What Goes Bump In The Night 1

>The forest was still, frightened. No bats flew, no beasts roamed looking for prey. All were hidden in their homes and barrows, none daring to so much as poke their heads outside. A predator stalked these lands; an otherworldly being who many considered a black spot on creation. A werewolf.
>The wolf went by many names in her pack. Bear Breaker, Long Toothed, even the much revered Moon Biter. To any outside of the pack, she was known as Sunset Shimmer: that one girl that worked at the sushi place near the liquor store. Sunset raced through the trees at an unnatural pace. The darkness didn’t impede her whatsoever. She was a daughter of the moon; the darkness of the night might as well have been daytime to her
>Tonight was supposed to be an easy night. All she had wanted to do was roam the local park and exert some extra energy before she went to bed, as she did most nights. At most, her packmaster might have a task for her when she returned to the den, but that was it. It would have been an easy, laidback night, if not for a scent that filled the air with a sudden changing of the wind.
>It was a strange smell. Metallic, foreign, alien. It was so strange that she had stopped and sniffed the air, turning toward the direction where it was coming from. She was no tracker, but following the scent was child’s play. Tearing through the forest, over fallen trees, and sticks, and the occasional bush, Sunset broke through the treeline.
>Not twenty feet away was a pathway. The mortals that used this park in the daytime used it to get from one side of it to the other. The streetlights that lined the pathway flickered and buzzed, illuminating the lone figure that was walking at a leisurely pace.

>Perking her ears up, Sunset could hear the sound of humming. Her eyes, sharper than a hawk’s, saw that the figure was clearly a human. A very large human, wearing a pair of pajamas with an undershirt top. It was a boy as well, probably around her age.
>A small smile to the werewolf's face. It seemed like the night was about to get very interesting.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

>Anon was all smiles as he made his way down the pathway. Tonight had been the night he had finally done it. After begging, pleading, and bothering Twilight for months, the alicorn had allowed him to go through the super-magical-do-hickey-that-does-crazy-things-and-puts-ponies-in-other-dimensions.
>That was Pinkie’s name for it. Twilight didn’t like that name at all. She called it the mirror, but he liked Pinkie's name for it--since it was funnier--so he stuck with that.
>The princess had been hesitant to let him go, stating that what was on the other side of the mirror was “something you should definitely not be apart of” and “downright dangerous in every sense of the word, especially for a stallion”, but Anon wasn’t going to be taking no for an answer. He was thoroughly sick of Equestria. It was fun at first, sure, magical talking ponies and magic and all that, but the constant singing was getting to be too much, among other things. The no meat thing he could almost handle, but no salt whatsoever?
>He needed that stuff to live! Not in the junkie way that Twilight and the rehab center thought when she had sent him to after he told her that either, but a biological, need-y need so that he didn’t die. There were also beings like humans on the other side of the portal, and Anon had sworn that he’d see a proper set of boobs again before he died.

>So, with a heavy heart, and a bag of gold coins big enough that Anon could probably buy a house and let him retire at the ripe old age of twenty-five, Twilight had given him her blessing. The day before there had been a going away party. Everyone had said their goodbyes, Anon had gotten a few gifts from everyone--a rope from Applehack, some clothes from Rarity, a recipe book from Pinkie, so on and so on. Twilight had then taken him to the Crystal Empire herself, made him promise to visit once in a while when he wasn't busy, and sent him on his way.
>As a human, they had no idea what the portal would do to him, but Anon hadn’t been too worried. Magic seemed run off him like water off a duck’s back. A mare like Twilight could pick him up if she wanted, but just barely, and that was pretty much the only thing she could do to him. Something about him being “A Magical Anathema”. At worst, he figured the portal wouldn’t even work for him, a best, he would be in a brand new world.
>The trip through the portal had gone perfectly. He had stepped through it and found himself in front of a school. Wandering around a bit, he had stumbled upon this park, figuring that he could stay here for the night before he started making arrangements and putting his gold bits to use. That was where he found himself now, having hidden his backpack from any would be thieves, trying to see if there were a public restroom that he could use before finding a nice place to set up camp.
>It was a lovely night out, the stars shining brightly in the sky and a half-moon hanging overhead. The air was cool and crisp, but not uncomfortably so; the perfect weather for sleeping outdoors. Anon had his hands on his pockets as he walked, humming a tune to himself, excited about what this new world had in store for him.
>There was a rustle of leaves, and a growl. Anon stopped mid-step, turning his head toward the noise

>Just out of the street lamps’ light, he could see a pair of glowing green eyes. Those eyes bobbed and swayed, growing closer. In less than a minute, he could make out the outline of a person.
“Hello?” he said.
>The person let out another growl, slowly making their way into the light. It was a woman; a very pretty woman, though she might have been so pretty because he hadn’t seen a human female in so long. She was a curvy, short--like really short; Anon wasn’t all that tall and he towered over her--girl, with a face that might have made the young man trip over himself if he had been walking. She was so pretty, in fact, that he almost didn’t notice that there were a few things… off about her.
>Her canines seemed unnaturally long and sharp, and her eyes sorta didn’t look like a human’s. The iris’ looked different; animalistic. There was also something off about her ears. He could barely see them through her gold and red hair, but he swore they looked slightly pointed.
>Anon tilted his head to the side as the girl walked right up to him, sniffing loudly. He took a half-step back, but she stepped right along with him, staring at him intently with her bright green eyes. If he didn’t know any better, he’d have sworn they looked… hungry.
>“You are very large,” she said, matter-of-factly.
“And you are very small, weird lady,” Anon replied as she began walking around him in a tight circle. “Is there anything I can help you with by chance?”
>“Why are you out alone during a half-moon?” the woman asked, ignoring his question.
“I’m… new to town, just got in really. I was looking for a bathroom before getting some sleep.”
>The crazy woman perked up at that. “Can I ask where you're staying?"
"Well, nowhere right now."
>"Did you need... accommodations?”
“Actually, I was just gonna sleep out under the stars,” Anon said, twitching when he felt the girl’s nose press against the small of his back.

If he hadn’t spent nearly a year with ponies that had absolutely no sense of personal space whatsoever he might have jumped and started freaking out. As it was, he just looked back at her, wondering if maybe nuzzling was just as widely used here as it was in Equestria.

It really couldn’t be out of the realm of possibility, could it? This world and Equestria were interlined; maybe they had some cultural similarities?

She could also have been completely bonkers, which was a little disconcerting.

The girl stopped right in front of him, staring at him intently. Anon could practically see the gears turning in her head as she thought something over.

“If you like you could come back with me to my de--house, come back with me to my house to stay the night,”she said, her canines flashing as she gave him a smile, offering him a hand. “I’m Sunset by the way. It’s nice to meet you, Mr…”

That silly, adorable smile made him smile back. He could feel in his bones that following the crazy woman might not be the best idea. Still, he was a sucker for a pretty face, and he had spent the better part of a year with a crazy purple princess and her mind-controlling, world-breaking student. If he could deal with those two and survive, he could probably take a night with a cute girl that was a good foot shorter than him.

He took the woman’s hand in his own, giving it a shake. For a moment, he couldn’t help but marvel at just how small and soft it was. It was a hand, just like his own. No matter what craziness happened with this girl just that little thing had made his entire night and then some.

“It’s nice to meet you, Sunset. My name’s Anonymous. My friends call me Anon.”

~_~_~_~_~_~

>Sunset lead the man through the streets, shocked at her good luck. Most mortals didn’t dare set foot outside when the sun came down, and with good reason. There were far worse things than werewolves out and about. But here was a male, all along, seemingly new in town. It was if she had one the lottery and then some.
>Her luck had been so good that she had been suspicious about this Anon, thinking him some sort of trap. She could hear his heartbeat, smell the life that was free of any corruption. He was no ghoul or rogue vampire, just a human. A very large human, but a human nonetheless.
>Anon was humming a tune to himself, looking perfectly calm. He was holding her hand as she lead him, the mitten-sized appendage engulfing her own. The giant hadn’t asked any questions about where she was taking him, nor did he ask that many questions about Sunset herself, he just seemed content to follow her wherever they went. Sunset almost felt bad about how gullible he was. Thankfully she was the one that found him and not one of those vampires from the Solare Family. If they had gotten their undead hands on him the packmaster would have been less than pleased.
>It was that very same packmaster that Sunset spoke with now, using the same link that all of her pack had. She had taken a great interest in this “Anon” as soon as she had spoken with her through this link, and had congratulated her on such a rare and important find. The pack had been looking for new blood to bring into the pack for years. One needed to be a certain breed to be selected; a pack could only select the best, for the biggest and strongest and toughest offspring, and while a few girls had been given the bite and brought into the pack--herself included--finding suitable men had been more than difficult.

>Sunset could sense through their link that the packmaster was thrilled about her find, something which almost had the girl skipping. Something like this could shoot her up in the ranks of the pack. If the packmaster liked Anon enough she might even be in a position to be her second.
>The thought made her tug on Anon’s hand, trying to force him to speed up. She tried not to put that much strength into it, but in her excitement she accidently used enough force that it should have yanked him forward like a ragdoll. Anon didn’t budge; he didn’t even seem to notice. It as if she were trying to budge an old oak tree. Sunset nearly stopped walking, looking down at their intertwined hands in confusion.
“It’s a really pretty night out, huh?” Anon asked.
>Sunset tore her gaze from their hands to look up at him with a smile. “It is,” she said, trying her best to hide her fangs. No reason to scare the poor boy after all.
“Thanks for letting me stay at your place for the night. Really,” Anon continued. “I don’t know if I’d do the same for some stranger that I just met.”
>“It’s no trouble at all,” Sunset said. “My… friends and I are happy to help anyone in need, especially a nice guy like yourself.”
Anon’s smile grew. “Really? I don’t want to impose.”
>“It’s no trouble at all. We have plenty of room. In fact, you can stay as long as you like,” Sunset said, before hurriedly adding, “If you’d like to, of course.”
>She waited for suspicion to flash across Anon’s face, body tensing. She had no desire to knock out a male, but if he tried to resist she didn’t want him hurting himself trying to get away. The packmaster wanted him brought back to the den unharmed and whole. No such suspicion came to the giant’s face. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Without warning, he pulled her into a hug. Sunset let out a bark as her face was pressed against his chest, his arms wrapping around her shoulders, pulling her off her feet

“It's awesome to see there's people like you over here too,” Anon said, voice filled with warmth. “Thanks. I mean, really, honestly. Just... Thank you.”
>Sunset couldn’t help but squirm. To her alarm, she realized that she couldn’t get out of the hug. She tried to push away, using considerable force, but Anon’s arms had her pinned against him with seemingly little effort.
Anon felt her struggling. Eyes widening, he quickly let the flustered girl do. “Sorry. Sorry! I didn’t mean to get grabby,” he said, taking a step away from her.
>Sunset, who now found herself blushing like some newborn cub, quickly grabbed his hand once again. “Don’t go!” she barked. “I mean… it’s okay.”
“I should have asked first,” Anon said. “That wasn’t cool at all.”
>He tried to take another step back, Sunset tugged on his arm hard. It should have been enough force to almost tear his arm off, but it was just barely able to stop him from moving.
>“Don’t worry about it,” she insisted. “There’s nothing wrong with hugging. Heck, I love hugs.”
>She quickly hugged him tightly, nuzzling her cheek against his chest. Her blush grew deeper as her nostrils flared, taking in his scent.
>She had never hugged a male like this, and his scent was potent enough to make her head swim for several seconds. Even so she, held the hug--ignoring her packmaster’s amusement coming off in waves through their link. They were just two blocks from her den. She wasn’t about to drop the ball when victory was so close.
>After a few seconds, Anon returned the hug. Slowly, carefully, he wrapped his arms around her. He was much gentler this time, as if he were afraid to touch her again. Sunset pressed herself closer to him. She was so focused on hugging Anon that she almost didn’t notice one of her packmates approaching.
>“An’ what’re got here? Gettin’ comfortable there, Sunset?”

>Sunset whipped around to see Applejack, one of the packmaster’s lieutenants. The farmer was leaning against a lamppost, arms crossed, her green eyes shining in the artificial light as she chewed on a piece of grass. Face scrunching up, Sunset opened her mouth to say something, when Anon was suddenly no longer hugging her.
>Eyes wide, the giant quickly made his way over to Applejack. With his size, he made it over to her in a dozen steps.
> Applejack raised an eyebrow, tilting her head to look up at him. “Yer a big fella, ain’tcha?”
Anon leaned down so that the two were face-to-face, staring at the girl hard. “You look… huh. That’s something else,” he said, almost to himself.
>Applejack, who clearly heard him--Sunset could hear him and she was twenty feet away--raised a hand to her ear. “Pardon?”
“Nothing. Nothing. You just look familiar is all,” Anon said, standing back up. “A lot like someone I knew from… where I came from.”
>“I’ah been told I’ah got a familiar face,” Applejack said, pushing off the lamppost. She spit out the blade of grass, and with a smile offered him a hand. “Name’s Applejack. Nice ta meetcha, Mister.”
Anon stared at the hand, looked Applejack in the face, then slowly took it. “I… It’s, uh, nice to meet you, Applejack. I’m Anon. I’m new in town.”
>“I can tell,” Applejack said, giving Sunset a glance. “I was takin’ a walk an’ saw my sister o’er there leadin’ ya ta our house, so I figured I'd come an' see what the hubbub was 'bout.”
“Sister? No offence, but you two really don’t look related.”

>Applejack’s smile grew, and in the light Sunset could see her fangs gleaming. “We ain’t blood, but we’re sister all the same. Now come on, ya look tired. I got some food back home that needs eatin’, and ya look mighty hungry.”
>Sunset rushed over to Anon’s side, quickly hooking her arm through his, giving Applejack a glare. She wasn’t having the girl leading her catch into the den so that she could steal all the glory. Puffing her chest her, Sunset narrowed her eyes, ready for the bigger girl to do something. Applejack just chuckled, shaking her head as she turned around.
>“Come on ya’ll. The house is right ‘round the corner,” she said, beckoning them to follow with a hand. “I hope ya like ta eat, Anon. One o' the gals made roast!”
Anon just stood there, watching the girl leave. “Applejack?” he murmured. “That’s… she really does look like her…”
>Growling to herself, Sunset gave his arm a tug, then another harder one to pull him out of his stupor.
>The rest of the walk was silent. Even though they were in the heart of their pack’s territory, Sunset could see Applejack’s head on a swivel. In between houses, she could see the glowing eyes of some of her fellow packmates, watching the three. It seemed as if the packmaster had taken greater interest in Anon than she was expecting.
>Turning the corner, the three came upon the Lunar Mortis Den; the oldest, grandest, and most revered den amongst the Children of the Moon.
>It was a large, three story townhouse, it’s design standing out amongst the smaller, much more modern homes around it. The house itself was painted a light blue color, with a pair of half-moons carved into the thick oak front doors. This was one of the first homes in Ponyville, a product of a bygone age and a stronghold to the Mother of the Werewolves herself: their packmaster.

Anon whistled. “You weren’t kidding when you said you had a lot of room, Sunset,” he said, nudging the girls ribs.
>“Got a hundred rooms in it last time I’ah counted,” Applejack said, pride in her tone. “This here is the ol’ Apple mansion. My great-great grand momma built this place when my folks came over on the boat. Come on, we can gawk at the thing when it's mornin' an' the sun’s up. Lets get inside and get something in that stomach of yours, big fella.”
>Sunset looked around. She could now see that two dozen of her packmates had surrounded them. From the link, she could also tell that the packmaster was waiting at the front door. Swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat, she nudged Anon, getting him moving again.
>The moon was hidden from the clouds. Anon no doubt couldn't see a single thing, but she could. She saw the statues of the moon and the wolf, see the carvings of their pack hidden amongst marble and iron. It was beautiful; when she had first turned seeing all of this when the moon hung heavy had brought tears to her eyes.
>As they neared the entrance of the den, the front doors were thrown open. There, standing in a pair of pajamas, a t-shirt three sizes too big, and a pair of bunny slippers, was The Queen of the Wolves, the Moon Mother, the First of Her Kind, The Master of All the Packs, Luna.
>The packmaster cocked her head to the side as the three stopped right in front of her. Both Sunset and Applejack kept their gazes to the ground; a sign of submission that every pack leader expected. Anon continued to stare at the older woman who looked like she had constellations in her hair.
>Luna turned her attention to him. “It’s been a very long time since I’ve had to look up at anyone,” she said. “I am Luna, owner of this establishment.”
>Anon looked over at Applejack, eyebrow raised.
>“She’s family too,” Applejack said, keeping her eyes glued to the ground. “An’ this house was always hers, even before my great grandmama built it.”

>Sunset didn’t see Luna move. One moment, she was standing at the doorway, the next she was behind all of them. Placing her hands on Anon’s shoulders, Luna struck, mouth open, fangs bared, moving faster than a bolt of lightning.
>The young woman jumped back, surprised. She hadn’t expected the packmaster to turn her catch so quickly. There was supposed to be some sort of preparation, some warning beforehand, if not for the victim then for the pack itself.
>Before she had even begun to move away, Luna’s teeth found their mark. A clean bite where neck met shoulder my the matriarch of the werewolves herself. Sunset knew from experience such a thing would cause an almost immediate transformation as soon as the venom hit Anon’s bloodstream. There would be a flash of pain, the giant would pass out in moments afterward. Three days and four nights would pass, and Anon would become one with the pack.
>Sunset waited for a scream along with the sound of teeth sinking into flesh. The sound never came.
>Confused, she looked at Anon. From the angle she stood, she could see where Luna was trying to bite him very clearly. Main word trying. She could very clearly see that the packmaster’s teeth--teeth which she had personally see bite through steel as if it were made from tissue paper--not breaking man’s flesh. The packmaster snarled, muscles in her jaw and neck clenching as she bit down harder, but not even a drop of blood appeared.
>Anon, blinking, looked around to see where the strange woman had gone. When he heard a growl, he noticed that there was a slight pressure on his neck. He looked down to see that not only had the woman somehow gotten behind him, but he was being bitten.

He froze as Luna tried to bite down ever harder, though to him it felt like a teasing nibble. “Um… can I help you?”
>One could have heard a pindrop as Luna pulled back, grimacing. Turning her head, she spat. To Sunset’s shock, one of her canines flew out of her mouth to hit the cobblestone walkway.
>“That was unpleasant as I was expecting,” the packmaster said, the hole where her tooth used to be quickly welling up with blood. “Still, I had to see if what Cadence had said was true.”
>The packmaster bowed her head. “I apologize, young man. As I said; my name is Luna, and we've been expecting you for some time now.”