Werewolf Among Us

It had been weeks since Orange was murdered. Once again, the case fell cold. No evidence of werewolf activity had surfaced, no new murders, nothing. It was the last day before the next full moon was upon Equestria, and the sun was setting over the humid swampland, with a brilliant orange band stretching across the sky behind the sun. A lit fire burned in front of Daffy's fishing hut, three fish of varying species suspended above, lightly roasting as they awaited to be eaten.

Daffy trotted out the front door of his cabin, stretching his wings as he did so. Daffy sat down by the fire, "Just a little longer..." He mumbled, observing the roasting fish. Daffy felt calm in the moment. Then he heard a twig snap from around the corner of his cabin. Daffy turned his head over to look, but saw nothing. He stood up and slowly trotted over to the side of the cabin, suspicious and frightened. As he rounded the corner, he was greeted by the scariest monster he had ever seen - A journalist.

But not just any journalist, it was Sketched Hope.

"Why are you sneaking around my cabin?" Daffy asked, visibly irritated. "I thought you were the werewolf for a second!"

Sketched was lacking in her usual smug and sarcastic demeanor. "Turns out," Sketched explained, "I'm not welcome in Ammyville anymore. The innkeeper kicked me out this morning."

"Typical." Daffy added.

"So," Sketched continued, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof. "I was... wondering if I could stay here? With you?"

Daffy raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you just go back to Manehattan?"

"The stories just getting good!" Sketched reasoned, putting her hoof back on the warm grass. "I'm not leaving until that werewolf is dead!"

Daffy thought about it for a moment, before coming to a decision. "Alright," Daffy permitted, "You can stay, dinner's almost done."

Sketched and Daffy trotted towards the fire and both sat on opposite sides, seeing each other across the orange glow and loose embers. Things were awkward, at first. But Daffy spoke up and broke the silence.

"So..." Daffy awkwardly said, "How do you find Ammyville?"

Sketched looked at Daffy with a concerned expression. "Why do you care?"

"Just trying to make conversation." Daffy explained.

"Well," Sketched began to open up, "This town is full of ponies, none of them are interesting."

"Ouch." Daffy remarked.

"You and I," Sketched said, "We're the outsiders. We're not welcome here. This town doesn't want strangers like us corrupting their secluded little dwelling."

"For me," Daffy related, "They didn't mind me at first. I stay out here, fishing, minding my own business, and even giving the general store business. It wasn't until the attacks started that they decided I wasn't welcome."

"We're the scapegoats." Sketched huffed, "Just something to blame all the town's troubles on until they just, I don't know, go away or something."

"Yeah," Daffy agreed, "You could say that again."

Sketched pointed at Daffy with her hoof. "What about you?" Sketched asked, "What are you doing out here?"

Daffy turned his head, looking out into the swamp. "My dad left when I was young." Daffy said solemnly, "My mom was abusive. So as soon as I could I packed my bags and came here." Daffy revealed, still looking over the swamp, deep in thought.

"Oh..." Sketched sympathized, "I'm sorry."

Daffy snapped out of it and looked back towards sketched. "It's fine!" Daffy insisted. "Besides, I like it here. It's quiet, and there's plenty of fish to keep me busy!"

"I suppose..." Sketched added.

"So..." Daffy awkwardly attempted to continue the chat, "How's the story going?"

"Three dead!" Sketched gleefully stated, "This is thrilling stuff! My peers are gonna be so jealous!"

"You know," said Daffy, cranking his head to the side, "Those were real ponies with real lives, right?"

"I know." Sketched responded, "I just don't care. But, hey!" Sketched changed the subject, "I have a theory. About the werewolf."

"Oh?" Daffy's curiosity was piqued.

"The first murder," Sketched explained, "Happened in May. Then, exactly 1 month later, in June, another murder. And then, one month later, in July, the third murder. I have a theory that the werewolf transforms on the same day, every month. But not just any day, on a full moon."

"Why a full moon specifically?" Daffy asked, setting his head straight.

"All three murders happened on a full moon night. And tonight's another full moon, so if my theory is correct - We're in for some news tomorrow morning."

"Well, at least we're out here." Daffy said in a worried tone of voice.

"We'll see what the night holds!" Sketched said as she looked at the sky.

An hour passed. The sun had set below the horizon; Princess Luna had raised the moon up high, full again. Clouds choked out the moonlight this night, a silver glow of moonlight shone through wherever the clouds barricades were broken or thin. Sketched and Daffy had finished eating the fish that were roasting above the fire, and were chatting about various topics.

As they chatted, Daffy glanced over at the swamp, and noticed a pair of two, glowing green eyes in the tree line across the water. Daffy did a double take, and this time could confirm what he was seeing.

"Sketched!" Daffy interrupted Sketched as she was speaking. Before Daffy could get Sketched's attention though, the green eyes retreated off into the swamp. "Did you see that!?" Daffy asked with a wide-eyed expression, pointing at the tree line across the swamp.

Sketched looked over to the tree line across the swamp, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. "No...?" Sketched responded with a puzzled face,

"I saw what looked like a pair of glowing green eyes across the swamp." Daffy explained.

Sketched chuckled. "Afraid the big bad wolf is gonna get'cha?" Sketched replied sarcastically, beginning to laugh.

"Sketched, I'm being serious." Daffy looked back in Sketched's direction, Daffy's fishing cabin was located directly behind her. As Daffy looked in her direction, he noticed a tall, hulking figure standing on the roof of his cabin. Daffy's eyes widened, as the color drained from his face.

Sketched continued to laugh, but took note of Daffy's change in expression. "What?" She sarcastically asked. "Did you see a werewolf?"

Daffy simply raised his hoof and pointed at the roof.

Sketched's laughter persisted as she turned her head around, and as soon as the black silhouette with glowing green eyes came into view, her entire demeanor changed to one of fear, and she stopped laughing. The werewolf let out a nasty growl as it leapt from the roof, directly at Sketched.

"HOLY SHIT!" Sketched shouted right before she rolled out of the way, causing the werewolf to miss its target. The werewolf landed in the fire, kicking up smoke, ash, and embers as it did so. Daffy quickly jumped away from the fire and rushed over by Sketched's side. The werewolf continued to stand in the fire, as if unbothered by the searing flames. It took its right claw off the ground and let out a howl that echoed through the heavens, the clouds parted and allowed the full moon to shine down once more in all its glory.

The werewolf finished howling, and then turned its gaze towards Daffy and Sketched, its eyes instilled a heavy dread into the hearts of those who were unfortunate enough to cross its path. The werewolf stepped out of the fire and began slowly pacing around Sketched and Daffy, attempting to cut off their path from running into the swamp. Daffy and Sketched slowly stepped back, away from the werewolf which responded by letting out an ugly snarl.

Daffy looked at the werewolf's ankle, and noticed there wasn't a wound there as the sheriff had described, but there was a small area in which no fur was present, a scar. Sketched took a brief moment to glance at the front door of the cabin, formulating a plan on the fly. Sketched then made a sudden movement and ran for the cabin door, the werewolf pursuing her. Sketched opened the cabin door but stopped right outside of it, looking behind herself. The werewolf ran directly towards her and then lunged. Sketched aptly jumped out of the way, the werewolf missed and landed inside the cabin. Sketched slammed the door shut, locking the werewolf inside.

Sketched was panting and had a fearful expression, backing up from the cabin to Daffy's position.

"H-holy shit..." Daffy remarked in awe.

"I can't believe..." Sketched confessed, out of breath. "...That worked."

A loud ruckus could be heard inside the cabin, the werewolf trying anything it could to escape. Glass could be heard breaking as well as various snarls and growls.

"That's gonna make one hell of a story!" Daffy vocalized.

"Y-yeah, it will..." Sketched agreed, still panting.

The ruckus abruptly stopped, and the night fell silent. Then, the werewolf burst through the thin wooden walls of the cabin, causing it to collapse in on itself. It lunged at Sketched, and this time, it didn't miss. It pinned Sketched on the ground and she let out a terrified shriek. The werewolf began clawing at her flesh, ripping her red coat up.

Daffy began to panic, Rushing towards the edge of the swamp water on instinct. Daffy opened up his tackle box which was just on the shores, and pulled out the massive silver hook he had purchased prior, which was attached to one of his fishing poles.

"TAKE THIS YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING LYCAN!" Daffy shouted, casting the line at the werewolf. The silver hook pierced the wolf on the back, its skin began smoking and sizzling as soon as the hook made contact. It stopped attacking Sketched and howled in pain, promptly running off into the forest and disappearing into the darkness. The hook was yanked out of it's back and pulled out a chunk of the werewolf's flesh when it ran away.

"Sk-sk-sketched!!!" Daffy shouted, dropping the pole and running over to Sketched, who was lying on the ground. She was hurt - badly - but not dead. She had deep cuts in her flesh and was suffering from blood loss, but she was alive, albeit barely, and unresponsive.

Daffy put Sketched on his back and rushed into Ammyville for help.