the same team after all.” Glimmer Shine said in a sincere tone while trying to bury the hatchet with the pegasus.

“Hmph...” Sunspot grumbled again.

“Was that one shut up as well?” Glitterball asked curiously while trying to make sense of the odd form of communication the suited mare was using.

“Oh, definitely.” Glimmer Shine replied with a confident tone. “Look Sunspot… I know you messed up, and I’m pretty sure you know that you messed up.” The stallion said while pointing out the orange mare’s predicament. She was still softly swinging back and forth in the breeze while being kept suspended just below the window.

“But I am willing to put this behind us if you just say three words… say I was right, and we can all move past this.” Glimmer Shine offered with a smug smirk.

“Grr…” Sunspot growled under her breath at the notion of admitting defeat. She wasn’t denying that she messed up, she knew that full well. But to admit it out loud would be to concede defeat, and that was unacceptable.

“Let me guess… you want me to shut up, and you want us to come up there and pull you up?” Glimmer Shine asked in a confident tone.

“*Sigh*…” Sunspot sighed silently before nodding her head. She would still be upset at the stallion, but she was starting to feel sick from staring at an upside down world for so long.

“Let’s go get her, Glitter.” Glimmer Shine said to the unicorn with a small smile. Glitterball nodded and followed the yellow pony as he walked towards the front door to the mansion.

---

Meanwhile, while the three ponies were licking their wounds from a humbling defeat, Tom was running for his life through a dimly lit forest. Ever since he had been pounced by the vicious creature that interrupted his call with Sunspot, he had been running to prevent it from getting the upper hand.

“Ok, I admit… I look kind of tasty, but you do not want to eat me! I will give you the worst case of indigestion that you have ever had!” The human yelled behind him while running forward. He could barely hear himself over the snarls and growls coming from the monster. He hadn’t seen much more than a furry blur of motion when he was attacked, but he was confident in his assumption that it was indeed a werewolf.

Due to his senses, he could feel every move the creature made as it bounded between the trees to chase after him. While this definitely gave him more incentive to run, it was also terrifying at the same time.

Spotting a low tree branch in front of him, the boy jumped as high as he could and grabbed onto it. He used his forward momentum to flip up onto the branch and quickly jumped backwards. As he expected, he flew over the furry beast and landed behind it. While the creature was turning around to find him, he was already recovering from his tumble and positioning himself to attack.

With one smooth motion, Tom pulled out the silver dagger on his belt and readied it. He charged forward and ducked to the side to avoid any strike the beast might throw so he could stab it clean through the chest.

“Ow!” He yelled in pain as he felt the monster’s clawed hand swiping the dagger out of his own hand. While he reeled from the strike, he watched the dagger fly off into the distance before disappearing into the forest.

“Ok… that is just rude!” The boy exclaimed angrily while staring at the furry monster. The creature looked like a giant wolf, although it had more human-like hands and was capable of standing up on two legs. Thankfully, Tom figured that this werewolf was not a pony that had been bitten and transformed into a monster, but rather it was just an average werewolf.

As the beast snarled at the human, it swiped its claws at him again. Tom jumped backwards and kept a sizable gap between him and his adversary. He clenched his injured hand as blood trickled onto the ground from it. He cringed slightly as he used his healing powers to make the wound vanish in a vibrant display of flames and ashes.

“Ok… my sword probably won’t make much of a dent in this guy, and my silver dagger is… elsewhere.” Tom shrugged while thinking about his options. “I guess I’ll have to use old tried and true.” He smirked slightly before dropping his arms to his side.

The werewolf growled and snorted angrily as fire sprang from the human’s fingertips. As the flames traveled into the air and vanished, the metallic claws that he was gifted after becoming a slayer were left behind. The boy lifted his hands up and readied himself into a defensive stance while brandishing his spirit weapons.

“Ok, Fido… it’s time for you to play dead.” Tom said while sizing up the monster in front of him and preparing for him to strike.

Suddenly, the werewolf bolted forward on all fours and rushed at the human’s legs with his vicious looking teeth bared. His speed was daunting, but the human didn’t flinch. Tom leaped into the air and stepped on the monster’s back as he passed him. The creature snarled angrily and turned around to snap at the boy, but he was already on his way past him.

Tom spun around in the air and slid to a halt as he landed while facing the monster. The werewolf swiped at him with its large arm, but he was wise to the attack. The human ducked and weaved to the side to let the swipe pass him, once it did, he made a swipe of his own at the monster’s side.

The werewolf howled in pain as the blades sliced through his side with ease. Blood sprayed from his wound, but he was un-phased by this. The beast reached downwards in an attempt at grabbing the human, but he was too quick. Tom ducked around the side and slashed across the monster’s back.

The anger filled burst of adrenaline caused by its injuries gave the creature a small boost in speed and aggression. The beast whipped around sideways with its arm and smacked the human into the air. The boy flew into a nearby tree and groaned in pain as he collided with it.

Tom looked up to find the creature, only to see a furry blur traveling towards him rapidly. Before he could react, the werewolf slammed into him and went straight for his face. Tom shoved his hands into the beast’s shoulders to halt its advance. He was barely able to keep the monster from biting his face off.

As the werewolf wrestled him from the tree onto the forest floor, Tom kicked at him with his free legs. The creature paid no attention to the human’s attack and instead continued pushing down on him. Tom cringed in pain as the beast raked its claws across his cheek. The wound wasn’t deep, but he could feel blood trickling down his face.

Finally, the monster reared up and prepared to slam its weight down on the human. Tom realized that he wouldn’t be able to strong-arm such an assault. He closed his eyes and shoved his hand out with his fingers pointed upwards in the hopes of stabbing the beast.

He heard the monster yelping in pain as his claws impacted its body. The creature’s weight drove the claws through its chest as it fell. Tom felt the monster’s dead weight coming down on him as the beast expired.

“Woo… that was exhilarating.” He said with a small victorious smirk. He then groaned from exertion as he tried to get the monster off of him. His claws were stuck inside of the beast’s chest, and even if he made them vanish to free his hand, his arm was pinned. With only one arm in a viable pushing position, the human heaved as he tried moving the werewolf off of him. After a few moments of barely getting the beast to move, he quickly realized that he would have a hard time of lifting it up enough to slide out from underneath it.

“Great… I guess it’s a good thing there was only one monster in these woods… I hope.” Tom shrugged as he rested until his next attempt at moving the creature. It would definitely be a long night for the slayer if he couldn’t lift the beast.