Lycanequui Tribe

The **Lycanequui Tribe** is a society of wolf-like ponies that served Princess Luna during her uprising, alongside the Cervidians, Thestrals and Dark Ones.

## History

### Harvest Moon and the Werewolf Curse

It is unknown when exactly the Lycanequui were originally stricken with the curse that eventually became a true part of them, but they do know it happened *long* before the founding of Equestria and that a single earth pony was to blame. His true name lost to the ages, this stallion was afflicted with the curse after supposedly angering a powerful wolf god named Fenrir. Nopony knows what the pony did to make Fenrir angry. Some believe that it was because the pony killed Fenrir's two mortal sons, Skoll and Hati. Others believe the pony was just disrespectful and Fenrir might've overreacted. No matter the reason, Fenrir decided the pony had to suffer for his crimes and afflicted him with the werewolf curse. To add to the foolish pony's punishment, Fenrir made sure that he would remain lucid in his werewolf form. The pony would always be aware of what he did in his werewolf form, even during the moments where he lost complete control of himself. Enraged beyond rational thought, the stallion turned his werewolf fangs on his former fellow earth ponies, infecting as many of them as possible with Fenrir's curse just so he wouldn't suffer alone. Eventually, the bitter pony was struck down, betrayed by the pack he had selfishly built for himself. Sadly, nopony in the werewolf pack really knew their former alpha's name. They only knew that he came from a family of earth pony farmers called the Harvest clan (yes, they're the common ancestors of both the Apple and the Pear families). To assure that future generations of ponies would know the Harvests had spawned the fool pony, the first werewolf was given the name Harvest Moon. For years, the werewolves in Harvest Moon's pack and their descendants suffered until one of the newly coronated Royal Sisters of Equestria, Princess Luna attempted to cure them. All seemed to be going swimmingly until their wolf halves started to fight back, refusing to accept death. Caught off-guard by this, Luna lost her concentration and control of the purification spell with it. As a result, the two halves fused, creating ponies with canine faces and tails that could turn until full wolves at will. Despite being angry that she had failed to deliver on her promise to cure them of the werewolf curse, the spell-born hybrids thanked Luna for trying to help them and pledged undying loyalty to her in return for her kindness. Along with Thestrals and Cervidians, Lycanequui as they called themselves became a part of Luna's Night Guard. When her descent into madness happened, the Night Guard eagerly threw their lot in with her, helping her stand against Celestia and her Day Guard before her banishment and upon her return a thousand years later.

### The Rise and Fall of Nightmare Moon

As we all know, Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon in a bid to claim the throne of Equestria for herself. Many believed that it was because she was jealous of how ponies ignored her night in favor of Celestia's day. That's not entirely true. The night tribes all loved the night and always gave praise to Luna for making the starry sky so beautiful every night. The Lycanequui even filled the air with their singing (howling) as a means of thanking Luna for her night. That just leaves one big question. If there were ponies who appreciated the night, how exactly did Nightmare Moon come to be? The answer is much darker than the utterly false theory that it was a fit of jealous rage. To put it bluntly, it was because of the day and night pony tribes. Back then, day and night ponies got along about as well as water and oil. Earth ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns outright hated Lycanequui, Thestrals, and Cervidians and vice versa. The hate between them eventually got so bad that the day ponies began actively hunting the night ponies, murdering them in the cover of night and making each killing look like an accident. Luna found it abhorrent that her sister's subjects would be so cruel. She went to Celestia to make them stop, only to find that her sister trusted the day ponies enough to believe that they just couldn't be the night ponies' killers. Even worse, Celestia went as far as to accuse Luna of making it up because she was jealous that the day ponies didn't love her night as much as they loved the day.

Furious at her sister's naivety, Luna decided to leave Canterlot for the destabilised lands to the north with her followers and a fleet of airships. These icy north lands that had formerly made up the Northern Kingdom had recently been thrown into chaos upon the assassination of their king at the hands of the Black Lilly organisation. What many did not know is that soon after the kingdom's destabilization, Celestia had been visited by several members of the United Council, who, in a private meeting between them, Celestia, Luna and their brother, Night Shade, expressed their hope to Celestia that the Princess of Equestria would take their offer to reunite the North Kingdom. When Celestia declined, Luna urged her sister to reconsider, believing it to be their opportunity to share Equestria's progressive ways with the rest of the nation. Even though the older Equestrian princess explained that they would be seen as conquerors and only greeted with war, Luna reasoned that there were already wars and by becoming involved, they had the opportunity to change things. Celestia remained adamant in declining, which caused a rift between the two sisters. Her faith in her sister's judgement now shattered by Celestia's inability it accept that her "precious day ponies" would be involved in anything so brutal, Luna plotted to leave Equestria to forge an Empire from the shattered kingdom. She eventually turned her and Celestia's own brother, Night Shade, against their sister, and, together with Luna's other followers and the Night Pony tribes, the two conspired to escape the city and stabilize Ba Sing Se, the Northern Kingdom's former capital. Finally, having gained several highly-influential supporters, Luna, Night Shade and their followers constructed in secret a fleet of airships while Luna summoned those of her followers not situated in Canterlot to join them, including every member of the Night Pony tribes.

As they prepared to leave, Luna is confronted by her sister, who Luna boldly told that she and those accompanying her were leaving Equestria to restore order in the Northern Kingdoms. Threatened to be banished from the land if they were to leave, Luna remained unfazed, declaring that when she chose to return, it would be on her own terms. Luna and Night Shade then left in a fleet of airships with every member of the three Night Pony tribes, young or old, a variety of ordinary commoners, more than half of Canterlot's army and several of Canterlot's richest upper-class citizens. They left for the city of Ba Sing Se and managed to stabilize the kingdom, an action that earned Luna the trust of the kingdoms leaders, who appointed her as their nations' provisional leader, which Luna accepted, though she would continue her duty of bring for the night. The Night Ponies and their allies continued to stabilize the various fractured kingdoms. However, Luna and many of her Night Pony followers still nursed a grudge against Equestria for not accepting them. Finally, when the now-united Northern Kingdoms were under Luna's control, Luna merged them together to form the Empire of the Moon, or Lunar Empire, and set herself up as their leader. By this time, she had collected an enormous military, merging the Night Ponies and Earth Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi who had accompanied her when she departed with the ponies of the nations she united, who she realized were very loyal to her. The army possessed enormous financial and military support (as, upon unification, the Northern Kingdoms were as large and powerful as Equestria), and, along with troops, the army was also equipped with which included modernized airships, mecha suits, and other tanks, as well as a mighty fleet of warships. She eventually stretched out to Equestria and, upon displaying her Empire's might, offered to allow Equestria to join them, though Equestria's ponies refused, unwilling to ally themselves with a nation ruled by Night Pony "freaks". Outraged, Luna allowed a dark power to overtake her, becoming the dreaded Nightmare Moon.

Enraged beyond belief, Luna lost herself to a dark power. On the fateful day she refused to lower the moon, she transformed into Nightmare Moon. Harboring fury for the day ponies unjustful attack on them, the Cervidians, Thestrals and Lycanequuis immediately joined the forces of creatures of the night that Luna had united under her command to form The Army of the Moon, leading to a long and bloody fourteen-year long war. The forces of Equestria were put at a critical disadvantage, as not all ponies were against Nightmare Moon's cause, leading to the Forces of the Moon gaining a loyal network of spies throughout Equestria and multiple recruits from Equestria, who willingly fought against the Equestrian Army and their own kind. These ponies (both spies and fighters alike) and all the Night Ponies fighting for Luna/Nightmare Moon's cause were given a mark in the shape of a black moon, given to them by the dark pony herself and eventually christened themselves The Dark Ones. However, it was growing increasingly harder to identify Luna's followers, as the Mark of the Moon could be camouflaged into the ponies skin. Alongside the Dark Ones, the Night forces also allied themselves with many other shunned beings, including Timberwolves, Giants, Cragdiles, Tatzlwurms and Werewolves, many of whom believed that under the rule of Eternal Night, they would have a better life. The Nightmare Forces were conquering their way through Equestria with ease, streaming past villages that posed no threat, attacking large towns and cities that housed enough warriors to bother them. The army's way of conquering was silent and clever, with the army waiting until enough of the Dark Ones had slipped into the community, then, upon signal - a violet outline of a full moon with Luna's face etched upon its surface - the Dark Ones would drop their friendly facade and strike out at the unsuspecting members of the community while the Night Ponies and Nightmare Forces struck, destroying any escapees and finishing off what the Dark Ones had started. Eventually, all but Canterlot and the communities around it were all that remained free and the Dark Forces, massively increased by the Dark Ones of the already-conquered communities marched towards the capital that destroy the last part of the nation that remained. As the army attack, Nightmare Moon made her way to the palace to confront her sister. As the flames of battle raged around her, Celestia found herself standing alone against her sister as the Night Guard was locked in battle with the Day Guard, fighting for their beloved night princess despite the fact that she had gone mad. When Nightmare Moon was banished, the night ponies retreated, taking refuge in the Everfree Forest before migrating to the Undiscovered West. For the following thousand years, they slowly and secretly reintegrated back into Equestria, staying out of sight and taking refuge in hidden sanctuaries all throughout the pony nation. All the while awaiting the return of their lost princess. Naturally, they came out of hiding when she returned a thousand years later and remained loyal to her despite knowing that bringing about nighttime eternal would only spell disaster. Unlike their ancestors, modern night ponies understood that loyalty to their princess shouldn't have to come at the cost of Celestia's sun and its life sustaining warmth and light. In fact, the real reason that Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash weren't met by any Night Guards on their quest to recover the Elements of Harmony was because they chose not to deter them. If the six day ponies were truly capable of using the Elements of Harmony, that meant that they were the only ponies who could truly save their beloved princess. After Luna's purification, night ponies started *actively* intergrating into modern pony society. Many took up the mantle of *officially* reforming the Night Guard while others sought out careers that spoke to their individual talents. Eventually, day and night ponies began to get along as if they had always been one society. Since ponies are an accepting race as a whole for the most part, the night ponies become a normal sight in Equestria within a very short amount of time. By the time Shining Armor and Cadance's wedding rolls around, night tribe ponies are as common a sight in just about every city in Equestria as day tribe ponies. However, some still treat them as if they're monsters. Those day tribe ponies in particular are few and far in between. In fact, the only city in Equestria that can be considered a night pony hating city is Canterlot, but it's only because the city is inhabited mostly by elitist noble ponies.

## Appearance, Behavior, and Diet

As shown, lycanequui are recognized by their admittingly adorable canine faces and wolf tails. This appearance is why their tribe is also known by the more simplistic name of "wolf pony". However, the naturally cute face of a lycanequus hides the fact that they are a carnivorous race that's built for hunting. Lycanequui can eat your typical pony foods (grass, hay, flowers, fruits and veggies, etc...), but their bodies need nutrients that can only be found in meat. As such, they pretty much eat small animals like rabbits, rodents, fish, and birds. While venison is also a favorite food of theirs, lycanequui try not to hunt animals like deer because it feels too much like hunting a fellow pony. Over the centuries that followed Princess Luna's failed attempt to cure them, lycanequui have selectively bred with their own kind until they more or less evolved into a pony tribe all their own. A side effect of Luna's mistake gave the lycanequui the ability to transform into wolves at will. While you would think that it's an awesome power to have, there's a huge drawback. Lycanequui can't stay in their wolf forms for too long or else they'll lose themselves to their primal canine instincts. Many ponies in the past have been killed and eaten because a lycanequus stayed in his wolf form a little too long. Because of that, they think of their wolf form as a last resort battle tactic. Only in a time of true crisis (like a Changeling invasion) will a lycanequus ever assume their wolf form. Like true wolves, lycanequui can howl and do so in both their pony and wolf forms. However, a lycanequus howl isn't exactly ordinary. In fact, their howls tend to be much more melodious, like the lycanequus in question is *singing* rather than howling. Lycanequui also have an amazing sense of smell. Pairing that with their incredible persistence while hunting makes them excellent trackers. As such, some lycanequui successfully make a living as bounty hunters. Once they pick up a target's trail, it won't matter how far said target runs. The lycanequus chasing them will *always* catch up to them. Much like dogs, lycanequui do display some relatively cute dog-like behaviors. When they're sad or want something to the point of begging, they'll pout and whine, very similar to a canine. When angry or threatened, they'll growl or even try to bite whatever is bothering them. When they hear particularly discomforting sounds, they'll cry and bark until it stops (yes, Nighthowler and the other lycanequus residents of Ponyville cried like crazy when Pinkie started playing the yovidaphone). Their tails can say a lot about their moods as well. When happy or really excited about something, their tails will wag. When scared, they'll tuck their tails between their legs. When they're foals (or pups as some call them), lycanequui will chase their tails for no other reason aside from the fact that they see it moving. Some adults do it too, but not in public.

* **The Harvest Moon Festival**: In addition to the Summer Sun Celebration, the Winter Moon Ball (a celebration of the longest night of the year), Hearts and Hooves Day, Nightmare Night, and Hearth's Warming, the Lycanequui celebrate their own annual holiday called the Harvest Moon Festival. The point of the holiday is to remember the origin of their tribe and give thanks to those responsible. While they don't know for sure, the Lycanequui claim that their personal holiday supposedly takes place on the night the first werewolf was born. They honored said werewolf by naming the holiday after him. Much like the Summer Sun Celebration and the Winter Moon Ball, the Harvest Moon Festival takes place in a different city every year. In fact, the first Harvest Moon Festival after Princess Luna's return took place in Canterlot. During the day, adults take their wolf forms and collectively go on a hunt, catching as many small animals as they can for a great feast of meat, fruits, and vegetables. They give thanks to Fenrir by leaving an offering of various meats and animal skins from their hunt and wooden wolf carvings at an alter built in his honor. The offering mysteriously disappears by morning and often a huge wolf pawprint is found in its place, suggesting that Fenrir came and collected it. They say if he is pleased with the offering, the whole tribe will be blessed with good luck for the year. They honor Princess Luna by howling various songs they wrote, giving thanks for her attempt to help them and the fact that her failure made them into what they are now. Since her return, Luna herself has been present at every Harvest Moon Festival, listening and even *dancing* to the songs they perform just for her.
* **Marriage with Dark Ones**: During their centuries of exile, the Lycanequui and Luna's followers integrated with each other and it was common practice for Night Ponies and Dark Ones to mate, making hybrids between the races fairly common and are seen as normal members of the community.
* **Ideology to the Night**: Like their fellow Night Ponies and the Dark Ones, the Lycanequui treat Luna with goddess-like reverence, obeying orders only from Luna or her representatives and worship her with utter devotion. Before Luna was freed, the Lycanequui, like all their comrades, believe that their mistress was the real queen and parrot her belief that their deeds were all for "*The Greater Good*". The Lycanequui, like all of Luna's followers, dedicate themselves to Luna and obey her every command, even if it will threaten their own lives and serve her with rigid obedience.
* **Cutie Marks**: Unlike Thestrals, Lycanequui can and do have cutie marks just like any other pony tribe, which, like day ponies, symbolize their natural talent
* **Dance of the Wind**: Spanning from May to August, Dance of the Wind is a time of celebration among the Lycanequui. The tribe will hold many festivities, such as races and food-eating competitions, although the parades are probably the most notable events—from hot dog floats to giant turtles, many Night Ponies - Lycanequui and other Night Ponies and Night Pony allies alike - flock here to see the incredible floats. However, the true meaning of this event is to remember your loved ones, and give thanks to those who have benefited your life.