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.
Author's Note
This is half the length of the first, however from here on out they should be of, at least, a decent length. Hope you enjoy anyhow.
Thistlebrook
We trudged through the wood for roughly quarter-of-an-hour before coming upon the village depicted in the photograph. No pony seemed to be around, and so we approached ever so cautiously. We searched through the various houses dotted about, deciding finally to split up into a group of three and a group of four. I was in the group of three with Applejack and Rainbow Dash. I was on the upper floor of the house we were searching, having found various magical raw materials for ritualistic magic, which I found to be rather strange as that magic hadn't been used in at least a thousand years. Ignoring this, I stashed a few of the materials in a bag we had all been given. I was about to report this to the others in my group, heading down the stairs. I searched all throughout the floor and around the outside, seeing no-one.
It was then I started to hear the howling once more and my heart began pounding harder than it had been before, the head becoming lighter and the sound of my heart beating filling my ears. I searched around once more, only finding discarded bags and even Applejack's hat. I swallowed harshly before I felt something grabbing on to me from behind. I tried to turn around, but my vision started blurring almost immediately.
What followed next, I could only describe as a horrible nightmare.
I did not feel like myself at all. Everything around me seemed to be blurred and smaller than it should have been. It began in the village, strange scents filling my nose and an almost blazing feeling in the side of my back left leg.
I moved, almost as if I knew the area around me. I inhaled through my nose and the scents... they were so strong. I moved towards one of the buildings. I opened the door slowly and stepped inside. I moved between the rooms and stopped at the sight I saw. Applejack was searching through a pile of items in the corner of the room. She seemed to hear something and turned to look in my direction. Her eyes widened in obvious fear as she called out to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus soon came into my vision, her eyes widening just as Applejack's had. I stepped towards them. And again. A third. I lunged out, snapping up Applejack's hat as she had barely dodged my lunge. I threw it to the side and lunged once more. My target hit. The sight. Oh, Celestia the sight. Blood poured out from the wound my claws... Wait, my claws?... inflicted. The sound was of bones shattering, though not at the point of injury, all over the now limp body. A sadistic grin spread across my face, not of my own accord as I turned to Rainbow Dash, hearing someone come down the stairs.
That is as far as my memories allow me to recall of that accursed vision. I know there was more, but my mind screams at me if I try to recall it.
After this, my senses returned to me and I blinked against the harsh daylight as it poured in through the window. Looking around, I managed to discern roughly three equine shapes, all wearing rugged, old cloaks as dark as the depths of Tartarus themselves. The cloaked figures almost seemed to be statues for a moment before movement took them. They turned towards me. One of them seemed to smile from beyond the veil of darkness.
"Welcome, Miss Sparkle, to Thistlebrook. Do, please, stay for a while."
