Darkness Awaits

Chapter 2:

Thieves in the Night

Darkness fell upon the hills of Equestria, the moonlight illuminating the landscape with a gentle glow. Luna drifted above the tower, her wings caressing the midnight breeze as a mother would her child.

She gaze upon the moonlit mantle with pride, a small smile lightening her features. Since her return, the night had once again bloomed, nurtured by her loving touch. In allowing Nightmare Moon to possess her, she had masked her witching hour in a sinister reputation that only now was beginning to fade.

The yowl of a Timberwolf interrupted her thoughts, leading her to narrow her eyes in anger. She found it simply disgraceful that Celestia would allow such a foul creature roam Equestria. A total of twelve ponies had been discovered over the last twenty years, savaged in the Everfree, the most horrific being the murder of two fillies strewn along the border of Ponyville.

There had been little to do since her return - her Night court was sparsely attended by nobles who refused to see past the shroud of 'Nightmare Moon', and Celestia denied the chance to relieve some of her duties onto her younger sibling for the fear of veering her back down the road from whence she came. That said, she had more than enough time on her hooves to deal with the monstrosities lurking in the woodland.

She dived, relishing the cool night air as the clouds steamed through her feathers before she flared her wings and settled on her balcony. She grinned lightly as she trotted down the stairwell - she hadn't practised an extermination spell since the ancient times, and she would need her personal reference if she was to recall it. That in mind, her horn flickered as a sheet of parchment rolled into existence beside her, a midnight blue feather poised above it as a personalised quill. It launched into action as Luna flowed down the steps, furiously scribbling a hasty message, before perishing in a burst of azure flame.

A Lunar Guard saluted her as she reached the door to the main palace, immediately swinging the door wide for his ruler.

"Could thou send for the vault keys?" Luna enquired. She tried to avoid using her authority with her guards to meet them on a 'friendlier' level - a system her sister obviously didn't approve of.

"It would be my honour, Princess."

She raised her hoof to stride through the door, but faltered and turned back to the stallion.

"Oh - and wouldst thou remove thy helmet?"

Each headdress had been charmed with a masking spell, which changed the appearance of those it contact with it. However, once applied it was near impossible to tell one pony apart from the other - a relentlessly irritating fact for the Princess of the Night.

"Princess Luna, by Celestia's decree we must not-"

"-Tia is not the ruler of Equestria," Luna retorted, examining the guard as his resolve crumbled beneath her critical gaze. He hesitantly removed his helmet, the metal clattering to the floor as he shuddered from the sensation. The hues of the Night Guard immediately fizzled out of his coat, revealing a russet thestral with a taupe mane and deep indigo eyes.

"Ah - Steel Clad?" Her suspicions were confirmed by a firm nod from her subject. "Spread the word, all Lunar Guards receive a twenty-percent pay rise!" Luna winked as her chaperon grinned, before nodding respectfully and heading off down the corridor. Luna chuckled to herself as she strode in the opposite direction. A pay rise had been necessary, as was her entertainment. She could picture Tia's bewildered expression as the Celestial Guard stormed into the throne room - during Blueblood's appointment - demanding higher wages.

The midnight-blue alicorn nodded to a pair of Lunar Guards situated beneath an imposing tapestry featuring Celestia, a gruelling expression emblazoned on her face as she stood triumphant over the broken body of Nightmare Moon. Celestia had assured her it was created against her will, though her lasting friendship with the artist stated otherwise. It was the perfect place to hide her vaults, as every pony considered her too fragile to face her past. Truth be told, she couldn't care less. She had no right to feel Nightmare Moon's pain, because she never committed her sins, though she had to agree with Nightmare on one occasion - her sister was an insufferable snob.

"Princess, the Vault Steward requests this be read immediately."

Clasped in his flaxen aura was a prim envelope, with a neatly tied bow obscuring the crimson wax seal stamped with an immaculate crescent.

"Wouldst thou bespeak that White Light uses less formality in casual matters?"

Both guards saluted in perfect synchronisation, before trotting back down the corridor, the clips of their gauntlets receding into the depths of the castle before she tore the seal, ripping away the envelope and dissolving it into thin air. The letter itself remained unharmed, if only slightly crumpled at the edges by its' masters' rough handling, and encased in Luna's magic as it unfolded itself to the Princess, insisting it be read.

Dear Princess Luna,

I have received your request to enter your vaults and remove 'Ink Dip's GUIDE TO CREATURES OF THE EVERFREE & Equestria's woodland' for the purpose of eliminating the Timberwolf by unwinding the enchantment that originally founded them.

However, it has come to my attention that this particular tome was removed 440 years ago in the period of your banishment. All evidence either suggests it has been purloined from your possession, or removed by Her Majesty, Princess Celestia.

I await your reply,

White Light

Luna gaped, allowing the parchment to drift to the floor.

"How didst she know?" She whispered. "HOW DIDST THOU KNOW, TIA?" Luna roared, letting her unrelenting Royal Canterlot voice rampage down the corridors.

Immediately there was a blinding flash, announcing the arrival of the very pearly white alicorn she had yet to release her rage upon, the bags beneath her rose eyes sagging without their consistent layer of makeup.

"Luna, I know this portrait upsets you, but there is no need to use the Royal Canterlot Voice in the middle of the night!" Her tone took a darker turn, "And what do I 'know' Luna? No more secrets."

The midnight blue sister shifted uncomfortably, her horn briefly flashing as the letter evaporated behind her back.

"Hast thou retrieved anything from my vaults? My private vaults?" Luna's voice seethed with anger, as Celestia's expression flickered with guilt.

"Lulu, I'm so sorry, your vaults were burgled when you were... Away..." She smiled briefly, "These things slip your mind over five hundred years."

Luna's glare softened as she placed a hoof on Celestia's shoulder.

"I am sorry for doubting thee Tia, but the tome stolen contains the creation of the Timberwolves - thou hath no inkling to its' whereabouts?"

Celestia's eyes widened in dismay, before shaking her head in regret.

"No clue, sister, but do you know what this means? If they discover what really happened..."

"Tia, why didst thou allow the Timberwolves to remain?"

Celestia sighed as she met Luna's inquisitive gaze.

"I was awaiting your council - they are creatures of your night after all."

"They are not true creatures of my night, thou knew fully well they didst not belong in Equestria, and dost not to this day!"

Celestia nodded in agreement.

"Then we shall proceed with the search at-"

A Solar Guard marched into their midst, a vexed grimace scarring his primed features.

"-Ma'am, what is this I hear of a pay rise?"

Blue hefted the tome from her saddlebag, admiring the scrolled silver title as it glimmered in the moonlight filtering through her window, before placing it on her pillow. Two of her bedroom walls were a pale shade of bondi blue, with the remaining two glowing silver in her tenebrous perspective, illuminating the moss-green rug and wooden flooring. Above, glow-in-the-dark stars were plastered to the midnight-blue ceiling replicating various constellations. Blue crept back into her bed, wincing as the springs squealed beneath her weight. Her parents' murmurs immediately ceased downstairs, before continuing their discussion, oblivious to their daughter's night-time activities. She flicked through the pages, skipping the 'Equuleus Trinity' in search for something - anything to do with wolves. She came to a stop at page three hundred and twenty three - Timberwolf. The image portrayed a huge wooden canine with a stubbed tail and gleaming emerald eyes, surrounded by several smaller Timberwolves, their eyes glowering in the same inimical fashion. Blue turned to the text hungrily, the pages bleached by moonlight as she began reading.

The Timberwolf is an extremely dangerous inhabitant of the Everfree forest, originally created by a miscast spell I myself was witness to. In an attempt to recreate a common dog from the average Grey Wolf (also known as a Timber Wolf) Starswirl -

Blue blinked in astoundment, dubious to whether she had read it correctly. Starswirl the Bearded? The one Twi was always going on about? He made the Timberwolves? She dug her head back into the tome, her brow furrowed.

- attempted to reform the particles of the wolf, whilst performing a positivity spell. He hoped this would alter the subject's characteristics and unravel part of the ancient dog's evolution process. However, the sheer complexity of the spell induced Starswirl to experience a magical overload, increasing the strength of the spell drastically. The following fulmination merged the matter of the wolf and the surrounding woodland, forming the creature now known by the name of the Timberwolf. The nature of the spell allows them to dissipate once defeated into a smoke-like substance before combining with numerous other Timberwolves, creating a larger, stronger variant.

Blue stared at the pages in fascination, marvelling at the expanse of knowledge held within the ancient sheets. She continued skimming through the pages; she had one objective now.

Lupus.