Fairlight - To the Edge of Midnight

by Bluespectre

Chapter Thirteen - Unlucky for Some

Morning broke with the deafening sound of air booming into our cramped alcove. As I looked up in alarm I could see Taurs and one of the others pressed against the rock walls, staring into the sky as if waiting for something. I didn’t have to wait long for that ‘something’ to appear either. Suddenly the two stallions ducked down as an unfathomably huge shadow plunged the alcove into absolute darkness, and the back to what passed for light in the Darklands. I jumped up and hurried to try and see what it was they were staring at. Part of me wished I hadn’t.

“Bloody hell fire, look at the size of that thing!” I gasped.

“She’ll circle twice before going off on her hunt,” Kadun said hurriedly. “That’s only her first pass. The second will be any… second… now! Down!”

We all ducked as the shadow plunged our tiny sanctuary into darkness once more. All I could do then was stare after the enormous avian monster flying away from us with a leisurely grace that belied the sheer scale of the feathered creature. Dear goddesses, what did it eat? Dragons?! When they’d told me it was a large eagle they didn’t warn me just how big. The claws on the thing were so huge they could easily uproot a house, and that beak… oh gods, it could swallow a cow in one gulp. Or a pony for that matter. Part of me felt chilled to the bone at the prospect of facing such a foe, especially an angry one. The other part of me, as usual, thrummed with excitement. Celestia’s arse, my mind would kill me one of these days. Again!

“Gear up. Quickly!” Taurs hissed to the others. “The old lady’s early today.” He turned to me, “I hope you’re ready, Fairlight, because there’s no going back now.”

I pulled on the last of my barding, ropes and packs, checking they were all buckled and cinched up. “Ready.”

Taurs took a breath, faced the rest of his team, and nodded, “Let’s move!”

We’d gone over the plan for the next leg of our adventure in the small hours of the morning, well before dawn. Naturally the indomitable Taurs had covered everything in meticulous detail, with the help of his deputies Kadun and Pulias. Now, with the Roc away on her morning hunt, we quickly swung into action. The fact that I ‘wasn’t one of the tribe’, as I’d been referred to on more than one occasion, was all but forgotten now as we helped each other up the last few ledges above us. Squeezing along a particularly narrow section we shimmied up to yet another ledge, and then… then we were there - the final prize. And what a prize! It was extraordinary. I stared in open mouthed awe at the unmistakable outline of a gigantic birds nest perched impossibly on a rocky outcrop. Normally the word ‘nest’ conjures up images of blackbirds, sparrows, and all the nice little woodland birds that visited our quiet cottage back home. Ha! You certainly wouldn’t find many blackbirds carrying tree trunks! And that, quite literally, was exactly what had been used to build this fantastical structure. With a level of skill that would have put some of the best equestrian architects to shame, whole trees had been plucked from the ground, stripped of all foliage and limbs, and then placed with near surgical precision into an interlocking bowl shape that was home to the largest eagle I had ever seen. And one I prayed I never would again.

The grappling hook thudded into one of the trunks, and just like that, up I went. The ingenious pulley system the wendigo had created leant itself perfectly to use by either magic or muscle. On my own it would have been possible, sure, but definitely a difficulty I would have balked at at the best of times. If Taurs and his team hadn’t been here to help me I don’t know what I would have done. Finding it would have been a near impossible task in itself let alone hauling my sorry bag of bones up a mountain of all things. Below me the stallions heaved. Above, my hoof cleats thunked into the rock, and then, the first of the logs. Thunk. Another. Thunk. My hind legs dangling below me scrabbled for purchase, denying the insistent pull of gravity. Another heave later, and another log cleared. Reluctantly I had to free myself from the grapple to allow myself to move sideways so as to find a way of clearing the side of the nest. The projections from where the logs joined provided convenient hoof holds on my way up, ones which I took full advantage of until, slowly and surely, I gradually moved up the side of this alien structure. ‘Structure’ being the operative word too. Gods, how big was this thing! I felt like I’d been at this madness for hours until finally, with one last sweat dripping heave, I reached the top and stared into the feather-laden interior.

It was empty.

My heart sank. Brush, hides, bones, faeces, and only the gods-knew-what littered the vast nest, but of the egg there was no sign. All that sat there were three… boulders. Hang on, boulders? Dear goddesses, they looked like they’d rolled down the mountain and formed part of the nest, but no… No, they were the eggs! My heart leaping into my throat I scrambled over to them – no pun intended - and nimbly grabbed the smallest one, pulled off my carry pack, and stuffed the cursed thing inside. I just hoped hoped the canvas contraption would hold together for the trip back. The pack was padded, sure, but if I dropped it I doubted Maul would let me off with a ‘Oh well, you tried your best’ together with a playful pat on the rump. He might have been a cordial host thus far, but thestrals were strange creatures with an equally unfathomable sense of honour. Fair they may be, but failure was met with nothing short of what I could only describe as a ‘grim finality’. Look at poor old Lance for example – cocked up the warrior test and the next thing you know he’s been relegated to planting spuds for the rest of eternity. Or at least he would have been if he hadn’t offered himself up as a sacrifice for some insane reason that only made sense to lunatics. Gods help me, this whole world was round the twist! I wanted to get this madness over with and go home as fast as my little old legs could carry me!

A shout from below caught my attention and I scurried over to peer down at the grey forms staring back at me. “Have you found any?” one called up.

“Yes!” I bellowed.

One of them called back, “Lower the bag first and then hook up to the grapple. We’ll bring you down next.”

“I’m on it!” I hurriedly tied one of my ropes to the bag’s carry handles and carefully began to lower it down to the waiting wendigo below. Gently, inch by torturous inch, the bag containing the precious cargo drew closer to the ground, until...

“We’ve got it!” One shouted up. “Hook yourself up to the grapple!”

Right then the overwhelming sense of relief was something I doubt I’d ever be able to replicate again. A shame really, I’d have made a fortune if I could have bottle it for sale. Instead I moved like a machine, trying not to think of the drop, the possibility of the grapple giving way, the way my body was dangling from the end of a rope and-

“Fairlight, for the goddess’s sake hurry up will you!”

Luna knows, I tried. Suddenly the rope thrummed and I dropped a few feet and stopped. Again there was the sensation of tension in the line, that awful thrumming sound, and then a jolt that caught at my insides and made me give an involuntary cough. What the hell was going on? Wiping my eyes I looked down and saw the anxious faces staring back up at me. One of them was pointing at something. Oh gods… My mouth went dry. It was all I could do to follow their gestures as my heart sank like a lead weight. It was the pulley on the grapple. I couldn’t believe what I was looking at no how much I stared at it. The rope had fouled. One piece of a bark, a small piece of perfectly placed bloody bark, had effectively jammed the mechanism solid. Damn it all! The only thing I could do now was climb back up, free the blasted thing, and-

“LOOK OUT!”

A black shadow raced over the rock face plunging me into darkness, and then, just as quickly, I was back in the twilight of day. I didn’t need to see it. I didn’t need to say it either. Gods, I could have written the script myself. Mummy had come home early…

The monstrous avian circled once and then came in for a landing that made the whole mountain quake. More importantly, had she seen us? I shook the thought from my mind and tried to climb back to clear the snag, fighting against every part of me that screamed the opposite. But what choice did I have? I reached up, pulled, and focussed my magic on the pulley, trying to rip the piece of bark free. As if in answer to my barely controlled fears, from above me the plaintive call of some hapless wild beast was abruptly ended in a deafening hiss and rattle of tearing flesh and splintered bone. I tried to ignore the sounds in spite of the warm blood spattering my muzzle. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that helpless cry though, nor the smell of the gore that even now makes me gag with the mere memory of that time. Right then my heart was hammering like a steam train’s pistons and my breathing was just as hard, but at last, with a sharp satisfying snap, the last piece of bark mercifully came free. Unfortunately so did I. The rope that held me, now suddenly free of obstruction, shot through the pulley with a horriblly loud hiss. Gravity, that most inexorable of forces, finally had its victim. I was in a free fall, gasping in shock as the world flew by me in a blur of grey. One thought however managed to fight its way to the surface: why hadn’t the pulley worked?! It was supposed to-

In a stomach wrenching lurch, the rope stopped dead. The harness dug hard into my stomach and ribs in an eye-watering snap that I was certain was at least one of my ribs giving way. Pain sizzled through me, bringing with it the bitterness of bile into my throat while I slowly began to rotate like a griffin’s kebab. “Celestia’s… arse...” I gasped. Below me I could faintly make out some of the wendigo who were hanging desperately onto the rope which was the only thing between me and the joys of forced reincarnation. To my horrified amazement though, others were arguing about something in hushed tones instead of helping their comrades get me down. I could see them looking at me, looking at the nest, at each other, and then freezing like statues as the scream of outrage from above signalled mother finding one of her babies missing. My ears were still ringing when pieces of bark and scraps of flesh rained down on me from the edge of the nest. Slowly, terrifyingly, I looked up into the huge golden eye staring back at me with unadulterated hatred. I couldn’t blame her I suppose. I had stolen one of her children, and now she had the thief in her sights. Better yet I didn’t have anything to fight back with either. Gods, what a way to go...

I flinched away as the Roc’s hooked beak snapped out with lightning speed, missing her intended target by mere inches and instead catching on the rope. Foetid breath washed over me, the stench of blood and gore from her recent meal strong enough to turn even the strongest stomach, but all I could concentrate on right then was hanging on for all I was worth and praying to whatever gods were listening for a miracle. Harsh cries of avian outrage battered me like a hurricane, the sound of giant wings beating the air with a ferocity that felt as though it was all around me, reverberating off the mountains and echoing in the valley below. I squeezed my eyes shut tight. From above me the splintering sharp report of claws raking wood, and then... the rush of air once more.

I fell.

I’ve heard ponies say that your life flashes before your eyes just before death. I can’t say I remember too well whether it did or not in my case, despite the fact I’ve been killed once already and very nearly on more occasions than I care to recall. In this instance however, all I saw was the nest above me, a trailing rope, and the horrible feeling of my stomach trying to climb out of my throat. At least fear didn’t have much time to grip me, the landing did a good enough job of that itself. What must have been a millisecond from impact the glow of magic enveloped me, but as life saving as it may have been it wasn’t quite enough to stop me from being abruptly reacquainted with the solidity of rocks. Helpless to the forces of gravity I slammed bodily onto the ledge, briefly catching sight of Clarion and a couple of the others before bouncing like a rubber ball towards the canyon below. In those few terrifying seconds the world span horribly. I was going to die. I knew that. What a bloody joke! Celestia arse, you had laugh didn’t you! This had all been so avoidable too. Should have stayed at home, Fairlight old boy! A sudden thought entered my mind: would I be be reincarnated as another pony? I’d be able to start all over again then wouldn’t I? You could see the appeal I suppose. I’d be a clean slate, the past washed away with a whole new world of possibilities lying before me. Mind you, I didn’t fancy going through puberty again. That had been a right bloody nightmare of raging hormones and teenage angst I wouldn’t have wished on my worst enemy. Still, to be able to start again, to reset your life when you’d made a dog’s dinner of this one, was not something to be sniffed at. It came at a cost though, and a terrible one at that. Everything that made me ‘me’: the thoughts, hopes, and aspirations of the poor sod named Fairlight Loam, would be gone. Gone as if they’d never existed in the first place. I suppose it wouldn’t be too bad though, after all I- “Oof!”

“Hang on, we’re pulling you up!”

Oh, thank Luna! Despite the pain in my chest I felt a wash of relief for the second time that day. Of course the fact that I was dangling over a sheer drop and spinning like a top was something of a distraction right at that moment, and I was also starting to wonder just what the hell was going on up there on the ledge. Seconds ticked by. The sounds of arguing and scuffling from above was doing nothing for my state of mind either, let alone my chances of survival.

“Guys?” I wheezed. “A little help?”

A face appeared over the ledge a moment later, “Fairlight, we won’t-” Clarion vanished again, followed this time by shouting and the rope bouncing me up and down like some large furry yo-yo.

Rotating round again I managed to snag the rope in my teeth. Sod this for a game of soldiers! Surely I could do something to help myself, couldn’t I? If I could somehow haul myself up I could get some purchase on the ledge and-

“Fairlight! For Luna’s sake, we-” Clarion never finished his sentence. The grey stallion’s eyes went wide as the shining point of a blade burst from his neck in a bright spray of shimmering crimson. My friend’s gore rained down upon me, warm and steaming in the cold air.

“Clarion!” But my cry was too late for the wendigo. Far too late.

With agonising inevitability the blood soaked grey form slowly tipped forward and toppled into the empty air below. I followed a split second later before the rope was pulled taught once more. All the commotion was attracting attention from our furious mother too, as a scream of rage rolled out around the mountains from the Roc who was now circling above us, doubtless looking for a way to add us to today’s breakfast options. It was only a matter of time before she gobbled me up, and like poor Clarion I’d end up as just another casualty of these cold, unforgiving mountains. Damn it all, I had to do something! I focussed my magic on the rope and tried as hard as I could to haul myself up while my hooves scrabbled at the rock, trying to get purchase in a desperate attempt to reach the ledge. What the hell was going on up there anyway? Had they gone mad?! I was swearing under my breath, fighting with the rope and my pathetically inept magic when another face appeared over the ledge. It was Taurs.

“Taurs!” I swallowed, trying in vain to keep the stinging sweat and blood out of my eyes. “What the hell are you doing?! Pull me up!”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, ‘my lord’.” Taurs’ lips curled up at the corners into a sickening grin that made my blood run colder than the mountain air. “You see,” he sneered, “it would appear your ‘reign’ has come to a rather… unexpected end.”

I spat out the rope. “Taurs, you bastard!” I bellowed. “You murdered Clarion!” Anger began to replace my fear, warming my veins. For all the good it would do. “Why?” I yelled impotently. “Why kill him?”

“Why?” Taurs frowned for a moment before answering, “Because he was impure of course, like you. I warned him not to involve himself with a half-breed.”

“You killed him because he spoke to me?” I shouted back. “Because he treated me like a brother?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“You were never his brother!” Taurs’ eye flashed dangerously as the rope slipped an inch. “He betrayed us! He sold his people out for a half-breed he didn’t even know! You call yourself a wendigo when you are nothing more than the bastard son of a filthy whore! A whore who betrayed her blood to beget a mongrel that has the affront to call himself the ‘Lord of the Four Winds’!” Spittle flew from the grey stallion’s mouth in his rage. “You never were the lord of the wendigo, you fool! How could you be? You are nothing but a mud grubbing Celestian. You are NOTHING!”

I stared deep into those cold golden eyes. “I don’t give a damn about what you think, Taurs,” I said levelly. “You’re nothing more than a common murderer with the blood of one of your own tribe on your hooves. You can me what you will, but don’t you dare, don’t you dare call my mother a whore, you verminous scum!”

“Scum am I?” Taurs laughed suddenly. “I’m the one holding your life by a rope, mongrel. I am the one who will decide whether you live or die. What say you to that?”

“I say...” I closed my eyes and said a quick prayer in my heart. “I say… Go buck yourself, you inbred son of a bitch.”

Was I mad? Had I finally lost my senses? Well, it too late now anyway. Whatever had possessed me to unclip my harness from the rope had made the decision for me, denying Taurs the pleasure of killing me himself. But as I plunged downward to what was going to be a messy but probably quick end, at least I could die with the satisfaction of having seen the fury on Taurs’ face at my defiance of him. Why he had done what he did though, I had no idea. But I could guess. All the pieces were there, all lined up neatly like dominoes. Clarion had befriended me and had tried to warn me, but Taurs had never been far away, had he? There were two factions amongst the wendigo: Maroc’s, and Vela’s. No prizes for guessing whose team Taurs batted for. Clarion, I suspected, was one of Maroc’s boys. Or rather had been one of Maroc’s boys. The poor sod was now a bloody mess on the valley floor. Just about where I was about to end up to any second…

I closed my eyes, waiting for the end. My body impacted a heartbeat later, driving some of the air from my lungs and setting off a shock of pain from my broken ribs. But oddly, no rocky splatter? A deafening shriek screamed through my ears and I began to slide backwards. On something... soft. Soft and decidedly un-rock like. I opened my eyes in a flash and grabbed the nearest thing I could in my teeth. The musty taste of feathers filled my mouth, but despite my state of mind numbing shock I hung on for dear life while the impossibility of my new predicament began to unfold. Rather like the landscape far below.

I’d never ridden an eagle before. Of course, I’d rather it hadn’t have been so annoyed either, but beggars can’t be choosers. The wind was ridiculous though, and with each sweep of those enormous wings, my precarious grip on the Roc threatened to send me back into a free fall. I closed my eyes and dug my hooves, cleats and all, into my avian host. The Roc screamed in outrage and flew straight up, trying to shake me off, but I clung on like an equine tic. I had no intention of hurting her, but when my very existence was at stake then a few prickles in her back was something I could live with.

“Easy old girl,” I shouted, “I just want to get off you in one piece, that’s all.”

I doubted she understood me, and I didn’t really expect her to either. There were many magical and even non-magical creatures around that could speak equestrian of course. Some fluently too. But my feathered friend here reeked of animalistic rage and vengeance. What intelligence there was here was far from being in the mood for conversation in case, and if she had her way, tonight's menu would include me as a tasty entrée.

The Roc rolled, dove and banked, shaking me so hard I thought my brain was going to pour out of my ears. But the cleats, sharp steel claws of my own strapped solidly to my hooves, kept me on her back like glue. Around me all I could see was sky for the most part, accompanied by the mind reeling sight of mountains flashing by at incredible speeds. And then... we stopped. The Roc hovered in the air, keeping her station with a heavy, steady beat. She’d seen something, something below us. Her passenger forgotten, at least for the moment, the huge bird gave one final downward stroke of her wings, pulled them in tight to her sides, and dove.

There’s nothing I can say that could accurately describe the feeling of streaking down out of the sky the way we did. I tried to see, but the wind was making my eyes stream so much all I could tell was that there was something moving on the mountainside at speed that we were heading towards faster than a quarrel loosed from a crossbow. And a thousand times more deadly. The roc didn’t shriek now. She had her target in her sights and was a comet plunging to earth with a mind full of lethal intent.

I’d seen Tingles flare her wings when she came in to land many a time. Goddesses, I’d even tried it myself, if a little clumsily. But this creature, this monstrous bird of talon and claw, made a pegasi’s flying ability look like a pin prick compared to a lump hammer. The effect was the same of course, just with gale force winds, dust, and a scream that made my heart leap in horror. Sheer rock rose in front of us as the blood fountained, cutting the cry of terror off in a symphony of gore and body parts. Kadun, the guide, would guide no more in this world. His crimson soaked face sailed into the air and was snapped up only to be gulped down as though it were no more substantial than the air itself. Oh Celestia, I could feel her swallowing, feel her claws raking at the rock, and then we were up, up once more into the open sky. The next few minutes were a nightmarish terror ride of diving, screeching, and failed attempts to get at her prey. There were only three of them left now, and I can’t say I was feeling much in the way of empathy towards one of their number. As for the others… I don’t know. Had their acceptance of me been a facade this whole time? Had it all been a lie to fool me into doing their bidding? What about Lyrin? We’d chatted by the fire and shared a pipe and a cup of tea like a couple of old mates. Dear Luna, had I been hoodwinked so thoroughly? Damn it all, I’d known not to trust anypony, especially ones I’d only just met. I’d known! But Clarion… Clarion had tried to help me, hadn’t he? And Taurs, that little rat, had stabbed him from behind like the cowardly murderer he was. So… I was a mongrel was I? A half-breed son of a whore and a mud grubber? I felt a sizzle of anger race through me and I clung on even harder to my host, willing her onward. Not towards her intended target, but rather, my own.

Taurs.

The roc flew around in a circle gaining height with each beat of her wings. I wondered for a moment if she’d lost sight of her prey and my heart sank. I wanted Taurs. I wanted to see his body broken, dashed upon the rocks of the valley floor. Like Clarion. Like my friend. Damn him. Damn him!

“Come on you stinking pile of rags,” I roared, “let’s do this! COME ON!”

We hung in the air defying gravity’s pull, and once again the great eagle tilted downwards, pulled in her wings, and arrowed like a bolt from the gods towards her prey. This time my eyes were wide open despite the stinging of the cold wind. My mane and tail whipped out behind me as I howled out into the chill air all of my pent up rage and pain. I had lost too many friends. I had lost far too many. Taurs may not have been the architect of this, but he was a part of it. A part that I would remove from existence the way he had removed Clarion. The winds howled around me, and I howled with it. The thrill of the hunt and the lust for vengeance, so long lost, now re-emerged from its frozen cocoon deep within my soul. Pain, loss, anger, and the chains of magic that bound it all together, rattled something loose. Thin tendrils of magic, the finest of cracks of frozen blue light, moved and shifted, stretching their roots out little by little. My teeth itched. My hooves itched. My back burned with the intoxicating sensations of freedom and release. Oh goddess, give me the strength to see this through. And if not, if you don’t listen, then to hell with you.

“I will take it myself. I will walk into your halls of decadence and tear your home down until I have what is mine once more.”

Suddenly a plume of small rocks flew up at us in a shower from the ground, some hitting the great eagle and making her alter her flight in surprise. One of them hissed by my ear, missing me by mere inches whilst others thudded into the roc’s chest. I doubt they would have been enough to cause her any significant injury considering her size, however it was enough to distract her. Startled, she shrieked in alarm and anger, rolled, and began to pull away from her quarry.

No...

NO!

I looked behind and below us at the dwindling figures running for the valley and the shelter where the roc was too large to go. I couldn’t let them get away! Not now! In that blink of time, in that second of rage... I let go.

“Taurs!”

I twisted my body to angle towards the ground.

“TAURS!”

I couldn’t move properly. The straps from the pulley harness were stopping my body moving the way it should. The way it needed to. I gritted my teeth, pulled at the remnants of the leather, and felt a wash of relief as it fell away. But now I too was falling, speeding like an arrow towards the running grey figures, my body screaming in alarm, but also excitement. I was near now. So near! Two of the ponies, running for all they were worth, stared back at me and as one their magic began to glow. A lance of blue light seared past me whilst the another sent another shower of rocks up at me. With no more than a thought, if even that, I pulled up in a blast of air and brushed the debris aside. How dare they? How dare they! They had to be taught a lesson. I smiled, feeling a shudder of joy rumble in my throat and chest. Oh, I would teach them alright! More light burned past me into the dark sky, ploughing into the mountainside and shattering rock and stone. I could see it coming even before they’d conjured their pitiful magic. Dear gods how I’d missed this! I missed this so much! I began to laugh, laughing aloud with the sheer joy of life and the unimaginably liberating feeling of freedom, when I slammed into the ground ahead of my prey, turning on crystal hooves and flaring my wings. They would know now. They would know who had come for them.

“Taurs...” I rumbled. “Taurs, you bastard. Time to pay.” A bolt of magic flew from the lead stallion, burning past my wing. “Defiant,” I hissed. “Good. Now, allow me to show you your first lesson in humility.”

Magic screamed for release inside me and I let it have full rein. I would hold nothing back now. I had been holding onto so much all these years, and now… now I was free. FREE! I barely even noticed the flash of blue light, the open mouthed silent cry of horror as the magic took him. The body lay twitching on the ground. But wait… the egg… was the egg safe? I shook off the realisation of what I had done and walked towards the body, settling my wings by my side. The other stallion was saying something now, but I had no time for his prattle. I had to make sure the egg was safe so I could take it back to Maul and shove it down his neck. I’d enjoy listening to him choke…

“Lord Fairlight, please!”

I ripped the ragged remains of the wendigo’s packs from his body and searched them. Was it…? No! It wasn’t there! I stared down at the body. This wasn’t Taurs! This was one of the others. Pulias? Yes, it was Pulias one of the guides. My nose twitched; I could taste his life essence leaching from his body, little by little. It was different from the mortal realm, decidedly more… tangy? Yes… tangy. I chuckled under my breath, breathing in the ethereal mist that rose from the torn creature that had lead me to this vile place. And I fed. I closed my eyes and licked my lips, feeling every drop, every single morsel of Pulias’ life force replenishing my body and fuelling my soul. I hadn’t realised how empty I had been, until I had been filled once more. It was so good. So, so good…

“Lord Fairlight!”

My head snapped round, my blue eyes reflecting in the terrified yellow eyed stare of…

“Lyrin?”

The grey stallion abruptly bowed his head and cast his gaze to the ground, “My lord, forgive me. Please! I had no idea what Vela had planned. I only came along to offer medical aid to my brothers and-”

“He has the egg?” I interrupted.

Lyrin nodded furiously, “Y… Yes, my lord. I have your things! Here...”

I took a step towards the trembling stallion and snatched up my packs and gear. “Where is he?” I snarled. “TELL ME!”

“He… He took the old road east that leads into the forest!” Lyrin babbled. “He has arranged for-”

I didn’t listen to the rest. My wings snapped out and hammered at the air, showering the frightened Lyrin in grit and dust. Once I may have been concerned about such trifles, but now, now all I could focus on was my desire to reach my quarry. And reach him I would. My wings bore me aloft in great bounds, biting into the frigid mountain air and allowing me an ever widening view of- There! I let out a loud neigh and twisted in the air, spiralling down as the eagle had taught me. I too pulled in my wings, angling them ever so slightly to control my angle of descent. I was picking up speed quickly, closing the distance between us with deadly certainty. It wouldn’t be long now. Not now. In a blur of white mist I shot over Taurs’ head and flared my wings, span, and landed before him. Two wide yellow eyes stared at me, but it was the pack on his back that had my attention. The egg. He had split up from his fellows to try and elude the roc. And me. The path he had chosen was a steep descent, but headed straight for the edge of a forest where he no doubt intended to disappear. How he had managed to make such headway was extraordinary considering how long he- There was a flash, a pulse of magic, and then Taurs simply… vanished. No, not quite ‘vanished’ as such. I could feel the magic tingling my horn and knew what was coming next. Ah! So that was how he’d moved so fast…

Taurs reappeared in a flash a millisecond later, and nearly ran straight into me. He was disorientated, breathing hard, and sank onto his haunches as he tried to catch his breath.

“Teleporting too much and too far will do that to you,” I said calmly knocking his sword from his grip. “Had enough now?”

Taurs let out a gruff laugh, and slowly, his eyes locked with mine. “Look at you,” he said wiping the sweat from his brow. Cold derision dripped with every word that oozed from his mouth, “the big stallion, the evil wendigo of foals nursery stories. Thief of a stolen heritage. The stolen dreams of a broken people.” He coughed and shook his head, “You make me sick.”

My ears twitched as my desire to take this arrogant killer apart warred with my need for information. Parts of the puzzle were still missing, and this stallion may be able to complete the picture. “You’re in no position to lecture anypony, Taurs. You murdered one of your own people.” I moved to one side, watching him carefully, “You murdered one of my people. Clarion was my brother as much as he was yours, and yet you took his life as though meant nothing to you. Nothing!”

The grey stallion spat out a mouthful of dust and spittle. “So full of righteous indignation aren’t we, mongrel?” He sneered at me. Gods how I wanted to put a hoof in that face! “Tell me, mongrel,” he continued, “How is it that you are able to change into a wendigo when our people cannot? What is it you have stolen from us that gives you such power? Well, thief? SPEAK!”

I stood and stared at him, the sudden realisation of what he was saying seeping into my anger fuelled brain. I took a deep breath and shook my mane, “I have stolen nothing from you, Taurs. I am who I always have been. Although I doubt you can say the same, am I correct?” I looked away a moment, thinking. “You know, ‘Taurs’,” I said quietly, “you really had me going for a while back there. Truthfully, you really did. I actually began to doubt what my instincts were telling me; that I had you wrong, and you were a stallion who had at least a shred of honour about him. But I really should listen to that little voice at the back of my mind, shouldn’t I?” I narrowed my eyes, “Vela...”

The grey stallion began to laugh, wiping his forehead with a hoof before raising his eyebrows and nodding, “My, aren’t you the bright one!” Taurs, or Vela as he truly was, leaned back on his haunches and smiled, “Oh, I was right about you. I was right!” He pointed a hoof at me mockingly. “You are the key to the lock, my mongrel friend. The lock that has trapped us for a thousand years. And do you want to know the best part?” He barked out a laugh, “You don’t even know it, do you?”

My teeth itched with anticipation, the rich tang of Pulias’ life essence still lingering on my tongue. He was stalling for time, and frankly, I’d had enough of him already. To hell with him then, I’d complete the puzzle on my own. I took a step towards him, “I don’t have time for your games, Vela. Give me the egg.”

“And then what?” He snorted. “You’ll let me go will you?” Vela shook his head and scratched his mane absently. “I wouldn’t be so quick to call me a murderer, my half breed friend. I know more about you than you know yourself.” Vela nodded slowly, emphasising his words. “I know all about your son too. Lumin, wasn’t it? Fascinating little unicorn. So much potential in one so young...”

The mention of my son and the words of Maroc came back to me. I had to protect him. I had to protect my son. “Shut your mouth,” I snarled.

“And your pegasus trollop,” Vela continued unabashed. “Extraordinary combination don’t you think, to create a life so full of power. So full of… possibilities.”

“I said shut your mouth!”

“But what about your wife, Fairlight? Doesn’t she mind you cavorting with these other mares?” Vela made an exaggerated act of deep thought. “Oh! I nearly missed one!” he exclaimed suddenly. “The thestral bitch, Shadow, yes? Goddess in her light, how could a stallion mate with one of those things? What a monstrosity that pairing could spew into the world!”

My blade was out now, the edge catching the light from my eyes.

“Ah, time to kill, yes?” Vela sighed and shook his head. “I don’t doubt you want to kill me, Fairlight. In fact I’d be more surprised if you didn’t. Wendigo need to feed you see, to fuel the magic and the strength inside them. It takes even the faintest spark of distrust or anger and fans it, nurses it, and finally brings it to a burning inferno of hate that takes over the mind to the point where all you can think of is to kill. To feed.” He shrugged his shoulders and smiled absently. “And thus, the cycle continues.”

“Trying to stall for time, Vela?” I mused. I hefted my scythe. “Time to pay the piper.”

“Oh, how very droll!” Vela’s smarmy expression belied his nervousness. I saw him take a step back, a bead of sweat breaking out on his forehead. He knew death had come for him, and no words of his could-

“I believe her name is... ‘Shade’, is it not?”

I froze in my tracks.

“It was curiosity as much as anything, you see,” Vela explained casually. “I wanted to see you for myself, in the flesh so to speak. I wanted to see just who this pony was who was trotting around Equestria calling himself the ‘Lord of the Four Winds’. After all, we’d all heard so much about you and your exploits, I simply couldn’t resist! You really are quite the celebrity about town, aren’t you?”

“What have done...” I was barely holding onto my anger at all now. The magic, so long missing and now finally loose and given its head, howled in my ears. In the background the blade sang to me in its own voice as the wind hissed over its razor sharp edge. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!”

“Merely a little insurance, that’s all.” Vela hefted the pack containing the egg. “I would suggest, ‘Lord of the Four Winds’, that you find hurry back to your little skeleton girl. My friends can be quite... ‘anxious’ at times, and anxiety can lead a fellow to do some very strange things indeed.”

My mane bristled. “You… bastard!”

“Ah, ah!” Vela lifted a hoof in warning, “I have a tracking spell on me right now, and if anything ‘untoward’ happens to me then our dear little Shade will become like her namesake. Permanently.” The damned grey coated swine waved his hoof towards the forest, “Hurry on back to Bracken’s nest now little birdy. If you hurry, you might just make it in time.” He paused, “Oh, and don’t worry about the egg. It’s going to a very good home.”

Every part of me screamed out in rage and hatred at this arrogant monster of a unicorn. He had murdered my friend, threatened my son, and now he was threatening Shade and Bracken. If anything had happened to them… I took a breath and shook out my wings, turning to leave. Turning my anger away. “Vela...” I closed my eyes a moment, fighting down the primal urges that came as part and parcel of being a wendigo, “If anything has happened to them...” I half turned my head to him, “Being Maroc’s son will not save you.”

“We’ll see.” Vela rolled his shoulders and shook his mane expansively, “You’d better run along then.” His broad smile never reached his eyes. “I’ll be seeing you, Fairlight Loam.”

I didn’t reply. In a blast of air and grit, I leaped into the air. Launching from a standing start was a strain on your wings. A running or at least trotting start was a lot less effort. My mind however, was empty of such concerns. In actual fact it was empty of everything except the desire to act, and that desire I used to add strength and speed to my flight. Soaring over the forest below, a part of my mind began to ask - how? How had this happened? Somehow I had changed, and as insane as it may sound, I had barely even noticed. Like finding a set of your favourite slippers which still fit you as well as the first day you’d tried them on, I had slipped into my wendigo self as seamlessly as though it had never been away. Perhaps, it never truly had been. I’d heard that the spirit could never truly be purged from your soul, so the herd simply locked it away behind an impenetrable wall that could never be breached. Or so everypony thought. Now, ice cold anger and hatred burned through me with their familiar heat, infusing my body with a perplexing mix that warmed my heart and added urgency to each beat of my wings. How this had happened and what it meant for me was a concern I would contemplate in more detail when I had time. As for Vela… Dear gods, why hadn’t I seen it sooner? His convenient appearance, the way Clarion had been afraid to talk to me in front of him, and of course, how he had casually murdered Clarion for trying to help me. Murdered him because I had ‘tainted’ him with my mere presence. I was a ‘mongrel’ apparently. A half-breed. The children at school had called me a cart horse because of my grey coat and black mane and tail with their white stripes. No matter how much I would have wished it otherwise, I was a stark contrast to the brightly coloured pastel riot that surrounded me every single damned day. I looked, to put not too fine a point on it… boring. The fillies laughed at me, the colts teased me, but what hurt the most was how the parents and teachers alike looked at me with expressions bordering on pity. I was monochrome in a world of colour. Mum of course looked like what she was, the descendant of the wendigo tribe. Whether she truly knew what that meant or not I’ll never know for sure, but her sister, my Aunt Pewter, knew. She too was a descendant of the tribe and looked like it too. That batty old coot had wrapped herself in her ‘otherness’ by setting herself up as the local witch, completed with cauldron, skulls, potions, and wall to wall cats. I liked cats. Being able to cuddle something warm and fuzzy was a delight that didn’t always amuse the furry little creatures as much as it did me, but payment for such moments in the way of food and somewhere safe to sleep was a mutual relationship that cat owners like Aunt Pewter wore like a mantel. It was a symbiotic relationship that left no room for stallions in her life. Pewter’s husband, my uncle, had passed away when I was young. I’d hardly known him, and from I what I’d been told he’d been a fairly normal pony by all accounts. What he’d seen in a nut case like my aunt was a mystery I doubted anypony would ever solve. Pewter rarely mentioned him, but his picture still sat on the mantelpiece beside the pottery cats and her favourite skulls. I guessed she loved him in her own way. In between cleaning cat trays.

Chill air slipped over my wings, gliding over my fur and tingling my ears. It was surprisingly cold up here over the forest compared to the normally ambient temperature I’d come to associate with the Darklands, but it gave me a magnificent panoramic view of the afterlife home of the thestrals. From memory it looked just like the Withers, and was even more beautiful up here than I had given it credit for. If I hadn’t have been so focussed on reaching Briar and Shade I may have been crying with joy at that moment. Dear Celestia, I was flying. Flying! After all this time, all this lost time, I felt like myself once more. Without any conscious thought I howled out into the black sky above and across the lands below. It was a cry of joy and of release, of a spirit being freed from the shackles which bound both it and my soul conbined. I closed my eyes and licked my lips, feeling the sharp points of my teeth, the taste of magic on my tongue and breath. How could anypony lose something as wonderful, as magical as this, and stay sane? It was… it was unimaginable! Gods, no wonder the wendigo all wandered around with attitudes and sour faces all the time. I had only experienced a mere sliver of what they had, and that alone had done more damage to my state of mind than I cared to recall. I’d only lived with it for a short time. Imagine what it must have been like for them having lived with it for a lifetime only to have it all wrenched away? A shiver ran through me, and not one of cold.

The road cut through the forest like a knife, arrow straight and heading off unerringly towards the distant horizon. It was a damned sight easier to follow its route from up here than it would be to walk on, that was for certain. Like the road I’d followed into the mountains, despite the fact that the black sand hadn’t buried it completely, it would have been hard to tell where the road ended and the bordering sand began, other than the feel beneath your hooves. I suspected some form of magic was at play here, but if there was it certainly hadn’t set my horn to itching and I doubted there was a small army of thestrals armed with brooms keeping the highway clear. Or was there? Maybe there was! Still, I marvelled at how remarkably straight the road was, barely deviating from its course except to avoid what passed as hills here, and there were few enough of those at it was. In the distance I could see smoke rising from a settlement. Further on I could see what was most likely the home of the Beyond tribe, or the amalgamation of tribes which it now appeared to be under the dubious auspices of Lord Maul. Just how much that puffed up rat had invested in the schemes of Maroc’s murderous son, Vela, I didn’t know, although I secretly suspected he had little to no idea about what that little swine’s larger plans were. The wendigo were more than capable of recovering an egg without my help in case, but that hadn’t been the point had it? Vela had wanted to see me for some reason. He had deliberately involved himself in the collection of the egg so he could observe me up close. But why? Why risk his life and that of his own people to have a nose at some half breed unicorn that he himself referred to as a ‘mongrel’? None of it made sense! Or… or at least not right now. I was missing something. Something important.

My nose twitched. I could smell something. Smoke? No… no, it was something else. Something tangy, salty, and rich in iron… Blood. The faint scent was carried on the breeze, tantalising my wendigo senses and driving my primal urge to hunt. I shook my head, pushing the hunger back into the deeper recesses of my being. There would be time for that later. No, I had to focus all my senses on the task at hoof. I snuffed in the air, tasting every particle, every single mote. Yes. Yes! It was definitely blood, and it was fresh too. A thestral hunting party perhaps? Maybe, but this didn’t have that indefinably animalistic hint to it that wild animals had. To me they had a more rounded scent to them, whereas sentient creatures were sharper somehow, as though their blood was keener, faster, and alert to danger from all around them. This though... this smelt familiar. It reminded me of Lance and the smoke in the forest, the small clearing not unlike the one not far from where I was. It even had the domed structure before it. It was similar, but not the same. This one smelled wrong, and the scent of blood was getting stronger by the second along with the another scent, the scent of burnt wood and… I sniffed. There was no way I could mistake this one. I’d been plastered in it for long enough for it to still taint my fur even now. It was medicine, tea, herbs, and… Oh gods, no.

My hooves slammed into the ground in a shower of sand. I was damned lucky not to break a leg with such a poorly executed landing, but I didn’t care. All I wanted to do was find Shade and Briar, and… and then what? What the hell could I do?! Sights I never believed I would see in the thestral afterlife assailed my eyes from ever quarter - Impossible visions of horror that I simply couldn’t comprehend. Bodies… there were bodies everywhere! This wasn’t the peaceful home of a peculiar old wise mare who lived a quiet in the forest, it was a battlefield. Corpses of thestrals lay scattered along the path and between the trees like chaff from a thresher, their broken and bloodied bodies still warm and steaming in the cool air. Weapons, like their owners, had been drawn only to be dropped moments later in a frenzy of violence that reminded me of the brutality of the fighting with the changelings. Here however, these thestrals had been on the losing side. I counted at least twenty of them as I ran for the door to the hut.

“Briar!” I pulled up short by the entrance. Whoever had done this could well be still inside. “Briar! Are you in there? Shade!”

Silence.

I tried to steady my heart and rein in my urgent desire to burst into the hut, but my recently released wendigo self was having none of it. Memories of what had happened to Meadow surged back in a tsunami of uncontrolled emotional energy that was utterly overwhelming. From the very first time I had become a wendigo I’d found it hard to control the spirit within me. It was like a wild animal, untamed, and permanently hungering. However as time passed and my understanding of it grew, I had eventually been able to gain dominance over my more ‘impulsive’ desires. It had been a long, hard journey to that point. Unfortunately time had not been especially forgiving, and now my fear for Shade and Briar burst forth like a signal fire, dragging my conscious self along for the ride, following that raging white river of magic.

“Briar! Shade! Where are you? Answer me!”

Sparkling white mist snorted out from my nostrils, my blue eyes trying to reason out what I was seeing. The inside of the hut, the hut where Briar had tended my wounds, where we had sat and eaten together as friends... was a charnel house. There were bodies everywhere I looked. Lots more. Some were piled up inside the doorway, their blood staining the floor and mingling with the reek of burnt wood, herbs, and the all pervasive stench of entrails and death. The fighting had been up close and vicious in here. Axes hadn’t proved to be the best choice of weapon in such close quarters, evidenced by the damage to the broken and half collapsed cupboards and shelves. Instead, crossbows had come into play, along with the thestrals own natural weapons of teeth, lightning, and fire. Black scorch marks lined the walls where the unleashed magic of these strange creatures had ripped through the plaster, rock and wood - a deadly storm that must have been truly terrifying to behold, let alone be amidst this nightmare when it broke. Frantically I pulled at the bodies, searching for what I prayed I wouldn’t find. This wasn’t right, Briar was just some dotty old seer who lived in the forest, not a warrior who could kill this many! Okay, so I didn’t know her that well perhaps, but even so she was just one mare against… what, thirty warriors? It was madness, absolute madness. My heart was hammering in my chest like a steam engine’s piston, fog spilling from my hooves and spreading out around the corpses and interior of the hut. It was a defensive as well as offensive magic that had been part and parcel of being what I had become. Now it, like my emotional state, was taking control. Rationality collapsed beneath its onslaught.

“Briar!” My head flicked from side to side, searching. “Shade! Damn it all, SHADE!” I clawed at the bodies, moving them aside, dragging them off one another to look at the bodies beneath, to the… to the small leg protruding from under the bed...

“SHADE!” I roughly pushed the dead warrior aside to reach under the splintered and broken remains of the rough bed where I had so recently lain. Now it was like the rest of the hut – a broken memory. “Come on, love,” I whispered. “Come on, out you come, it’s all right now. It’s...” My wide eyes stared down at the tiny thing in my hooves. “Shade...”

Oh goddess. I closed my eyes, hoping against hope that when I opened them again that somehow this, all of this, would be gone, that I was mistaken.

I wasn’t.

I couldn’t look at this. I couldn’t look upon what they had done. Not to her… Luna help me, I tried to breathe, to take a simple breath, but a jolt of pain the likes of which I never thought I’d ever experience again, coursed through my chest and took me to the ground with a racking sob. It was happening again. History was repeating itself, and just like then I was helpless to stop it. Just as I always had been. My tears fell as frozen rain onto the blackened ruin of a floor as I held her to my chest, her tiny black body torn and slick with blood. Crimson dripped from her cold muzzle, her tongue lolling out from between her ludicrously small, now broken teeth. She wasn’t my daughter. I knew that. But what did it matter? What in this stinking, fowl cesspit of existence did it damned well matter? Shade had been born of pain and horror, her life marked for death from the very moment she had been born. And I had brought her here, here to the this dark world of eternal night and suffering. And for what? What the hell was it for? Death? Yes! Yes it was, wasn’t it! I had brought her here because I had been too much of a coward to care for her myself, and now… now she was gone. There would be no afterlife for this little one. This was the end for her. But what about reincarnation? Could the gifts even be reincarnated? Could she simply appear here in the afterlife when she was already here? I didn’t know. I didn’t know! Gods, what was I going to do? WHAT?! I lifted her up and pulled the blanket from the bed, wrapping it round her tiny, fragile body. They hadn’t needed to do this to her. They hadn’t had to break her the way they had. She was so small, so gentle... Why had they done this? Countless emotions raged through my soul, screaming in my ears and blackening everything that was good and pure within me. If there had been anything there to begin with.

Shaking with the horror of it all I rocked back and forth on my haunches, cradling the once gentle life that had been so brutally snuffed out like a candle in a hurricane. Around me the stink of death was all pervasive, mixing with the reek of burnt wood, the pungency of Briar’s herbs, and the indescribably strong stench of spilled intestines. It was strong enough to turn even the strongest stomach. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. I had to get her out of there. Even though she was gone, even as her body slowly became as cold as ice, I couldn’t leave her there. Not in that house of suffering and death. I carefully lifted Shade in my magic, placing her on my back as gently as I could. As I turned to leave my eyes drifted over the scene, past the wreckage of a loving home, past the memories so carefully preserved and cared for, to something that pulled at my heart more than such a simple thing ever should - my panniers. These simple storage packs, embroidered with my name, torn apart and then repaired, hung from a hook on the wall as though nothing untoward had ever happened. There was no bloodbath of desperate slaughter and cruelty at all. No, they had merely been repaired and hung up waiting for me to come back and collect them, perhaps after enjoying a cup of tea with Briar before I headed off back home to my family. There would probably be promises of coming to visit again and bringing Meadow and Sparrow with me. We could share recipes, treats fresh from the oven, and tell each other stories of strange and foreign lands. But that wouldn’t happen now. Not now. I was the bringer of death. I had brought it to everypony I had ever cared about.

I always had.

My heart was as bitterly cold as the wastes of the frozen north, dulling my emotions to a simmering cauldron of emptiness that left me feeling numb inside. When I saw her, when I recognised the face with the once rich burning eyes of flame and wisdom, I felt… nothing. She was leaning up against the wall, half buried in the bodies of her foe, a dagger slick with blood beside her. I didn’t have to see any more to know what had happened.

“I’m sorry...”

Words. They meant nothing now. I had hardly known Briar and Shade, and now I would have to bury them both. Their killers I would bring inside and burn with magic and-

A snap from outside. A branch, or twig perhaps. Maybe a predator attracted by the bounty of death or a scavenger seeking a free meal at death’s table. Tenderly I lowered Shade onto my packs and tucked the blanket around her so she could sleep peacefully. I didn’t want to disturb her, nor should she witness any more suffering this day. I picked my way across the bodies to the door, my eyes keen for any movement, my ears sharp for any sound. There was something out there, out in the light of the crystal forest. I should have known of course; murderers have a tendency to return to the scene of their crime, and it should have been obvious that some of the butchers would have survived, perhaps even bringing more of their kin with them to ensure the job had been completed properly. I took a breath and let it out slowly, feeling my muscles burning for release, my wings clamped to my sides in readiness as my teeth itched for what was to come.

There were five of them by my reckoning. They were standing amidst the bodies, staring down at them and talking in that clicking, hissing language of theirs. They hadn’t noticed me yet, but they would. I could wait. But then... I saw him. I saw the architect of this… this travesty, this rape of life, love, and all the goodness that had brought a spark of light into this dark, dark world. My lips quivered and peeled back, exposing my sharp teeth. Translucent white fluid seeped between the gaps and fell to the ground like rain amidst the pool of swirling mist.

“Maul...”

The large stallion looked up at me. I’ll say one thing for him, he gave nothing away. His warriors balked at the white and blue monster, but Maul stood as still as a statue, his burning eyes watching my every move with utter intensity.

“Lord Fairlight, I presume,” he said carefully.

How very observant of him. Vela couldn’t have informed him this quickly unless he had sent a message by magic. Even then, to cover the distance between his hall and Briar’s home in so short a time would have been impossible. Leaving only one possibility: he had been on his way here already. He and his filth had been a part of this orchestra of murder, and he had come to see their handiwork for himself. It had cost him warriors of course, but to what end? To murder a foal and an old mare? Goddess in her heaven, how could he, how could anypony, do something so utterly, unimaginably evil? Perhaps this was why I was who I was this day. I was the instrument of vengeance, brought here to this place, to this insignificant home in the land nopony cared about, to bury my friend, my foal… and to exact revenge upon their killers. I felt a shiver run down my spine.

“Before you die, Maul,” I whispered into the fog, “tell me… Why? Why did you do this? What had this mare and child ever done to you?”

The stallion stood tall and straight, his eyes never leaving me, “They have done nothing to me, Lord of the Four Winds. This,” he held out a hoof, taking in the fallen warriors before him, “was not my doing.”

Anger burst through my head as fiercely as an arc light, my neigh echoing around the forest filled with all the pain of loss and grief I had felt since finding the pitifully shattered remains of innocence.

“LIAR!”

Hatred pulsed through my veins in a seething torrent, blanking out all other thought. How could he deny this? How dare he?! How could he have the sheer audacity to stand there in dumb ignorance and pretend he knew nothing about this? He was the lord of these lands, and you didn’t just send a war party out to kill somepony without orders from on high. And if there was one thing I knew about thestrals, it was that they were obedient. Oh yes, they were obedient alright. This bastard may not have blood on his hooves, but they were as red with the slick crimson flow of murder as any common killer I had ever encountered. And there was only one way to be sure they didn’t kill again. Maul’s eyes moved at the sound of my blade snapping into place. He was saying something now, but it didn’t matter any more. Nothing he said would ever bring them back, and I didn’t care to hear any more lies or excuses from this disgusting creature. The time talking was over now. Now… Now it was time to sing Briar and Shade to the shining lands in my own way. With the song of blade, blood, and war.

Maul’s blade came up to meet mine in a flash. It was quite impressive really. But not impressive enough. I let my blade slide away from his, dancing away to block a blow from one of his warriors and land one of my own to his throat with the haft. The warrior fell in a coughing, struggling fit of phlegm and gasps whilst the wendigo whirled away, bringing the fog of the mountains to their dark world.

“Keep out of the mist!” Maul swung his axe, catching nothing but the air where I had been. “Keep moving!”

Their attempts at resisting the inevitable was laughable, but I had to acknowledge the thestral’s steadfastness in battle. Maul kept out of my range, using the trees to block my sight and hinder direct attacks. Still, it was only a matter of time before he fell. Before they all fell. I sent out a bolt of magic, splintering branches and burning a hole through one of the trunks that was big enough for a foal to climb through. Foal… Oh goddess… Shade. They had taken her life, broken her, smashed her bones into tinder...

“Lord Fairlight, for the goddess’s sake, I am not your enemy!”

The scythe swung, slipping between the branches as though they were as substantial as the air itself. Maul ducked, but wasn’t quite quick enough this time. His blade caught the worst of it, shattering like glass into a thousand pieces, the impact sending him to the black sand that would be his bed for eternity. I didn’t gloat, nor did I rejoice in his impending death. It was simply time to finish the work, to bring an end to this rabid beast’s existence. After which it would be a trifling task to cleanse his four warriors from the Darklands. Then, I would drink their essence, and use that strength to bury my loved ones once again. Once again…

“Fairlight!”

“Sorry I couldn’t bring you your breakfast, Maul,” I hissed. Mist dripped from my muzzle as my blade rose. “Looks like we’re all out of eggs.”

The blade fell.

Abruptly steel rang against crystal, the glint of my blade reflected in the burning eyes of the prostrate stallion. Only inches stood between his last breath and my sending him to the shining lands… and yet he still lived. I don’t know which of us was more surprised. I stared at the quivering blade as Maul swallowed, his own broken weapon lying in pieces nearby. He was... unarmed? Momentarily caught off guard I pulled my scythe away to face this new threat. Somepony had dared, dared to stand between me and my enemy, and-

“Fairlight, please… Please stop this!” The black mare withdrew her axe and put herself in between her fallen lord and myself. “This was my fault! Can’t you see that? This was all my fault...” A single tear, a solitary burning flame of sorrow, slid down the sleek young mare’s cheek, dropping to the sand in silence.

A mare’s tears. My mind, so full of rage and killing intent, paused. “Glimmer.” I took a step back, readying my weapon and gave Maul a look that threatened bloody retribution should he dare to move even a single inch. In fact, part of me wished he would. I shook my mane and nickered my irritation. “Speak quickly, Glimmer. I am not in the mood for trickery.”

The mare shuddered visibly, “I...” She closed her eyes and swallowed. “I tried to tell you. I wanted to, but… but Vela...”

“Vela?” My ears pricked up at the mere mention of that name. She had my full attention now, and she backed away as I loomed over her. “Speak girl!”

“He… He made me…” Glimmer stammered.

“Yes?” I pressed.

“He made me poison you.” Glimmer hung her head, her eyes closed tight shut. I’d never heard her sound anything other than confident and alert before. This uncharacteristic change in her was as alien as the land around us.

I didn’t know what to say. All I could manage was, “You poisoned me?” I glanced at Maul and back to Glimmer. I didn’t feel any different from normal. In fact, physically I felt better than I had since I’d first arrived in the herd. In that time Glimmer had been to visit several times and she’d had amble opportunity to ‘poison’ me. But when? In the kitchen perhaps? Maybe in… ah… of course. “It was when you bit me, wasn’t it.” Glimmer nodded. “Why Glimmer?” I asked quietly. “I thought you were my friend. Meadow, Sparrow and I love you like one of our own family. Why would you do this to me?”

“Because he threatened to kill my family!” Glimmer threw her head back and took a loud intake of breath. “I betrayed you and your family to save my own!”

“And this?” I asked motioning towards the bodies. “Was this your work too, Glimmer? Did you have a hoof in the murder of Shade and Briar?”

“NO!” Glimmer stared at me in horror. “I had nothing to do with this!”

“And yet you said it was your fault?” I frowned in consternation, “Come on, Glimmer, get your story straight will you?”

Glimmer sputtered, the strain on her face saying far more than her words could express.

“Lord Fairlight, if I may?” Maul’s voice was as infuriatingly calm and reasonable as it had been when I’d first met him. I took a breath and stared down at him as he spoke, but kept a wary eye on his warriors who were watching me from a respectful distance. I have to say too that Maul’s voice had a nearly hypnotising effect. It was like the sudden calm when the eye of the storm passes overhead, and it drew the red haze of anger me from as easily as wind from a ship’s sails. I nodded my ascent to him to continue. “Vela has fooled us all it seems,” the lord explained. He sat up on his haunches and brushed the sand from his coat. No armour I noticed. Either he’d been satisfied that the killing had been concluded or he had more faith in his entourage than I would have given them. “You have met Herath, yes?” he asked. I nodded as he continued, “A fine adviser to my court, and one whom I had entrusted with many of my more ‘delicate’ matters. He came to me not long after the defeat of our army in the mortal realm and gave me no reason to believe he was anything but what he appeared to be: honest, loyal, and ready to follow my instructions without hesitation. I always believed him to be the very soul of discretion, if not necessarily wisdom. He was my confidant. My ally. He was, I believed, to be the nearest I would ever have to that which equestrians value so highly - a friend.” Maul hung his head, a bitter smile ghosting across his face. “He took me in completely.” The lord rolled his shoulders, “May I sit up? I may look as young as I did when I was in my prime, but some aches never quite leave you. Even in death.”

I held out a hoof cautiously, but true to his word all Maul did was sit up and adjust his cloak.

“Herath was one of Vela’s agents,” he explained, “no doubt reporting every little thing I said and did to his master in the mountains.” Maul shrugged as he grinned, “I trusted him, Lord Fairlight. Completely.” He looked up at me from lidded eyes, the acknowledgement of his failure clearly paining him to admit. “Glimmer tried to warn me of course, but her dedication to her family prevented her from being completely open about her involvement with the wendigo, and to my shame… I never really listened. Until now. Still, she managed to give me enough information to warn me of Herath’s treachery and his master Vela’s scheming. Sadly,” Maul turned to face the still smouldering door of the hut, “I was too late.”

“And these warriors?” I raised an eyebrow. “Are you telling me you didn’t know about a war party setting out to the forest?”

Maul shook his head. “Our people are free to come and go as they please, Lord Fairlight. They are not beholden to me in all things, but… yes, I should have been informed. As it transpired, I was not.” The thestral glanced at Glimmer as he spoke, “Treachery is not unknown to thestrals, and Vela’s agents have spread his honeyed poison throughout my realm as surely as a tainted well spring. You see, he promised something no true warrior could resist.”

“What was that?” I asked.

I wasn’t surprised by his answer. “War,” Maul smiled toothily. “We are a people born to conflict, Lord Fairlight, and the Darklands do not hold the same, shall we say ‘excitement’ as the Withers.” He looked towards the hut and closed his eyes. “But this… this is not the path of a warrior.” He looked at me and gazed at my scythe. “You met them in battle?”

I shook my head, “They were all dead when I got here. All of them.”

“Ah, I see. So this was Briar’s work...” Maul shook his head, his voice raised as though addressing a larger audience than our small band. “She was a fearsome warrior in life. Proud, true, and with a strong sense of duty and honour far beyond that of many of her peers. That mare was a true sight to behold when the axes swung and arrows flew, Lord Fairlight. She had been born to a farming family in the Beyond and fought her way into the ranks of the warriors through her own will and determination, battling the ignorance and prejudice of my more ‘learned’ brothers.” Maul shrugged, smiling that thin smile of his. “Briar wanted to do nothing more than retire in peace and learn the ancient arts of the healer, offering the services of the seer, and the mystics of old. It was here that she found her comfort and her true calling. She shall be missed. By all of us.”

“Vela had her murdered.” I turned away to look at the destruction of my friend’s home. “He murdered her, Maul, and he murdered Shade.”

“Shade?” Maul asked quizzically. “Who…?” He glanced at Glimmer for help who gave him a look that spoke volumes. “Ah, the gift child.” He looked up at me and took a breath, “I’m sorry. I had hoped to have come here with a larger force, but my guard and I took wing as soon as we found out of Herath’s treachery.”

“Where is he?” I rumbled. “Where, Maul?”

The thestral shook his head, “Gone back to his master I suspect. Although where that may be precisely, none whom I have asked can say. We have warriors out looking for him, but I doubt we’ll find anything useful. Wendigo have a talent for… disappearing.”

I closed my eyes and felt my hooves twitch as my tail swished angrily, “If I had been here, if I hadn’t been in those damned mountains trying to find your goddess damned egg, Maul, I would have been able to do something. I could have stopped this!”

There was a long pause. “I know.” Maul stared past me into the trees, his eyes unfocussed, “Herath played me like a lute from the very beginning. The egg was his idea to… test you.” He sighed, “I went along with it like the fool I am, not even questioning the sense of it.”

“This still explains nothing as to why Vela would commit murder. And why Briar and Shade?” I stomped a hoof in exasperation. “Glimmer? You know something more, don’t you?”

Glimmer nodded silently. I could sense how much this was wounding her to talk about it, but there was more to this than met the eye. There was a deeper sadness in those burning red eyes that resonated with a part of me that still saw her as the mare who had saved my life long ago in the Withers. Poison or no, she had been a friend to my family. Or was that, like Herath had been with Maul, no more than a lie for the betterment of Vela’s scheme? Whatever that was.

“Vela...” Glimmer swallowed. The mare’s voice broke, but she ploughed on regardless. “He wanted you to regain your wendigo power. The poison he gave me to use on you wasn’t meant to harm you, it was meant to unlock your magic, your wendigo spirit. He believed it had failed, and decided to try shocking you so much you would break the locking spell yourself.”

“Locking spell?” Of course, the magic used to block our people from accessing the power of the spirit when they enter this herd. But why? Why would he want me to regain my powers? And if he wanted to shock me, then… Oh, Luna! “Meadow!”

“Meadow?” Glimmer’s face was a mask of confusion.

“My WIFE!” I roared suddenly. Glimmer reeled back in surprise as I surged forward, hooking a hoof around her baldric and yanked her towards me until we were nose to nose. “What have you done to my wife?!”

“N… Nothing!” Glimmer stammered, “I would never do anything to harm her, or Sparrow!”

“But you did mind trying to with me, did you?” I snarled, “And Vela wouldn’t give a damn about your feelings for any of your friends, would he?”

Glimmer shook her head, “Meadow is protected by the magic of the First Mage of the equestrian royal family. Any attempt to harm her would bring down the wrath of the gods themselves upon Vela and his people.” She frowned at me, “I thought you knew this?”

“No!” I released her abruptly and turned away in a fog of anger and confusion. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “I knew nothing of this!” I hissed, “Star Swirl is her friend, yes, but the protection of the gods? That’s insane! This… this all madness!”

“Madness or not, it is the truth,” Maul cut in heavily. “Glimmer told me the full story on the way here. The gods have blessed your family, Lord Fairlight.”

“You call this blessed?!” I span round in a tempest of ice and churned sand, my blazing blue eyes reflecting brightly off my blade. “This is no blessing, Maul, this is a curse! Innocents lie dead because of the crazed ambitions of a twisted lunatic. Where were the gods when they butchered Shade and Briar? Goddess forgive us all if you think this is a blessing!”

Maul nodded slowly, “I understand your pain, Lord Fairlight, but-”

“Do you?” I snapped. “You know nothing about me, Maul. Nothing!”

The thestral held up a hoof, “That may be true, but whatever else you may think of him, Vela is no Lunatic. He has been planning this for more than a thousand years, and only now are we beginning to see the seeds of his machinations grow and take form.”

I stopped in my tracks, the words of Maroc and Star Swirl breaking through the anger and hate that gripped my heart right then. Rage muddled my mind, the fury of the wendigo so keen and deliciously alluring as it was, was out of place here. I needed to think, to stop acting on pure emotion and use my mind. I had been an officer in the watch, a pony who worked on solving some of the more complicated cases to cross the desks of the Manehattan watch. I needed that old Fairlight now, and as much as it pained me, I had to do this. Closing my eyes I let go, releasing my iron grip on the magic within myself. Gods, it was hard. After all this time, to be able to fly once more and to feel that magnificent sensation of power and raw magical energy surging through me, was utterly intoxicating. And to release it? To let it go when I had only just got it back? What if I couldn’t find it again? What if I remained a unicorn forever because I…. because…

It took all my will and strength, but finally I found that tiny calm place in the storm. And gently, softly, I let it go.

Maul and Glimmer both stared at me. “Now there is a sight I will never get used to,” the thestral lord breathed. “Remarkable.”

I shook my mane and rolled the stiffness from my shoulders. I’d forgotten how odd it felt to have wings burst from your back and then go back again. It bloody well hurt too! Although, not that much truth be told. Ah, but the benefits! Suddenly a wave of panic hit me. Was the magic gone? Had I lost the wendigo power so soon after finding it again? Oh gods! What… What if… I caught myself mentally and took a deep breath. Calm, Fairlight, find the calm within you… It was easier said that done. I don’t know how many times I’d reached down inside myself and found nothing but emptiness since coming to the herd. Lately I’d been able to sense something else, but it had been so distant, it was like trying to catch a rainbow. Now the reassuring tingle of magic sat there as alive and well as it ever had. A metaphorical kitten curled up in my lap that could change into a charging lion when roused. It was comforting certainly, but it was the feeling of completeness, of being whole once more that truly warmed my heart and soothed my weary mind. Part of me wanted to sing with joy whilst the other part wanted to cry and scream in anger and sadness over the loss of Briar and Shade. But the part I really needed was the cold, hard mind of Fairlight the watch stallion. The stallion who could focus on facts and logic, using his mind rather a blade. And he was waiting. He always had been.

“Tell me about the egg,” I asked the two thestrals before me. “What is the significance of it, and why would Vela want such a thing?”

Glimmer glanced at Maul and then back to me. It was apparent from the thestral lord’s expression that he didn’t know, but she did alright. “The yolk has the power to cancel out magic,” Glimmer began. “I overheard Vela talking to one of his stallions, and he said that the yolk could break the lock the gods placed on his people, freeing their spirits.”

“Dear gods...” I felt a shudder run through me at the mere thought of that mad stallion creating an army of wendigo in the afterlife. I didn’t doubt for a moment what this would mean for those who had sided with Maroc either. Those that didn’t submit would be either subjugated or killed. The allure of regaining their power would do the rest. As for the thestral race itself, the chance for battle, true battle, would be like the proverbial carrot dangling before their muzzles. And the icing on Vela’s plan. With the help of Herath he’d already shown that he was able to bring them in on his deranged plans, and I wouldn’t put it past him using them again given half a chance, Maul or no Maul. But the gods… They wouldn’t allow such a thing to pass, surely? It was they who had locked the thestrals away in their own world and had prevented the wendigo from using their powers in the afterlife. Would they simply sit idly by and watch their worlds, everything they had wrought, burn in the fires of Vela’s ambition? I doubted it, but then what did they care about the Darklands? The enigmatically named ‘all father’ may have a passing interest in the affairs of his creations, if Briar’s tale was true of course, but the royal couples real interest was the eternal herd and that was separated by a portal. Take that out, and Vela had as much chance of invading the herd as biting the moon. But perhaps I was reading too much into it. Maybe. What was really niggling me was why Vela had been so keen to see me transform into a wendigo in the first place. Had he used me as a test subject for his wider plans? It seemed plausible. He certainly didn’t give a damn about me, of that I knew for certain. I’d heard enough anyway; there was something that needed to be done, and standing here talking wasn’t going to put it right.

“Fairlight?” Glimmer gazed after me in consternation, “Where are you going?”

I didn’t look back. “To find a shovel,” I replied over my shoulder. “I have a child to bury.”

My goodbyes were as hollow and meaningless as an empty well. They couldn’t hear me now. The mare I had met and who had shown me nothing but the light of kindness in this alien world of darkness, was gone. The tiny foal who had brought a spark of joy into my confused heart and a smile to my lips; she too was no more. I buried Shade beneath one of the silver trees on the hill behind her home and beside Briar’s ashes. I think she would have liked it there. The view was stunning. Against thestral tradition I hadn’t burned the little ones body, but instead lay her to rest in a simple coffin I constructed from what scrap wood I’d been able to salvage from the ruins of Briar’s home. The other thestrals had busied themselves with the construction of a large pyre to dispose of the slain warriors who had come here with little more than cold murder in their hearts. And yet despite the evil of their acts, Glimmer, Maul, and his personal guard, still sang them to the shining lands where they would rest for all eternity. Unless they were reborn once more. For myself, I felt nothing but contempt for them. If I’d had my way I would have left every last one of them for the carrion to pick over. At least then their lives would have come to a useful end. Here though, two lives had been brought to an untimely end in blood and suffering that neither of them should ever have experienced. Briar had been a warrior and no stranger to fighting when she was younger, but Shade… Shade was just a child, regardless of how she had come into being. Maybe her soul would go back to the herd now to be with her equestrian family. After all she was originally the soul of an equestrian mare. Truthfully though I just didn’t know, and I doubted I’d find out by the simple expedient of trooping into the palace to ask Ülf and his good lady. Somehow I had the feeling I’d have more luck convincing a vampire to eat garlic bread.

Sitting here before the freshly dug earth I let my mind wander wherever it pleased. I’d never buried a child before. I prayed I never would again. There were words I could say, but who was listening? The gods? Ha! Yeah… They didn’t give a damn about Shade or any of us. Celestia, Luna, Fate, Ulf - the names were different, but the result was the same. Nothing. Celestia’s attitude stank to high heaven, her sister was a pathetic echo of what she was and could have been, and their parents? Buck them. Buck them all bloody, the stinking rats. Damn it all, even vermin had some familial sense of responsibility. But not them. Not any of them. So much for us being their ‘children’. I let the bitterness wash through me, drowning my heart and soul in the cold glaze of unfathomable sorrow. It would pass. It always did in the end. The memories faded, the pain dulled, but it always left a little something behind to remind you of that hole in your life that could never be filled.

Hooves crunched up the path into the clearing. I knew who it was even without the magic of the wendigo. Carefully, I sprinkled the last of the sand over Shade’s grave, a simply piece of wood the only marker to show for such a young and brief life.

“Fairlight, are you alright?”

“Yeah.” I leaned back on my haunches as Glimmer sat down beside me.

“I’m sorry about Shade.” Glimmer stared at the grave, her face an unreadable mask of hidden emotion, “I didn’t realise how much she meant to you.”

I smiled mirthlessly, “Neither did I. Briar opened my eyes to things that I had right in front of me all along, and then...” I snorted ironically, changing tack. I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t want to think about it either. “Anyway, it’s too late now, isn’t it?” I said getting to my hooves. “I’ve said my goodbyes, now I’m off home.”

“You’re off home?” Glimmer looked up at me in amazement, “What? You can’t! We need you here to-”

“To do what?” I snapped. “Stop Vela? Wreak some form of wendigo vengeance upon him?” I shook my head, “That won’t bring Shade or Briar back, no matter how much blood is spilled. I’m sorry Glimmer, the answer’s no.”

The black mare rose up and faced me like a fury from the deep, “You would let Vela murder your friends unchallenged? You will not avenge them?” Glimmer’s eyes blazed with all the intensity of hell’s fires. “You… you coward! I thought I knew you, Fairlight Loam. I thought you were a stallion who believed in honour and justice. What in the name of the goddess has happened to you? When did you become so utterly spineless?”

“When my family became a target,” I replied levelly. I picked up my saddle packs and panniers, snugging them into place over my barding. “My home was already targeted by an assassin, my friends butchered like animals, and in case you had forgotten, my wife and child have been murdered once already and I’ll be damned if I let it happen again.” I turned to leave, “Vela can do what he wants. You have a horde of battle hungry warriors for Luna’s sake. Use them!”

I began to walk away as Glimmer spoke, her words cutting deep into my heart sharper than any knife. “Do you know what happened to my family, Lord of the Four Winds?” The mare’s voice rose to a high pitch shriek, “Do you?! I’ll tell you, shall I?”

“Glimmer, don’t...” Maul strode up to his charge, holding her back.

“I’ll tell you!” Glimmer’s voice echoed through the forest, “They’re dead! They’re all dead! They gave sacrificed themselves so I could tell Lord Maul the truth of Herath’s treachery and Vela’s plotting. Don’t you see?” she screamed. “They gave their lives for you! For all of us!”

“Goodbye, Glimmer.” I looked over my shoulder at the furious mare. “Maul, keep her safe.”

Maul nodded silently, but Glimmer pushed forward in a blind fury, barely held back by the powerful stallion. “Damn you, Fairlight, get back here! GET BACK HERE, YOU DAMNED COWARD!”

“Let him go, Glimmer,” Maul reason calmly. “He has his own battle to fight now. Let him go.”

“No! Damn you, Maul, and damn you, Fairlight!” Glimmer’s words followed me out of the forest and onto the road, sending up a flight of spectrals. “I wish I’d never saved your life you cowardly bastard! DO YOU HEAR ME? IF I EVER SEE YOU AGAIN I’LL KILL YOU MYSELF! I’LL KILL YOU, YOU CELESTIAN RAT! FAIRLIGHT! FAIRLIIIGHHT!”

I walked away into the gathering night, watching the stars beginning to come out one by one. Dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions, some bright as gemstones and others no more than a faint glow in the far emptiness of space. All of them appeared as pinpricks of silver light in the black shroud of the universe. I walked on for hours, following the road until I came to a stream I must have passed when I was carried to Briar’s home after being half killed by that damned manticore. Thirst drove me as much as weariness, the strain of the day finally taking its toll on my tortured body. Leaning down to take a draught, I caught my reflection in the water, my blue eyes as blue as… blue? After the initial shock I looked back quickly at my cutie mark and let out an involuntary sigh. The magnifying glass I’d had from childhood had gone once again, only to be replaced by the single white flash of lightning that marked my link to the Wither World. “Luna...” I rolled my eyes and shrugged it off. What the hell did it matter now anyway? Brown eyes, blue eyes, lightning flashes and magnifying glasses. I was who I was, and if ponies couldn’t accept me for who I was, then to hell with them. What my attention was focussed on more than anything was the reflection of the star light in the glassy surface of the stream “The river of stars...” I whispered to myself. “The river Ülf’s wife sailed to meet him.” I sank to my haunches and uttered a bitter chuckle under my breath, “What a load of bollocks.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” a voice said from behind me. “I thought it was quite romantic really.”

Now ghosts were talking to me. Gods, what a day! Maybe it was the effects of Glimmer’s poison finally kicking in. I pulled my pannier round and opened it, fishing out one of the wrapped packages of travel food Briar had made for my journey. The last thing she ever did for me in this world. “Hungry, ghost?” I enquired. “There’s enough for the two of us.”

“I’d recommend the ones wrapped in the green leaves,” the ghost offered. “I think you will find them particularly good.”

“Made them yourself, did you?” I joked.

“As a matter of fact, I did.”

I didn’t look round. Madness was taking me at long last. “I always wondered how long it would be before I started to hear voices,” I said carefully unwrapping the leaf wrapped parcel. “Mind you, walking alone in an alien world could turn anyone’s mind.”

“You’re never alone with schizophrenia.”

“At least you have a sense of humour.” I took a bite of the meaty pastry, savouring the delicate spices and moistness of the filling.

“Good?” the ghost asked.

“Delicious,” I replied honestly. “You have a light touch.”

“Why, thank you,” she replied. “I take pride in my baking and cooking skills. It took a long time to learn, but I think these old hooves can compete with the best of them. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“I would, definitely,” I agreed. As I munched it down I waved at the pannier. “Don’t stand on ceremony my friend. Please, help yourself.”

“Don’t mind if I do.”

Ah, madness! The unhinged mind of a lonely and long taxed stallion in a world of dead thestrals at the arse end of the universe. Could be worse I suppose; at least I wasn’t alone. Being completely bonkers was quite liberating. Refreshing even.

“Mmm! They are good,” the ghost replied. “Even if I say so myself.”

A grey hoof slipped past the edge of my vision and placed a wicker wrapped bottle beside me. “Wine?”

“Ah, just the ticket.” I poured some out into my travel cup and took a sip. “Very good,” I noted. “Fruity little number with rich undertones of… apricot?”

“Persimmon actually,” the ghost replied. “I’m personally very fond of them.”

I chuckled, “I knew a pony who was very fond of persimmons once. She was as mad a box of frogs, but a wonderful mare at heart. Saved my bacon, I can tell you.”

“Really?”

“Oh, gods yes.” I took another sip of wine, “And absolutely mad about skulls and all that ‘arcane weirdness’ you get into when you spend too much time on your own.”

“And cats too, I expect?”

“Cats?” I barked out a laugh. “Bloody house was wall to wall with them! You know,” I said taking another sip of the wine, “I think it’s something that happens to mares when they get old; they break out in spontaneous cats. Dozens of the buggers.”

“You don’t like cats?”

I shook my head, grinning foolishly, “I love cats. But the amount of them the old girl had in her home would have bankrupted me with the cost of all that cat food.”

“Maybe the locals helped her, do you think?”

I shrugged, “Meh, probably. Who knows?”

“What happened to her?”

“Still living in a village in the middle of nowhere I suppose,” I suggested. “Who knows?”

“What was her name?”

“Pewter,” I replied, “My dearest aunt.” I laughed as I took a bite of the pastry, nearly choking on it. But I didn’t care. “She was my mum’s sister.”

“Do you still keep in touch?”

“Bit hard when you’re dead,” I replied.

“I meant your mother.”

“Oh.” The conversation was taking a decided turn for the worst. “No,” I said quietly. I topped off my wine and nearly downed it in one chug. “Mum and I didn’t always see eye to eye. When dad left she just kind of faded away until...”

“She died,” the ghost finished.

“She did,” I said honestly. “I… I suppose I do miss her, but…”

“But?”

I groaned, “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Wouldn’t I?” the ghost chuckled. “A mare may not always be the best mother to her children, Fairlight, but it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t love them. She may simply have not been the best at expressing her emotions.” There was a pause. “But we all have our faults. Even me.”

“Even you.” I sorted out a laugh, “The imperfect ghost!”

The ghost sighed, “You really are a dullard, aren’t you?”

“That’s me,” I agreed. “The dimwit of the family and the plaything of good old Fate. You gotta love it. I bet the gods are really laughing it up in their perfect white tower with their perfect bucking land of sunshine and arse buggering rainbows.” I slugged back the wine and huffed angrily. It was empty. “Ah… bollocks!”

“So, are you going to do it then?”

“Huh?” I frowned in confusion. “Do what?”

“Change into a wendigo,” the ghost clarified for me. “You can do it, can’t you? The first wendigo to be able to change into their spirit form since the cataclysm?”

“The ‘cataclysm’!” I mocked. “Ooh, how dramatic!” I huffed angrily, “What does it bucking well matter if I can change or not anyway? I doubt it’ll last, and the portal to the herd will probably lock it all away again as soon as I try to leave. Don’t you worry, I’ll be back to being the boring old cart horse me faster than you can shake a mule’s tail.” I shook my head and sucked the last of the dregs from the bottle. “Spirit form...” I muttered. “My arse.”

“You may want to stop swearing so much,” the ghost offered a little irritably. “It’s not good for little ones to hear.”

“What the hell are you blabbering about, ghost?” I lifted my muzzle and cast a glance back over my shoulder. “What ‘little ones’? Shade is dead, Sparrow is dead, and my son is being threatened and there’s not a damned thing I can do about it. So either sod off or stop spouting such damnable nonsense about things you know nothing about. Either is fine by me.” I slammed the bottle down into the sand. “And if you’re going, leave me another bottle of wine if you’ve got one will you? Imaginary or not, I’d like to soak myself like a fish before beddy-bose.”

“I’d forgotten how immature stallions could be,” a new voice chimed in. “Drowning themselves in alcohol and self pity. A trait not confined to celestian’s I suspect.”

“Oh, piss off!” I snapped. “Take your attitude and shove it up your arse. Bucking ‘celestian’ bollocks and all, you annoying old trout.”

“Old trout?” the ghost asked, “What-?”

“It’s a fish,” the other ghost explained. “It’s an insult.”

“You’re bloody right it is!” I shouted. “Now bugger off the two of you, or are we having a sodding ghost convention here or something? If you are then you can leave some ‘spirits’ for me, can’t you?” I began to laugh, the lunacy of the situation bringing the first smile to my face in longer than I cared to remember. “Spirits!”

“You have a singular wit,” the first ghost observed sarcastically. I don’t know who you got that from, but it wasn’t my side of the family. It was probably that loser my sister married.”

I span round in a fury, “Don’t you dare call my father a loser, you bi-”

“Ack!”

“Hello, Fairlight.” A pair of yellow eyes stared into mine. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I nearly fell into the stream in shock. Three mares, or rather two and a foal, stood there staring at me as casually as you please whilst I stood there with a look of dumbfounded stupidity on my face and eyes as wide as dinner plates. “Pewter?” My eyes slid across the others, soaking in every detail from their hooves to their burning eyes. “Briar… Shade...” I ran a hoof over my face. “I knew I’d gone mad, but-”

“Oh, belt up you idiot.” The grey mare walked up to me and dropped down to her haunches, helping herself to a quick bite to eat. “Get a bloody fire going before we all die of hypothermia will you.”

“But you’re-?”

“Dead?” Pewter took a chunk of the pastry and popped it in her mouth. “Like you, you mean? Remarkable observation skills you have there, nephew. You ought to be in the watch.”

Shade walked up to me and smiled, her tiny little teeth showing white in the starlight, “Arick, ack! Hurrf.”

Briar smiled, “He is.”

I looked up in confusion, “Is what? She can talk now?!”

Briar clucked her tongue, “Of course she can. A little anyway.” She sat down beside Pewter and I, plopping Shade into her lap. “She called you ‘father’.”

“Father...” A sudden surge of emotion burst forth and I nearly choked, “Oh… oh, goddess.”

“Arick,” Briar explained, “is ‘father’ in our language.”

“Sounds like a lot of burping, clicking and farting to me,” Pewter mumbled. She was well into her second pastry now. Or was that her third? In any case, she was rewarded by a withering gaze from Briar. The old fart ignored it in typical fashion. “You look a little confused, nephew”, Pewter said sounding more sarcastic than was absolutely necessary. “Time for a little exposition do you think?”

“Time for a coma more like,” I groaned.

Briar picked up the reins. “Magic,” she said simply, as if that was the answer to everything in the whole bloody universe.

“A simple little spell,” Pewter chipped in. “It makes ponies think they’ve done something they haven’t, and to see what they want to see.”

“But the bodies!” I protested. “They weren’t an illusion, Auntie. I picked them up and burned them. I buried Shade with own hooves for Celestia’s sake.”

Pewter frowned and clucked her tongue at me. I’d forgotten how much she hated even the merest mention of the princess’s name. “There were real, Fairlight,” she explained. “What you buried were the bodies of the warriors who attacked Briar’s home.”

“So what killed them, then?” I asked.

“They killed themselves,” Briar added as though this sort of thing happened every day and was simply a by-product of living in the forest. “Pewter came to me looking for you not long after you’d left and warned me of the wendigo’s plan to kill us.”

“Vela’s plan,” Pewter clarified, placing a hoof on Briar’s leg, “Let’s not forget that, eh, old girl? Anyway, a good old area effect illusion spell was just the ticket as it turned out. A few incantations, a little aether manipulation, a sprinkling of thaumaturgical reallocation, and that lot went at it like a dog at broth. Chopped themselves up into little bits as happy as Larry! Still, you have to be a bit dim in the old grey matter for it to be as effective as it was, but I’ll take credit for it nonetheless. One for the journal, eh?”

“Gods, my head!” I rubbed my temple furiously, trying to get my mind around the mental gymnastics I was being subjected to by these crazy females. “Will somepony please tell me what the hell is going on?! How come you’re here, Auntie? Are you sure I’ve not lost it?”

“Oh, will you please shut up about that! Goddess give me strength...” Pewter huffed and shoved a cup of coffee into my hooves. “Get that down you and listen you big galoot.” After I’d taken a sip she continued, “Now then, it’s quite simple. I died, yes? And before you ask: yes, it was natural causes. More or less...” She cleared her throat. “Anway, when I arrived in the herd I was met by one of Maroc’s ponies and they asked me to find you to warn you of the attack. They felt that you might listen to me, what with us being family.” She shrugged, “Quite simple really.”

“Isn’t it though?” I replied sarcastically. “Goddess above!”

Pewter ignored my remark. “Maroc’s been trying to infiltrate Vela’s tribe for aeons. He managed with one fellow who we hoped would make himself known to you whilst another chap was supposed to be observing your movement along the great forest road. We haven’t heard back from him since, and Maroc began to fear the worst.”

“Foxes,” I said distantly. “I stumbled over the body of a wendigo stallion on the forest road when I was lost in the fog. It has to have been your guy. As for the other...” I sighed, “I believe his name was Clarion, or at least that was what he called himself.”

“Where is he now?” Pewter asked.

I shook my head, “Vela killed him. Stuck a dagger through his throat when he tried to save me from falling to my death.” I looked into Pewter’s eyes that looked so much like my mother’s. “He knew, Auntie,” I said quietly. “Vela knew Clarion was one of Maroc’s stallions. I’m certain of it.”

“And the egg?” Pewter asked.

I looked down at the ground, “Vela has it.”

“Shit!” My aunt glanced at Briar apologetically before turning back to me, “We have to get it back!”

“We don’t need to do anything.” I fixed Pewter with my own hard look. “I am going home. And if you have any sense at all you’ll come with me.”

Pewter groaned dramatically, “I knew you’d say that!” She glanced at Briar. “Didn’t I say that? Goddess buck me, you’re so bloody predictable!”

“And what’s the alternative then, miss smarty pants?” I asked my aunt loudly. “Stay here and hope Vela doesn’t find out Briar and Shade are still alive? Come on for Luna’s sake! Sooner or later he’ll get wind of it and then it’s a one way ticket to the shining lands. As for me, I have to get back and take care of Meadow and Sparrow before that maniac finds a way to get to them too, protective magic or not.”

“You don’t trust Star Swirl’s magic?” Pewter asked.

“No I bloody well do not!” I snapped back. “When it comes to my family I don’t trust anypony but myself to protect them, especially with Vela’s fruitcakes on the loose. Wendigo or not I’d send every damned one of them to Tartarus if they so much as looked at them the wrong way.”

Pewter shared a look with Briar. Whatever passed between them changed the atmosphere in our band and their demeanour towards me became… softer? I wasn’t sure. Shade smiled up at me and clicked her teeth. Gods, she was frightening. And beautiful. I reached down and scooped her up, holding her to my chest as tears threatened to break forth. “It’s alright little one,” I whispered. “We’re going home soon. You’ll be able to meet Sparrow Song and we’ll make up the guest bedroom for you. It’ll be a bit tight in the old cottage, but we’ll manage.”

“Ack!”

“Fairlight?” Pewter tossed one of her packs over to me. “There’s a sleeping bag in there. I brought a spare for you.” She smiled at me with a surprisingly gentle expression that almost had me giving her a double take. “Let’s get some sleep now, okay? We’ll sort everything out in the morning.”

“Suits me,” I replied. “I’m absolutely knackered.”

Pewter raised an eyebrow above her lantern yellow eyes, “Quite.”