It happened, the stories say, a thousand years ago, the day Nightmare Moon first arose. The moon blocked out the sun, and the dark magic infused into it caused many abnormalities in the behaviour of some ponies. Physical changes came next. Some grew a taste for blood, and their teeth developed into fangs which produced an anaesthetic to minimise harm to those they were feeding off of. Others gained feral behaviours, not dissimilar to wild animals, and their bodies became more animalistic. The descriptions do not go into much detail, at least in any comprehensible way. It was said these monsters rampaged through cities and towns, destroying many places which no longer appear on any maps.
I do not prescribe to such stories, however with new evidence appearing I may have to change my tune. A strange species has been spotted in the west of Equestria, matching the vague descriptions given in these urban legends. Many of them have been seen, their pelts matching various pony colours. Other reports from the East talk of various murder victims with two strange holes in their necks. These reports started cropping up after Nightmare Moon's return, however they have been increasing in volume. Whether they are misunderstood, playing a practical joke, or are even serious, only one thing can say for certain; a thorough investigation.
Other stories have come up of small communities, hidden in the wilderness, in almost a tribal circumstance. There was evidence of this one thing, photographic evidence having been sent to Princess Celestia and now to me. I have studied them intently for the past week, gathering the news articles which pertain to these mysterious events with the aid of my loyal assistant Spike and my five friends. We had booked a train to one of the areas in question, Las Pegasus, which would leave the station in an hour. I have packed up many quills and parchment, various books and the many articles I have collected over the past few weeks. I have been in correspondence with the stallion who took the first photographs, and he has agreed to show us to the tribal village he had found. He did warn us, however, that the full moon would be up on the night of our arrival, tonight, and so we would be in possible danger. Personally, I enjoy the ideas of equuswolves in a fantasy setting, however the idea they could physically exist is not one I had ever entertained.
After heading to the station and taking the train, the ride lasting over an hour, we left the carriage and were greeted by a dark blue pegasus stallion, who was quite heavily built, unusual for the species, who was wearing a trench coat. He introduced himself as Quick Shot, a photographer for the local paper. He led us to his lodgings, telling us he had two guest rooms, and had two sofas set up in the living room, around a wood-and-glass coffee table. The size of it, which was of a decent size, was dwarfed by the sofas, twice its length each. On the wall, various photographs were stuck on to a cork board with string joining up various images. One of the images was a painting of a lilac wolf-like creature, standing on its hind legs. Another was a photograph of a ruined village, trees sprouting up through dilapidated roofs and roots breaking through rotten walls. A third was a sketch of some strange statue of Nightmare Moon statue, not dissimilar to the one in the Everfree.
"What are these all about?" I questioned, to which Quick Shot explained that he was working with a few other ponies, gathering up all the evidence they would need to get the royal guard involved to help raid the place.
Quick Shot helped the six of us arrange where we would sleep and tucked in early as we would need all of our energy tonight.
I awoke slightly earlier than the others and headed downstairs, where I found Quick Shot in the kitchen, seemingly making himself a sandwich. He turned towards me and gave me a greeting as I opened the door. The two of us sat around the small dining room table, myself with a fresh mug of tea. He told me more information about the events surrounding the city and how he discovered the dilapidated village, telling me that he had been taking photographs for a competition from one of the national newspapers. He was photographing various birds, mainly, as well as some other animals before spotting a strange wolf-like creature. He followed it back to the destroyed buildings, took the photograph and left as soon as possible.
I absorbed this information, not saying too much. When he had finished his explanation, I asked him in more detail about the wolf-creature. He stated it was the one seen in the painting on the cork board in the living room. It was, when on all fours, just above the height of the average pony, and when standing on its hind legs, was slightly over seven feet tall. Its eyes had a strange intelligence inside of them, as if it had sentient thoughts behind its animalistic appearance. He had forgotten to take a picture of it so had a painting commissioned and he worked closely with the artist, who was now one of the ones who was assisting him with the evidence gathering.
By the end of our conversation, the other started waking up. Applejack and Fluttershy were first; they had been sleeping on the sofas in the living room. They sat around the table s the others slowly drifted in to the room. With all of us there, we had a quick meal and prepared to head out, donning various clothing items with camouflage patterns and colours. Rarity didn't quite enjoy donning these items of clothing, however it was for our personal safety, so she, reluctantly, agreed.
Upon leaving the house, I noted the full moon was hanging above our heads, close to its zenith. It was obviously quite late into the night. Rarity and I, after we left the light of the city, lit up the path with our horns and we came upon a rather out-of-place wooded area.
As we headed in, I could swear I could hear howling, however none of the others seemed to. Strange.