The Wolf Within

That smell...

Blood...

Pony...

Prey...

A young mare stood on a hilltop next to a telescope. The moon shone brighter than ever before, making it difficult to see the stars. They were faint dots on in the night sky forming various constellations from Capricorn to Ursa Major, Orion to Pisces, Ursa Minor to Taurus. She wore a pale lab coat with a pair of glasses sitting snug in a pocket. A notebook sat to the side, various sketches of the stars and their images scattered around the pages. Her coat was sky blue complimenting her silver mane that curled outwards.

She alternated from looking into the telescope, to scribbling coordinates, then drawing the constellations. The scratch of the quill against the paper easing her nerves some. Tomorrow the constellations shifted, and she'd miss out on what could be a big find.

"Scorpius. Made up of Antares, Dschubba, and Shaula. Located South between 90 and 40."

She scribbled down the coordinates and the picture on the same page before turning to a fresh one. The telescope was turned slightly to the right towards the castle observatory. The astronomer looked into the eyepiece once again focusing on a faraway planet. It held 6 rings and a yellowish tint to it.

"Huh." She whispered to herself. "Never seen that one before! Let's see if I can't get a closer look..."

She adjusted the telescope to a clearer vision of the target. A small gasp escaped the mare as she continued to gaze at her newest discovery. She quickly jotted down some notes before returning. She was so involved with her research, that she didn't hear the faintest growling resonating behind her. She went to scribble down another note when finally the growls hit her ears. She immediately perked up glancing around wildly.

"Who's there!?" She called out in a frightened voice.

Another growl was her answer.

"S-Show yourself!" She challenged.

Her ears honed in on a growl emanating from her left. She quickly snapped her head in that direction, scanning the area for the source. Out of nowhere, a pair of beady white eyes appeared with their focus trained on her. She felt as though they were stealing her soul, marking her as it's own. She could see the faintest outline of a body. It wasn't pony though, it was something else. Timber wolf maybe? No, Timber wolves weren't indigenous to this area, nor could they get up to Canterlot. The being stepped out from the shadows of the trees revealing itself to be a wolf alright. Yet this one had navy blue fur and eyes whiter than the moon itself. It's teeth matched it's eyes. Pearly white and sharper than a guard's blade.

The beast took a step towards her, lowering it's front end ready to attack. The mare could only watch, paralyzed by fear. The wolf inched closer and closer to it's still prey. Small dribbles of saliva hung from it's mouth and it's nose twitched every which way. This wolf was bigger than average, in fact, it was about the size of Princess Luna! It growled for a while longer before letting out an ear shattering bark. The astronomer covered her ears with her hooves to drown it out. The bark echoed for a while longer before dissipating into the night. Once she was sure it was ok, the mare slowly dropped her hooves from her ears.

Then all hell broke loose.

The beast took that moment to leap at it's prey, fangs fully visible ready to plunge into her flesh. The astronomer's natural instincts kicked in, forcing her to dodge to the side just short of the wolf's range. The wolf clamped it's jaw around the telescope. It swung it's head violently before crushing the metal instrument in it's jaw. It threw the telescope down the hill towards the city. It set it's eyes back on it's prey and lunged again.

The mare dodged one more time, except this time the wolf's claws scratched her leg. She winced as she landed, slowing her slightly and giving her attacker the opportunity it needed. The wolf jumped again with a fire in it's soulless eyes. It's prey wanted to dodge it's attack, but her wound slowed her down allowing the wolf to sink it's teeth into her leg. She let out a scream that rivaled that of the wolf's bark echoing into the night.

The wolf swept a claw across the mare's body leaving a large claw mark across her side. Blood began pouring out of her body, sending her predator into overdrive. She screamed again before collapsing onto the ground.  The wolf immediately began ripping apart her body, grabbing whatever it could in it's mouth. It's prey's eyes lifeless, staring into the void. Her mouth was agape and her glasses rested a few inches away, blood staining the lens. Her lab coat was ripped to shreds where the wolf was feasting, blood trickling onto it. The beast lifted it's bloodstained muzzle from the carcass and towards the sky.

It gave a loud howl signaling it's victory. It then bounded off into the night leaving the torn up remains of it's meal.