Fairlight - Blood of the Foal

by Bluespectre

Chapter Six - Heart of ice

Back in the clearing the warriors had already begun to repair the barricades, undertaking the odious task of clearing away the dead and readying weapons for an onslaught that wasn’t coming.

Heavy Hoof looked up from bandaging a wounded stallion at my approach. “My Lord?”

I bobbed my head to him as I passed by in silence. Standing there in the centre of the clearing, I spread my wings and took a deep breath. My scythe held high above my head, the blade swung out and I shouted my exhaustion, my relief, and my heartfelt jubilation to the morning sky for the world to hear.

“VICTORY!”

For a moment, for that briefest of seconds, there was silence. Then, the bellows, shouts, and howls began, the cries of the victorious filling the forest air. Weapons covered in the evidence of their grisly work held above their heads, the warriors of the tribe of the four winds savoured their survival and the defeat of our enemy the way soldiers had for countless generations. It was over. At least for now, we had prevailed over seemingly insurmountable odds – and won.

Loofa stumbled over to me, watching me curiously as I released my grip on my magic. Like many of us, the back-blast through the portal had singed his fur and several feathers were badly charred. He winced slightly in pain, yet his expression was one of relieved expectation. “Is that it?” he asked. “Are there more?” When I shook my head he closed his eyes, the tension visibly dropping from his features. “Dear Celestia, Cap’, I thought we’d had it for a minute there.”

Behind him I could see Jasper, who was busy being checked over by the medic despite her irritated attempts at pushing him away. She’d be alright, but by the gods she’d be ravenous in the morning. Taking another deep breath, I let it out in a long slow exhale before answering the pegasus stallion. “Want to have a look for yourself, my friend?”

He looked to Nimble who was staring at the ground, his eyes like saucers. “No,” he said quietly. “I don’t think that’s necessary, Captain.”

I nodded my understanding, motioning towards the corporal. “Loofa? Go and check on Nimble, would you? I think he needs to see a friendly face right about now.”

Loofa gave me a thin smile, hefting his pulse gun over his shoulder. “Yeah… Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he’s okay.”

“Love?” I closed my eyes, letting the familiar scent of my mate fill my senses. “Hurt?” Shadow eyed me worriedly, looking me up and down as if surprised to find me still in once piece. By the gods she smelled wonderful! Emotion surged through me as I span round, grabbing her in my forelegs and kissed her passionately.

“No,” I smiled, hugging her tightly. “Are you?” I stepped back, making sure she was unharmed. “I lost sight of you in the fighting.”

Shadow shook her head. “With the doctor,” she said, nodding towards the medical team. “Protecting.” The black coated mare tossed her long black mane, glancing towards the portal. “More?”

“I don’t think so, love,” I said. “We’ve given them a bloody nose at the very least, so I doubt they’ll be coming back for a while just yet. Anyway, now that the army’s on full alert they’ve lost the element of surprise.” I sighed, rolling the ache out of my shoulder. “Our next job is getting Lumin back. But first, we need to take care of our people. Without them we’ll stand no chance of mounting a rescue.”

“They will not hurt him?”

I closed my eyes as a wash of anger seethed through me. “No,” I said simply. “I don’t believe so. They wanted him for a reason. If it had been their intention to harm him they would have killed him when they broke into the tavern. I don’t know what they’ve taken him for, but he’s still alive alright.” I turned to face the portal once more. “I can feel it.”

The air ruffled my mane as one of the griffins landed beside us. “Doesn’t look like any got through, My Lord, and…” She tilted her head, smiling broadly. “If you look to the east, you’ll see a wonderful sight indeed.”

Everypony followed her gaze, and there, sure enough, was a large group of army sky carriages with a number of agency ponies amongst them heading towards us. Thankfully we’d managed to clear enough ground for them to land, but it was a tight squeeze even so. One after another, dozens of soldiers jumped down from the carriages, many of them armed with magical energy weapons as well as the usual mix of crossbows, swords and spears. These guys weren’t the usual polished armour brigade I’d seen knocking about the palace either. These were professional soldiers by the looks of them, the ones that I doubt most Equestrians knew even existed. Their armour was dull, yet clean, showing evidence of having been used for far more than poncing around foreign dignitaries at state dinner parties. Suddenly a familiar face appeared before me, stepping down from one of the chariots and brushing the dust off his agency barding.

“Lady Shadow,” the agency stallion said, bobbing his head. He turned to me. “Agent Nox, or should I say, ‘Lord Fairlight’, now?”

“Just Fairlight will do,” I grinned. “Hello, Brandy. Where’ve you been? You missed all the fun.” He went to shake my hoof, but instead I grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. “Thank the goddess you’re safe, and thank you for coming here, my friend. Is Smiling Borders safe? And Tingles?”

Brandy took a step back, grinning. “She’s safe, the village is safe, and as for you… hell fire, Fairlight, you look like shit.”

I raised an eyebrow, smirking, “Missed my morning shower I’m afraid. Bloody agency inefficiency, that’s what it is.”

The stallion clopped me on the shoulder, “No inefficiency from you though.” He glanced at the enormous pile of bodies being stacked amongst the trees. “And I thought we’d had it bad.”

“Had it bad?” I asked.

“There was another portal,” he said gravely.

I hung my head, realising my earlier fears had been realised. “Dear Luna, I feared as much.”

“Hundreds of them,” Brandy explained, scrubbing his mane. “They attacked Canterlot in droves, but not until one of them had impersonated the bride-to-be and attacked Princess Celestia.”

Loofa and Nimble began shouting at once, which Brandy stopped by raising a hoof. “She’s alright,” he assured them, “the elements of harmony saved the day. A young mare in particular, one Miss Sparkle, Captain Armour’s sister would you believe.”

I nearly fell over. The little librarian mare from Ponyville? “Twilight Sparkle?” I asked incredulously.

“Yes, that’s the one,” Brandy replied. “Do you know her?”

I shook my head, I didn’t want anypony to find out that she’d gone behind Celestia’s back to help me. “Not really, Brandy,” I said dismissively. “She lived in Ponyville when I was in the watch there. I thought she was just the local librarian.”

“Just goes to show you can’t judge a book by the cover, eh?” He quipped. Brandy scratched his mane and looked about him at the weary warriors of the tribe who were getting some strange looks from the newly arrived soldiers. “We’ve got enough carriages here to take the wounded back to the village,” he continued. “There’s proper medical teams and tents set up there ready, just in case. You can take well deserved breather now, Captain. Our ponies will secure this area so your boys can go and rest up a while. By the looks of them they need it too.”

He wasn’t kidding. As exuberant as the warriors of the tribe looked right then, fatigue was beginning to tell on all their faces. “Those that want to, can,” I said, picking a stone out of my hoof. “But I can’t Brandy, my son’s still out there somewhere. Somewhere on the other side of that damned portal.” I smiled at him sadly. “I’ve got no choice, my friend, I have to do this.”

Brandy looked at me in shock. “But Fairlight, you’re in no fit state! At least have a break, get a drink and-”

“I’ll take a break when my son’s home with his mother and I,” I interrupted. I wiped a piece of cloth over my scythe, checking the edge was still true. “If it was your little Brandy in the clutches of those monsters, wouldn’t you do the same?”

“Of course I would,” he said sharply, shaking his head. “But going in there half dead on my hooves wouldn’t accomplish anything except giving the enemy what they want.” he pointed a hoof at me. “Have you considered that this could be exactly why they kidnapped Lumin? To lure you there?”

“I think you give me too much credit,” I huffed.

“Do I?” The agency officer shook his head. “You don’t give yourself enough. Look around you. These people trust you, they believe in you. You inspire ponies, Fairlight, and that alone is something that few ever manage to achieve. Even without your wendigo magic, you have accomplished far more than I think you realise yourself.”

I let out a snort, bobbing my head towards the piled corpses. “Well, if you can call this an ‘accomplishment’.”

“I do actually,” Brandy replied. “If you hadn’t have been here we would have found ourselves fighting on two fronts. We barely managed to hold our own at the capital as it was. If this lot had turned up it would have been a different story altogether.”

“It still doesn’t explain why they attack Smiling borders and kidnapped my son,” I pointed out. “If they wanted to get to me, then they could have easily killed me when they had me under their bloody mind control.”

Brandy rubbed his chin in thought. “True, but then they had sent you in there with an MAD. Whether you had managed to kill Celestia or not, I don’t think they had any intention of having you walk out of there alive.”

“And now they’re trying to finish the job?” I asked. “I doubt it. This has been pre-planned, and I don’t think they would have had time to come up with something so elaborate in so short a time anyway.”

“A contingency plan, plan?” Brandy offered. “This could have been their fall-back position if the assassination failed.”

“Perhaps,” I admitted, “But there’s something else going on here, and something that involves Lumin specifically.” I tossed my mane. “No. If they were so keen to kill me, they could have done it before now.” A thought suddenly occurred to me. “Brandy, there’s a white unicorn in the tavern. Her name’s Annabelle, she’s the human that’s been hanging around with the commissioner and Velvet Cream. If anypony around here knows what’s going on, it’ll be her.”

“The human?” Brandy’s expression darkened. “Yes, we’ve heard about her.”

“I imagine you will have,” I said bitterly. “She’s the one who tortured and brainwashed me into becoming a mindless assassin. Be careful with her. Don’t let her get inside your head. Believe me, I know all too well what that sick bitch is capable of.”

“Leave her to me,” Brandy assured me. “I’ll get to talk. Anyway, what are you going to do now? I’d send troops with you but our orders don’t include punitive raids into changeling territory. I suspect Celestia will be taking care of that once she’s recovered, so there’s always the chance of a diplomatic solution to this. It may be the best option considering the alternative.”

“I’m not waiting for that,” I said quietly. “Lumin won’t wait. Have you seen what these things do to ponies, Brandy?”

By the look in his eyes he knew all too well. “Yes, and far too much of it. Look, Fairlight, get something to eat and drink. Your warriors need something too. Good goddesses pony, look at them, they look like they’ve been to hell and back!” He smiled at me. “Listen, get the wounded away and take this opportunity to resupply and fill your canteens and bellies. Remember, Piss Poor Planning…”

“…Promotes Piss Poor Performance,” I finished. He was right, charging in could get us killed, and who would help Lumin then? “I wouldn’t worry too much, old friend,” I said wiping my face with my foreleg. “I won’t be going in completely blind, but I’ll take up your kind offer of supplies, food, and a nice cup of something hot.”

Brandy passed me a cigarette which I took gratefully. “Any thoughts on what to do next?” he asked, offering me a light.

I drew on the sweet tobacco and exhaled a small smoke ring, feeling my muscles relax slightly. “Oh, yes.” Grinning up at the rising sun in the sky I raised an eyebrow, fixing him with a blue eyed gaze. “There’s always a plan ‘B’.”

A steady stream of chariots, carriages and supplies, began to arrive shortly after we’d finished evacuating the wounded. The army ponies set up an impressive defensive perimeter around the portal, including a large number of magical energy weapons and even human made firearms. Regulars and Royal Guard alike mixed with the tribe’s warriors surprisingly well, although in fairness I think the real credit for that was more down to Loofa and Nimble who acted as a go-between between the groups. It was surprising how natural distrust and wariness could be tempered in the melting pot of facing a common foe. Still, despite the contrasting mix of newly manufactured magical beam guns amongst the newcomers, many of the Royal Guard still carried melee weapons that looked like they’d be more suited to posing at the royal court than on a battlefield. Old habits die hard I suppose. On the subject of contrast though, the tribe stood out like a sore hoof, and not just because of the home-made armour. Many of them had a certain look about them, a hardness and distance that only comes from facing a foe on the field of battle. Our fight had been up close and very personal. Ramming a bladed weapon into your enemy, one who is only literally inches away from you and trying to do the same, is something you never forget. The smell of their sweat, the sound of steel against steel, the look in their eyes as their life leaves them... These were things that all us would have to live with now. It was a truly terrible burden for anypony to bear, whatever race or army they belonged to.

Shadow gave me a nuzzle, watching Brandy walk away to help direct his ponies. “He fears me,” she said quietly.

“Who? Brandy?” I asked, looking up in surprise. “I don’t think so, he-”

“His scent,” she cut in suddenly. “He smells of fear. Fear of me.”

I shook my head. “Shadow, look around you. There’s minotaurs, griffins, hippogriffs, unicorns, earth ponies, and I saw a couple of timber wolves over by the supply wagon that one of the army lads was feeding. Do you really think you stand out here?” I clucked my tongue. “Honestly, love, I think you’re worrying about nothing. After all, if the princess can accept a wendigo wandering around Equestria, why not a thestral? Are we really so different, you and I?”

Shadow expression was hard to read. Those burning red eyes didn’t seem convinced, but she didn’t pursue the topic. “I will help the wounded,” she said softly.

I gave a kiss. “Of course, love,” I replied. “Please, don’t worry about Brandy. He’ll see you as one of the family before you know it.”

“Mmm...” And with that the elegant black mare strode away, heading back towards where the medical teams were busy setting up their equipment and tending to the injured.

I was a little troubled as I watched her go. I was sure she’d be alright of course, after all the tribe had readily accepted her virtually the moment she’d landed on the village green along with myself and Etrida, but for some reason Brandy’s apparent fear of her had struck a nerve. Personally I hadn’t noticed it… but she had. When all of this was over I’d have to see about getting us all together and arrange something to break the ice a bit better than we had when they’d first met. Perhaps a little guiltily, it still made me chuckle when I thought about it. The poor sod had nearly crapped himself when he’d seen her walking up the street towards the tavern. At the time, Shadow had seemed to revel in teasing Brandy about it, and yet now for some reason it had begun to bother her. Hopefully it was nothing to worry about. My chain of thought was interrupted by a loud clatter of harness and vocal swearing as a group of army lads walked past me towing a siege catapult that was so ridiculously overpowered it could have put a hole through a mountain. Grunting and puffing with the effort they readily let me join them after I walked over to give them a helping hoof, though even with so many of us hauling the numb thing it was far from easy work. Sweat broke out on my brow almost immediately. How the hell had they managed to air-lift something so huge all this way?! And what were they expecting to come through the archway anyway? Ursans? What made matters worse was that the ground had been so churned up it was like dragging the damned thing through treacle. But finally, with the reasonably helpful instructions of the engineering team, we had the enormous catapult set up in place facing the portal. Gods help us, if there were many more like this to set up we’d be so knackered by the time the changelings turned up they wouldn’t need to launch an attack, they’d be able to just walk in here like they were having a Sunday stroll and push us over! I let out a groan of relief. My heart was beating like a steam-hammer in my chest, and I took a moment to lean against a tree, trying to catch breath. Ha! So much for relaxing!

“Take five, boys,” an officer called. Oh, thank Luna!

“Thanks for that,” one of the soldiers said to me, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Get a lot of dragons through here, do you?” he jerked a hoof towards the portal.

I grinned in reply. “Only little ones. You guys regulars?”

“Ha! Not likely,” the black and white stallion replied. He took off his neckerchief and tipped some water over it before giving himself a wipe down. “First border battalion, all the way.”

“You’re from the border?” I asked. “What, the one that borders Yakistan?”

Another of the soldiers wandered over, passing around a pouch of tobacco. “You better believe it. They recalled most of us, and the next thing we knew we were being dropped right into a bloody war zone.”

“Bucking changelings,” the first soldier snorted. “Thought we’d seen it all up there on the wall, but these things? Celestia’s buttocks, the damned things can alter their shape to look like anything.”

“Or any pony,” his comrade added. “Say, what unit you from?” he asked me. “Don’t recognise the get-up.”

“Agency?” the first one asked.

I glanced down at my barding. It was torn and bloodied here and there, but still relatively serviceable. Proper armour, however, it was most definitely not. “I suppose you could say that,” I smiled. “I’m a bit more, um… ‘freelance’ these days.”

“Oh, ho!” one of the soldiers quipped. “He’s a merc! I knew they’d end up doing that one day. What did I say, Whizz?”

“Yeah, yeah, we all heard you,” the first pony, ‘Whizz’ apparently, replied. He turned back to me. “What do you reckon of this lot though?” His voice dropped an octave as he bobbed his head towards a small group of minotaurs who were playing dice under the shade of a tree.

“What, the minotaurs?” I asked. “They live in the village nearby. Bloody handy in a scrap though.”

“I bet they are!” Whizz exclaimed. “Gods almighty, what’s the country coming to when we have to pull in that lot to give a hoof, eh? My old dad would be turning in his grave if he’d seen ‘em. Army’s gone to hell in a saddlebag.”

“Why, what’s wrong with them?” I asked curiously.

One of the soldier leaned forward, pointing a hoof at me. “What’s wrong with them?” He shook his head in amazement. “What’s right with them, you mean. Bloody hell, those things are mindless killers! They fought for Nightmare Moon for the goddesses’ sake. Don’t you know anything?!”

“He’s right, mind,” Whizz agreed, nodding his head. “They did fight for the other side during the great war. They say they’re so numb you could put a siege bolt through one and it would still keep coming at you with one of those bloody great axes of theirs.”

“Cleave your right in two,” one of them added helpfully.

“Yeah, the best part though is that they’ve got a bunch of ponies and other whatchamacallits hanging around with ‘em too,” the second soldier pointed out a little sarcastically. “Gods above, that’s playing with fire if ever I heard it.”

“Bet the girls like ‘em though,” one quipped. “How’d you fancy one of those big buggers grabbing you arse, eh, Coaster?”

The mare, Coaster, nickered loudly. “Bollocks to that!” she laughed. “Give me a regular old stallion any day.”

“Like Whizz, you mean?” one called out.

“Nah,” Coaster chuckled. “I meant a real stallion. Whizz ‘as given ‘alf the girls the clap already. I like to stay as pure as the driven snow.”

“What a load of bollocks!” Whizz snorted. “You don’t know what you’re missing girl. You’ll come round, you’ll see.”

“Yeah, likely!” Coaster teased, shoving her friend.

Sitting here with these ponies reminded me of old times with my comrades in the Watch. The same tall tales, the same levels of bravado and good natured teasing, even the same prejudices; the faces may be different, but some things never changed. It was all here, just the way it always had been, and in truth, probably always would be. In many ways it seemed like only yesterday I had been sat around the rickety old watch-house canteen table talking about insubstantial nonsense with my comrades, and yet at the same time it was as if it had been at least a dozen lifetimes ago. And another me. It was hard to reconcile just how much my life had changed of late, and in such a short period of time too. One minute I was just another grunt working the streets of Manehattan, the next I’m thrown into a world that was so alien to me I may as well have been on a different world altogether. Maybe one day I’d wake up and find all of this had been some sort of warped fever dream, the conjuration of a diseased mind that had taken one too many thumps on the noggin fighting with drunks on a Friday night. Once, I suppose I would have wished for just such a thing to happen. Now, with my foals, my mares, and my new friends and home in Smiling Borders, to even consider such a scenario playing out was the stuff of nightmares. I stretched, feeling some of the tension slipping away from my tired muscles. No… No, I was who I was, and whether for better or worse the world had moved on, taking me along with it like a leaf on a river. Who knew where it would take me in the long run, but right then, I think I had accepted my new life on the whole. All I needed to do now was bring Lumin home, and tidy up a few loose ends. I chuckled under my breath. They didn’t know what was coming for them...

“Hey,” Whizz said, giving me a shove. “Heads up, looks like the brass are after you. Time to earn your pay, buddy.” I looked over my shoulder. It was Brandy, he’d re-appeared with an army officer in tow. Bidding my new friends farewell I trotted over to greet them.

“Lord Fairlight, this is Colonel Graceful Quartz.” The agency officer held out a hoof formally. “Colonel, this is Lord Fairlight of the tribe of the four winds.”

I reached out to shake her hoof, and for a single tense second she stared down at as if it were a poisonous snake before warily accepting it. “Lord ‘Fairlight’…” She frowned in thought. “Are you not the one we were ordered to hunt down not too long ago?”

“That’s right,” I said, raising an eyebrow. “I can’t help being popular I’m afraid. I presume that the princesses have informed you of the current situation, Colonel?”

Quartz looked like she’d eaten something sour. Something also told me that I wasn’t exactly on her favourite pony list either. “Yes,” she replied warily. “Her Majesty has appraised me of the situation. I can’t say I’m exactly enamoured with it, but whatever happens, and regardless of my personal thoughts on the subject, Equestria’s security is always my first priority.”

“Well said, Colonel!” I quipped. “But don’t worry, Equestria’s military won’t have a single blemish on its name when all this is over will it? That’s why we’re here, am I right?”

Brandy looked worriedly at the Colonel before swapping his attention to me. “Fairlight, you know why Equestrian forces can’t enter the changelings domain. Regardless of the provocation, the princesses want to establish peace with their leader and this would only escalate the situation, possibly beyond redemption.”

“Escalate it?!” I laughed shaking my head. “It’s already beyond redemption, Brandy, it has been from the moment they foalnapped my son.”

Brandy closed his eyes, nodding gravely. “I know, Fairlight, and that’s why only your warriors can do this.”

“Plausible deniability, eh?” I offered with a sardonic smile.

He nodded, “You guessed it.”

Turning to the Colonel, I motioned to the engineers behind her who were busy unloading barrels marked with explosive hazard labels. “If you’re going to destroy the portal, I’d appreciate you doing it after I get back please, Colonel Quartz?”

The officer narrowed her eyes. By look on her face I’d been right on the money. “If we see evidence of another major changeling incursion, Lord Fairlight, then we’ll have no choice but to blow the gateway.” The mare lifted her head, staring down her muzzle at me imperiously. “Until that time we’ll be waiting to hear from either you or your… ‘troops’. I would therefore suggest you complete your task as quickly as possible to avoid such an action becoming necessary.”

“I see… Would you excuse us a moment, please?” I took Brandy to one side and spoke quietly so the colonel couldn’t hear us. “Brandy, Celestia knows what we’re going to do, doesn’t she?”

He nodded. “Princess Luna assured me that she does. Even if she doesn’t necessarily give it her blessing, she understands the rescue of the child is paramount.”

“But if they’re going to ‘negotiate’ with the changelings anyway, then why would she endorse this?” I asked, genuinely perplexed. “It seems out of character for her to be so, um… flexible.”

The agency stallion peered back at the Colonel who was intently brushing dust off her uniform. “After what those bastards did, Her Majesty doesn’t trust them, nor do we have any kind of guarantee that we’d get your foal back through diplomatic means anyway.” He closed his eyes and let out a long breath. “Fairlight, look, there’s been some mention of Lumin being important to them for some reason, and it has Celestia worried, Luna too. Don’t ask me what it means, I haven’t got a clue, but whatever you need to do to get the job done, you have carte blanche to do it. Whatever happens out there though, it’s on your own head. The princesses will simply deny any knowledge of it.” He clopped me on the shoulder. “Get Lumin back safely, Fairlight. Princess Luna has instructed us to wait here for you, and in the meantime I’ll make sure there aren’t any ‘unforeseen accidents’ with the explosive charges until you’re home safe and sound. Unfortunately the communicators don’t work across the portal, so you’ll have to get your job done and your arse out of there as soon as you can.”

“Well, so long as Celestia keeps her word I’ll do my bit for Queen and country.” I let out a sigh and gave my legs a stretch. “Guess this is it then,” I smiled. “Time to kick some flank and save the day once again.”

“What can I say?” Brandy laughed. “You’re good at what you do.”

Chuckling I nodded to Heavy Hoof and the others who hurried off to assemble the troops and gear for our next foray. “Do me a favour, Brandy?”

“Of course, Fairlight.”

“Make sure nothing happens to Tingles and Shadow, okay?” I stared up at the sun wistfully. “If… you know, if I don’t come back…”

He pushed me hard with his hoof. “Don’t say it. Sometimes, thinking bad things makes them happen. If the shit hits the fan, then bug out and get back here as fast as those fancy hooves of yours can carry you. You’re not the only one who has a ‘plan b’, my friend.”

I gave him a wink. “Give my regards to your family. We’ll be back in two shakes of a manticore’s tail.”

Brandy leaned forward and embraced me briefly, making me jump in surprise at his uncharacteristic display of emotion. “Be safe, my friend. You may be the lord of the tribe of the four winds, but you’re still a son of Equestria.” He bobbed his head towards Shadow who was walking towards us, adjusting her armour. “Or daughters.”

I felt a warm feeling flush through me. I’d never seen Brandy like this. I nodded to both him and the Colonel who gave a brief nod in return. “Warriors of the four winds,” I shouted. “Let’s move out.”

We marched on, trudging through that nauseating, blasted hell-scape, constantly on the lookout for any sign of our quarry. By my reckoning we’d covered a lot of ground already, although with no maps, and no idea of just how large this land of monsters actually was, it was more guesswork than anything else. Compasses were useless here too. Whether it was a side-effect of the magical shield or some natural quirk of this poisoned world, it played hell with the things, sending the needles spinning crazily. Somehow, it seemed oddly fitting. The bleak and foreboding land around us was more reminiscent of the Wither World than Equestria. If the old stories I’d heard about the changelings were even half true, it was hard to believe that this had once been a verdant paradise, home to a race of beautiful creatures that had somehow become warped into the vile things they were now. There was one piece of good news though; the other portal used as the initial invasion point, at least the one we knew of, had been located and locked down by the combined agency and army forces. Where it was located in this world though, was anyponies guess. That, however, was not my problem.

Nimble, Heavy Hoof and Loofa marched alongside me, the troops spread out in a column behind us with our scouting parties out to the flanks and front. So far, other than the blasted remains of the changelings, we’d not seen any sign of life since we’d entered this goddess-damned place. The green tinge of the magic shield never changed, the sky a constant palid green casting the world around us in a sickly haze that made me wonder how anypony could become accustomed to it. Then again, considering the vile nature of the inhabitants it probably suited them just fine. As for me, it my mind skin crawl. The sooner we got Lumin back, the better for all of us. We marched in silence, occasionally checking our bearings from the glow of the pendant. How far we’d travelled, or how far we had to go, was a complete unknown. With no sun nor moon to give you an indication of the passage of time or even a direction, the magical gift of Star Swirl the Bearded was the only thing that stood between us and potentially becoming hopelessly lost. Moreover, it provided us all with a focus. And more importantly, hope. I don’t know what it was about this world, the land itself just seemed to suck your vitality from your body as surely as its denizens did. I hated this place, probably more than I had the Withers when I’d first arrived there. Damn it all, by comparison that place was almost welcoming! I stared at the faint yet clear glow of the beacon, putting my trust in that small, magical object from another time. It hadn’t led me astray so far, and all I could hope was that it worked as well here as it had in the home of the thestrals. I lifted my head, noticing a change in the ground beneath my hooves. Up ahead of us the land was beginning to rise slightly before dropping away into a long shallow valley. Tree’s, or at least what had probably once been regular equestrian trees, stretched out before us, lining the banks of a river and lake along which I could just about make out what appeared to structures of some kind.

“Captain?” Loofa held up a hoof to the sky. “Scouts coming in.”

A hippogriff landed several yards away and trotted up before bowing. “My Lord, we’ve surveyed the land for several miles around and have found no sign of enemy forces. Their trail however, leads directly down to what appears to be a small settlement of some kind on the edge of the lake.” He pointed off to the peculiar structures in the distance. “We’ve seen changelings there, but no military units.”

“Numbers?” I asked.

“Estimate around sixty to eighty,” the hippogriff replied formally.

I nodded to the scout and held up the pendant once more. The light shone brightest in the direction of the settlement which, I hoped, would lead us straight to my son.

Heavy Hoof strode over to me. “Lord Fairlight, your orders?”

I tucked Star Swirl’s precious give back into my barding before making my decision. “We will advance on the village,” I announced, turning to ensure everypony could hear me. “Scouts and flanking parties are to maintain a lookout for enemy forces whilst the rest of us sweep the occupied area.” I scrubbed my mane, feeling the tingle of adrenalin surging through me. If it was happening to me, I knew damned well I wouldn’t be the only one. “Remember this is a rescue mission, Heavy Hoof. Getting Lumin back is why we’re here, so no unnecessary confrontation with the locals unless absolutely necessary. Once we have my son we’re pulling out. Understood?”

“Yes, My Lord.”

Loofa was busy scanning our objective with his binoculars. “Looks like a village alright,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “There’s some movement down there, but nothing that would suggest they’re expecting an attack.”

I took a swig from my canteen and felt a surge of anticipation. Was Lumin in the village? By the gods, they’d better not have harmed him. If they had… “Keep alert everypony,” I said suddenly. “I don’t want any surprises down there. We’ll use the trees to camouflage our approach. Officers, take charge of your warriors.”

Almost immediately we began our descent down the gentle hillside, filing through the trees in near silence. I couldn’t help but think back to the white crystal forest, the black river and the bridge near the Beyond. Thorn’s son… They’d crucified him on the other side, leaving him there in agony for his father to discover what those sickening filth had done to his child. And find him he had... before he’d burned in the searing flames of magical fire. It had been a message. A warning. I closed my eyes as a wave of barely suppressed emotion rolled through me, making my heart rate increase. If anything had happened to my foal, if they had so much as touched him… Shaking my mane I gave a snort and refocussed on the task at hoof. This was no time to speculate, this was a time for caution and readiness for action. We were in the enemy’s homeland, they had an advantage over us here, and in some strange twist of fate we were doing exactly what they had done to us. I wondered if they understood the concept of irony? I would bring them the concept of steel. Through the trees, their blackened bark and dark green foliage dappling the light, we slipped as rain through a grate. The lake to our right sparkled and rippled quietly against the gravelly shore, reflecting the green light of the shield high above us. Gradually, step by careful step, we closed on the village until, in a rush of feather and fur, one of the griffins came into view through the sparse undergrowth.

“My Lord, still no sight of enemy forces for several miles around,” he reported. “Several of the changelings appear to be armed, but there’s no sign of any alarm or organised military presence.”

Thank the goddess for that, it looked like we’d taken them by surprise. “Good,” I replied. “Join the rest of the main force for now. When we’re in the village itself, get your team aloft and maintain a watch on the perimeter. Keep us informed of any approaching forces.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

The scout hurried to the back of the column to take his position with the rest of his squad. As he passed by, the warriors watched with a look of excited anticipation in their eyes. Muscles twitched as magic, claws and hooves readied weapons for battle, their earlier tiredness forgotten. Meanwhile, Nimble, Loofa and myself trotted over to a thick group of bushes to observe the village below. Taking my position I parted the foliage, careful to remain out of sight. Sure enough, there were all the signs of what you would consider to be normal village activity - if you liked black as your predominant colour scheme. The buildings were all slick, oily black affairs, looking as insectoid as their builders. Frightening in their alien appearance, they looked for all the world like monstrous wasps nests bulging out of the ground. The doorways of each were reminiscent of a cone, barely big enough for a pony to pass through, but not much else. Overall they seemed fragile affairs, at least compared to the more familiar equestrian built dwellings, however they must be serviceable enough for the needs of the changelings nonetheless.

Loofa finished his observation and passed the binoculars to Nimble who grimaced. “Is this our objective, Cap’?” the young corporal asked. “It doesn’t seem like the sort of place anypony would keep a hostage. It just looks like a village; a very weird village of course, but still a village. Maybe we should go around it and pick up the trail on the other side.”

“It’s a little late for that,” I said quietly. “It would take hours to go around, and besides…” I held up the pendant for him to see.

Nimble nodded. “Understood.”

Suddenly Loofa tapped me on the shoulder, his voice dropping to an urgent hiss. “Sir! You see that?”

I grabbed the binoculars and swung them around to try and find where he was pointing. “Where?”

Loofa’s exceptional eyesight guided me. “There, behind the first building on the right of the street.”

Panning the binoculars round I found the building, the trees around it, a patch of thick dark bushes, and…There! Movement, barely any at all really, but the sure sign of somepony trying to sneak through the undergrowth in an attempt to remain undetected.

“Oh goddesses…” Loofa breathed.

“What?” Whispered Nimble irritably. “Damn it all, I can’t make it out!”

I kept watching through the binoculars. And then, like a stone dropping into a still mountain pool, the realisation of what I was looking at hit me. “It’s a mare,” I said plainly. “These buckers have captives.”

As I watched, I heard Heavy Hoof assembling the warriors quietly behind us. I barely noticed it. My heart was hammering in my chest now, the adrenalin surging like a raging torrent. I could feel my spirit begin to burn with anticipation as I watched, riveted to the spot as the unfolding scene played out before us frame by terrifying frame. Whoever they were, the pony was desperately trying to keep low and stay out of sight behind the bushes as she attempted to slip away from the village. She hadn’t got far when a clicking cry and hiss from behind her caught my attention as well as the mare’s. Desperately looking behind herself for the source of the alarm, she spotted her pursuers no more than a heartbeat after they’d spotted her. Immediately pulling herself free of the foliage, I could see her digging her hooves in, her muscles flexing ready to bolt. But it was too late. The changelings were already charging towards her, closing the distance with frightening speed. With a loud neigh she launched herself forward, galloping for all she was worth for the safety of the tree line, and, as fate would have it, straight at us.

Loofa shook his head. “She won’t make it, boss. She looks weak, and those bastards can fly.”

True enough, skipping through the air like monstrous wasps the changelings were on her in moments, pinning their victim down, their horns glowing with a vile green glow as they began to rip the emotions from the helpless creature’s tortured body. The mare put up a spirited resistance all the same, kicking one of her attackers square in the jaw and sending it sprawling. The other one however, kept up the flow of warped magic, quickly wearing her down. Gasping and thrashing, the mare’s movements gradually slowed until, in an instant, the green glow of magic surrounding her disappeared as if turned off like a household lightswitch. Nimble lowered his pulse gun, watching for my response.

I smiled. Raising my hoof, the magic responded to my call with alacrity, surging through me as white fog rolled out from the trees into the space before the village. Like some mythical army of ghosts from the ancient past, the warriors of the tribe surged forward toward the village. Banners snapped in the wind and horns blew, Heavy Hoof bellowing a deafening war cry while he lead our warriors into the settlement. As for myself, I made for the pony who was lying shaking on the ground whilst the tide of armed warriors passed around her like water around a rock. I stepped over the remains of the changelings and passed her my canteen.

“It’s alright, we’re Equestrians,” I assured her. “You’re safe now.”

She looked up at me with deep bronze eyes full of weariness and dread. “Who… who are you?”

“Lord Fairlight,” I said gently. “But that doesn’t matter now. What’s your name and why are you here?”

A medic rushed over to us as we spoke, checking her for injuries as she tried her best to answer me, “My… My name’s Olive Glass. I was on holiday with my family travelling from Neatsfoot to Canterlot for the wedding when these, these ‘things’ attacked our carriage and dragged us here.” She swallowed, wincing slightly as the medic washed a cut on her flank. “They’re still in there,” she breathed. “Some of us anyway. The rest… the rest they…”

I lay a hoof on her shoulder. “I know, Olive. Listen, are there any foals there? A grey unicorn with yellow eyes?”

She frowned in thought, trying to remember. “I… maybe… I don’t know, they split us up when we arrived. Those that were too weak they drained and slaughtered like… like we were nothing to them.” She took a drink from my canteen. “Lord Fairlight, they’re monsters… all of them! Please, can you help my family? I was the only one still fit enough to run. I thought I’d be able to escape and get help, but...” She shook her head, her voice starting to crack under the enormous emotional pressure. “I just want us to go home!”

I nodded to the medic. “Is she going to be alright?”

The young griffin look up at me gravely. “With time, but she’s in shock. We need to get her back to the village.”

Taking a deep breath, I lifted my head and faced the village. “Do the best you can for now, doc. Take care of her.”

As I charged away, I heard a questioning voice behind me ask, “What is he?”

“A wendigo,” the answer came, drifting away in the sound of pounding hooves. “The last of his kind.”

I ran on. Despite my orders, parts the village had already descended into a battleground. Screams and shrieks rose from the inhabitants as the warriors fought those foolish enough to resist, cutting them down like wheat before the scythe. Some had attempted to flee before our assault, but were swiftly brought back by the scouts and flanking parties where they were subsequently held at spearpoint. Thankfully, something approaching order was quickly dragged out of this chaos by the swift thinking of our officers. In short order, the changelings had been round up and marched out into the clearing between the tree line and the village whilst our troops swept through the buildings, searching for any who had tried to hide or any sign of other captives - if these vermin had left any alive.

Heavy Hoof trotted up to me, gore staining the blade of his axe. “Lord Fairlight, we’ve found something. You’d better come and see.”

Steeling myself, I followed him. We crossed the village, passing by the torn bodies of our fallen foe as we approached the building he was leading me towards. The huge minotaur had to duck through the doorway of the odd structure. This one was a lot larger than the rest and it was as dark inside as the colouring of the changelings themselves, black and shining like wet leather. Two of our warriors were already inside with lanterns, lighting the scene of what I can only describe as a nightmare made flesh. In the large room were tables, four in total, two with the motionless bodies of ponies still tied to them. One was only a young filly, no more than twelve, maybe thirteen years old. They’d both been drained of their emotions to the point were their bodies had simply… stopped. The sadness and emptiness of their final moments was etched forever on their colourless faces, tugging agonisingly at my cold heart. I swallowed, fighting down the horror and fury building with me. I couldn’t begin to imagine the horror they’d suffered at the hooves of these… these evil… things. Grief tore at my heart, my soul screaming out in horror and grief at the unimaginable cruelty before me.

Nimble walked up next to me, his own horror plain for all to see. “Oh Celestia,” he murmured. “Dear sweet goddesses, what have these monsters done…?”

I took one of the lanterns and held up it up, taking a deep breath of the foetid air as its wan light illuminated the hideous cocoons that ranged the walls. Shadows… shapes… inside them... Some were empty, but most still held the still forms of ponies, griffins... it didn’t seem to matter to these things. They were simply food. Food for these demons.

Nimble swallowed, unsure of what to say. All he could mutter was, “Captain…”

I pushed past Nimble and spoke to Heavy Hoof. “Get them out of there commander, even the dead…” I headed for the door, fury surging through me. “Get them out!”

Outside in the alien light of what passed as day in this living hell, the changelings buzzed and hissed, huddled in a mass surrounded by the tribe’s warriors and a cordon of sharpened steel. One of the creatures I noticed was bigger than the rest; black and green, with the now typical holes in its slick carapace and wings.

“Who is in charge here?” I asked, fighting to keep control of my anger. “Which one of you filth can take responsibility of this… this atrocity?”

The large creature looked up at me, its eyes full of cold contempt. “I am,” it smirked condescendingly, “…Pony.” Whatever this thing was it was clearly female, and far more equine in appearance than the others of her race. She spoke in remarkably clear equestrian too, totally devoid of the more familiar hissing speech of her fellows. The utter derision in her voice however, was as thick as the atmosphere she had apparently dismissed as being as unimportant as the lives her people had so cruelly destroyed.

I walked up to the tall changeling, my anger flaring and vision turning blue as my teeth itched with hunger. “You have a name?”

“I am Sliver,” came the dry reply.

I glowered at the creature, my anger bubbling dangerously behind my more conscious thoughts. “Sliver, I do not intend to harm your people. I only wish to recover those you have captured from our home.”

“Your home? That is our home!” she hissed at me suddenly. The other changelings muttered their agreement behind her. “Equestria has shut us in here for years,” she continued, “for lifetimes, for countless lifetimes, leaving us to starve and wither away to nothing inside this… this prison!” Her dark eyes narrowed dangerously. “Your precious ‘princess’ has left us here to die.”

“You think that justifies what you have done?” I rumbled. “Your people attacked innocents who had done you no harm whatsoever, sucking the life out of foals and adults alike.” I waved a hoof at the pitiable creatures being lead or carried from their cocoons. Many of them looked half dead already, whilst some would likely not survive the trip home without my help. “Look at what they’ve done, Sliver! Do you think this right?!” I let out a snort of white mist. “You view us as nothing more than food,” I hissed. “Is that why you invaded Equestria? To feed upon our people, our friends, and our families?”

“FOOL!” she shrieked. “You ARE food! All of you are nothing compared to our people! You are cattle, cattle to be fattened and bled to feed those who will one day be your masters. Our great queen will soon become the undisputed ruler of your land and dominate the whole of Equestria, nay, the entire world! You cannot stop us. Nothing can stop us! Whether today, tomorrow, or ten moons from now, all of you will be drained to serve her glorious majesty!”

I could almost feel the scythe on my back crying out to be freed. “Sliver,” I said in a low voice, “I will ask you once only. If you value your life and those of your people, answer truthfully.”

She sneered at me. “Your weakness shows, Equestrian. Your show of magic does not frighten me nor does it intimidate us. Ask your question then. Ask, and I shall answer.”

I unbuckled my scythe, letting the haft slip past my hoof to rest on the gritty soil. The grain of the wood felt smooth, old... reliable. A press of the release catch sent the blade snaking out to lock into place, the green light of the changelings land glinting off its razor sharp edge. Magic roiled through me, the warriors around the changelings watching me as much as their charges.

“Tell me then, changeling,” I asked, “where is the grey foal - the unicorn with the yellow eyes?”

Her eyes were locked on the blade. “The foal…” Her earlier bravado faltered momentarily. “Yes, the foal. He is the source, the one who shall give us power - the strength we need to break free of our bonds and take back what is ours.”

“The source of what?” I asked.

She closed her eyes, licking her lips. “The foal has an inner power, an endless supply of emotion and strength to feed our queen and give her the strength to break the barrier.”

“You have already broken free of the barrier,” I stated plainly. “Your people have invaded Equestria without need to destroy the magic that has imprisoned you.”

She snorted loudly. “The doorways?” The mare tossed her head. “They are no more than a single hole that is holding back the flood. Take them away, remove the barrier, and we will drown you as surely as a dam breaking before a storm. For now the witch can plug those holes with her magic, when she finds them. But we seek more. Much more. The day of reckoning will soon be upon you.”

“Where is he now?”

She stared at the blade then did the worst thing she could have done - she laughed. “You think I’ll tell you?” the changeling grinned. “You are nothing! Your people are nothing. You are simply cattle, cattle to be drained and...”

I turned to see a foal fall in the dirt, his face covered in bruises and dried blood. He looked up at me as the hippogriff gently picked him up and placed him on his back. The small pony’s body was almost skeletal, his colour washed out and pale… he was so small…

“…you are pathetic! None of you will-”

Her mouth was still moving when her head hit the floor, my tears landing in the dirt around my hooves like crystals of frozen pain. I took a deep breath while snow began to fall around me.

“Kill them.”

Heavy Hoof frowned, unsure if he had heard me correctly. “My Lord?”

“You heard me.” Blue fire reflected in his dark eyes, shimmering like mirrors from Hades. “Kill them all, every single damned one of them.”

I stood there, my eyes closed, drinking in the changlings escaping energy until I was near drowning in their released life essence. The shrieking, clicking, and screams of the living blended with those of the dying, washing over me in a wave of glorious suffering. The irony was delicious, if somewhat bitter-sweet. They had drained our energy, stealing the life of our people, including my beloved Tingles. And now, I drank theirs to feed those from whom they had stolen. It was only fitting. There could be no redemption for such evil creatures. The solution was simple really too - they had to die. All of them. I would show them as much mercy as they had shown my people - none. Mercy, was for the weak.

Nimble walked over to me, his grey coat spattered in gore. “Captain? I-”

I held up a hoof. “I know what you’re going to say, Corporal and I’m only going to say this to you: if you want to leave, then leave. I won’t stop you, but so long as I draw breath I will not allow these monsters to hurt another pony, nor any other living thing. I will find my son, I will bring him home, and anypony, any thing who gets in my way, will die.” I looked at him square in the eyes, my cheeks still damp with tears. Loofa stood listening beside him as I said, “Leave if you want to, Corporal. Nopony will stop you.”

I walked away, not bothering to hear his reply. If there even was one. My mind was a blank, wiped clean of such frivolous weaknesses and distracting considerations as empathy, understanding, and compassion. The mission was my only concern now, as well the safe return of our people. Nothing could distract me from this. Nothing at all. I walked over to where the tribe’s medics were tending to the freed prisoners. The surgeon saw me approach and shook her head in dismay.

“We have to get them out of here, My Lord,” she said gravely. “Some of them won’t last long otherwise.”

Heavy Hoof joined us, thumping his axe into the ground by his hooves. “We cannot send warriors back. We must stay together.”

Loofa nodded. “Cap’, Heavy’s right, we’re understrength as it is and if we divide our force we’ll be leaving ourselves open to attack. On the other hoof, if we keep them with us, some are going to die.” He hung his head for a moment before adding, “It’s your call.”

One of the freed captives was being hugged by Olive Glass who was whimpering and crying into their fur. I couldn’t take my off her. She was just an everyday mare out on a trip to the capital to join in the festivities that only a royal wedding could bring, yet instead of cakes, music, flag waving and joy, her world had been turned into a living nightmare beyond imagination. Mothers, daughters, fathers, sons… it didn’t matter to these things who they destroyed. They were a virus – a plague. I closed my eyes. No, this had to end. This had to end now.

I shook my head. “Heavy Hoof, organise a small detachment and two of our scouts. Find a sky carriage, there must be something around here we can use, and get them back to Equestria as fast as possible.”

The large minotaur warrior slowly nodded his head. “As you command, My Lord”

Damn these things, what the hell else was I to do? Sending them back would weaken my force, but bringing them with us would be like having a millstone around our necks. We couldn’t communicate with the troops on the other side of the portal to send help, and besides, they had been expressly forbidden from interfering. That bloody Colonel Quartz would see to that, that was for damned sure.

I held up the crystal pendant, watching it glow before me as brightly as ever. “Get them on their way, doctor. The rest of us, let’s pack up and move out.”

Soon, with the worst affected stabilised and made comfortable, the evacuation team set off on their journey back to the portal as the rest of us moved onward, following the light of the pendant. To my surprise, Nimble drew up alongside me. We walked in silence for a while before he finally spoke.

“Cap’?”

“Nimble.”

He took a breath. “What was that business about Lumin being the ‘source’?”

I pondered that for while. I’d heard the word before, both from Sliver and one of her underlings in the forest. Lumin was ‘the source’ apparently, but the source of what? The only thing that made sense to me was that they were going to tap into his ‘power’ somehow, and it was this which the queen of the changelings was going to use to break through the barrier and launch an all out attack Equestria.

“He’s inherited my family’s magic, and that of Etrida as well,” I answered. “Luna said he would grow to be immensely strong in magic, and it seems that our changeling friends want to tap into that to break free and attack our home.”

“But... ‘tapping into that’, would mean-”

“Draining him, yes,” I finished for him. “But from what that creature said, he was like some bottomless well for them to drain, again and again and again…” Anger, tinged with a hint of fear for my son’s safety, shivered through me as I gripped my scythe tightly in my magic. Stowing it away I snorted, “This isn’t just about Lumin now, Corporal. I think you can see that for yourself now.”

He bobbed his head, his eyes staring at the ground. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good, that’s as it should be.” I tried to smile, to comfort my friend, but all I could manage was a cold, hard grimace. “Come on, hopefully we won’t have far to travel.”

We trudged on, following the beacon’s light, the troops back in their column formation and scouts flying out as our eyes and ears. Joining them, Loofa flew a circuit around us, using his keen eyes to watch out for any threats. There was a sense of tension in the air but the troops were in good spirits, with Heavy Hoof leading some song about females and… unicycles? I tried to make it all out but could only catch the chorus, “When she rides, she’s like the tide, she’s rolling in and she’s rolling out. Hey fi! Hey Fo! She likes a buck and a fol de do!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself. Even Nimble smiled, nudging me, “Never heard that one before. Bloody hell, it’s a bit near the knuckle too! I’m going to see one of the lads later to get the lyrics. Never know when a good song will come in handy round the campfire.”

“That’s all we need,” I beamed. “The singing corporal!”

He smiled expansively. “I’ll keep it quiet around Ruffles though. I don’t think she’d appreciate it.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” I said glancing over my shoulder. Sure enough, the female warriors were joining in as much as the males. “Something tells me our feminine contingent will have songs just as bawdy.” Not only that, but Nimble seemed to be painfully innocent sometimes, particularly when it came to girls. If that photograph he had of his marefriend was anything to go by, I suspected our young Ruffles was a touch more frisky than young Nimble realised. One day, and in the not too distant future, he would be in for a quite a surprise by my reckoning. We didn’t have a chance to hear the song through though as Loofa abruptly shot forward like a comet to meet one of the scouts coming back the other way. Heavy Hoof noticed it too, waving to the column which immediately fell silent.

Loofa landed beside us. “The scout reports there’s a castle over the next rise, Captain. By the looks of it, we’re expected too.”

“Enemy numbers?”

“From what we can see,” he said, settling his wings, “around twice our number, including several giants and those large changelings. They’re formed up for battle Cap’. Looks we’re in for a scrap alright.”

Heavy Hoof snorted, his expressionless face twitching into what I could only presume was an attempt at a smile. “We’ll give them one.”

I clopped him on the elbow. “Why not let me give them a little taster first, eh?”

The magic of my ancestors surged through me as Maroc’s memories found their outlet once more, flooding my mind with images of battles, tactics, and combat manoeuvres from a thousand years ago. It was all there laid out in perfect detail, everything from where best to place archers, spear carriers, aerial units, magic users, assault troops, and more. Much more. I think Miss Sparkle would have liked being a wendigo; having a library in your head would probably appeal to the young academic protégé of the princess. Whether she would have appreciated the topic however, was a different matter. For her it would be a fascinating insight into the past. For me, it was a matter of life and death, for me, my people, and my son. At first it had been unsettling seeing somepony else’s memories as though they were your own, hearing their voices, sometimes even having conversations with them. Thank the goddess they were at least interesting. And that the goddess too, that hearing voices wasn’t the sign of insanity that it normally would have suggested. Mind you, sometimes I seriously wondered about that last point. We reached the peak of the rise indicated by the scouts and kept out of sight once more, peering down to the changeling army below. It was a fraction of the size the invasion force had been, but still substantial. Had they split their force for some reason? Whatever had happened to them, at least they weren’t here now, and that was to our advantage. Still, we underestimated them at our peril. Coming at us piecemeal through the portal we’d had them in a bottleneck and could concentrate all our strength in a localised area. Here, their numbers would be a challenge, and there was always the danger of their fellows putting in an appearance once the battle was joined. If we were going to do this we’d have to do it quickly and decisively. I gave the orders for our warriors to form up, three ranks deep and ready to engage. The heavy warriors would fight in the front ranks and then change with those behind so none were in battle for very long, giving each a chance to rest before returning to the fight. Of course, that was ideal for a set piece battle and utterly useless against magical energy weapons, but so far, we’d held our own. The changelings tactics so far had been mass wave attacks and close in melee. This lot however, looked somehow a damned sight more organised than I’d expected. Giants, or whatever the hell they were, headed their column. These would be the veritable battering ram of the assault. The smaller changelings made up the bulk of their forces, with the taller ones most likely acting as officers would in your more traditional military setup. Still, one thing struck me about this whole sitiation as being decidedly odd - there were no flankers of pickets of any kind that I could see. Normally they acted as the eyes and ears of the main force, protecting the bulk of the army from surprise attacks. This gave me some cause for concern, however as Maroc’s memories reminded me, ‘Never interrupt an enemy when they’re making a mistake’. They certainly seemed to have made one now. Or was I overlooking something here? I had full confidence in our warriors to handle anything that came their way of course, I’d watched them in action and had always been impressed by their discipline. From what Grimble had told me they’d been trained in the martial arts from birth, ready for the day they were called upon to serve the Lord of the Four Winds once more. Now, their time, as well as mine, had finally come. That said, it didn’t mean I had the right to throw their lives away by rash actions.

“No scouts,” I said quietly.

“Could be a trap, boss,” Loofa replied.

“Or arrogant over-confidence,” I replied. “Even so, if we don’t deal with them now they’ll be between us and the way home. When the shit hits the fan I want a clear run out of this shithole.”

He squinted, focussing on the massed ranks below. “You think they may have your lad with them?”

“If they do then we may just get a chance to get out of this without a blood-bath,” I suggested. I lifted the pendant, noting the glow. “It’s no brighter though.” Slipping it back into my tunic I moved back, addressing my entourage. “Time for a bit of diplomacy, I think.”

“What, you want to go and talk to them?” Loofa blinked in surprise. “Erm, I hate to say it, but that didn’t really work so well last time, Cap’.”

I huffed, shaking out my wings. “Nothing ventured, Loofa...”

I took to the air with Loofa and our griffin commander, Halberd. She was a quiet sort, and one I hadn’t spoken to except for a brief introduction in the Wyvern’s Tail one evening. Like the rest of the tribe she’d simply accepted me as the leader without question. I could only pray that her confidence in me was justified. The three of us glided down the reverse slope, landing around a hundred yards from the changeling force and waited for one of their number to react. Loofa opened his mouth to speak just as a large changeling pushed her way through the throng and approached us, flanked by two of the gnarled looking giants. She had the same look of distaste and arrogance as the last one I’d encountered in the village. Hell, the bloody thing even looked the same! Perhaps they could tell each other apart by the arrangement of holes in their bodies or something. The female, her head held high, stopped a few feet away and lifted her muzzle, staring at me as if she’d smelled something distasteful.

“Why are you in our territory, Equestrian?” she demanded. “Speak!”

Ah, so introductions weren’t the order of the day here it seemed. I shook my mane, trying to weigh her up. Was she playing for time, or was she genuinely surprised to see us there? “Perhaps you haven’t been keeping up with recent events, madam,” I said politely. “It appears that some of your ‘friends’ have invaded Equestria, attacked the royal family, and taken to kidnapping our people.” I cocked my head to one side, eyeing her. “I doubt you’d be all that surprised that there’d be some level of… what would you say now, ‘retaliation’? Is that the word?”

“Who are you?” She asked irritably.

“Who am I?” I nodded to my griffin commander. “Halberd, do the honours would you please?”

The grizzled veteran stood straight and tall, calling out to those around us, her voice like the cry of the eagle in the mountain tops. “Before you is the Lord of the Fortress of the Four Winds, Lord of the tribe of the Four Winds, descendant of Maroc and Arathea, last of the wendigo, and bringer of the northern winds.”

I looked at Loofa. “Oooh, she’s good! I like the ‘bringer of the northern winds’ bit. Not sure what she means, but hell, y’know, I’d go with it.”

The changeling glared at me. “What do you want, Equestrian? Speak quickly!”

Magic flowed around me and I ruffled my wings, allowing the fog to build around me and roll out around the hooves and feet of our adversaries. The changeling female looked down worriedly. “Let’s see now…Oh, yes!” I stepped forward and bared my teeth. “Give me back the ‘source’ and any other Equestrians you may have. Or…” my voice lowered to a growl, “I’ll kill the bucking lot of you.”

“What? You?” She sputtered. “You think you could actually defeat us? You come into our land with your pretentious magic and half-breed freaks and demand we surrender the source?” The mare began to laugh, but even then I could hear a note of uncertainty enter her voice. “You must be insane. He is our prize! He is the key to us escaping this accursed land.”

My teeth itched as I glared at her. “I don’t give a damn about that. You can argue all you like with Celestia, or whoever else locked you in here. This is between you and my tribe.” I took a breath, trying to control my rising temper. “Give me back the foal you stole.”

“The queen will not-”

“Ah, yes! The queen,” I said loudly, cutting her off. “Bring her out would you? I’d like to speak with her. It’s always better to deal with the organ grinder than the monkey.”

I must have hit a nerve as the haughty creature hissed at me furiously. “You insolent dog!” she roared. “How dare you speak to me in such a manner!” She closed her eyes, shaking her wings in a display I presume was meant to intimidate. “Her majesty is away on business. I am regent here, and I speak for her in her absence. And I say you will NOT have the source. He is far too valuable to be left in the hooves of some… some beast of the fields.”

Loofa spoke next. “Miss, please, you really don’t want to go down this path. Your people will stand a better chance of negotiating a favourable deal with Celestia if you release the foal. Surely you can see that?”

The creature’s wings buzzed angrily. “All I ‘see’, pony, are Equestrians in our homeland, threatening us unless we accede to their ridiculous demands.” She tossed her mane imperiously. “You will leave at once and not return, Equestrian. Be grateful that I do not slay you were you stand. These negotiations are over.”

Loofa held up a hoof in protest but I stopped him with a loud snort and a flap of my wings. “Remember Shard, changeling?”

She paused in mid-turn to look at me. “What do you mean… ‘remember’?”

Loofa muttered under his breath, “Oh goddesses, Fairlight, don’t!”

But my blood was on fire, the blue blaze of my eyes burning with the storm of magic swirling around and through me. I bared my teeth, the whist mist dripping from my maw to the ground. “You’ll be finding out if you don’t hoof over the foal, you reeking piece of filth. GIVE ME BACK MY SON!”

The changeling took a step back, “I-”

And then the lid really did blow of the pot. An arrow suddenly thudded into Loofa’s shoulder and he fell back on his haunches with a cry of pain. A moment later one of the giants suddenly took a step forward, swinging his huge black club at me which I dodged nimbly before bringing my scythe round and raking it across the things face, blinding it. With a horrible scream, the giant flailed with its club, smashing the changeling leader’s head into black and grey paste which flew in the air like hell’s fountain. I fired a beam of concentrated magic from my horn, taking the giant’s head off at the neck as the other lunged at Loofa. He managed to fly up and away from the thing just time for me to breathe another blast of magic at the monster, turning its head into a frozen lump that shattered into pink lumps when it hit the ground. Halberd and I leaped high into the air and I screamed my war cry to the heavens, the horns and battle cries of our warriors echoing in response. The ground and even the air began to shake as they charged.

The battle, at last, was joined.

Below us the changelings seemed unsure of what to do next. With their leader gone they appeared to be having difficulty in deciding on a course of action, and so simply stood frozen in place instead. It was a fatal error. The warriors of the tribe surged down the slope, ploughing through the changeling ranks like they were as substantial as a warm breath on a winter’s morning. I flew above the mass of panicked creatures, my magic lashing through them, cutting them down in droves. The slaughter was beyond imagining, the screams and howls of the dead and dying echoing in the valley around me - and yet I laughed. I laughed and I sang. This was why I was alive! No, this was beyond life, beyond such foolishness as love and joy. This... this was ecstasy. My wendigo spirit thrilled in the fight and I danced through the air, cutting down the flying black creatures, bringing a black rain to the parched land beneath the green sky. The warriors below gritted their teeth, bellowed and shrieked as they swung, thrust, and cut their way through the fleeing changelings. Most of the things died quickly, some trampled by their own as they attempted to escape, whilst others simply stood there in shock. Devoid of leadership they were as lost as a soul in the underworld. The boats of Tartarus would be filled to bursting this day, and I revelled in every delectable moment of it. I don’t know how long the carnage lasted. Those that fled were hunted down quickly and killed until, there were simply no more changelings. None living anyway. Silence fell as heavy as a shroud upon the battlefield before the castle, the great stone fortress standing there as mute witness to the slaughter of its own people. Heavy Hoof stood breathing heavily, his huge chest rising and falling whilst sporting a grin on his big bullish face. Around me, the tired but smiling faces of my warriors was a sight that filled my heart.

Dusk Haze walked over to us and grinned, “My Lord, the gates are open.”

I lifted my head, staring up at the large arched gateway. Green tinged light spilled through the opening, yet of any signs of life within, there was none - no archers on the battlements, no guards spilling out to defend their home. Nothing. I didn’t like it. It was time to gather my commanders, leaving Loofa to be tended to by the medics. It didn’t look as though the arrow had hit anything vital, but I’d rather he had professional help rather than just yank the damned thing out. Walking over to the veterans, every eye was upon me. Heavy Hoof was ready to charge in already, whilst the others too were wide eyed with the flush of adrenalin from our victory.

“Steady Commander,” I cautioned the minotaur, holding out my foreleg. “A spider lets its prey enter her web before springing the trap.”

He snorted and lowered his axe, irritated at the lack of inaction. “What do we do?”

“We accept the invitation, naturally,” I smiled. “Just in our own way. Halberd, come with me.” With a strong beat of my wings I flew up and landed on one of the turrets with the griffin commander as the rest of the winged warriors circled, watching for any signs of movement.

One of the scouts called down, “No sign of anything, My Mord, there doesn’t seem to be anypony here.”

I held up the beacon, its light stronger and brighter than it had been earlier, leading straight to the largest building in the castle. I channelled my magic and sent my voice out, letting it resonate around the castle’s interior, the temperature dropping as the magical winds whistled through the seemingly deserted structure. “Your soldiers are slain, your castle is surrounded. I give you one chance, as I gave them. Surrender the source or we will put you all to the sword. I will spare none who dare harm my son.”

Silence.

“Heavy Hoof,” I called down to the minotaur. He stared at the open gate, waiting. “Take this place apart. If they resist, kill them.”

The minotaur snorted, hefting his axe. “Yes, My Lord.”

Heavy Hoof was in his element now. Like some well oiled machine the tribe’s warriors began their search of the castle. But as the scouts had already confirmed, the place was, for the most part, completely deserted. We located some more captives, all of them held in those sickening cocoons. Like the ones we’d recovered from the village, they were found and freed before being sent to the medics for treatment. Meanwhile myself, Nimble, and two of our warriors raced through the strange black walled castle following the beacon’s light. Corridor after corridor, doorways and rooms all flashed by in a blur as I raced to find my son, lead on by the ever increasing light from Star Swirl’s pendant. I suppose I would have liked to have spent more time examining this strange alien place, but right then, right there, there was only one focus for me – Lumin. With the enemy defeated they would be desperate, and desperation could lead them to act rashly. Finally the glowing crystal led me to a large set of heavy black doors. They were locked solid.

Nimble moved up beside and cleared his throat meaningfully. “Cap’, let me. Your magic’s a bit… you know…” He held up a breaching charge from his saddle pack.

Snorting, I backed away as he set the small explosive device on the door. My heart was thundering now, my mind focussed on Lumin. My son was in there. I knew he was! With a nod, Nimble set the device off which blew the centre of the door out, allowing him to buck them so hard they flew open with a crash almost as loud at the explosion.

“And you think I’m excessive?” I muttered before rushing headling into the room.

My hooves clattered on tiled floors, my breathing heavy and eyes wide. The interior held several cowering changelings, a few armoured guards, and a large cocoon that was surrounded by glowing green pillars. The cocoon was a peculiar, slick construction with bubbles running through it, the translucent centre allowing a clear view of its tiny occupant, curled up in a ball with his eyes tight shut. He looked like he was asleep, or… I changed focus. Before me, covered in smoke and debris from the exploding door, a dark blue robed changeling with a long flowing white mane was trying to pick himself up off the floor. The others stood there motionless as I strode over and grabbed the creature in my magic, allowing my warriors to back the other changelings into the corner. They offered no resistance.

I tightened my grip on the changeling’s throat. “Release him.”

The creature choked, struggling for a moment before relenting. “He… He is the source…”

“He’s my son, changeling.” I hissed. “I won’t repeat myself again.”

He swallowed. “I… I cannot.”

“Cannot, or will not?” I asked. I snorted loudly, shoving the creature aside. “You drain the emotions of others don’t you? Suck it out of them?” I motioned over to one of the cowering changelings. “Bring it over.” The minotaur warrior dragged one of the struggling creatures over to stand before me. I looked into the insectoid things eyes. Those emotionless orbs stared back at me, alien and unblinking. “Strange creature, isn’t it,” I said, softly stroking its head, “Do you think it would hurt, having its life essence drained from its body? I imagine it would. All it takes is just one little nip and then I simply take it all away. And you know, right now...” I bared my teeth. “I’m very, very thirsty.” The creature stared up at me, clicking and buzzing nervously.

The robed one gasped, “You… you won’t! You’re a pony!”

“Wrong on both counts I’m afraid,” I replied calmly. “Firstly, yes, I will do it, and secondly, I’m a wendigo, not a pony.” I stared into the large changeling’s eyes, my voice dropping to low growl. “And I’m your worst bucking nightmare. Release my son or I’ll kill every single changeling I find in this sick land of yours until the whole of Equestria forgets your monstrous kind ever existed.” I smiled, “You won’t need to break free then, will you? Think of it as me doing you a favour.”

He stared at me in absolute horror. “You’re insane!” he gasped. “A demon!”

“Now I haven’t heard that for a while!” I laughed, giving my mane a shake. “What nostalgia!” I turned, smiling to Nimble, “Forget it. Corporal, we’ll take the cocoon with us. Kill the rest.”

Nimble drew his sword. “Yes, My Lord.”

The changelings eyes watched the blade come free, listening to the sound as it left its scabbard. “NO!” the robed one shrieked. “I’ll release him! Just don’t… don’t kill them. Please!”

“You see, Corporal, they do know how to be civil after all.” I lowered the changeling to the floor and shouldered my war scythe. “In your own time, friend.”

The changeling nodded, closed his eyes and concentrated. Slowly, his horn started to glow, pulsing with magic energy as the curious green light synchronised with the pillars around the cocoon. My mouth went dry. Heat was beginning to pour off the thing in waves, shimmering in the air, the fluid inside bubbling furiously. I felt myself begin to panic. Just when I was about to charge in the cocoon abruptly broke open with a gut wrenching cracking sound as the fluid poured out in a rush on to the hard floor. Carefully, the robed changeling reached in and brought out the soaking body of Lumin and passed him to me.

“He is unharmed, Equestrian.”

I stared down at the tiny form of my son, stroking him gently and trying to listen for any sign of a heartbeat or breath. But even then, even in my state of elation, I felt a wave of bitter cold soak into my heart. My son… my precious son! Closing my eyes I concentrated, pressing my ear to his chest. “He isn’t breathing…” I said quietly.

“He will,” the changeling said urgently, “his body is readjusting…” He lifted a hoof. “See! He lives.”

True to his word, the changeling was right. Lumin’s body shook suddenly and he coughed out a lungful of the fluid he’d been suspended in, his hooves twitching and eyes slowly opening. A pair of tiny yellow eyes, rich as molten gold and bright as the morning sun, looked up at me as he tried to speak. All that emerged was a gargled squeak. But it was enough. I held him tenderly to my chest and tried to send my body’s warmth into his - he was freezing cold. The changeling watched me with its dark eyes, so pony-like, yet so strangely alien to us.

“You have your foal,” he said coldly, “now leave us in peace.”

I placed Lumin in my fleece lined pannier I’d prepared for bringing him home before addressing the changeling. “Who are you?”

He seemed surprised I’d bothered to ask. “I am Tena,” he said, swallowing. “A simple member of the royal court.”

“A simple member, eh?” I said doubtfully. It didn’t matter, he could keep his secrets now. “So tell me, Tena, why?”

“Why?”

“Yes, why.” I regarded him with my blue eyed gaze. “Why invade Equestria. Why kidnap our people and do this to them? Surely there must have been a better way than this?”

He shook his head sorrowfully. “We have lived like this, in the darkness, imprisoned from the sun in the heavens, for years beyond counting. We are all prisoners here, each and every one of us. Prisoners, of your beloved princess.” I wasn’t so sure about that part. He continued after sitting on his haunches and rubbing his neck. “Do you have any idea what that is like? Generation after generation of your children growing up in a prison, never seeing the sun or the moon? Never to know the taste of clean water, to feel the warmth of summer or the cold of winter? Why should they suffer for something that our ancestors did?”

“What did your ancestor’s do?” I asked genuinely intrigued.

He clucked his tongue, tossing his mane bitterly. “What did they do? They made a pact with a monster, a vile creature that promised them eternal life, happiness…” He sighed loudly. “The usual lies to draw in the unwary, and by the gods we were.” He shook his head. “The price was this.” Tena held up his legs which showed the holes his kind had in abundance. “We are like these now: empty, hungry, always hungering.” On some level I knew what that was like. Tena hung his head. “Some time ago, another liar appeared and dripped honeyed words into the ear of our beloved queen. Poisoned words promising escape, and power, power to even change the fate of our people…”

“Who was this?” I asked quietly.

“She called herself the ‘Mistress’.” He gave an ironic laugh. “The same name many of our people use to describe our queen. I overheard some of her colleagues call her by another name when they thought none of us was listening. They called her... ‘Annabelle’.” My eyes went wide and he looked up at me from under his heavy brows. “You know her, wendigo, don’t you?”

I nodded. “Yes, Tena… Yes, I do. You’re not the only one she’s played with. She’s played us all.” Turning, I motioned my warriors to follow me out. “Tena, you have shown me a side of your people I wish I had seen before this nightmare began. Perhaps… Perhaps if I had only met you sooner...” I closed my eyes and wished the images away. “Celestia is willing to negotiate with you, to help your people. Seize that opportunity and bring your people out of the darkness. You may find her more willing to help you than you expect.”

He gave a thin smile. “I can only hope so.”

“Tell your people to let us go in peace and I will leave your lands as quickly as I can.” I bobbed my head to him respectfully. “Farewell, Tena. I pray that one day we will meet again. In happier times.”

Outside, the tribe’s warriors had wasted no time gathering up prisoners and tending to the wounded, repairing weapons, and all the other things soldiers do when they have spare time on their hooves. Card games had sprung up spontaneously around the place too, together with shouts of laughter and dismay.

Nimble tapped me on the elbow. “Cap’? What now?”

I paused, staring up at the strange green sky.“We’re going home, my friend. We’re all going home.”

The changelings from the castle unmolested, we backtracked through the changeling’s lands, following the scouts who helped us to navigate this odd terrain. I don’t think I’d ever wanted to leave a place as much as I had this one. I didn’t even know its name, or if it even had one. Not that it really mattered, it wasn’t exactly a holiday destination anypony in their right mind would want to visit, and I had no intention of coming back here any time soon either. Or ever for that matter. Walking with the people of my tribe I could see the scarred and battered warriors sporting odd trinkets: swords, helmets, banners, and all manner of oddities. It was as if I’d gone to war with a bunch of magpies. They were laughing and joking, swapping the things they’d collected along the way like kids on summer break. I couldn’t help but smile as Maroc’s memories pulled at me, and I plunged into them willingly, leaving part of my consciousness plodding along in the waking world.

“Maroc,” I said respectfully.

“You’ve come a long way, Fairlight,” the grey stallion said in his customarily calm voice. “The spirit burns brightly within you, as it does with your son.”

Arathea’s appeared beside him, her lilting voice warming my heart. “He is strong with your magic, Fairlight. He has the strength of the elder dragon inside him.”

“Whilst he is young, he will be vulnerable and a target because of who and what he is,” Vela said in his deep timbre. “Keep him safe, Fairlight, the future of the tribe is in his hooves - and yours.”

Maroc stepped forward. “Beware on your way home, Fairlight. This is the time when an army is at its most weakest, when they have thrown away their caution in the afterglow of victory. Here they will be vulnerable and not expecting an attack. Keep alert my descendant. Remember… always keep alert.”

The green glow of the changeling realm oozed back into my conscious mind and I looked around me. There was nothing but dead trees and that constant green glow for what looked like miles in every direction. We’d slaughtered the changelings, their invasion force, the one at the castle - what the hell could they have left anyway? Maroc’s warnings were valid, sure, but we’d be home soon enough, and then I’d be able to get this little one back to him mum. I cooed at him in his pannier. The carrier was armoured and sat on my back, if a little awkwardly, but it did the job well enough. Still, I didn’t think I’d need to worry too much about fighting now, thank Luna. We kept following our tracks back the way we came. It wasn’t exactly hard, the army had- What was that? I squinted, trying to make it out. Ahead of the column, one of the scouts was circling like some vulture over a corpse. Moments later they rushed back to land before Heavy Hoof, the two conferring with each other. Heavy nodded, then hurried over to his troops whilst the griffin headed my way.

“My Lord,” the warrior reported smartly. “One of the scouts we sent back with the captives we rescued…” He swallowed. “He’s dead. Shot though with arrows.”

I hung my head and took a breath. “What about the rest of them?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know, My Lord. Their tracks continue over the ones we made coming here, they don’t deviate from them.” The griffin grimaced. “There’s more. I saw a large column of dust in the direction of the portal. I would have gone to investigate, however I saw fliers above it. My orders are-”

“I know,” I finished for him. “You did the right thing, brother.” I clopped him on the shoulder. “Join the others now, we’re going to need every hoof and claw we can.” I turned to my officers. “Heavy Hoof, Nimble, Halberd,” I said urgently, “Get your warriors shit together and get ready for engagement. Double time them, I’m going up for a look. Scouts and flankers out.”

A familiar face appeared beside me. “Need an extra pair of eyes?” Loofa smiled at me. “That silver stuff of yours worked a treat.” He brushed at his shoulder where the vicious arrow wound had been, showing off the bald spot. The flesh had already healed over, leaving it nearly white. “Takes a bit out of you though.”

“Me too,” I grinned. “You okay to be up here?”

“Sure,” he assured me. “Doc says I’m in one piece, just need to build my energy reserves back up apparently. I think you should work on the taste and smell of that stuff though, it’s like dog breath.”

“Oh, thanks! Maybe I should have brushed my teeth first, eh?”

“Ha!” Loofa chuckled. “You’re welcome.”

We soared above the empty land until we saw them. Sure enough, what the casual observer could have easily mistaken to be heat haze proved to be a huge mass of changelings, and sporting more of the giants mixed amongst their ranks for good measure too. They were stood in a direct line to our destination - the portal home. If this lot had caught up with our released prisoners they wouldn’t have stood a hope in hell.

Loofa grimaced. “There’s a lot of them… A hell of a lot. Think they came through the portal?”

I shook my head. “No, not past the army and agency crew. These things have magic but they’re no match for the amount of firepower around that portal now. No, my guess is they either came through another one and were on their way back to the castle or it’s a relief force heading out that we missed somehow. Whatever it was, it looks like the buckers ran into our people.”

“They could have made it through,” Loofa offered optimistically.

I felt a cold flash of anger sear through my heart. “I hope you’re right. By the goddess, Loofa, I really do. Those poor sods...” I closed my eyes. “I should have-”

He lay a hoof on my shoulder. “You did what you had to. The only thing you could do,” Loofa said firmly. “If you’d brought them with us half would have died on the way, and the rest would have been a liability. We’d have had to have split our forces in half just to protect them.” He shook his head. “Don’t start second guessing yourself now, boss, we need you. Lumin needs you.”

I clopped him on the shoulder and nodded my head without replying, returning my attention to the black mass before us. It was difficult to say at this distance, but there was definitely the remains of a couple of carts at the rear of the mass of changelings, many of whom buzzed through the air like some massive swarm of devilish bees. Their ground forces outnumbered us horribly as well, and right now, things didn’t look favourable for us at all. Damn it, Maroc had been right – the bastards had been waiting for us. Heavy Hoof and the rest of the warriors thundered up, coming to a halt below us. Landing, I addressed him.

“We’re in for a fight my friend,” I said honestly. “We’re heavily outnumbered too.”

The minotaur grinned, showing me his huge white teeth. “Small chance of winning, big chance of dying.”

Loofa chipped in, “What’s not to like, eh?”

I shook my head, chuckling despite the worry gripping my heart. “Where do you guys pick these things up from? Gah!”

Nimble trotted up. “Captain? The troops are in position. We’re ready when you are.”

I nodded, taking to the air once more. Commander Halberd joined me, flying up alongside Loofa and myself, the veteran giving the pegasus a cheeky wink as she did so. Loofa grinned back at her before turning to me.

“Getting déjà vu here, Cap’,” the pegasus said ironically. “Maybe I should have gotten some of that armour from the quartermaster after all.”

“Just try not to get shot this time then will you?” I jibed, “Can’t have you wasting the medic’s time again.”

He chuckled, tossing his mane. “I’ll do my best, boss. What’s the plan, drop a few names here and there?”

“I don’t see why not,” I said. “Tena seems to be one of the head honchos around these parts, so with any luck we can get safe passage out of here. Goddess willing, if they’ve taken prisoners we may be able to negotiate them back too. It’s got to be worth a shot.”

Halberd looked around suddenly and called to us animatedly. “I don’t think they’re open to negotiations this time, they’re coming right at us!”

Damn it all! “Shit!” I swore, pulling in my wings. “Let’s haul flank!”

We dove like comets, sweeping back to the rest of the assembled tribe and landed in a shower of earth. We barely had time to ready ourselves for the coming onslaught, however I did have one ace up my sleeve to play still. Whether it worked or not however, remained to be seen.

One of sappers rushed up, clopping his hoof to his heart. “Field has been sown, my Lord Fairlight.”

I smiled, treating him to my toothy grin. “Excellent news. Get back to your section, they’ll need you.”

Nimble shook his mane. “It’s bucking typical, isn’t it? Just when you think a job’s nearly finished, some bastard comes and ruins it for you.”

“Oh, I would worry too much just yet,” I said, readying my pulse gun and removing a leather case from my pannier. “My dad used to say, ‘It’s always nice to go out with a bang’.” I held up the MAD remote. “It may not be Nightmare Night, but I always do so enjoy a good firework display.” The ground shook with the rumbling of the changelings as their main force charged, the fliers above them turning the sky near black with their sheer numbers. Among them, larger changelings and giants lumbered forward, hissing, bellowing and clicking, the whole terrifying scene sending a chill up my spine. Thank the goddesses for Brandy Wine, he’d come through with the goods. And now… let’s just hope the bloody things worked. “Annnd…” I clicked the detonator, “Let the show begin!” I was near blinded by the intense flash of light, the sound coming in moments later. “GET DOWN!” I screamed, but the warriors didn’t need any telling. The combined blast was a hell of a lot stronger than I remembered. What in Equestria had they put in those things? I didn’t recall them being this powerful!

Wind, grit, rock, and body parts hammered down around us even as the shrieking and bellowing remainder of the enemy force crashed into us. Even with their forces massively reduced, they still heavily outnumbered us. Our ranks bent beneath the enraged onslaught, wavered, and then held fast. We were holding our own, but now, it was a fight for our lives. The clash of steel and flash of magic rippled along the lines back and forth, warriors falling and being dragged back by their comrades, changelings dropping around us like flies in a tornado from the blaster fire. Despite the bravery and skill of our troops, regardless of the MAD blasts, these damnable creatures fought with a determination and tenacity that was unlike anything we’d encountered so far. I knew why too - Lumin. Tena had said he was the key to their prison, and they sure as hell weren’t going to pass this opportunity up lightly. They didn’t seem too bothered about injuring him in the process either, as their sheer numbers threatened to swamp us comletely. I wasn’t exactly much help with Lumin on my back either. It was time to pull one last rabbit out of the hat.

I took out the crystal orb, held it to my lips, and kissed it gently. “Etrida…”

A voice, feminine yet full of unfathomable power, rumbled back a moment later. “Ah, Lord Fairlight, I presume. Want something do you?”

Goddess save me from females! “My fat’s really in the fire now, Etrida,” I said earnestly. “Some backup would be gratefully received right about now.”

There was a pause. “Do you have my Lumin with you?”

I nodded. “I do, but he’s getting jostled a bit.”

“Now that I won’t stand for!” she growled in a low voice. “Not at all!”

Barely five seconds later an ear splitting crack rent the battlefield, unnoticed by many lost in the maelstrom of battle, but not by those carried away in its shock wave. Nimble looked up, his pulse gun near glowing and his coat slick with sweat. “Thank Luna…”

I smirked. “I think you’ll be able to do that in person too.”

He gave me a grin in reply. “‘Plan B’?”

“Plan B,” I repeated. There should always be that extra rabbit.

The cavalry were here. Above our heads the sky was suddenly filled with armed warriors, descending on the changelings in a screaming, howling mass of shining armour and lethally sharp blades. Amongst them flew the terrifying form of a war dragon like some huge juggernaut – unstoppable, and totally untamed, roaring through the changelings, incinerating many with her white hot flame. I watched entranced as two figures I knew well detached from her back; one in armour as black as the midnight sky, her eyes burning with white hot magical energy and already sending black lightning into the foul beings below her. The other flew down to meet me, her red eyes burning as brightly as mine were with their blue inner light.

“Love,” Shadow said nuzzling me. “I brought friends.”

Returning the gesture, I gave her ear a quick nip. “And I have guests that need attending to, my love. Will you join me?”

Shadow laughed and helped me pass Lumin’s pannier to a group of thestral warriors who bowed to us both. “Take care of him.”

“Yes, Lady Shadow,” the warriors said in unison. She certainly had them well trained!

The song of war singing through us and our warriors re-energised by the appearance of our allies, we crashed through the changelings, letting its eternal refrain carry us through the dance of death. Shadow and I stood side by side, cutting through our foe, the thestrals and the warriors of the four winds tribe working as one, cutting down their enemy with a machine-like efficiency that was as horrific to behold as it was exhilarating. Above our heads, Etrida roared through the green sky, strafing and blasting fire into the enemy. The intense heat of the dragonfire burning away wings and flesh alike. Around us, flaming bodies fell like hail. Those that still lived had their suffering quickly brought to an end by the warriors below. The most terrible sight on the field by far however, was the beautiful yet terrible alicorn who burned whole swathes through the changeling horde with long lances of energy that was so intense it left an after-image on my eyes. The mistress of the night, the goddess of the moon, and the scourge of the Celestian’s…Nightmare Moon herself. Nothing could stand before us now. All they could do was fall, fall beneath claw, hoof, blade and magic. Horns blew, and the advance began. It was a machine, a grinding, merciless automaton of death that chewed up lives and spat their crumpled remains out onto the cold, unforgiving ground. There was no mercy here. No quarter was asked, and none given. Changelings fell, one after another, until… there none left. Fires burned all around us, but not with wood nor coal. The stink was terrible to my nostrils, but it still a good smell - the smell of victory. Nightmare Moon swept down to us, effortlessly alighting upon the churned ground, her long tail and mane glittering and flowing in the ethereal winds of magic. She was a sight no mortal should behold, and yet here we were, all of us bowing before her terrible majesty.

“Stand, my warriors of the moon,” the goddess commanded. “You bow before no-one. Each one of you, each and every one, has earned that right this day.”

Her voice rang out across the smoke filled field, and even Etrida, landing with a gust of wind from her flared wings, bowed to our goddess. My heart sang with joy and pride. We had pleased her, we had redeemed ourselves as her trusted warriors after a millennia of despair. Nightmare Moon laughed, swinging her blue-black sword up and back into its scabbard before leaping over a giant’s corpse to address us. I bowed low, despite her command.

“Your Majesty.”

A silver shod hoof gently lifted my chin. “Lord Fairlight, descendant of Maroc and Arathea. Do not bow before us. Not this day. Today is a day for celebration, is it not?” She lifted her head, her beautiful eyes catching the strange light of this alien world. “Bring us the child so that we may see the future lord of the tribe.”

Without hesitation, Shadow collected Lumin from the thestral warriors who had kept him safe when all around us was insanity and bloodshed. Together, walking as one, we presented my son to the goddess. It was honour few would have imagined possible, yet here she was, the dream made a reality before us. She reached in a tentative hoof and, thinking better of it, magicked him out while she sat back on her haunches, cuddling him in her forelegs. We stood there, Shadow and I, watching the goddess nuzzle and coo at the little fellow who was lapping up the attention and gurgling happily with the odd squeak emanating from him. I’d have to have words with Tingles about that, I’m sure there was some mouse in him from somewhere. I’d have to try him with some cheese to be sure…

“Lord Fairlight?”

“My Lady,” I replied, bobbing my head respectfully.

“That’s better!” The midnight coated mare removed her helmet and shook out her mane, her magnificent visage changing before my very eyes back into the more familiar, and altogether less intimidating, Princess Luna. “Fairlight, we… rather, ‘I’ must go back to my sister now and give her the news that the invasion has been foiled, as well as that young Lumin is safe. After that, we shall need to look at negotiations with the changeling queen.”

My brow furrowed. “Where is she?” I asked. “The changeling queen, I mean.”

“Oh, she’ll be back here shortly,” the princess replied. “Tia has her ways.”

Of that, I had no doubt whatsoever. “Thank you for helping us, my lady,” I smiled. “If it hadn’t been for you-”

She held up a hoof. “If it hadn’t been for Shadow, you mean. This magnificent mare brought the tribes together, convincing even Etrida to help. And as for us... well, sometimes it feels good to have a change, wouldn’t you agree… My Lord?”

“Yes, My Lady.”

My vision was suddenly filled with a black muzzle and burning red eyes. Shadow nodded to Luna, “Excuse me.” I heard a mock cry of outrage from the princess at the intrusion as my thestral mate grabbed me roughly and brought her muzzle up to brush against mine, sniggering under her breath. Wait, was she really sniggering? By the gods, she was! “Love…” Shadow’s voice was little more than a whisper as she pulled me into a kiss that melted my heart into a sea of bliss. Right then, with my friends, my mate and child safe and sound, I could have drifted away into eternity.